A/N: Before you read this chapter I'd like you to know that this is pretty much filler. It's meant to better develop the characters though, in no way is it intended to put off writing Specimen 6 because I don't know how I'm going to do it or anything like that, no not at all. But the thing is, since I write my chapters in the order of which they are laid out, I currently don't know if you can skip this one and still understand the story while I write this note. You should probably read it just to be safe. Don't worry, I think you'll enjoy it. After all, just because it's mostly filler content doesn't mean it's bad. I'm actually read/watched a lot of filler that I've joyed. Although I should probably get to writing said content instead of rambling in the A/N... I'll do that now.

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and to be honest I was surprised it had taken this long. But the fact of the matter is that running from supernatural creatures, trying to ally with said creatures, charging through puzzle rooms, navigating mazes, writing notes... even a hyper girl like me will get tired out eventually.

And I was tired. And hungry, and thirsty, and my feet hurt so bad I was beginning to wonder if they could fall off. Plus, I was starting to get a headache from the lack of caffeine. I'm a bit of a soda addict you see, but couldn't bring any into the mansion because I only had cans at home and didn't want to risk it exploding all over myself when I opened it. That was a smart move on my part since I'd been doing a lot of running and jumping, but of course it also had negative consequences too. When I went back home, I was going to down an entire twelve pack of Mello Yello in one sitting. Not if, when.

After I had yawned for the hundredth time, and the next room turned out to be a bedroom, my mind was pretty much set. "We're stopping here for a bit," I inform Taker, who had seemed to be lost in his own tangle of thoughts for the past amount of time. "And before you say anything, I don't have infinite stamina like you do, and if I run into another monster right now, I'm not sure if I can outrun it. And if I can't outrun it..." I trail off, since the rest of the sentence is pretty dang obvious.

And eventually, Taker relents. "...Very well."

I can't stop myself from moaning in relief as I plop onto the bed, plopping my backpack beside me. I had no clue how stiff my shoulder muscles had gotten carrying it, guess my other aches and pains distracted me from it. I pull my phone and lunchbox out of the pack and start rifling through the former, deciding how much food I should eat in this sitting. I choose one of my sandwiches, some Doritos, and (of course) another juice box.

After I had added the appropriate amount of chips to my sandwich and started chowing down, I took a look at my phone. There's no reception or wifi in here, probably so Spooky's victims can't call for help (not that people would believe them anyway) but I could still get some use out of it. I chose one of the fics I'd downloaded to read offline and read it while I ate. Even though I had read it several times before, it was still just as enjoyable as the first ten times I'd read it. The familiarity of the words relaxed me greatly.

"What are you afraid of?" Taker's question came out of absolutely nowhere. I look up from my phone and try to swallow my food before speaking, but it sticks.

"Mmm?" I mumble through the gooey glob of PBJ&D stuck in my mouth, it's all I can do at the moment.

"So far, all the things you have seen here have hardly phased you for more than a moment. Do they even frighten you at all? If not, ... then what does?"

I finally swallow the offending piece of food with help from some juice. I cough a bit before preparing to respond. "Your appearance sorta set the scene for me," I explain. "Once you showed up I knew what to expect, and the fear factor was ... diminished from there on out. Plus, now that I have another goal other than just survival, it's even less scary. Because I know what's happening and what I'm gunna do, y'know?" I take another bite of my sandwich and go back to my story, letting Taker ponder. The guy needs some time to think. I'd be willing to bet that even though he's not tired on the outside, he definitely is on the inside.

But of course the silence doesn't last long. "You must have something that haunts your nightmares, even if it's not within these walls."

I scoff, nearly spitting food all over myself. "Of course I've got stuff I'm scared of, everyone does. Why don't you tell me what you're afraid of Taker, maybe that will give me the courage to open up."

"I am the Taker. I fear nothing."

"I don't believe that." I reply bluntly.

"Well, that's your prerogative."

Having finished my "meal," I start packing my trash up and lock my phone. "At any rate," My voice is deep and a little slurred as I speak through a huge yawn, "I don't think that's good information to divulge around here anyway. How about we save this conversation for a time when everything isn't out to get me?"

"Agreed."

Loosening my overalls a bit so the metal parts of the straps don't poke me, I put my stuff on the ground next to the bed and wiggle underneath the blankets. It's not the most comfortable bed in the world, the sheets definitely don't have a very high thread count and the mattress is stiff, but it'll do for now. I roll over, now facing away from Taker. i was pretty sure I could trust him not to kill me in my sleep, or allow anything else to kill me in my sleep at this point. I close my eyes and take deep breaths, trying to ignore the weird noises resounding from somewhere in the further depths of the mansion.

It hadn't been easy to get here. With an overprotective mom like mine, it's hard to do so much as go to the grocery store across the street by myself. But I'd managed it, somehow. Yeah... I'd... managed...

"Oh Zoe, what have you done?" I take the neck of the two leader bottle of Mello yello I was drinking directly from out of my mouth, and sit up on the couch. Mom and I were having a relaxing time watching random crap on Netflix together, so this outburst was completely out of the blue.

"W-wha?" I stutter. "What do you mean, Mom? What did I do this time? If this is about putting your diet coke in the freezer—"

"I trusted you to ride your Schwinn trike to school, but instead you decide to go to the absolute last place I'd want you to go? A place that no one has ever came out of?"

It suddenly feels like I've swallowed a bunch of rocks. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa Mom, calm downI-I can explain. See this ghost girl is making a ghost army by killing people with monsters, a-and I'm trying to stop—"

"That's no excuse!" Wow, did my mom always have such big teeth? "When you tell me you're going to do something, I expect you to actually do that thing!" Wait a minute, the last time I checked Mom definitely didn't have red eyes! And wait, weren't we in our living room before, and not a gladiator pit?

"Yeah Zoe, you're supposed to actually do that thing." That voice. That echowey, autotuned, annoying, singsong, patronizing...

"Yes! That's her!" I shout frantically, waving at the entities suddenly crowding the stands. "That's the ghost girl! And her ghost army, although the last time I checked my classmates were still alive and not part of it. And the monsters! Although... aren't you meant to be sleeping, Cthulhu?"

Said chaotic being just shrugged and took a bite out of his PBJ&D sandwich.

"See, Mom?" I continue to plead desperately. "I'm going to be a hero! I'm going to save the day!"

"But did you know you were going to be successful when you entered the mansion?" A deep, growling voice asked from behind me; a voice that did not belong to my mother. "No, of course not. You were reckless, and stupid. You never learn from your mistakes."

Almost of its own accord, my body slowly turns to face the source of the voice. Where my mom once stood, there now stands a red horned creature. Even though it doesn't have eyes I can feel it staring directly at me, and I just freeze. I can't move, I can't talk, when I try to scream no noise comes out. "You're never going to see your mother again," the thing informs me. "And it's all. your. fault." I don't need to look at Spooky to know she's grinning sadistically as this scene plays out. Wait a minute...

She's gone. All of them except the creature are gone. Shifting locations, my mom transforming, people I've seen before in the rolls of ones I haven't seen yet, it can only mean one thing...

Suddenly what I like to call the nightmare paralysis wares off, and I'm fully in control of my body again. "This isn't real," I tell the creature, completely matter-of-fact.

"Of course it is!" The thing (which I'm now sure is a demon of some sort) roars out in anger. "You're going to die! You'll never go home!"

"Not that!" I clarrify, almost laughing. Now that I know what's happening, the creature no longer holds any power over me. "I mean... this." I gesture around the gladiator pit, which I now realize is pretty much just my school's gymnasium. "It's a dream. I went to sleep in the mansion, and now I'm dreaming."

The demon seems to have lost wind completely once he heard I knew what was going on. "...oh. What gave it away?"

"A bunch of things," I say vaguely. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get some rest for whenever I wake up and start moving again. So could you like, I don't know, get the heck outa my head so I can enjoy my lucid dream in peace?"

"...Fine." And with that, the thing was gone.

I sigh in relief, willing a basketball into existence and dribbling it downcourt. I don't think that thing was part of my dream, he seemed realer than everything else. He might even be one of the specimens in the mansion. If that was the case I might have just wasted an opportunity to recruit another ally, but oh well, that was a problem I'd solve while I was awake. In the mean time, I'm tired of hanging out in the gym. Hmm... what should I dream about? Well, I like to fly, flying is fun.

And just like that I've sprouted the most majestic wings in existence and am soaring over a stormy ocean. "I am going to see my mom again!" I shout over the roaring of the wind and the waves. "I'm gunna go home too! And be a hero!"