Here it is! The start of VLN from Six's perspective!

Warning for this chapter includes past/referenced child deaths, skinning, blood, rotting bodies.

Chapter 6: Another Door Opens

She was running away from something. Up ahead, there was a barn. Someone was already there but Six couldn't tell who they were. Reaching her hand out, the girl cried out to the person who was safely inside to wait for her, to not reject her! She wasn't even sure if she was using her actual voice or if she was just shouting in her head. Regardless, she prayed that whoever was there would not shut the door. Sadly, they did just that. They shut the door, trapping her outside. Panicking, she pounded her tiny fists against the wooden barrier. She was locked out! Whatever was chasing her might catch up! The shadow loomed over her. Before she could turn aro-

Six gasped as she was startled awake from her nightmare. Panting from the intensity of the frightening dream, the girl wrapped her arms around herself as she tried to control her breathing. Inhale and exhale. Breathe in and then out. Eventually, after a couple of deep breaths, the child felt herself calming down as her body became less tense.

It's just another nightmare...

Getting up from her bed, as she patted at the pillow, the girl could hear the familiar rattling from behind her. Turning around, Six saw her Nome friends. They looked at her, their body language was suggesting that they should go and play. Immediately at the sight of them, Six felt her shoulders slumped. They've arrived at the most inopportune time. She didn't get to leave yet. And now, she was going to have to explain it to them when she had planned to slip away unnoticed. Seeing their excitement to play with her brought the girl guilt with her decision, but this was her choice. She couldn't stay. She didn't belong here. Despite these seven wonderful creatures had been compassionate to her, their comfort just wasn't enough to satisfy her. Still, she will miss them.

Smiling sadly, she approached them. Crouching down to get to their level, she softly apologized, "I'm sorry, I can't play with any of you. I'm leaving today."

The Nomes were looking at one and the other before turning their heads back at Six. Their gesture seemed to be asking the question of why. Seeing their confusion put Six at a loss. She wanted to tell them. At the same time, she didn't want to burden them with her troubles. Of course, since Nomes weren't children, they wouldn't be able to voice their complaints if the girl was overwhelming them with her own worries. After her negative experiences with the other children of the Nest - their reactions to her, Six didn't want to appear vulnerable. Otherwise, she would only crush them with her problems. And yet, at the same time, she would like to have someone to talk to. Plus, her little friends have seen her being weak in the past. Maybe... Maybe she could open up to them - to them and them only.

So Six explained as best as she could. How these six months living at the Nest haven't really benefited her. How she felt like she didn't belong here. From the way the Nomes were looking at the floor, making sad croaking noises, it was obvious that they were sad about her leaving. They knew that the girl had been having a hard time making friends with the other children. They didn't understand. How could anyone not like Six? She was sad and scared and lost as all of them. They didn't want her to leave.

"I can't stay. I'm really sorry." Six cast her gaze at the exit before looking back at the Nomes. "I'll miss you all."

Picking each one, she gave a loving squeeze while nuzzling her head against them. The girl never know why she would rub her head whenever she hugged, but it was something she always does. After plopping the last Nome down, she gave them her blanket. She won't be taking it with her. It was better leaving it behind for the Nomes to have. It could be a gift for their small ways of comfort as well as a memento of sorts to remember her by.

Watching them, the girl wistfully gazed at the Nomes. What was it like for them to find a child like her? Relief? To have someone to hug with? Elated? To have a lot of fun and games? Comforting? To empathize and connect with that person? If that was how they felt when they first found her - met her, then...

Six would like to find and have her first human friend, whomever that may be. However, she couldn't search if she remained here. Looking at the Nomes, she smiled sadly at them. How sweet and understanding her little friends were. Standing up, as Six walked to the only exit, she turned to have one last glance at her secret base. Some of the Nomes were already playing with the blanket while the rest gave her a sad wave. She gave a small wave before turning away, slipping out. Before disappearing completely out of sight, she quietly whispered out her parting word.

"Goodbye."

~oOo~

Away from her base, Six walked linearly, planning to go down the path that leads to a way off the upper levels. Logically, it would be best for her to run or pick up the pace, but each step was slow and sad. The only reason the girl could think of was that she wanted to remember all of this. Despite the Nest had felt like a prison to Six, it was also liked a home. A terrible home filled with mostly terrible memories. A home she won't return to stay. But for these past six months, it was still a home. And there were some fond memories. Good and bad memories. They were hers and hers alone. She wanted to take it slow so it could be imprinted in her mind. Perhaps one day, she could look back and cherish her time spent at the Nest. For now...

Goodbye... she repeated the word in her head.

Goodbyes were sad. It made the child feel lonely. This kind of goodbye will be forever. It's not like when you say goodbye after leaving a friend's house, knowing that you'll come back again. It was like a moving away type of goodbye. It was saddening. And yet, it was best for her to leave. She couldn't stay. She really couldn't.

Her heart was getting way heavier after the countless failed attempts at befriending the children here. It felt like it would burst. Like something was about to break free. Wasn't there anything to lift this weight off of her chest?

Up ahead, there were two options for Six to choose from. There were many ways to get to the lower floors of the Nest. Right now, two options presented themselves. The quicker, riskier route would take her to a flight of stairs. Often, Six would use that path as a shortcut to explore the Nest. The longer route would be to go to the vent. Although she never used this path often, Six knew it was the safer option of the two. It was best to be safe, so she climbed into the vent. Dropping out at the other end and into the pipelines, the girl was staring blankly downwards, her eyes were on the many cages below the room she was in. However, her mind was elsewhere, having already become too disheartened from her little farewell.

Where would she go after leaving the Nest? Would she be able to make friends elsewhere? What if she only failed again? What if no one wanted to be around her? What if she does find someone? Would she be able to be with them longer? Or would she have to part? Like a few minutes ago? Parting hurts. Saying goodbye hurts. Because then, she wanted to stay. But she couldn't. She didn't want to experience that feeling of leaving again. She would be left behind. And she would be leaving someone behind. What if... what if... what if...

Feeling like she was being watched, Six slightly glanced over her shoulder. Her vacant eyes met with the vivid color of yellow. Standing a few feet away from her, on a stack of cages was a child older than her. They were wearing a bright yellow raincoat. She couldn't see their face with their hood pulled over their head, but she noted their fair complexion. For reasons Six couldn't explain, she felt that this kid was different somehow. Not different in a bad way. Certainly not different in terms of appearance. She didn't care if someone was ugly or not. It was different in a good way... like meeting this kid would elicit some sort of positive feeling inside of her. After what felt like hours when it was really a few seconds had passed, the child waved at her.

"Hello," the child greeted, in a girl's voice.

Six blinked, life returning to her eyes. She couldn't believe it. This older girl was... talking to her. She was initiating a conversation with her. Six turned her body to fully face the girl completely, but she became nervous all of a sudden. What should she do? Never in her entire life had someone approached her. Sure, Nomes had come to her to wordlessly ask for hugs or to play, but never another child like her. After a few seconds had passed, Six decided to, at the very least, return the greeting.

She meekly replied back, "H-Hello..."

"What's your name?" the girl questioned.

Six took in the girl's happy, cheerful tone for a moment. Her voice was a sweet, silvery sound. Letting the girl's voice linger in her ears longer, Six felt a little at ease. Such a lovely sound reminded her to stay hopeful and inspire kindness. As pleasing as that might sound, she quickly squashed the feeling. What she thought right now didn't matter. The girl did ask her a question.

"... Six."

"I'm Nona. A pleasure to meet you!" the girl introduced herself.

A shyness overcame Six before it was extinguished, replaced with her own doubts and fears. She shouldn't get too attached. Turning around without another word, she ran for the vent at the end of the wall, ignoring the girl's pleas to wait. As she ran, many thoughts - many negative thoughts started to pour into her head.

Why do I always do this? Wanting to get close, only to pull away? What is wrong with me?

She would like to become friends with Nona. However, she had blown her chance right then and there. The older girl must have already felt disappointed. She might not even care. All the other children were fed up with her inconsistent ways. They'd never been disappointed in her, but she had been disappointed in them.

Reaching the vent, the girl was about to climb in when she heard Nona's voice calling out to her: "I hope to see you again, Six!"

Six stopped at those words, letting them sink in. Nona... wanted to see her... again... The young child felt something blooming in her chest at the thought. What could it be? Shaking the thought out of her head, she climbed into the vent and left the room. As she crawled inside the narrow tunnel, Six tried to understand whatever it was she was feeling. Being an outcast, the girl often felt rejected. It was a feeling she didn't like, yet it had become something she was used to. But with Nona... that girl easily was... friendly with her. The older girl was so different. Why?

Ah... Six realized.

Nona was different because she was kind. That promise she made, it was like the older girl was trying to say that she wanted to become friends with her. A hint of a smile started to form on her face. Friends. Someone wanted to be friends with her. She was... wanted. Elated, Six thought back to the older girl, having a clear picture in her mind. Nona was a kind, gentle person. She was different compared to the other children Six had seen. Much like the color of that raincoat she was wearing, Nona was like a ray of light. This feeling that was blooming inside of her was hope.

However, her smile fell as she tried to extinguish that hope that was burning too brightly inside of her. It was... too good to be true, wasn't it? There had to be another reason why Nona would want to be her friend, right? Kind people... even if they were everything she had hoped for, they frighten her. Because with kind people, Six wasn't too sure of their motives. Their actions and words wouldn't make sense to her. Despite she desperately wanted to believe in the girl's intentions as genuine, Six couldn't help the doubtful thoughts that nagged on her. It was a possibility. What if Nona only wanted to be her friend because she felt sorry for her?

Tell me why, Nona. Are you only being kind to someone like me because of that?

Too caught up in her thoughts, Six wasn't paying attention. Instead of making a left, she went straight ahead. Dropping into the cell room, she realized too late of her mistake. She had dropped too far, she couldn't go back to the vent. And just her luck, the Craftsman was in the room. He was busy putting children in cages. Immediately, the girl hid behind a stack of boxes, hoping that the monster wouldn't notice her. The Craftsman kept leaving and returning, dragging the cages to the next room. Just as he was about to reach for the last cage, the boy inside of it was making a fuss.

"Hey! Old man! There's a girl hiding over there!" He yelled, pointing at Six's hiding spot from the bars of his cage.

Disbelief overwhelmed the girl. She didn't expect the boy to tell the monster about her hiding place! As the Craftsman was getting closer to her spot, Six took a peek. The door was open. She could escape! Taking one last glance at the monster, the girl ran. Her little feet pitter-patter against the floor. She was making too much noise but she didn't care. If she could just reach the door-

The Craftsman's long arms reached out and the girl could feel his long rough fingers wrapping around her waist before pulling her away from the exit. The sudden pull caused a little squeak to come out of her mouth.

No! She cried, thrashing around in the monster's grip.

Chest heaving, she tried to pry the tightening fingers off of her. The monster made a noise that sort of resemble a chuckle. He was clearly amused. However... raising the struggling girl closer to his face, he studied her. At this point, Six had stopped moving, terrified to see the Craftsman up close. If she stopped struggling, maybe, just maybe he might make the mistake of loosening his grip on her. It would also allow her to recover her strength and energy when another opportunity to escape has presented itself. Rather than look at the monster's searching eyes, the girl averted her gaze elsewhere. She didn't want to look at him. Instead, she focus her attention on the boy inside of the cage who ratted her out.

Keeping a firm grip on her, the Craftsman reached out with his other arm at a cage of a similar size to the boy's. Tossing the girl in, he slammed the door shut before putting on the same lock as he had done whenever he caught children. Placing her cage next to the boy's, the monster left. He had to prepare with the other kids in the other room.

Left alone, Six tried to shake on the bars of her cage, making rattling noises. Despite the lock being old with small dents, it was sturdy. She needed to escape. She wanted to escape. Despite her doubts, she wanted to see Nona again. That was why... she has to escape!

"Knock it off, will you?" the boy demanded in an irritated tone.

Tightly gripping onto the bars, the girl glared at the boy. Why did he give away her spot? Why alert the Craftsman to her location? Why put her in a situation where she would get caught?

Seething, she quietly hissed, "Why?"

The boy scoffed, "Why? Because you're Six - the weird girl. I'm sure no one would mind if you got caught."

Fuming, Six abandoned the bars and started to curl up at the far corner of her cage. There was no use in talking with the boy. He must have once escaped like the other children. Rumors of her had spread. And this kid already had his mind made up on her. Despite she wanted to get mad, the girl found her anger slowly simmering. Honestly, she agreed a bit with what the other children said about her. They were right to leave her. Why would anyone want to be friends with her when she would just push them away?

But Nona might... Six let the thought linger in her head.

She desperately wanted and would be delighted if the raincoated girl was her friend. It was a strange and complicated feeling. Despite only meeting the girl for a short time, Six wanted to be friends with her. That was unnatural, wasn't it? Friendship doesn't build in just minutes, right? Plus... aside from Nona being different than the other children, she was also different from Six. So why? Why would Nona want to be her friend? And despite Six knowing that she was too different from Nona, why does she want to be friends with her? Was she just desperate? Possibly. But she had always longed for a companion, so it didn't matter. She would be content if she had a human friend.

The scraping noises as her cage was being dragged away snapped the girl out of her thoughts. Panicking, she crawled to the front of the bars and reached her hand out, searching for anything she could grab. It was futile and she knew it. There wasn't anything in this room that could help her. She had no options the moment she got caught. Dragged into the other room, the door lowered, sealing the cell room shut. When her cage stopped, Six scooted to the far end of her cage as possible. The Craftsman had unlocked her cage and opened her door. However, he stood in front of her cage so she couldn't just dash out. Reaching his hand inside, his fingers wrapped around her body as he took her out.

Six whined, her tiny hands grip onto his fingers. He was holding her too tightly. It was uncomfortable. He only grunted in response, ignoring her little cries. Taking the golden key out of the lock pad, he placed it inside the jar on top of a white cabinet before taking the girl into his workshop.

~oOo~

No children would willingly enter this place - not even out of curiosity. She had heard of this place but never had Six thought that she would be taken inside of this room.

The workshop, despite how bright it was, was terrifying. On the wooden table was a bloodied mat. Scared brown eyes wander around, taking in everything in the room. Several tools were laying around. Pieces of leather were sitting on the counter. In the trash bin, there was... something. It looked like meat, red with white lines. However, Six could tell that it wasn't meat. Whatever it was, it had attracted lots of flies as they buzzed around. The young child turned her gaze away. She didn't want to know what was inside the bin.

Approaching the table, the Craftsman cleared the table with a swing of his arm, not caring if he spilled anything as tools and sheets clattered onto the floor. The noise caused Six to cringe. She didn't like loud, distorted noises. With a new, fresh clean mat on the table, the monster placed her down, pushing her so that she was laying on her back. Six wiggled around but that only made the Craftsman hold her down more firmly. Deciding to wait until she knows what he plans to do with her, the girl turned her head to the side, her eyes frantically looking for a way out.

There was a vent at the end of the room! It could be accessed through the shelves that contained many tools. If only she could escape!

Feeling something on her arms and legs, Six returned her sight onto her body. She was restrained by leather straps. They weren't binding her tightly to the table though. She tugged at them. There was some wiggle room. If she manage to get at least one of her arms freed, she could undo the other restraints. Feeling two of his fingers on the side of her head, Six felt her gaze shifting upwards until she was forced to look at the monster. He had a piece of cloth in his other fingers and was pressing them against her lips. Six tried to jerk her head away, but she was kept still with the two fingers above her.

Seeing that he was getting nowhere, upon realizing that the child was possibly an escapee, the Craftsman sighed. He still kept the cloth pressed towards her closed lips, deciding to go for a different tactic. His fingers left her head and he started to bring them down to somewhere else. Normally, he would undress the children after killing them - to give them a more dignified death. After stripping them of their clothes, he would proceed to skin them before dumping the mess of muscles into the trash bin. He doesn't usually do it the other way around unless he got the response he wanted.

The child in front of him somewhat amused him. If he recalled, he didn't have a picture of her to use as a reference. However, he didn't care if he had a reference or not. He was too upset to care at the moment. The little mistress had been demanding for more friends, intending to host another tea party today. Under normal circumstances, he would just kill a child, undress them, skin them, cut their hair, and be done with it.

Today, however, he was going to skin them alive to vent out his pent-up frustrations. So what if he got blood onto this girl's white clothes? After he skins her alive and she dies from shock, he'll remove her clothes and wash the red stains off in his bleach-filled bathtubs. The Craftsman recalled his earlier times dealing with escapees like this girl. He used to skin them without muffling them, letting their pitiful cries and scream be heard as a warning to the rest of the caged children. However, he grew tired of hearing their whines and complaints, so he proceeded to stuff cloth into their tiny mouths to work in peace. If they were being difficult when he was trying to do his work, trying to remove their clothes would elicit a protest of invaded privacy. And the girl's reaction wasn't a surprise to him as he started to lift her shirt up, revealing her pale skin

Six gasped, her eyes widening in fear. Using her reaction to his advantage, he stuffed the piece of cloth into her mouth. Leaving her alone, though not bothering to cover her exposed skin, the old man rotated his wheelchair to gather clean tools. The ones scattered over the floor were old and rusted. Those won't do at all. Oh no, no, no, no. Trying to do his work using those old tools would cause the quality to dwindle. That would make poor quality of dolls. That would displease the little mistress. And the Craftsman didn't want to face her wrath if she was displeased over the dolls that he made.

Working on freeing herself of her restraints, Six brought her attention back at the Craftsman when he turned around to face her again. Putting something on the table next to her, she turned her head to look what it was. It was a big pair of scissors. Looking back at the monster, she grew wary, feeling him smiling creepily behind his surgical mask as he looked down at her. In his hand was a scalpel that shine under the light above them.

A terrifying thought crossed her mind. Is... is he going to skin me alive?

The leather on the counter, the things in the trash bin with flies hovering around, and the bloodied mat and tools she had seen when she came into this room... it was all starting to make sense. Six shook her head frantically, her desperate cries for him to not go through with this were muffled by the cloth. However, her frightened expression only seem to excite the Craftsman as his creepy smile grew more.

That was it, that was it, that face! That look on her face was what he wanted to see! The moment when children stare at him with that doe-eyed look, fear muddling over as they realized what was about to happen to them made the monster feel gleeful. It made him feel powerful! His mistress always bossed him around and he would work to fulfill her wishes. The excitement he felt when these naughty children are caught and looked at him with such a terrified expression on their faces made it oh so worth it! He started to draw his tool close to the girl's body, ignoring her shaking head.

Six was scared. Tears were starting to form. She didn't want to die! She didn't want to die!

The scalpel was getting closer to her. Before the blade could reach her skin, however, the sound of something breaking in the next room alerted the monster, the scalpel hovering just mere inches away from her. Letting out a frustrated growl, the old man pulled the scalpel away from the child, placing the small blade beside the scissors to investigate the noise. Who dares to interrupt him?! Another escapee? If he finds them, he'll also skin them alive too! Turning his wheelchair, he moved away from his work table and headed for the door.

Taking the chance now that he was distracted, Six struggled against her restraints. Eventually, the Craftsman will come back to finish his work. These precious seconds she had were important and mustn't be wasted! Freeing her hand from one of the leather bindings, the girl hastily removed the others. Taking the piece of cloth out of her mouth and quickly pulling her shirt back down, the child began her escape. Quietly jumping off the table, Six dashed for the shelves, climbing all the way up and ducking under the safety of the vent. By the time she had gotten a safe distance away from the workshop, the girl could hear the angry pounding of the old man when he realized she has escaped.

Slowing down to a stop, Six placed a hand on her chest as she let out a shaky breath. Bringing her hand down, she began to fidget with the hem of her shirt, her body shaking from what had happened in that room. That... was a horrifying experience. She didn't know which was the worse part! Was it when her arms and legs were restrained, unable to move as the Craftsman was free to do whatever he pleased? Was it when he was drawing that scalpel closer to her body, ready to cut into her and take her skin off? Was it when he was lifting her shirt up? Six stopped at that last thought. It had her trembling badly that she had to wrap her arms around her body in an attempt to soothe herself. It wasn't working. Her heart pounding against her chest didn't help either.

That was her first time getting caught by a monster. It was an enemy touch, but it was getting close to the uncomfortable kind. That touch... she didn't like it. It felt unpleasant and invasive. Slightly different back when those five teenagers manhandled her, but still unwelcoming. She didn't want those kinds of touches. She was craving for the gentle, affectionate kind. Gentle touches... like hugs and holding hands. Her thoughts shifted to her memories of her Nome friends. She briefly wondered how they were doing. Were they sad? Were they happy? Just thinking about them made her chest ache, so she shifted her thoughts onto Nona. Six vaguely wondered how would she feel if Nona were to hold her hand or hugged her. Would it be the same with the Nomes? Or would it be different? Or a mix of the two?

The more she thought about it, the more her body became less tense as she was slowly calming down. Relaxed, the girl continued forward. She had never been to the Craftsman's workshop in all her time at the Nest. Many of the children had told stories about sometimes hearing screams from the room and had avoided it. So she wasn't familiar with where this vent will lead her to. Regardless, she had another reason to escape now. Not just to search whatever it was she needed to find, but also for someone's sake as well.

In her mind, she silently made a wish, I hope to see you too, Nona.

I hope this isn't much to ask, but feel free to comment or give constructive criticism. It'll help me know if you like these chapters that have been coming out.