Six was no stranger to nightmares. She had hoped that they would leave her alone now that she'd found a nice place to sleep for the night. But they wouldn't be so easily held at bay. Although, they did seem a little more jumbled and unfocused than usual.
She sank in and out of various dreams, unable to tell factual memories from embellished creations of her troubled mind.
She was hiding under a bed from the Janitor, then leaping away from an avalanche of ravenous Guests.
She leaped out of a nest of Leaches, which transformed into mannequin hands.
She dangled upside down in the School bathroom before tumbling down in a heap, wracked with hunger pangs.
She sank her teeth into something hot and squirming, and then she wasthat something. But the funny thing was, the desperation to survive didn't feel all that different despite the role reversal.
Being dragged into a TV.
Shadowy, doll-like children that fled from the light.
Angry Viewers.
A nest of nomes.
She must protect the music box.
A distorted reflection, ugly and shameful. It's gnarled lips split and—
"Alright everybody, rise and shine~"
Six bolted upright with a gasp, momentarily blinded and disoriented from a beam of sunlight flaring in through a nearby window. Mono groaned from across the room, and when Six's eyes adjusted and met the gaze of the hyperactive preteen in the doorway, things started falling into place.
"Leora, you can't just barge into their room like that." And Angie was here too, it seemed. "You know how people are when they first arrive here; they aren't used to this kind of life."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ah. From the sound of it, Triple hadn't budged from her position on the top bunk. Had she even slept? Did she need to sleep? Shame clawed at the girl's chest when she realized: she didn't actually know.
"Mom just means that since you've been runaways so long, you're all probably a little jumpy. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course; it probably saved your skins more than once. And Mom's right, I shouldn't have done that, sorry guys. But Hopefully, I can make it up to you; Mom and I have made you all a nice breakfast. We figured you'd all be hungry this morning, and appreciate a real meal. Hey, that rimed~"
"Sounds good to me," Six said eagerly, earning a dirty look from her sister. Even though she was no longer under the influence of the Hunger Curse, she still really loved food, maybe even a bit more than she had before her escapade through The Maw. At the prospect of breakfast, her nightmares were all but forgotten. "What're we having? Where are we going to eat? Will we get to sit at a table? An our size table?!"
Leora smiled, but it was a bit sadder now. "Of course we're gunna sit at a table. And we'll be having the classic breakfast ensemble. Stuff like eggs, toast, cereal, bacon…"
"What's in it?" Man, why did Triple have to be so asky right now, when there's breakfast to be had? Six's belly rumbles, earning only the slightest of winces from her, a reaction she's proud of the mildness of. She'd worked hard to get to this point. She was healing.
"There's a big farm on the other side of town that everyone lends a hand with; we get most of our meat and eggs and other stuff like that there. We can go there after we eat if you want; we were planning on letting you have a chill day to explore and get comfy, so that could totally be made part of the plan."
This made mono peak out from under the bed in curiosity. He'd been fiddling with the latch of his trunk for a while now, attempting to retrieve his clothes. "Are there really farm animals there? Like normal chickens and pigs and stuff?"
"There sure are! Well, mostly normal. Like there's a purple cow and a chicken with two heads, but they still taste delicious. And to address the elephant in the room: No, we don't. Eat. Kids." How weird, the light caster seemed to be looking directly at Triple when she said that. But never-mind, that was all the reassurance Six needed to put everything off until she got fed, darn it!
"And we don't eat the elephant either. Now I'll leave you guys to get dressed; just come on out when you're ready."
"You know Trip, I don't know why you're so suspicious." Mono said after Leora had left. "Yeah, this isn't what we're used to, but most monsters I know would've totally done something by now."
"Yeah!" six added. "We slept all night and nothing bad happened. Plus, they aren't even big or ugly like corrupt monsters are."
Triple let out a long, world-weary sigh. "You know, even after all we've gone through, I'm rather amazed at just how naive you two manage to be sometimes."
Mono was in heaven, and he was pretty sure Six was too. They were sitting on the most comfortable dining chairs they'd ever sat in, eating from unbroken dishes, with silverware, at a proportionally sized table. He didn't remember the last time he used a fork, but he must have at some point because muscle memory was serving him well.
And the food! Oh, it was wonderful! The eggs were fluffy and perfectly seasoned, the toast could be spread with butter or all sorts of jelly, and the bacon was crispy and juicy in all the right places! And it didn't taste at all like there was something amiss; it tasted like perfectly prepared pork, and not the long variety. Not that he would know what that tasted like, at least he hoped he didn't.
Mono took a big swig of his cold chocolate milk to distract his mind from delving into unsafe territories. It was creamy, and one if not the best things he'd ever tasted. They all had different drinks: Six had grape juice, Leora had strawberry milk, and Angie was nursing a large mug of coffee with an ungodly amount of creamer while she tapped at some sort of tablet and ate a bowlful of nondescript wheat cages.
Even Triple was scowling into a cup of-apple juice; she had refused to take any of the food. Mono thought this a little odd since he saw her eat before, but quickly shrugged it off to enjoy the meal. Maybe he was spending too much time with Six, but man was he hungry!
"Be careful," Leora cautioned again for the umpteenth time. "You're probably not used to eating big meals like this; you should take it slow."
"I hope you all slept well last night," Angie says softly, glancing up from her tablet. For once, her bathrobe doesn't look quite so out of place. "If you had nightmares, feel free to talk about them. If not with us, then with each other. Talking can make you feel less alone. But don't feel pressured to if you're not ready."
"Mom," Leora says through a mouthful of egg. She swallows, smiling apologetically. "I was thinking about taking the new kids on a sightseeing trip around town today, maybe show 'em the best places to play. Would that be okay with you?"
Angie is just about to answer, when a loud rumbling echoes throughout the room. Triple jumps, sloshing her juice, and Six seems to have disappeared. A brief look around reveals her to have instinctively dove under the table.
"I'm sorry, sweetie," the older light caster sighs, gazing out at the darkening sky. "I guess your trip will have to wait for now." She then leans down towards Six with a reassuring gaze. "Good reflexes, Six; they must have served you well out there. But it's alright. It's only a little thunderstorm. You're perfectly safe."
Six peaks up at her. "Can the rain come in through the purple?" She asks in a small voice.
"Of course. We need the rain to water our plants. But don't worry. The Dome will keep the bigger, more dangerous things out, like lightening."
"I have a coat," Six murmurs, holding the hood of it in a clenched fist.
"You sure do, and it's really nice. But I still think it would be best if you stayed inside today."
She reluctantly nods, and crawls out from under the table. Leora waves at her, and she smiles bashfully. "Sorry."
"Oh, no worries." The older girl reassures. "We just need to think of another way to have fun today."