Chapter Three
Button up your coat
This submarine is leaking
- 'Hungry for Another One', by JT Music
Six looked down from the platform she stood on into the great, gaping nothingness below. The misty depths stretched onward beyond her toes, dipping into eternity. I wish I had a stone to throw down there, Six found herself wishing. I wonder if it would hit the bottom and make a sound. Then I would know if this place is truly bottomless. Unfortunately nothing appeared to satiate that desire and Six turned away, disappointed.
There was a long wooden staircase leaning up against the nearest wall like an old man with balance issues. One hand held against the wall to support her climb, Six ascended.
I wonder if this is the Janitor's path, Six wondered, or if someone else built it here. It's not too steep for me, so it must be just right for the Janitor's stumpy legs, but it doesn't seem wide enough for his long arms.
Six shuddered and pushed aside the thought of the Janitor's grotesque, groping arms and popping knuckles, banishing it with the thought: Well, he's far behind me now. I might come upon him again, but when I do, I'll be ready for it. He can't see and I can, so that's an advantage for me.
The nearest landing had an open door standing nearby. Even though the stairway continued in a more promising fashion, she peered in out of curiosity. Nothing much out of the ordinary stood there, except for a few shady-looking filing cabinets, and Six was about to leave when she saw something that piqued her interest. A dark smudge, much like the ink the Nomes had been using before, stained the floor, streaking across several tiles but stopping on a certain brown one which appeared, after further inspection, to be standing out a little more than flush with the ground.
Intrigued, Six wandered over to inspect it closer. She put her foot on the strange tile, then pressed down. There was a grating sound and the closet over in the corner shone with a sudden inner light. Heart pounding, Six ran to get the chair, pulling it over and setting it on the tile. Then she went over to the closet.
The closet's back wall had opened up, revealing a hidden room. There didn't seem to be any outlet, but Six had gone too far to care. Her curiosity was gnawing and she allowed it to carry her into the strange room and see what might stand therein.
The room was bare except for an armless wooden chair and what seemed to be a control panel set in the exact center of the floor. Six climbed up and inspected it. She had been expecting, perhaps, a myriad of buttons, levers, and switches to entertain her, but instead was greeted by a single gray button. Well, one button was better than none, she thought, and placed both hands on it, tamping it solidly down. The gigantic dark semblance of a metal eye she had not noticed before opened, the light shining beneath the lid causing Six to temporarily panic.
Is this it? Six wondered, flinching. Am I going to die here? Is this eye going to turn me to stone?
But then her fear was forgotten, for the eye's light – far from threatening or baleful – resolved itself as the eye opened fully to reveal a screen, displaying a familiar sight.
It's the children sleeping in the beds! Six realized. She looked down on them in wonder, watching them sleep, their chests rising and falling, rumpled hair brushing over their foreheads, blankets covering each.
How strange this contraption is, Six thought and pushed the button once more.
The eye closed and when it opened again, it displayed Nomes scurrying about in some forgotten place, their conical heads illuminated in the light of a single candle. Six smiled and hid the urge to wave at them. They were so adorable, scurrying around where they thought nobody could see! She pressed down the button again and was greeted by a less adorable sight.
A cellar, stocked with vegetables, cheese, sausages, and numerous bottles of unknown liquids. Six looked at it uneasily, checking herself to make sure that the cursed Hunger was not aroused by such a sight. Not a grumble, so Six began to move on, but a movement in the corner of the screen caused her pause and she looked with alarm upon a new adversary.
In the corner of the pantry where she had not observed before sat a gelatinous giant, dressed in the semblance of a chef, sleeping with head dipping down to his chest. This new monster was as unlike the Janitor as an apple from an orange, the only resemblance being that they were both horrifically ugly. The Janitor was thin as a broomstick and ill-proportioned for his stubbly legs. The chef had the right proportions, arms and leg-wise, but these ligaments were thick with the fat that would not fit along the creature's middle, which itself was bloated beyond reason. The chef's puffy face drooped, appearing both waxy and rubbery at the same time, the half-open lips dripping drool onto the white apron.
Somehow, this sight was more disgusting for Six than terrifying. I'm sure that if I ever encountered this creature he would be too slow to stop me, she thought, and pressed the button yet again.
The eye blinked and showed her an image of a purple corridor, stairs leading upward to a second level. The walls were lined with fine paper and pictures hung in fine frames. It was a beautiful, yet sinister place, and Six pushed the button after only a few seconds of observation.
Her heart stopped with the next image, for in a room that seemed like it might be connected to the purple corridor sat the woman, running her hand through her raven hair, steeped in shadow. Behind her was a shattered mirror on a vanity, taking up most of the image. Six felt a cold shiver arc up her spine. Even though she knew that there was no way that the woman could see her, she was convinced that any moment that masked face would turn and the hollow eyes would stare straight into her soul. Hands trembling, Six pushed the button and the eyelids closed, their slideshow finished.
Six hopped down, but a certain feeling gave her pause. She wasn't sure what it was, but something told her to push the button one more time. She let the urge take control and allowed the enormous eyelid open once more. Six's own eyes opened in amazement, for on the screen was an image she hadn't seen before. A mirror, unbroken, lying on a cushion. Even though this sight was unextraordinary in itself, Six felt like there was some significance to the sight of an unbroken mirror, especially since the mirror next to the Lady had been shattered.
Maybe she can't stand to look at herself, Six thought in excitement. Oh, if only I could find that mirror!
She stared at the image until she couldn't stand to stare any longer. Then she pushed the button and let the eyelid close.
Well, I found something, Six thought triumphantly, heading back the way she had come and continuing up the wooden stairs. I don't know exactly what it means, but it must be important to have shown up on the magic screen. Perhaps I can find it in real life, in the future. Perhaps it will serve to be a vital clue.
At the top of the staircase was another door, this one set into a wall that seemed almost like the front of a house. There was a window, opened to the outside, a bucket, and what looked like a porchlight illuminating it all. Six climbed through the window and into the room, not knowing what to expect.
It looked like an entire house rolled into one room. There was a toilet and a sink in one corner, several high cabinets, a table with green and purple bottles, and a wardrobe with a lever on it, which – upon further inspection – caused the insides to fold out into a bed. Six bounced on this several times while examining the pictures hanging on the walls. She saw a picture of the fat chef over one wall, and several pictures of Nomes. Most disturbing of all was the image of the Janitor, no less ugly in black and white than in real life.
Six had the sudden thought: I wonder if this is his room. And then there was a thump from the stairs behind her. Most likely it was simply the creak of floorboards or the thump of something moving down below, but it was enough to get the little girl moving. I have to get out of here, she thought with renewed vigor and began to search desperately for a way out.
On the table was a key, and a part of the wall swung open to reveal a secret door and the key's lock. Six, ears straining for another unpleasant sound, inserted and turned the key. The lock snapped open and Six fled into the adjoining room.
The first thing that caught her eye was the large button set into the side of the wall. The second thing was a brown toy monkey sitting cross-legged on the floor, a golden cymbal held in each hand.
"Hello, Sir Monkey," Six said, squatting in front of the monkey's blank stare. "Would you like to escape with me?"
The monkey did not respond, but Six took it up in her arms, walking over with it to look at the button. "I think I'm going to have to throw you," she told the monkey. "I hope you don't mind."
The monkey did seem to mind, for upon being thrown and hitting the button it began to screech, clanging its cymbals together and chittering. Six sucked in a breath between her teeth and sank into the shadows as she heard a rumbling noise grow louder and lights flash outside the closed door.
Please, please be quiet, Sir Monkey, Six thought, unable to speak the plea aloud. She closed her eyes as the door opened, certain that the Janitor would come storming out, gums smacking, fingers creeping across the floor to catch first the monkey, then her. But nothing came. Six tentatively peered around the crate she hid behind and found herself looking at an empty elevator, beckoning cheerfully for her to enter. She stepped forward before turning back to look at the monkey.
"Here we must part ways, Sir Monkey," she told it. "I'm sorry, but you're far too noisy to bring along. If you were a quiet monkey and a little bit smaller, I'd be happy to bring you along, but as you are, I cannot. So, now we must say goodbye."
The monkey was silent again and did not even give a peep as she walked into the elevator. In a moment she was back again, picking him up and saying in a nettled sort of tone, "I can't get to the button without you. I tried. So we must travel together a little more, I suppose, Sir Monkey. Just… try to be quiet, will you? I'm trying to escape."
The monkey obliged until he was thrown at the button again. He lay clapping and shrieking on the floor as Six hid in one of the many crates stacked about the elevator, frowning in exasperation and covering her ears. If he were my age, I would spank him, she thought savagely.
The elevator slid to a halt and Six came out of her crate, giving the monkey a wide berth as she fled toward the exit. I prefer Nomes, really, she thought to herself. You might not be able to throw them around, but they're at least quiet. Softer, too.
Without so much as a goodbye to Sir Monkey, Six walked out into the darkened corridor and set off down it. The monkey stared sadly after her.
Serve him right, Six thought. What good is he if all he does is make noise? If I hadn't left him, the Janitor might have come running. He might have found me and done to me whatever he does to the rest of the children in here. I'm lucky to be rid of him.
Six stumbled and came to a halt, her innards beginning to twist again. It's that cursed Hunger, she thought, gritting her teeth. I can control it. Let me wait for just a moment and it will ebb again, then I can move.
In a few seconds the twisting subsided into smaller, less substantial pangs. I need to find something to eat soon, Six thought in panic, moving as fast as she was able. Perhaps the Janitor dropped some crumbs of bread or cheese from up above. Maybe there's something down here I can—
The Hunger struck again and Six curled like an oyster protecting its pearl. Black spots covered her vision, dappling the already dark corridor and blocking out the light. Six gritted her teeth and whimpered, waiting out this newest bout.
I can't go on like this much longer, Six groaned to herself, stooping below a protruding pipe and stumbling onward. A ringing had begun in her ears, thin tendrils of a shady song come from somewhere beyond her own mind. Six clamped her arms over her belly, trying to block it out. Another moment and she was struck to her knees, the Hunger ravaging her form in worse pain than ever before.
"I wouldn't care what I ate," the hopeless boy had said. "I could drink my own blood. I could eat you."
She hadn't understood the boy's words before, but now she did. As she lay wallowing in her hunger, those words came back with startling accuracy.
If Sir Monkey were here, she thought, I would start gnawing on his head. If a rat comes near, I'll catch it in my teeth.
The Hunger slowed, but not much. Six was able to limp forward, stooped in a perpetual hunch. She heard the skittering of rats and raised her head, wobbling down the stairs. Through bleary eyes, she spied two rats sniffing something in a cage. They ran away when she came near, but Six hardly noticed. Her eyes were fixed on the thing in the cage.
Raw meat. Food!
Stumbling, shuffling, pushing herself forward, Six leaped at the food. She began to shove it into her mouth, not even caring how it tasted or that it was uncooked or if it might be dirty. All that mattered was satiating the Hunger as quickly as possible. It was as if the Hunger had become a live person living inside her skin, clawing at the inside of her belly until she gave it an offering. Her teeth tore into the raw meat, tearing it free in long, red strips, juice dripping from it onto her fingers. She lapped it up and took another bite.
When she had eaten enough to almost be conscious again, Six caught something out of the corner of her vision. The cage door behind her closing. Her mouth full, Six fell backwards, anxious to escape her new prison, but the door was shut. With a lurch, the cage began to move upwards, the bars above her head twined with long, bony, cracking fingers. Six swallowed her mouthful and curled up into a ball, staring in horror as a face came into view, skin sagging over unseeing eyes, nostrils flared, a gruesomely stretched smile revealing rotting teeth.
"Runaway come to play…" the Janitor murmured and Six could feel his rancid breath wash over her. She tried to hide behind her arms. "…Moon is shining through the day… Lots of food, meat to bite… coming to the feast tonight…"
He repeated the chant and Six's mind began to drift. Whether it was something lethargic in his words or a soporific quality from his breath she couldn't tell, but something lulled her into a sort of doze. She tried to fight it, but the urge to sleep was as strong as the Hunger. It wasn't sleepiness, exactly, but more the overwhelming thought: why does it matter? What does anything matter anymore? Just give up. Just let your mind rest for a little. Perhaps when you wake up, everything will be all well. Just for a little while, rest.
When Six could resist no longer, her head dipped and she lay on the cage floor. The Janitor stopped chanting and his smile stretched even larger.
"Yellow maiden, terror-shaken… fighting fire face desire… Lady ask of me this task…"
His face loomed over the unconscious girl, beginning to draw her upwards.
"…Little one to death succumb."
…
"Hey."
Six heard the whisper through the veil of darkness. She realized she had been awake for some time and decided that she should probably lift her head. Once she did, she wondered if that had been wise.
She was in a small steel cage surrounded by other steel cages which were stacked upon each other, lining the back wall. One was underneath her and there were two others beside her. Even though Six's cage allowed her enough room to stand, she curled into a tighter ball than before, staring at the stooping shadows of children in her neighboring cages.
"Hey."
The whisper came again and Six's eyes alighted on one of the nearer cages, down below. There was a boy in that one who, unlike the other children, was not stooping. He was kneeling, his hands clutching the bars, peering up at her with piercing intensity through a mop of shaggy brown hair, blue shirt loosely hanging about his scrawny frame. Six was immediately struck with a strong feeling that this boy was different. This place had not snuffed out the fiery spark in his eye, nor had it subdued the strength in his grasping hands. His appearance in the shadows reminded her somewhat of the hopeless boy who had thrown her the bread before, but it was clear upon further inspection that those two boys were as different as night was to day.
"The Janitor's coming back soon," the boy whispered, pressing himself up against the bars. "We don't have long to talk."
Six found it difficult to speak, as if a spell still rested on her. "H…" she wheezed. "H…how are you…"
"Conscious?" the boy completed. He shrugged. "I dunno. The spells don't really stick on me. Not for long, anyway. I woke up in one of those beds along with all the other kids, but they were still asleep. So I decided to make a break for it. I was lucky – there are a few other kids who've tried to run, but they all got turned to dust or whatever. You know, by those wooden eyes."
Six shivered, remembering the carved eyes and their deadly golden light. "I saw those too."
"I was able to get by, though."
"Did the Nomes help you?" Six asked, a little of her lethargy ebbing as she remembered the helpful creatures.
"Nomes?" the boy's brows creased.
"The little skittering things with cone heads." Six tried to use her hands to demonstrate the shape, but they refused to lift themselves.
"Oh, those things?" The boy's eyes lit with recognition. "I've seen them around! But no, they didn't help me."
"They drew pictures for me," Six murmured. "They showed me that the Janitor was blind."
"Yeah, I figured that out for myself," the boy said proudly. "But you'd better watch out – the Janitor's not the worst thing around here. There's this… creature down there in the depths. Well, not anymore. I took care of her. But there's still lots of water down there, so don't go that direction if you get away and can't swim. Hey, are you listening to me?"
The boy clanged the bars and Six realized she had been dozing off again. "Leave me alone," she muttered.
"C'mon, don't fall asleep!" the boy begged. "You need to help me get away! Look, your cage is on top of another cage – if you wiggle enough, you should be able to knock yourself right off. Your cage'll break and you can find the key for mine!"
"Can't…" Six droned. "Too… tired…"
"Oh come on!" The boy's voice hissed urgently. "Don't you want to get out of here? You realize what they do to us kids, right?"
"Some become guests…" Six murmured, half in a dream.
"That's only the ugly ones," the boy whispered, clattering the bars again to keep her awake. "That's only some of us. But do you know about the rest? Do you know what they become?"
"I dunno." Six really didn't care at that point.
Clang! The boy's bars jangled again.
"They become food, that's what they become!"
Six's eyes opened reluctantly. "W- what?"
"It's all about eating here," the boy whispered, excited that he had finally said something to snap her from her reverie. "You eat or you're eaten – that's the only rule. We kids get wrapped up and sent to the kitchen. Somewhere along the way we get bigger – to feed more people, you know – and then we get chopped up into mincemeat. Sucked down like sausages at the feast. Do you want that for me? Do you want to just stay there and let it happen to you?"
"I… I…" Six stammered, but her brief shock ebbed again, swirling away into the mist of apathy. "I don't believe you."
"Do you think I would make this up?" The boy's eyes sparked with wrath. "Listen, the spells don't stick on me, so maybe I could get out alive, but unless you buck up, you're as good as meat already."
Before Six could answer, the door to their room squealed open. In came the Janitor, long fingers grasping for the nearest cage. The boy gave Six a single resentful glance before resuming the slumped, hopeless position the other children were in. He didn't make a movement as his cage was hauled away. Not even as the door behind him slammed shut.
A/N: Hey there! It's me, PastSelf. I promised myself I wouldn't do any author's notes until the end, but some of you who are commenting are signed in as guests and I can't PM you. So I just wanted to give a big ol' shout-out to those who left reviews for this fanfic and to those of you who are reading this right now! I appreciate it more than you can know. Keep 'em up!
I also wanted to explain something in this chapter: the Runaway Kid and the boy who gave Six the food at the beginning are NOT the same boy. I know a lot of people think that, but playing through the game and the DLC, those timelines don't add up. There's no way he could be there at that time since he was there when the linen was dropped through the window to escape. Just wanted to clarify: not the same.
Again, thanks for reading and I'll be sure to post again soon.