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Six dropped him.
Without much of a second thought, she yanked her hand from his and watched him fall. His face was morphed with terror and pain, flailing in the air wildly, uselessly trying to grab anything . His eyes quickly filled with tears and the glow of betrayal. He screamed in pure fear, which echoed and reverberated, then got quieter until silence within seconds.
“ Six! ” The syllable reached her ears dully through her static-filled mind. But he was gone before she could really react. Her body moved itself to the glowing door, where she passed through and tumbled out the other side. The room she rolled into was dark, aside from the snarling television static bathing the area. It was muted and fuzzy, but eventually surfaced into a crystal clear sound, like breaching water.
She gasped as the haze around her cleared and the realization set in. Her hands felt so devastatingly empty. She dug her fingernails into her palms, the guilt weighing down on her like an anvil. The tears stung her eyes and choked her throat as she whimpered and sobbed. She vaguely registered the crackling of a shadow, but didn’t care to look up at it. Instead, she curled into herself. Even as her stomach growled painfully, she wailed and held herself through her own grief. The sound of the shadow faded after some time, but even afterwards, she mourned on the floor.
It took hours of ragged breathing and shallow hiccups, but Six finally reeled herself back into a calmer state. The hunger still gnawed at her belly, though she ignored the ache. It didn’t hurt too bad, but she knew it would eventually if she couldn’t find food.
But food was far from her mind then. The deep, hollowing sadness on Mono’s face, his shriek, the sight of him being swallowed by darkness, all brought another powerful wave of anguish that nearly toppled Six over again. But she stood her ground.
I have to save him , she thought fiercely. I have to. Her fingers carefully dug into her coat pocket, where she gently touched the small, soft petals of a blue flower Mono had given to her back in the wilderness.
I need to get stronger though. She wiped her face and looked around. The room was still glazed in artificial light, some of which caught onto a poster. It depicted a boat, or submarine, something in the water, with the promise of food.
Her stomach growled again, and a deeper part of herself was pulled to the image of the boat.
The Maw , her mind somehow supplied.
———
There was no satisfaction when Six’s teeth ripped and tore into the Lady’s flesh. It was a raw fear that coursed through her as she gulped down skin and muscle, making her want to vomit it back up. But something kept it down. A familiar static hummed in the back of her mind, and grew louder with each passing second along with the black wisps swirling around her. The process of losing control in her body was like being led to a seat far away from a screen and watching her life like a show. She could only stand by and be a bystander to the proceeding horror.
Her body moved to the elevator, up to the highest floor of the boat, and exited upon arrival. Guests, wolfing down ungodly amounts of food, perked up once they noticed her, and clambered towards her. The prickling sound of her new powers droned in her ears as their lives were pulled out of them. They snapped sickeningly, dropping dead, and Six watched powerlessly. Countless gluttonous monsters crawled her way only to meet the same fate until no one was left. The doors to the surface opened, and she began to mindlessly climb the steps.
Internally, she swatted fruitlessly at the smoke and white noise surrounding her. Her frustration pounded in her entire being. The sunlight bathed her but there was no feeling, only cold tendrils of the Lady’s power… of her power. It scraped against her and numbed her. It was like the pounding of drums or the ticking of a clock — constant, steady, never ceasing. And Six found herself understanding it, the clicking realization.
The Tower, despite being miles and miles away, still had an iron grip on her. It had captured the world she’d known in its claws. Everything she knew was looping, controlled by the pulsing signal. It snatched her away from her nerves to steer her into a future that ensured its sustained survival. For an insurmountable amount of time, it had controlled her, and most likely Mono ( her heart ached with loneliness and guilt upon the very thought of him ), and had made a looping system of death and twisted tragedies.
With this realization came a deep groan in her consciousness. The tendrils wrapped tighter, thicker, colder around her. But she wouldn’t go down so easily. Six felt a new energy course through her. Her hands tore at her barriers, taking great satisfaction in each step she took forward, in each rip of the blackness in front of her. It snapped like threads, the seams coming undone, until she finally stepped back into herself.
Wholly herself.
The world seemed to disagree completely with it. It shook her and wailed in her ears in protest, but only for a moment. After regaining her composure, she ran back down the stairs and began searching to steer the Maw, or perhaps a way to be escorted off. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever return. She would decide later — right now, all that mattered was Mono.
Mono. Her thoughts yearned for his kind gray eyes again, and the way he touched her hands and squeezed them when they ran together. Mono, Mono, Mono…
———
She’d eventually learned how to control the Maw herself, with her powers. She had been strong enough the moment she’d consumed the Lady, so it had only been a manner of figuring out how and where to manipulate it. Once she did, the boat crept to the mainland at an unbearably slow pace (though everything feels slow when you’re desperate for someone). When the staff came to ask the Lady what was happening, they were answered by Six and the ominous fog surrounding her. They were quick to submit and accept her as the new overseer.
The Maw was too big to get near the beaches, so Six instead had someone to row her out to make the last of the distance. She commanded them to stay put, no matter what, and set out for her friend.
The Pale City loomed far above, as damp and foreboding as ever.
It had been months since Six had stepped anywhere near it. And yet, it hadn’t changed a bit. She guessed it would most likely be just as dangerous as it had been, but she didn’t worry. She could protect herself.
Despite its exterior, the City had indeed changed. Those controlled by the televisions had either gotten free and left, or had become mindless, broken monsters, which Six easily took care of… as in, immobilizing. After what had happened in the Maw, Six promised to never let herself kill again.
Unless it was the Tower.
Which, too, had changed.
The building was leaning, just like all the others in the City. It cracked and chipped and parts fell away. Its foundation groaned with every sway. The beaming light at the top had dimmed significantly, and even threatened to completely unlatch from the roof to topple off into the rubbled city. Magenta light spilled from its imperfections and the vague sound of the flesh moaning inside was clearer than before. The deep wails resonated in her ears, resembling the same shriek she’d heard upon breaking free.
The Signal Tower had started to fall apart since Six had tore herself away from its control.
And I’ll tear the rest to the ground. She clenched her fists and headed straight for the Tower.
The door remained shut. Even as she pushed and rammed herself into it, it showed no signs of budging. No worries. Six raised her hand and began to crush the door until it splintered and folded. The Tower groaned again, but she ignored it all. She had no sympathy for it. It had made her betray the one person she loved in this world. She wouldn’t never show mercy to such a monster.
The hallway behind the door was long and twisted, but at least the door at the end opened itself to her. Still, she tore it off its hinges and slammed it onto the floor of the hall, just to pain the Tower a bit more. It shook and growled, to which Six only smiled.
The smile turned into shock and fear when she saw what waited for her behind the door.
It was Mono.
But he was already so different.
His face was darker, and his eyes were swimming with static, no longer the kind and warm ones that always got her back on her feet. His clothes were even more disheveled than before, and his hair looked no better. His skin was pale and sun starved. He sat alone in a tiny room with no windows or televisions, just four blank walls. Once his eyes caught onto the bright yellow of Six’s raincoat, his eyes lit up. But not with joy or sadness or anger.
Only frustration.
He growled and stood from his chair, waving his arms in exasperation as he talked to the Tower. “ Are you serious?! I’m never leaving! Stop sending me Sixes!”
Six blinked. Did the Signal Tower send him hallucinations of her just to mess with him? She promised herself she would make sure this entire thing crumbled to dust.
“They had to add the doors this time too,” he muttered. “Great.”
He approached Six without an ounce of compassion, and swiped at her with the back of his hand.
“ Get out! ” His shout died in his throat when his hand thudded against her arm. She flinched and looked at it then to him. He did the same.
“You’re here?”
She nodded slowly. The Tower howled angrily.
He looked up and down at her, before his eyes finally sparked with that anger she’d expected. They burned behind tears threatening to spill. His lip quivered as he held them back. His hands were balled up so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“You left me,” he choked out. Six shook her head desperately.
“ You dropped me! ” He shoved her to the ground, his watering eyes pouring freely. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks as he kept screaming. “ You dropped me! You dropped me and I hate you! I hate you! ”
Six kept shaking her head, anxiety building that she wouldn’t be able to convince him to escape before everything collapsed. She tried to sign to him, but he didn’t care to read any of it.
“ I thought we were friends! I thought I could trust you! But you left me!”
Six’s hands prodded for her pockets as he continued to cry, reaching and carefully grabbing. Her fingers caught the stem, and hope bursted in her chest. She pulled out the little blue flower from her yellow coat and offered it to Mono.
“ I came here to save you and you just left me here to rot alone for the rest of… my…”
The hue reflected in his eyes like a shimmer of hope. He looked at her obscured face, then at the flower again, still with tears running down his own face. Mono took the flower cautiously, surprised at its realness. He inspected it curiously, gently. Then, he slowly dug into his pockets and revealed a little yellow bloom she’d given him long ago.
That was all that needed to be said.
She grabbed his hand and sprinted for the exit, not daring to look behind. The Tower roared in anger, but had no power left to stop them. Without a resident, it would fall. And Six would be getting them both out this time.
The two burst from the first doorway, then the next, and sprawled out onto the flooded streets. Six snatched up Mono’s hand again, determined to get him as far away as possible, as the Signal Tower gave one last grieving moan before crushing under itself. The thunderous sound was nearly deafening, but Six stopped for nothing.
Once they were far away enough to feel safe, and the crashing fall had become a dull rumble, they stopped running. They took shelter in an abandoned, dripping building. It was small, and much more stable than the other buildings around. The only sound was the quiet dripping of rain, interrupted by the pattering of feet and panting breaths.
They sat together in the driest spot they could find. Six was gasping for air while Mono looked around, then at the flowers in his hand.
“You came back for me,” he said softly. Six, still catching her breath, nodded. He kept staring at the little blooms, turning them in his fingers. “Why…”
Six knew what he was going to ask.
“ Why did you leave me?” When she met his eyes, they were pleading and sad, and watering again.
“ I wasn’t myself, ” she answered, signing. “ The Tower took control of me and made me leave. I realized what had happened once it was too late, so I decided I’d come back for you once I was strong enough to get you out. ”
“You sure did take a while,” he laughed softly, humorlessly.
“ I’m sorry. I came back as fast as I could. ”
“I know.” Mono bowed his head and trained his gaze on the flowers again. Six knew he was still broken up. He probably would be for a long while. All she would be able to do for him is to carry him through it.
“Mono,” she said. He blinked at her with wide eyes, obviously shocked at the sound of her voice. “I love you.”
Though his smile was tired and worn, it was genuine. “I love you too, Six.”
She grinned and wrapped her arms around him in the tightest hug she could muster. He returned it immediately, clutching onto her coat like she’d disappear. His steadying breath had begun to stutter again as a new wave of sobbing wracked him. She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek.
“I’ll never let go of you again,” she promised.
“Okay,” he whimpered.
“I love you.”
“I love you too. I love you so much. Thank you.”
She let him cry on her shoulder, content to hold onto him through it all. The Signal Tower was gone, the loop was over, and they were free to live however they pleased, rather than as puppets on a string. In all honesty, Six didn’t care where they went. Whether it’d be a new, perilous journey, or finding somewhere to live the rest of their lives in safety, it didn’t matter.
As long as she could be with Mono, everything was perfect.