Work Text:
The Maw is home to many strange individuals.
Some bear deformities and abnormalities that cause them to be outcasts, some bear pain physically and mentally that push them to the brink. Others wear masks and shrouds to hide themselves from the world outside and its terrible gaze.
All these individuals could be called "strange" by some and some would argue not. But many would agree that its latest arrival inside its metal hull was indeed very strange.
A girl in a yellow raincoat, With a bag atop her head.
The girl had arrived like many before her had and many afterwards would, brought by the Ferryman and his unknown agenda of abducting and bringing children to the Maw. She was brought in ropes and placed into one of the more secluded areas of the massive ship, where many of the other children resided, though many not by choice.
The girl was like many before her, small and skinny in stature from what little food she had found, scratches and scars covered her hands and legs from running and gripping to escape from the numerous adults that meant her harm and hair unkempt and scruffy from no time to properly sort it out. Indeed, at first glance many would not find anything out of the ordinary with the girl, many of the children aboard the Maw bore similar features as they all had to brave lack of food and constant injuries in order to survive.
No, what set her apart from the rest aboard the horrid ship was what she wore.
The first was a bright yellow raincoat, dulled in some areas but still bearing the reflective gloss from the day it was made. Many of the children aboard would consider it a hinderance to wear the coat, the Maw was filled with water in many places to be sure and the coat would protect one from most of it. But the eye glaring colour of yellow that the coat bore would make anyone stand out within the Maws gloomy halls and tunnels. The girl did not care though, she wore the coat brazenly at all times, as if inviting the challenge of hiding with such a bright piece of clothing. The second item that she wore was what truly set her apart from the many children aboard the ship for the sheer conflict it bore with the coat she wore.
Atop the girl's head covering her face she wore a brown paper bag.
The bag had clearly seen constant use, bearing small rips and tears in places and some covered with tape to ensure it didn't fall apart. The only other distinct feature of the bag was two eye holes to allow its wearer to see the world. This had what had sparked conversation and hushed whispers of the girl, why wear such a conflicting piece of headgear, if it could be called that. Many of the children speculated the instant they heard or saw of the girl aboard the lower parts of the ship, some believed she was disfigured like many aboard the ship, others speculated that she had more than two eyes and others thought that she possessed a face of unimaginable horror.
Those rumors were quickly disproven as the girl made her way through the part of the Maw known by many as "The Prison".
The girl had made her way through the Prison at a pace many would consider suicidal, constantly encountering the leeches, Eyes and even the Janitor. Each of which had hindered and claimed many of the children aboard the ship. But the girl did not slow in her advance as she made her way through the hallways of cages and rusted steel. As she did many of the children hidden throughout the Prison had caught sight of her and had seen that in many situations the girl was not afraid to remove the bag from atop her head when the situation called for it. Indeed, many times where the bag would become a hinderance for the girl, be it scaling the cages of the prison or looking for the way forward she would remove the bag and stow it away in her pockets revealing her face to the world.
Though the darkness of the Prison and the girl's dark bangs prevented many from seeing much of her face, many agreed that her face appeared normal. No scars, deformities or unspeakable horrors present. The only notable features of her face were only revealed later by one of the older boys who was present in the Prisons cafeteria.
The boy had told others that he had been in the cafeteria for some time before she came along, slowly eating the tasteless food that was provided to the kids in the cells. She had come along through one of the vents to the cafeteria, though on the other side of the bars to him the boy had seen the bag covering her head out of the corner of his eyes but had at first paid her no heed. Then when he heard her come along, light steps on wooden floor he had heard something else, coughing followed by growling.
That had apparently gotten the boy to lift his head slightly to see the girl walking up the floor towards him, one hand on her stomach seemingly in hopes of keeping the intense and loud growling coming from it to a minimum. The boy said he had heard nothing like the growling coming from the girl before, so loud in its volume that the boy could feel it through the air between them. Finally, seeing the girl almost collapse from the hunger that afflicted her, caused him to throw the slightly stale bread he had been staring at for the past hour at her feet.
The girl had only lifted her head slightly to check where the bread had come from before quickly but carefully removing the bag covering her face and placing it aside before devouring the bread at what the boy described "A very scary speed". After the girl had finished the bread, she had risen to her feet and turned to the boy to address him, giving him a good look at her face.
Under the dim lights of the hallway she stood under, the girls face was revealed to be mundane in many aspects. Small pouty lips, a narrow pointy nose and a slightly curved chin were all features many possessed. No, what the boy said had caught his attention were her eyes, bright red in colouration, so bright in fact that the boy had sworn he could see them glow under her bangs. But despite the apparent brightness in colour of the girl's eyes the boy had described the girls gaze as cold and stoic, almost completely devoid of any emotion that could be discerned by looking into them. After a while of the girl staring, she had narrowed her eyes and tilted her head and looked expectedly at the boy, as if waiting for something. The boy had realized after some time what she was waiting for.
Many in the world both in and outside the Maw would not do things out of the goodness of their heart, that tended to get many killed or trampled over by those stronger. Instead, many would trade Favours or supplies in return for information or food, building a source of trust and understanding of both parties that each required something the other had. The boy had given the girl HIS bread, so now she was waiting to hear from him what he wanted back for the "Favour" he had gifted her. The boy had told others that he HAD done it out of pity and kindness for girl, but looking at her he had decided that a simple "Thank you" would have not satisfied her. So instead, the boy had gone for information and asked her a simple question, but the question was still equal in weight for what it asked of her.
He asked for her name.
The girl had only waited a moment before replying.
"Six" she had replied, her tone nearly as cold as the gaze she held.
The boy had given no reply other than nodding. The girl seemingly satisfied, looked away not bothering to put the bag back on. Instead, she merely folded the bag carefully, putting it into her coat's pockets before raising the raincoats hood and moving on past the boy and over a pile of boxes to continue her unknown journey.
The boy had apparently known then and there that he had quite a bit of a story to tell others.
Six, as it turned out, was a lot more complicated than what was initially thought.
The boy who she had met had quickly spread the news of his encounter with her and the news spread like wildfire through the Maw from kid to kid. Whilst many of the rumors from before had now been disproven with the new information, many more questions had now been raised about the reason she wore the bag.
Six was clearly comfortable without the bag as she had shown no outwards reaction from the boy seeing her and showed no haste to put it back on after finishing the bread, instead simply choosing to keep it stowed and flip her raincoats hood over her head. As such the idea that the girl was afraid of others seeing her face was out of the picture, leaving very little to go off on as to why she wore it. Many of the more suppositious kids speculated that perhaps the bag was magical in origin and gave the girl unnatural abilities, though many called these kids stupid for even believing such a thing.
It wasn't until she met a certain group that a true answer was given.
Six had just managed to get away from the Janitor, the long-armed caretaker of the Prison who ensured that no child could escape without passing through them and more often than not recapturing them. She had escaped through one of the many vents spread throughout the Maw and after some time spent through the twisting claustrophobic tunnels, had come to an exit with a warm light at the end of it. As she came to the exit the warm light was revealed to be a small room with a fire and huddled around it was the group known as the Children in tattered cloaks.
The Children in tattered cloaks were a small group of children who spent the majority of the time huddled around a fire and as their name suggested, each wore a different coloured cloak. Each tattered and torn, but each still ultimately serving its purpose of covering the children's bodies. Each child had come from outside the Maw and though each had come from different locations, they all shared similar stories of horror and monsters that had threatened to inflict pain and death.
Six had initially surprised the group when she jumped down from the vent and walked towards them, staring at the fire and then them, silently asking if she could join for a brief rest. After the small surprise from her entering, the group only debated for a few seconds before allowing her to stay. She had sat down next to fire and away from the others, still clearly uncomfortable with her presence even if they had allowed her to stay. Though after a while, the tension that had seemingly been filling the room left and everyone seemingly relaxed, allowing a comfortable silence to fill the room only broken by the sounds of fire crackling. Eventually, however the silence was broken.
"So... Six was it?" The boy in then brown cloak began. "I know this might be rude to ask, but what's with the bag?" He asked, his voice quiet and slightly curious.
Six turned her head to look at the boy and though the bag obscured her face, the light from the fire allowed him to see the glare that she gave him through the two holes.
The girl in the green cloak and long hair sighed at her friend's question. "Subtle as always..." She whispered with slight amusement in her voice.
The boy quickly rounded his head to the girl. "Come on, we're all thinking it." He said, a slight tone of indignation in his voice now.
"That doesn't mean we can just ask her." The boy in the green cloak said, his voice as calm as ever.
The brown cloaked boy sighed at his friend. " I know that." His voice lowering to a whisper again. "But it's not exactly like she's been friendly towards anyone since she got here and given any straight answers that DON'T make her sound bad."
The girl in question snorted slightly at the boy, seemingly amused at his attempt to convince the others to make her reveal the truth behind the bag. She seemed to comply somewhat however, as she removed the bag from atop her head and placed it in her lap, holes facing her.
The gang of cloaks simply watched her as she removed the bag and stared at it, observing how much of what the kids around the Maw said was true and that indeed nothing seemed off about her face. They simply saw another child's face, seemingly staring into a bag with no apparent emotion in their face, other than their bright red eyes seeming to glaze over as they looked into the bag's eyes. The cloaks seemingly questioned to themselves what the bag meant, the girl seemed fine without it and the bag itself looked nothing special, so why did she keep it?
Finally, one of them realized why.
"It's to remember, isn't it?"
Everyone turned to look at the person who asked, Six especially turned quickly to look. The one who spoke was the humpback girl, so called for her much larger and disfigured appearance, always seemingly crawling on all fours from her deformity, the majority of her body covered by an orange cloak.
"That's what the bag is for isn't it?" She queried again. "To remember... someone?"
Six held the humpback girls gaze with her own, seemingly debating whether to give an answer, eventually sighing and nodding at the girl.
The group seemed taken aback by the conformation; the idea that the bag was seemingly used to just remember someone was surprising, especially for someone seemingly cold and emotionless like Six appeared.
"To remember someone?" The boy in the brown cloak asked, voice filled confusion. "Do you have... problems remembering?"
"Not that there's anything wrong with that." The boy in green quickly added after his friend. "If you have problems remembering them, then perhaps we could help wit-."
"No." Six interrupted, his attempt at offering help halted. She spoke again, a slight tinge of annoyance and anger lacing her voice. "Never had problems remembering them, always been able to remember them, bag simply helps..." She trailed off, trying to think of the word to best describe what she meant.
"Visualize?" The girl with long hair offered, to which Six nodded at before returning to stare at the bag.
The group of kids said nothing, silently digesting the new information about the mysterious girl.
The boy in the brown cloak broke the silence. " So... was this person a friend or family or...?" He asked, trailing off slightly with a slight hand motion.
Six didn't seem to acknowledge what the boy said but replied regardless. "Friend." She stated, her voice just a whisper now. "Very good friend." The stare she gave the bag seemingly now more nostalgic.
"What were they like?" The boy in green asked next. "Did they have a name?"
The boy’s questions seemingly snapped whatever trance Six was in and quickly turned to affix the boy with a stare with clear intentions; 'That those types of questions were not going to be answered', especially to people she barely knew.
The boy in question merely raised his hands in peace, he would not push her for answers.
Six said nothing, instead simply pocketing the bag, raising her coats hood and turning to gaze back into the fire. The intentions were clear from her actions, the topic was no longer available for discussion.
A wave of silence once more covered the room, once again only broken by the burning of the fire.
The boy in the green cloak mentally sighed, Six was very much someone who didn't trust people or at the very least it took a lot of work to get her to trust them. As such the idea that the bag was to remember someone, for a person like Six was very much a confusing prospect, yet one that many including him wanted to learn about. Six, however was clearly not going to share yet who they were yet and that was fine. So instead, he would settle for trying to make her understand that she was not alone in her remembrance of another.
So as the fire burned the boy asked his friend in the brown cloak to explain his story, to remember the person he had lost, to explain to Six how he had become a refugee aboard the Maw.
The boy had hesitated slightly when asked, but his friends gaze convinced him to start his story, to tell the tale of him and his sister and the horrible monster that followed them.
Six sat and simply listened as the boy explained the tale of him and his sister.
His Friend.
His companion.
And Six sat, listening to the story and its similarities to hers.
It would be a while before anything about Six would surface again.
The encounter with the group of cloaks had taken some time to spread amongst the ship, though when it did the amount of gossip that surfaced from it was the same as ever. Most of the questions about the girl had now reeled back in scope from the new information, no longer were they about the bag being magical or cursed, they were simply now about who this person was.
Though of course no one aboard the ship would actually ask the girl about her friend, the aura of cold hate and contempt that the girl seemed radiate kept those away who would even think about asking her. As such it would not be until much later that more information would be revealed about Six's friend.
Six had just finished escaping from one of the massive Chef's in the Kitchen, the grotesque faced monster had nearly caught the girl several times, but eventually she had escaped into a vent after a particularly close call.
Once more the girl crouched through the maze of vents, the cold metal offering no solace nor comfort, but still they offered safety from the monsters that roamed. Eventually she reached another room, a familiar room filled with sleeping children in ragged cloaks.
Six looked around the room, the fire that usually seemed to burn eternally was now little more an ember, though it still lit the room enough to see the children who slept. She considered staying for a moment to rest but shook off the feeling, she wasn't that tired and deemed that finding a way through the Kitchen was a more practical use of her time.
She also did not want to wake them up, they asked too many questions; questions that Six did NOT want to answer.
Decision made, Six made her way across the room, taking care to make as little noise as possible as she searched for another vent to crawl through. However, the girl was not as quiet as she believed herself to be, or perhaps not she did not believe the other kids were as light sleepers as she was. Regardless, the effect was the same as she heard the shuffling and confusion of someone waking.
Six quickly turned to see who had woken up and was relieved to find it was the boy in the green cloak, at least that one knew how to respect her privacy.
The boy was obviously looking around in a hurried panic looking for the source of his awakening, but quickly stopped once he found the source to be Six. His gaze became questioning when he did, a silent question was asked as the boy tilted his head at her; why was she here?
Six merely tilted her head in the direction of the vent she had come from; 'Escaped from the kitchen' was the message.
The boy nodded his head in understanding before gesturing to the pitiful remains of the fire in front of him; an invitation to sit down and rest.
Six regarded the boy, her face unreadable from the bag as she contemplated the invitation.
She looked at the vents surrounding her, wondering which would take her away and back through the kitchen in some vain attempt to avoid speaking to the boy. Alas she did not know the way through the many vents of the Maw and spending too much time searching for a way forward could become problematic. As much as the girl wanted to NOT talk, she would have to if she wanted to know the fastest way forward.
With a mental sigh, the girl turned and slowly made her way to the fire before sitting and removing the bag once more.
The green cloaked boy said nothing, instead he simply allowed the girl to get comfortable before he would start. After a few minutes of silence and nothing happening the boy decided to finally break the ice.
"You know what I'm going to ask you." He says, his voice a low whisper as to not wake the others. Already he could see Six's face morphing into a scowl, she did know and already he could see it was going to be difficult to talk about it.
He held his hands up in a calming manner. "Look." He started, trying to sound as friendly as possible "I'm not asking you to tell me everything about your friend and what happened to them, but it might help you if you at least talk about them."
The boy knew that trying to get the girl who had become known around the ship as someone to stay away from to open up was dangerous. But the boy also knew the pain the girl was dealing with and that hiding it away was not a good way to deal with it. He had seen others deal with that type of pain, the pain of losing someone close and watching as they slowly but surely buckled under the weight of the loss and guilt. Whilst Six might be dealing with the pain fine now, he knew that eventually even her cold personality would break under the pain that she clearly tried to hide.
The girl in question still scowled at him, seemingly unconvinced by his attempt to make her open up.
The boy fought the urge to sigh. "You don't need to tell me who they were Six, just..." He trailed off slightly. "Just describe the type of person they were, how they acted" He clarified. "Is that okay?"
Six looked away from him, the scowl on her face receding slightly as she looked at the bag next to her. She knew what he was trying to do, start off with small questions that eventually add up and allow for much bigger questions to be asked. Eventually after a few questions you can know everything that you need to know about a person and who they were. Six knew this and she knew it well.
Because that's what he did with her.
He had asked her small questions, her favorite colour, what kind of weather she liked and what her preferred type of food was. After only a few questions she had begun to open to him, slowly at first but eventually she had answered much bigger and more personal questions about herself to him. After a while of him asking her, she had found the gusto to ask him in return. Eventually, it resulted in the two of them understanding and knowing each other very well, for the short time she had known him.
Six knew what the boy was doing because she gone through it before. Perhaps that's why a small part of her wanted to, because the boy in front of her was trying to understand her like he did. Six looked at the boy in the green cloak once more and in her mind she could see the boy was like him in some ways, mostly in him trying to understand her.
The boy in question watched as Six seemed to sigh and her body relaxed somewhat as she turned her gaze to the small fire between them. She seemed hesitant to talk, but eventually she spoke her first words about them.
"He was..." She started, already seeming to regret talking about them. "Different."
"Different?" The boy echoed.
Six nodded. "He was kind, too kind." She clarified, her gaze not leaving the fire in front of her. "He tried to see good in everything, even me”.
"That doesn't sound different." The boy said confused.
"Was for me" Six stated. "Where I came from, kindness got you killed."
The boy nodded, that was unfortunately true for a lot of places in the world, including the Maw for some.
The girl turned her gaze to the bag. "He was brave, strong, selfless and funny, sometimes." She said, a slight undertone of happiness in her voice and face. But as she finished, her face became downtrodden as she remembered more.
"But he was also single-minded, would always see something to the end even if it hurt him." Her tone once again flat as she turned back to look at the fire. "Or others."
Six remembered how that single-mindedness had got them into trouble, how he had always insisted on going his way about things, especially with the TV's.
The TVs had caused so many problems for them both, but he had made it worse by constantly trying to get to them. Even after Six had told him to stop he had insisted on doing it again and letting that man out.
That man, the Thin man, made her mind shake in pain from just remembering it. He had come for them through the TV and chased them with long strides in a patient walk, like he was in no rush to catch them. She remembered hiding under the table, as he slid under the bed, the man entering the room and the room suddenly shaking with unnatural force from him. It had caused her to fall from her hiding spot and staring into dead eyes of the adult that towered over.
Six remembered as she turned to her friend under the bed, holding her hand out in a desperate plea for help, for the first time in her life reaching out for someone else to save her.
But he didn't.
Instead, she watched as her friend stared in fear at her and put his hands over his bagged head and planted it into the floorboards, hiding like a coward refusing to help her out of fear. She remembered feeling of betrayal shooting through her as she felt the Thin man's power pull her towards him and screamed.
It had been the first time she had trusted someone else to save her and it had proved to be the wrong decision; just one of the many reasons why her choice at the end had felt justified to her, why it felt like he had deserved it.
But he didn't deserve it, did he?
Six felt something ache in herself and winced internally.
The boy across from her said nothing, simply watching as she seemed to be lost in a miasma of memories.
Finally, he spoke once more.
"He did something, didn't he?" The boy asked hesitantly. "He did something that hurt both of you, right?"
Six gritted her teeth slightly. "Yes"
A second passed.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, despite knowing the answer.
"No" She replied, teeth still gritted.
The green-cloaked boy resisted the urge to sigh at the girl's stubbornness, instead he decided to ask her a different question.
"So, the bag was his then?"
Six turned to nod at him.
Why?" He asked.
She responded by raising an eyebrow, 'why what?'
"Why did he wear it?" He clarified.
Six stared at the bag once more, she remembered the reason of course for she had asked him the same question when they travelled.
"Told me it was because the world hated him, said that when he wore it he felt safe." Six explained, recounting what he said. "Would always wear it even if it became a problem, would never take it off."
"Never?" He said incredulously,
A small sign of smile came to Six's face. "Never" She confirmed. "Only saw his eyes, would always get nervous and defensive if I tried to look at his face."
"So you never saw his face?"
Six looked into the fire once more, a frown coming to her face. "Once, saw his face once" She whispered, barely audible. She had seen his face in bare glimpses throughout their journey but had only seen his face at the end.
An end that, perhaps he didn't deserve.
"Do you miss him?"
Both turned to the new voice they heard, though one did so quicker than the other. The new voice was revealed to be the long-haired girl clad in green, more than likely awoken from their conversation, though thankfully in Six's opinion only she had wakened from it.
"How long have you been awake?" The boy asked his friend.
"Only a couple of minutes." She responds, a slight tinge of sleep still in her voice.
Six is relieved slightly when she hears that, she didn't want another person to hear everything she said and the girl will have only heard the last few parts of their conversation.
The girl in question raises herself up to a sitting position and looks at Six, her eyes hidden by her green hood.
"You don't have to answer my question."
Six looks at the girl, her face unreadable even with the weak light provided by the fire.
"It's a very personal question I know" She admits. "But it might help if you do."
Six says nothing.
Instead, she chooses to look into the fire once more and let the silence that blankets them once more answer the girl's stupid question.
Did she miss him?
A stupid question really.
Six wore the bag of her friend on her head at every opportunity she had where it did not hinder her. She had dreams and nightmares of a familiar face in familiar places, doing things that brought sorrow and joy that she did not know she could experience. She stared at things as she passed throughout the damned ship, things that reminded her of the journey with him and silently wondering how he would react to things if he were here.
Now, here she sat talking to a boy across from her because he brought back memories of the one that she had lost.
The one she had betrayed .
Guilt was a word that Six barely knew for she never felt it truly, but the boy she had let go had made her question just what it was.
That is why she didn't answer the girls question, because the answer was obvious.
Six decided she had talked enough about the past, it brought back emotions and pain that she fought to keep down in her soul for they only brought weakness and death.
Instead, Six looked back to the boy in the green cloak and gestured to the many vents that surrounded them and asked what the best way through the Kitchen was. The boy in question didn't seemed surprised by her question, seemingly realizing that his friends' question had dredged up something that she clearly didn't want to answer nor explain.
The boy merely pointed to a vent to his left and told her the way forward, his friend pitching in slightly telling her of the dangers she might face through the rest of the Kitchen.
Six only nodded at the information, standing up and pulling the bag over her head once more and pulling herself into the vent he had pointed at. The soft sound of bare feet meeting cold metal was heard only for a few seconds before the room she left was in silence again, the only two awake staring at where she gone
"Did she tell you a lot?" The girl with long-hair asked her friend.
The boy looked at her. "Yes...and no" He answered truthfully, a slight frown on his face. The girls answers to his questions had been vague at best and her reluctance to answer some questions had proven just how much her memories pained her. But at the same time the answers she had given had shown that she did indeed miss her friend.
Perhaps she wasn't as bad as many thought her to be.
"Why did you do it?"
The question snapped him of his musing and looked back at her. "Do what?" He asked.
"Ask her about her friend" She clarified. "Not many would dare to ask her about it and nobody would have faulted you for not asking her, so why did you?"
The boy gained a contemplative look on his face as he stared at the weak fire before them. "I've seen it before" He explained. "I've seen what the pain of losing someone does to people, it turns them inside out and if left alone it can rot them from the inside into something... different."
"Personal experience?" She asked.
He smiled sadly and nodded, saying nothing.
The green hooded girl looked to the vent Six climbed through. "You think she would turn into something different?" She inquired.
Another nod. "Yes and with how she is, I would not like to see how bad she could become."
The long-haired girl nodded slightly at that before looking into the fire with the boy.
The boy himself merely watched for a few minutes before laying his head down next to the fire. In his head he silently hoped his questions would steer the girl clad in yellow from treading a dark path before sleep consumed him
Nothing would be heard of the girl known as Six since her last encounter with the group of cloaked children. The boy cloaked in green would tell the rest of his friends of the encounter and what had been revealed, but the information would not spread outside of their small group, leaving many in the Maw unaware of the girl's friend. This would be the case for nearly the rest of the girl's journey through the Maw, rumors were still spread about who this friend was and what had happened to them. Even the group of cloaked children would not see the girl again, her journey and goal simply not requiring her to meet them again.
The children of the Maw would not learn anything more about the girl, nobody would again, not until the end.
Except for one.
One individual who learned more than any other aboard the ship but would never tell anyone else.
Because they couldn't.
They were found in the last place nobody would want to be found, The Guest area.
The area in question was a massive restaurant, elegant in design, yet crude and loud in its occupants. The monstrous Guests who boarded the ship sat in chairs too small for their colossal size, yet sat all the same, gorging themselves on meats and fish and nothing else. They sat and they feasted, filling a hunger that didn't exist, trying to satisfy a desire that they didn't have, bored eyes searching for something to truly satisfy and fill them.
A few had caught eye of the thing that might fill them, a girl, fresh and young, life blooming through her veins and blood as fresh as could be, surely that would fill them up. They had tried to grab her in their grubby hands but failed all the same, her small stature and agility made the bag wearing girl elusive to the slow and obese guests. Eventually the girl came to a room filled with guests, too absorbed in their feasting to notice her and the girl took the chance to look around the room for the way forward. At the end she saw a Nome, the small cone-shaped creatures that filled the Maw scurry past a chair into a hole in the wall. The girl known as Six quickly followed, the Nome's of the vessel often knew ways around the massive ship and Six hoped the Nome knew a more concealed path through the area.
Six moved the chair blocking the hole the Nome went through and followed through to the other side, revealing nothing but a dead-end. The girl cursed as she looked around the little cubby, filled with nothing but a Nome, a lantern and a few bent pipes. Six looked back at the small hole she came through, deciding whether it was worth pushing through yet. After a moment of contemplation, the girl decided to stay and rest in the cubby for a few minutes to regain her strength before pushing through again.
Decision made, Six moved past the Nome to the lantern in the corner, dragging it to the center of the little room before pulling out her lighter to light it up. Now with a small source of heat and light, Six sat down with her back against the wooden wall and forced herself to relax with closed eyes. Her relaxation was interrupted however by the small chirps of the Nome with her.
The girl opened her eyes to find the Nome in question standing next to her, staring at her with a curious tilt of its head as if puzzled by something. Six simply stared back at the Nome, wondering what it wanted and if she could get it stop staring at her with non-existent eyes. But as she stared at the Nome’s cone-shaped head she remembered a certain hat that it resembled and certain boy that had worn it.
'Hey Six! look at this hat I found back in the cabin.'
Six unconsciously clenched her fists, those memories were not needed right now, they were a distraction and would only serve to get her killed if she kept thinking about them. As she fought to push the past down inside herself, the Nome, seemingly puzzled by her reaction, reached out to tap her leg. Six snapped back to the Nome in front of her, anger filling her slightly as she contemplated shoving it away. The Nome however simply tilted its head again and Six sighed at the creature's naivety and innocence. Finally, she decided to give the Nome an answer.
"Remind me of someone." She told it, hoping the answer would stop the Nome inquiring.
The Nome simply tilted its head again with a chirp.
Six resisted the urge to sigh again. "Used to wear a hat that looked like you" She explained.
The Nome chirped slightly before pointing its tiny hand at the bag atop the girl's head.
Six rolled her eyes at the Nome behind the bag, apparently even they knew about the story and rumors that had spread across the ship about her. She placed her hands on the bag and took it off, laying it on her lap once more and turning to address the Nome.
"He liked that hat quite a lot, but this hat." She said gesturing to the bag. "This hat is... special."
Another chirp and click from the Nome. 'Special how?'
"This bag is special because it was him " She explained. "The bag was his face; was how I saw him since he never took it off"
The Nome pulled at its own cone-shaped head before pointing at the bag in her lap and clicking slowly.
The girl frowned at the Nome. "Saw his face once and-" She started, but cut herself off as she stared at the Nome. As she stared at the Nome and its blank face, memories of the bag-headed boy slunk back into her head and the girl started to grip the bag in her hands tight. The blank expressionless face of the Nome reminded her of him, she could never decipher what he was thinking because of the bag and she had always enjoyed trying to figure him out. Six stared harder at the Nome, wanting to look away, to pull back from the painful memories that were surfacing.
The Nome once more chirped and clicked, this time sounding concerned, as if asking if she was alright.
Six held her breath for a moment, keeping the Nome in her gaze.
Then...
Six grabbed his hand like she always did, catching him on muscle memory that she built up with practice. The boy swung below her and she held him and stared long into his face, seeing it clearly for the first time since they met. Eyes as black as midnight stared back at her, filled with what seemed like both joy and concern as she held him above the abyss below.
She did not feel the same way, the emotions she felt at that moment were the exact opposite .
The boy's face seem ed to fall into confusion and worry as she held him. "Six, what's wrong?"
What was wrong?!
Everything was wrong.
The boy she held in high regard as a friend and companion had let her be taken, twisted and broken into something monstrous. He had constantly led her into danger, be it the Bullies, the Teacher, the Patients, the Doctor and the Thin Man. All of them had threatened death and worse upon them and he had led them to it. He had come into her little sanctuary, broke the wonderful peace she had along with the one thing that made her feel safe, her music box.
The music box was what made her feel safe, it gave her comfort when she needed it, the eerie tune it put out calming her when she needed it, humming it when she could. Then this boy, her supposed friend came and destroyed it, reducing it to nothing but broken metal and bitter notes. He had broken the one thing that gave her any form of comfort in this damned world and he had the gall to ask if something was wrong.
The tower shuddered and groaned around them and the boy's expression became more concerned.
"Six quickly pull me up!"
Six looked once more into the boy's face and as she did, she felt something familiar. The boys hand surged with something powerful and unknown below his skin and Six felt it. It crackled like lightning beneath the surface, and she could feel it lick her hands, sending slight jolts into her body. Six knew what she was feeling'; what familiar power was surging through her supposed friend.
It was HIS power, The Thin man.
Six felt her hatred grow inside her, she had been travelling with him this whole time, her 'friend' was nothing more than a liar, a monster that had worn the veil of a boy to gain her trust and shatter everything she held dear. He had come giving her false hope of surv iving through this nightmare and instead brought her pain and misery.
Six lowered herself enough so that the boy could make out her face behind the shadow of her hood and see the expression she wore. She said nothing as she wore a face of nothing but anger and hatred, instead she waited a moment longer.
And then retched her hand away in disgust and fear.
Six watched as her 'friend' fell into the abyss below, his face morphing into a look of complete shock and horror, a silent scream upon his lips as he fell. Six ignored the feeling in her chest as she watched, staying a few more seconds to ensure that the boy had fallen into the pit below. When she was satisfied he was gone, she turned to the portal behind her and walked through, its static laced power tingling her skin.
She did not look back.
Six felt something tug at her coat.
She snapped back to reality releasing a shuddering breath, she weakly turned to look at what had brought her back to this waking nightmare.
The Nome was still there, standing close to her and looking concerned, almost like...
A moment passed.
Then she swept the Nome up in her arms and pressed it against herself.
The Nome released a series of confused and panicked chirps as it suddenly found itself being hugged, but they died down after it felt the arms of the girl shake as she held it.
Six felt her entire frame shake as she tried to deal with the mess of emotions that surfaced from the memories. She felt like crying, she could feel the tears behind her eyes wanting to burst out like a flood, but she held them back. She wouldn't cry, not for him, she didn't deserve to cry over him. Another wave of sadness spilled over her and she shook again, her lips began quivering and Six tried her damndest to hold herself back. She felt her lips move, trying to say something, something she had wanted to say since the guilt began to eat away at her.
Finally, she found her voice and whispered out in a broken and pain filled tone. "I'm sorry."
The Nome in her arms clicked in confusion below her.
"I dropped him." She admitted, the words aimed not at the Nome but herself. "I dropped him because I though he was a traitor, I thought he was a monster that wanted to hurt me and I thought he broke the thing I loved because he wanted to see me suffer." Her voice filled with nothing but sadness and regret, but still, she continued.
"I betrayed him because I thought I was right; that what I did was what anyone else would do in my place."
The Nome chirped once.
"But it wasn't." Her grip tightened slightly.
"I knew the second I dropped him that I was wrong, that what I had done to him after everything we went through was unfair and wrong to him, but-" Her voice cut off as a sob left her mouth and she fought back tears.
Six felt the Nome wrap its tiny arms around her arm, a sign of comfort.
"But I lied to myself." She continued, after a moment of hesitation. "I tried to convince myself that I was right for weeks after what I had done, even after I found his bag." Her gaze turning to the bag she had dropped in favour of the Nome.
She found the bag only a few days after she escaped the tower, floating around in a small puddle seemingly discarded. Six had picked up the bag from the pool and stared at it for a few minutes, a foreign feeling had wormed its way into her chest and even now she didn't know what it was. But she did know that she decided to keep the bag. She had told herself to keep it as a reminder; to not trust anyone for it only brought ruin upon those who did so. Even then though she knew it was for a completely different reason.
Six travelled around the city for a few weeks, navigating and trying to find a way out of the dreadful place. As she did the bag stayed with her, constantly reminding her of him and steadily it became more and more important to her, even if she didn't acknowledge it.
First, she started to stare at it when she was resting, she had told herself that she did so to constantly remind her of what he had done to her and to always hate him.
A lie.
Then she started to fix the bag when it got torn or damaged from the rain or running, telling herself that she would always need something to hate to keep her going.
A lie.
Then she started to talk to the bag, spouting insults and curses at the bag, as if it was him in front of her and told it how much she hated it for what it had done.
A lie.
Finally, she started to wear the bag upon her head, the faint smell of him surrounding her and looking at the world how he did. She told herself that she wore it to block out the horrible sound of the transmission, that the bag was special and that was why he wore it.
A lie.
Six knew in her soul, even back then that she missed him, that she regretted what she did and that she kept the bag to remember him. Though for a while she still tried to convince herself that it was all for practical reasons, that her hatred for him and the lessons about trusting someone were the reason she kept it, that the bag was special and could block out the transmission.
She didn't know at what point that all changed, when all the lies she told herself were left behind and she realized that she simply kept it to remind her of him. She simply remembered one day whilst wearing the bag that she hadn't taken it off in a few days and contemplated why. She tried to think of a reason and came up empty, but instead of thinking about why she didn't have a reason, she merely shrugged and kept trudging on.
The reason was obvious, but she didn't acknowledge it, she didn't want to.
The Nome in her arms clicked and chirped.
Six looked at the Nome in her arms; a sad realization struck her as she did.
"I miss him". She said, her tone more sombre now as she spoke. "I miss him so much and I'm the one who killed him".
Once more the Nome chirped and struggled in her grasp; it wanted to show her something.
Six complied reluctantly and watched as the Nome turned itself towards her before placing one of its tiny hands palms up against her raincoat. The girl was confused at first by what the Nome was doing. Then she realized where the Nome's hand was, directly over her heart. Six frowned slightly at that, she knew what the Nome was asking her to do and yet it was something that she never wanted to acknowledge nor do.
Forgive herself.
How could she forgive herself? She had condemned her first trusted friend to death over elements that he couldn't control and hasty speculation on her part.
He had trusted her with his life and yet she had thrown it away because she believed he was nothing more than a hate filled monster.
The Nome in front of her seemingly sensing her turmoil, once more placed the hand onto her raincoat with more pressure.
Six stared at the Nome with a blank expression before sighing. She looked at the bag on the ground and picked it up as the Nome backed away to give her space. She stared into the bags empty holes that once housed caring and strong eyes that looked at her with no contempt or hate like she held for many others.
Could she forgive herself?
Yes.
But not now, perhaps not for a while.
There were still things that needed to be done; this wretched place still needed to be escaped from.
Six once again placed the bag back on her head and stood up to continue on her path forward, more than likely through the hordes of guests. She looked back at the Nome that she had spilled her heart to and wondered what it must think of her now.
The Nome simply clicked a few times before giving her a slight wave.
Six nodded at the Nome once before she said two words that only one other person had heard.
"Thank you"
Then she left through the same gap, leaving the Nome to chirp in response to itself.
The massive metal doors of the Maw opened with sounds of grinding and heavy trembling.
Light poured through as they opened, seeming to trickle in like water before illuminating everything below it, including a girl surrounded by shadow.
The girl shielded her eyes briefly from the intense light that shone down, her eyes not used to light after spending so long in darkness. After a while her eyes adjusted and the girl began to ascend the stairs before her.
As the girl walked up the large steps of the Maw, figures began to appear in the long hallway that she had come through, littered with bodies of the grotesque Guests, drained of everything that made them live.
The figures revealed themselves to be children as they peered out to try and watch as the girl made her way out of the massive ship. Ordinarily no child would be in this part of the ship, many considering it the most dangerous part of the Maw.
But all had felt what had happened just moments ago, the vessel churning and rocking like it was in pain and the feeling of the entire ship seeming to just stop. They knew what had happened.
The Lady was dead.
They had scurried to the Guest area to find out what had happened, only to find the bodies and the girl known as Six. Many had come to watch as she left, including the usually reclusive children in cloaks, who watched from the rafters and many of the Nome's the girl had met.
Many of the feelings in the gathering of children were mixed, some felt glad that the girl was leaving, her presence was one that brought fear to many and the rumors that surrounded her added to it. Others felt scared with her leaving, now that that the Lady lied dead what would happen to the Maw? Would it begin to sink and rust? Or would it continue as always, now that the girl seemingly had the powers of the Lady.
Others still were instead curious about what the girl would do now, would she suddenly turn around and stay in the ship? Would she leave and travel to somewhere else? Perhaps seeking more power or search for a safe place?
The Nome's that had gathered would feel the same confliction, especially with what had happened only a few hours ago. What the girl had done to one of their own had been horrific to hear about; especially to a certain Nome who knew more than any other, yet felt no reason to tell the other Nome's around it about what it knew.
In the end what the girl known as Six was planning was much different to what the children had in mind.
They watched as Six reached the top of the mountain of stairs, her shadow casting down the numerous steps and making her seem larger than she was. For a moment she stayed there, seeming to contemplate something for a few seconds before stepping forward and out of view of those below.
Nobody dared to follow.
Six stood on the fine sand that covered the top of the Maw, the coarse and warm sensation of it was a welcome change to the cold metal of the vessel she stood on. She looked around at the fake island the Maw disguised itself as, seeing nothing but endless sea in every direction as she did. After a while of looking at nothing but water, the girl returned her gaze forward and began to think of what she would do now. As she did her mood became melancholy as she realized something.
She didn’t know what to do now.
Had she survived the horrors of the Maw? Yes.
Had she escaped and killed the horrible monsters that lurked within its metal hull? Yes.
Had she obtained power that would ensure that no matter what, she would always conquer whatever may threaten her? Yes.
But what would she do now?
As far back as Six could remember she had prioritized her survival above everything else. She would always pick the option that ensured she would live, even at the cost of others. She had made quite a few of those choices both here and all the way back at the dreaded mansion.
But now that she had survived the worst the world could offer and now had a way to ensure that it could never threaten her again, what would she do? Survive?
She had already survived and lived, but now what would she live for? The right to continue living?
Six sighed at the mental struggle and took to taking the bag off her head and looking into its eye holes.
She wished he was here, to hear about what he would want to do now. He was always the better forward thinker and a lot more positive when it came to situations like this.
Six willed the thoughts away, she would worry about them later. Instead, she allowed herself to truly relax for the first time in forever and sat herself down on the warm sand. When she was seated, she placed the bag of her friend in the sand alongside her. This time she did not face it towards her like she always did. Instead, she faced it towards the open sea Infront of her. Making it stare in the same direction as her, almost like he was there with her.
He wasn’t though.
But for a while, Six didn’t care.
Instead, she pretended that he was here alongside her, talking and remembering the good moments they had together.
And for a while, Six allowed herself to remember him.
This time without any pain.