Chapter Text
Static.
That's all that one could hear, the gurgling noise of static. It echoed off the blue illuminated hallway. It swung back and forth, twisting and bending so slow that it was almost impossible to see.
One step.
Two step.
Three step.
Four.
The heavy metal door that seemed to be almost… analyzing the movement one would make. The large eye stared oneself down. An unblinking judgment of the past.
How can you be so sure it's the past, Mono?
Mono?
That name, spat out like regret and anger, was that his name? What a lonesome name.
Mono, forever standard and singular.
Mono.
Mono.
Mono.
Even when paired up with itself, it felt companionless… and what a fate to have in a world such as this one.
Where children die and Adults feast on their rotting corpse, drinking their blood and gluttonously picking their distorted teeth with the bones of the victims.
Mono.
You will regret this.
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“Ah!”
Being thrown from a television set, a young boy slammed down on a flattened patch of fresh grass.
He looked down at his hands which clutched the dirt beneath him, already pushing himself upwards into a sitting position.
His eyes followed his hand's automatic movements as it traced over to his heart, pressing itself over his chest, feeling his shallow breathing and his racing heart.
A moment of recollection washed over him.
That fire, those children…
He had ran after the sprinklers were set off, other children being snatched up around him despite the fact he had fallen into a hole momentarily.
He took no chance waiting to be plucked. He ran down a small hallway, majority if not all of the kids not noticing the quiet and witty boy's desperate escape as they were too preoccupied attempting to save themselves.
Some were lined up against the windows, begging amongst themselves to pry the boards off, or throwing their tiny thin bodies against a door that stretched over them like doom.
His escape confronted him in the form of a window. His panicked eyes connected with a darkened skyline which spilled moonlight as a sole light source for him to see.
If he threw himself out-..
Mono didn't have another second to think, an elongated monster with heavy footsteps alerted the child of its approaching presence.
It's breathing was thick and heavy, the only place to hide from it was inside a TV that had long been shattered.
Please.
Please just go away.
It stood before the TV, the skittering of electricity was fused with its heavy respire. Mono stared as it grew closer, his eyes meeting it's own before.
Zap.
“Ahh.. Ah.. Am-.. I alive?” He had to ask himself, making sure his voice was still intact.
He looked over behind him to where a single intact television laid in a forest that blocked the moon.
He finally pushed himself upwards and off his legs, taking in his surroundings.
A forest clearing, small to Adults but grandiose to him. But, he didn't seem to be as alone as he thought. Three televisions laid in the back of the forest, shrouded in shadow.
.. Ah.
With no other options and with no broken bones – from what he could tell, he set off forward down a pathway in front of him.
“hey..!” He called outwards, as he followed a trail of fallen leaves. Was he alone in this forest?
No.
A forbidden stench entered his nose and am uncomforting sound of flies brought him to a small cliff, walking to the peak he noticed a mix of garbage, guts and rot being happily consumed by the parasites near by.
Ew.
Mono knew that he couldn't simply walk over the edge without falling into the muck, so with an uncertain run it. He leapt and successfully landed onto the other side.
His eyes caught on a trap near by which he approached with obvious caution.
Why would there be a carrier-like thing in a forest so empty? But, as he noticed that a sewer drain blocked him from continued forward he scrunched up his nose underneath his paper bag mask.
“There better be no.. no guts in here.” He mumbled, his scrapped and scarred fingers wrapping around the iron bars as he gently pulled backwards and swung it upwards.
He crouched down and hobbled through the vent, which appeared to be a small burrow which conveniently fit him perfectly.
The sight that greeted him out of the burrow was a large bag hung above some more broken leaves and discarded shoes left in a stained mess in mud and rain.
What was in that bag was obvious, legs and limbs dangled from the trap. Some poor unfortunate souls had been caught with their guards down… He frowned, noticing how tiny he was in comparison, teenagers.
If mature teenagers were unable to avoid their demise, how on earth would he? And with a silent respect paid to the death, he glided underneath the caught corpses and pursued onwards, a feeling of exhaustion dropped over him with a heavy load which was unlucky considering his next obstacle.
A large oak log which stretched over a hole that was covered in a fog, making the height of the jump indescribable.
As he placed his foot one after the other with precaution, his hands flew out to his sides for balance. He jumped off the wood and landed with a heavy bump, knocking the wind out of him with a ‘humpf!’
After pulling himself up off a ledge, his eyelids dropped after seeing a very evident trap before him.
A large dangling cage attached to a wire.
He groaned, rubbing his head slightly. He really was not in the mood for such an evident attempt on his life, especially right after his escape.
Mono truly should've paid more attention because as he lifted his second leg across the wire, the ball of his foot snagged the rope, causing him to trip forwards.
“Wh?!” He looked up as the giant metal trap fell from around him, enclosing him.
Wait.
No!
No no!
Not like this! Please!
Don't let a mistake like this kill him!!!
…
He gasped, finding himself sitting in a small ball right besides the cage that had caught him moments ago.
But,... Had it?
He was sitting now, perfectly unharmed.
Mono glanced over at the trap, no indication that it had ever been set off.
For the briefest segment, his exhaustion vanished as he jumped over the rope, avoiding a familiar end.
Ivy and oak filled his lungs as he noticed a small wooden box that was tightened beyond belief with ropes. Was this some kind of joke?
He grunted, pushing the box over and dragging it over to a nearby climb. He reached up, using his body to throw himself over the top and brushing his hands against each other.
He sighed, one hand rubbing his eye underneath his mask as he knelt down to bush through a small erosion on a rock.
Going downhill was never as tough as going uphill. Maybe he'd catch a break here.
As mono crept his way through, he found himself bound by the roots of plants and trees. He struggled against them for a moment, before forcing his body outwards.
The groaning of nature alerted Mono to fucking book it, as dust came flying from behind him.
He didn't even get the time to look back as a tree came crashing down right where he laid.
No!
No no!
There was no way he'd be able to outrun that entire body! Especially when it threw itself up and down like a threatening mouth of teeth!
The bottom of his feet cut themselves on the blades of grass, his coat flailing behind him as he pushed himself to beat that tree.
Grass, leaves and dirt kicked up behind him only to be immediately flattened by the wood.
As the fallen tree rolled over a small pivet in the ground, Mono felt his heart stop beating for a moment as he could only imagine the tree in the air momentarily before coming down with a crash.
He was right, it boomed right behind him, chips of bark and wood flicking his heel and stinging him.
With a final leap, he closed his eyes and threw himself as far as he could. The tree attempting to crush him, but getting stuck before it could.
He took a moment to catch his breath under the mask, as he looked upwards from some kind of guidance from the night.
A thick blanket of unnaturally tall, twisted and binded trees forbade him from receiving that guidance.
He huffed, wanting just… a place to rest.
He was so… Tired.
After completing a puzzle with a lever, a noose and a whole lot of trial and error… Mono gave another exasperated groan at even more body movement as he saw the world's longest jump with no way to aid him, but by simply looking down, he managed to safely fall into a perfectly square ditch and agonizingly climb his way back onto the leafy path once more.
“Oi!” He called out once more. These traps were meant to catch things. Perhaps an animal, perhaps a possible friend? Animals could be animals and friends… right? Mono's eyes scanned for any sign of other life into the forest, losing the ability to pay attention with anything else.
“... He-! Woah!” He shouted, dropping from a crag and onto a pile of shoes which crumpled his bag immensely. He wasn't completely wrong about animals being within the forest.
A crow, startled by the clumsy boy cawed loudly and flapped off.
“No! Wait!! Don't-!...” He called out after it, only to drop his head not finding the energy in himself to finish his sentence.
The shoes were about the size of him, as he looked upwards and finding, you guessed it, another trap. This one was more well hidden, he would give the trapper that…
Picking up a shoe which possibly belonged to a teenager, he tossed it with all of his might into the leafy patch, and sure enough the net snagged the heel like a claw as a heavy dark oak log fell (which Mono used to promptly climb).
Mono yawned, his movements growing more sloppy as he pushed forwards. He almost hadn't noticed the glint of silver in the darkness.
… bear traps?
But, they were… The tiny. No bear would've ever be caught in those. His mask shuffled with paper sound effects as he shuffled his was past them, pulling a stick out of an already activated one and using it to clear his path with a heavy swing.
The trap chomped in reaction to the twig and the clamping of metal echoed unforgivingly throughout the woods which jolted Mono backwards.
Those things certainly packed a punch.
Best to be careful around those things…
His eyes lifted under his heavy eyelids and noticed a hollow log. The cuts on the back and bottom of his feet ached with each step.
Finally, a place for him to..
Just kidding!
Mono began to slide instantly down the log and he stumbled once being shot out the other side. He landed with a small ‘oof’ on the ground, having the wind knocked out of him once more.
He laid for a second, debating on whether or not he could rest right here. But, anyone knew that whatever laid those traps would more than likely be checking them, Mono was not about to get himself caught.
By utilising his skill with a stick, he cleared a small patch of leaves for him to cross, before slamming down and letting off now a chain reaction of traps again.
Leaping over rocks
Throwing pine cones.
Nearly getting his legs torn off by a trap and faulty wood.
Just typical living in the Nowhere.
[...]
He finally came to a stop when he noticed a large house just before him.
Hell no.
Mono's eyes narrowed at the sight, before turning right and trudging down a lightened path. It was so much more than likely that whatever had been killing Teenagers, setting traps and abandoning television sets out in the middle of a damp forest was in that house and there was absolutely no reason for this boy to venture in there yet.
Mono walked for a little while longer, avoiding typical traps, climbing through holes when finally..
There was a gap in the forest.
A large tree with a branch that grew peculiarly, it hadn't grown where it was supposed to and because of that.
The smiling face of the moon enveloped Mono in its warmest embrace.
A shuddering sigh of exhaustion and relief finally escaped Mono's dry lips with a smile as he used what little energy he had to pull himself up that gangly tree and to rest himself by the moon's watchful gaze.
He rested himself into a relaxed position, letting his aching muscles rest against himself as he pressed himself into the branch. The moon was especially beautiful tonight.
“.. Hi.” He smiled, turning his head towards it. It didn't reply, obviously. The moon didn't have a mouth. But, the moon was always a welcomed companion of the boy.
After all. The moon was always in the sky even by day, it was simply invisible.
The moon never left Mono’s side.
“Are you tired too?..” He mused to himself, his eyes barely able to keep themselves open. “I am.. It's been… Such a long night.” He sunk his head low. “But you already know that. Don't you?”
He fell quiet, listening to the silent response the moon gave him. He smiled, staring outwards. He didn't feel as scared nor as tired any more.
He sat a beat quietly, with his legs curled with himself and staring upwards into the sky. The ambiance of the forest sounding more like a quiet melody than ominous whispers of occurring traps.
Although he nearly leapt out of his skin when he heard a small androgynous gasp behind him.
Mono quickly turned his head around and beneath him was.. Another child.
A small girl with short raven hair, eyes covered by messy bangs and a grey cardigan that was dirtied and torn who, from her slightly opened mouth, seemed just as surprised as he was.
There was a pregnant pause in the air.
The two stared at each other quietly, the same questions being exchanged in the silence between them.
The bagged boy felt excitement buzzed through his finger tips.
Another..!
“loo-!” Mono tried to shout, pointing a growing yellow light that was being guided by a large Adult.
Mono barely got a look at him before the gunshot went off, a bullet flying into the branch he sat on and snapping beneath him.
He dropped.
He fell.
As she was snatched away.
Why did that feel so familiar?