Chapter Text
The bitter, pungent smell of incense and alcohol filled the room, as men in dark silky robes conversed with each other in the large auditorium, just outside the prayer room.
Conversed would be quite the understatement. They hurled insults at one another, throwing around religious doctrine they themselves didn't quite understand.
"No!" One would yell. "Winters 1:22 clearly states that it is our duty as children of the stars to defend the word of our Lord from outside threat! 'Thou shalt defend the sanctity of our holiness from the evil outside these walls.' "
"No!" The other would reply "Craters 3:17 states that we must save as many worldly people as much as possible! 'Our children have a duty to save as many sinners from eternal damnation as they can possibly muster.' "
And they'd stay like that for hours and hours on end. People watched and took sides. Yelling, preaching, screaming about duty, devotion, salvation, and other things nobody truly had the answer for.
In the middle of the chaos sat a young boy, drawing what he called a "comic" while the others bickered and preached. "To be continued" He wrote, with utmost focus and concentration, "In our very next issue!"
"What are you doing, boy?" An elder muttered, turning the young child to face him with his scrawny right arm.
"N-Nothing sir!" The boy squeaked, hugging his drawing pad to his chest. People around him started catching wind to what was happening, and soon a small group had formed a circle around the child and the elder.
"Don't lie to me, child! You're drawing one of those wicked caricatures again aren't you? A sign of worldly influence and evil!" He grabbed the young boy by his sleeve and started pulling him away from the large crowd of people. "You'll be cleansed for this."
All eyes in the room were now on the man and child as he pulled in the opposite direction "No! No please don't! I won't do it ever again, I swear!" Tears littered his face as he tripped and stumbled on his feet. Throwing the auditorium into further chaos.
"That's enough everyone. Let him go my child, show some mercy to one of your brothers." Noli hovered into the room. His feet gliding and cutting through the air and the crowd like a hot knife on butter. His sheer voice and presence alone was enough to make the entire room fall silent and throw themselves onto their hands and knees. Everyone but the young boy.
He stared up at Noli, completely hypnotized. His masks, his glittering dark purple cloak and the shadowy body beneath it, his tall imposing figure, and the sparkling jewels embroidered into his clothing made him look otherworldly in his eyes.
"Come here my child." Noli reached out his hand towards the young boy, beckoning him to take it. His soft yet firm voice was like thick cream and honey as it entered his ears. Smooth, rich, velvety, and perfect to listen to in every which way. Slowly, he put his hand in Noli's, still hesitant to see what the entity would do.
Noli put his other hand on the boy's freshly shaved head. A practice done to every boy once they reached 5 years of age. He didn't quite understand that yet. "Don't go doing that ever again, ok?" Noli said, his soft yet stern voice cut through the boy's head and reverberated over and over again. Until it was the only thing he or anyone else in the room could think about.
"Yes sir." He said. His gaze falling onto his leader's hovering feet.
"Please." Noli said, and if he had a proper face and not those masks the boy could swear he saw his smile growing wider. "Call me father."
It happened again
Saying that out loud would earn you some odd looks in this realm. Here, repetition was as expected as the sun rising. You wake up, you enter a round, and then get sent back to the campsite, only to do it all over again. It didn't matter whether or not you actually lived or died in a round, you'd get sent back to the cabin all the same. Saying, "It happened again" would be like saying "The sky is blue" or in this case "The sky is black". It was just something everybody already knew and didn't need to be reminded of.
That's why 007n7 always found it slightly bemusing whenever a new killer or survivor came up. If the thing running this realm-The Spectre-was getting bored of the endless carnage it perpetuated, then why even continue the death game? It would just get bored of it's new victim too, and then it would have to find a new toy to play with.
A new survivor had entered the realm. His body sprawled out on the lobby's floor. Nothing 7n7 hadn't seen before. But something was different about this one. Something he hadn't seen yet and hoped wasn't possible.
His heart dropped.
This was a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥. An older teen, he couldn't have been older than 18.
7n7 rushed over to him as fast as possible. Instinctually, like he just had to do it no matter the consequences. He usually wasn't the one helping new survivors out of fear of scaring them, but none of that mattered right now. He grabbed the boy by the underarms and pulled him up; watching him stir awake.
"Oughhhhh" He groaned, holding his head in his hands as he came to. "What happened? Where the hell am I?!..." He seemed more frustrated than anything else.
"Are you ok? Can you walk?" 7n7 asked. Concern lacing his voice. His attention went to the sleek, metallic crown on the boy's head. It looked familiar, he felt like he'd seen it before... "I can move you to the couch-"
"Round starts in 60 seconds!-" Elliot burst through the front door. Frightening the two men on the floor. "Wait, is that a new survivor-" He didn't get to finish his train of thought as the world went dark, and all three of them were sent to a round.
𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙'𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨...
1𝙭1𝙭1𝙭1
007n7 woke up from where he spawned right next to Elliot. He looked around himself in hopes of seeing the kid, but he didn't see anything but the vast territory of the Underground War.
"Shitshitshit- Where is he-?" He said to himself, just about ready to start running in a random direction before Elliot grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Seven- What are you doing? Where are you going?!" Elliot looked terrified. He hadn't seen Seven look so horrified and concerned since he first saw c00lkidd in this realm.
"I need to find him- I need to find him! There's a kid here and he's in danger!" He freed himself from Elliot's grip before running in a random direction. Leaving Elliot glued to the ground, completely dumbfounded.
He ran aimlessly throughout the surface before dropping into one of the holes leading into the underground part of the map. He found a medkit on the way there and picked it up. Knowing that there was a very good chance that the kid was already injured. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘱 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥...
Seven shook the thought out of his head. He was about to run off again before he heard what he was most afraid of. A hoarse, gruff, blood curdling scream coming from halfway across the map. Seven made a mad dash for the source of the scream, not knowing whether he was going to make it in time. Hoping that the kid was at least still alive in the face of 1x4's endless wrath.
𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘬𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵...
Dignity woke up from where he spawned. He went from being in the arms of what looked like an older man trying to comfort him, to lying on the cold concrete floor in the middle of a dilapidated battlefield. The quick changes were giving him pause, and he could already feel a massive migraine coming on. He stood up and looked around himself, completely puzzled on how the hell he even got here.
He couldn't remember much from before he woke up in the cabin. He tried to recall anything as he stumbled about but he came up empty. He could remember the details of his life, but how he ended up here? That he couldn't remember. The fog in his head was making it difficult to think at all. Including coming up with a sensible plan for what he should do next.
Then he remembered a small detail, "I came here with two other people, I should go find them and then figure out what the fuck is going on.", he thought.
But just as Dignity was set on that goal, he felt the earth vanish from underneath his feet. He could feel himself tripping, stumbling, his legs trying to find stable ground for him to walk on. Then he could feel himself falling, the cool dark night sky blurring past him and melting into the warm brown of the cavern he fell into.
And as soon as he was in the air, he was on the ground again. The wind was knocked out of Dignity's lungs as he collided with the floor. And all the adrenaline that had caused his heart to palpitate and rattle his ribs had calmed and settled into his stomach. Vanishing little by little as Dignity tried to stand again.
"Weird... I thought I'd have broken bones." He thought as he examined himself. In fact, Dignity noticed the total lack of injuries on his body at all. He wasn't even feeling any pain. The hole he fell into wasn't deep, but it also wasn't very small. How did he not have any broken bones, let alone any injuries?
Dignity pushed the thought aside as he searched for someone to talk to. They could probably explain this situation. Something was definitely up.
His ears started to ring. And they 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵. If the ringing continued at this point, he was sure it was going to burst his ear drums. Dignity covered his ears with his hands to try to muffle the sound, but it did nothing to soothe the the constant ringing. It sounded like some kind of siren. Like the world itself was telling him to run away and hide. Something bad is coming.
A gutteral scream tore through him, until his throat was raw, and he physically could not scream anymore. Anything to drown out the incessant ringing and pain in his ears. Dignity knew this was going to bite him in the ass, but he was in so much pain he physically could not care.
A bright green light was charging at him like a bull now. It's bright red eye pointed towards him. Dignity could feel the rage and malice radiating off this thing. Full of so much anger and hate that you could sense it in the air and have it bite at your skin like poison. It didn't even seem like a person to him. Just an unstoppable force with the only purpose of destruction.
It's black blade slashed through the air and sliced through his skin. It burned his flesh, and sent shockwaves of pain and nausea throughout his entire body. Like acid was being poured directly into his wounds. That was what finally freed Dignity from his stupor. He ran into the opposite direction, making his way through the endless cavern and bumping into walls that he couldn't see due to the low light and the strange bright shapes and colors in his vision. Likely due to the poison. He didn't care about where he was going anymore, he just wanted this thing off of him!
Suddenly, Dignity couldn't move his legs anymore.
"Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck-" Dignity tried to run, but he was forced into a limping walk instead. His legs felt like weights as he tried to run away from the beast rushing towards him.
He looked down at himself, trying to asses what happened to him. Seeing a small black square in front of him.
HP: 76
STAMINA: 0
"What is this shit?!"
As Dignity looked at the black box, he didn't notice the monster charging up it's next attack.
It threw its swords while he was distracted And now Dignity 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 could not move. Big black chains tethered him to the ground and he was brought to his knees by another bout of nausea while pop up ads swam in his vision. He looked back down towards the black box, he could barely see what was inscribed in it due to the ads.
HP:46
The monster ran back up to him. About to hit him with the finishing blows. Dignity closed his eyes. He figured that if he was going to die, he didn't want to know about it.
It swung it's sword through the air, but it didn't make contact with Dignity.
A man with a burger hat and a cyan shirt stepped in front of him. Taking the blow for Dignity. He didn't understand why but this man looked familiar...
"Kid! Get out of there!" Dignity snapped his head to the right. That same man that was standing in front of him was yelling at him from a completely different direction. He looked exactly the same, just completely translucent. Dignity stared at him in complete confusion before he looked at his face. And that's when it hit him.
This was the same man from before! The one who helped him in the cabin! Dignity finished closing all the pop ups and ran towards him. Running as the monster finished off the clone.
They were running together now. Dignity followed the man wherever he went. He seemed to know more about this place than he did. As they were running, they stumbled into someone else.
A yellow skinned man with curly brown hair and a shirt that read "Blame John", bumped into them. Something about him seemed familiar too. Dignity could have sworn he saw him somewhere before...
"Hey, a new survivor!" He said, cheerfully. As if they weren't running away from certain death. Dignity squinted his eyes. He looked like he was on death's door, and this guy was talking about this entire situation like it was a regular Sunday afternoon.
"Killer's that way Shed..." The man pointed to direction which they came from. He sounded so lethargic. Like he could just lay on the ground and sleep right about now. With all that's happened, Dignity supposed he could do that too.
"Oh! Thanks Sev!" The man, "Shed" ran towards the monster. The man with the burger hat, "Sev", sighed, he slowed his pace into a walk.
"He's probably lost us by now. And even if he hasn't Shedletsky's gonna be holding him off for us." He walked towards a corner of the cavern. "He won't find us here... Kind of. It's better than being out in the open."
He led the two of them into a small corner of the cavern covered with the walls. It had no lanterns around it, so it was pretty much hidden by the darkness.
As Dignity walked inside, he saw a familiar looking machine. Though he couldn't place his finger on it.
"What's that?" He asked
"It's a generator," Sev explained. "It takes time off the clock once we rewire it. Looks like someone's already done this one though." He pointed at the glowing green light coming from the generator. Dignity could already tell that it was on due to the quiet hum of the machinery however.
"I don't understand." Dignity said. "What clock?"
Sev sighed again and put his hand on his forehead. "It'll take me hours to try to explain this to you right now." He said, exhaustion creeping through his voice. "You wouldn't believe me anyways." He lowered his hand from his head and looked back up at Dignity. Smiling a forced, kind, sour smile. "I'll explain everything back at the cabin, okay? This will all make sense soon enough."
Dignity froze, he's seen that kind of smile before. And suddenly he remembered that Sev was a stranger, someone he still wasn't sure he could trust.
At seeing Dignity's reaction, Sev's gaze dropped to the ground. He then remembered the state he'd found Dignity in.
"How are you feeling kid?" Sev asked, quickly changing the subject. He still couldn't meet Dignity's gaze.
"Nauseous" Dignity said. He just now realized that he'd been clutching his stomach for a good amount of time. From the monster's slashes or from the nausea, he didn't know.
"Where's your HP at?"
Dignity looked back down at the black box from earlier.
"...34", He was getting concerned with how far his health was dropping. He didn't want to ask what would happen when it reached zero, but he felt like he already had a pretty good idea of it in his head.
Sev pulled out a medkit. "Let me heal you."
Dignity didn't want to. Just the idea of it made him want to run away and hide. But really, what other choice did he have? He couldn't just leave the one safe place he had, completely alone, in the dark, with that monster running around. He was already really injured, and It's not like he knew how to use a medkit on his own...
Dignity had a resigned look on his face as he walked up to the other man. "Fine" He said, as he sat down across from him.
Sev got on his knees and opened the medkit. Taking out the gauze, bandages, disinfectant, needles, and other junk he needed.
He twisted opened the disinfectant, "This will probably sting a bit, ok?"
Dignity nodded, waiting for the familiar burning pain.
Sev poured a bit of the disinfectant into his wounds. Dignity hissed as the alcohol made contact with his flesh. His eyes even teared up a little.
Sev wiped his wounds down with a clean cloth, before putting some kind of jelly on them. Then he dressed his wounds in gauze, and wrapped them in bandages to keep the gauze in place.
"There, that should be all." He said, putting everything back in the medkit, minus the wipes. "How's your HP now?"
Dignity looked back down at the black box. "100... How did you do that?" He asked
"I... I don't know." Sev replied, truthfully. That got him some strange looks from Dignity. He couldn't help but feel bad for this kid. It reminded him of what he'd have to tell him later. Something he so heavily wished he could avoid.
They just sat there for a while. Not saying or doing anything. Normally Sev would go out and start looking for generators to complete after healing somebody, but he didn't want to leave Dignity here alone. Sev felt like he was the rock keeping him tethered to logic, reason, and any sense of familiarity Dignity may have had in the outside world. Without him, he worried the kid would feel lost, alone. Like a lonely ship drifting away at sea with no anchor to hold it down.
"How did you do that thing earlier? The one where you were invisible and there was another you right in front me?" The boy asked. Clearly out of boredom.
"It's an ability I have. I can send out a clone of my self and turn invisible to trick the killer. I can also teleport away using my GUI." Sev explained. Dignity didn't seem to recognize him, so he figured he could bring up his GUI here.
"Abilities?" Dignity asked.
"Yeah abilities." Sev replied. "We use them to survive the killers here. You should have them too, but I doubt you've figured out how to use them yet. Most new survivors dont on the first round."
"...Huh? Abilities, killers, rounds- What the fuck are you talking about-"
Then the round ended, and everything faded to black.
When Dignity awoke again, he was seated at a long dinner table with a few other people. A soldier, a pizza boy, that Shedletsky guy from earlier, and Sev. He looked around and realized he was back at the cabin he originally spawned in.
"Oh hey, a new survivor! We haven't gotten one of those in like, a while!" A person in a black suit and tie flipped their coin as they walked over to the table. They exuded a suspicious amount of confidence for someone who'd just been in a death game.
The man with a hard hat- Builderman, got up from the couch in the main living area. "We're starting a meeting... Shed, go get the others from their cabins, tell them we have to introduce a new survivor."
"Sir yes sir!" Shedletsky saluted before running out of the lobby into the survivors personal cabins.
"This is all normal here," Sev got up from where he was sitting on the table to stand next to Dignity "You're gonna have to get used to it." He said with a chuckle.
There were a lot more survivors than Dignity thought there would be. 11 in total, not counting himself. Some... Strange looking, others completely normal. What was more fascinating to him were all the different friend groups in the cabin. Some people seemed to like making lots of friends, while others mostly kept to themselves. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. Dignity realized. This, coupled alongside Sev's words, made him start to suspect something... Something he really hoped wasn't true.
Dignity sat cross-legged on the carpet beside the fireplace. The others sat on couches or bean bags placed on the other side of it. Tentative and worried looks adorned their faces as they wondered how they were going to explain this situation.
"So" The person with the suit, Chance, started, "Welcome to hell."
Builderman elbowed him in the ribs, "Don't say that! You're going to scare him!" He scolded
Dusekkar sighed, this introduction was already going to shit. "Everyday we get sent into these rounds with a killer, and we have to survive for approximately 3 hours and a half with a few abilities granted to us by the demon that's keeping us here- The Spectre, for all eternity... Unless we find an exit. You could call it hell if you'd like." He turned back to Chance and Builderman with a face that said "Was that so hard?"
Dignity stared back at the survivors with a face that could only be described as disbelief. He turned to look at Sev lingering to the side of the survivors group. He stared back at him with a grim, remorseful look. This was real, and there wasn't much Dignity could really do about it.
"Any questions?" Dusekkar asked, Dignity didn't think he even knew where to start.
"Why are we here?" He started off with
"I don't know." Dusekkar replied. "Most of us haven't done anything to be here, so don't beat yourself up over it." He smiled, trying to comfort him a little. Dignity didn't know if he could sense his inner turmoil from there.
"What was that... Thing that attacked me earlier? That... Monster." Just thinking about it made Dignity want to throw up. Knowing he'd have to deal with that thing again at some point and possibly even die to it made him feel so much worse.
"That was 1x1x1x1, an ancient, primordial monster from the fourth dimension. You're lucky you managed to survive him!" Dusekkar stated, clearly trying to cheer him up a little. Dignity didn't feel much better at all.
He looked back up towards the rest of the survivors. Instead of pity and remorse their stares turned into familiar looks of fear and contempt. Their eyes went from him to the crown on his head. And suddenly, Dignity understood that he was being perceived.
"Well" Dusekkar stated, seeing how the tone in the cabin had shifted. "I'll show you to your cabin now, follow me."
Dignity got up and started following the mage out of the lobby. He took one good look behind himself before exiting through the double doors. Everyone still looked at him with disgust. Well, everyone but Sev. He still looked at him with that same sense of remorse. Except, maybe it was for a different reason this time.
Dignity would never admit it, but it was nice to know that somebody didn't hate him here.
"Alright, we're here." Dusekkar said into darkness. The small vacant cabin sat in front of the two, and only while staring at it, did it just hit Dignity that this was where he was going to stay forever unless they somehow found a way out of here. So there was a little bit of pressure there as far as he could tell.
Dusekkar opened the cabin door and turned on the light inside. It was a perfectly serviceable living space, complete with a bathroom attached to the bedroom. Dignity was just glad he wasn't stuck with a shitty place to live. He's seen shittier dorms while he was looking for a place to stay at college.
Dignity stepped inside and saw a box beside the bed.
"That should contain some of your personal belongings." Dusekkar stated "There's a clock on your nightstand to tell time." He pointed at the clock on the nightstand. "You'll need it since the sun never rises here. Rounds start at 12 PM sharp, so make sure you're ready" He turned around, getting ready to leave. "Feel free to make yourself at home. You'll need it here"
He closed the door behind himself. Leaving Dignity alone for the first time in a while. Since he had nothing better to do, he decided to start opening the box.
The first things he found were four framed pictures of himself. One from when he was younger with his class in the church, another with Zuka, one with Minish, and another one when he was older; the photo they took for him in college.
Dignity winced as he put the two pictures of himself on his nightstand and the ones with Zuka and Minish on the shelf, turned away from watchful eyes. He'd put them on normally one day when he was ready to face everything that happened back there. Today was not that day.
He dug back into the box to find a few vinyl records from bands he was not allowed to listen to. Dignity chuckled to himself, "Worldly music" was banned in the church and considered demonic. Minish was so kind for gifting them to him, and he thought they looked so so cool! But he was always too scared to listen to them. Eventually, the guilt started eating up at him, and he pushed them underneath his bed to show Noli and the rest of the church that he wasn't a dirty sinner.
Dignity frowned as the memory soured. He put the vinyls under his bed again. Out of sight out of mind.
He went back to the box, finding the last item to be much bigger than the others, neatly folded at the bottom of the box. It was a dark article of clothing made of silk. Dignity didn't realize what it was before it was too late.
His cult robes
Dignity dropped the item as soon as he pulled it out. It draped off the side of the box as it fell, so Dignity would have to move it so it could fit back into the box. But Dignity didn't want to touch it, he didn't even want to look at it. He fell back onto his bed, clutching his chest like the robes had punched him.
He took a few deep breaths. They didn't help much, but he needed them to clear his head and form a decent enough plan to remove the robes from his possessions. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘹 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦.
Dignity got back up, his back turned to the box. He took one last deep breath and quickly shoved his robes back into the box. Closing the flaps as best as he could. He looked around for glue or tape to close the flaps permanently, but came up empty. This would have to do.
Dignity grabbed the box and threw it with all his strength out the door. It was somebody else's problem to deal with now.
He shut his door and put his back against it, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. It was barely 6PM and he was already so tired. He wasn't sure how he was going to survive the next round. Let alone the rest of eternity down here.
Dignity looked back at his bed. It couldn't hurt to sleep in a little early.
He didn't even change out of his regular clothes when he undid the sheets and slipped into bed. It wasn't very comfortable; the bedding OR the bed wear, but Dignity's slept in worse. As his eyes grew heavy, he heard a familiar voice's soothing croon.
𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺... 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺...
When Dignity woke up, he wasn't in bed anymore.
He was in a familiar looking green field. Glowing yellow flowers dotted the landscape, and the sound of running water flooded his ears. When Dignity turned his head around he saw a waterfall. It's clear blue water shined as the light struck it in different directions. Making it seem like it was glowing. It filled him with a strange sense of... Deja-vu.
Dignity turned his head to the left only to see a stone angel placed among the trees. There was one, then two, then three. They seemed to multiply in his eyes. Then they came alive; stepping off their platforms and taking to the skies with their stone wings.
They circled him like vultures, but somehow Dignity understood that they weren't here to hurt him. They flew downwards; closer to him; and began to sing a song:
"Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray,
And when I cross'd the Wild,
I chanc'd to see at break of day
The solitary Child.
No Mate, no comrade Lucy knew;
She dwelt on a wild Moor,
The sweetest Thing that ever grew
Beside a human door!
You yet may spy the Fawn at play,
The Hare upon the Green;
But the sweet face of Lucy Gray
Will never more be seen.
"To-night will be a stormy night,
You to the Town must go,
And take a lantern, Child, to light
Your Mother thro' the snow."
"That, Father! will I gladly do;
'Tis scarcely afternoon—
The Minster-clock has just struck two,
And yonder is the Moon."
At this the Father rais'd his hook
And snapp'd a faggot-band;
He plied his work, and Lucy took
The lantern in her hand.
Not blither is the mountain roe,
With many a wanton stroke
Her feet disperse, the powd'ry snow
That rises up like smoke.
The storm came on before its time,
She wander'd up and down,
And many a hill did Lucy climb
But never reach'd the Town.
The wretched Parents all that night
Went shouting far and wide;
But there was neither sound nor sight
To serve them for a guide.
At day-break on a hill they stood
That overlook'd the Moor;
And thence they saw the Bridge of Wood
A furlong from their door.
And now they homeward turn'd, and cry'd
"In Heaven we all shall meet!"
When in the snow the Mother spied
The print of Lucy's feet.
Then downward from the steep hill's edge
They track'd the footmarks small;
And through the broken hawthorn-hedge,
And by the long stone-wall;
And then an open field they cross'd,
The marks were still the same;
They track'd them on, nor ever lost,
And to the Bridge they came.
They follow'd from the snowy bank
The footmarks, one by one,
Into the middle of the plank,
And further there were none.
Yet some maintain that to this day
She is a living Child,
That you may see sweet Lucy Gray
Upon the lonesome Wild.
O'er rough and smooth she trips along,
And never looks behind;
And sings a solitary song
That whistles in the wind."
When they finished their song the angels landed on the ground; enclosing Dignity in a circle. One of the angels kissed him on the forehead and gave him a flower. One he could vaguely recognize as a red spider lily.
"What does this mean?" He asked, his voice lacking the curiosity and confusion he felt at that moment.
"All will make sense in due time." It said. With no further explanation.
Dignity awoke to a knock on his door.
He looked back towards his clock: 10 PM
"Hey, sorry if I woke you up or something, I just wanted to check up on you. You doing okay?"
It was Sev's voice, Dignity was now only slightly annoyed that he woke him up.
"I'm alright." He said, simply.
"Well, good" The other man said. Trying to find the best next words to say. Dignity could hear him fidgeting with his fingers and clothes, and he had to suppress a chuckle.
"I think we got off to a bad start; meeting up in a death match and all. I want to introduce myself properly. My name is 007n7. You can just call me Seven, or 007, or- or- n7, or-"
Dignity swung the door open "Dignity, I'm Dignity"
Seven stared at the boy, somewhat dumbfounded and also somewhat grateful that he just saved him from complete and utter embarrassment.
Then he smiled, taking in his name. "Dignity... That's a nice name."
"Thanks" Dignity thought his name was just alright. A little bit ironic considering where he's come from, but ultimately a little better than others.
They just stared at each other for a while. Dignity could tell Seven was holding back. He had something to say, but wasn't sure how to say it, or even IF he should say it. The tension (or more likely, the awkwardness) was just killing Dignity though. He might as well get it over with already.
"That's not all you came here for." He said, less like an accusation and more like a blanket statement: a fact.
Sev sighed, the pressure dissipating in his chest in one sentence. "I saw how they treated you back there."
Dignity's eyes widened as he tried to retreat back to the safety of his cabin. Of course, he knew about the way the others treated him back in the lobby. But it was something else entirely for somebody else to bring it up. It made him feel naked, seen through,
vulnerable.
Sev shot his hand out, preventing Dignity from locking him out of his cabin. "I know what it's like to feel... outcasted, left aside. Like you don't belong anywhere." He swallowed thickly, like talking about this was bringing up bad memories for him too. "I don't want you to feel like that too, Dignity. Not here of all places." He held both his arms in a kind of self-hug. "I'll be there for you if you ever need me, I promise."
Dignity stood still, frozen in shock with his arms limply hanging to his sides. How was he supposed to respond to that statement?
He mouthed one simple phrase.
"Thank you."
Then he closed the door.
He slipped back into bed. Somewhat confused and also somewhat delighted. Dignity wasn't sure if he would take 007n7 up on that offer, but there was a certain comfort in knowing it was there in the first place. He wasn't falling through the darkness anymore, with no hand to hold, no light to follow, and no blanket to break his fall. There was a hand now; a string for him to follow. But the choice was in Dignity's hands now. It would be up to him whether or not to take the string and follow it.
The offer wracked his brain for a good chunk time. It wasn't until midnight that Dignity’s eyes grew heavy, and he was finally pulled into sleep. Instead of the familiar croon, his mind repeated something else in its place.
𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦... 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦…