Chapter Text
Six had never been the type to rely on others.
At least, not anymore.
Ever since she had realized trusting others only got her into more trouble, she tended to keep to herself. Friendships and large groups only ever brought misfortune.
Which is why she was dreading her current situation.
Six had made a mistake— a lapse in her judgment.
Such a mistake had led her to where she was now, trapped in a deal she was forced to accept for the sake of her survival.
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Though telling time wasn't always her strong suit, Six guessed she had been traveling down the east coast for about a month now. After spending most of the summer further up north, where the heat wasn't so harsh, fall was beginning to inch its ugly head around the corner. She wanted to move south, where the cold might be a bit more bearable.
She liked to stay on her feet. Lingering in one spot for too long always begged for disaster.
While traveling down the coast, she had stumbled upon a familiar sight that she had long wished to forget. Isolated on a small peninsula, the Pale City loomed over the coast like a dark threat.
Six had a choice: cross through the city to continue south, or take the longer route of following the estuary, through uncharted woodlands filled with who knows what kinds of rabid monsters.
It had been eight whole years since she had traveled through the city. Although her time there was brief, Six was much more confident in her abilities, having grown older and more experienced. For a child who had spent more time than most in the Nowhere, the Pale City seemed like nothing but a small hindrance in her side; a reminder of what is best left forgotten.
Yet, she had miscalculated. Her confidence in navigating the City soon diminished when she found herself hopelessly stranded in its walls. Suddenly out of her element, Six felt like a fish out of water.
The days soon turned to weeks, and she had made no progress towards escape.
The constant rain hit and battered the cracked concrete like small bullets to a metal surface. It dripped from the overarching clotheslines and leaked through the structures of waning buildings. It flooded sewer drains and poured into the colossal ravines that skewered the barren streets.
Time seemed to be something the Pale City lacked, always falling apart, yet never changing.
Yet, through the ruination, one thing stood. Piercing the clouds with a terrible glow from its spire, the Signal Tower was the crown jewel of the city. It was enthralling, eye-catching— a terrifyingly perfect monument. It plagued the world with its transmission. A never-ending hum that caught the eyes and ears of the weak and entertained the melting minds of the curious.
It was just how Six remembered.
And she hated it.
She was running out of rations as the days went by, and all the apartments she scavenged looked to have been picked clean long ago. All she could manage to scavenge was some runoff water to fill her makeshift tin bottle and a small tin of partially moldy vegetables. Gross. She hated veggies. But her stomach ached almost every second of the day as hunger gnawed at her insides. Her situation was beginning to turn dire.
That was until she stumbled upon a small group of scavengers. They were scrawny, city kids. All teenagers like her. Despite her threats towards them, having mistaken them for bandits, they made her an offer. Directions and supplies. All for the simple price of a week's worth of labor back at their camp, which had turned out to just be simple assistance on supply runs. Her immediate answer had been no. But she was hungry, her backpack was falling apart, and she had no clue where she was going. In reality, Six didn’t have much of a choice.
It wasn't that bad, though the three kids she had been paired with for the supply runs proved to be rather insufferable, annoying, and dense. All they did was try talking to her, ask her questions about herself that she'd rather not answer. She’d always end up shooting them nasty glares or barking crude insults to make them shut up since, for some reason, none of them knew how to keep their trap shut.
Yet, as much as Six wanted to complain, she held her tongue. She knew she might be dead without this deal. Still, she'd rather be elsewhere.
For now, she knew she would just have to suffer through the week.
Then she could leave.
Leave and never come back.