Chapter Text
There was a hallway with a door at the end. Mono was standing in front of it, sure that he had seen it before, but unable to remember where.
The door had an eye carved on it, and as he stared at it, a sweet, sweet melody started playing in his head. Sweet as honey, comforting as the hug from someone dear to him.
He reached for the handle, but as soon as he did, the door started shaking and he was pushed to the end of the hallway.
The air was so dense he felt he was drowning on every breath, and that melody started morphing into distant voices.
Have you seen him...?
His eyes…
He is not like us.
Suddenly, he was no longer in the hallway. He was small now, smaller than he had ever been. Standing in the dark, with only one light illuminating him.
That’s not true!
He is a good kid.
He is just different…
Suddenly, Mono was surrounded by shadows. They loomed over him, screaming curses and making him hyperconscious that he wasn't wearing his mask.
His stomach dropped. He grabbed his face so strongly that it could leave marks, he fell to his knees and began to hyperventilate. His chest hurted, the ring in his ears made everything around him a blur.
He was back in that place, chains pulling him back; weak, vulnerable.
He is a monster!
It’s all his fault!
Kill him before he kills us!
It wasn't true, he hadn't hurt anyone! He covered his eyes, they couldn’t hurt him if they couldn’t see them.
He wasn't ready, not so soon. He hadn't kept his promise yet…!
Monster!
MONSTER!
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Mono gasped for air, sitting as cold sweat trickled down his body. He looked around frantically and then ran his hands over his face.
His irregular breathing calmed down once he realized there was no danger. He gulped heavily and touched the floor around him until he found his paper bag, sighing with relief when he put it on.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness as he recalled where he was; the tree. His hideout. Right.
He sighed and hugged himself. He had been having dreams like that almost every night since the fire. Even though he usually forgot what they were about when he woke up, this was a recurring one.
Mono rubbed his clothes when a shiver ran down his spine. He looked at the empty corner where he usually left his food. His last meal had been a few days ago, he had lost count after it started raining.
The sky had been covered with clouds for days, and when he had come after it stopped, the monster apparently had the same idea. Mono had to resign to the fact that his dinner was going to be the last berries he had saved.
He stood up, knowing he wasn't going to sleep again anyway and grabbed some rags from his bed. He pushed the piece of bark that served him as a door and faced the cold outside. He winced in his coat, but started his walk after making sure his paper bag was on properly.
He first went to the places where he had planted seeds some weeks ago. He was pleased to notice that most of them had managed to grow well despite the lack of sun. It seemed the rain had done something good after all.
As he continued, he sorted the good berries from the poisonous ones and carried them in one of the cloths. Mono arrived at a place where there weren't as many trees, and felt very lucky when he noticed potato leaves growing on the ground. The soil also seemed fertile, since there were other small sprouts around.
After digging them up, there were five potatoes in total.
He hadn't had a decent dinner in a while, so maybe he could treat himself a little. Thoughts of what he could do with the potatoes began to fill his head; maybe he could roast them, but he could also get some meat.
He marked a square in the ground and quickly hoisted the cloth onto his back. With renewed energy and determination, he began searching for firewood. However, his search led him too close to the beach.
He went down to pick up a stick, not realizing it until his feet touched the cold sand. Mono straightened up, staring at the blue extension that went further that he could see. It was then that the dread that filled him when he looked at the sea returned.
There was a reason why Mono hadn't left the wilderness.
He hadn't planned to stay in that place very long, but twelve moons had almost gone by and he was still there. And that was because every time he tried to leave, the terror left him incapable of moving further.
But Mono wasn't going to give up. If it couldn't be done one way it would be another.
It didn't matter that the stupid forest was surrounded by water from north to south and mountains from east to west, even if it took him until the end of his days, he was going to find a way out.
He wasn't going to stay in that miserable forest all his life, because Mono was still breathing and standing up. He was keeping his promise.
Something else reminded him he was alive when his stomach growled. He turned his gaze away from the sea and walked into the woods.
After a quick trip back to his hideout, Mono found himself sitting on a rock next to a river, sharpening with a stone the tip of a stick he had found.
Mono sank his feet in the water, staring at the fish being dragged by the current. After focusing for a few seconds, he tightened the grip on his improvised spear and attacked.
The water took on a red tinge around the stick when two fish were pierced through it. These stopped moving shortly after he took them out and Mono huffed, satisfied.
He walked out, sitting down next to the campfire he had prepared. With the help of an old can, Mono heated water and left two potatoes inside.
After removing the scales, he nailed the fish near the fire. He opened a path from the river with a stick, guiding the water to a hole in the ground.
After taking the can out of the fire, he used a cloth to filter out the hot water and left the can on the hole to cool down. Once Mono washed his hands, he checked the can and then started mashing the potatoes inside with a rock.
His stomach growled loudly when he felt the smell of burning meat, and quickly went to turn the fish around. Mono worked diligently, humming a song until he finished.
He sat down by the campfire and placed the can on his lap, licking his lips when he took out the fish from the fire. He lifted his mask slightly, blowing to cool the fish down, and then sank his teeth.
Mono hummed with delight when he felt the meat reaching his stomach, he grabbed the mashed potato with his free hand, mentally scolding himself for forgetting to pick the spoon from his hideout. He knew the potato was going to be insipid because he hadn't added any salt or milk, but under his standards it was fine.
The moment he thought that day couldn't get any luckier was the moment his luck counter started to go down.
A few birds flew out of their trees, and the next second a gunshot echoed through the forest. He jumped on his seat and stood up in a rush that almost made him drop the can. He quickly left it on the ground and nailed the stick with the fish next to it
Mono kicked sand over the fire and was about to pick up the cloth with the rest of his food when there was another gunshot, and another following it. Mono's heart started beating a mile a minute, torn between taking a step back or forward, finally deciding he could survive a little longer without eating.
He ran into the bushes and trees as fast as his legs allowed him. It had been a while since he had to run like this. He had managed to avoid crossing paths with the monster for so long, it never wandered around that place after all.
He wondered if it did actually notice the fire. Something appeared in the way of his vision but he couldn't recognize what it was until-
"AGH-!" His train of thought was suddenly cut off when he crashed head on into something.
Mono closed his eyes and shook his head, when he heard a groan in front of him. He opened his eyes slowly and realized he had bumped with another kid.
His eyes lit up, but he flinched when the kid looked up at him. It was a boy, he realized it even with the shaggy long hair that covered his eyes, and he was also wearing a blue shirt.
Mono hadn't seen a kid, a living one, in so long that even the sight surprised him.
He would have stared at him even longer, if it wasn't for the sound of heavy footsteps followed by another gunshot. They both got up so quickly that they almost bumped each other again, but then ran in separate directions.
Mono had got so close to his hideout, that he almost let himself lower his guard, when a light suddenly blinded him.
He didn't need to look twice to know that the monster was there, but he quickly managed to back to the side and hide behind a tree. He held his breath as his heartbeat deafened him,
The giant shadow figure stepped so close to him, breathing so heavily in the cold air of the night that he could see it above his head. The lamp stayed still for what seemed like an eternity, before the monster walked away and Mono fell to the ground, sighing with relief.
He peeked his head out the side of the tree and saw the monster in the distance, right on the way to his hideout. He groaned. There was no way to avoid it.
Mono looked around and then a light bulb went on in his head. He hesitated for a second. It was risky, but Mono lived off taking risks.
He started climbing the tree until he reached the branches on the top, and then started jumping from a tree to another. He stopped for a moment to look around for the next tree, when another gunshot almost made him trip. He stayed frozen in place until the faint sound of creaking caught his attention.
Mono turned his head to the side and noticed the figure of another kid on the floor. The clouds in the sky decided to clear up at that moment, uncovering the full moon and spilling its light on them.
The other kid stared at him and he tilted his head with curiosity. It was rare to see a kid around there, but two?
They looked a lot like the other one; with an old worn sweater and dark hair covering their eyes. There was nothing special about them, but looking at them made him remember the dream he had earlier for some reason, and Mono couldn't manage to tear his gaze away.
And the moment, if you could even call it that, as sudden as it had begun, ended when the monster appeared so out of nowhere that not even Mono had noticed it coming.
There was a loud thud, and when the monster turned around, it was holding a cage. The kid was shaking the bars and Mono would swear he even saw them biting them. Somehow the monster didn't notice he was there, too focused on its new catch.
He stared as they left towards the monster's cabin. The monster wasn't going to come out for a long time, that was for sure.
Mono made his way down the tree, feeling uneasy.
He had seen the monster hunting many times before, but the crucial detail was that the monster always killed directly. It never left the alive things it saw, well, alive.
What it did with them after was one of the things Mono racked his brain wondering about before going to sleep. He knew it wasn't eating them, because there was nothing inside the monster but plush filling. Mono had seen it rip its arm with a tree, to then just continue walking without caring.
He stopped dead in his tracks when a branch broke behind him. He stayed still, and heard no other sound. He cautiously walked a few steps ahead, and a few minutes later his suspicions were confirmed.
He knew the sound the forest made and the sound of his own feet in the dry grass; the crunch of leaves behind him was new.
He turned around, getting ready to run, but let down his defensive stand as he found no one. He looked to the sides confused and then checked the surroundings, behind and up the trees. Nothing.
Mono frowned. He wasn't going to be fooled that easy. He started walking again, but deviating from the path towards his hideout. Call him paranoid all you want, Mono called it being cautious.
Whoever was following him was stealthy, Mono would give them that, but no matter how good the person following him was, they kept making mistakes.
Another broken branch, a shadow followed by a fallen leaf, bushes moving...Something came out of them, and Mono turned around with a jump.
He was expecting a confrontation, a monster even, not the small, pointy-headed creature that ran past him. He tilted his head as it ran away, never having seen something alike. It didn't take long before curiosity took over him and he started chasing after it.
The creature was fast, he had a hard time catching up with it, and ended up losing sight of it. As he kept searching, Mono turned a corner on a tree and came across a structure that made him wonder how far he had strayed.
It seemed to be the wall of a building, with dead trees that had grown and cut across the windows. Creatures just like the one from before were standing on the trees, talking between them in little screeches.
One of the creatures was on the ground, pointing to the woods and making the loudest screeches. It ran to hide behind the other ones when Mono came closer.
They stopped talking and stared at him, until he tilted his head and they waved at him. He found it amusing and a little smile grew beneath his mask.
Suddenly the sounds behind him returned, this time with more force. He turned to look at the woods, and then at the creatures, just to see they had already disappeared. As the sound of footsteps came closer, Mono quickly climbed one of the trees and hid near one of the windows.
Someone came running from between the trees and stopped in front of the building. They looked around and then bent down on their knees to catch their breath. He peeked on the window to see them better and was relieved to see it was the kid from before and not a monster.
But something caught Mono's attention the most; a broken cuff around his ankle. Mono wondered if he could run well in that, and if it didn't hurt him. He knew what the friction of metal could do to the skin.
One of the little creatures jumped out and walked towards the kid. Mono noticed how all the others were hiding on the side of the building, peaking at the kid with the same curiosity he did.
The other boy looked at the creature and straightened up, listening to the screeching noises it did and nodding along.
"You did it...? You brought him here?" He whispered and Mono got startled. As the creature seemed to answer back, the boy gave it some pats. "Thank you, buddy..."
Mono quietly walked over to another window and climbed up to position himself on edge of it. While the creature grabbed the kid's clothes and tried to drag him to where he was hiding, the kid barely turned his head and noticed him when Mono had already jumped.
He fell on top of the kid, and the force of the impact dragged them across the ground. The creature ran away and the boy gasped when Mono sat in his stomach and wrapped his hands around his neck, just with enough strength to keep him still.
The boy beneath him fought to get his hands off his neck, punching and kicking the air, but it was useless since Mono was obviously stronger than him. The kid seemed to realize his limitations, because he soon stopped his frantic movements and just stared at him.
Mono had to force his voice out because he hadn't used it in a while.
"...Wh...Who are you? What do you want from me?!" The words came out raspy and sounded like he hadn't drank water for days, but the other seemed to understand.
The boy remained silent, apparently thinking about his next words, but when Mono threatened to press harder on his neck, he spoke up.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Don't kill me!" The boy grabbed Mono's arms with his hands again, just in case he tried to choke him for real. "I…I was sent! She sent me!"
"Who is 'she'?"
"My friend-! She-She...told me to follow you!" Mono didn't move an inch even when the other boy finished speaking. The kid's hair slid to the side of his face, and they made eye contact for the first time.
His eyes were of a pale grey color. Mono had never seen eyes like that before. One could say they were almost as white as the moon, the complete opposite of his. Mono's eyes had been completely black for as long as he could remember, even blacker than the moonless sky.
The kid spoke up again, and Mono came back to reality.
"We didn't mean to scare you! At least- I didn't..."
He was scared. Did he really think Mono was going to kill him? If he decided the other kid was a threat, it was not a stretch, but this kid was far from being one.
But he said he came with someone, Mono had to be careful.
"I'll let you go if you answer; what do you want?"
"...Your help." The boy answered after a few seconds. Mono blinked confused.
"What?"
"Your help. That's what I came for." Mono understood that part, the part he didn't understand was...
"Why?" He asked in disbelief. The other kid shook his head.
"Let me go and I'll tell you."
Mono groaned and looked up. He had to keep his promise, it was a law of life after all, but he was going to make sure to make it count.
"Promise to not attack me?" He asked. The kid nodded and he slowly took his hands away from his neck.
The boy pushed him and crawled away, rubbing his neck and sighing with relief. Mono stood up, wiping the dust off his clothes. He stared at the kid as he stood up and cleared his throat.
"We were running away from the hunter when-"
"The hunter?" The kid stopped himself when Mono asked. "You mean, the monster?"
"Um, I guess? My friend just calls him that." Mono nodded. How had he not thought of that before? "Like I was saying, after we bumped into each other, me and my friends, we were hiding when my other friend tried to walk past the monster and then..." Mono gasped.
"The kid I saw...!"
The boy hummed while nodding slowly.
"And my other friend was...a bit mad for that, obviously, and wanted me to find you and talk."
That made sense, Mono supposed, but he couldn't help but feel this kid was leaving out information.
"That answers one question, but why me?"
The kid bit his lip and didn't answer for a second.
"...Because she saw you." Mono waited for him to continue, and the boy sighed when he realized he wasn't satisfied. "I swear that's everything! You have to believe me!"
Mono really didn't believe a single word of it.
However, when the other boy looked down, he lifted the hair covering his face and revealed both of his eyes. Mono was still mesmerized by them, but the troubled expression of its wearer made his chest tighten.
"Please, we have come so far...We can't lose her like this." The boy looked back at him and his hair fell back over his face.
Mono closed his eyes and held his breath. Seeing this kid, the memory of someone flashed in his mind.
I don't want to see the pain on your face ever again.
What can I do?
How can I stop it?
Why can't I stop it?
Mono wondered if he felt the same way when he saw him.
He opened his eyes and looked at the other kid with determination.
"Take me to your friend," He took a step forward and the boy got startled. "I’m going to help you."
“Really?! Oh, thank gods…" The kid’s shoulders dropped with relief, when Mono realized something.
"Your name."
"Huh?"
"Your name. I didn't ask for it."
"Oh! Seven." The kid stretched out his hand to him and Mono took it.
"I'm Mono." He let go of his hands and stared at the now named 'Seven', who looked around and then smiled.
"There you are!" Seven turned to the building and put two fingers in his mouth. A whistling sound echoed through the small clearing, drawing the attention of the small creatures from before.
One of them peeked out and he beckoned it to come closer. Once it jumped, the others didn't take long to follow after it and the two kids were quickly surrounded by them.
Some of the creatures hid behind Seven, one even pulling at his clothes a bit. He looked at them smiling and Mono tilted his head.
"What are they?" He asked with curiosity.
Seven didn't answer again, which Mono started noticing was something he did a lot. The kid in blue pulled the creatures closer to him as he spoke.
"...Nomes. They are Nomes."
"I have never seen them before."
"They are very shy, aren't you, guys?" The creatures didn't answer with words, just screeches, but Seven smiled even more at them. He looked at Mono and pointed to the woods with his head. "Let's go. She must be waiting for us."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
She was, in fact, not waiting for them.
"My food is cold now, but I'll make more. You can eat it until then."
Seven couldn't believe his luck when the weird boy with the paperbag handed him a piece of bark filled with some kind of puree and a stick with a roasted fish on it.
The puree reminded him of what he used to eat in the prison, but he would choose this food over the other all his life. Maybe it was because they hadn't been able to hunt much lately, but the flavor was sublime; he even nearly choked from eating the fish so fast.
They had waited for Raine at the place she had told him to, but she never appeared. Seven tried not to show his concern, but Mono probably noticed, because he offered to share some of his food with him.
Seven had asked the Nomes to find Raine to let her know where he was, so he hoped they would find her, luckily with news. While he ate, however, he curiously watched what Mono was doing.
The boy kneeled in front of the can over the fire, staring at it while touching what was inside with a stick. After that, he poured the water into a cloth and placed the can over a hole with water.
He plopped down next to Seven and sighed. The intimidating way he had acted earlier seemed to have vanished. Seven looked down at the empty piece of wood in his hands and sighed with longing.
"Are you still hungry? I can try to split some of mine if you want." Seven shook his head.
"No, no, don't worry. You don't have to." Even if he really wanted to, he knew Six would be hungry when she returned, and he needed to save some for her.
The other boy remained silent as he stared at him. It was hard to tell what he was thinking with that bag. His eyes were barely visible. Could he even see? He had stated it before, but Mono was incredibly weird.
"So, tell me, what are you and your friends doing here? It's not often I see children around."
"I could also ask you that. What are you doing here?"
Mono scoffed.
"I live here, I think that answers it."
It really didn't. Seven thought about what to say to him, remembering what Raine had told him.
"Don't believe a single word he says. I don't trust him, be careful."
He hadn't lied when he told Mono she was angry, but he hadn't told him how angry.
That side of her was always a strange sight despite all the time they had known each other. Somehow she had controlled herself to think rationally and order him to follow Mono to "talk," but Seven knew the tone in which she had said that didn't mean anything good.
But Raine was right when she said things, and he trusted her with his own life. He had tried to be careful when approaching Mono, and for a moment, he had been sure she was right again.
Mono was scary, and Seven still didn't quite trust him, but as he gave him food and waited patiently for an answer, he couldn't help feeling that he had misjudged him.
"...We’ve been trying to cross the forest for a couple of weeks. It was an accident that we ran into the hunter, and now here we are."
Mono hummed, getting up and walking over to the can to pull it out of the water. He sat down next to him again, a rock in his hand and the can in his lap.
"You should have started from there, I can also help you." He said as he began mashing what was inside the can with the rock. He then handed them to him. "Can you do it for me? I'll go see if I can catch another fish."
Seven tried to imitate what he had seen Mono do, while the other turned to him with the stick the fish had been stuck on, which had a very sharp point.
"I'm actually surprised you guys—"
A yellow blur launched itself from the bushes behind them, and in a blink, Raine was holding Mono in the air by the collar of his coat. Seven quickly stood up and the can fell to the ground, but he didn't pay attention to it as he ran towards them.
"You little demon...!" She said, gritting her teeth. Apparently, the run there had caused the wind to blow the hood of her raincoat back.. Mono tried to kick her stomach, but Raine’s grip was stronger and she kept him away.
Mono looked down. The girl holding him had brown hair, and it was also covering her eyes. Seven seemed to know her as he tried to calm her down. Was it a thing in their group to have hair like that?
“NO! Let him go! Raine-”
“I'll tear you to pieces before you even dare to touch him!”
They were arguing, but Mono couldn't pay attention to that. The grip the girl was holding him with was something he hadn't seen in a while. And she didn't look a bit tired!
Mono was amazed, but that didn’t last long when he suddenly felt his mask starting to slip. He felt the fear begin to rise through his body and he tried to kick harder, with no use.
“Raine, listen to me! He was not trying to hurt me!”
“Please…” He whispered, and they turned to him. Mono gulped. “...Please- Let me go!”
Mono witnessed how Raine's shoulders lowered and her expression softened when they made eye contact. Her eyes were dark blue, just like the ocean.
She gently put him on the ground, and Mono quickly pulled his mask down. He took a step back, and Raine looked at the floor with shame. She clasped her hands together over her stomach and spoke up.
“I'm...I’m sorry. I apologize.” Seven standing next to her sighed with relief, and Mono shook his head.
“Oh, no, it’s okay…” The fact that the girl in the raincoat was taller than him definitely didn't make him feel intimidated. “Don’t worry about it.”
Now that there was some peace again, Seven walked between the them and put his open hand in front of Mono while staring at Raine.
“Raine, this is Mono.” Then he opened his hand in front of her while staring at him. “Mono, this Raine. This is the friend I told you about.”
He nodded, humming. The girl still looked embarrassed, even if she wasn't holding her hands so tightly anymore, she was still avoiding Mono's gaze.
He stretched his hand to her and spoke up.
“Seven said you were looking for me?”