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00fairylights00 · 9 months

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Chapter 2: Fancy Meeting You Here

Author's Note:

I am back again lmao, my workplace is going through a massive restructure and I am currently being tested for narcolepsy so writing was not at the top of the priority list but we're here yay! Wanna chat with me about this fic or other Little Nightmares-related topics, you can join The Pantheon discord server my friends and I run! The link is here! Warnings: gun use/mentions, mentions of previous open wound/injury, swearing

By the skin of her teeth, Maddie makes it out of her fight with The Viewer alive. Taking refuge in an old apartment she finds she isn’t as alone as she thinks she is.

I leant my body hard against the wood of the door and rested my shotgun against the wall before sliding down to the floor. Pain bloomed in my calf and I bit back a sob, lifting my pant leg up to reveal the damage. There was a tear through the back of my calf, the skin surrounding the injury red and raw.

The damage wasn’t deep but it would scar and it hurt like a bitch. I ripped my backpack and face mask off, pulling out the red first aid kit I’d packed. I downed a couple of painkillers with a mouthful of water, reaching for the rubbing alcohol and a rag, I pulled my glove off and shoved it in my mouth to muffle the inevitable yelps of pain I was going to make.

I took a deep breath and then all I could feel was red-hot pain.

Keep pushing through, I told myself, tears streaking my dirty face as I tried hard to keep my voice down while I cleaned and bandaged my leg. I coughed into the dusty room while I caught my breath, the windows facing the courtyard were broken, the cold wind of the starting winter whistling through them.

I tipped my head back against the door and looked up at the ceiling, tracing the pattern of damp that collected in the corner. I heard shuffling somewhere deeper in the room but ignored it, it wasn’t loud or erratic enough to be anything too dangerous, probably a rodent.

Then there was a thready cough, still too small and weak to be anything worth worrying over but I definitely wasn’t alone in this room. I took another deep breath, quelling the curiosity that had risen in me, whatever it was, it wasn’t my problem.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Came a hushed whisper from around the corner, that sounded like a kid.

It was definitely my problem now.

I stood slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible, following the gentle voice around an overturned sofa. It had to be a kid, and said kid had to have heard me come in, I wasn’t exactly quiet about it. I’d probably scared them half to death.

I placed my hand on the worn fabric of the sofa, wincing when I put too much weight on my bad leg, but this gave me the advantage of seeing movement. There was a cardboard box pressed into the corner of the room, covered by a ratty towel that swayed slightly. I got down on my hands and knees, crawling towards the box.

I put my hand in clear view of the opening, giving the kid a chance to run if they felt the need to, trying to remember everything Halle had taught me about building trust. When I got no response I lifted the towel, only for a tiny foot to stomp down on my other hand, I yelped at the pain in my hand and then the pain in my leg as I scrambled to get back. Yep, definitely a kid.

A hand peeked out from behind the box, pulling the towel away and showing off— a paper bag mask?

“Taken.” Came the kid’s icy response. The two small eye holes of his mask stared me down intensely. A boy, only a couple of feet tall and dirty from head to toe.

“I didn’t know it was taken,” I gestured to the surrounding room, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Don’t trust you,” he looked me over, head tilting to the side, “bang stick?”

Bang stick? Bang stick. Gun, he was asking about my shotgun.

“The gun? It’s by the door, far away. It can’t hurt you. I won’t use it.”

He seemed to perk up at the sentiment, his body language opening up for just a second before he was setting his shoulders again, drawing back. He took a step out of the box, approaching me while I backed up to give him space.

“Hurt?” He whispered, I made a noise of confusion and then he pointed at my calf, covered in gauze and bandages, “are you hurt?”

“Uh yeah, yeah hurt.”

“Fix?” He looked back up at me, “How?”

“Uh, first aid kit. It has bandages and medicine in it,” The mention of medicine brought him all the way out of the box, the towel swishing forward and letting me see a second child that he was protecting, “Does your friend in there need help? Medicine?”

“Medicine, medicine! My friend, she’s hurting!” He stated with urgency, reaching forward to pull on my sleeve desperately. “Help?”

I nodded and got back up to grab the kit from where I’d left it by the door. When I came back he was holding the towel out of the way so I could see his friend. She was bundled up in all manner of fabrics, tossing and turning, a sheen of sweat on her face as she curled in on herself. I pressed the back of my gloveless hand to the sleeping girl’s forehead and reeled back in shock.

“She’s too hot.” I fretted, working on getting some of the many layers off of her. She had a fever so high I was sure she wouldn’t remember any of this, her breaths coming out in small, almost inaudible wheezes. I pushed her dark bangs from her forehead and she opened her eyes.

There was no recognition of danger in her expression, this kid was dying or at the very least accepting death. I felt my heart tug uncomfortably, she was also tiny, the fabrics swallowing her form as she whimpered. I sat on the floor with my bad leg extended as Paper Bag sat down close to her and started stroking her hair,

“What’s her name?” I asked, removing my other glove and rummaging through the kit.

“Why?” He asked, voice edged with suspicion.

“Because,” I smiled, “how else will I know what to call you two?”

“Six,” he pointed at his friend.

“Like the number?” I asked with amusement, he nodded. “And what’s your name?”

“Mono.”

Number based names, I wondered if they’d picked them out themselves. I pulled out a small bottle of medicine and a plastic measuring cup.

“I’m Maddie, it’s nice to meet you. Do you think you can help me out?” He nodded enthusiastically, “I need you to take this cloth and get it cold and wet, can you do that?”

“Yes, yes!” Mono took the cloth and rushed towards the open doorway to the kitchen, I put my focus back on Six, pulling her out of the box and propping her up between my legs.

She stirred minutely at the change of position before settling again. I poured medicine into the cup and tipped her head back, gently stroking her throat with a finger to coax her barely conscious body to swallow the amber liquid. Despite her lack of response so far the medicine certainly had her moving, she coughed and made a face at the taste. “I know honey, I know. Not a great taste is it?”

Mono returned with the cloth, handing it over and kneeling down beside my thigh. He hesitated for a moment, keeping his arms close to his chest and flexing his hands as he regarded me before giving up on his internal battle and leaning his arms on my leg and then his head on his arms. I folded the cloth up and started to pat Six down with it, focusing on her face and neck, she whimpered at the intense difference in temperatures.

“I’m sorry Six, I know it doesn’t feel great but we need to cool you off.” I soothed, Mono reached out to hold her hand, running his thumb over Six’s knuckles, the small action putting her exhausted body at ease.

“Still don’t trust you,” Mono warned, “not stupid.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid.” I supplied softly.

“Not from here.” He stated matter of factly, pointing his finger at me.

“Not true. I was born here, in the city.” I explained.

“Really?” Mono crept a little closer to me, leaning in with interest.

“Yeah, I was rescued when I was about eleven years old,” I smiled, putting the cloth I was using on Six down, “in fact, I work for the people who rescued me now, that’s why I’m here.”

“Rescued?” His head tilted to the side in question.

“Yeah, some really nice people helped me and some other kids get out of the city, they helped to keep me alive. They get kids away from the city and help find them nice homes to go to, where they’ll always be safe.” Mono looked away, focusing on the wall as he pulled back from me. Letting go of Six’s hand and picking at his fingers nervously, “Mono, were you and Six going somewhere before you stopped here?”

His demeanour dampened very suddenly, soured in the way it did with kids back home when they did something they knew they shouldn’t.

“The Maw.” He murmured, my eyes grew wide and I leaned forward slightly.

“The Maw?! Do you have any idea how dangerous-”

“I do!” He burst, looking back at me. “Some risks are worth taking.”

The full statement rattled me, it wasn’t often that kids from the city could speak in full sentences. Most opted for broken phrasing or their own forms of sign-language.

“Why on earth would that be a risk worth taking?” I knew the answer, it was always the same but a small part of me hoped that I’d meet a kid who genuinely didn’t realise the danger of The Maw, that they were just a kid making a decision unsupervised. Something about the promise of an endless supply of food drew in children just as well as it did Adults.

“Something bad happened to Six, and now she gets hungry and angry. She’s hurting so much, I thought-” he cut himself off, taking a deep breath, “I thought if we could get to The Maw she’d never run out of food, so she’d never have to hurt again. But then she got sick, so we’re not going to make it.” He spit, his anger and disappointment was apparent.

I placed my hand on his back and immediately realised my mistake as he flinched, I pulled back slowly so as to not further frighten him, watching as he scooted away from me slightly, putting space between us and crossing his arms, closing me off. Despite not being able to see his face I could tell he was at war with himself, the committee could help these kids, I just had to convince them to come with us.

Which would be easier said than done.

Pale City kids were notoriously hard to recondition, many of the ones we rescued were sent off to more intense programmes where they could be better cared for. That wasn’t important now though, it would be wrong to leave them here, not when I knew I could get them help.

“You don’t need to go to The Maw, those people I work for? They can help you.” Mono ignored my offer, asking a question in the most sobering, haunting tone I’d ever heard a child take.

“She’s dying, isn’t she?” there was a wobble in his voice as he spoke.

I looked down at Six again, sweeping her hair back, the fever wasn’t worsening but it was too early for it to be getting better.

“It’s too early to tell but she’s really not well.” I said quietly.

“How do I know I can trust you?” He demanded aggressively, pulling his legs up under his crossed arms and leaning on them, chin pressed against his forearms.

“You don’t, but I’ve only tried to help so far, and I only plan to help going forward. So, it’s up to you if you think that’s worth betting on.”

Mono looked up at me, the eye holes of his mask staring through me, he tilted his head like a confused puppy, considering me carefully, before looking away and resting his chin back on his folded arms.

“If you wanted to kill us, you would’ve done it already,” he mumbled to himself, his gaze lingering on where I’d left my shotgun, “Six needs help, do you really think you can get her that help?”

“I know that I can, but I can’t promise the help we have will work.”

“But you promise that you can try?”

“Yes, and I will be with the both of you the whole time, if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

He scooted forward a little closer, still choosing to keep his distance from me. “I think I’d like that, I’ll do anything to help Six.”

“I’m sure she’ll really appreciate that.” I whispered, offering my hand out to him.

He raised his hand then stopped, coiling his fingers as he hesitated. I waited patiently on his decision, watching with a smile as he shyly placed his hand in mine, squeezing my upturned palm gently once.

I sat with Mono and Six until the early hours of the morning, sleep did eventually come for me despite my effort to stay awake but it was short lived as hazy morning light started to pour in through the window and directly onto my face.

Mono had been up and down all night, sleeping in tiny bursts, walking around the apartment and then settling down to sleep again cyclically. I could hear him moving something around in the kitchen, mumbling to himself.

I stretched my arms over my head, looking down at Six still curled up between my legs, she’d cooled down considerably but was still sleeping fitfully. I needed to check her over again and then check my own injury but doing that meant moving and as uncomfortable as leaning flat against a wall was, I was very cosy.

Holding Six’s head and neck up, I manoeuvred her off of my good leg. She didn’t so much as stir, not a good sign. When she was curled back under her makeshift blanket I checked her temperature again, a little warmer than it should be but not as bad as it was last night, she’d need another dose of medicine soon.

I crept up, biting down on my tongue when my cut skin exploded to life, burning uncomfortably. I got to work, changing the soiled bandages and gauze and taking more painkillers. With my leg looking better, I went into the kitchen to find Mono rooting around in one of the kitchen drawers.

“And what are you doing?”

Mono jumped, not expecting me to speak, paper bag turning to look up at me.

“‘Dunno,” he mumbled, “I’m not used to staying in one place for so long I guess,”

“Restlessness,” I said knowingly, crouching down next to him, “that’s very normal.”

“If you say so,” he shrugged, shutting the drawer.

We both went silent, not having much else to talk about. Mono stood across from me awkwardly, rubbing his foot against his ankle.

“You hungry?” I grinned at the sudden change in attitude, Mono bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Yes, yes!”

“C’mon then.”

He followed me back into the living area, trying to get a look into my bag as I rummaged for the travel food I’d packed. I offered him one of the cereal bars and he all but snatched it out of my hands, I’d need to figure out how to get Six fed, she was still out of it and probably wouldn’t have enough energy to chew.

While I was preoccupied with my thoughts there was a tug on the back of my jacket, I turned to Mono who was holding out half of the cereal bar, my heart warmed but I shook my head.

“You have it, there’s plenty in here and you need it more than I do.”

He seemed adamant however, shaking it at me in a gesture to take it, I wondered if he wanted to double check that it wasn’t poisoned or maybe he just wasn’t able to eat that much. I took it from his hand with a smile, sitting with my bad leg out and taking a bite. That seemed to placate him and before I knew it he was mirroring me, sitting with his legs out and snacking away.

“What is this stuff?” He asked,

“Do you not like it?”

“I do! I guess it’s just different from what I’m used to, I don’t recognise the taste.”

“It’s a cereal bar, it’s made of cereal, which is like oats and wheat that’s been mixed together and cooked, and syrup which is this sticky, sweet liquid that you can use in lots of things. The sweetness in the syrup is probably the taste you don’t recognise.”

“I really like it!” He giggled, the sugary treat disappearing under his mask.

I didn’t bother asking what it was the two children were used to, it likely hadn’t changed since I’d been in their shoes all those years ago. We ate in silence for a while before my curiosity got the better of me. I was so interested in how these two had become saddled to one another.

“So how do you and Six know each other? You said you’re friends right?” I asked, Mono sat for a moment, cereal bar disappearing under his mask again before speaking with his mouth full.

“We met in this cabin-”

“Finish what’s in your mouth first, I don’t want you to choke.”

It was hard to tell exactly what face he was making under his paper bag when he took those long, pregnant pauses. He stared me down, completely unmoving and then loosening up to continue his answer.

“We met in this cabin in the woods, it smelled really gross and I was looking for food but there wasn’t anything that looked safe to eat, so I was walking through the hallway and I could hear this music coming from the basement.”

I nodded along, taking a bite of my food.

“When I got down there I couldn’t see anyone, but the music was coming from behind a locked door. Six was inside so I thought ‘I gotta break her out!’ But really that was a bad idea ‘cause she wasn’t alone in the house and-”

“What do you mean?” I furrowed my brow.

“There was this mean old guy with a sack over his head living there! Six called him The Hunter.” Mono explained. So some horrible brute had scooped Six up and was keeping her captive? How charming. “He had one of those sticks, like your one.”

“A shotgun?” I clarified. “Did he shoot at you?”

Mono nodded quickly, I felt sick, how much of The Transmission’s horror had touched these kids, the things they must’ve done to stay alive made my blood boil. They were the ones who truly suffered at the hands of The Signal Tower, abandoned and left to fend for themselves.

I sat in shock horror as Mono continued to explain he and Six’s daring escape from The Hunter’s Wilderness. They’d weaved through long grass and crawled through empty fox dens, Mono had taken a rain hat from the corpse of a child in a cage and didn’t seem even slightly phased by it.

They treaded murky water in a bog, only to be backed into a shed on the wilderness’s edge, “Six had locked the door and she was trying to hold it and we were looking around for something and there was a… gun?” I nodded at his inquiring tone, shuddering at the implication, I knew where this was going. “There was a gun on the wall, so I pulled it down and Six and I were holding it up at the door…”

He trailed off, pulling his legs in and up against his chest, food long forgotten in his hand. I wanted to shuffle closer, do what I could to comfort him but I didn’t want to spook him, I had to remember I was still a stranger.

“Mono, did you shoot the gun?”

He nodded and I sucked in a breath. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fucking right, no kid should have to face the guilt that came with killing someone just to keep themselves alive.

And sure, The Pale Citizens are hardly people anymore but it doesn’t change the fact that they had been once, Mono and Six had been born into this world long after The Transmission had started so I couldn’t be sure they understood that Adults hadn’t always been this way, but I hoped that they did.

“The things you’ve had to do to survive, they aren’t your fault, you know that right?” I asked, Mono shrugged noncommittally.

“I guess so.”

Six stirred quietly across from us but didn’t wake up, Mono moved so he could sit with her and started to gently stroke her hair. We sat in comfortable silence for a while, Mono content to keep an eye on Six while I kept watch on the courtyard.

I watched the bleak weather move outside, light being streaked across the concrete as the cloud cover moved. The quiet started to creep up on the three of us again, I watched as Mono curled down next to Six and found myself starting to nod off too.

Then I heard voices, a group of them, hushed and frantic as they came closer. I shook myself awake, making the struggle to stand and move toward the door to pick up my shotgun. The commotion I was making woke Mono up from his nap, tiny fist disappearing under his mask to supposedly rub at his eyes as he yawned.

He pulled himself up to sit when he noticed that I was holding my gun.

“What’s going on?” Mono asked with an edge of rising panic, head frantically swivelling as he looked around the room for options to hide, his hand clasped tightly to Six’s singlet.

“I don’t know, stay with her,” I whispered back, “whatever is on the other side of this door I will deal with, I need you to do exactly as I say, do you understand?”

He nodded, the hand that wasn’t bunched in Six’s top was shaking in terror.

“Get yourself ready to move.”

I cracked the door open, the muzzle of the gun stuck in the gap and prepared to put myself between these kids and whatever was in the courtyard and then I heard a whistle.

A loud piercing whistle that made me want to cry with relief, I opened the door fully and the group of people surrounding The Viewers corpse turned to me.

“Halle?” I called out in disbelief.

“Madeleine!” Halle yelled, I shushed him hoping there was nothing else here but us as he rushed over to me. He took my face in his calloused hands, turning me back and forth as he checked me over. “What happened to your leg?”

“I cut it on some rebar by mistake, I’m perfectly fine.” I wrapped my hands around Halle’s wrists, I don’t think I’d ever been so relieved to see the old man.

“Why are you out here on your own?” The worried lilt in his voice dropped as his face warped with confusion, there was now a barely concealed fury burning in his eyes.

I was no longer relieved to see Halle.

“What do you mean?” I was unsure about what the problem was, he’d asked me out here why would he be upset with me?

“I mean, why are you out here on your own?” He repeated with more vigour, I started to reel with my own confusion.

“You-”

“Halle! We’re going down to the wharf,” Georgia called from her place across the courtyard, the group still crowding The Viewer I’d killed,

“I’ll be right with you Georgia,” He shouted back to her, then turned to me, “We are not done with this conversation.”

“Yeah clearly,” I muttered under my breath as he started to walk away, I grabbed his arm, “I found a couple of kids, I need Arthur to take a look at one of them.”

Halle stopped in his tracks, twisting back to face me with raised brows. “How bad?”

“If we leave her much longer she won’t survive, it’s a damn miracle she’s been able to hold out this long.”

There was that word again, miracle. If Six makes it, that's what she’ll be known as, and while I’m sure she’ll hate it, being a miracle is better than being dead.

I pulled Halle to the apartment door and peeked my head in, I smiled at Mono who visibly relaxed.

“Nothing to worry about, it’s just those nice rescue people I was telling you about.” I opened the door to let Halle see the two children, his expression steeled as he took them in.

“I’ll get Arthur,” Halle murmured, hand squeezing my shoulder.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” I assured Mono from the doorway as Halle walked away, “we’ll get you out of this mess.”

“Okay,” Mono whispered.

It didn’t take Arthur long to make his way over, boots scuffing the broken concrete with force, I pushed the door open wide for him and watched him scan the room, it wasn’t long before he got to work, getting down on his hands and knees to assess Six.

Mono wasn’t far off, watching the red-haired man like a hawk, that unsettling, paper bag stare making Arthur clear his throat and look at me expectantly.

“Mono, did you and Six come here with anything? Any bags or other clothes?” I asked, trying to ease the tension as I stepped back into the room.

“No, but-”

“How long has her breathing been like this?” Arthur cut in, voice stern. The sudden seriousness he had taken on made my stomach churn.

“Been like what?” I was struggling to keep my voice steady as I asked the question. My palms started to sweat as I turned away from Mono and took a knee next to Arthur.

“Shallow and thready,” he clarified, starting to bundle the girl up as I stammered through my answer.

“I-I’m not sure.”

“Okay, don’t panic but we need to go now, just the journey back might be too long if we don’t start moving.” Arthur kept his voice low and hushed, an obvious attempt to keep the boy behind him from panicking but as I caught a glimpse of Mono over his shoulder I knew there was no point.

Mono stood up, body coiled tight like a spring, set to sprint should someone say the word. He’d picked up Six’s raincoat from where Arthur had discarded it when he was checking the girl over, the yellow vinyl having been in the way.

The coat arm was scrunched tight in his hand, white knuckled with nervous force.

“What’s going on?” Mono fretted, paper bag turning to face me head on. “Maddie, where is he taking Six!?”

“He’s just-“

I cut myself off as Arthur swept Six up, holding her tight to his chest as he stood. Mono jumped to action, fingers digging into Arthur’s heavy duty jeans and pulling.

It didn’t phase Arthur, shaking the boy off and taking long strides to the door.

“No! Put her down, let her go!” Mono yelled as he tried futilely to pull Arthur down, I grabbed for the boy’s shoulder and pulled him back until he was standing still. With Mono distracted for just a moment Arthur took Six and left the apartment complex.

“Mono, Arthur is a doctor. He’s taking her back to the boat which will take us back to the mainland,”

“Liar!” Mono yelled, beating his fists against my thighs. “You’re just like the rest of them! You’ll take her and I’ll never see her again, you’ll leave me here!”

I grabbed his wrists, holding them still as he panicked.

“Arthur needs to take Six away from The Pale City to help her,” I soothed, “I’ll be with you the whole time and you will see Six again, I promise.”

“I don’t trust you!” He cried, tears dripping from his chin.

“Listen to me— Listen!” Mono snivelled, I pulled my sleeve down and wiped at his tear-stained chin. “If Six doesn’t get proper help, she will die. Do you understand?”

Mono crumpled to his knees, his hands still held tight in my grip, anguished sobs wracked his body, I pulled him into a hug which he pushed against before changing his mind and melting into. He balled my shirt up into his fists and tucked himself under my chin as best as he could with his mask still on.

It took a few moments to bring him down, I’d never known a Pale City kid to be so loud.

“I will be with you the whole time, I am not going to leave you here. I know this is a lot to deal with so quickly but will you let me help you like I said I would?” I pleaded quietly, we were on borrowed time now and as much as I was trying not to show it, deep down I was panicking too.

Mono continued to cry, entirely unresponsive as he pressed himself impossibly close to my chest. I gently pulled him back, my heart tugging as he shook with unbridled fear.

“Mono, I need an answer.” I lifted his head to meet my gaze, relieved when he nodded frantically. “Okay, give me that coat and let’s go.”

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