Together - Mono x Six - Little Nightmares

Chapter 2 - Hunted

(Artwork by Th3Unkn0wns)

The boy sat there in the grass, captivated by the lantern that was shining in his eyes, blinding him. He was in a trance, forgetting about his surroundings. Little did he know he was staring death in the eyes as the giant reloaded its shotgun, preparing to aim. A sudden yank on his hand brought the boy back to his senses, quickly getting onto his feet and running behind a wooden crate for cover, the girl barely saving his life.

BOOM!!

The noise was very familiar to the boy, recalling the loud noise he heard that brought him to this area in the first place. The giant's muffled hoarse breathing sent chills down the boy's spine, it didn't sound human at all. The giant had its guard dog on a chain leash, holding it back with one hand, its other hand on its shotgun. The dog did not look like any ordinary dog, however. Both of its eyes were soulless, pure white. It had cotton oozing out from its entire body, and it was missing its left ear.

Its movement was very stiff and rigid, it had dark black fur and a red-stained mouth with sharp spikes for teeth. It left a trail of cotton as it crept beside its master, convincing the boy that this dog wasn't alive, rather stuffed. The young kid was pulled by the girl behind another crate before he could get a better look at the dog. They ducked behind the crate, and the giant responded by shooting at their cover, barely missing the two of them. The boy watched as pieces of the crate went flying off to the side, disappearing into the bushes.

They both sprinted ahead, desperately looking for cover. They found a thick patch of grass and ducked into it, hoping it kept them hidden well enough. The giant stomped along the soil, scanning with its lantern, looking for any signs of movement. Its harsh breathing became slower, concentrating harder. The boy and the girl slowly moved along the thick blades of grass, being careful not to cause too much attention. 

The giant eventually gave up trying to look for them, resorting to its dog. It unhooked the chain that was connected to the dog's collar, letting it run rampant along the pathway. It sniffed around, trying to pick up their scent. The grass masked their scent long enough for them to sneak away into an outhouse. When they got inside, the boy looked outside from a slit, trying to figure out where they were.

They were surrounded by tall fences, their only escape being a gate that had a large lock on it. He scanned the area for the giant, finding it bent down searching for them under a log. He noticed a large silver key that was attached to the giant's belt, most likely the key to the gate.

"Hey," he called over to the girl. She looked over at him and tilted her head sideways as if to say, "What?"

"Take a look over there..." He pointed at the gate with the lock on it, then pointed at the giant.

"See that key on the big thing's belt?" He asked her, she nodded her head.

"If we can somehow get that key off of it, we can get out through the gate." He explained to her.

Though, how would he get the key off of the giant? It seemed like an impossible task to the boy. He really wished he had kept that axe from before, but it was too late to go get it now. He came up with multiple ideas on getting the key, perhaps he could kill it? But how would he do that? Maybe he could distract it and the girl could get the key, but he didn't want to risk the girl's life. She saved him from being blasted in the face by a shotgun, so he would return the favor and get them out of this place. He then looked at the dog, which was searching in a bush, sniffing around with great hostility.

Perhaps the dog could play a role in their escape, but how? The boy thought for a bit, watching the dog sniff around in the bush some more before snarling and biting at something. It emerged from the bush with a round rock in its mouth, then spat it out once it realized that it wasn't them. The giant whistled loudly all of a sudden, causing the dog's one ear to perk up, then turning around and running over to its master. They both disappeared behind some tall trees, going to search in another area.