From The Maw

Chapter One

  I wake up in a suitcase. Suddenly it all comes back to me.

Running from Mono only to ask for his help...

Running away from the Bullies with him...

Drawing a smiley face his cheek with soot...

Hearing him tell me he loved me before I dropped him...

  I put my face in my hands crying. If I hade those seconds back I would pull him up and tell him I loved him too. I continue crying wanting to bring Mono back. I wipe my eyes on the sleeve of my raincoat and reach in my pocket. I feel something papery and when I pull it out I see it's Mono's paper bag. I look at sadly before putting back in my pocket and reaching into my other one for the lighter I found. I pull it out and flick it on staring at the flame. I turn off my lighter and hop out of the suitcase heading for a hallway. As I walk into it I see a nome scuttle off and I flick on my lighter lighting up the hallway full of pipes. I try to follow the nome but they scuttled away into the darkness. I come across a lamp and light it.
  The hallway is bathed in light and I see a door to a vent. I pull on it and open the vent. I crawl inside and see a small area I have to climb up. I flick off my lighter and crawl up. I flick open my lighter again and crawl forward. There's water falling into the vent from a grate above and I flick of my lighter so it won't get wet. I put it in my pocket and crawl forward the water hitting the hood of my raincoat. I crawl forward and jump out of the opening of the vent onto another suitcase.
  I flick open my lighter again and see some stairs in front of me. I start to walk up them and when I look above me I see huge chains. "Wow." I say. Mono probably would of came up with a joke. Tears prick my eyes as I think that and I wipe them away with the sleeve of my coat. As I reach the top of the stairs I walk past a door and some boxes. I see a little closet like place and see a geisha doll. Curious I go over to it and pick it up. It's made of porcelain. I'm confused as to why the doll is here. I go to put it back down but it slips out of my hands and breaks on the floor. A black mist floats away from the broken pieces and I watch it dissipate.
  I shrug and turn around going back to the hallway I was walking through. I come across a hole in the wall. I crawl under some boards and see a couch and a chair hanging from the ceiling. I walk past a door with a peephole and I think I see an eye in it but before I can get a good look the peephole turns dark. "Huh?" I shake that off crawl onto a bed and jump up pulling myself into a vent. I fall down onto a mattress on the floor and see a man hanging. "Wow Mono what do-?" I cut myself off remembering Mono isn't with me. "Right." I sigh and see a door with a eye on it that Mono could've helped me open with a boost. I go over to the chair and drag it over to the door. I hop up onto it and open the door dangling from the handle. I fall to the floor and flick open my lighter to see some black sludge ahead of me on the floor.
  "What the hell is that?" I walk over to it curious. I see more leading away and soon it turns to footprints. "There's someone else here?" I follow the footprints to a fridge that has handprints on it and they drag away from the fridge as if the person was holding onto the door but got dragged away. "Oh." I sigh and look over to see a hole in the wall. Maybe they escaped through that." I crawl through the hole into a vent and when I come out the other side I see a lamp in front of me. I light it and the room lights up. Going back through the hole and open the door to the fridge. I see a nome run towards the hole in the wall and I chase after it.
  When I make my way through the vent and into the room the nome is warming his hands by the fire. "Aw." I go over and pick him up in a hug. When I sit him back down he continues warming his hands. I wave as I crawl back into the vent and he waves back at me. When I make my way back into the room with the fridge again I see on the second to top shelf has shoes in it. "Hm. Shoes in a fridge? Ok?" I go over to the fridge and start climbing the shelves. I reach the top and look down. It pretty high up here. I would probably die if I fell.

Just like Mono.

  I try to stop the tears but they flow and I can't stop them. I wipe my eyes on my sleeve but the tears keep coming. Eventually I sit down and cry again wanting to give up everything just to bring Mono back. I would give anything for Mono to be here with me. I make a promise to myself. I will go back to the Pale City. I will see if he's alive. And if he is, I'll apologize for everything and tell him that I still love him.
  I wipe my tears away again and see the slanted floor beside me. I crawl up onto it, walk forward towards a higher part of the floor, and climb onto that. I walk forward and see a gap in the floor coming soon. I near it and see it's not that big of a gap. I hear something fall onto the floor behind me and I waste no time running and jumping across the gap. When I reach the other side I flick open my lighter and turn to see a leech across the gap. "Disgusting." I walk forward and when I walk under a pipe I here something hit the floor behind me. I run forwards and see a leech pulling itself up out of the floor. I dodge that and run into the next room. I climb onto a box and pull a lever opening a door in front of me.
  I keep my lighter on and continue running. I run across a metal bridge thing and see that there's a small gap. I waste no time and jump it. I run into the next room and see a boarded up wall. I pull on the bottom board and make a hole big enough for me to crawl through. When I reach the other side I start walking forward and a nome scuttles away. "Hey!" I run after it and some boards fall out from under me.

  I stand up and my feet feel like they're in a oily substance. I flick on my lighter and see I'm standing in some of that black sludge. "Ew." I hear a werid screeching sound and see leeches coming for me. "No way!" I run forward dodging leeches and make it to a board blocking a doorway. I push it down and run. I see a small gap and run towards it jumping over the gap. When I reach the other side I see the oily residue sliding off of my raincoat. "At least I'll be clean." I mutter. I see another lamp and go over to it lighting it and making a small circle of light appear. I see a ladder made out of boards and go over to it and climb it. I flick open my lighter and walk forward sending a nome scuttling away.
  I chase after it across a board and up some stairs before I lose it. I sigh and I hear a loud wind blowing through somewhere. I walk across a small suspended bridge. I come to a place were I turn right and I walk forwards until I have to turn again. I see a gap and jump across it and I walk up some more stairs. I reach a closed door and see another bridge leading away. It goes forward, then right, then forward, then left, and then to a crank. "Why not a straight bridge?" I mutter. I start using the crank and remember something.

Mono throws a crank at me and jumps down from the cupboard and goes over to a body shaped bag. As I put the crank into the hole it goes in Mono climbs onto the bag. I pull him up with the crank and when I reach the end of the pulley Mono turns and jumps towards a key grabbing onto it enough to knock it off the hook it's on. When he hits the ground he lets out a soft cry. I rush over to him. "Are you okay?"

  My thoughts get interrupted as the crank stops. I see the room is bathed in light and when I look over my shoulder I see the door that was closed is now open. I let go of the crank and to door starts to slowly close. I run across the bridge and when I come to the gap where it turns I just jump across and continue running. When I reach the door I slide under it as it closes behind me. I stand up to see I'm in a big room. I walk forward and see a hole in the wall. Curious I go over to it and crawl through. I fall through onto a box I flick open my lighter so I can see. I walk forwards and hear the screech of metal being dragged across metal.
  I turn towards the sound and see a huge person with long arms dragging something behind them. I shudder and really wish Mono was here.