From The Maw

Chapter Three

  I flick open my lighter and hold my stomach with one arm. I walk forward into a hallway with bars on one side. My stomach growls again and I have to close my lighter to grab my stomach with both hands. I slow walk up the stairs in front of me. I see another kid on the other sides of the bars. They're eating something. My stomach growls again at the sight of the food and the kid stands up tossing some bread between the bars. I smile and grab the bread eating it so fast I barely taste it. Once I'm done I consider thanking the strange kid who helped me, considering now they're plate is empty. I go up to the bars but they sit back down looking sadly at their plate.
  I sigh and climb up some boxes in front of me. I feel bad for taking their food but I was so hungry. I jump down into a room with a noose and I look up at it sadly.

Maybe I can join Mono?

Six, no. You made a promise that you would come back to the city to find me.

  Mono's voice reminds me that I did make a promise to go back to the city to find him. Am I going crazy? I'm hearing Mono's voice when he isn't here. I walk through a doorway in front of me into some showers. I flick on my lighter and walk through them and through a doorway onto a platform with a metal bridge.

Running across the bridge. Jumping across the gap that appears in front of me. Turning around and seeing Mono running towards me. The bridge is falling apart behind him and he jumps across the gap reaching for my hand. I grab his hand and hold him dangling above the black abyss.

  I shake my head not wanting to remember the rest. As I walk across the bridge I see a cage half on the bridge half off the bridge. I push it off to see how long of a drop it is.

Maybe if it's not to long here, maybe Mono survived.

  There's a loud clang after a couple minutes and I wish I didn't test that theory. I continue walking across the bridge and reach the other side. There's more electrified bars in front of me and I turn to see cages I can climb. I pull myself on top of one and walk across it to some cages I can climb up. As I climb up I make the mistake of looking down. No wonder Mono wanted me to pull him up. I pull myself up onto a platform on the cages and I see a lamp. I go over to it and light it, I see some hanging cages that are attached to a chain and I run and jump onto them. I start climbing up the chain since there's nowhere else to go.
  I reach a platform and I jump off the chain onto the platform. I go over to the cages behind me and I climb up them onto another platform. I go over to a lever and try to pull it but it won't budge. I see another lever behind me and I go over to it, jumping up and pulling it down. The chain holding the cages raises them up to the platform's level. I then go over to the other lever and pull it to the right. It swings towards the platform and hits the edge with a resounding clang.
  I see another platform across the gap and I know what I have to do. I pull the lever to the left and run, jumping onto the cages as they swing towards the other side. They hit the other side and I climb up the chain to the level of the other platform. I flick open my lighter and walk through a doorway into another room. I see a file cabinet, a lever, and more electrified bars. I pull the bottom drawer on the last row out and climb up onto it. I pull out the other drawer but when I try to stop it it pushes me off of the other drawer.
  I go over to another file cabinet and pull open the bottom drawer. I climb onto that, jump onto the other drawers I pulled out, and then jump on top of the other file cabinet. I jump and grab the lever pulling it down turning off the lights and bars. I flick open my lighter and squeeze through the bars. I see a box half on this level and half falling into a hole in the floor. I see a lamp up ahead and I light it. Then after I light the lamp I see a nome trapped in a cage. I open the door and the nome runs away. "Hey wait!" I call after it. I chase it back to the other room and see it hiding behind the file cabinet. I go over to it and pick it up hugging it.
  I go back into the other room and push the box into the hole. As it falls a rope comes up pulling the noose from the other room up to this level. The nome shambles into the room and I wave to it before I jump grabbing onto the noose. My weight pulls the noose down and I slowly descend to the the floor. I pass the box on my way down and I think of Mono as I desend.

I wish he were here. It wouldn't be as scary.

  I sigh and suddenly the noose stops descending. I let go and drop to the floor. I flick open my lighter and suddenly I hear a sound. I look up and see the box rushing towards me.

I'M GOING TO DIE!

  I think as the box gets closer.

At least I'll be with Mono.

  Suddenly the box stops reaching the end of the rope. I let out a breath of relief and continue on into the shower room. As I walk forward I see a leech crawling out of a shower drain. I run around it and dodge more leeches as the fall from the ceiling and crawl towards me. I run across the bridge and squeeze through the bars on the other side. I walk into another room and I see one of those creepy eyes. I duck behind some boxes as the eye shifts towards me. As the eye moves away I here something roll across the floor and hit something. I take my chance and run behind some more boxes. I see what was rolling was a trash can with a mop, broom, and more cleaning supplies in it.
  As the eye shifts away I creep behind the trashcan on wheels. Suddenly it starts rolling away and I have to walk with it as the eyes follows it. When the trashcan hits more boxes I walk behind them to stay hidden. The eye follows the trashcan as it starts rolling again and I run through a doorway out of the room. I find myself on a platform with stairs leading down to a bridge. I walk down the stairs and start walking across the bridge. Suddenly it starts pulling apart and I run across it and jump a gap as a cage falls into the abyss below.
  I run towards a platform too high for me to jump up to. I see a box that I can climb up onto and onto the platform. I crawl up onto it and as it nears the platform I climb up onto the platform. I run through a doorway as the cage like door slams down. I flick open my lighter and walk forward as two doors open and I walk through them as two nomes run from me.