What Once was Broken

Chapter 26.... Old School Fears

Once Leo and Six had climbed through the window behind me, we started our way down a hardwood hall, completely trashed on every corner. "Wow," Leo began as he observed a nearby garbage can, still seemingly smoldering from recent flames, "now I'm DEFINITELY glad I don't go to school!" "Agreed. Who do you think could've done this?" Six asked, peering down the split in the hall, leading to some doors. I looked down the hall with her, and was shocked to find a mountain of broken desks blocking the end. "Well that way is a ne pas aller." I said, shaking my head in disapproval of the destruction of such an otherwise lovely structure. ""Ne pas aller"?" Six asked in confusion. I nodded my head, and translated, "in other words, a "No go". Just look at that mountain of desks! How can we go over THAT?" "Better question is how can we be sure it actually LEADS somewhere?" Six added, pulling me closer to her in nervousness. "Surely it must, but that's not the way we're going clearly." I responded akwardly, trying to shake her away from me. I continued down the hall we stood in, and found a few paintings with blackened voids for eyes, and a lever. "Huh, I wonder what this opens." I said to myself as to not alert the others, which was pointless to say the least because once I had flicked the lever down, the whole place went dark. "AHHH!" Six screamed, making me jump out of my skin nearly. "Who cut the lights!?" Leo screamed crossly, feeling around for us. "I thought it did something useful, so I flicked it." I explained, looking around for any kind of change. "Well can you turn it back on? Some of us would like to SEE what's around us y'know." Leo replied, his attitude growing by the minute. "Oh pieds de porc! Hog's feet, I daresay! There's nothing in here remotely WORTH looking at other than junk and destruction!" "The only feet that we're going to be talking about are your dainty ones if you don't turn that light back on this instant girl!" Leo threatened. "Posh! I'm not afraid of a silly boy like-" my attention was drawn to a set of spotlights, cascading their lights across the grimy panels of the hardwood below. "Figured you wouldn't finish that-" "HUSH! I'm trying to figure something out!" I scolded as I followed where the light seemed to be emmiting from, which to my surprise was the once, voidless eyes of the various paintings on the wall. I looked on in awe as I began, "Tarte sucrée au genièvre! Do you see that!?" "I wonder what's behind it." Leo added, placing his hands on his hips in the dim light. "We should try and jiggle the painting from it's place on the wall." I said, puting my brain to work, "Only THEN can we make some real progress! Where's Six at?" "H-Hey guys.." Six whimpered, and I peered over Leo's shoulder to find her holding some kind of toy. "Where'd you get that?" Leo asked, reaching out to touch it, only to have Six reel back from him in a protective sort of manner. "I-I found it! While the light was off, I followed another into a room piled high with beds, and there were toys scattered everywhere, so I decided to preoccupy myself while you two worked out the lights..." Six replied, embarrassed. "Awww, are you afraid of the dark honey?" Leo teased playfully, and Six stamped her foot as she replied, "N-No! I was only surprised is all. Besides, you two looked like you had it under control, so I didn't want to be in the way." "Aww don't be so silly." Leo began, walking up to Six, and pulling her into a hug, catching her extremely off gaurd as her cheeks seemed to glow a red hue, and dropped the toy between them. "Who said YOU we're in the way? Honestly, you're MUCH helpful than any other person I've met." "HEY! I TAKE OFFENSE TO THAT YOU KNOW!" I exclaimed, snagging the toy from between them, and throwing it at the painting in front of us, knocking the painting loose to find a gargantuan hole dug into the wall behind it. "Oh, don't be so disheartened love. You're the first most helpful person I've met!" Leo replied, playfully tapping me on the nose, which wasn't at ALL comfortable. I huffed, and I clambered my way through the hole, leaving the two love birds behind. Once I was through, an eerie feeling crept through me, like something sinister was up ahead, and I turned to find a lone chair in the center of the completely wooden wall space. Scratch marks littered the walls, and in the corner were a set of tools in a box, which spooked me out to say the least. "Guys! Come on!" I called, looking for a way to get out. "Christ, what IS this place?" Leo asked as he came through the hole, looking sickened by the sight of the lone chair and tools in the corner. "Most likely a hidey hole." Six suggested as Leo hopped to the ground, allowing her to come through. "Let's see if there's a way out of this hiding spot." I said, kicking the wall to see if anything was hidden. "Claire," Leo began as he observed the room, "I don't think there IS a way out." "Just looks like a dead end to me." Six added, kicking a nearby wall. "Or maybe kicking isn't enough." I said, turning my attention to the other side of the room. I broke into a run, and I tripped over something in the floor. "Owwww." "Claire!" Leo exclaimed, running to my side, and lifting me from the floor. "Are you okay?" "The floor has a crawl space." I said, catching my breath as Leo steadied me onto my feet. "Pardon?" "There's a crawl space beneath us. All we have to do is break the door leading to it." Leo and I looked down, and sure enough my claim was correct. "Well shorty, what do you suppose we do?" Leo asked, and an idea came into veiw. "Stand back." I said, and Leo took a few steps backwards as I jumped on the door leading to the crawl space. "Gaaah! I'm too light!" I whined. "Here, let me help." Leo began, stepping back onto the door, and we both began jumping. "Now I think we just have the weight of ONE." I said, out of breath. "Here, I'll help too." Six said, stepping on the door with us, and we all began to jump with all the strength we could, trying to open the small door with no luck. "Let's try combining our weight!" I concluded, setting myself on the floor for a breather. "Combining our weight?" Leo asked, scratching his head. "She means if we jump together, the door may fly open, allowing us access." Six explained as she flopped on the ground tiredly. "Oh, come on!" Leo whined, "Can't we rest up for a spell? We've been at it for AGES!" "But not long enough! We MUST push on, or we're stuck here." I replied, standing back up from the floor. "On my count, get ready to jump. 1..... 2......3!" We all launched into the air in perfect unison, and sure enough, the door open beneath us with a loud bang! We all fell into a small pile inside the crawl space, but I quickly jumped back to my feet, and ran onward, hoping within every inch of my heart that I was on the verge of finding my mysterious love bird. "Oy, Wait up now!" Leo called, and I could hear their footsteps bounding behind me as I crouched. As I was going under a low beam, a loud smack was heard, and I tried to hold in laughter as Leo screeched, "Crikey! Biccy and Chook!" "You have to duck, bone head!" Six scolded, and Leo huffed, "Yeah, like I hadn't figured already." And crawled behind me. I noticed the red mark in the center of his forehead, and I couldn't help but laugh as he snarled, "Yeah, it's SO funny until it turns around and bites you on the hind quarters!" "Sure, let's keep going." I giggled, continuing to crawl my way to the other side of the beam, leading to a human sized sliver in the wall. "Little one first, as always." Leo commanded, pushing me toward the sliver which was large enough for me to go through with ease. "Come on! I'll see you on the other side!" I called, running through the little bit of corridor left, and skidding to a halt at the edge of a vent. This was a new room, only darker than the first. It held a couple of platforms, which I used to my advantage to safely land on the ground, and I approached another vent, tightly bolted. "Guys! It's loose enough to pull!" "What is?" "This vent here! Come see it for yourself!" I called. Leo and Six gradually made their way to the floor, and Six walked in front of me to study the vent as Leo took me off to the side. "What do you think you're doing? You only JUST arrived here, and yet you act like you know the place!" He scolded, placing both his hands firmly onto my shoulder. "I've seen it SO many times Leo, like déjà vu! And his aura is strong in the wind, so I know that I MUST be close to him." I explained, taking his hands from my shoulders, and looking into the bright gems that were his green eyes. Leo shook his head worriedly, and replied, "something here seems a little fishy to me. Just promise you'll tell me if you're not okay!" Leo begged, ruffling my hair. I nodded, and I raced over to Six, who was pulling onto the vent with full force. "Leo, help us!" I called, and I began to pull on the vent, loosening the bolts even more. Leo sighed, and reluctantly began to pull on the vent with us..... One creak..... Two creeks..... All it took was two when the bolts gave way, sending the vent crashing to our feet in front of us. "Good work team!" I cheered, and I started through the vent, with Leo taking up my back, and Six following the rear. Once we came to the end of the vent, we all dropped to the floor as a strange sound began to alert us. "Is that-" "Cracking?" I gulped, grabbing on to Leo, who contorted his face into a sickly manner. We ended up in a dark hallway, with a split down the middle, and a faint light in the other hall ahead. A locker was pushed smack dab into the center of the floor, and the sillohuet of a tin pail was enough for us to feel uneasy as it simply hung in place. The cracking continued, and I only imagined what it could be as Leo started walking, making sure I didn't fall in the process. Once we reached the locker, we could clearly make out the image of a body, with some kind of pole in place to keep it standing. "Oh goodness! Their head's been piked!" Six exclaimed, hiding behind Leo. I felt a sense of danger as the quoted "pole" began to retract in a series of sickening cracks and snaps, and it wasn't long for Leo and I to pale with fear as a head came from the ceiling, and situated itself back onto it's shoulders. "It's head's not piked hon." Leo gulped. "It's not?" "No." I replied, shaking my head fearfully, "it's neck is tendue, or Outstretched as you say it." We continued to watch as the shadow kept searching, and eventually walked away with large slumps, slamming a door behind it. "Oh thank étoiles et vanille it didn't see us!" I breathed out in relief, wiping my forehead with my fore arm. "Come! Let's press on." Leo said, taking the lead. As I began to follow him, Six grabbed my arm, and pulled me back toward her. "Why is this mission so important to you?" She asked, a sort of dark tone beginning to fill in for the frightened girl we heard earlier. "I was beckoned here," I began, my chest glowing to produce a path of light, "and turning back is not an option." "But we could get hurt, Claire. Why is this supposed "Boy" worth more than our own lives? Isn't it enough that you escaped the Maw?" "More like I was chased out! The Maw was my home, and my mother and sister who lived there loved me. It was their wish for me to thrive, and live on, so I left. For some reason though, I feel like fate had brought me there as a sort of preparation for what we're about to face in the Pale City! It's Folle, but it's true." I explained, putting my hand over my heart as it faded. "Folle?" Six asked, raising a brow. "Crazy, is what it means. But I know it, in my heart, that we're here for a purpose.... I'M here for a purpose!" I replied, looking down at our feet. Six lifted my gaze back to her gently, and smiled a kind of suspicious smile as she replied, "You have a choice in this too. If you need to back out, say the word and we'll leave this place as quickly as we came!" "It's not likely that I would, Six. I've come to far to back out now!" "But you have yet to reach the point of no return. So, do you still want to press forward?" She asked, a mysterious tone coming to her as a dark void seemed to fill her eyes, sucking out my soul the more I looked into them! I backed away from Six immediately, frightened by the whole event, and I nodded quickly to answer her question. Six seemed a little frustrated by my response, but she masked it with a calm, patient voice as she said, "Alright then. Let's catch up to Leo!" She scampered on ahead, and I couldn't help but think that trouble lurked with her around. She was up to something, and I know for SURE she has something to hide, but I couldn't quite yet pinpoint what it was yet! "Well? Are you coming, or do I have to carry you?" Six asked, turning back to me. I didn't want to go with her, and in fact, I wanted to run up to Leo and tell him everything, but I knew that I couldn't convince him without any concrete proof, so I reluctantly went up to her side where she quickly grabbed my hand, intwining her fingers with mine. "I can't let her know." I thought to myself, "If at ANY point she figures out, I'm done for!" Once we caught up with Leo, we stared down the short, dimly lit hallway at a pile of lockers, stacked so to make a small enterance for us to go through. I shook six away, and ran up to Leo's side to observe the hall closer as a very off feeling began to brew. "Huh, seems like a cakewalk fro here." Leo said, walking out into the hallway blindly as I chased after him. It wasn't twenty feet in when Leo stepped on a board that sunk in with a click, and it didn't take me long to look up as a bucket came detached from the ceiling above. "WATCH OUT!" Leo cried, tackling me as he dived to the floor to cover me. Six squealed, and ran from the door way as the bucket sailed right for her, barely missing her by a hair. "Traps..." I responded, breathless from the sudden force to my stomach, "The school has traps!" "And it's loaded with them too. Let's keep going!" The bucket came to a slow swing, allowing us to safely roll out from under the trap without injury. "That thing almost HIT me! Did you see?" Six exclaimed in a dignified tone. "Oui, Six, it almost hit US too!" I replied, frustrated by the stupid facade she's building. Leo walked into the crawlspace, and said, "Girls! Over here!" "What is it?" I asked, peering into the crawlspace before deciding it was safe enough to walk through. Once I found the end, I was met with another hallway, this time though, it seemed more lit up and vandalized. "Ma sauce et mes toasts, ANOTHER hall!" I sighed, walking into the messy pigsty. "Crikey! It seems like a war broke out in here!" Leo exclaimed, looking about the scattered mess about the floor. I looked up, and to my horror, found all sorts of sharpened objects hanging from the ceiling from knives to forks! "Tread carefully," I began, warning the other two, "it's deadly in here." "Don't have to tell us twice." Six whimpered, grabbing onto Leo for dear life. Leo blushed a bit, and gave a slight giggle as he set his hand down on top of her head gently. "You look cute when you're scared." Leo said, rubbing her head as she looked up in embarrassment, blushing. I rolled my eyes, and left the two there to be all lovey dovey again as I pressed forward. "Whoa! Hey there skipper, where do you think you're going?" Leo asked, catching up to me to cut off my course. "Onward. Ready to join?" I asked, slightly annoyed. Leo laughed, and pinched my cheek playfully as he said, "You pout too much. I'm surprised you're not considered a pufferfish!" "Oww! Stop it Leo!" I scolded, smacking his hand away. Leo laughed, and he continued on behind me as I walked forward some more. This time, it was I who felt a board sink in, and I screeched, "Stay back!" As I ran from a frying pan attached to kitchen utensils. Leo jumped back as a bucket followed behind the pan, nearly hitting him in the process, making him land on his bum. "Crikey! Why so many traps!?" "Well at least it wasn't as SOON as we entered the hall, thankfully." I comforted as I helped him back up from the floor. A small pitter patter caught my attention, and I looked around the corner cautiously, Leo staying close by as he peered around with me. I wasn't too sure if I was the only one at the time, but I swore I could see shadows in the dim light of the turn, zipping and weaving out of sight to avoid being found. I gasped, and I looked up at Leo, who held a look of worry as he continued to look on down the dim hallway. "What do you think is down there?" He asked, gulping. "I don't know, but we must tread carefully! Come." I said, taking the lead as we entered the hallway. "I-I really don't think this is a good idea guys. We can go back, if you want." Six said, grabbing onto Leo's shoulders. "Non! We've came too far to turn back now. I'm not afraid of the Pale City, so why are you so eager to leave?" I asked, turning to her with a suspicious glare. "Well not ALL people are YOU love. We're our own person, and not many are as brave as you are!" Leo defended, rubbing his arm nervously. "Then why do you push forward? Why not go back to the boat and wait for me?" I asked, annoyed by the whiny nature of their complaints. "Well you ought to know MY answer by now." "I know, but my question is aimed more for the person who has done nothing but cried since we arrived." I replied, looking directly at Six. "I-I just don't feel safe here! This whole fantasy of yours seems foolish, a boy in this wretched city. You're blinded by dreams, and shun the reality that this isn't your normal, "Let's go to the park and meet someone new" type of society anymore!" Six snapped defensively. "Then who IS calling me here? WHY am I being called upon? And WHY am I feeling his aura here?" I asked, my vision turning red. "Maybe all that time on the Maw affected your sense of what IS real. Everything you thought you knew about the Maw turned out to be your version of a happy illusion, and you're lucky it didn't steal you!" Six growled, bowing up to me, and attempting to overpower me by engulfing me in her shadow, eyes wild with some kind of feralness. I wasn't afraid to stare into those dark eyes, even if I wanted to tremble before her, and agree with her verdict. Something was telling me to take my stand, and I already knew who it was that was standing by me to give me strength. "Ladies, please!" Leo begged, coming between us, "You two both have good reasons for what you do, I'm sure, but we mustn't fight about it, yeah?" I know Leo meant well, and I couldn't be bitter with him forever, so with a reluctant sigh, I said with a soft smile, "You're right. Let's make up with each other and be friends." I stuck my hand out toward Six, and she reluctantly squeezed it before placing it quickly back to her side. A rattling from behind caught our attention, and we jumped back as a tiny figure ducked away behind the lockers. "W-Wait! We're your friends, we won't harm you!" I called, chasing after it. "Claire, wait! You don't even know what it is!" Leo called, trying to catch up with me when Six called out, "It's her own folly if she dies. Let it be!" But Leo still continued to run until he was by my side. "Coming?" I asked Six, standing atop of a locker that had been pushed down to get to the next crawl space. Six clenched her fists together, and growled, "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you!" "Will you please be nice to her? You're just as stubborn as I, jeez." Leo remarked, jumping over to the crawl space. Six dropped her jaw, offended, and I shook my head at her pitiful attempt to sway me. I jumped to the crawlspace, and waited for Leo to jump to the floor before I followed him. Before I could jump, I felt a harsh force from behind me, making me lose my grip as I yelled out, "Leo! Help!" "I've got you Claire! Don't worry!" Leo replied, running back just in time to catch me before I hit the floor. Trembling, I looked back up and said accusingly, "Six PUSHED me! She was trying to make me fall so I could die!" Leo's face grew unconvinced as he asked, "Are you sure you didn't just loose your footing?" I shook my head as I looked back to the door, finding Six jumping her way down to the floor, and landing effortlessly on her feet like a gymnast. "Hey Six," Leo began in a teasing manner, "Little one here said you pushed her out the space." "Oh, she's just holding a grudge is all. I saw her slip." Six said, smiling. Although Leo couldn't see it, I could tell that her tone was dry, and her eyes held a type of malice to them aimed directly at me! Leo set me on the ground, and dusted me off as he said, "There, you have your culprit. Now let's get a move on, and stop this silly blame game." He pinched my nose lightly, and giggled as he ran ahead, setting off another trap: a light fixture to be precise, and he ducked down quickly. "Seemed pretty close there Leo. That's why we don't run ahead of others!" Six said in a dry, teasing manner, but aiming her dark intented gaze at me, signaling that she was someone that I eventually had to worry about. NEVER had I thought eventually would be so soon! I quickly caught up with Leo, leaving Six in the dust, climbed the fixture, and jumped to the table beside Leo, who sat weary on the edge. "Whoo! What a workout, eh?" He laughed, tapping my leg. "At least we'll evade enemies more efficiently. Come! Let's keep going!" "Hold up a minute there eager eagle. Six needs to be up here too!" I turned, and Six was just pulling herself up to the table with us. I jumped to the ground, and dashed through the doorway, Leo and Six close behind as we entered an eerily silent hall. "Something here doesn't seem right. I feel like we're being watched!" I gulped, carefully observing the dim hallway before us. We heard pitter patter from all sides of us, and we looked around to figure out what the noise was coming from. "L-Let's move!" Leo yelled, and we all ran up until the pitter patter became rattling from behind the wall. Leo outran Six and I when suddenly one of the lockers fell atop him with a loud bang. "Oi! What's going on here!? Let me out!" Leo screamed as a little figure around roughly my height jumped out from behind the lockers, and turned it's head towards Six and I. "They look like little dolls! Their skin is shiny like porcelain, and their eyes are pitch black and empty." I said as I observed the strange doll looking boy. "Bullies..." Six muttered, making me look up to her in shock as I opened my mouth to ask her how she knew what the dolls were called. We heard feral growling from behind us, and we turned to find a whole pack of these "Bullies" behind us. We were trapped! One of the bullies, a girl doll with a split head, jumped toward me, growling, and screeching like a dying animal. "Eek!" I screeched, jumping back into Six. Six leapt backwards, trying to avoid another bully, and fell onto the ground next to the locker, leaving only me in the open as the bullies surrounded me. "Ahh!" I screamed, a nearby bully pinning me to the floor. "Six! Help me!" I called out as the rabid dolls dragged me away. Six jumped back to her feet, ran to catch up with the bullies, and grasped my hand firmly. "Don't let go!" I yelled, the bullies tugging their hardest on my tiny frame, trying desperately to break me away from Six's firm grasp as she held onto a locker for support. Six's eyes were fearful, even serious for a minute.... But then, it all changed to a cruel and wicked smile, and her dark intent was seething in her peircing brown eyes. "I KNOW what you're up to...." She said darkly, "I know you're secrets, intentions, AND you're thoughts!" "Wh-What?" I whimpered fearfully, keeping a hold on Six's hand, and refraining from crying out in pain as the bullies kept tugging. Six yanked me over to her with a force that even the bullies didn't seem to expect, and whispered into my ear meanacingly, "You were right not to trust me, and now that YOU know, I cannot allow you to live.... And that boy in the signal tower can't help you now, can he.?" "H-How do you know about him? WHAT do you know about him?" I asked through gritted teeth. Six laughed wickedly, and replied, "Why bother? You won't live long enough to fulfill your promises to him." And with those final words to say, she threw me into the mercy of the bullies, who dragged me across the wooden floor like deranged apes. "SIX! LEO! NO!" I cried out, clawing the floor desperately to get away from the life sized dolls as Six laughed wickedly. "Claire? CLAIRE?!" Leo screamed from underneath the Locker, and I yelled back, "LEO! HELP! PLEASE, LEO, SAVE ME!" But it was no use, the bullies began to drag me through the ceiling, not before giving me a harsh whack to the head to silence me. "No...." Was all I could think, and I gave in to the dark as the bullies continued to howl and snarl, taking me into the unknown.....