Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph2 Ch24: Back Where it Began

Seven's eyes fluttered open, but saw nothing but darkness. He laid motionless, his body drained of its mobility. He felt himself rock back and forth as he was being carried by something. Or rather, someone. His eyes closed, not having enough energy to keep him awake. He fell asleep, and was put onto a rough bed. When he finally woke up, his movement was restored, and his eyes had adjusted. He sat up on the bed, and looked around the room.

Suddenly, he remembered what happened. He quickly looked all over himself, and found out that all his stuff was missing! His nail, his compass, everything was gone! He looked up and tried to find the Grimmchild, but it wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Hey!" He yelled. "Grimmchild! Where are you!?"

He yelled out into the darkness for his friend, hoping that they would respond. But there was nothing. No response. No answer. As Seven looked around in the darkness, he recognized the area he was in. He remembered it all too well. He inched himself against the wall in fear.

"No. No, no, no," he stuttered. "Not here! Not now! Not alone!" He yelled.

Out of all the places he had to end up, he had to be at the worst place imaginable for him. The source of his nightmares, the source of his troubles. The Maw. He cowered in fear, then smacked himself back to reality. He had to find a way out. He had to find some way to escape. He leapt off the bed he was on, and scurried around the room like a little Nome.

He searched all around, remembering the path he took before. He had come so close last time, maybe this time he could escape. He navigated through the halls, and past the security eye. He came to the wall with a rope of tied sheets leading out. Just like he remembered. He climbed up the rope, and out of the room. As he landed, all he could do was stare at the metal structure of the Maw. It was like he remembered, but there was a sickly air that filled the place. As Seven proceeded, he noticed small, orange-eyed bugs crawling the floor. As he got close, they started crawling towards him with their mouths bared.

Seven was prepared to fight, but he soon realized something. He didn't have his nail. Defenseless, he ran as fast as he could, away from the bugs. He didn't know where he was going, he just needed to escape. Suddenly, he tripped, and fell down a long, long pipe. He splashed into dark, murky water once he reached the end. He remembered what happened last time he was in water, and started swimming as fast as he could to the ledge. He pulled himself out, and shuddered as he looked back at the water. He remembered something was in there. He didn't know what, but he knew it wasn't good.

He continued walking as he pushed the thought away, and arrived in a dark room. At least, Seven remembered it being a dark room. Instead, it was lit up. But not with a flashlight like last time. This time, there were several orange, gooey bubbles and vines, swarming the place. And all of them were emitting a strange, orange light. As Seven continued, he crossed through areas he remembered being dangerous, but there was surprisingly nothing.

While this would normally calm someone, knowing there wasn't danger nearby, it made Seven even more cautious, with the knowledge that something bigger and more dangerous was at the Maw. He continued walking through the places he had been before, all changed by the orange goo. As he progressed, he had to enter another pool of water. He spotted a ledge on the other side, took a deep breath, then drove into the water, swimming as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, his suspicion was true. He wasn't alone in the water. As he swam, something started swimming after him, deep below the water. Seven heard the sound of their bubbles, and started panicking as he trudged through the water. He managed to reach the exit in time, and he pulled himself out. He didn't even look back at the water. He just ran. He paid no attention to his surroundings as he ran. He just ran by instinct. His body knew exactly what to do, and where to go, but his mind paid no attention. Only when he stumbled into water again, did he regain his senses.