What Once was Broken

Chapter 27.... Friends from odd places

"Claire, can you hear me?" "Yes, I can hear you. Where am I?" I awoke in complete darkness, alone, and tears running down my cheeks. "You're with me. Are you alright?" The voice asked in a comforting tone. I sobbed, and replied, "You were right about Six. I tried to ignore it, but she knew I was on to her and she betrayed me! Now I'm somewhere else in the school far away from my friend, and I don't know how much longer he'll be alive now that I'm not there to stop Six." "I'm here for you, if you need my help." The kind voice offered, and I asked, "Could you help me? Please?" I could hear a chuckle in the darkness, and the voice reassured, "Of course I will! I am, and always will be, ever at your side if you need me. I'll see what I can send for you, but first you must wake up." "Oh, thank you!" I replied joyfully, wiping tears from my eyes. My eyes flashed open, and I found myself to be hanging FEET above a tiled floor! I still felt groggy from the blow to my head, and I looked around to see where I was. "A restroom? Oh GOD I hope they didn't put me in a nasty toilet! I also pray they didn't dunk me into one either." I thought, almost retching at the disgusting urinals, and sink that lined the walls.... And don't EVEN get me imagining how the toilets in the stalls looked! The yellowing tile was covered in puddles of what I hoped was water, and the fading harvest gold wallpaper was tearing from the surface, and stained. Overall, horrendous wasn't even enough to cover the look of the restroom area! I looked up, and I could see myself dangling from a fixture in a sturdy cocoon of rope, following all the way to a board nailed to one of the stalls. My heart dropped when I saw a couple of porcelain children tying up the end of the rope to that board, and I feared the worst. "H-Help! Somebody please, help me!" I cried, making the two doll children look up at me. I could see clearly that they were both boys, their features similar in every way from head to toe. The pair howled in deranged laughter as I squirmed, and wiggled as I cried out, "Oh, PLEASE will somebody help me?" but it seemed to be no use. I closed my eyes, and sighed in defeat as I accepted that this would be my fate when suddenly I heard a yowl coming from one of the porcelain boys below. I opened my eyes, and to my shock, a third had appeared, but he was attacking the other two that strung me up in an epic battle of slashing and biting! The third porcelain boy balled his fist, and with all his strength, he punched one of the two other porcelain boys across the face, making a large cracking noise as it howled in pain, and ran off on all fours like a wild animal. Now it was just him and the second boy who, now alone to face him, grew frightened of his opponent. Like the first boy, the second boy got on all fours, and fled for the door, but not without turning to the boy one last time, and hissing. Once the second boy was gone, the third boy checked the surrounding area as if he were searching for something. "Er, excuse me?" I asked nervously. The boy looked up where I was hanging, and tilted his head curiously as I continued, "C-Could you help me down from here? Please?" as if it was trying to respond, the boy uttered a few noises, nodded, and quickly rushed over to the nailed board that was attached to one of the open stalls, and started to chew away at the rope keeping me suspended in the air. Once the rope snapped in two, I screamed as I was plummetting toward the floor at top speed, causing the boy to jump, and snatch me from the air to avoid me falling to my death. I wiggled in the cocoon of rope until it became loose enough for me to slip from, and, taking a huge breath of air to refill my lungs, examined myself for any injuries. I was absolutely horrified to find that not only had they tied me up, but they also RUINED my jumper as well! "Well, so much for something light." I grumbled. A soft nudge came from behind me, and I turned to find the third boy, sitting froggy style on the floor, tilting his head kindly as it stared at me. "Oh, hello there." I said, bowing slightly to it, which seemed to have startled it a little. "No, no! Don't be afraid! I'm a friend." I said quickly as he retreated into the shadows. "There MUST be a way I could-" "Oh! This'd do nicely!" I said to myself as I picked up a stick of chalk, presumably dropped by one of the boys as they fled. I began to write on the floor, and, cautiously, the boy who had saved me slowly crept up to see what I had written. I wrote on the ground in neat handwriting "My name is Claire. I'm your friend. Who were they?" I set the chalk down gently in front of the boy who was intently reading what I had written before him, and, picking up the chalk in his slender hand, wrote back in shakey, backward letters, "Benny..... They Benny...." "Both of them?" I asked softly. The boy nodded, and handed the chalk back to me to write. "Is EVERYONE here named Benny?" I wrote, the boy peering around my hand in the process. The boy shook his head to tell me that wasn't the case, and gently took the chalk from my hand to write two names in particular, "Jennifor, Truls." "Oh, I see." I replied, and the boy handed the chalk back to me. "Is your name Ben-" "GAH!" The boy screeched, startling me only slightly by his sudden outburst. He took the chalk back from me, and wrote the name "Barnee" in backwards, misspelled letters. "Barney? Is your name Barney?" I asked. That's when a a shock came to me when he began to grunt the raspy words "Me.... Barneeeey." "You have a really nice name. You're no bully at all! Thank you for saving me." "Me..... Save..... Fr-Fri-Friend.... B-Barney good!" He replied happily, and I could see him smile slightly in the dim light of the bathroom. I giggled softly, and asked in a kind manner, "Could you help me find my friends, and get out of the school? You see, I sort of got lost along the way, and now I don't know where they are. I also need to get to the heart of the Pale City, and save a boy I fell in love with from a tall, lanky man who sucks things into oblivion." As if Barney knew what I meant, he immediately took the chalk in his hand, and ran towards the wall in front of us, quickly drawing a crude picture of a man in a fedora. "Claire.... See Thin Man?" Barney asked, using the chalk to point up to his work. "Thin Man?" I asked, "Is that what he's called?" Barney shook his head, and replied, "Thin Man lives at heart of Pale City. Me help! Me help new friend!" "Th-That's wonderful Barney! Can you tell me more about the Thin Man, and where he is?" Barney scratched his head in thought, and I thought I saw him turn paler than his porcelain skin. "Teacher has answers.... Dangerous for friend Claire to tread...." He grunted. "It may be a deadly chance, but it's a risk I MUST take. I MUST know who this man is, for he may be my only chance to find my love!" I told him, softly running my hand down his porcelain cheek. Barney looked at the floor between us, whimpering in fear as he said, "Barney..... No friend before..... No lose friend!" "Barney," I replied, taking his hand in a reassuring manner, "You're sweet to worry for me. Sweeter than rouleau d'épices à la citrouille even! But you have to understand how important this is for me. Wouldn't you want to do the same for someone YOU love?" Barney lowered his head in thought, and let out a deep sigh. "Me help you get Teacher..... Claire, come!" He replied, taking me by the hand and leading me out into the hall. "Need look like one of us, if wish to know more."