Thirteen (Mono×OC)

RUN.

When Mono came back he had a winch. He put it in the placehold and began to pull it. It lifted a prey bag. He released the winch and the bag thumped against the floor and Mono turned to me. "If I climb on the... body bag... and you pull the winch, I can get the key down. Sound like a plan?" He asked. Six sat on the rug and watched us. "Sure." I replied. I lifted the bag and Mono, who jumped and grabbed the hook. He let go and the key fell, bonking Six on the head. I flinched at the sound it made.

Mono attached the key to his coat, which is impressive since it's the size of his thigh. Then a little cone head scurried away, and Mono followed it. "You have the key, doofus, you better come back!" I yelled at him. "I will!" He yelled back. I sighed and sat down. Six crawled over and curled up at my side. I slung my arm around her and hummed the same melody from her music box.

My fingers combed through her hair, massaging the knots from her hair. I turned my head as footsteps approached, and Mono had a cone head had on. "You are... a Nome." I deadpanned. The cap was so big it covered his face. I sighed and we both stood up. Six held onto my shirt and we went back downstairs. Mono fell off the ladder and landed in his butt.

I held onto the twelve year old Six so she didn't slip like Mono did. My breath caught in my throat when Six did slip. Her body fell against mine and I had to dig my nails into the wood, leaving long scratches deep into the wood to keep us from falling.

When we unlocked the door, the cool night air made my skin prickle. We walked through the back yard before a wind blew through, opening the door of the outhouse. The smell made my nose wrinkle, but inside the stall was a shadowy figure. Mono ran towards it and extended his hand. When he touched it, he doubled over and seemed to glitch out before standing up again. He was silent as we went into the shack. We pushed a crate towards a cubby, which we climbed through. We landed on animal skins and Six and I crouched as we heard a tearing sound. Mono seemed confused, but once he saw The Hunter ripping the skin off his prey, he snuck through as well.

We need to go through the meat shoot. I realized, disgusted. We opened it with a calamitous creak, alerting The Hunter. He fired his gun, hitting the dirt, and we ran into the woods. We dodged behind barrels that where shot to smithereens. We fell into a small ditch and hid in the overhang and he trudged past. Once he passed us, we followed, creeping through the tall grass as the light shone back and forth, searching.

A crow flew off, startled, and The Hunter swung his light towards us, but the tall, scratchy, yellow grass hid us from sight. Once Connor turned away and kept walking, we followed until he stopped, light swinging back and forth methodically. A few feet away from us, just on the edge of the grass, was a rabbit warren. If we could get to it, we'd be able to hide. When the light was shining in the opposite direction, I bolted, jumping into the hole. The light shone through the gap for a moment before turning away, and Mono and Six fell in.

A gunshot was fired into the warren, kicking up dust and debris. We crawled through the tunnel until it opened into a wall of roots. We crawled through and we stopped for a moment. "I think we lost him." Mono said, relieved. "I wouldn't bet on it. These are his woods, and we're his prey. He won't give up that easy." I said. We traveled on until we got to a broken bridge. Mono tugged a rope back, making part of the bridge lift for Six and I to jump across.

He called back and I held a rail in one hand, my other extended to catch Mono as he jumped across. With a grunt, Six helped me heave the boy up. We walked past hanging cages. Mono climbed a tree and a cage fell, with a yellow hay in it. I was wondering where that went. The Hunter light shone through the trees. We jumped down and birds flew off. We where seen and shots whizzed past. Mono and I ducked behind a crate as Six ran on, and when it broke we climbed a makeshift ladder on the side of a shack. I jumped across a gap in the floor as Mono walked across a plank which broke under his feet. Six and I hefted him up as shots hit through the floor. We climbed out a window and landed in swamp water.

Despite appearances, the water was fine. It was just salty and muddy from leading into the sea. We hid under the porch as our pursuer walked past, and we dunked under the water to get through a board. There was a gap between two stumps, and Mono dove under as the light shone over. Six and I waited until he marched on before following. We climbed onto a little island and pushed a rotting log down, alerting The Hunter, but providing us cover.

We got past and climbed a ladder. Again, the STUPID CROWS flew off, and we ran into a shed. We closed and locked the door as Mono pulled a double barrel shotgun off the wall. We aimed at the door as The Hunter stuck his head through. My heart fell to the pit of my stomach before I released the gun. "Wait, don't-" Mono pulled the trigger. Splinters from the door rained down, and my ears rang like bells as the two fell to the ground. My throat was closing up. He's fine. He has to be fine. But the smell of blood wafting through the shattered door told me otherwise.

Mono and Six recuperate before we climbed out the window. We where on a beach where a broken door lay. We pushed it into the water and climbed on. As the fog surrounded us, I sat on the back of the door, facing the island, and let tears silently shed fall into the sea.