Thirteen (Mono×OC)

The Trail They Set

After Mono fretted for a solid three minutes and bandaged my hand, I saw a light through the trees. We walked silently through the trees until we saw a brick building. We forced open a window and stumbled inside. The carpet was probably very plush and comfy at some point, but now it was dirty and stiff. Mono helped me up as the Nomes chittered around.

We where in a living room. The couch was torn and stained, and wallpaper was torn and curling from the walls. "We need to find a way out." I said softly, "there has to be a way to beat that fool." We searched through the small house. At one point I was searching through a lower cabinet when the door handle rattled.

The Nomes chittered and hid under the table, Mono hid behind the dirty couch, and I crawled into the cabinet and pulled the door shut as something stomped in. I heard shuffling come towards the cupboard I was in, and scooted out of the way as the door opened and a giant, dirty hand felt around as I stumbled to avoid it.

My elbow hit a wooden plank that jarred loose and I fell backwards. I held back a gasp at the sudden darkness and leaned against something. It must have been old because as soon as my weight settled on it it broke and I fell. Ow. I stood shakily as my eyes adapted to the darkness and saw a dim light.

I took out my lighter and saw the room I was in. Glancing up from where I fell, I saw a platform and a broken wooden fence. I saw what looked like a pair of ladders, and a staircase leading to the platform. "I just came through that entrance... so where does ladder number two lead?" I asked myself. I clicked off my lighter and climbed up the shaky ladder.

I pushed the hatch in front of my nose and heard a yelp. Light flooded in and saw my boyfriend. "Thirteen?!" He whispered as the Gravedigger stumbled around in front of the couch. "Hello. Get down here." I said, and he hopped down after I climbed down. He clicked on his flashlight and I started lighting nearly burnt out candles on the rails.

"Did someone live down here?" Mono asked, kicking and empty tuna can. In one corner there where blankets and pillows, and in the opposite was a desk with a book on it. I went over to the desk while Mono went to a calendar. "Well... whoever was her before stayed from February to.... December..... nearly eleven years ago." He told me. "Damn." I responded. I picked up the leather bound book and opened it, seeing neat, sprawling letters.

"To whomever finds this:" it began, "I am Luanne Collins, a twenty seven year old house wife of a grave digger. I am a loved housewife with many healthy children, but recently the world around us has begun to decay." I read. "The tower." Mono and I said in unison, with no uncertainty. "I have begged my husband to do something, for the sake of the children, but I believe whatever is corrupting the world has gotten to him. I pray my children remain uncorrupted by the signal. I asked my husband to let us leave, to flee somewhere, bjt he is refusing." There was a date on te end of the entry, and the next one was a few days later.

"One of my children has begun to show odd abilities, and their body is... changing. His eyes are shifting from blue to... I don't even know. They change every time I look. I thought he was going blind, but he pointed out things not even I saw. The signal is changing everyone, slowly."

"So... The Gravedigger had a wife and kids." Mono said. "Yep." I replied. "I know it had been many weeks since my last entry, but recently I have been getting weaker and weaker. I know the signal is killing me."

"Today my father called. He built a house, deep in a forest, under a cliff, and far, far from the signal. I told him I would go with my children as soon as my last baby is born. Micah, my unborn eleventh child. Maybe who ever is reading this can follow our trail. I've included a copy of the map to find it later in the journal. Maybe you can be Micah's friend." I said aloud, "Damn, this woman was a strong one." Mono butted in, peering over my shoulder. "The map!" Mono said, taking the journal and flipping through it.

A piece of paper fell out showing a large map. In the bottom hand corner was a dot saying "you are here" and after following a long, winding trail with my finger, there was an X saying "Micah's castle."