The Vicious cycle

II: Back in the forest

At first it's disorientating. After being thrown out of the tv, I look at the all too familiar forest around me. After a moment I get up and take off running, making the first jump with ease and going through the weirdly placed tunnel without hesitation. It's calming in a sense, the forest has a bit of a peace to it, though that could just be comfort from how familiar it is. Once I'm out of the tunnel, I keep my eyes away from the bag of hanging bodies, climbing up the ledges quickly and holding my breath to block out the smell. This will be the last time I see it..I know I said this so many times before but I really mean it this time!

I used to get so scared when the log came tumbling down towards me, but now I pass it easily. A few times I tried different ways of dodging it that didn't work, but hey at least I tried right? Right afterwards is the noose that I have to swing across. ̷I̵ ̶d̵o̵n̸'̴t̶ ̶k̷n̵o̴w̴ ̶w̶h̷y̷,̵ ̴b̸u̴t̸ ̵I̸ ̸a̵l̵w̴a̴y̵s̸ ̵g̴e̴t̷ ̴t̸h̶e̵ ̴w̴e̴i̷r̵d̶e̸s̴t̵ ̷f̵e̵e̷l̷i̵n̴g̷ ̸a̶t̵ ̴i̸t̸. Making my way up the hollow log, I feel my hand reach up and rub the back of my neck. "You've got this Mono, just like every other time." I tell myself quietly. "We're almost to Six." After my mini pep-talk, I get a small running start before jumping and grabbing hold of the noose. With a practised swing I'm on the other side, quickly cranking the lever to tug up the box. I've begun making a game, seeing how quickly I can get across. I drop the box low and try to jump up before it's all the way back up again. I think my jumping is getting better because of it!

Soon after I'm below the broken bridge. I know by now that I just need to climb up it but my hands started doing that weird thing where they just get really shaky. I know if I sit on this for too long then my thoughts start getting sour like they do in the chair, so I always find a way to distract myself. This time, I decided to face further down the..whatever I'm in.. and play with my echo. "Oi!" I called out. "Oiii oii oi" Was my reply. I laughed a bit. I liked my echo, it made me sound big and scary, scarier than the things I was afraid of. After a few more minutes of playing, I climbed up the broken bridge and went back to looking for the cabin where I would find Six.

A long walk and far too many bear traps later I find the cabin. I stop a minute to catch my breath from all the running and crawl into the kitchen. I felt my heart flutter when I heard the familiar music box playing. "I won't let you down this time Six." I promised quietly. I crept to the door of the basement then paused and quickly went back to the kitchen. I should grab her some snacks, I know how hungry she gets. Maybe if I feed her more, she won't drop me this time...

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I sit in my little room playing my music box. Once the loop sets me back here, it's all I do. I know inevitably that Mono will come find me and we'll leave. I know he's going to be all sweet, and things will feel like it'll be alright before he betrays me. Mono isn't safe to be around. He doesn't remember the loops or he would have given up. I'm done trying over and over and sure my story is longer than his, but I'm just done! This will be the last time. I'll get rid of him once and for all, maybe the loop will break this time. Maybe I'll be able to move on with my life finally.
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I know where the axe is, I make the turn and use my quick momentum to pull it down in one go. It falls loose and we both clatter to the ground. Once I'm on my feet I drag it over to the door or Six's room.

{Crack!}
There he is. I drop my box and scurry underneath the bed.
{Crack}
The sound of the axe hitting the door is horrifying each time.
{Crash!}
Why is part of me happy to see him??

Once the door is broken enough for me to go through, I drop the axe and walk inside. I glance around the room as I head near the table Six hides under. I see her looking out at me so I kneel down. "Hey, psst." I said quietly, offering a small wave before holding my hand out. She looks at me.

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Every time, I remember why I care for him. How sweet and caring he is..I crawl out hesitantly, maybe this time we can leave together? Mono is my friend, he wouldn't hurt me on purpose. I reach up for his hand slowly, I almost take it but just as before the vision of him crushing my music box plays through my mind. He makes a small but quick movement to try and take my hand, snapping me back to my senses. I jump up and shove past Mono, knocking him onto the floor as I run upstairs.
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I admit, I should have expected that. I knew better than to move too quickly. I get up and head towards the stairs, glancing up I see Six stall a moment. Once she sees I noticed her she runs again. I've always taken this as a sign she wanted me to follow after, if not she would have just kept running. Maybe part of her remembers me? Once up the stairs I see Six waiting a moment before darting around a corner. I really wish we could just leave.. I run past the weird doll family just in time to see Six crawling through a little opening. When I followed her through, I saw her jumping up and trying to pull a..something.. She loses her grip and slips off as the thingy goes out of her reach.

I took a hesitant step towards her, startling Six once again. Fortunately instead of running she calmed down and gestured for me to come over and made a foothold for me with her hands. The two of us working together helped make the attic open up, though the force of the cord going up made us both fall. "I'll get the key." I said, pointing to the lock on the door.
"Okay." Six nodded.

He's going to need my help, I have to help him push a luggage bag up there.

I climb up the ladder, hesitating a moment as I remember the hunter. I was so wrapped up in that thought that I forgot about the luggage that I had to move. I tried to push it myself but it was too heavy. I turned to call out for Six, but her head was already poking up from the ladder.
"I need your help pushing the luggage.." I whispered.
"I thought you would." Six replied.

We pushed it together, and I climbed over. I saw Six start climbing as well, so when I got to the other side of the dresser I opened a drawer to give her something to land on. She didn't seem to need or want this help however, as she just leapt over it. "You jump better than me." I told her. Six paused.
"Hu?"
"I thought I was good at jumping, but you're better than me at it."
"Oh umm...thanks?" I nodded and ran over to the other dresser. Six was quick to give me a boost, but I wasn't able to reach down and bring her up with me.
"I'll be right back, okay?" I said. She just nodded and sat down. This left me to go get the crank we needed from the creepy lady doll.

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I heard Mono yelp when he got the crank. I couldn't fight down the little chuckle, he gets scared over the smallest things. He tries to act brave though, I don't know why. Once he came back, he forgot to just toss the lever before getting down resulting in him falling. For a moment I walk towards him, wanting to make sure my friend is okay before making a sharp turn to pick up the crank and put it in its spot. Out of the corner of my eye I see Mono getting up and adjusting his bag as he headed over to the bag I was lifting. He jumps and grabs the key like I've seen him do so many times before. Even without seeing his face I could tell how proud of himself Mono is.

I expected him to take off running like he usually did, but this time Mono stopped, turned, and offered me his hand. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"Making sure we stay together." he replied. I could hear the smile in his voice. I accepted his hand and a moment later he was running, this time dragging me with him. When we got to the desk, he boosted me up to make it easier for me to climb. He didn't do this before. When we got to the ladder he jumped like always, and I didn't have enough time to pull back. We landed in a pile and by the sound of his giggling I don't think Mono was to hurt. After a moment I realised I was giggling too.
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Six didn't usually laugh, but I like when she does. She has a really nice laugh. We stayed on the floor giggling for a little before Six got up and offered her hand to help me as well. I took the key and used it on the lock, offering my hand to Six as it fell and the door opened. She took it with a lot less hesitation this time and we headed outside. As we got closer to the shed I got more shaky since now was the time the hunter came in. I wanted to look brave though, since I didn't want Six to worry. We pushed the box where it needed to be and crawled through the little opening, but once I saw the hunter I froze.