Lost in Transmission - Little Nightmares AU

Subtraction | 1

        Every shadow I see makes my heart race.

        We're standing in the light, and no Shadow Kids run for us from the darkness, but I don't feel like we're completely out of danger.

        Aside from the shadows, there's more monsters here - lots of them.

        Seven remembered hearing something about them; he said other kids named them "Guests", and they come to the Maw for some reason. Apparently, no kids have been able to figure out why they're here. All we've seen the Guests do is sit at tables and something called "eating". None of them have noticed us yet. They're too busy shoving food into their mouths to notice us.

        We walk through hallways, keeping as quiet as we can, even if the Guests are too distracted to pay attention to us. There's sounds of breathing coming from rooms along the hallway. Akis slowly steps over to an open door and looks inside.

        "Be careful," Tria whispers, watching him with a frown.

        He steps away after a quick glance. "Just a sleeping Guest. She didn't see me."

        "These rooms must be full of them," I realize. My voice still sounds weird and scratchy from all the yelling. "We'll have to be quiet."

        "So stop talking," Akis mutters, rolling his eyes. He starts walking without waiting for the rest of us. Tria follows him, whispering something to him that I can't hear. Slowing down, he says something back.

        I shrug at Seven, grinning. He shrugs back. I've stopped being annoyed with Akis. He's angry all the time, and I don't think it's because of me. The only one of us he seems to actually like is Tria. At least the two of them are getting along!

        "I still can't believe we got away from those Shadow Kids," Seven murmurs, walking next to me.

        I pause before replying, wondering if we shouldn't talk. As long as we're not too loud, we should be okay. "Yeah, that was crazy! If you didn't have a flashlight, we probably wouldn't have stood a chance."

        "I'm lucky I found it in the first place." His eyes get a faraway look like he's replaying a memory in his mind.

        "So...where did you get it? Was it before you got here?"

        He shakes his head. "Nope, I.... Well, I was following after a girl who was escaping. I thought we might be able to team up, but when I caught up, there was just her flashlight laying in a puddle of blood on the floor."

        "Oh. I'm sorry, I-"

        "It's okay. I didn't know her or anything. I didn't even know her name; I think it's - I mean, I think it was - Zetta, but I'm not sure. I just wonder what would have happened if I caught up in time, and we became friends, and then she'd be here too. That would be cool. With so many of us, we could probably take on any monsters!"

        I grin. "Definitely. Maybe her and Six could have even been friends." My smile fades. I wish Six were here.... She's all alone, I bet.

        If Zetta had found Six, would she still have killed the Janitor like that? Maybe Zetta could have stopped her, or found a better, faster way. Or maybe I should stop thinking about it, because it's over and wondering what could have happened isn't going to change anything. I can't keep thinking in circles.

        "Would Six have let Zetta be her friend, though?" Seven asks. "Cause when I met her in the Depths, she wasn't that friendly."

        I think back. "Six might have just been scared. We'd just escaped from-" ...How do I explain the Signal Tower? "...something, and she was scared of me for a second. You were also a stranger; she ran away when I met her." To be fair, I did break open the door with an axe, so...yeah, that's probably why. "But once you get to know her, she's really nice!"