Six was peering over the edge, using her lighter to reveal more of the depths below the platform she sat on. She was sitting shyly, trying to take up as little space as possible while her legs dangled over the edge. She was shivering- partly because of the cold, but mostly from the fear. With more thought, Six realized that the fear was making her cold. Thinking about it urged her to hug her arms, wishing she had more than the drenched yellow raincoat to protect her frail form. Yet, it was the brightest thing in this dark place. Inky, ice cold fingers curled around her shoulders, causing her to flinch enough to almost slip off the edge. Six had to tip her chin up so her choppy black bangs didn't block her view of the shadowy figure pressing against her. A small sigh of ease escaped her chest, and she began to look back to the depths she hung over. Six had grown accustomed to calling the shady child behind her Shadow, considering her dark grey skin and raincoat, along with her aura. It was obscure, shrouded and vague, much like a shadow. Shadow pressed their lips to Six's ear, hissing into it sharply. Their tone was very unpleasant, and much like a snake.
"The Hidden are waiting for their freedom."
Six sighed again, clenching the rim of the platform she sat on. Shadow had told her many times that the only freedom in the Maw is death. Six knew, despite her childish beliefs, that death will always be a part of the freedom. Whether the death is self inflicted upon oneself, or brought upon someone else, it will always be involved. Yet, Six refused to partake in causing death. So she sat, enslaved in the fear that the Maw so willingly shared with her. Shadow's fingers squeezed her shoulders painfully, snapping her out of her gloomy trance.
"The Hidden are suffering, and you dare to waste their minimal time to do this?"
"I don't even know who The Hidden are," Six grumbled, not in the mood for the twisted company who believes death is a freedom. Yet she flicked off her lighter and pulled herself up to her feet, dusting off the grit that collected on her backside. "Maybe if you tell me anything about them, then I will help them. But in case you haven't noticed, this place is helpless."
>>>>
The lighter was back on again, and Six pressed it to the lantern, watching it ignite in the brilliant and warm colors before retracting it to the safety of her pocket. Shadow told her to progress, and that somehow caused her to end up in the Janitor's office. An eerie closet door was left ajar against the far end of the room. As Six jumped down onto the wooden chair tucked under the desk, her heart momentarily failed as a Nome ran out from beneath her. The fear was back again, but this time it was irrational. Her eyes followed it as it darted around in its quick and panicky movements. It ran over some skid marks on the tile floor, which Six noted were abruptly cut off. The Nome ran over the tile where the marks stopped, and she watched with surprise as the tile sank, and a light slipped out from behind the closet door. The fear was then overrun with curiosity. Six could feel Shadow urging her to it, and so she hopped off the chair and went to the closet. The backside of it was a door, leaking a pale light through the slit between it and its frame. She leaned into the door, and it swung out, revealing more of the secret room. A control panel sat there, looking over a large closed eye. Six used a chair to clamber to the top of the controls, using both hands to push a large white button that seemed to call to her. Once it clicked, the eye opened, revealing a screen much larger than her. On it appeared to be live footage of some of the children, sleeping in a dark room. Six recalled it as the room where she first encountered the triple jointed arm creature, or what Shadow had called it; The Janitor. He wasn't present in the scene at the moment, though. She pressed the button again, and the eye blinked, and when it's eyelids parted there was a new view. It was a small room, and in it were gathered three Nomes, who were all lingering around the lantern Six lit a while back, when everything was beginning. It looked like a normal appearance, so she was going to continue looking through the different camera views, but she stopped when something caught her eye. The Nomes began to grasp the rims of their cones, and pull them over their heads. Six went wide eyed. These small, innocent creatures were children who were trying to conceal themselves from the threats of the Maw. After watching them set the paper cones to the side and huddle around the lantern's fire, Six made the connection.
"They.... are The Hidden?"
"And they need you to give them the freedom." Shadow said hungrily. Six shook her head frantically
"I am not killing anyone, Shadow. I won't."
"We will see about that." Shadow chuckled, a hideous sound that made Six shiver. When she turned around Shadow was gone.
>>>>
Six was tired. Tired of so many things. Tired of the fear. Tired of Shadow going on about the freedom. Tired of the hunger. As if on cue, she doubled over, grabbing her stomach as she groaned for food. She would be lucky if something was conveniently there to aid her this time. Stumbling into the next room, she grabbed the door frame to prevent herself from collapsing. The hunger was unbearable, and she would do anything to stop it. There, in the middle of the room, was one of The Hidden. It was standing there happily, a large sausage at its feet. When she got closer, it picked it up, bouncing on its feet to give it to her. Six heard Shadow in her head after seeing it. Everything she ever said, all at once, was screaming in her head. What she said about the hidden. About the freedom. About the hunger. All with her sickening, nails on a chalkboard laugh. It flooded her mind as she quickened her drunken movements to The Hidden. Six reached out to it, about to accept the glowing present, when something inside her snapped. It was like glass broke, and suddenly she was floating, looking down at her crumpled form as she dove, sinking her teeth into The Hidden. All she heard was Shadow's laugh as it happened, and soon her own screams were added to it as she watched herself suck the life from The Hidden, watched it twitch and struggle against it, till it went still and she stood to wipe the blood from her mouth. Six sobbed, and watched herself walk out of the room to be dragged along. She soon started screaming again, words of hate to Shadow for doing what they did. Pleas for them to stop. Begging for her body back. But Shadow ignored her voice, and smiled as they continued to walk, taking in the new form and using her strength to push through The Guests at an unimaginable speed. Six could only watch, helpless, when Shadow approached the drained body of her mother, The Lady, and sucked the soul from her. Six could only ask Shadow to stop as they then went to The Guests again, to take their life essences and let them fall to the floor. The whole time, Shadow smiled, letting out their awful, blood curdling laugh. Six began to think Shadow couldn't hear her, due to their lack of response to anything she did. She was stood corrected, though, as they turned and smiled hungrily at her, lifting her hand. Six didn't even scream when her life essence was torn from her body.
>>>>
Authors Note
Heya dudes this is my first published fanfic XD and I'm new to the LN fandom so plz don't be too salty if you don't like how I did something cause I'm still learning 0^0
Anyways hope you enjoyed cuz that was it
