Little Survivors: Friends in the Rain

Chapter One: The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat

The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat skidded to a stop at the cliff and turned to face her opponent, fear starting to freeze her body. The Pretender, the Spoiled Mistress of the Nest, stared her down. The Girl didn't know what to do, silently panicking as she glanced around for a way out.

The girl from the beginning of her adventures pulled a stick from the ground and used it as a lever to move a boulder in front of her. Hoping desperately for her plan to work, she elevated a part of the rock and watched as it hit the Mistress dead on the head. Both she and the Girl in the Yellow Raincoat had a brief moment of celebration, silent laughs and small smiles being exchanged.

Suddenly, the Mistress stood back up, now more upset than before, and started towards the Girl in the Yellow Raincoat. In an act of fear, the Girl took a step back and reached for a root when she fell off the edge, only to miss and fall into the water.

Gasping for breath, the Girl in the Yellow Raincoat sat up and looked around in confusion. She was in an old and worn hot air balloon, within the roof of the Nest. She shook off the feeling of foreboding and took a step forward, only to have the vehicle crash to the floor again.

She continued on her way, turning this way and that, and eventually came upon the same ramp she had once had a nightmare about dying to. Walking slowly, she started up it until halfway where the metal cylinder fell last time. Unfortunately, the cylinder fell at that point again, prompting the young girl to dash away. Once safe, she sighed and continued up the ramp.

Entering the next room, The Girl sighed. A small gasp near her disrupted her silent thoughts, drawing the Raincoat Girl's eyes over to the origins of the noise. A friendly smile made its way onto The Girl's face as she looked across from the gap separating the two children. The girl wore a white t-shirt and white shorts, her hair cut into a bob while she left her long bangs down to cover her eyes. The girl in white spun around and ran off, leaving The Girl to herself yet again.

The Girl frowned, but continued on her way. She climbed down, solving the usually difficult puzzle with ease before walking across a plank and through a small vent sized opening.

SKRRR. SKRRR. SKRRR. The Craftsman slowly dragged a child off, the squeaks of his wheelchair masked by the migraine-inducing noise caused by metal against metal.

The Girl shivered as she watched the distorted figure pass by. He always made her feel uncomfortable with his unusually long legs, his pale skin, and his feet that were always twisted backwards to face his chest. Calming herself with a few deep breaths, The Girl continued along the shelf she had crawled onto. She ducked into the hole to her left, giggling at the sight of the toilet paper strewn across the pipes that lined two of the walls. A Nome sat in the corner farthest from where she stood, and she patted the little creature's head before leaving.

She climbed down from the shelf she stood on, using stacked crates to lower herself without injury. She knew exactly what to do when she saw The Scarf Girl trapped in that cage. She then ran off to find the key needed to unlock the cage, which wasn't that hard. The Craftsman had placed it in a jar on top of a climbable surface.

The Girl laughed to herself as she climbed, determining if she could get down immediately without being seen. Looking around, it was revealed that she would be unable to do what she planned to. Guess I'll just do what I did last time, then. On top of a cabinet, where she spotted the key, she looked around once more before pushing the jar that was almost as large as she was to the floor.

The jar shattered the moment it landed, which was to be expected, and The Craftsman came wheeling in. His neck was focused mainly on the ground, where the children would usually be roaming. The Girl held her breath, staring at The Craftsman as he looked around before he turned around and left the room. "That was close," she muttered, her voice hoarse from lack of use.

She climbed back down and picked up the key, humming almost inaudibly to herself to keep from focusing on the cages scattered about. Once she reached The Scarf Girl, The Girl held the key up. "You've got to promise me not to run off, okay?" The Girl asked. "We'll both survive longer if we work together."

The Scarf Girl shook her head, her bobbed mint hair nearly slapping her in the face several times. "I'm fine," she said, fear leaking through her words.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" The Girl squeaked. The Scarf Girl bit her lip and looked away, debating the choice given.

"Alright," she whispered. The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat smiled triumphantly and unlocked the door. "Where do we go?" The Scarf Girl whispered.

The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat silently moved to the doorway, observing the next room for enemies. Upon seeing a wooden door in the northeast corner of the room, she pointed. "We need to be careful, though." The Scarf Girl nodded.

It didn't take long for the door to give way, allowing both girls to leave. The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat held her breath the moment she landed on the floor. Please don't run off again, she muttered in her head. To her delight, The Scarf Girl stayed with her.

"I promised, didn't I?" The Scarf Girl told her. "Now let's get going." The Girl nodded and started to walk through with her companion.

The next room contained a cart system of some sort. Empty boxes were set to the side, waiting to be filled with clothes. The Girl stood on her toes, looking around for any sign of life, but aside from her, her companion, and a lonesome Nome on the rails, there was none.

The Girl nodded to The Scarf Girl, who then pulled a lever on their side of the rails. The cart blocking the way to the other side squeaked as it traveled across, startling the Nome. The two children were unfazed by the immense speed the creature displayed, and they walked across the tracks to see their path was blocked yet again.