Breaking The Loop

Chapter Five

"Never better." I pitch forward into darkness.

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I wake up covered with something soft. I try to sit up but my abdomen explodes with pain. "OUCH!" I lean backwards on my arm and cover my stomach with the other. I'm surprised to find some kind of gauze or cloth there.

"Jay?" I look around and find Mono sitting on the cupboard, looking at me. "Hey." I give a small wave. "How long was I out?" I ask. "About an hour and a half. I found some gauze in the trashcan. It was the only thing I could find." He hops down and I see he's not wearing his coat.

I take a closer look at the thing covering me and I realize it's his coat. "Oh, thanks." He shrugs. "I figured you needed something to stay warm. Considering the condition of your shirt...." He picks up the multicolored cloth that used to be black. It's also ripped pretty badly. "Oh..." I stare at the floor.

"I think we should get moving. You good keeping my coat for now?" Askes Mono. I nod and pull it over my arms. He helps me stand and boosts me up onto the cupboard. We push open the window and walk out onto the sill. I look at the partially broken board and walk across it, holding out my arms.

I'm not taking chances.

We make our way into the room with the piano, the window slamming shut behind Mono. He walks over to the crank and starts moving it while I lean against the nearest wall, resting. The rope holding the piano snaps as it gets raised and partially breaks through the floor. I push away from the wall and climb up onto the piano with Mono.

We jump on it in sync three times before it busts through the floor. Mono pulls me close as we fall. We're hugging when the dust settles and I push away, uncomfortable. "Heh, thanks." I jump off the piano and walk over to the gate with the Bully behind it. I watch her mangle a dead frog with a key.

"Jay?" Mono places a hand on my shoulder and I turn away from him. "We need that key." I mutter dryly. "Right!" He exclaims, clearly uncomfortable. I walk over to the vent and motion for him to step into my cupped hands. He doesn't object and I toss him upwards, towards the vent. He crawls through and lands silently in the garbage heap. I go over to the piano and start walking across the broken keys, murdering my ears.

I hear the breaking sound of a Bully head and jump off the piano. Mono grabs the key and walks back over to me, grabbing the bottom of the gate. We push it up together and he crawls under. I start walking towards the door but he grabs my wrist. "Jay, why are you acting strange?"

I turn towards Mono and pull my wrist out of his grip. "I... I don't like physical touch." I mutter. "You were perfectly fine with it before, it was only after I fixed you up that you started acting like this."

"Yeah well... you wouldn't understand..." I mutter. He crosses his arms. "Listen, I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but we need to communicate if we're going to work together. If you don't want to talk about it, fine, but remember, I am here, and I won't judge."

I stare at him. "You... you just..." I sit down and cover my head. My protective spot. I feel the tears threatening to spill and squeeze my eyes shut. I feel a gentle hand touch my shoulder. I look up through my arms and see Mono there, a soft look on his face. An understanding face.

I wipe my eyes and lay my head on my knees. "I'm... different... from where I came from, people didn't... accept me... so I hid. Everyone I loved, stabbed me in the back. So, when I hug someone I expect a knife to find it's way into my back. I... I stopped all physical contact. No connection, no knife, no pain. So... now I dislike it when people touch me. I can handle it for a bit, but if they start getting too close I push them away."

A few tears slip out as I talk about my problems. Mono reaches towards me, but retracts his hand. "That's... terrible. I... I wouldn't hurt you... I... I know what it feels like." He wipes at his own eyes. I reach out and lightly touch his hand. "Thanks, but my brain says differently. I can't reprogram myself in a second, I just need some time. Okay?"

He nods and wipes away his own tears. "You ready to get out of this godforsaken place?" I nod and we walk towards the door together, just a little closer than before. Mono unlocks the door and we sneak into a room with a Bully drawing on the floor and walls with chalk. Mono grabs a pipe and drags it over to the Bully, smashing it's head in. We pull out the bottom drawer of a dresser blocking our path and we climb over it.

I hear the classic music of the Teacher and sigh. We walk up two flights of stairs together. I boost Mono up onto a cupboard next to some filing cabinets and he finds the rest of the way up. He pushes a box off, allowing me access to the top. I climb up the filing cabinets. I help Mono pull open the vent door and we crawl through the vent together.