My Little Nightmares: Stories of the Little Ones

Chapter 2: The Boy in the Bandana Mask

"It's just another day, trying to survive in this place... It's not like I'm gonna go home anytime soon. I don't even want to go home... It's not even my home."

The least he could do is make it until the very end, which he knows is inevitable, and he knows one day, he will be gone. So it's best to make every day worth a while.

He walked to the ledge and slid down the slanted roof. He grunted in surprise when he fell into the gutters as he stopped. It was filled with musk and moss with dirty water that stank so foul, and he was drenched in it. Oddly enough, he seems to be fine with it. If someone were to fall in here, they would surely reek in disgust. But not him. Although this boy seemed to be comfortable with the filth, it still irritated his nose a bit. When you learn to control something, you'll eventually get comfortable. He stood up and wiped most of the muck off of him. It stained his blue and white striped tank top concealed by his light brown field vest, which is his favorite outfit to wear, along with his tan field shorts. But at least he didn't lose his hip bag. He couldn't as it contained a utility he needed.

"Oh well." He murmured. "It'll dry up eventually. Not my first time."

He took a peek to his right, where he saw the aquatic-based city from afar in the mist and behind the grooves of trees.

He stares at it for a while, remembering how much he had been through... There were memories that seemed joyful,

but yet, it was all bittersweet. He hates dwelling on the past, especially what she did to make him feel worse.

His eyes and brows relaxed for a moment, but then he shook his head in concentration, closing his eyes firmly as if to force himself to readjust his focus on the current times.

No... I'm not gonna think about her. What happened before, I'm never going to let it happen to me again... I can't even remember her name anymore.

He then guides his view straight down, noticing how he was high up above a running flood of water, rustling and splashing about, which was narrow between the warehouse and the other building in front of him. There were long black ropes that were connected to each building with hooks and nooses hanging on most of them. Along with some dead fish and stained bags high above. It's a grim scenery, but not so much that would make him cringe in disturbance. He's close to being a child turned into stone...

He notices a long wooden plank that reaches through a shattered window that rests between both buildings, making a bridge out of itself. It must be sturdy enough to support his weight since he was around nine and a half to ten inches tall.

In this world...

He carefully got himself out of the gutters and dropped down, landing perfectly on the board. It creaked as he landed, but he was alright. He stood crouching before slowly raising himself and balancing gently as he walked across the rustling water from below. Due to his recent adventures, he's now grown used to this world and feels more confident. But who's to say that he wouldn't stay this way?

He was halfway there to the window. Just a few more steps...

The whistling wind blows across his face, almost feeling like it's going to push him over and plunge him into the water down below. But eventually... "Hm." Made it!

He carefully tries not to cut himself while crawling through the hole of the shattered window and drops down on the cold wooden floor after entering a dimly lit room with another window on the right that only reveals two spots of natural light passing through the boards of wood. He was still able to see as it wasn't completely dark. There were boxes and mannequins around the corners, a bed at the lower right corner, buckets containing something, and strangely, children's toys and drawings that were laid around the carpet in the center, and pinned on the walls. The boy examined the room thoroughly as he slowly walked in the middle of the carpet. He could still hear the muffled wind, but this time, it included a sound where you would hear a fan operating. From his perspective; it was either low or distant. His hearing has been improving ever since the city. He silently let out one little whisper to see if anyone else was here... "Hey?"... No one.