You've Missed Mouthy

Earliest Memory

(Vince Wilson's POV)

    I can't see well in this darkness and I can't tell where in the world this girl is taking me, but her hand is... comforting. At least, more so than I expected. She pulls me gently, but with enough force to keep me moving as she hums quietly.     "M-Mouthy." The girl answers to her name by tilting her head. "Who am I? I can only remember the Slenderman and... Jess." I look in her direction, trying to lock eyes with her through the white mask on her face. "You knew my name without me saying it, so... what do you know about me?" She stops walking turning to stare at my face. She pulls her hand away, jabbing my chest.    "Vince Wilson, mid-twenties, hallucinations and dreams, dead women and a tall man." She pauses, her voice twisting abnormally. "Jess is dead." She doesn't break gaze, leaving me to my thoughts. 'I knew I hurt someone, my hands worked on their own and I can hardly remember the carnage.' Images of a metal frame holding up a bleeding corpse passes through my eyes.     "I... I killed Jess." There's no doubt in my voice, leaving the girl to stare at me. "I don't even know who she is, she's in my head but its only her name. Was she my sister? No, my girlfriend?" I put a hand to my head. "I can't remember."    "None of us can." The voice of a sad child leaves Mouthy's mask. "It's an... occupational hazard."      "Oh." I can't think of anything to say as she returns to dragging me down the hall. I stay silent, not bothering to lift the atmosphere. 'Jess is dead... Who was she? Why do I remember her? Gosh, could she know what I did to her? Why did I do it? What the hell am I now?' Inner turmoil builds in me, causing me to tighten my grip around Mouthy's hand. She squeezes back, digging her nails into my flesh so I'll loosen. She moves her hand to grab my sleeve instead, muttering in a wispy hiss.    "We're here." I watch her grab a rusted handle, pushing it and opening a door. She pulls me through the doorframe, turning randomly in the darkness. I try to keep up, but ram my foot into a metal object. I cuss and she snickers before dropping her voice deeply. "Cover your eyes."     Before I could register her words, a click and a hum began to play in my ears. Mouthy had pulled a switch on the metal box, a generator, causing lights start buzzing to life. She pulls her hand away, throwing them over the eye holes of her mask. With slow dramatic clicks, the lights flick on one at a time. Illuminating the tiles on the floor in what seems to be... a training room. I blink furiously, adjusting to the brightness. Mouthy whimpers lightly, padding her hands over the machine, wanting to turn it off again.     "You'll get use to it again, child." A deep voice hits our ears. "Good to see she found you, Vince." My name slips from his throat. Scared, I can't move to look into that blank face. 'It's... the Slenderman.' My hands shake uncontrollably as my eyes continue to have troubles adjusting to the light. Something plops onto my head, slowly falling onto my nose. Blinking my eyes open, I see the room is dimmer than before. I pad my hands on my face feeling a set of shades.     "Wha-"    "They were on your old dresser. They'll work for both a disguise and a memento from your past."     "Why, why am I here? She said I 'helped' you, that I passed some kind of expectations. What does that mean?"    "It means, you... impressed me. I have use of the talents you possess, Vince, and so I have chosen you to be my sixth proxy."     "Sixth proxy? Like a servant? You wipe my head clean of everything, bring me here in order to make me work for you?" As I speak images of a computer screen flickers over my eyes, flashing the words: Slenderman, proxy, physical work. I close my eyes shaking away the images. "What expectations do you have of me." The room is silent as I watch Mouthy finally pull her hands away to look at the faceless man. Waiting for an answer, I nervously hunch my shoulders.    "Train with Toby. Live and fight... with us." Mouthy puts her glove back on, keeping her head lowered.     "Toby?" I question, hearing footsteps.     "What about me?" A young man's voice crawls into my ears, at first making me look at Mouthy with the thought she had changed her voice again. But an arm is thrown over my shoulder without expectation. "Hey, Partner! I see you've met Mouthy. You should've seen my face when I found out she's actually a girl." The figure who draped himself over me whispers into my ear. Startled, I flick my head to look him in the face. I'm met with a pair of oranges goggles and a maniac's facemask. "But I think you would've enjoyed seeing Kate tackle Jeff, too bad you were only half conscious. It was amazing." He continues to talk in a loud voice, hardly bothered by the light.    "Toby, were you not with the others?" Slender hums into the air.    "Hoody was right behind me, the light must hurt his eyes." The boy returns, snickering.    "How are you not bothered by it?" I mutter quietly, earning the boy's attention.    "I can't feel pain, here, punch me as hard as you can."     "You two may spar another time, locate the others." The Slenderman hisses at us. As the brown haired boy leaning on me shrugs, another figure walks through the door.     "Sir, Masky is with Kate and are both on their way." Craning my head, I can see a yellow hooded man hiding behind a black mask.     "The freelancers are close behind." Reporting like a true soldier, Mouthy voices her report after the yellow man.    "Did you tell them how to solve the maze?" The boy in goggles points his finger at Mouthy. "You must've missed the conversation, but Masky and the boss don't want those psychos to mingle with the new guy."     "Vince." I speak up, earning curious gazes. "My name is Vince." The brunette raises his eyebrows as if to show he's smiling.     "I'm Ticci Toby, but only call me Toby." He points at the yellow hooded man. "That's Hoody, partner of the hard-ass, Masky." He throws his arm over Mouthy, laughing lightly. "And this girl jumped out a second story window and is partnered with the crazy chick who likes to run." Toby finishes by pulling his goggles onto his forehead. Yet, curiosity consumes me and I continue to ask my questions.    "Who are the 'freelancers?' Is 'Jeff' one of them?" I tilt my head to the side, waiting for Toby to reply. Though he just blinks at me, thoroughly confused. Hoody Sighs.      "Toby, you were talking about Jeff. Thats how he knows." The two of them exchange glances and though they can't read each others expressions, both of them nod. Hoody steps closer to me, folding his arms. "There's the six of us who work as proxies for Slender, then there's those who seek shelter in his domains but play by their own schedules. T-the freelancers."     "You're talkative today, aren'tcha?" Toby bumps his elbow into Hoody's side, earning no reply from the red frown on his mask. "And now you're done. Well Boss, shouldn't we give Vince here the tour?" Toby rolls his shoulders, cracking them loudly.      "We'll have to wait on Masky and Kate, in the mean time you four may roam the premises. I'll call for you when I deem necessary." The Slenderman hums in our heads before disappearing as I blink.     Toby laughs, slapping his goggles back over his eyes. He smacks my arm playfully, twitching with excitement.     "Race you guys to the sparing circle." He shouts to the hooded figures behind us. "Last one has to do laundry!" Just like that, he takes off. I watch him disappear through an archway before Hoody and Mouthy brush past me to follow him. Leaving me alone, looking around like an idiot.     "What... just happened?" I mutter. Not feeling like running, I walk slowly around the room examining the cream colored walls and all their scars. "Live and fight with them, huh?" Thinking out loud, a wander to a punching bag hanging from a rusted hook in the ceiling. Unable to think entirely straight, I don't consider it'll break and throw a fist into the fabric. The bag rocks back and forth. The canvas covering leaves cuts on my knuckles and the sting causes me to look down, gasping I examine the long sleeves of my shirt. "Blood?" My voice quivers at the sight of red splatters covering my sweater, making the light grey fabric more of a grotesque pink. I look down at my jeans that are too covered in blood.     The body is frozen in the air, hung by cables and hooks. The girl's biceps are ripped open revealing the bone underneath and dripping blood down loose strings of muscle, staining the hooks. Her abdomen is held open with staples, showing her empty chest cavity. I kneel on the floor surrounded in a foul stench with my arms covered in fresh blood. In each hand I hold a plastic bag each containing a fleshy red blob. What was once an organ is now an unrecognizable mush, sagging through my fingers.     I blink away the thought, a flashback of some kind. All I can hear in my head is, 'Jess, Jess, Jess!' What did I do to her?     "Oh Jess, I'm sorry... so sorry." I fall to my knees, unable to see straight anymore as tears burn in my throat. "I... I'm a ruthless killer; a murderer. I hurt you, ripped you open. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The thoughts fill my mind, and I don't notice anyone come in. Gloved hands slide under my shades, covering my eyes.    "Don't let Toby see you cry, he'll poke fun at you." The sound of a little child's giggling voice plays behind me. My breathing grows heavy as Mouthy mimics a tuning radio, exhaling in a British accent. "We're all murderers, heartless killers, and carry our regrets. Remember all you can, it won't stay long."    "It wasn't clean, she suffered. She's unrecognizable, I don't know what she looked like. How can I carry that?" I groan, slowly growing angry. I hold back whatever monster is trying to crawl out of me by clenching my fists.    "You won't carry it alone." Mouthy's tone grows robotic. "Toby, is your partner. You'll both share burdens." I freeze, rethinking what she said. Toby, the kid in goggles, he'll be the one I tell my problems to. The one I'll be stuck to fight along side with. Why? How? The questions buzz inside me and I'm unable to process the information she's giving me. But, then she laughs. A childish giggle escapes her lips and reverberates throughout my entire being.    "Don't worry, you'll adapt, like you did with the lights." Her motherly tone scraps my ears and I shudder as she removes her hands. Suddenly being open to the bright room again, I squint. She giggles. "Slowly, until you can see everything."     "So, you're saying I'll understand if I just... let it happen without question?" I rub my eyes and look at her. She nods lightly, dropping her voice to make her sound older.    "Slender knows what needs to be done to properly play this game, he'll bring success to those on his side." She fixes her stance to stand tall, turning to walk out of the room. "The others are waiting." Mouthy mutters, waiting for me to follow. I pick myself up, wobbling towards her. We walk down the dimly lit hallway in silence, leaving me to my thoughts as she hums an empty ambiance.~^~^~    I swayed for awhile, holding the wall in the hallway when my head spun really bad. Mouthy would cast me small glances, listening to my feet shuffle before I would shake my head furiously. The particular hallway was lined with windows, showing nothing but a dark abyss of whatever was below. We passed several rooms, one looking like an open gym room with curtain-less showers and rusted lockers. Another that had a large sink and multiple stalls without doors, at the time I guessed it was the bathroom. Nearby was the hallway's dead end; it was lined with two rusted ladders, one going up and one going down. Mouthy grabbed the sides of the ladder, riding it down to the floor below. She waited for me to nervously reach the dirtied concrete before continuing to wander on the walkway. It was extending from the wall, ending with a dented railing facing a dark arena about ten feet under us. Mouthy had pointed into the darkness, leaning on the railing. If I lifted my shades and squinted, I could see two figures diving at each other. To my surprise, Mouthy grabbed the rail and flipped both legs over it. Silently, dropping to the floor below. She pointed a finger to the other end of the platform, making me notice a set of staircases.    I walk down the creaking stairs, watching my feet and trying hard not to make them creak. With my efforts in vain, I simply jump over the railing, skipping the second staircase. The loud clomp my feet make alerts the two figures sparring in the middle of the room. I earn the curious glances of Toby and Hoody, stopping their match. Toby straightens his posture, stepping out of the white circle drawn on the concrete floor.     "Hey! Look who gets to do laundry." Toby pulls at his sweaty hoodie, ripping off his striped sweatshirt and throwing at me. "You'll want to get the blood off your own shirt too." He mutters, placing his blue hoodie in my arms before adjusting his black tee-shirt.    "Uh... Thanks. Is this part of your 'training?" I look at Hoody who begins to brush off dust from his clothes. He turns at my question, shaking his head.    "No. This is just Toby's way of bonding. Competition and an invasion of p-personal space." He adjusts his gloves, still shaking his head. Toby points at the yellow hooded man, slightly flexing his biceps    "Hoods, give him your jacket to wash."     "I'll wash it myself." Hoody mutters, causing Toby to tilt his head in confusion.    "Why?" Hoody doesn't give an answer and continues towards the stairs. "Fine then. I'll spar with Mouthy while you play housewife." Toby flicks his head around the rest of the open room, his eyes landing on a metal bench in the corner. Mouthy sits quietly drawing her finger through the dust on the ground, making pictures. Toby rushes over to her, looking down at the floor before adding his own addition to the drawing. Mouthy looks up before pushing him down, pinning him.    "V-Vince." Hoody calls my name and I turn to see him halfway up the stairs, flicking his head to have me follow. Expecting he's going to show me the washroom, I follow Hoody up the stairs. He waits for me to catch up, watching Mouthy and Toby skillfully throw one another across the sparring circle. Toby scraps up his arms rolling on the concrete, but he manages to rip off Mouthy's hood before Hoody motions me up the ladder.     "First door on the left." He mutters, climbing after me. I follow his instructions and find myself in one of the rooms from earlier, the bathroom. To the left of me is a huge sink almost deep enough to bathe in. The inside isn't too dirty, but I'd rather not think of bathing in it. Hoody walks in behind me, pulling at his sleeves.    "D-do you remember how to wash clothes?" He asks quietly, and I send him an interesting gaze.     "I think so. Use hot water, soap, and scrub. Right?" I reach to turn on the faucet, hearing it hiss but no water drips out. Confused, I turn it more, causing Hoody to take a step back.     Thick dark liquid sprays from the tap, spewing into the old sink. Quickly following the lumps of mold and mud is a powerful flow of scalding water, making steam rise and fog my shades. I quietly remove them while Hoody waits for the mud like color to drain, throwing a rubber stopper into the sink. He then proceeds to turn down the heat, reaching into the cabinet underneath to pull out an old bottle of dish-soap.     "Mouthy said t-that you've already forgot... everything." Hoody pours the soup into the sink.    "Yea, I don't know what life I lived before... this. Is that not normal? Mouthy said something about it being an 'occupational hazard' for you guys." I drop Toby's clothes into the hot water, lifting off my own shirt.    "I g-guess it is. Slender is... careful with our memory, so he's... modified it to make us useful." Hoody pulls off his own jacket. I notice his mask is sewn into the rim of the hood, permanently covering his face.     "What do you remember? Before working for the Slenderman, I mean." I ask suddenly as I toss my bloodied shirt into the sink. Hoody pauses to think, wadding the yellow cloth into a ball and holds it to his chest. He's a normal guy underneath the mask, short dirty blonde hair and blue eyes bordered with a strong jaw. I watch his lips tremble as he opens and closes his mouth, looking for the words to say.     "I-I remember Masky's real face, t-the one behind the mask, and two more unfamiliar faces." He hold the face of his hoodie, looking at it with sad eyes. "I also remember a camera and old cassette tapes." He closes his eyes. "A lead pipe, random graffiti, dirty maintenance tunnels, and running. I remember a lot running." He begins to slowly pace the bathroom, kicking the small bits of broken debry. "It's all distorted, a jumble of nonsense." Hoody looks down at the floor unable to reply further. Feeling I shouldn't push the idea any more, I change topics.     "Masky? Toby said he's your partner. What does that mean?" Hoody looks up at me, draping his jacket over one of the stall's separators.     "H-he's my friend. I trust him entirely." He reaches under the sink, pulling out an antique washboard and hands it to me. "We've been together since day one and... I don't think I could s-survive without his help."    He stares at the water, watching me scrub stains out of the shirts. He shakes his head with a sigh.     "Watch Mouthy and Kate, they're like magnets if apart for too long." I pause to stare at Hoody as he speaks, catching a small smirk.     "Is that what the Slenderman wants Toby and I to be? Inseparable." I pull the shirts out of the water, looking for a place to hang them.    "That's not required, b-but Toby needs someone to support him. Masky and I weren't too k-kind to the kid, now you get to fix w-what we ignored... "...S-sorry, but it's part of the training."     Hoody gives up on washing his jacket, pulling it back over his head. I take it's place and throw the wet shirts over the stalls. He gives me a light nod, signaling a respectful close to the conversation. As he turns to leave a loud crash echoes from down the hall, followed with angry shouts. ~^~^~    Vince and Hoody look to towards the noise, the yellow hooded man running at the sound without a second thought. Groans and growls slip out of the weight- room, followed with curse words and threats. Hoody turns quickly into the room, just in time to see Jeff, Masky, Kate, Ben, and Jack; all hissing at one another. Vince enters, still shirtless but he had managed to grab his shades before following Hoody. None of the others notice however, all eyes are on Jeff as he suddenly throws his fist. Hitting Masky square in the nose, the pale teen causes him to fly to Hoody's feet. The yellow hooded man bends down to help his partner, and Jeff continues to stalk angrily towards them. Vince catches a glimpse of silver as Jeff reaches into his hoodie pocket. The crazed look in the killer's eyes leave an... impression on Vince, causing a flashback to play in the new proxy's head. Flashes of Jess's corpse hung up with thin metal hooks and Vince's bloodied fingers twitching around a stained knife. The images play past his eyes, leaving a sick grin on his lips. Jeff continues towards Masky, wielding his blade menacingly. Vince steps over Masky's leg, standing between the pale psycho and the proxy. Jeff laughs lifting his knife to slash his shirtless chest wide open, but is taken aback as Vince cracks an insane grin.     With both hands in the pockets of his jeans, Vince lifts his leg to kick Jeff's arm. The knife falls from Jeff's fingers as Vince kicks his side too. Jeff's charcoal hair falls over his eyes as Kate swiftly trips the stumbling killer. Jack runs to pin her before she could land her hands around Jeff's throat. Kate throws Jack off of her, growling as she runs to tackle him. Jeff sits up as Vince scoops up his blade, freezing as a cold breeze crawls unto his face. The new proxy points the tip into Jeff's chin, giving a low chuckle.     "Is it strange that I have a strong urge to gut you?" Vince draws his other hand up to brush Jeff's hair away from his eye's. "Hung up as a marionette, just like her." Vince pulls the knife above his head, ready to break through Jeff's sternum. But Ben hovers about him, stealing away the knife and grabbing Vince's wrists. As Ben lifts him into the air, Mouthy and Toby appear in the archway. They watch Hoody jump on top of Jeff, strangling him. Masky wipes away the blood that trickles out of his mask, diving to help his partner as Jeff flips to pin him. Toby reaches to his belt, grabbing his axes, throwing one towards Ben. The elf drops to the floor in order to dodge, landing on top of Vince's shoulders. The new proxy throws Ben to the floor, smirking as he grabs Toby's ax. Both the goggled proxy and his shirtless partner rush at the elf, readying an ax each. Ben sprouts black cables from the air, using them for both offence and defence. Mouthy had dove to Kate's aid when Toby ran to Vince's. She pulls Jack's arm behind his back as he pins the chaser, stealing the small scalpel from his gloved fingers. Mouthy shoves the blade into her pocket as Kate throws the cannibal into the wall, jumping up to stand beside her partner. Jack twists to catch himself before touching the cream structure. He lunges at the girls who lock their arms together. He runs to grab their heads, but they meet him halfway, wrapping their arms around his hips before flipping him over their heads. Jack lands hard, knocking the wind out of him. Kate sits on his chest, holding his arms to his sides as she growls. Mouthy grabs the side of his head, ripping off the blue mask that hides his face. She pulls the scalpel from her pocket and grabs his chin, leaning in to plunge it through an empty eye socket. Jack tilts his head, stretching his neck and latching his jaw around Mouthy's hand, his teeth puncturing through both her glove and skin. She hisses in pain, throwing the scalpel into Jack's lip. Once he lets go of the bite, Kate punches his cheek.     Toby and Vince beat down on Ben's cables, Masky and Hoody wrestle to strangle Jeff, while Kate and Mouthy fail to keep Jack pinned. Their nine bodies thrash and bleed on the floor of the weight room. The atmosphere becomes crushing as Slender appears in the corner, in frustration he admits a high pitch ringing sound as tendrils erupt from his back.    "Enough!" Slender's booming voice rumbles in their heads. All nine killers cringe, bringing their hands to their ears. Slender doesn't waste a heartbeat, wrapping a tendril around each of their waists. "What is the meaning of this?" He growls into the air, turning his head to look into the eyes of his proxies. Slender fishes into their minds, finding Toby, Mouthy, Hoody, and Vince arrived late to the fight. His stares at Kate who's mind is swallowed by bloodlust, unreadable to him. Masky look to his master as Slender reaches his head. Finding this started with a childish stunt from his own proxy, Masky and Kate had tried to lose the other three in the labyrinth by calling names and pricking delicate nerves. But they failed to draw them away, resulting in an enraged Jeff and a fist fight.     Slender sighs as the killers exchange banters in his grasp, curses and threats being thrown into the air around him.     "Silence!" His growl closes their mouths, forcing them to listen. "I see now it's not only the rogue monsters that must learn respect but my proxies as well. I expected less childish behavior from you all. As punishment: Jeff, Ben, and Jack will be allowed to remain here until Vince's basic training is complete." Masky inwardly groans at the command, lowing his head in frustration. Jeff seeing him in shame begins to snicker.    "Ya hear that hard-ass? We get to stay." Jeff continues to laugh. Slender tighten his grip around the pale teen, causing him to stop. Masky growls lightly as Slender places everyone down and releasing them.     "Mouthy, I expect you to show everyone to the dormitory." He give a stern look at the girl's mask as she gives a nod. "If there is any more mishaps like this, I will personally dispose of the instigator. Am I clear?" Slender booms, waiting for an answer. A series of nods and unconfident 'yeah's trickle out from the killers' lips. Slender scans their faces one last time before muttering, "Good," then disappearing. ~^~^~(Vince Wilson's POV)    The Slenderman vanishes, just like that, leaving us panting on the now blood speckled floor. Mouthy stands up, whistling to catch everyone's attention. Once she has our eyes she walks to the archway. The one man she had tackled, picks up his blue mask before cautiously making his way towards her. Mouthy pulls out a small doctors blade from her pocket, holding it out to the man. He gently reaches to take it, putting it his pocket before reaching out to investigate the wound on her hand.    "I'll fix that later." He mutters, letting go of her. Mouthy nods, letting her hand hang at her side.     "Follow me." She speaks in a childish voice, turning out of the door frame. I exchange looks with Toby as I hand him back his ax, he shrugs following after her. I walk behind him quietly, finding myself being followed by the others.     Mouthy walks to the end of the hall, reaching the two ladders from earlier. She turns to the one going up, grabbing it with her good hand and begins to climb. We watch her pull herself into the next floor, each following one at a time. I'm behind the eager Toby, grabbing his hand when he offers to help me up. The floor has one open doorway and a turn at the end of the hall. Toby skips into the only room, dragging me with him. Inside the room are several hammocks hanging from the ceiling, I can count six that line the walls.    "Vince, take the one next to me." Toby shouts, pointing at the one he wants me to take. I walk over and shake the chains it hangs from, seeing that its more sturdy than expected.      "Is this the only dorm room?" I ask the goggled boy. Toby nods in reply, swinging his legs off the side of his hammock. "There's not going to be enough beds." I raise my brow to him, catching a glimpse of his eyes widening through the goggles.     "You're right, there's nine of us and only six beds. No wonder Slendy picked you up, you're smart." He laughs, smacking his leg incredibly hard.     "Cot..." A wispy growl comes from the doorway, coming from the lips of a bloodied figure. I recognize her to be Mouthy's partner, but can't recall anyone saying her name. She points down the hall, looking at the blue masked man. Her feet move towards him and she jabs her hand into his chest. "Fix, bite." She steps back looking at Mouthy who nods in return. I watch Mouthy turn the corner with the man following her quietly. I spin to look at Toby who seems content with the situation.     "Is it a good idea to let that guy be alone with Mouthy?" I whisper to him. "They were just fighting with one another." Toby pulls his goggles off, reaching for the band of his mouthguard.     "It should be fine. Jack's chill and Mouthy's forgiving, plus if either try anything Boss'll end them with a snap of his fingers." He pulls the guard off his face, popping his neck before giving me a smile. His brown eyes match his hair and clashes with his abnormally pale complexion. I nod to him, sitting on the hammock next to his.    "Is this the crib?" Floating through the doorway is the blonde midget I had wanted to chop to pieces. "It seems like Slender had a low budget when fixin' up this place." The kid throws himself into an empty hammock, rolling over casually.     "Deal with it, elf. Cause you'll be sleeping on the floor." Masky walks inside, both hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched.    "Oh ya? Are you going to 'make me?" The boy spins his green hat on his finger, teasing the white masked man. "I wonder who Slender will consider the 'instigator,' you or me?"     "Shut up Ben, or I'll throw you on the floor." Now in comes the grinning psycho who started the fist fight, lowering an angry gaze at the elf boy. Ben sits up in the hammock.    "Hey, first come first serve, Jeff." Ben growls at the black haired boy as he stalks towards him. Jeff grabs the chains of Ben's hammock, flipping it. "Oi!" The green kid falls to the floor, growling curses.    "I was going to take your spot but I don't want to catch your short germs." Jeff laughs, pointing into the hammock.     "Shut up or I'll drown your white ass." Ben threatens with a smirk. "Slender can't exterminate anyone if your death is an accident."     "He'll stick to his word no matter what, Ben. And he'll send you to hell, again." Masky says with a sigh, rocking himself in his hammock. "Proxies get this room, if you freeloaders want a part of this then go find yourself a place to sleep." Jeff laughs at Masky, plopping down into the hammock next to Ben.     "Nine of us, six beds, and one law: no fighting. How are we going to settle this, Masky?" The black haired teen snickers evilly.     "There's seven beds including the medical cot." Hoody steps into the room, placing himself in the center so he's between Jeff and Masky. "Jack volunteered to take the cot and the six of us will have the hammocks." He finishes, sitting on the last hammock.    "What about the girls?" Toby asks, sitting up. Hoody looks at him with an unreadable glance. Toby makes an "O" with his lips, laying back down. "That's right, they're not use to this." He mutters, rolling over.     "Whatever, lets settle this later." Jeff groans, adjusting in his hammock.    "We should start calling you Peacekeeper, Hoods." Ben laughs, earning no reply from the yellow proxy.~^~^~    Everyone has laid down and I can hear their gentle breaths, my mind is still too full of questions and trying to process all that's occurred. I can't sleep. After an hour of staring at the ceiling, I can hear the faint voice of the blue masked man; Jack. His muttering is hardly understandable, but I pick up words like: bandages, blood, sutures and a brief apology. Hoody had said that Jack was going to sleep in the medical cot, and the girl with the stained hoodie told Jack to "Fix, bite." Could it be there's an infirmary down the hall?     My question is answered as Mouthy and the stained proxy, softly walk past the open archway. Mouthy adjusts the bandages that are expertly wrapped around her hand, hissing annoying radio static. She starts to pull part of the fabric, but the other girl smacks her hand away.    "Kate..." Mouthy whines, looking at her partner.     "No." The girl replies in a growl. "Lights off." She points her finger towards the ladder. Mouthy sighs, making her hum drop an octave. She pulls her head up looking the girl in the face. Giggling, Mouthy throws a fist into her arm and causes her to stumble.    "Tag!" Mouthy mimics the voice of Ben, jumping away from the stained proxy and flying down the ladder. The other girl growls deeply, not wasting another heartbeat before chasing after her partner. Not long after, I could hear the power drain from the lights as we're all drown in complete darkness.

        I sigh, finding the thick noir quite peaceful as I roll into a comfortable position. Finally shutting my eyes, I'm lulled to sleep by the sound of distant giggles and the patter of feet.