(Artwork by Midori-no-Usagi)
The three hitched their breathes as the long-armed gentleman came barreling around the corner, reaching its hands outward and pressing them up against the metal machine. He sniffed the air, feeling all around the table saw before finding the button, pressing it, and deactivating the mechanism.
"Damn it, Seven! Look what you got us into now..."
Mono scowled at Seven who pouted back at him. The three of them were standing on a long piece of cloth that was stretched out across one side of the floor. Multiple wooden carvings of various shapes were all around them, and they had to be careful, or else they would risk bumping into one and jeopardizing the whole thing.
"What?!"
He turned around and looked at Six who was constantly nudging him with an annoyed look on his face. She was pointing into the other room at a hatch that was connecting to a rope. The rope was attached to a crank, and if the crank were to be turned, the hatch would open and they could make a swift escape. The only problem was it was surrounded by wooden flooring, meaning any step they would take in that region would immediately alert the long-armed man.
"Oh, I see..."
Mono nodded, quietly walking over to the Seven and tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around and tilted his head, so Mono pointed him at the same hatch that Six had shown him. Seven's gaze averted to the floor as he began to think up ideas, before raising his head back up and raising his pointer finger, indicating he had come up with a plan.
"Oh great, what now..."
Seven without warning picked up a square wooden carving from off of the ground and tossed it at the long-armed male.
"Wait, wait, wait, WAIT!!"
Mono tried to stop him but was too late as the wooden carving collided with the ground, causing the man with the lanky arms to produce a croak. Cracking his disproportionate limbs, he yelped as he outstretched his slender arms at whatever made the sound. Running out of the room, Seven made a mad dash for the button that activated the table saw once again.
"Seven, you're gonna get us all killed, STOP!!"
He tried to grab his arm but Seven pulled away from him.
"Wait, this will work, trust me!"
"Mono, wait! He might be onto something..."
Six grabbed Mono and pulled him back to safety, restraining him from going after Seven as the kid in the blue clothing pressed his hands against the grey button, causing the loud table saw to come back to life once again. The impossible man immediately ran back, Seven passing right by him and making it into the next room, motioning for Mono and Six to follow him.
"Go, go, go!"
Six pushed Mono forward as Seven bought them time to open up the hatch. As soon as they entered the room, Seven had the hatch already open for them.
"I can hold you, you two go first!"
Mono could barely hear Seven's words over the sound of the table saw spinning, but he understood enough, hopping into the hatch along with Six, landing onto a pile of coal. Seven quickly followed, the two quickly moving out of the way before the boy in blue landed on them.
"Phew..! We did it!"
Seven pumped his fists into the air in celebration, immediately being silenced at the sound of muffled yelling and stomping from above. The giant from above knew he had been tricked, stomping around in range before opening the door and leaving the room.
"Yeah, we did... sorry Seven, I didn't know what you were trying to do."
Mono guiltily shook his head, feeling bad that he had yelled at Seven even though he was the reason they had made it out of there in one piece.
"No problemo, Money. It was a risky plan, I'm surprised at how smoothly it went, honestly."
Six stifled a laugh as Mono couldn't help but laugh at the silly nickname he had been given.
"You know what... I'll allow it."
Their moment was interrupted as the sound of metal churning and whining in the very next room was heard.
"Crap..."
Mono motioned for Seven to hand over his flashlight, which he cautiously did, making as little sound as possible. He stepped up to the metal door, which had an opening at the bottom of it. Crawling under the door, he clenched his teeth as he clicked the flashlight on. The room was pitch-black, and the air was very cold, making the area feel very threatening.
"Come on, where are you... you long-armed freak..."
Mono pointed his flashlight everywhere; up at the ceiling, in front of him, off to the sides, but he only could see furniture items such as chairs, tables, drawers, and various other objects. He began to walk forward, seconds away from calling Seven and Six over to tell them it was safe to proceed before his flashlight glanced over something that stood out amongst the stone floor. He braced himself as he reluctantly aimed the flashlight back over the spot where he saw the unidentified object.
"Oh no."
He pointed his flashlight up, immediately revealing a stretched, disfigured brown face. The long-armed man jerked, cracking his joints as Mono slowly backed away.
AGHH!!
"Mono, get back over here!"
He could hear Six call for him as the impossible man began pursuit, stomping behind Mono as he made a mad dash for the door. He slid, Seven and Six immediately catching him and pulling him away as the man reached his hands under the door, sniffing and growling trying to feel around for his prey.
"You alright, Mono? Did he hit you?"
"No, I'm fine..."
Six and Mono whispered to one another as she held him close. Seven realized that the long-armed gentleman wasn't letting up anytime soon, so he picked up a piece of coal and cautiously took steps toward the metal door. He rolled the piece of coal onto the other side of the door, making it sound like they had run straight by the long-armed man. Seven's plan worked perfectly, causing the giant man to let out a shriek, stomping away from the door and running in the opposite direction.
"Huh? What did you do to get his attention?"
Mono was confused as Seven smirked.
"Got us an opening, come on, let's go."
Six and Mono got onto their feet, crouching down along with Seven and stealthily entering the room with no light. Mono had given Seven his flashlight back, so he picked up another piece of coal and tossed it in the opposite direction, getting the giant's attention and masking the sound of the flashlight turning on with the long-armed man's scream.
"Where's the dang exit out of this place..."
Seven was getting annoyed, whispering to himself as he saw nothing but darkness ahead of him. He stayed close to the wall, leading Mono and Six. Mono put his trenchcoat over Six and kept her near him, keeping her warm.
CRUNCH!!
They all froze as Seven stepped on a pile of tiny pieces of coal, producing a loud crunch. He clutched his foot, hopping around in pain.
"Ow, ow, ow..!"
The giant sniffed the air, before letting out a scream and stomping toward their direction. The three gasped, quickly hiding together under a table. Mono covered his mouth and watched in horror as Seven shone his flashlight on the giant, who was feeling around the vicinity directly in front of them. He sniffed the air, arching his back, before stomping off into another direction.
"Phew..."
Mono clutched his chest, sighing of relief as quietly as he could.
"This is so messed up."
Seven whispered, shining his flashlight around the room, looking for an exit.
"Yeah... how are we gonna get out of here? I don't see any doors anywhere..."
Six mumbled, peeking from the table and following Seven's beam of light.
"There..!"
"Huh? Where is it? I don't see it..?"
"Look closely..."
She squinted, barely seeing a grey button attached to the wall on the other side of the room.
"How the heck did you see that so fast..?"
Seven shrugged at her question, tapping Mono's shoulder and showing him the button as well.
"Now that might not be a way out of here, for all we know it could activate a trap... but I don't see any way out of here, so... what do you two think..?"
Mono and Six hesitated for a moment, looking at each other, before nodding simultaneously.
"Let's go for it."
Mono stood up, cautiously peering around the table leg. Seven shined his flashlight on the giant, keeping it aimed at him.
"I'll shine him the whole time, Mono you go for the button. I'm gonna cause a distraction, Six you stay with him, got it..?"
They nodded.
"Alright, good luck to you two..."
They split up, Seven going on his own and collecting pieces of coal as Mono and Six went hand in hand for the button. She had turned on her lighter so they wouldn't step on any stray pieces of coal along the floor.
"Just like old times."
Mono smirked, scoffing as he recalled the times where he used to worry all the time about only Six and nothing else, but now he had to worry about Seven too. He let Six lead him as his attention was encapsulated by the giant man, who was feeling around under a table, groaning as he realized that his three victims weren't there.
ARGHH!!
Mono and Six's heart froze as the giant let out a cry, but it was only Seven deploying the distraction. He tossed the coal piece into a corner, getting the giant to fall for the bait and run in that direction. The two took the opportunity and immediately went for the button, their footsteps being masked by the giant's stomps. Mono hopped up, slamming his palm against the button.
"Got it!"
"Seriously!?"
Six scowled at how enthusiastic Mono was with activating the button.
"What..?"
RAGHH!!
The giant knew exactly where they were as Seven came running toward them.
"GO! He's coming right now! Get up the ladder!"
"Ladder? Where?!"
Mono looked around frantically as Six pulled him in the other direction. The rope ladder came into view as the frantic stomping of the giant could be heard from behind him. He quickly climbed up the ropes behind Six. Seven was at the top, holding a piece of coal in his hand.
"Hey, ugly!"
Seven taunted the giant, reeling his full hand back and launching the coal at him.
"Catch!"
The long-armed man growled in anger as it bounced off of his face, extending his arms at the three.
"Come on, you two! Climb faster!"
Seven pushed the hatch at the top open as Mono pulled his leg up, narrowly dodging the hand of the giant. The blind man wrapped his fingers around the ropes, pulling them down. Mono yelped, almost losing his grip as Six grabbed his wrist, pulling him up. Seven slammed the hatch shut and locked it, the three backing away from it as they heard the giant slamming and knocking on it, trying to bust it open.
"He isn't getting through that any time soon. Come on, you two..."
Seven was out of breath as he walked away, analyzing the room they were in now. Tiny pieces of coal fell from hatches on the walls onto the floor, and there was a group of nomes tossing coal up into the air and playing around in a pile of it.
"Look..!"
Six quietly pointed out the nomes to the trio, going along with Seven to tame them.
"Uhh... guys... this hatch doesn't look like it's gonna hold much longer..."
The giant continued to pound on the other side, causing a bolt to break off of the side of the trapdoor. Six picked up a nome and held it up to her face, confused as it didn't fight back. Seven picked one up himself, turning his head away as it threw coal dust at him.
"Hey... cut that out..! What'd you say, Mono?"
"The hatch, it's gonna-"
SLAM!!
The lock on the hatch broke loose, causing the trapdoor to come flying open. The giant extended his arms in the room, nearly grabbing Mono as the young boy turned tail and ran.
"GET THE NOMES AND RUN!!"
Six quickly ran for the door on the other side of the room, carrying the nome all the way until she reached it along with Seven. She pressed the button next to the door and opened it, letting Mono and Seven go through first. The man had used his long arms to lift himself up onto their level and was charging right for him.
"Damn, this guy is persistent!"
Mono ducked as the giant reached out in front of him, trying to grab the boy in the trenchcoat as he fled for his life. He barely made it through as Six closed the door behind him, slamming it shut on the giant.
"Come on, keep going!"
It wouldn't be long before the blind man would figure out it was a door that was closed shut in front of him. Seven told the others to continue running down the hall as the metal door opened, the giant immediately returning back onto their tail. The long-armed man wailed as he went berserk, the room shaking with every step the giant took.
"Don't look behind you, don't look behind you..."
Mono felt his stomach drop as he realized that they were way too far from the door at the end of the hall. They wouldn't make it.
"Guys... we can't outrun him for much longer!"
"Trust me, Money! I got a plan!"
Seven was leading ahead, and he sounded very confident when he spoke.
"Does it involve us living?!"
"Even better!"
The boy in blue turned around, getting an idea of where the giant was, before looking ahead and seeing the trap.
"Guys, slide when I say to..."
"Do what?!"
"Slide!"
Six and Mono were confused and were nearly out of breath as Mono heard the giant's stomps getting closer and closer.
"SLIDE NOW!!"
The three slid, Mono now seeing what Seven was talking about. A thin piece of rope was connected from the left wall onto the right wall. Reaching the other side of the rope, Seven turned around and braced himself.
AGHHH!!
The long-armed giant was immediately stopped dead in his tracks, the rope ceasing his movement completely. All of a sudden, a group of nomes came running over from a hole in the wall. They boosted one another up to a lever, then yanked it downward. The three backed up as the giant had an entire pile of coal dumped on top of him, incapacitating him for the time being.
"Ohh... thank god... my legs hurt..."
Six lowered the nome she was holding onto the ground, dropping to her knees and catching her breath. Seven set his nome down and let them meet up with the other three nomes that had saved their lives just now. They all high-fived one another, hopping up and down in celebration.
"Wow... I need a minute..."
Mono sat down, collecting himself.
"After all this is over with... we need to go on a real vacation..."
Six brought the idea up to Mono and Seven, who didn't hear her since he was busy taming all of the nomes.
"I feel like we're gonna be running from giant people for the rest of our lives at this rate..."
"Ha... wait until we grow up and become the giant people."
"Yeah, if we live to be that old."
"What are you guys talking about?"
Seven walked over with two nomes in his hands and three nomes following behind him.
"Oh, nothing."
"Hm... okay, well I got the nomes tamed, we should try and find a way back to the furnace. I think we have enough now."
"Alright."
Mono felt rejuvenated by this point, his eyes drifting over to the collapsed giant, who was still buried under a pile of coal. After reassuring himself that their enemy was down, for now, he got onto his feet along with Six and started for the giant door on the other side of the room.
"Hey Mono, have you ever tried ice cream before?"
"Tried what..?"
Mono was confused as Seven nodded.
"Oh yeah, ice cream is awesome!"
"What is ice cream?"
"It's a dessert. You've never had it?"
"No..?"
Seven gave him a weird look as Six pressed the button to open the door.
"You'd like it, Mono. I'll try and find some for you, though I feel like there's not much ice cream in this place."
"What's a dessert?"
Before the two could answer his question, the nomes that were in Seven's hands began to struggle, pushing out of his grasp and running for the giant furnace that was in the other room. They had ended up back in the scene shop where they had their second encounter with the giant. The nomes that were behind him also ran for the furnace, hopping off of the wooden platform without hesitation.
"I'm gonna go help them with the coal."
Seven immediately ran forward, Six following him as Mono was left behind.
"Wait, you didn't tell me what a dessert is!"
He ran after them, hopping off of the platform and landing on the hard floor below. The furnace roared as more and more coal was thrown into it. Seven and Six were hauling several coals at once as they were joined by the other nomes in the coal burning.
"Guys, we did it! Look!"
Seven pointed out the makeshift elevator that was now going all the way up into the ceiling.
"Nice!"
Mono cheered as Six dropped her coal off to the side, immediately hopping on and calling the other two to join her.
"Let's go, no time to lose!"
Seven and Mono climbed onto one of the platforms, letting themselves slowly get raised upward into the air, until they were consumed by the dark fog from above.
Word Count: 3013
Thanks for reading all the way to the end of the chapter!
Like I said before, school is starting up again, so chapters may or may not come out later than normal.
I'll let you guys know when I need a break, so don't worry.
Have a good day, and I'll see you in the next chapter!