(Artwork by Chloe.W56)
SMASH!!
Seven woke up with a jolt, the sound of a plate smashing being heard in the distance. Catching his breath, he let out a sigh of relief, his eyes falling on Mono and Six, who were still sleeping soundly in front of him.
"Well, if they're still asleep... I guess it wouldn't hurt to stand guard for a little while."
His joints cracked as he got onto his feet, Seven carefully and quietly lifting the table cloth that kept them hidden from the outside world and tiptoeing out from under the safety of the table.
WHOOSH!!
The drape floated upward as Seven transformed into a nome. Then, he plopped down on the floor, his hands lying flat out by his sides as his cone-shaped head turned from left to right.
"Wonder if we'll ever get out of this place... I mean, we're close, aren't we?"
Seven thought to himself, the sound of muffled stomping and loud, obnoxious chewing being heard in the other room.
"Plus, we have to take down that lady too... yeah, I don't think our odds are exactly favoring us."
His hearing suddenly picked up something very alluring to him, a feeling that he hadn't ever felt before. The sound of distant scurrying and whirring was made very apparent to him, Seven's attention honing in on the location of the noise as it revealed itself to him.
"Is that a pack of nomes..?"
A small group of three nomes ran around a corner from a doorway, turning and sprinting in Seven's direction. He stood up, his head following them as they approached him.
"Huh? Are you talking to me?"
Seven listened, the one leading the group gesturing with his tiny hands as he emitted a whirring noise.
"Well, I can't escape with you guys right now. I have to, uh... watch over my friends."
He shrugged, not realizing that he was seemingly telepathically communicating with them. The one that was standing behind the leader stepped up to the front, inquiring Seven about something.
"Where are my friends? Well, they're right here-"
"Seven, where are you?"
Mono appeared, lifting the table cloth and looking around with a confused expression on his face. The nomes took one look at Mono, his white eyes striking fear within them, and in an instant they were off, ducking behind a corner and peering around it, watching Seven cautiously.
"Oh, there you are. Why are you in nome form?"
Seven turned back into a human as Six yawned, stepping out from under the table and stretching her arms.
"I was, uh... keeping watch. I woke up a little earlier than you guys, so I figured I'd just guard until you woke up."
"I see... well, I'm up now.'
Mono looked over to the corner that the nomes were hiding behind, causing them to duck around it upon realizing that their location was spotted.
"What's up with them?"
He looked on with perplexity as the nomes were seemingly afraid of him, but Mono couldn't figure out why as he waved a finger around in their direction.
"Um... hang on a second..."
WHOOSH!!
Turning into a nome again, Seven tried to get them to come out of hiding.
"You can come on out now, don't worry. They don't mean any harm."
The three nomes reluctantly stepped out of their hiding, keeping their guard as Mono and SIx waved at them.
"Hey, little people. My name's Mono."
Seven transformed back into a human, putting his thumb to his chest as he introduced himself.
"I'm Six."
"And I'm Seven!"
He raised a hand and waved at them with a smile, to which they waved back in response. Suddenly, the three nomes got closer to them, their trust in them being verified as each nome went up to a single human. One went up to Seven and waved at him, another went up to Six and jumped up and down with excitement, the final one going up to Mono and pulling his trenchcoat open, hiding inside of it.
"Uh..?"
Mono was confused but ended up allowing the nome to get comfortable in his clothing.
"So, are we gonna be babysitting these nomes until we get out of here, or..?"
Six lifted the nome that had walked over to her up to her face, examining its cone-shaped head.
"I mean, I'm don't mind."
Seven shrugged, giggling as the nome that had gone up to him ran around him in circles.
"We can't keep them forever, they'll be in great danger if we encounter that lady again."
Mono flinched as the nome that had walked up to him was now climbing up his back, sitting on his shoulder and leaning its tiny body against his head.
"If that's so, then let's just get them to a safe spot where we can let them go free!"
Seven enthusiastically spoke as the urge to keep the nomes as their company grew even more as Six's nome began to bow down in front of her repeatedly.
"The heck is it doing..?"
"I think it's pledging you as it's queen!"
Seven laughed as Mono shook his head with amusement, the nome continuing to bow in front of her.
"Wait... really? Okay, this one's a keeper then."
She scooped up the tiny nome and embraced it, turning toward Mono and Seven.
"Let's get going so we can find these little dudes a safe hiding spot as soon as possible."
Letting go of the nome she had picked up, Six let it run around with the other two nomes, the three meeting up near the doorway and waiting for their human companions to follow them. Mono turned toward Seven and inquired him about a question that had been bugging him.
"So, Seven... can you talk to nomes..?"
"Kinda. I can't hear them talking, but I can understand what they're trying to tell me. Only when I'm a nome, though. Right now, I haven't got a clue what they're saying."
"Wait, you can TALK to the nomes?!"
Six was appalled, her eyes widening with jealousy.
"How come you two get all the cool powers?"
She crossed her arms, sarcastically scowling at Mono and Seven.
"Well, what even are your powers Mono?"
Seven asked, scratching his head. Mono remembered now, he hadn't clarified his true abilities to him yet.
"Oh right, I forgot to tell you. Well, let's just say I can shoot electricity out of my fingers."
"WHAT?! You can!? That's awesome, dude!"
"Eh, I don't know... it's better if I don't use them."
"Why?"
"I don't really know how to use them properly, plus I might get carried away with my power."
Mono's head lowered and he let out a sigh of self-hatred as he recalled a dark moment that had been buried in the back of his mind.
"And we all know what happens when I get carried away..."
Six sighed, not saying aloud what she was thinking but knowing that he was still angry with himself over what he had done before. She quickly changed the subject, not wanting Mono to feel depressed any longer.
"Do you think we should color the nomes? So we know which one is ours?"
Seven placed a hand on his chin, thinking for a moment, before agreeing with her.
"Yeah, we could do that! But, where are we gonna get something to color with?"
"Oh, you're right... we don't have any crayons."
Six wondered of any possible ways of getting the nomes to have separating features so they could identify them quicker.
"GUEST PLACE SECURE, RESUMING PATROL OF PERIMETER."
"Damn, right on cue..!"
A muffled radio click was heard in the next room over, the three freezing in place. Loud stomps began to move in their direction as they frantically looked around for any possible hiding spot.
"Where to hide, where to hide, where to-"
Mono's thinking was cut off as a nome ran up to him and tugged on his trenchcoat, trying to get him to follow in it. Looking up at Seven and Six, he watched the nomes lead them off to the side, toward a piece of wallpaper that appeared different than the rest. It slightly pried off more than the rest of the wall, standing out like a sore thumb.
"Huh, good thinking little dudes!"
Mono took the nome by the hand and let it drag him toward the loose wallpaper, Seven and Six prying off the wallpaper by the time he had gotten over there.
"Help us out here, Mono..!"
Six whisper-shouted, straining as she along with Seven and the three other nomes pulled at the wall.
"Coming, coming, coming!"
Mono quickly ran over and placed his hands on the wall that was loosening with every second they pulled on it. Putting his barefoot on the wall, he gave one final pull on the wood, grunting as he yanked as hard as he possibly could.
RIP!!
The three fell backward, grunting as they made contact with the hard wooden floor. The nomes stumbled backward, quickly running beside their fallen human and helping them onto their feet.
"TARGET SPOTTED!"
A gasmask-wearing giant appeared from around the corner, brandishing a harpoon and alerting the radio about its discovery, its deep voice sending chills down their spines as they turned around. Their breaths hitched as they raised the pointy tip of the harpoon up in preparation for an attack.
WHOOSH!!
The spear struck the wall, missing Seven completely as he dodged the giant's attack by turning into a nome. Turning back into a human, he frantically ran for his life toward the newly formed hole in the wall along with Mono, Six, and the three nomes.
"REQUESTING BACKUP IMMEDIATELY, TARGET ESCAPED."
The giant's deep voice grew more and more faint and distant as they emerged on the other side of the wall.
"Aw crap... this isn't much better..."
Six mumbled, looking around at all of the giant gluttons that were in front of them. They weren't spotted yet, the giants too busy shoveling food down their throats to notice. Loud stomping was heard from behind them, the footsteps going off to the left and getting quieter as the giant walked further out away from them.
"There's an entire line of giants in front of us... there's no way we're getting past them without getting detected..."
Mono looked around, eyeing the ropes that dangled above the gluttons, the giants occasionally pulling them for food when they were done gobbling up the rations that were provided for them. One giant let out a shriek that made the room shake as it flopped on the floor, chasing after the food that had fallen out of its reach.
DING!!
The elevator behind the line of occupied tables went up, the light beaming in front of the now-open elevator doors flickering a little.
"Hm... how are we gonna get around these guys without losing any nomes..?"
A lightbulb lit up in Mono's head as he saw a piece of ham that was lodged between two pipes suddenly break free, creating a stain on the floor in front of the open elevator as it squished on the ground. Just as this happened, the giants began to get impatient as they pulled on their ropes, expecting the food to fall down, but instead nothing but crumbs fell.
"You think we should just wing it and run to the next room?"
Seven asked, peering around Six and looking at Mono who shook his head in response.
"No, I think I got something better. You two stay here and get ready to run, just in case things get ugly."
Mono gently grabbed his nome by its tiny hand and began to speak in a light tone toward it.
"Hey, little nome dude, stay here and don't move."
Mono whispered to the nome that was following him, to which it slightly nodded in response, sitting down on the floor and waiting for any further instructions. Taking off his trenchcoat, he wrapped it around in front of him, hoping that it would provide for a well enough disguise.
"Wait, where are you going..?"
Six mumbled to Mono who held up a hand in response, gesturing for her to stay put.
"He's got something in mind..."
Seven whispered back, holding his nome in his hands as the three nomes along with Six and Seven watched Mono sneak out from under the seclusion of the wall.
"I'm just a coat... don't mind me..."
Mono shuffled along the floor, slightly peeking over the side of his trenchcoat as he held it up in front of him, trying to hide from the giants. Luckily for him, they were too busy, preoccupied with their unhealthy eating habit, giving him enough time to sneak under one of their tables.
"Phew..!"
Giving a thumbs up to Seven and Six who were still watching him, he slipped his trenchcoat over himself once again, putting it back on as he was now deadset on getting to the ham that had fallen from the ceiling. The giants now had their backs turned to him, giving him all the time in the world to position himself correctly.
"Alright... here goes nothing..."
Mono took a deep breath in and exhaled before running toward the ham. Getting a firm grip on it, he pulled it along the wooden floorboards toward the open elevator, creating a stain trail as he did so. Once he made his way over to the elevator, he turned back around and placed two fingers into his mouth, and blew as hard as he could.
"HEY, OVER HERE!!"
The giants turned around, their eyes all honing in not on Mono, but on the big portion of ham that he was standing next to.
"What is he doing?!"
"Wait! This is part of his plan!"
Seven had to restrain Six from running after Mono as concern began to grow within her.
"CHASE THIS!!"
The guests all dived after the ham as Mono pushed it down the elevator well, moving out of the way as they all crammed in between the elevator doors, groaning and yelling, desperately trying to get the food.
"You are crazy, Mono!"
Six said, partially being sarcastic as he emerged from under the table.
"At least it worked, now let's go!"
Mono motioned for the group to follow him toward the next doorway as the giants began to figure out that there was no way they were going to fit through the elevator, crawling on their hands and knees toward the little group that was now fleeing from them. Letting out a loud bellow, they charged for them, but they were already gone and out of sight by the time the gluttons had gotten around the table.
SLAM!!
Catching his breath, Mono released his grip on the sliding door that had various paintings displayed on it, turning around to face Six and Seven.
"Does this work for a hiding spot?"
"I mean... I guess it could. It's dark, and pretty well hidden..."
Seven spoke, his voice slightly echoing as they felt around in the darkroom they were standing in, making sure the nomes were still with them.
"Are we missing any of the nomes?"
FLICK!!
Six lit a flame with her lighter, waving it around the room and surveying the nomes. Mono had his, Seven was holding his, and Six's nome was standing right next to her, its tiny arms wrapped around her leg.
"Nope, they're all here... hehe..."
She giggled as her nome nuzzled against her, its pointy head providing some amusement for her.
"I'm pretty sure this a dead-end though, I think we should look for another spot to hide these-"
CLICK!!
The light in the room suddenly turned on, the three shielding their eyes and wincing at the unexpected ray of light entering their eyes.
"FOUND YOU."
Word Count: 2622
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed it!
Wow, I can't believe how close we're getting to the ending... kinda making me a little sad...
Anyway, if you find any errors, let me know in the comments below!
Have a good day!