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Mono ran towards a street, his trench coat billowing behind him like a cape.
"Six! Six!" he called, waving his hand.
The girl named Six turned her head away from the Tower, which could be seen from afar, a mere silhouette among the buildings with the flashing light of its signal. The girl tilted her head to the side as the boy joined her.
"I found a school! Well... orphanage, school... I'm not really sure," explained her friend.
Six frowned and signaled. Her interlocutor had difficulty understanding the sign language but eventually grasped the context of her statement.
"Oh, you mean you hate school?"
She nodded. Mono laughed.
"Me too... I think not everyone likes school."
The girl in the blue sweater gave a slight smile although she felt nostalgic when the boy took her hand and led her towards the school.
How many times does she have to relive these events over and over again?
She shook her head. This wasn't the time to think about that; nothing would change. She wasn't thrilled about going back to school, but they had to.
The two children had pushed a large garbage bin to gain access to the playground through a small gap in the fence. The schoolyard remained the same, as Six knew it by heart every time they passed through. The swing, the seesaw, the small soccer field, and various other games. Out of the corner of her eye, the girl in the blue sweater could see the dark silhouette of a child corrupted by the signal, sitting in the far corner of the yard.
She wondered if the Thin Man had encountered children in this city and transformed them into a wandering shadow. Mono would never hurt anyone; he was just trying to protect what was dear to him, and Six knew that better than anyone. So why would he do that?
Hate. Anger. Revenge. Betrayal.
The answer was so obvious it pained her. She had made that choice simply to save him from the transmission breakdown, or worse, from her monstrous hunger. Her stomach churned violently at the thought of devouring her best friend whole with her ravenous teeth, and she covered her mouth, feeling bile rise in her throat.
"Hey !"
His call pulled her out of her dark thoughts. She looked up at Mono, who must have been standing next to a rope of tangled sheets hanging from the window.
To her great surprise, he wasn't there.
What ?
She began to panic, her eyes darting frantically across the courtyard until they landed on the boy she was looking for. Mono had climbed onto the seesaw and was waving her over.
Why is he...
Her thoughts were interrupted by another call from him, and Six hurried to join him. She waved her hands frantically in a confused, panicky rush. She couldn't see Mono's face because of his damn paper bag (she'd always tried to take it off, but Mono always avoided it with a firm "no"), however she still managed to guess his emotions through his eyes via the two holes in the mask.
Confusion and concern.
"Six? Slow down... I don't understand..."
The boy climbed off the board and took his friend's hands, interlacing their fingers. Six was trembling all over.
"Hey... I'm here..." he continued gently, taking her in his arms.
The poor girl clutched his trench coat desperately and buried her face in his shirt. She just wanted it to stop. She was so tired of reliving the same thing over and over again. She just wanted a normal life, to be normal, not a survivor in a deranged, shorn world where nightmares reign supreme.
Mono held her tightly against him. He was clumsy, he had never hugged another child before, and Six melted into his warm embrace.
"I'm here... everything will be alright..."
His soft voice whispered in her ear. Six knew they were lies, just empty words. For once, she let herself be lulled by those sweet words and enjoyed the present moment, forgetting her past demons.
"I have an idea... would you like to play?"
The girl looked up questioningly and frowned. She raised her hand to grip the edge of his paper bag.
"Six! Hey, no! SIX!" complained the poor boy, barely managing to hold onto his precious mask.
The little devil in the blue sweater snickered and moved away from him to tease him. Mono pouted but ran after her until they reached the small football pitch.
"Hey Six! I challenge you!" The girl in question raised an eyebrow skeptically. She stopped while her friend picked up a ball. "How about a game of football?"
She could imagine his mischievous smile behind his mask. Six took up position in the middle of the field and Mono followed her.
She knew a little bit about how to use that round object; she'd seen illustrations in a school textbook of boys running and kicking a ball. She assumed that this was the kind of game her best friend wanted to challenge her to.
Well... he's going to regret messing with me, she thought with a demonic look.
The two children sized each other up, one determined and the other mischievous.
Mono charged forward first, but Six intercepted the ball with a quick kick and darted behind him to chase after the chubby little object. Her friend had recovered from his surprise and caught up with the girl in the blue sweater, positioning himself between her and the goal.
Without thinking, she gave the object a good kick, unfortunately, she hadn't judged her force. The ball flew off at full speed and struck her friend directly in the head. He collapsed to the ground without a sound.
Six, worried, ran towards him. She bent down, inspecting for any sign of life. The boy took her hand without warning; she let out a stifled exclamation as it fell against his chest. Mono bounded further into the courtyard with a childish laugh. Six chased after him, displeased and with flushed cheeks. The boy zigzagged through the play equipment and taunted his best friend, trying to catch him. The girl pounced on him, playfully punching his chest and calling him a "stupid Mono" in sign language.
Mono just laughed and mumbled apologies for teasing her. Six shook her head, exaggerating. Immediately, the two children took the opportunity to try out the various games scattered around the yard.
The swing. Mono had flown away like a bird when Six had pushed him... perhaps a little too hard.
The jump rope. The two children really didn't know how to use it, so the boy had an idea. He tried to pull them and jump at the same time, except his feet got caught in the rope and he fell flat on his face. The girl in the blue sweater was torn between laughter and pity; karma caught up with her when she followed Mono's movements and also got her feet tangled in the rope. Six definitely hated this evil game.
The tire. The girl in the blue sweater was clinging on for her life, and Mono was worried about getting hit in the head again. But his overwhelming crush on her compelled him to act like a brave knight who would save the princess from the clutches of the terrible black dragon.
Hopscotch. Six had the idea of using a stone with numbers written on it to make a die. The problem was, they had nothing to scribble on the small pebble with. The girl offered to use her blood, yet Mono quickly spared her by cutting his finger. Six sulked at him before finally joining him.
The seesaw. The little duo were quite creative. The girl thought of it as a moving surfboard, and the boy had the ingenious idea of using it as a catapult. He had tested it with small objects, then he dropped a ball.
Six wasn't sure if it was really a good idea, but her curiosity compelled her to encourage the odd boy—her own. Mono pressed down with all his weight, and the ball shot off like a bullet. However, its trajectory was altered along the way, and the object crashed through a school window with a deafening roar. The two children swore they had heard the indignant scream of a certain teacher with an extendable neck.
"Uh... I think we're in trouble..." the culprit laughed nervously.
Six felt like yelling at him or hitting him for his boundless recklessness. She couldn't deny the joyful laughter that escaped her lips; she had truly enjoyed herself despite the dangers of this nightmarish world...
We are, after all, just children.