We made our way through a few buildings, staying out of the streets and out of sight when One helped me out of a window and onto the ground. Once I was safely in town, he turned and looked ahead to the huge building in front of us.

When I say it was huge, I mean it was HUGE! There was a thirty-foot-tall barbed wire fence around the section in front of us, with a large dumpster situated in front of the fence as if it was blocking something.

"Last time I came through here I cut a hole open behind this," One whispered, rushing up to the dumpster and trying to push it aside, only to barely budge it. "A little help?"

As soon as I realized he was talking to me, I quickly ran over and helped him push the dumpster aside, indeed revealing a small hole cut in the fence. He nodded in approval, then squeezed himself through, having me follow close behind.

Once we were in, the area around us looked like an abandoned playground like-area. However, it was foggy and dark, so it looked less fun and more eerie. There was a sea-saw, some swings, and a small structure with a slide, although it looked like none of this equipment had been used in a long, long time, as they were all rusty and weak-looking.

"W-What kind of lab is this...?" I asked One as he led me through the empty play area and towards the building.

"It's more of a Child Testing Facility. They take kids from different areas and gather data on them. There are all kinds of numbers here, and it has kids from all over the worlds. It's kinda like a horrible boarding school," One explained. "Just lay low. There are all kinds of kids here, and they're not exactly the friendliest. Just... pretend you're like a mouse in a house full of cats."

I nervously nodded, understanding. He had a weird way of describing that, but who was I to judge his way of speaking. I was just busy being thankful that I was never sent there. Every place I had been sent to I had always been alone, probably per my father's request. Knowing I was a six, he probably thought it would be safer if I was tested on alone instead of sent off to a facility that tests multiple children at a time.

The door to the lab of course was sealed shut, but lucky for us, when One knew another way in. He brought us around to the side of the building where there was a line of cloths tied together, making a rope from the ground to the top floor's window.

"I made that!" One stated, almost sounding proud of himself, grabbing ahold of it and starting to climb up. I waited for him to get to the top, then followed behind him. The cloths were surprisingly strong, I noted. Looked like knot tying was one of his many talents. Once I got to the top, I hopped through the open window into what looked like a school hallway, though it wasn't as pleasant as you might think. It looked run down and dirty, and it smelled horrible.

There were a few rooms which each had a bunch of beds crammed into them. They were smaller beds meant for children, but luckily they were empty. It almost was scary looking. They were bunk beds but with at least five bunks each. Each room looked so cramped and filthy. There were a few small toys like balls and building blocks, but not much.

There was one room that One hesitated in front of, briefly looking inside and shivering. The door to it was wide open, but there were a bunch of unlocked locks on it as if it was made to keep someone or something locked inside. I got on my tip-toes and peered around him to see a small room with no windows and just one door. There was nothing but a chair with some rope around it. It reminded me of solitary confinement.

"Let's... move on," One whispered, grabbing my hand and walking past that room, down a set of stairs.

He pulled me to what looked to be an air vent and grabbed the cover, pulling it off and crawling inside, waving me in after him. I, of course, followed, although I was curious as to why the heck we were crawling around in the vents when the hallways were wide open. 

"The vents provide a good cover," He explained to me, seeming to read my mind. "Plus, adults aren't small enough to fit in them, so we're usually safe in these."

I nodded and continued following him around, feeling the vents take us down a few floors until I could presume we made it to the first floor. There, One pulled off another vent cover and hopped out, turning around and helping me out as well. We were now in a different hallway, large metal lockers lining the halls. Some were tipped over. It looked like a really poorly maintained middle school.

I was already nervous. I began to shiver. Luckily, One grabbed my hand to comfort me, leading me forward.

I could hear little footsteps. I could also swear that I saw small shadows darting around off in the distance. But when I pointed it out to One, he would simply reply by telling me that it was okay and that he wouldn't let anything get me.

Some of the lockers lining the walls were open. They were all their own lockers, so they weren't connected. They also looked old and rusty. It looked like one could just tip over and crush us at any second. But One didn't seem worried.

I could swear, I heard a soft giggling noise coming from behind the lockers. I was afraid. 

"One..." I whispered, looking up at the flickering lights. It looked like the lab didn't spare any expenses making this place a livable condition. "I don't like this..."

He let go of my hand and turned to me, seeming to let out a small breath. "Six, listen to me," He said, not in a condescending tone, but in a polite, kind one. "It's okay to be afraid. I'm afraid too. But sometimes... we have to go through scary things. The world's scary. I promise I won't let anything happen to you. Okay?"

I paused, looking at him for a moment, then hearing the soft laughter come from the walls again, making chills run up my spine. 

"O-Okay..." I whispered, looking down. He nodded, then turned around, walking a few feet in front of me. 

"It shouldn't be much further from here-" He started, when he was suddenly cut off by the sound of metal screeching.

He immediately stopped in his tracks, and the next moment seemed to happen all too fast.

One of the lockers on the wall was kicked forward, opening and landing right on him, trapping him inside. I jumped back and screamed when a group of school kids seemed to jump out. They all were about my size, maybe a little bigger, and they all wore school uniforms, each with a nametag indicating their numbers, as well as their wrists exposed.

"ONE!!" I cried, as more and more kids seemed to circle me, suddenly attacking me and tackling me to the ground, grabbing ahold of me and dragging me away while I cried. I didn't even have time to react, let alone fight them off.

One sharply inhaled, gasping for breath and desperately banging around the locker, trying to break free and save me in time. Unfortunately, by the time he had finally got the locker off of him and was able to crawl free, I was long gone, as were all the children who had taken me. 

It was quiet again. It had been loud for a minute, but now it was quiet again.

"Six...?" He asked, looking around himself, voice soft. "Six?!"

He paused, then looked down and shook his head. "No... No, no, NO!" He cried, turning and looking around himself, having no idea where they took me. "SIX!?"

His voice actually cracked as if he was actually panicked for once. I wasn't there to see it, but he said that he hadn't felt that scared in a long time.

All he knew was that he had to find me, and fast. The children in this lab were brutal. They were the painted canvases of the future, molded to be just like the adults before them by the lab. They only found joy in harming others. He knew all too well.

So, he briefly took a few deep breaths, then started forward on a new quest to find me.

When I later asked him if he was afraid when he was alone, he told me he was, but not for himself. He said that the only thing on his mind during the whole duration of us being separated was me. He was only hoping that the bullies weren't hurting me. He didn't even care what happened to him.

He said that he searched the whole floor, but unfortunately couldn't find me. That's when he looked to the nearest clock, seeing that it was nearing lunchtime. So, One decided to search the one place the bullies who had taken me would most likely be. The cafeteria.

He snuck through the halls, swiftly staying out of sight and pulling another vent cover open, hopping inside and crawling through until he made it to a kitchen. Then, he silently kicked the vent open and rolled out, landing without making a sound. He could hear the sounds of children roughhousing just the next room over, so he could tell he was in the right place. Though when he looked around the kitchen, there was not a single drop of food.

He had forgotten how the lab hardly fed any of the children. They also failed to provide clean water. It really was quite a horrible place. No wonder the children there were so messed up and easy to mold.

He could peer through the crack in the door to see a whole group of hundreds of kids, tackling, bullying, and fighting one another, all of them fighting over small scraps of food. It was heartbreaking for him. He said that the amount of sympathy he felt physically burned and that he desperately wanted to find a way to help all of them. But, alas, he was focused on his first mission. Saving me.

However... how could he get through the cafeteria unnoticed. They all would surely attack him on sight, knowing he was an outsider...

That's when One looked down to the side, seeing an abandoned school uniform with a nametag which read 91.

"....Perfect," He breathed. He could pass for a 91, right? After all, he looked the part! It was only 90 off of his real number.

After he had changed, One slowly grabbed a metal pan and held it up in front of his face, smiling at his reflection. He had removed his trenchcoat and paper bag, putting on the school uniform so he could blend in. He almost felt exposed without his paper bag, but he needed to do this to pass for a normal kid.

And he really did look like a completely average schoolboy. Of course, his brown hair was a little messy because there was nothing to brush it with, but hopefully, no one would care. 

He grabbed a small backpack, which held his old clothes and his paper bag, so he would be able to change back into them when safe. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to cover the small number one engraved on his wrist since he didn't own gloves and the school uniforms were short-sleeved, designed to leave every child's wrist exposed, but he knew that most kids were dense, so they hopefully wouldn't notice. 

Right?

Just to be safe, he eventually decided to grab ahold of a knife and carve a 9 right in front of the 1 on his wrist. It hurt and bled, and you could tell that the number 9 was obviously carved on, but hopefully, the children wouldn't look into it too much.

He slowly took a shaky breath, then walked through the cafeteria, scanning for me. He did his best to avoid everyone's gaze. Not that he had to try all that hard. Most of the kids weren't even paying him any mind. They were too busy tearing each other apart over food. It was almost sickening. One child even snapped another's arm, making One wince at the sounds. He knew that the lab never treated any injuries. The medical staff was rather horrible, just letting children die unless they came from important places.

Once it was apparent that I was NOT in the cafeteria, he left and searched the main halls, nervously biting his lip and staying silent. There were still chaotic children running around like feral animals, not even showing an ounce of humanity. Not that it was their fault. This was just how the world shaped them.

However, I was nowhere near the cafeteria or the hallways outside of it. So One decided to open up a vent and search elsewhere. He grabbed ahold of a vent cover and started pulling it open when a large shadow suddenly appeared behind him.

"Oi, wat 're ye doin'?"