Six,

I suppose things are starting to look up. I met someone very... strange, but nice. He's very kind as far as I can tell, though I don't know if the kindness will last. I'm not really a good judge of character, since I thought you...

Nevermind. I suppose I'm just writing to say that progress is being made. The boy I'm with has a plan, which is more than I can say at the moment. I feel like a real slacker. 

BUT, I was able to think of a few little jokes that you'd probably hate! I told one of them to the guy that found me, but he didn't really react the same way. He just giggled and patted my shoulder, telling me that was, "A good ONE." It was funny and I was glad he appreciated the joke, but I miss your reactions. Here it is:

How do you make the number one disappear?

You add a "G" and it's gONE.

Ahaha... you'd probably hate hearing that, but even so, I wish I could have a chance to tell it to you in person.

I let out a small sigh and looked over at you. It had been a few hours. You were now curled up in front of the engine. Most of the water had dried off. Even though you were lying on the hard metal floor, you looked comfortable. It looked like you were sleeping fairly soundly.

It must have been nice. Allowing sleep to take you away gently. I could only recall sleeping peacefully once, and it was when I sang to Blumiere. I slept peacefully that night knowing that he was at ease. But now... it was hard to find the tranquility needed for true rest.

I paused for a moment, then put my letter with the rest of the letters, lying down on my back a few feet away from you. I hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since I lost my jacket, so I just kept my eyes open, looking at the ceiling, humming the lullaby I used to sing to Blumiere.

"Is that Sweet Chariot?" You asked me. 

I was slightly surprised to hear your voice since I thought you were already asleep. I hoped I didn't wake you.

"Don't worry," you assured, still lying down and facing the engine. "You didn't wake me. It takes a long time for me to fall asleep. Especially without my brother around."

I frowned slightly, turning on my side so I could face you. You still didn't face me, but I didn't care. 

"Me too," I muttered.

You finally rolled around, looking at me with wide eyes. "You have a brother?!" You asked, almost sounding shocked.

"Sorta... not really," I trailed off, biting my tongue. "I... had a really close friend who I thought... maybe... I don't know. But he's gone now."

"Is that who you're writing to?" You asked, nodding at the small pen attached to my belt next to my mask.

"Yeah," I admitted.

"Cool! Where is he? What happened to him?" You wondered aloud.

I held my breath, trying to find the words. 

"I... don't want to talk about it yet," I made myself say.

"Oh..." you breathed, softly smiling. "Well, you don't have to. But when you want to, I'll be here to listen."

We both stayed in that little hideaway for some time, not quite sure where to go next. You knew you weren't about to just repeat everything you already did in an attempt to find Mario, but all the other ways to go were unexplored by either of us. You really hoped Mario was okay. You knew he wasn't captured by the Janitor. If he was you most definitely would have seen him where you met me. Even so, thinking about him all alone left a sour taste in your mouth.

I eventually did fall asleep, but it was not as relaxing as I would have liked. I had nightmares of being dragged into mirrors and never being released, doomed to sit and wait for someone to free me. I would call for help. I'd call for Six. But he'd never come.

I wondered what he was doing now—probably living safe and sound with his father, which is what he wanted in the first place.

He got his goal by the end of that story... so why did I feel so bitter? I always knew that I'd have to leave him. 

Perhaps it was just the way we left things. The way he let go. 

I still wondered why he did it. It had to be my fault, right? I had to have done something wrong.

While I was asleep with my thoughts, you were thinking over a plan. You didn't know the layout ship too well, but you had a general idea. You knew that Mario's first goal on his own would likely be to find eatable food and drinkable water. The lowest place on the ship that offered these things was the kitchen, so that would seem a good place to start. It didn't seem too scary. What would the chefs do, yell at you?

You couldn't tell when morning or night came because you were in the middle of the ship, where there were no natural signs of light. Your sense of time was probably all off. Even so, you deemed it morning when I finally woke, sitting up and stretching my arms.

"Good morning, One! Are you hungry?" You asked.

I sat up and furrowed my eyebrows at him. I really was. I hardly ever found food and only lived off of trash and scraps. 

You didn't explain much to me. Only that you had a plan of where we were heading and to follow you.  You walked around the engine, seeming to marvel at the sight one last time before pointing to a ladder on the far side of the room. 

"That leads up," you told me. "My brother and I didn't use it last time because it leads straight to the kitchen, and we were sure we'd be caught up there since there are more people... but there's also food, so if we stay hidden I'm sure we'll be fine."

I knew what the phrase 'I'm sure we'll be fine,' meant because I used it all the time. The phrase REALLY meant that we were heading into dangerous territory, but you were confident in the fact that we'd be able to make it out.

I followed regardless because I too knew my own strength and knew that with the proper motivation I could escape anything. Now was just my chance to prove it to you.

As soon as we crawled up the ladder, you swung a trap door open, revealing a grey tile floor that was only slightly damp. You got out first, then reached down and grabbed my arm, helping me up as well. Something still felt off for me, being the one that's receiving help instead of giving it. I hoped the tables could turn soon so I could step back into the role of the brave one. I didn't want you thinking I was just some helpless child. I was a one for crying out loud!

However, the tables couldn't turn yet, because as soon as I stepped up, I saw one of those horrible little snakes slither into the corner of the room. I quickly squeaked and jumped behind you, grabbing your shoulders tightly and squeezing my eyes shut.

I must have looked like an idiot.

"Hey, shh, it's okay," you chuckled, patting my hand where I was holding your shoulder. "The snakes don't like the light."

I nodded as the snake returned to the shadows where it belongs. There was a dim light hovering above us, illuminating the room, but I still felt uncomfortable. I almost pulled the lighter I found out to give off more light just to be safe but stopped myself because I didn't want to waste fuel.

"Aha... sorry," I muttered, carefully letting go of you. "I just... don't appreciate snakes."

"It's okay, it's alright!" You assured me. "Just stick to the lighter areas of the room, and we'll be fine!"

The two of us were standing in what looked like a food storage area for the kitchen. There were bags of different foods, fridges, freezers, and meat bags hanging from hooks on the ceiling. I gagged slightly. I never liked the idea of eating other animals.

I looked at them and swallowed. "What kind of meat do you think's in there...?" I quietly asked.

"Wait, that's meat?! I thought those were body bags..." you replied, shivering.

I swallowed, quickly chasing away the thoughts in my mind that said, 'maybe they're both.' I didn't want to think about that. I knew this world was messed up, but it couldn't be THAT messed up, right?

We could feel the rocking of the ship much more from up there, probably since we were further away from the middle of the boat. You grabbed my hand and started pulling me through an open door and into the next room when you halted.

I nervously swallowed, hearing the sound of metal clashing together. It sounded almost as if knives were being sharpened. I put my hand in front of you and peered into the room, seeing what looked to be an incredibly large man wearing a stiff, filthy chef's hat that was practically dripping with grease. I cringed, then looked at his wrist, seeing a number engraved onto it.

54. Not bad.

I grabbed your hand, taking the lead like I was used to. I looked around the room, then spotted a few small tables along the wall that we could hide under. Tip-toeing, I brought you over to them. We stayed out of the chef's sight and watched as he seemed to be cutting up meat on the cutting table in the middle of the room.

You had to cover your mouth to prevent yourself from either gagging or screaming while a small amount of blood splattered with each and every cut the chef made. The chef's breathing was loud and uneven, it didn't sound natural either. You never thought of people as scary looking until you saw the people on this ship.

I frowned slightly, looking for a way to move forward when I saw a door on the opposite end of the room. There was a clear keyhole, so it would need to be unlocked. I silently pointed over to it. You frowned, then noticed the lock and nodded, pulling out the lock pick you had. All you would have to do is sneak over and pick the lock without grabbing the chef's attention.

You took a shaky breath, then fidgeted with the lock picks as you tiptoed behind the chef and over to the door, hoping that he couldn't see you through his peripherals. You luckily made it, however, once you reached up to start picking the locks, the noise seemed to alert the chef, making him turn his head and look right at you with his cold, dead black eyes.

"Uh oh," You whispered, freezing in place and dropping your lock pick. I winced as I heard the metal rods clatter against the floor, then felt my heart and mind race as I tried thinking of a plan.

Quick thinking on the spot in stressful near-death situations! I was good at this! I did it all the time! I just had to come up with something.

I nervously swallowed, then looked to my left, seeing a pot of water boiling with some sort of food inside. I nodded, keeping the pot in mind when my eyes were drawn to the ceiling. There were beams on the top that we could easily crawl on top of if we somehow could scale up the wall. On the far left side up by the beams, there was a hole in the wall which would most definitely lead to a safer place. As if on instinct, I grabbed a small apple that was on the floor near me and threw it at the pot, knocking it over and making a big mess.

The chef gasped and rushed over to it while I ran up and grabbed your arm, running towards some counters and hopping up. I quickly helped you up as well, then held my hands down. "I'll give you a boost," I quickly breathed. "You jump up and grab those beams, then hoist me and head left!"

You nodded and quickly stepped onto my hands. I boosted you up and you were able to grab onto the lowest plank below the ceiling. After a moment of struggling, you pulled yourself up and reached down for me. 

The chef seemed to panic, turning the stove off and rushing back over to me. You were able to hoist me up just before he grabbed ahold. Once we were safely out of the chef's reach, we ran towards that hole in the wall, sliding into another room that was much darker.

I immediately pulled my lighter out and flicked it on so we could see, only for you to suddenly gasp, covering your mouth.

"Where did you get that lighter?!" You asked.

I opened my mouth to answer when we felt the wall shake slightly. The chef had punched the wall below us, then pulled out what looked like a small radio.

"Hello? Hello?" He asked into the radio, his voice low and groggily. "I have bad news. The one and the two the Janitor caught have escaped."

I gasped as well, covering my mouth with my free hand and looking up at you with wide eyes.

"You're a two?"