Mario was trapped in what seemed to be a small cage. However, there was no lock. It looked like he could just swing the door open and crawl out. I wondered why he didn't. Especially since the person supposedly watching him was asleep.

"Mario, what happened?!" You quietly asked, reaching for the bars of his cage. He immediately shook his head no at you, causing you to draw back, acting almost as if the bars were some kind of poison. 

Mario looked similar to you. He had the same blue eyes, only his were slightly lighter. He was also shorter and a little plumper. He wore a red baseball cap with a sloppy M written on it, only unlike yours, his had a few rips and tears in it. 

I looked at his right wrist to see the number 20 engraved in tiny letters.

A much higher number, but still rather extraordinary. Especially since he appeared human as well.

Mario held his finger up to his mouth as if signaling to remain quiet. He then went on to quietly explain what happened after you got taken away from him. 

Apparently, he tried saving you from the Janitor, but the Janitor didn't care about him. Instead, Mario was shoved back into the water. By the time he swam over to get you, you and the Janitor were long gone. He panicked and climbed up the ladder, desperately calling your name and searching for you, but it was far too late. The Janitor was long gone, and he had no idea where he went.

So... he searched and searched and searched until he was eventually found and caught by the two chefs, who locked him up for the time being. Mario said that the chefs made it seem like they were going to use him for materials, whatever that meant.

I shivered, remembering that doctor back at the factory who only kept me alive because he wanted to use me for parts. I hated thinking of that place. I hated thinking about how I left that one girl there... the one I promised to save.

I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to now...

You frowned, then asked Mario why he didn't just open the cage and leave. There weren't any locks after all. Mario lightly smiled at you, then pointed to the rusty hinges on the cage door. I immediately could tell why he wasn't just walking out. The hinges would squeak very loudly if moved, waking and alerting the sleeping twin. 

"He can't," I whispered to you. "It'll squeak. So here's what we're going to do..."

You looked at me as I spoke, maintaining eye contact and nodding to show that you understood as I made a plan. I was always pretty good at coming up with plans on the spot. 

I hated to admit it, but there was almost a feeling of familiarity that came with the current situation we were all in. It felt like this was what I was meant to do. No, it wasn't ideal and I hated how dark and cruel the world around me was, but I was almost comforted by how familiar the situation was. I've been learning how to avoid grown-ups who wanted to kill me for as long as I could remember.

I explained the plan. It was clear that you were very nervous about it, which made me doubt myself slightly, but my confidence was restored when Mario nodded, grabbing the rusty bars of his tiny cage and saying, "Alright One. Let's do it," in a quiet, yet confident tone.

You tossed me your lighter and got into position, hiding under the bed within the shadows. If it weren't for the reflection of the bright orange flame from the lighter dancing in the pupils of your eyes, you would have been completely hidden.

It almost looked cool. The way you were surrounded by darkness, yet still had a flame of light dancing in your eyes, surrounded by blue. It was a mix of dark, calm, and fierceness. It seemed like such an odd blend, but at the moment it made sense.

Once you were hidden, I unhooked the key from my belt and slid it over towards you. Then, I did what only an idiot would do. I swung open the door to Mario's cage and flicked off the lighter, leaving the entire room in total darkness. The screech from the bars sounded like nails on a chalkboard. It gave me chills that I wouldn't be able to forget for a while.

Not a moment later, I grabbed Mario's hand and sprinted out of the room. I could hear the movement from the Chef's Twin behind me, so I knew he woke up. However, right as he went to step out of the bed, YOU slid the key out right under his foot, causing him to step on it and immediately tense jerk back onto the bed, holding his foot and muttering exhausted curses under his breath. He almost sounded drunk.

That's when you slid out from your hiding place and snatched the key, holding it in your arms as you ran to join us. Together, the three of us slid through the hole in the wall, and back onto the planks that hung over the kitchen. You reached to cover Mario's mouth as he gasped at the sight.

I covered my own mouth as well.

The Chef AND the Janitor were down there, both talking. However, the gasp-worthy sight wasn't just the two of them, but instead what was being held by the Janitor's boney, lengthy hands.

In the Janitor's left hand, he seemed to be holding up a white bag, large enough to fit a child. Inside, something was squirming around, whimpering.

The three of us waited in silence for a moment, then looked down at the locked door. The Chef and the Janitor were distracted, so we could easily sneak down, unlock the door, and bolt. That WAS our plan after all.

But... you and I looked at each other, and at that moment we both knew that we could never do that.

We could never do that because someone was in that bag, and they needed to be saved.

We all waited in silence as the Janitor shoved the bag into the Chef's arms, then turned and pulled out a set of his own keys, unlocking the door. I let out a small sigh, knowing that the key we just worked so hard to get was essentially useless now. Still, I was glad we got it because if we never searched for it, we would have never found your brother. 

Before the door could fully close behind the Janitor, the door swung open once again. The Chef's twin limped in quickly, pulling his own Chef hat on and grumbling curses under his breath. I couldn't tell if they were identical twins or not because they looked exactly the same, but they had different numbers. The Chef's twin then whispered something in the first Chef's ear. After a moment, the Chef angrily threw whatever cooking utensil he was holding in his arm onto the ground, making a loud crashing noise. He then grabbed ahold of the bag and walked out the door with his twin, leaving it wide open.

The three of us waited in silence for a moment, then I swung down, grabbing onto a few planks to lower myself as much as possible before allowing myself to fall down onto the cold kitchen floor. I made a soft oof noise, then looked up. 

You followed me down next, then Mario. As soon as the three of us were safe, we looked up at the big open door. 

"... I take it we're going to be saving whatever poor kid was trapped in that," you asked.

"Hold up, we don't even know if that was a kid! It could have been a wild animal!" Mario pointed out, sneaking his way over to the kitchen cabinets and looking through all the food, which was mostly an assortment of unmarked meat. I didn't want to even know what kind of meat that was.

It was moments like this that I was glad I was a vegetarian. 

"Well, if it is, then they need our help," I told him. "I can't risk just leaving them behind if they really are in trouble." 

As I said that, I thought about every person I had left behind in the past. The green girl from the factory, the bullies from the lab, the animals trapped in the woods, and Six. Each time I made a promise to myself to go back for them, but promises could be broken. I wasn't going to leave anyone else behind. 

Mario shrugged, then grabbed a loaf of bread he found in the back of the cabinet. It was old and stale, but it was preferable to the unmarked meat. He opened it and broke it in half, taking one half for himself and holding the other half out to you.

"Um... Mario?" You asked, briefly glancing at me, then back at him. "What about One?"

"What about him?" Mario asked, brushing bread crumbs off his shirt and taking a bite out of his piece.

You sighed and shook your head, then walked over to me, breaking your piece of bread in half and holding the slightly larger half out to me. I looked down at it for a second, then up at you, frowning ever so slightly.

"Go on. Take it," you smiled. "I don't need the whole thing."

A lie. I could see how skinny you were. However, I too was starving. So, I gently pushed the piece of bread you were holding out to me back to you, then took the slightly smaller piece, offering a smile. "That'll do just fine. Thank you."

You stilled for a moment, then smiled back, taking a bite of your own piece and looking up at the open door. 

"What do you think's out there?" You asked me. "I mean... I've never been to this part of the ship..."

"I don't know," I admitted, sighing and running my hands through my hair, careful not to mess up the section that was covering my bad eye. I then patted my black mask. Feeling the smooth porcelain beneath my fingertips gave me a small feeling of hope. 

It was like a reminder of why I was still fighting. I was fighting to save people. I was fighting so no more people would have to die. I was fighting now so I wouldn't have to fight anymore later. 

"But whatever it is, we'll handle it. All of us," I smiled, looking from you to Mario, then back to you. "Together. No one get's left behind."