One (A SPM AU BASED ON LN2)

(AN: Pic isn't mine)

I followed One through the next open door. It was pitch black in there. Like, literally pitch black. I couldn't even see three inches in front of my own face. And I usually could see fairly well in the dark, having blue eyes.

Lucky for us, One's flashlight shone brightly. There weren't a bunch of hands and legs hanging from the ceiling like the last area, so that was comforting. It for the most part seemed to be an empty set of rooms and hallways.

"This is the place where the parts go once they're put together?" I asked him, carefully allowing my eyes to scan the area around me.

"I believe so. But I don't see anything yet..." One trailed off, pointing the flashlight around the walls. There were a few scratches that happened to cover them, but no other signs of life.

We continued walking, me just a few steps behind him when we finally started seeing stuff. We made our way into a room with one flickering light. There was an assembled person, only missing their head. I could tell it wasn't a real person because it was made of a mixture of different parts and nothing matched. It was just... standing there. Like a messed up, distorted mannequin.

"Careful..." One whispered to me, stopping and holding his free arm out in front of me to prevent me from moving forward. He pointed his flashlight to the ground and held still.

The light hanging from the room was dim and weak. And I could swear, every time the light flickered out it almost looked as if the mannequin was moving.

It was standing in front of the doorway to the next area. We couldn't get past it, and One refused to let me just walk up to it and move it for some reason.

"Hmm..." One hummed, turning and looking at me, then seeming to get an idea. He quickly looked around the room, then picked up what looked like a small piece of wood from the ground. Just a random piece of junk lying around. "Hey Six," He said, handing me the small piece of wood. "I need you to throw this at the hanging lightbulb. We need that bulb to break and go out. Meanwhile, I'll keep my flashlight trained on the mannequin."

"Okay.... why?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. I failed to see how this would possibly help us in any way.

"Because it comes alive, but only when light isn't trained on it. That's its limit." One casually explained, somehow keeping his voice steady and calm.

"What?!" I whispered back harshly. "Then why am I turning the light off?! Don't we want it to stay not alive?!"

"Because we need it to move out of the way. I'm not strong enough to move it on my own, and I don't feel comfortable with you touching it. If the light were to go out while you moved it, I wouldn't be able to save you."

I visibly shuttered. I think he noticed because his eyes softened. "It's okay. I have a flashlight. I won't let it get us." He assured, turning the flashlight so it was pointing at the mannequin. "See? It'll be okay-"

"N-No! What if we get separated and I have no way of protecting myself?!" I interrupted, shaking.

One paused for a moment, looking back at me, then looking down. "Good point... good point. Hmm... OOH! I got it!" He suddenly reached into one of his other pockets and pulled out a small lighter, smiling and tossing it to me with his left hand. "There! It's no flashlight, but it should do the trick. Not that you'll need it, but it's good to be safe!"

I carefully caught it and looked down at it. It was shiny silver. The metal was cold from having spent so long just sitting in his pocket. He was lucky his trenchcoat had such deep pockets. My shirt didn't have ANY pockets. Luckily, my pants did, so I was able to put the lighter there, but still. They didn't hold much. After investing in gloves, I should invest in a big jacket or cloak.