Six sighed with content as she finished her meal. It was far better than anything she could remember having, if she''s even ever had anything that good. At the very least, no one had ever prepared something that nice, not even her old friend.


    Her eyes traveled to her new friend, watching as he upturned the large can of soda to take a drink. She chuckled a bit, watching as a large splash of the unfizzy drink coated him with its sticky liquid, him spluttering in surprise.


    After wiping the offending substance from his body, he turned to see Six staring at him with amusement in her eyes. He let out an embarrassed cough, straightening out his clothes to try and maintain some form of dignity.


    It didn''t really work.


    He then made his way back over towards her before sitting down with a small grunt. He patted his overly stuffed belly with content. It was nice to not feel like a starving rat for once.


    Six could appreciate the sentiment, her own stomach pleasantly plump from the meal. Looking over at the plate, she saw that it was only half consumed, at best. Harry seriously overestimated how much they could fit inside them.


    But seeing the pile of food made her think of her little… episode earlier. Harry, bless his heart, didn''t mention her breakdown even once, for which she was extremely grateful. Crying over a meal was silly, or at least she felt that way.


    But Harry seemed to understand her emotions to some degree, likely attributed to his own, half-starved state. Which is why he probably didn''t bring it up. She doubted he wanted to talk about his own problems and trauma, so he was more than willing to give her the space she needed, opting to simply be there should she need him again.


    She didn''t, thankfully, but the sentiment was appreciated all the same.


    "So, what''s the plan now?" Harry asked, letting out a little burp. Six crinkled her nose at the sound but didn''t say anything. She knew boys like Harry lacked proper manners so she didn''t hold it against him. Especially not in the Nowhere. Manners were a luxury few could afford.


    "With the power back on, we should be able to take the dumbwaiter to the next floor up," she said, pointing to the crevice in the wall containing the object. Harry gave it a look, nodding his head. However a thought crossed his mind, making him frown.


    "Isn''t that a little… dangerous? We don''t know what''s on the other side," he said. As much as he would enjoy a nice elevator ride to the floor above, it would be a short lived joy if the Lighthouse Keeper was waiting for them when they arrived.


    "That''s true. We could always leave the room and take the stairs, but that has its own risks as well. There''s no place to hide if we take that route," she said.


    "Not safe no matter what we do, huh?" he questioned, a little sardonically. If the Lighthouse Keeper was in the room above them, then taking the dumbwaiter would almost certainly be the wrong choice. But if he decided to go for a morning stroll, that would be just as bad. It all depended on him.


    Thinking about what to do, an idle thought made its way into his brain. But before he could run it by his companion, a peculiar sound distracted him. And he wasn''t the only one, as Six''s head snapped towards the noise, eyes narrowing with unease.


    She slowly stood up, with Harry following her lead. They stared at the cupboard, the one in the corner of the room, as what sounded like scratching came from inside of it.


    A lot of scratching.


    "What is that?" Harry whispered, a note of fear entering his voice. His mind wandered back to the cockroaches, or whatever they were, and how they were afraid to climb onto the counters.


    Were they about to find out what made them so afraid?


    "Shh," Six whispered back, somewhat harshly. She didn''t mean to come off as so abrasive, but she couldn''t risk whatever was making that noise hearing them. Not only that, but she was hoping that she could recognize the creature by the sounds it was generating.


    No such luck.


    It didn''t sound like it was just one thing, but dozens, maybe even hundreds of things all moving about inside the cabinet. She could see a hole, and a fairly big one too, on the bottom of the cupboard, and curse realizing that''s where it, or they, entered and exited from.


    She didn''t think much of the hole at first, given the general state of disrepair in the Nest as well as the other dilapidations she could see in this kitchen alone. But it seems like that was a mistake. Those holes represented the creature''s own nest.


    It was a foolish blunder, and if they survived, it was one she would be sure to remember.


    She could see the shadow of movement coming from the hole. Whatever it was, it had a long body. Could it be a snake? Possibly, but judging by the scratching, she didn''t think so. It almost sounded like claws digging into the wood, and last she checked, snakes don''t have claws.


    At least, they didn''t in the real world, but here, in the Nowhere, disseminating fact from fiction became almost impossible. The line between what was real and what is imagined became blurred, and the two often seemed to overlap, creating a dream.


    Or a nightmare.


    So for all she knew, it could be a snake, just one with feet and claws. Oh, and it probably breathed fire too, because why not?


    Shaking her head clear of the aggravation she felt at the Nowhere''s nonsensical rules, she saw that whatever that thing really is was about to make its debut. In other words…


    "We need to hide. Now!" she said, grabbing Harry''s hand and dragging him towards the ledge. Not one to argue with Six, especially when she was like this, Harry kept pace as best he could.


    As much as he liked having a full belly, it made running for your life rather uncomfortable. He really hoped he didn''t end up expelling it from his stomach again. Throwing up was the last thing he wanted to do.


    Well, second to last, anyway. Dying was firmly stuck in last place.


    The two hopped off the counter, hitting the ground hard. But the slight pain in their joints was the least of their concerns, barely worth acknowledging. What was far more important was getting out of sight.


    They continued to flee until they were behind the island. They steadied their breathing, making as little noise as they could, concealing their presence. When that thing came out of its hole, neither one wanted to be spotted by it.


    It didn''t take long, not even a minute before the monster departed its home in search of food. But whatever Six had been expecting to see, that was not it.


    The first thing she spotted was its head, which was a bright orange color. It had a massive eye that took up nearly every inch of space on its forehead, with two large and seemingly prehensile antennae on either side of it. The pupil of said eye, not the eye itself, darted around with a jittery, almost manic energy. It was unnerving, to say the least.


    Probably both.


    But as disturbing as watching the pupil move around the eye was, it didn''t compare to its mouth. It had two large and deadly looking pincers on either side of its mouth, clacking almost lazily as more and more of its body became exposed. Six had a pretty good idea of what they would do to anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves trapped between them.


    It wasn''t pretty.


    But it was the organ between those mandibles that was most unnerving. All around its mouth were tentacles of some kind, with what looked like sticky strands of hair attached to them. If Six had to guess, it used that to catch and hold its prey so it could eat at its leisure.


    And with it having so many, she had no problem believing it could easily pluck the roaches from earlier and stick them right down its own gullet. No wonder they were so afraid of it.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Its body was black and segmented, with circular patterns covering its entire carapace. Each segment also contained a pair of sickly yellow legs which ended in sharp points. If one of those were to catch them, they would be skewered.


    At least the scratching made sense now.


    Finally, it had two large, serrated back legs trailing behind it. They constantly moved, looking like they wanted nothing more to snatch something up and tear it in two.


    Six did not want to be that thing.


    Once the entire beast was revealed, it was easy to tell exactly what it was, a centipede. Or a monstrous, heavily armored version of one, at any rate. Either way, neither of the kids were a fan of seeing it.


    Especially Harry. He had more than one bad encounter with centipedes in the past while working on his aunt''s rose garden. They seemed to love to bite him, and the Dursleys loved to see him get bit.


    The venom always made him feel sick, but was he shown any compassion by his so-called relatives? Nope. They would just send him out to do more, no matter how sick he got. However, if he dared throw up in her roses…


    So yeah, Harry did not like those little buggers. Or not so little in this case. He did not want to find out what that thing''s venom would do to him.


    Neither of them said a word, simply watching the monstrous arthropod scuttle around, raising its massive head to stare at the light curiously. Or angrily, it was hard to tell. But if it was normally used to the darkness, then Harry suspected the latter.


    It made a hissing sound of displeasure, clacking its mandibles with frustration but did little else. It then turned its gaze away from the light on the ceiling, continuing to inspect the room, looking for its usual source of food when it suddenly stopped. It made a motion like it was sniffing the air, which was weird because it didn''t have a nose.


    Like it was caught in a trance it slowly faced the plate with what remained of the eggs, its antennae making twitching motions. It reminded Harry of one of those old cartoons, where someone would leave a pie on a windowsill and the aroma would lift them up and carry them towards the delicacy.


    The centipede''s lone eye stared at the plate of fluffy, golden sustenance with wonder. Six half expected to see drool dripping from the horror show it called a mouth.


    Was his food really that good? Sure it brought her to tears but to entrance a monster like that… a skill like that could prove to be very useful. Yet even so, Six felt hesitant to share his cooking with monsters.


    But only because they didn''t deserve it.


    They watched the creature extend its long, wriggling tentacles from its mouth, gently inspecting the food left on the plate. It must have liked what it… felt? Six wasn''t sure what to call what it was doing, but either way, it approved.


    Lifting the food from the plate, it causally shoved a small bit into its mouth. It then started to chew, wet, gurgling noises coming from it and neither one wanted to think about what its teeth were like.


    It then stopped, and for a second, they thought it might have disapproved of the taste. Or if they were very lucky, killed it. But of course, they weren''t lucky. The monster wasn''t dead, not in the least. In fact, it suddenly seemed more alive than ever.


    Its tentacles raced out, gripping onto more of the scrumptious morsels, gorging itself. Harry was more than a bit shocked to see how much it enjoyed his simple scrambled eggs.


    Perhaps he had a future as a chef? Maybe on a luxury cruise liner, that way he could also see the world. Food for thought.


    Unaware of her companion''s new culinary aspirations, Six saw this as a golden opportunity to escape. At the rate the monster was going, it wouldn''t take too long to finish its meal, so this might have been their only chance to get out of there.


    She turned to face him and pointed to the dumbwaiter. Harry followed her finger, but frowned. He knew what she was trying to say, but if the Lighthouse Keeper was above them, then they would become art exhibits.


    Not the fate he imagined for himself.


    Thinking back, he remembered the idea he had, the one he wasn''t able to share with Six. He wanted to suggest they try and lure the Keeper somewhere else, possibly by shunting a pan off the ledge outside to the bottom of the lighthouse.


    But now, that wouldn''t be possible. Not with a 5 foot long killer bug on the loose. But maybe, instead of luring him away, they could lure him into this room, and pit the monsters against each other.


    It sounded like a good idea to him, and one he''d like to bounce off of Six. He knew they didn''t have much time, so he had to be quick.


    Shaking his head no at her suggestion, Six raised a pointed eyebrow at him. He knew she was saying he better have a good explanation for this. Keeping one eye on the happily munching monster, Harry quietly explained his idea.


    "The Lighthouse Keeper might be up there so what if we lure him away?" he suggested, getting a contemplative look from the girl. The idea certainly had merit.


    "How do you suggest we do that?" Six asked back. Harry nodded, knowing this question would come up. So he pointed to one of the large, metal pans dangling from the racks above the island and then pointed to the leaning tower of plates in the sink.


    Her eyes widened at that. It would certainly qualify as a distraction, that''s for sure, but why would he want to lure the Resident in here? She thought it over for a moment, her mind quickly running through various scenarios until she reached the most likely conclusion.


    He wanted to pit monster against monster. If they could draw the lumbering Lighthouse Keeper here, he might be able to kill the centipede with his lantern. That would ensure this floor''s safety so long as the light''s were on. It would also let them know exactly where the Resident was, meaning they wouldn''t be in for a nasty surprise by taking the dumbwaiter.


    There was also the possibility, however slim, of the centipede killing the Lighthouse Keeper. But seeing as the latter was higher up in the hierarchy of the Nowhere, that was an unlikely scenario.


    In a perfect world, they would kill each other. Now wouldn''t that be something? But she doubted either one of them had enough luck left for that miracle to come to fruition.


    All this crossed her mind in the blink of an eye, and she found she liked the idea. Make the monsters battle each other for survival for once. No matter the outcome, they benefited. It was almost poetic.


    Six gave him a firm nod, eyes alight with devilish delight. It would likely perturb most people, but Harry thought it made her look cute. Like an eager puppy. There was just one hiccup to his plan.


    "How?" she asked, indicating the pan. Harry nodded, giving her a smug grin as he whispered back.


    "Magic."


    She rolled her eyes at his theatrics but nodded nonetheless. If he thought he could do it, Six would trust in his abilities. He seemed to have mostly recovered from his earlier fatigue as well.


    So, without further delay, they set about their new plan. Six kept a careful eye on the beast, in case it made any sudden moves. But it seemed far too engrossed by its meal to care.


    She gave him a thumb''s up, and he nodded, reaching out towards one of the pans. Concentrating on the power within him, he called it forth, sending it towards the pan. He imagined the magic taking the shape of a large hand gripping onto the pan, gently lifting it off the hook.


    That seemed to do the trick, and Harry could even swear he saw a small displacement of air around the handle. But that wasn''t important right now. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand.


    Six watched this happen, her eyes going back and forth between the floating pan and the centipede. So far, so good. She wondered why he didn''t just use his magic to topple the plates and resolved herself to ask him later.


    As the pan moved away from the rack, Harry prepared to banish it into the tower. Taking a deep breath, he imagined the hand throwing the pan as hard as it could. The metal cookware raced towards the tower of plates, hitting it squarely towards the bottom so it could topple.


    It hit with a loud crash, shattering the plates on contact. The centipede, hearing this, quickly swiveled around, the circles on its body lighting up. The three of them watched as the plates fell to the ground, creating a loud bang that would surely be heard throughout the lighthouse.


    Not even the storm raging outside was able to dampen the sound.


    The centipede cautiously made its way towards the sound, the now bright circles on its body blinking rapidly. Six thought it was likely a warning of some kind, a way to frighten any possible predators. But as someone who was thoroughly centered in the prey category at the moment, Six didn''t feel very threatened by the display.


    It was actually somewhat pretty. But she would prefer it if her light show didn''t come with a giant, man-eating monster.


    As the centipede moved away, the dynamic duo quietly made their way towards the dumbwaiter, moving around the corner of the island. They moved to the other side and risked taking a peek. The centipede seemed thoroughly distracted at the moment, staring curiously at the plates as it gradually stopped making light.


    Seeing that the coast was clear, they continued towards their goal. Harry did have a close call when the back legs nearly came into contact with him, but he was just able to squeeze under them before he could be discovered and torn to shreds.


    It did take a few years off his life though.


    The two of them safely made it to the cavity leading to salvation. Or at least preferably somewhere without a hungry monster waiting to eat them. But considering everything was a hungry monster waiting to eat them, the chances of that were slim.


    But one could hope.


    Thankfully it was low enough that they could just jump into it from the floor, because there was no way they would be able to move the chair over there. Not without being seen and heard, at the very least.


    Six jumped up first, easily pulling herself into the dumbwaiter. But just as Harry was about to do the same, they heard a familiar sound.


    *Thump*


    *Thump*


    *Thump*


    It looks like their plan was a success. The lighthouse Keeper had successfully been lured towards them. Unfortunately, they weren''t the only ones who heard the noise. The centipede did as well, turning towards the door to see what was making that racket.


    And wouldn''t you know it, Harry just so happened to be caught in its gaze.


    "Oh, crud…" he mumbled, as the thing hissed angrily. Or maybe it was happy, Harry didn''t know. He didn''t speak centipede. He may have spoked to a snake once or twice, but even if the thing in front of him was long and serpentine, that did not a snake make.


    "Quick, jump!" Six yelled. Not needing to be told twice, Harry did as he was told. Six grabbed his hand and dragged him up as fast as she could. As soon as he was inside, she slammed the door down and they began to rise. She heard the monster slam into the metal, screeching with rage as it tried to force its way in.


    Hopefully, the Lighthouse Keeper arrived before that happened. Six never thought she''d be happy to have a Resident show up, but here she is. What a weird world.


    "That was close," Harry said, Six humming in agreement. He was a bit tired from the magic act earlier, but nothing too bad. Not nearly as much from ripping off the vent cover at any rate.


    "So, what do you think we should call that thing? I''m thinking, Cyclopede. You know, because it''s a centipede with one eye," he said, sitting up. Six gave him an odd look as the two traveled upwards, heading into parts unknown.


    Hopefully the next room would be a little easier to navigate.