The air surrounding Harry and Six was tense as they slowly ascended into the unknown. Every shake and rattle of the dumbwaiter only caused more and more anticipation to build within them.


    Six felt her stomach drop as the dumbwaiter slowed down. Looks like their ride was almost over. In just a few short seconds, they would find out just where this thing led them.


    As they finally came to a stop, the duo simply stood there for a moment, listening. But there was nothing. No sound save for the raging tempest outside. That was typically a good thing. Silence signified that there was nothing trying to kill them.


    Or it meant they were being hunted by something that knew the value of stealth. That was a far more rare occurrence than you might think, given the nature of the creatures that inhabited this twisted world. Even the spider from earlier could be heard as it darted across the rafters.


    But just because it was rare, doesn''t mean it was impossible. If there was something with such propensity awaiting them outside the confines of the dumbwaiter, Six would not be caught unawares.


    She looked over at her companion, even if she couldn''t see more than a shadowy outline in the dark. There was only the smallest hint of light coming through a small crack at the bottom of the dumbwaiter, but even so, she could still make out the frown on that dark blot she knew as Hairy.


    Seeing this, Six reached out her hand, briefly hesitating before grabbing hold of his own. Harry jumped, slightly startled by the sudden contact. He looked down at his hand, not quite understanding what he was feeling. But once he did, he shifted his gaze over towards the red eyed girl, a puzzled look on his face.


    "Six?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.


    "You looked nervous," she said, as if that explained everything. And while it didn''t, not by a long shot, it was enough to settle the boy''s nerves. He squeezed her hand back, a feeling of gratitude welling up inside him.


    "Thanks."


    "No problem."


    The two stood there for several more seconds, enjoying the comfort brought on by the other. But all good things must come to an end. They couldn''t risk the Lighthouse Keeper moving, not when they struggled to lure him away. An even more terrifying thought was him activating the dumbwaiter for whatever reason with them still in it.


    They had to move before that happened. Six refused to let their efforts be in vain.


    "Ready?" she asked. His hand squeezed hers once more, a sign of reassurance, before letting go.


    "As I''ll ever be," he said. Six nodded and knelt down ready to slide open the door. Once she did, there would be no going back. They would have to face whatever was on the other side.


    Taking one last deep breath, Six slowly opened the door, light flooding inside the compartment nearly blinding them. It made a slight squeaking noise as she lifted it up and she hoped there was nothing inside that would take notice. With the storm outside, they should be safe, but you never know.


    As the gate rose, revealing more and more of what lie ahead, Harry dropped down to take a peek. It was hard to make out all the details from this angle, but it looked to him like they were in a room of some kind. He could make out a bed, a dresser, some clothes scattered about the place and a large rug with the head of a snarling beast staring at him.


    He managed to stop himself from yelping in surprise at the sight, realizing it wasn''t something about to leap out and devour him. Having been eaten once already, he wasn''t keen to repeat it.


    The important thing was, nothing appeared to want to eat them. At least not yet. He had no idea what was under the bed or in the dresser drawers, but they seemed to be in the clear for now.


    He told Six as much, with her nodding in acknowledgement and sliding the door the rest of the way up, slightly faster than before. Once that was done, the pair was easily able to take in the whole of the room.


    The bed Harry had seen earlier was nestled in the top left corner of the room, but not in the way any normal or sane person would expect. It was jutting out from the corner, with the end of the bed reaching towards the center of the room. Harry couldn''t fathom why anyone would situate it in such a manner. It made no sense and took up more space that was needed.


    He really needed to stop trying to use logic and reason in the Nowhere. It didn''t do him any good.


    Next to the bed on the left hand side was a dresser, one filled with various knick knacks and doodads. Neither of them could make heads or tails of some of them, being what one might call, "abstract art". But what they could make out was disturbing.


    A picture full of pus covered eyes burning in a fire. Puppies with empty eye sockets and a tongue on a snake. Small statuettes of what looked like a Buddha with an enormous mouth bursting out of his stomach, ready to devour anything that came near.


    Harry would be just fine if he never saw anything like that again.


    Speaking of "art", there were several paintings hanging from the walls as well. Some Harry recognized, being copies of the paintings hanging in the halls of the Nest, but others were brand new. Like the skeletal horse eating from a rotting carcass.


    He was really starting to hate their taste in the arts. The red eyed girl next to him agreed, even if he didn''t know it. But unlike her companion, she didn''t show any outward disgust from the image.


    In the top right corner was a large leather recliner covered in mold and holes. It looked like something you''d see in an old, abandoned house. Why anyone or anything would choose to sit on it was a mystery.


    In front of the chair was an old, rough, wooden table. Whoever made it seemed to take the meaning of legs very seriously, as they appeared to be made of some kind of animal''s legs. Harry wasn''t sure what animal had claws like that, and he hoped to never find out.


    Next to the recliner was a bookshelf with more shelves than books. Most of it was bare save for a few curious tomes. Given that neither of them could read the language of the Nowhere, the books hardly interested them.


    Along the wall were more shelves with various things on top of them, such as lantern oil and candles, along with a cymbal banging monkey near the center. Harry wasn''t sure, but he suspected he was a noisy little bugger.


    Directly to his right was a large T.V on top of a wooden stand. Like the chair, it too seemed to be covered in mold, making Harry worry for his respiratory health. He could remember hiding from Dudley and his gang in an old house that was covered in something that looked very similar and how it took weeks for him to be able to breathe right again. Hopefully that wouldn''t be the case this time.


    He could also see a door on the right wall, almost right in the middle but not quite. The off centered eye carved into it seemed to mock him. But Harry decided to be the bigger man and ignore it.


    He would not lose to a door.


    To his left was an open doorway, but he couldn''t see where it went. It took them less than a minute to scan the entire room, and in that time, neither of them could find the one thing they were looking for.


    Namely, a key.


    Six had no proof beyond what experience has taught her, but she suspected the topmost room would be locked. Why wouldn''t it be? Nothing was ever simple in the Nowhere, and she doubted it would start now.


    But she couldn''t see everything from their position, so with one last look around the room, she hopped down, the floorboards creaking slightly beneath her weight. She winced but did little else. It wasn''t nearly loud enough to be heard, especially with the typhoon outside.


    She started walking towards the center of the room, hearing Harry jump down after her. Once she was safely on top of the… bear? She wasn''t sure what creature the rug was made out of, but the fur was rough and coarse, poking painfully into the bottoms of her feet.


    Annoying, but manageable. Anyway, as soon as she was standing atop the mystery beast''s remains, she began to scan the rest of the room from that position. Thankfully this room was well illuminated, so she could easily see everything the room had to offer.


    The doorway she could see from the dumbwaiter led to what appeared to be a bathroom. One that hasn''t been cleaned since it was created. The light wasn''t on in the room, but she could still see the filth covered floors with the light flowing in from this room. The brown stains made her shiver in revulsion just imagining what could have made them.


    Harry came to stand beside her, making little squeaks of pain as he stepped onto the rug. It was like getting stung by bees with every step. But once he was there he did his best to ignore it as he also examined the room.


    But considering how much better Six''s eyes were, perhaps he shouldn''t have bothered. At the very least, his feet would have thanked him. Of course, it wouldn''t be a problem if he could just find some SHOES!


    "So, what are we looking for?" Harry asked, trying not to reveal how much his poor feet hurt.


    "A key, most likely. Either for the door on the second floor or the top," she said, not looking in his direction and scrutinizing every inch of the room she could see. So far, she hasn''t noticed anything promising.


    "Right, you said something about that earlier," he mentioned, returning to his own inspection. Like his companion, he didn''t see anything that resembled a key. After nearly a minute of observation, Six managed to see something on a shelf above the chair.


    Squirting her eyes, she saw it was a safe, of all things. What were the chances the thing they needed would be hidden inside? All things considered, pretty good. Unless it was in the bathroom of course, but she wasn''t quite ready to tackle that room just yet.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Nudging her friend, she pointed out the object in question. His eyes followed her finger, widening when he saw it.


    "A safe? Really? Just great…" he mumbled. Looking at it, it seemed to be an electronic one, where they had to input a series of numbers. Which meant they needed to find said numbers. Numbers that could be anywhere.


    "It''s not ideal," Six admitted, feeling some frustration herself. "Do you think you can bring it down with your magic?"


    Harry pondered her question for a moment. He still felt pretty drained, but it should, theoretically be possible, depending on the weight of the safe itself. But if he could, it would help immensely with figuring out the code. Then at least they wouldn''t have to climb all the way up to get it.


    "I''ll try," he said, getting a nod from the stoic girl. He began to feel the magic inside him once again, imagining that ethereal hand reaching out and grabbing hold of the safe. Once he did that, he tried lifting it up, but it refused to budge. Frowning, he tried even harder, yanking as hard as he could, but it felt like it was stuck.


    After trying a couple more times, Harry released his hold on his power.


    "No good," he said, breathing heavily. "Feels like it''s attached to the wall or something."


    Now it was Six''s turn to frown, but it couldn''t be helped. She shouldn''t have gotten her hopes up in the first place. She didn''t blame Harry, far from it in fact. He tried his best, obvious from the way he was panting, and his magic had proven to be incredibly useful.


    It just couldn''t solve all of their problems.


    "Right. Thanks for trying. Guess we''ll just have to do this the old fashioned way," she said. At least they now had a goal in mind, which means they could pursue a path forward.


    That being said, she hasn''t seen anything that even remotely resembled a number in the room. Not the paintings or the small sculptures. Nothing on this horrible rug. Looks like this was going to be even more difficult than she thought.


    Even though she should be frustrated by the notion, a part of her felt excited to solve the riddle of the room. Seeing the gleam in her eyes, Harry could only shake his head. It was the same as the one in the art gallery.


    Well, at least one of them was having fun.


    With that, the two separated, taking different areas of the room to search. Neither knew just how they would get up to the safe, but it would be pointless to do so without the code anyway.


    Six took the side with the dresser and all the creepy art pieces. She pulled out the drawers, taking a moment to sift through the raggedy clothing stuffed inside, hoping to find a note or something.


    But she managed to find a total of zero numbers inside the bottom drawer. Sighing with frustration, she climbed on top and pulled out the second one and jumped, grasping the ledge to haul herself up. Once safely in the drawer, she began to search through this one as well.


    But again, nothing.


    After that dud, she climbed on top of the dresser itself, ready to inspect every one of those horrific objects, no matter how much she didn''t want to. She gazed at the painting with all the eyeballs and held back a shudder. She really hated how they decorated with all the eyes. Made her feel like she was being watched at all times.


    Regardless of her personal feelings, she did what she needed to and examined every inch of the thing. But she couldn''t find anything. Not behind the painting or scribbled into the frame. Not a single clue in any of the 7 eyes staring back at her.


    As for Harry, he was busy staring at the ratty old chair, slightly disturbed by all the mold he swore was moving. It seemed like the chair used to be brown but that was more than a little difficult to discern with all the fungus sprouting from it.


    He thought, perhaps, that one of the numbers they would need could have been written within the mildew. It was certainly thick enough for it. But much to his disappointment, he didn''t find any. The only image he found was a skull.


    And wasn''t that just unsettling. Deciding to simply ignore it as another quirk of the Nowhere, Harry turned his attention to the table. He did have the idle thought to check within the chair cushions, as that''s where Vernon often lost things. His loss was Harry''s gain, and he had been able to buy some ice cream from time to time with all the change he saved up.


    But even knowing that, he decided to save that for a last resort. Harry did not want to touch that thing.


    Checking the incredibly realistic looking legs first, he didn''t spot anything remotely similar to a number. Nothing on the underside of the table either, not even gum. And even when he climbed on top of it he couldn''t find anything.


    Jumping down, he then decided to take a gander at the bookshelf. Walking over to it, pointedly ignoring the creaking of the floor, he looked up at the near empty shelf with his hands on his hips.


    There were several books, none of which he could read of course, as the letters were basically nonsense to his eyes. Grabbing one of them, he casually flicked through the pages. Apparently, this book was on taxidermy. Fantastic. He only knew that from the shockingly detailed diagrams it contained.


    Placing the book back and feeling a little queasy, he repeated this process with the books within reach, making sure not to take a peek at the images within. But after doing this a few times, he decided it was likely a fruitless endeavor.


    Even if they contained numbers, would he even be able to tell? He couldn''t read their language and therefore, wouldn''t be able to tell the difference between a number and a letter.


    That thought made him pause. Would they even be able to tell what a number is? He doubted they would use English in this one instance simply for his and Six''s convenience. So how were they supposed to even find them?


    Match the symbols, perhaps? If they were distinct enough, maybe, but that seemed like a longshot to him. He should probably bring it up with Six, but for now he would keep searching. They needed some kind of code to open the safe regardless.


    Returning the book, he gave the shelf one last look, frowning at some of the spines. Why did they find it necessary to put eyeballs on everything? Harry did not appreciate the feeling of being watched by books, even if there were only 3 of them.


    Deciding he had enough reading for one day, Harry looked around the room, wondering where to check next. Six had apparently finished her inspection of the dresser, having opened and rummaged through each and every drawer. Judging by the look on her face, it seems like she didn''t find anything either.


    Figuring she was fine on her own for now, Harry elected to inspect the T.V stand next. Making his way towards the large, blocky object, he patently ignored the 1 large eye carved into the door observing him go by.


    Arriving at his destination he started to check the front of the stand. Once more seeing nothing, he opened the doors. They squealed loudly in protest, hinges screaming at him in anger.


    Six, who heard this noise, abruptly turned her head towards its source. Seeing as it was only Harry, whose face was twisted into a grimace at the sound, she relaxed the tension in her shoulders. For a second there, she feared the Lighthouse Keeper was coming through the door.


    But it seems they were in the clear, at least for now. She couldn''t hear the telltale sound of the Resident making his way towards them, so she continued with her business. Before checking another location for the code, she made sure to close the drawers. If a certain someone returned and saw them all open, he might get the idea to check the room for intruders.


    That was just about the last thing she wanted. She learned her lesson about that this very morning.


    Once that was done, she felt it prudent to search the large chest that rested at the foot of the bed. It was larger than she was, meaning she had to get creative with how she opened it. It wasn''t locked, thankfully, but that didn''t mean her job was any easier.


    Looking around, there wasn''t much she could use to prop it open with from the floor. But maybe she could pull it open from on top of the bed. Not that she wanted to climb on top of that. It was just as nasty as everything else in this room, and likely hadn''t ever been washed.


    At least in the Nest, the Butler kept things somewhat clean. She knew he did the laundry at the very least, so none of the beds she''s come across looked like this. Although, most of the laundry he did do was to prepare something for the dolls to wear, so maybe she shouldn''t be so grateful after all.


    But needs must. And it''s not like it was the first time she''s been forced to be in contact with something gross. Probably wouldn''t be the last either. So she sucked up her inner revulsion and leapt up.


    "Blankets are not supposed to be this stiff," were her thoughts as she climbed on top of the bed. But she ignored that and focused on her goal. She quickly made her way towards the foot of the bed, the mattress being nearly as stiff as the blanket. The journey was also more hazardous than one might think, given the hidden springs that threatened to skewer her or the holes that promised to devour her.


    But even with those obstacles, she made it rather quickly, not wanting to feel the sensation of the rough and itchy blanket beneath her feet. She''d rather be subjected to the rug once more.


    Once she was there, she grabbed hold of the side of the chest. Or she would have, if another new noise hadn''t distracted her once again. Looking up, she saw a panicked Harry trying to figure out how to turn off the T.V. It would have been amusing if it weren''t so dangerous.


    He wasn''t sure how it happened. One second he was checking the side of the T.V stand for anything, and the next, the T.V was yelling at him. And the song it played…


    "Having a nightmare in a boat.


    Come with me, oh no, no, no


    He hung, he hung, he hung, don''t leave me


    No more Bellman upon our sea."


    Harry did his best to tune the rest of it out, especially the part about Veronica, whoever that was, and tried to find the off switch. But the T.V only had one button and he couldn''t reach the plug, so without another viable option, he pressed it.


    But of course, things couldn''t be that simple, could they? Of course not. Instead of turning it off, like any normal T.V, it just changed the channel. Why would someone design a T.V like this?


    And the second channel wasn''t any better. Instead of a woman with a kitchen knife, it was a shadow looming over a sleeping child. "Nope, none of that. Thank you and goodbye," he thought, pressing the button once more.


    Now it showed one of those stand by screens. Only this one was covered in eyes, mocking him. One large one in the center with a smaller one in each corner, making 5 in total.


    Hitting the button again, it finally decided to turn off. Harry let out a sigh of relief, surrounded once more by silence. But the silence reminded him of a crucial fact.


    They were not alone.


    So holding his breath, he stood there, stock still, listening. Six, who had been watching him, did the same. Both waiting with bated breath to see if they had been heard. Several seconds of silence ticked by, which felt like an eternity. When nothing could be heard save for wind, rain and thunder, they sagged in relief.


    Looks like they wouldn''t be receiving an unwanted visitor. Actually, since they were technically in his home, doesn''t that make them the unwanted visitors?


    Shaking his head of the thought, he turned around to see none other than Six glaring daggers at him. Seeing her look, he cleared his throat and looked away, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.


    "Hairy, what were you thinking?" she hissed. As quiet as her words were, she might as well have been shouting. The anger and disappointment he could hear in her voice sent a pang of agony straight into his heart. He looked down, shame covering his face.


    "Sorry. I didn''t mean to. I must have hit the button when I was checking the side," he mumbled. Six let out a sigh, feeling slightly guilty herself. She knew he didn''t mean to cause such a raucous. The suddenness of the sound coupled with the tension and frustration of the situation made her lash out.


    "No, I''m sorry. I know it was an accident. I could use some help over here, though, if you''re willing," she suggested, sounding rather bashful herself. But it was worth it, as the kicked puppy look on his face morphed into one of eager excitement.


    "Of course. I''ll be right there," he said, bounding over. He still looked like a puppy, but Six found she liked the sight of a happy puppy rather than a sad one. The sight brought a small smile to her own face.


    "So, whatcha need?" Harry asked, giving her a curious look.


    "I need some help getting this thing open so we can check inside," she informed him. Harry nodded, having felt that''s what she needed. He moved to the side so he could help lift the lid, with Six also gripping it in the same spot. It was a bit of a struggle, but they successfully managed to open it.


    As they did, the potent smell of dirty clothes reached their noses. It was almost enough to make Six drop the lid. Thankfully, she managed to keep her hold of it.


    "Alright, you''re up. Get in there," Six said.


    "Huh? Me?" Harry asked in disbelief, staring at the chest with revulsion.


    "Yes, you. I have to hold the lid, so that means you get to dig through this thing," she informed him, a hint of mischief in her ruby red eyes.


    "I see. In that case, let''s swap," he suggested.


    "No time for that. Come on Hairy, clocks ticking," she responded. Harry grumbled a bit but ceased arguing over it, walking to the front of the chest with a resigned frown. But before he did, he decided now was as good a time as any to ask Six his question.


    "By the way, how are we supposed to know what the numbers look like? We can''t exactly read their language."


    Six stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, blinking owlishly at him. But once his words finally registered within her, she let out a swear, making Harry fight to hold in his laughter.


    Who knew hearing Six drop an F-bomb would be so funny?