20. Hanako Goes To School.

Hanako woke on a bed of golden hay, with her arms out.

Slightly confused, she lay there for a while, letting it sink in. The time spent with Izumi was fleeting, but it weighed heavier than anything she had experienced.

After a little more than half an hour, she got up and left the stables. To her relief, Seth was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't going to try the same trick twice.

Looking up at the sky, Hanako sighed at how powerless she was in relation to those who could do her the most harm. The Headless-Nameless, Seth, The Chimaera.

Even Bridget, with powers to shift time and space, could be a match for the Empress herself. Now, without her Pony, Hanako couldn’t even outrun danger if she wanted.

It sucks to me.

Leaving the stables, Hanako made her way across barren fields of hard mud. Nearing the entrance to the forest, she noticed white vapour appear out of thin air. 

At first, it was nothing but wisps, but quickly formed itself into disembodied heads and arms, before dissipating back into nothing.

Oh, this is not good.  She thought.

A sickly green fog began to roll in, rising up into a curtain of swirling mist.

The girl could see silhouettes of dancers, dressed in ballroom gowns and watched them spin around into thin air. Other figures laughed hysterically, as if leaving a party, until they too faded like dawn stars.

Hanako was doing everything to keep fear at bay and mind in check. A hand lighted against her wrist, before its translucent form faded away.

At that very moment, the mist was slowly churned into a thick cloud.

Here we go again. 

A ghostly rider charged with its scythe held high and slashed down. The girl rolled clear, just in time for the figure to gallop off into thin air. There followed an eerie quiet, the kind which meant it was far from over.

Another spectre appeared to her right, and once again, she dodged free, slamming shoulder-first into the dirt. Getting up, Hanako went for her sword, but remembered the words of Reinhardt: 'Do not engage. Draw the strength out of you, they will. Better just to run.'

Hanako grumbled but knew she had no choice. A battle where one was prevented from fighting was just unfair.

A third rider burst from nowhere. This time, Hanako went down on one knee and covered herself with a shield. The scythe connected heavily, nearly knocking her off balance.

Finally done, she sped off into the darkened woods, not bothering to look back. 

On and on she ran, jumping over gnarled roots, where sharp burrs scraped at her armour. Unable to slow down in time, Hanako slid onto her side and took a face-full of mud.

***

Raising her head sharply, Hanako waited, but no ghosts came to find her. It helped that she was in the middle of an overgrown ditch and covered in mud.

After using a tree root to climb out, she noticed a path winding around the side of the building. She kept an eye out for any enemies and soon spotted a Giant's skeleton trudging into view.

Luckily, there was enough long grass to duck down and hide. How it missed her completely, she didn't know, but was thankful all the same.

Once the coast was clear, she continued down a hill, only to find two normal-sized skeletons coming in the other direction. They immediately drew their swords and charged. Hanako wasted no time, slicing one with the misty sword, but it had no effect.

Bad idea. 

The first skeleton came at her with a slashing motion, forcing Hanako to back away. The second one chopped at her waist, which was easily deflected by her shield.

What she didn't expect was to be hit in the shoulder by an arrow. The force of the blow was so great that it sent her tumbling down a grassy hill onto the path below.

Hanako landed face down, but had no time to rest, as another arrow whistled past mere inches from her head. She got up and raised her shield, feeling the follow-up arrow punch with the force of Ram.

The nearby ruins provided some measure of cover, allowing her to take a moment to recover. She pulled out the arrow in her shoulder, where the point had penetrated the armour halfway.

It was lucky it didn't go any further.

Peering around, she could see the outline of an Archer, in time to move back, when another arrow bit the packed earth, close to her leg.

The girl took an apple from her knapsack and threw it out. It was quickly impaled against a wooden frame, without hitting the floor.

Yeet. 

She looked up and spotted more skeletons making their way down the path.

To her left, dangling from the side of the tower, was a long chain swinging on a hinged wooden bracket. An idea was formed; one that involved great risk and insanity.

If she timed it right, it was possible to reach one of the support beams. If she didn’t, it was a straight drop onto jagged rocks.

Hanako saw the Skeletons close in with their weapons raised high. Not wanting to be pinned down on both sides, she leapt over a small wall, ran and dove off the cliff edge. By faith or fate, she managed to catch the chain by its tail and swung around up toward a horizontal beam.

Using momentum to fly, Hanako slammed against the wooden support. Slightly dazed, she dangled over the rocky chasm and scrambled to get on top.

Out of danger for now, the girl still had to balance on a length of wood no wider than a pillow. Drawing her body up, she carefully stepped with one foot in front of the other.

Using another Chain, Hanako lowered herself to the support beam underneath her.

Leaning up against the Tower, she carefully took in the view; there were eight wooden girders in total, going back and forth all the way down.

If there were any chance of reaching the ground, she would have to jump from one to the other, while somehow avoiding the mess of rocks below.

It was hard enough getting her to swing in plate metal, now she had to do it eight more times.

Not on my best day.

***

The first jump down was messy, causing her to slip and hang down until her other hand managed to find its way back up.

The Second and third girders were okay and found a nice balance.

Fourth was a disaster, forcing her to cling to a barred window, as the beam fell away. Dangling with nothing below, she edged around the curve of the tower, using blocks which jutted out of the wall.

The fifth beam was solid enough, allowing her to relax a little.

Six and Seven were wider than the rest, making it easier to foot.

The final beam had a lengthy chain attached, which she used to rappel down onto the ground.

Somewhat relieved, Hanako staggered through the tall spires of granite, finally emerging onto a gloomy hill where patches of crabgrass grew among dirt and stone.

Up ahead on a small rise was a wide building which looked to have been a monastery, but was now used for something else.

Going by the familiar Hopscotch patterns and climbing frames, it didn’t take Hanako long to work out that it was once a School, which had fallen into ruin.

***

Deep in thought and confusion, she almost missed a figure propped up against one of the Alabaster posts.

It was an old man dressed in a 17th-century Frock Coat, something Hanako recognised from Pirate movies. He was covered head to toe in what appeared to be a powdery white substance with thin strands of sticky wire.

Even though his right leg was cut off and tied at the knee, he seemed almost too cheerful, given the circumstances.

“Oh?” The Man said, with a quiet voice. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to drop by, least of all a Plague Doctor.” Hanako looked around and patted her ears. “Heh, it’s not like I got much to say. The name’s Gülderiig, I am or was a merchant of some renown.” He knocked a thumb back toward the School. “Am I to assume you wish to avoid our bony friends?” The girl shrugged and nodded. Gülderiig fished out a small knitted carrot decorated with two button eyes. “I promised our guests I would hand these out. You could say it cost me an arm and a leg, but I got a discount. Heh, heh.” Hanako sighed and took the doll, not wanting to hang around someone who was giving her the creeps. As she continued onto the grassy path, the old man smiled to himself.

“I guess I won’t be hearing from you.”

At the top of the stairs, Hanako pushed the two tall doors and was surprised to see that they gave way easily, almost as if the hinges were made of butter

Inside, it was like nothing she had imagined. The great halls of stone were completely covered in thick spider’s webs. Spread across the walls and ceilings were large white pods, which reminded her of oversized Easter Eggs.

One such pod filled Hanako with an icy cloud, upon seeing the small skeletal hand clutching a knitted tomato.

Oh.  She thought. That’s where they went.

Hanako shook her head.

She wondered why her initial reaction was so cold. Had she become numb to battling enemies, so that not even a child’s death could move her? Was this what Daphne meant about forgetting the person she used to be? Eventually, all she would know would be the fight, and everything else would be preparation

No sympathy for the dead or dying, the weak would make way for the strong. What was her dead friend's name? Izuki ? Sukuzi? It didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered now but survival.

Hanako stopped momentarily.

No no no! These are not my thoughts. Something is trying to get inside.   Falling to her knees, the girl tore off her helmet and gripped her head.  I can’t let it win!

***

Another hallway, the webbing was becoming intense, more layered than before and interwoven. Hanako figured she was getting closer to the nest.

Down a flight of stairs, she turned a corner and was met with darkness. It was unusually pitch black, almost without a hint of light. It was then she realised, this was no shadow, but the sleeping body of a giant spider, filling the doorway.

Backing away slowly, Hanako wondered how long she could run without having to fight. She would have to fight; that much was inevitable.

More noises now, not a creak or crack or the wolfish whine of winds, but something creaking closer. It had a rhythmic tap-tap-tap and was soon growing in numbers.

Ducking down, Hanako slowly made her way toward a collapsed corridor.

Turning around, she was suddenly met with a Jawless skull suspended by loose strands. It was large, like that of an infant.

Cold horror enveloped her as she backed away slowly and looked around for another means of escape. She found a narrow corridor and slapped a notice board filled with images of knights.

Boys.

There she spotted it. A crawlspace, just big enough to wiggle through

Unhooking the shield, she brought a nearby table and pulled herself up into the gap. It wasn't much, but the triangular-shaped tunnel was just big enough for her to squeeze through.

Peering out the other side of the tunnel, she saw that it overlooked a large circular chamber, with a stone floor decorated with leaf patterns. The central garden had been torn away by a medium-sized sinkhole, with some of the surrounding lawn remaining.

All around, a dozen spiders slept on grey strands which carpeted most of the room. Hanako had a feeling the webbing acted as an alert system.

Among the rubble and detritus was a desk on the edge of the sinkhole. Upon the desk was a grey pyramid with gold lining, just like one Seth and Bridget had described.

It was the other Beacon.

Hanako looked around to see if there was anywhere to jump down without drawing attention. Nothing. No nearby ropes or jutting stone blocks, just a straight drop. There wasn’t enough room to turn around, even if she wanted to. With no other choice, she decided to go back the way she came.

Exiting the crawlspace, Hanako quickly realised the only way into the room was past the sleeping Spider. She first checked her map again. According to the floor plan, there were two entrances into the Garden chamber: the immediate doorway, blocked by the Spider, and the outer doors, which meant passing through Skeleton warriors.

I wouldn’t wish that on a broke, dead dog.

Sighing, she left her Javelin behind and slowly crept down the stairs, keeping her flat back against the wall. Luckily for her, the creature was facing away, which gave her slight relief. It could still wake up anytime.

Crouching down, Hanako noticed there was a sizeable gap under the Spider’s body. It was then an idea popped into her head and was quickly dismissed.

Nope, nope, nope!

The girl looked away, shaking her head. She can come this far, and the Skeleton warriors blocked every other route. Sighing again, she looked back at the darkened entrance.

Hanako slowly dropped to her knees, careful not to make a sound. Flat against the tiles, she started to belly crawl inches away from the shiny green underside of the Spider. Slowly and quietly, conscious of the prospect that every inch she propelled herself along was going to be the last. Was the Spider even asleep, or was it just keeping watch?

I really should have thought this through.

To her surprise, it worked, allowing her to slip away and hide in nearby shadows. Of course, not even the shadows were a safe haven, but she decided to take her chances for the time being.

She looked around. No movement from the surrounding Spiders, still napping on snacks the Nursery provided. The girl tried to avoid looking at the piles of crimson skulls, some still shiny and wet.

She shook her head, no time for that now. Scampering toward the sinkhole, she avoided the grid of spider webs before ducking down behind the one remaining tree.

There - just out of reach - was the Beacon. If it weren’t for the pile of rubble, it would have been an easy grab.

Up close, the desk looked even more precarious. It was barely holding onto the lip of the hole, with one more tremor sending it into the deep, dark abyss. Time was an issue.

Climbing atop the rubble, Hanako could see the pewter Grey pyramid, but grabbing it would require some kind of skill. She wondered if it was possible to climb down the side and reach out, but there was no rope.

Hanako suddenly turned away and remembered the small, tattered dresses strewn about the area. Carefully avoiding the webbing, she gathered ten and double-tied them for extra strength.

Tying one end to a low branch, she rappelled down the side of the sinkhole and reached out. To her frustration, the Beacon was a mere inches away. She could feel the side with her fingertips, but it was not enough.

Hanako looked back; she was almost horizontal by now, and on her last few inches of the makeshift rope. Unwinding another piece of the material, Hanako was able to lurch forward and grab the Beacon. Unfortunately, in her eagerness, the material ripped in two, sending deep into the heart of the Abyss

***

When she came to, Hanako was on her back clutching the Beacon to her chest. Getting to her feet, she knew it wasn’t long before the Spiders would find her.

At least there would be one less to worry about.

Raising her arm to the Sinkhole exit, she spread out her hand and waited.

Sure enough, the Javelin skewered the body of the sleeping Spider and launched out of its head like a Naval missile.

Hanako caught the weapon with ease, its shaft slick with brain matter.

Before heading off, she checked to see that the Pyramid was intact and slipped it back into the knapsack. Now came the hard part.

The Spiders were now in pursuit as a frenzied tide.

All the commotion of the escape had attracted a new swarm of Arachnids; these ones were already on her tail before she had a chance to catch her breath. They filled the narrow caves as a flood of cursed horrors, reaching out and screeching with hunger.

From here on in, everything was pure instinct and adrenaline. Racing through the stone corridors, Hanako tried every doorway and crevice, fell back and tried again.

By some miracle, Hanako was able to find a medium-sized gap, forcing the Spiders into single file. It wasn't going to be enough, but it slowed them down.

Finally free of the pursuing monsters, Hanako raced toward the brightly lit exit and made her way down the side of a hill.

Unfortunately, the angle was too steep, causing me to slide down toward a pile of manure.