Harry and Six cautiously made their way further into the dimly lit room. It was somewhat frustrating that the only areas that seemed well so far were the hallways. Was it to save on the cost of electricity?

Did they even have electric bills? More questions with no answers, but at least this room had the convenient excuse of being a theater for why the lighting was so dull.

The imitation torch light beside them flickered violently, causing the shadowy specters that danced along the walls to jump, making Harry do the same. His nerves had been significantly frayed by his experience in the past.

Literally.

He felt Six beside him gently squeeze his hand. He'd almost forgotten she was there. He squeezed back, letting her know he was fine. Or at least, as fine as he could be. He was surrounded by the dead after all, kind of hard to define what fine was in this situation.

As long as this didn't turn into a b-rated zombie movie, he'd take it.

The pair walked past the unseeing corpses of children, quiet as a mouse. They may not be able to disturb the dead, hopefully, but that didn't mean there weren't other things that couldn't be disturbed.

But to their collective relief, it seemed like nothing was going to reach out and get them. At least not right now. They made it to the end of the room, eyes straining to find something of importance, specifically a fuse.

But to their frustration, they couldn't spot anything of importance, nothing that immediately screamed, "Look at me, I'm special!"

They stared up at the large screen in front of them. It was hard to tell from the entrance of the room, but the screen was filthy. Splotches of who knows what decorated the thing like it was a child's painting. The more worrisome grime was the dark red stains intermingled amongst the muck.

Harry shivered, and suddenly felt like he was being watched. He turned his head, staring behind him, seeing nothing but the mockery of life staring back at him. Their eyes, pale and blank, contained numerous accusations within.

Six seemed to feel it too, as she frowned. Looking out upon the deceased, she was reminded of the brutality of the world. The consequences of capture. The result of letting one's guard down.

She clenched her fists, once more vowing that she would never end up like them. A toy for someone else's sick entertainment. A doll, an imitation of what she once was. No, she refused to become one of them, no matter what.

A firm grip on her hand drew her out of her ruminations. She glanced to her right, seeing her friend look at her with concern. It was nice, knowing that someone cared for her. With a deep breath, she released her fears and frustrations, giving them back to the void from whence they came.

She gripped his hand back, and he gave her a small smile. It was considerably dimmer from his normal ones, not that she could blame him. This room was disturbing to say the least.

"You good?" Harry whispered. His voice may have been low, barely able to be heard under normal circumstances, but here, in this theatrical mausoleum, he may as well have been shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Yeah," Six responded, just as loud. She winced at the sound of her own voice. Quiet was good, quiet was safe. So why was it that when she wanted to be quiet, everything she did sounded so loud?

Harry gave her a nod, before looking back out across the room, a grimace on his face. She understood, the room wasn't easy to look at. Or more accurately, what was in the room.

"So, what now?" he asked, not turning back to look at her. That was good, she thought. It was better to keep himself scanning the room for threats. So far nothing happened, but the atmosphere made it impossible to relax.

The constant reminder of what could befall them led to a feeling of abject paranoia. Six idly wondered of the dead despised the living, for having what they could not. For succeeding where they failed.

Best not to think about. If the dead hated the living so much, that would likely be a bad thing. They outnumbered the living by a wide margin after all.

But back to Harry's question, she wasn't sure. It didn't seem like there was anything useful in here. Nothing but dead kids. Not even the popcorn he joked about could be found.

She was starting to think the whole room was a bust, nothing but a waste of time. However, right as she was about to say something to that effect, and suggest they look elsewhere, a small glint caught her attention.

The lights around them just so happened to flicker at the right moment to emphasize something shiny resting on the arm of the largest chair, the one right dab in the center of the room.

It may have been nothing, but it still may have been worth investigating. One never knows what they may find if they never look. And Six was a curious child.

"There, on the recliner," she said, pointing it out. Harry squinted his eyes to see what she was indicating, and the flickering lights revealed to him the mysterious glint, much as it had for his friend.

"I see it. What do you think it is?" he asked, turning to look at her. She shrugged her shoulders, "We won't know unless we check."

Harry nodded at that. The statement was true enough, but he thought he saw a gleam of excitement in her eyes, but it was gone just as fast as it appeared. Maybe even faster.

Must have been his imagination, or a trick of the light. There was no way she was excited about some random, shiny object. She was far too serious and focused on survival for that.

Right?

Regardless, they had nothing better to do than check. So they made their way into the center of the room, surrounding themselves with the dead. It wasn't a place either of them really wanted to be, all things considered, but they needed to know what the thing was.

Turns out, it was a remote. A large, silver one with only a single, red button resting in the center.

Actually, looking at it more closely, it wasn't in the center. It was slightly to the side and down a little. The sight made Harry's eye twitch for unknown reasons. It wasn't like the position changed whatever function it had, so why did the sight of it infuriate him so much?

Six noticed his aggravation and raised a curious eyebrow. What had him so upset? Looking at the remote that seemingly enraged him, she tried to reason why it had such an affect on him.

It took her a few moments to realize what likely had made him upset, and when she did, she gave him an amused look. She could admit some irritation at the button's positioning, but not to the point of actual anger.

This new side of her friend was a bit unexpected, but funny all the same. As long as it didn't lead to him doing something stupid, she would continue to take amusement from it.

"Are you trying to destroy it with your stare?" she asked, some of her inner mirth coming though. Though she found the whole thing funny, her question was serious. There was a chance he could actually do something like that.

"Huh? No, I…" Harry stuttered, having been snapped out of his OCD induced fury. He looked away from her, having noticed the merriment shining in her eyes, with a blush coloring his cheeks.

He cleared his throat, quietly mind you, and tried to get his embarrassment under control. "So… what should we do with this?" he asked.

That was a good question, and Six wasn't sure of the answer. There was no telling what pressing the button could do. It could make a loud noise, turn all the lights on, reveal a secret door… There was no telling what it would do.

But considering what it was, where it was placed, and where they were, there was a good chance it turned on the screen in some capacity. Which was likely to be both bright and loud.

She wasn't sure it was worth the risk. Besides, what kind of movies did they watch in this place? Six wasn't one for gambling, but she felt it was a safe bet that she would find whatever it was disturbing.

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Though, not much could be worse than the multitude of blank, lifeless stares permeating the room they were in. The only thing worse that she could think of was the process that turned them into these things in the first place.

She deeply and sincerely hoped to never see that shown on the big screen.

"I'm not sure. Pressing it could be…" she said, leaving the sentence hanging. Not that Harry needed her to finish it. He knew pressing the big, red, off center button could be dangerous.

But at the same time, it was a big, red button!

"I know. But if we're too afraid to take risks, we may never escape," he said. Six seemed to think about that for a second, her eyes scanning the rest of the room. Besides how creepy it was, nothing in here appeared to want them dead.

Mostly because they already were. But who knows what the noise could attract, if it even made noise in the first place. She could be worried for nothing.

However, there was something that caught her attention once more. A pair of empty seats, not quite adjacent but close enough. It appears the show wasn't as sold out as she thought.

It did give her an idea though. "Fine, we press it. But if something happens, we can hide there," she said, pointing to the empty seats. Harry looked to where she was pointing and made a face.

He thought she was indicating a table to hide beneath, or something to crawl into. But no, there was nothing like that in this room. Even the chairs were too small to hide underneath, being made at the right height for children.

Which was a first. Most everything was decidedly not made for kids, which while frustrating, was usually manageable. This was the first time he was annoyed at something being the correct size for himself.

The one time he wanted something to be big enough to hide under, was the one time it wasn't. But maybe it was even better, in a morbid sort of way. Where better to hide a tree than a forest?

Where better to hide two kids than amongst their deceased peers?

"Alright, fine. But I get to press the button," he said. Six rolled her eyes, but didn't argue the point. The desire to see what the button did was greater than her desire to press it anyway.

Harry grabbed the remote, finding it lighter than he imagined. It looked like it was made of metal, but it turned out to just be plastic, spray painted chrome. Weird choice, not that he would tell them that.

He gave Six one last glance, and she returned it with a nod. They both prepared themselves to run in the very likely scenario that this went south. Because when did it not?

With only slight hesitation, Harry gently pressed the button. He winced as he heard it click, but after a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen. They gave each other a confused look.

"Guess we were worried for noth-"

But before Harry could finish his sentence, a bright light filled the room and the screen behind them turned on. Or to be more accurate, a light was shining on it from somewhere.

They jumped slightly at the sudden brightness, which wasn't all that bright to be honest. It was just, compared to the rest of the room, it may as well have been a spotlight.

Harry backed up against the large, leathery recliner, waiting for something else to happen. But nothing did. Several seconds ticked by with absolutely nothing happening. Nothing appeared on the screen and there was no sound either.

Harry released a breath he didn't know he was holding, turning towards his companion.

Only to find her missing. Eyes widening in panic, Harry began searching the room for her, wondering how she was able to disappear. There was no way something could have snuck up on them so easily, could it?

"Six!" he shouted. He knew he shouldn't yell, but he was worried about her. Frantically looking for her, he noticed a bit of movement to his left. Eye zeroing in on it, he made himself ready to run.

Only to find himself staring right at Six, sitting there in the chair she designated as her hiding spot. She was completely still, not moving a single centimeter. He couldn't even tell she was breathing. If he didn't know any better, he'd never be able to tell the difference between her and the corpse next to her.

"Really?" he said, giving her a blank look. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she looked away. Guess when the light came on, she immediately dashed toward safety. He couldn't blame her for it, not really. Self-preservation was a powerful thing.

Six stood up, dusting some imaginary dirt off of her clothes. She refused to look at him, even as he approached her.

"Well, I can safely say it's a good hiding spot," Harry said, somewhat sarcastically. The embarrassed girl tried to shrug off the feeling. She had nothing to be embarrassed about! They agreed, that if something happened, they would hide.

And something did happen! It just… wasn't a threat is all.

"Of course it is. I picked it after all," she responded, in a false haughty tone, attempting to save some face. Harry snorted in amusement, stopping in front of her.

"You also left me, abandoned poor little me to an unknown fate. My heart burns from the betrayal," Harry claimed, clutching his chest dramatically. Six rolled her eyes and pushed him away slightly, though she did find his mannerisms slightly funny.

But only slightly.

Harry chuckled some more at her pouty face. Or as pouty as she could make it. "So, that was a bust," he said with a sigh, indicating the screen behind them. Six's face returned to its normal, neutral look, as she gave the screen a glance.

"Seems like it," she sighed. And here she was, hoping it would reveal the mysteries of the universe. Or at least a hint on where to go. But all they got was a blank screen.

"You should turn it off. No reason to attract unwanted attention," she said.

"Not a bad idea," Harry agreed. But as he went to click the button, it was his turn to notice something. It wasn't as small as a remote or as inconspicuous as a couple of empty chairs, but it was interesting all the same.

It was the projector, shining the image of nothing onto the screen. More than that, he could see it was coming from another room, nestled above them. Leading into it was a ladder, one just big enough for them to climb. He never would have seen it without the light from the projector illuminating more of the room.

"Well, would you look at that," he said with a grin. Six, confused, turned to see what had caught his eye.

"Interesting," she stated simply. She was a bit annoyed by the fact she didn't think to look at where the light was coming from. Her disappointment from the blank screen and embarrassment from running and hiding distracted her enough she didn't think about it.

It was a mistake, and mistakes were often costly. But this time they were none the worse for wear. Thankfully. But she would have to remember to be on the ball from now on.

"Guess we should check it out," Harry suggested. Six nodded in agreement. She couldn't help but feel somewhat excited. Normally, investigating somewhere new only filled her with caution, if not outright dread. But now, with the clear and concise goal of escaping, she couldn't wait to explore.

Hope really was a dangerous emotion, wasn't it?

Not like she didn't want to escape before, but she wasn't convinced the keys even existed. The door, sure, but no one had found the keys until now. And now that they have, now that she knew the possibility of escape was real, well…

She was eager to explore everywhere she could. Not that it made her any less cautious, but she was taking larger risks than she was used to. If anything, she needed to be more cautious.

"I'll go first," Six stated, with Harry giving a nod. He didn't mind and would gladly play lookout until she gave the all clear.

Leaving the projector on for now, so it could provide a bit more light, she slowly climbed the ladder. Like most things in the house, it wasn't built properly. The steps were uneven and crooked, and it rattled and shook with every step she took.

But it seemed to be sturdy enough. Six reached the top poking her head out just enough to see into the room, scanning it for enemies.

The room itself was fairly small, reminding Six of the scattered, "safe" rooms across the mansion. Unfortunately, the entrance itself was too big for her to feel comfortable, as it was the same sized opening as a regular door frame.

In the corner of the room were empty film canisters, with a single chest sitting near the projector. A thin coating of dust covered the floor, indicating it had been some time since anyone had been up here.

But if that were the case, what movies did they watch? Or did The Pretender just watch a blank screen? Six wouldn't put it past her to pretend to watch a movie. It was in her name after all.

After double and triple checking her surroundings, she gave a sigh of relief, "It's all good," she called down, before climbing fully into the room. Harry nodded and began to make the journey up himself. Thankfully, it wasn't too far, and before long, he was standing next to his friend.

"So, see anything useful?" he asked. Six shook her head as she walked further inside, Harry hot on her heels. The two of them searched the room, but the only real points of interest were the projector and the chest next to it.

With nothing better to do, they decided to open it. The chest itself was nearly as tall as they were, with a dull, red coloring and brass inlays creating a haphazard pattern.

The paint itself was chipping in several areas, and the metal could use a good polishing, but other than that, it seemed to be in decent condition.

Unfortunately, it was locked. Harry growled in frustration. "Great, so one more thing we have to find."

Without knowing where the second key to the secret exit was, they needed to check everything. It was unlikely it was inside, but that was a risk they couldn't take. Unless they found out for sure what they needed wasn't inside, they had no choice but to search for a key.

Hopefully, it wasn't as big as the last one Harry found. That sucker was big.

Six understood his frustration, but at the same time, she was happy to have a goal in mind. There was a chest, and it needed a key. Simple. Getting it may not be, but knowing they needed it was.

"I could try my magic," Harry suggested. Six thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head. "Better not. We don't want to risk damaging what's inside. Even if it isn't the key we need, it could still be something valuable."

"Yeah you're probably right," he said. She watched as her irritated friend leaned back against the wall opposite of the projector. His arms crossed over his chest as he glared petulantly at the locked chest.

But then she heard what sounded like a clicking sound. The wall behind Harry opened up, revealing a secret room. He yelped in surprise as he fell to the floor.

"You ok?" Six asked as she helped him up.

"Think so," he said while rubbing the back of his head. He'd probably end up with a small bruise, but other than that he was right as rain.

The two of them stared at the newly revealed room. There wasn't much there, save for three things. The first was a painting on the far wall, showing some kind of sculpture. It looked like something Davinci would come up with, and neither could make heads or tails of its purpose.

The second thing was a round pedestal, or almost round. Like most things in this place, it was slightly off, which irritated Harry once more. It looked like it came straight out of ancient Greece and was surprisingly in pristine condition. Not a single piece of it was chipped or marred in anyway, which was a first for them.

Especially Six. The only things that seemed to be in even remotely similar condition are those things that belonged to The Pretender.

The third and final thing was a medallion of some kind. A light shone overhead, illuminating the inconspicuous little thing. It was made out of gold, or at least it appeared to be. Any other details were impossible to make out at their distance.

Seeing this, however, left Harry disappointed. "So, not a key then?"