As she paraded through the hotel, (Y/n) came across a room in which all the bulbs had smashed. She wasn't necessarily afraid of the dark but this situation felt different. This was a hotel in which entities of unimaginable horror resided, so there was no way something wasn't in the dark.
An eery bout of childish giggling echoed within the twilight, alerting (Y/n) to the presence of an entity. Her eyes were sharply darting up and down the frame, checking for any sign of life within the room.
More of the childish laughter, more mounting suspicion. (Y/n) was very wary of the entity, yet carefully treaded inside the room.
The light thudding of approaching footsteps and the gentle tug on her right hand had her convinced this wasn't a malicious one like the others, just a lost child.
"Hi, hello! Who are you? Is that you, Seek? I can't see you in the dark! Do you like how I cleaned my room like you asked? I hope you're really happy about it, 'cause I am!" The entity spoke very hastily and in a voice so high-pitched that it could only be a child.
Awkwardly, (Y/n) tried to tug her hand back, but the entity's fingers locked in hers,"Uh...I'm not 'Seek'."
At this revelation, the entity's white eyes glowed and narrowed, as they spoke with a disappointed undertone,"You're not?"
The entity's glowing eyes caught her off guard, but she didn't back away or try to exit,"No...I'm not."
"Oh, do you know where Seek is? He said he'd come back."The entity stops for a second before returning to their cheery demeanour,"Well, you can be my friend in the meantime! What's your name?"
Though she was still somewhat awkward, she decided that this abandoned entity deserved some company and a bit of trust,"I'm (Y/n), what's your name?"
"(Y/n)...You know, I've never met a human. I think your name is really, really pretty! I'm Screech!" He introduced, clutching (Y/n)'s hand a tad tighter.
A motherly instinct told (Y/n) to guide Screech out of the room, as if the room was unsafe. Walking towards the door, (Y/n) led Screech to the room she was in before.
When she finally got to see him, she was taken by surprise. He was small, which wasn't too surprising, around the height of an average primary school kid. He had a grey t-shirt on, a pale blue jacket on, black tracksuit bottoms and monochrome sneakers. His appearance was very scruffy, clothes-wise.
What brought her the surprise was his appearance from the above the shoulders; he had impeccably black white teeth, glowing eyes of the same colour, as well as six tentacles sprouting out of the sides of his head. Yet, despite that, his body was perfectly human and consisted of all the limbs one might have. There was nothing inhuman about him, with the exception of his eyes and tentacles.
"You're a pretty girl." Screech said, taking in her expression with awe,"You're taller than me, and you are older than me."
"Uh, yes. How old are you, exactly? You seem like a little kid...who would leave a little kid in this hotel, all alone?"
Screech looked up at her, staring into her eyes as he spoke to her,"I'm nine. Seek taught me about age and years. I've been here for nine years."
"Oh, I see. Well, I'm older than you." She smiles down at him, feeling pity at the realisation that he'd lived in an abandoned hotel for all nine years of his existence,"Who else do you live here with?"
For a minute, Screech processes a response,"Seek says that the others are cruel and will kill me. He says that I can only trust him and Figure. Sometimes, Seek leaves me with Figure so I'm not lonely."
Furrowing her brow, (Y/n) grew curious,"Who is this 'Figure'?"
With dazzling, dancing eyes and a huge, goofy grin, Screech continued his explanation,"Figure is tall and blind, but he can hear everything. I can never win hide and seek with him, because he always knows where I am. Oh, and there's Hide."
"Hide? What is that?" She asks him, genuinely perplexed and wondering whether Hide is an entity or something else,"Or who?"
"Hide hides." Screech states that simply,"He's in the closets and he pushes humans out. Figure and Hide don't get along, but Hide is Seek's brother. I never get to see Hide, but he is a good listener! He asks me about my day when I'm laid in bed after a bad day. He's under beds and in closets; he's everywhere!"
Pausing for a minute, Screech raises his free hand to his chin and taps a finger on it,"Do you know who Seek is? Have you seen him already?"
"Oh, yes. He's a very fast runner.." (Y/n) said, beginning to grow concerned about this poor, abandoned child,"Say, do you know what chocolate is?"
His questioning glance was enough to answer her question. Reaching into her pocket, she knelt down and handed him a small bar of milk chocolate. Taking it from her hand, Screech eyed it in complete wonder,"What's this? Is this chocolate?"
Nodding, she encouraged him to open the wrapper. At first, he struggled but she made a tearing gesture with her hands and he got the hang of it.
His eyes lit up the second the wrapper was torn back and he saw the solid rectangle of confectionery. Looking back up at (Y/n), he wanted her confirmation to eat it before he did anything, to which she nodded. Sinking his pearly whites into the bar, his tongue got the flavour melted on it and his eyes sparkled. Chewing it slowly, he looked up at (Y/n) with wordless gratitude before continuing to eat the sweet.
Her lips curved upwards into a satisfactory smile as she took in the sight of Screech's unfiltered joy.
"Do you like that?" She questioned, hoping he would say yes.
With much excitement, he nods repeatedly as he munches the chocolate.
Unexpectedly, (Y/n) reached her hand out as she began to pet his head. Her fingers ran between his tentacles as she pet him in a motherly and territorial way. She didn't exactly expect it or intend to, but she couldn't stop herself.
His eyes continued to twinkle as he ate the chocolate. Once he finished, he threw his arms around (Y/n)'s waist, as that was as far as he could reach, and rubbed his head against her side,"You're the best human I've ever met! You're like a mommy to me!"
Uncontrollably, he smiles up at her,"Seek would love you! You're so kind and pretty and sweet."
Holding (Y/n)'s hand, Screech begins to lead her to Seek, unbeknownst to her. He insisted that Seek wouldn't kill her for her act of kindness and selflessness towards him.
"Come on, let's go!"
