Volume 1: [The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat]
Chapter 1: The Nest
Act 2: Eighteen Floors?!
The door is eighteen feet tall.
Five has to tip her head all the way back just to see the top of its frame. The handle alone is bigger than she is, and it sits impossibly high above the floor.
She slowly lowers her gaze to the gnomes. They stare back at her.
A cold bead of sweat rolls down the side of Five's face. She forces an uneasy smile.
Five: So… why did you bring me here?
Gnome 1 lifts his arm and points at the door handle.
Gnome 1: ...👉🚪
The other six copy him.
Gnomes: ...👉🚪
Even Gnome 7, still wrapped in his bandage, raises one trembling arm and points up.
Gnome 7: ...👉🚪
Five stares at them. Then at the handle. Then back at them.
Five: You want me to open it?
All seven gnomes nod.
Gnomes: ...👍
Five looks up again. Just imagining the climb makes her injured legs go weak.
Five: But how am I supposed to reach it?
The gnomes huddle together. At first, Five thinks they're working out a plan. Then one climbs onto another's shoulders. A third climbs on top of them, then a fourth.
Five's eyes widen. They're building a living ladder.
Five: No.
The gnomes keep stacking themselves.
Five: No, no, no, no. Absolutely not.
Gnome 1 points at Five, then at the top of the living ladder.
Gnome 1: ...👉👧👉🪜
Five: You want me to climb on top of you?!
The gnomes nod eagerly.
Gnomes: ...👍
Five: I can't do that! I already hurt one of you today!
Gnome 7 waves one hand as if it's nothing, then gives her another thumbs-up.
Gnome 7: ...👋👍
Five: That does not make me feel better!
The gnomes hold their positions and wait patiently for her to climb. Five stares at them, hoping they'll come up with a different plan.
They don't move.
Five: You're serious…
Gnome 1 points at the door again.
Gnome 1: ...👉🚪
Five tightens her grip on her cane.
Five: I really don't want to do this.
The gnomes press their hands together and silently beg her.
Gnomes: ...🙏
Five sighs.
Five: Fine. But the moment someone gets hurt, we stop. Understand?
The gnomes nod together.
Gnomes: ...👌
They lower themselves enough for Five to reach the first one. Carefully, she sets one foot on his back.
Five: I'm sorry.
She climbs onto the next one.
Five: I'm really sorry.
Then onto the next.
Five: I'm so sorry.
The tower wobbles beneath her. Five freezes.
Five: Please don't fall.
The gnomes steady themselves and keep lifting her higher. After several tense minutes, Five finally reaches the enormous handle. Her fingers barely wrap around its edge.
Five: I have it!
The gnomes look up at her.
Gnomes: ...👍
Five pulls.
Nothing happens.
She shifts her grip and twists her whole body against the handle.
Five: Come on…
The mechanism groans. Slowly, the handle turns.
Five: It's opening!
The door moves a fraction of an inch. But the sudden movement makes the gnome tower sway, and Five feels the support vanish from under her feet.
Five: What—?
The gnomes collapse into a pile. Five drops, but her hands stay locked around the handle. She screams as her body swings above the floor.
Five: Help!
Under her weight, the door keeps slowly swinging open. Five kicks her legs, searching for something to stand on, but there's nothing beneath her.
The gnomes scramble back to their feet.
Five: Please hurry!
Her fingers are already starting to slip.
The gnomes look around desperately. Then several of them run off into the attic.
Five: Where are you going?!
She looks down at the ones still below her. They raise their hands, telling her to stay calm and hold on.
Gnome 1: ...✋
Gnome 2: ...🤏
Five: I'm trying!
A few moments later, the others come back dragging an enormous pillow. To Five, it looks more like a mattress. They struggle to pull it across the floor, one pushing from behind while the others drag from the front. Even the injured gnome helps, limping beside them.
Gnomes: ...🤲
Five's arms are shaking violently.
Five: I can't hold on much longer!
The pillow catches on a broken floorboard. The gnomes pull harder. Five feels one hand starting to slide.
Five: No, no…
She looks down. From up here, the floor looks much farther away.
Five: Please!
Her other hand slips closer to the edge. The gnomes finally free the pillow and shove it toward the door.
It's still too far away.
Five's eyes widen.
Five: HELP!
Her fingers give out.
Five falls.
The gnomes react instantly. One of them leaps onto the pillow while the others push with all their strength.
Gnomes: ...🫸
The pillow slides across the floor just as Five crashes down onto it.
WHUMP!
The pillow folds under her weight. For several seconds, Five lies there without moving. The gnomes surround her, staring with frightened faces. One of them reaches toward her.
Gnome 3: ...🫴
Five slowly raises one hand.
Five: I'm alive…
The gnomes visibly relax.
Gnomes: ...🙏
She tries to sit up, but pain tears through her body, and she falls back again. One of the gnomes fetches her cane and sets it beside her.
Gnome 4: ...🫴
Five: Thanks.
Five pushes herself up, grabs the edge of the pillow and tries to stand. Her foot slips. She rolls right off the pillow and lands face-first on the wooden floor.
The gnomes rush to her again.
Gnomes: ...🤲
Five slowly lifts her head.
Five: I'm still alive.
With their help, she manages to stand.
Behind them, the enormous door is open. Beyond it lies a vast, dark storage room. Towering boxes fill most of the space, with narrow paths running between them, and the ceiling rises more than twenty feet overhead.
Five points her flashlight inside.
Five: So that's what was behind it…
The gnomes gather around her feet. Before Five can ask what they're supposed to do next, they start waving goodbye.
Gnomes: ...👋
Five's face falls.
Five: Wait. You aren't coming with me?
The gnomes keep waving.
Gnomes: ...👋
Five: You brought me here just to leave me?
Gnome 1 points into the dark room.
Gnome 1: ...👉🚪
Five follows his finger with her eyes. There's no exit in sight. Only darkness and boxes.
She looks back at them.
Five: You could at least tell me what I'm looking for.
But the gnomes are already walking away. Gnome 7 stops and looks back over his shoulder.
Five lifts one hand.
Five: Be careful.
Gnome 7 raises a hand in farewell.
Gnome 7: ...👋
Then he follows the others into the attic. Five watches until all seven are gone.
Once again, she's alone.
She turns toward the storage room. The darkness seems thicker in there. Five tightens her grip on her cane and raises her flashlight.
Five: All right. Let's see where this goes.
She steps through the doorway.
The boxes are enormous. Some are twice her height. Others stretch almost to the ceiling. Thick layers of dust cover them, and faded labels are written across their sides in letters bigger than Five's whole body.
Five: These aren't boxes. They're buildings.
She squeezes through a narrow gap between two of them. Her flashlight flickers.
Five stops.
Five: Don't do that.
The light flickers again. Then it goes out.
Five takes one careful step forward and walks face-first into something solid.
Five: Ow!
The flashlight comes back on. Five is staring at a wall of brown cardboard. She rubs her nose.
Five: Of course.
She goes around the box and keeps moving deeper into the room. Eventually, the beam lands on a metal vent near the top of the far wall.
Five stares at it.
Five: That has to lead somewhere.
Several boxes are stacked beneath the vent, almost like a staircase. Unfortunately, each step is still several times taller than Five.
She walks up to the first box and presses both hands against it. There's nothing to hold on to.
Five: How am I supposed to climb this?
Her eyes search the floor. Not far away lies another piece of wood. It's shorter than her cane, but one end is sharp. Five picks it up and turns it over in her hands. Then she looks at her cane.
An idea forms.
Five: It probably won't work, but I don't have a better plan.
She drives the smaller stick into the side of the box, and the cardboard tears. She pushes the longer stick into a higher spot and makes a second hole. Using the holes as handholds and footholds, she starts to climb.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Every movement pulls at her sore muscles. Her hands shake, and her legs threaten to give out whenever she puts too much weight on them. Still, she keeps going.
At last, Five drags herself onto the top of the first box. She rolls onto her back, breathing hard.
Five: I made it…
Then she raises her head.
Three more enormous boxes stand between her and the vent.
Five stares at them in disbelief.
Five: You have to be kidding me.
She lies there for several seconds, silently hoping the boxes will somehow disappear.
They don't.
Five sits up.
Five: Fine.
She picks up both sticks.
Five: One box at a time.
For the next two hours, Five climbs. She stabs holes in the cardboard, pulls herself up, rests, and starts again. By the time she reaches the top of the third box, her arms feel numb.
She sits near the edge and looks back at the dark storage room far below. From up here, the giant door is barely visible.
Her legs feel better than before. She can walk now without them giving out right away, but jumping or landing badly still sends sharp pain through her body.
Only one box is left.
Five stands up and walks over to it. The vent waits just above its top.
Five: This is the last one.
She forces the long stick into the cardboard.
A quiet crack comes from the wood.
Five stops and looks at it. A split has appeared near the middle.
Five: No…
She keeps climbing, faster now. The stick creaks every time she puts her weight on it. She's almost at the top. Just a little higher.
She reaches up with the smaller stick while pushing herself up with the longer one.
CRACK!
The long stick snaps in half, and the broken piece tumbles into the darkness below.
Five: Ah!
She slams the smaller stick into the cardboard and catches herself with both hands.
For a moment, she just hangs there, her feet kicking uselessly against the side of the box. She tries to pull herself up, but her arms don't have enough strength left.
The smaller stick bends a little.
Five stares at it.
Five: If you break too, I'm dead.
She looks down. The top of the third box is several feet below her. A fall from that high might not kill her, but with her injuries, it could leave her unable to move.
Five takes a shaky breath and tightens her grip.
Five: I only need to reach the top.
She starts swinging her body from side to side. At first, the movement is small. Then it grows wider.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Her legs rise higher with every swing. Pain shoots through them, but Five ignores it.
When she has built up enough momentum, she twists her body and lets go of the stick.
For a second, she spins through the air.
Once.
Twice.
Five reaches for the top of the box. Her fingers catch the edge. She hauls herself over—
And crashes face-first onto the cardboard.
Everything goes black.
(Scene change)
When Five opens her eyes again, she's lying on her stomach. The flashlight rests nearby, somehow still on.
She slowly pushes herself up.
Something feels different.
Five stands. Her legs don't give out. She bends one knee. Then the other.
There's no pain.
Five gives a small jump and lands without any trouble.
Five (Thinking): It doesn't hurt anymore…
She touches the cut on her forehead. The blood has dried, but the wound is still there. So are her bruises.
Yet her legs have completely healed.
Five: That's strange.
She looks around, half expecting an explanation to appear.
Nothing happens.
The vent is only a few steps away. Five walks up to it and grips the metal grate with both hands. After struggling with it for a while, she manages to pull it open.
A dark passage waits on the other side. The vent is enormous, big enough for Five to stand inside without lowering her head. To her, it looks less like part of a ventilation system and more like the entrance to a cave.
Five climbs in. The metal floor is cold under her boots.
She raises her flashlight and starts walking. The tunnel goes on farther than the beam can reach, and her footsteps echo all around her. She walks slowly, listening for any movement ahead.
After several minutes, the light falls on a small shape sitting against the wall.
Five stops. At first, she thinks it's another gnome.
Five: Hello?
The figure doesn't move.
Five steps closer.
Five: Are you hurt?
Still no answer.
She moves closer.
Then she sees the bones.
Five covers her mouth.
The gnome died sitting against the wall. All that's left of him is a skeleton under an old pointed hat. From the way he's slumped there, with nothing at all around him, Five guesses that he starved. Maybe he got lost in these tunnels and never found his way out.
Her eyes fill with tears.
Five: Oh…
She kneels down beside him. She doesn't know his name. She doesn't know how long he's been here. But she bows her head anyway.
Five: I'm sorry no one found you.
For a moment, she stays there in silence.
Then her flashlight lands on a bundle of folded papers near his hand. Five hesitates before she picks them up.
Five: I hope you don't mind.
She unfolds the first page. Lines and symbols cover it: rooms, hallways, vents and staircases, all drawn in careful detail.
It's a map.
Five looks at the second page. Then the third. Each one shows a different part of the mansion.
She counts them.
Five: Sixteen… seventeen…
Her expression slowly changes.
Five: Eighteen.
There's one map for every floor.
Five stares at the pages in her hands. Then she looks into the endless darkness ahead.
Five: This place has eighteen floors?!
Her voice echoes down the tunnel. Her shoulders drop.
Five: You have got to be kidding me.
She holds the maps against her chest and looks back the way she came. The attic is somewhere far behind her. The ocean is somewhere beyond the walls. And the only way forward leads deeper into the mansion.
Five takes a long breath.
Five: How am I ever supposed to get out of here?
Far ahead in the darkness, something moves.
Five doesn't notice.