Mikey should've been depressed.
Everyone else in the village was. They all had nothing to do, nowhere else to go. They didn't even know who they used to be, or if they were anyone else at all. But, on the bright side, the Ink Demon would never find them there. Hopefully.
The only way out of the village that anyone knew of was the huge, gaping tunnel on the other side of the inky lake. No one knew what was down there, and I don't think anyone would've been willing to find out. If any one of the Lost Ones or Searchers touched the ink in that lake, they'd be done for.
Mikey, a Searcher, should've been depressed, like everybody else. But, somehow, he wasn't. Somehow, he had this feeling inside that his Lost One friend, Jake, called 'hope'. But hope for what? Not being reduced to a puddle by the Ink Demon? Or something better than that?
He didn't know if it was night or day (no one really knew) when he decided to see what was beyond the gate next to the boarded-up doorway on the other side of the village, which had the words 'Not Monsters' written in ink above it. He managed to slide underneath the small crack of space beneath the chained-up doors, and carefully make his way across the floorboards suspended over darkness.
He then turned a corner at the end of the hall, and found a large, wooden writing desk. A large cardboard cutout of a smiling cartoon demon was propped up against a wall. On the desk was a large, rolled up piece of paper.
Mikey climbed onto a wooden chair, and picked up the paper, careful not to let his inky fingers soak through the sheet. He unrolled it on the desk, and saw what looked like the layout of a building. In one corner, the words 'Joey Drew Studios' was written in a fancy font. Mikey saw the same smiling demon's face in many of the rooms on the paper. The layout looked like it was drawn a long time ago, but as he kept looking, he saw that another portion of the building was drawn messily in ink. The scribbles went farther and farther down the right side of the sheet until they led to a machine-like structure called the Ink Demon's Lair.
A couple inches from that was a drawing of the village.
Mikey was shocked. Fear started to bubble up in his inky chest. How could he not have known that the Ink Demon was so dang close? Did he know that he and his friends were there? When would he be coming for them? Where could they escape to in time if he did?
A small word at the top left of the paper soon caught Mikey's eye. It was on the original sketch, near a small opening at the end of a hall.
'Exit'.
Mikey blinked in disbelief. Exit. That could be just what they needed to escape the Ink Demon for good. It looked like it would take a while to get there, though, and he didn't know what might be lurking on the way. Maybe the Ink Demon himself.
But he had to at least try. He was going to find a safe route to Exit, or get really lost trying. And hopefully not die.
But he didn't want to go alone. Luckily, he knew just who to ask.
Robin, another Searcher, sat dangerously close to the edge of the roof, and adjusted her helmet. She tried to use her helmet's light to see what was in that tunnel, what the darkness and ink was trying to hide. But the light couldn't penetrate the faraway dark.
Robin sighed and turned the light off. This was the closest to the tunnel she had ever been, and yet she still couldn't shine her light down that dang hole. She slid past the fishing Lost One (as if he could catch anything down there) and made her way back to the ground. She looked around the village/sanctuary, and saw several Lost Ones and even more Searchers either standing silently in groups, or quietly chatting to each other. For some unlucky folks, writing on the walls was the only way they could ever be heard.
"Robin!" A voice rang out in the direction of the Not Monsters wall. Robin turned, and saw a Mikey quickly sliding towards her, eagerly waving a rolled up piece of paper in his hand.
Now, whenever Robin saw Mikey, she felt something strange. Something that made whatever was in her chest skip a beat whenever she thought about him. She had told a Lost One about it, since they knew more about emotions than the Searchers, and she said that it was something called 'love'. But what was love? Would she ever find out?
"Robin Robin Robin Robin!" Mikey shouted excitedly, slowing down in front of her as that skipping feeling came back into her chest. "You won't believe what I just found! So, I was in that little hallway beyond the chained gate, when - "
"Wait a minute," Robin said, holding up her hand to pause Mikey's words, "you went past the gate? I hate to be mean about this, but it's chained up for a reason, Mike!"
"First of all, it's Mikey, not Mike," he continued, "and second, I just wanted to see what was down there, if there was really a reason to lock it up. And the answer to that is a yes and a no."
Robin frowned. "What do you mean?" She asked.
Mikey placed the paper onto the ground and unrolled it, revealing a neatly drawn building, and a bunch of messily drawn ones.
"What is it?" She asked.
"It's some kind of map," Mikey explained. "I found it behind the gate. See, there's our village right here. And there are places called Heavenly Toys, the Music Department, Bendy Hell, and Joey Drew Studios, probably beyond the tunnel!"
Robin looked at the tunnel once more in awe. "So that's what's down there," she murmured, and turned back to Mikey. "Who's Bendy? And Joey Drew?"
"No idea," he said, "but look! Look at this!" He pointed to a word near the top of the map, 'Exit'.
"It's just a word."
"What? Robin, this is so much more than a word! This could be our only chance to escape the Ink Demon before he gets here and reduces us all to puddles!"
"Now, what makes you think that the Ink Demon will ever find this place? We're perfectly safe."
"I don't think so," Mikey replied, and pointed to a weird drawing of a box with a nose. When Robin read what it was called, whatever was in her chest sank.
"The Ink Demon?" She asked fearfully. "He's near? He's close? Oh, what are we gonna do?!"
"Well, I want to go find a safe route to the Exit place before the Ink Demon finds us all here," Mikey replied, " and then get everyone out through that route. But the thing is, I have no idea what could be out the beyond the tunnel, or what could happen. So...will you come with me?"
"What? M-me?" Robin stuttered. "Why?"
"Because I don't want to be alone out there. I want someone to see whatever colossal wonders are waiting beyond that tunnel with me. If there is a way out of whatever this place really is...I want someone to find it with me."
The skipping in the big Searcher's chest grew more rapid. Secretly, she wanted to go with Mikey because she didn't want anything bad happening to him. She didn't want to lose him, specifically not to the Ink Demon. Especially because he had no idea how she really felt about him. Once they were out there, she'd protect him with her life.
"Alright," she said after a full thirty seconds of silence, "I'm in."
Mikey made an adorable squeal of excitement. "Yes! I bet together, we'll find Exit in no time!"
"Yeah, but first, if we're gonna do this, we're gonna need some supplies. Food, weapons, whatever we might need."
"You're right, you're right," Mikey said, unable to contain his excitement. "Maybe Jake knows where to get those. Wouldn't hurt to ask, right?"
"JAKE! HEY, JAKE!" Mikey's voice rose up beneath Jake. He was up on a roof, trying to get some shut-eye, seeing as how there was nothing else to do. Except curling up on the ground, trying not to cry, and then crying a lot.
He groaned and turned onto his side, hoping to ignore Mikey's obnoxious shouting. No such luck. "JAKE! I know you're up there. We need your help! Come on, buddy! Chum! Pal! Friend! JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE-A-BOY!"
"Ugh, alright, I'm coming," Jake called out, slowly getting to his feet. Jake hated it when Mikey called him 'Jake-a-Boy', and he knew it. He trudged across the roof and slid down the ladder on the building's side, then trotted over to Mikey and Robin.
"You know, Mikey, you could've just gotten up onto the roof instead of making me come all the way down here," he said.
"Neither of us have legs," Robin pointed out. "We couldn't even if we wanted to."
"Oh. Right."
"Do you know where we can get any supplies by any chance, Jake?" Mikey asked. "Or if there's anyone in the village who could get us some?"
"Supplies?" Jake replied, raising a nonexistent eyebrow. "Supplies for what?"
"Okay, listen to this," Mikey said excitedly, "I was seeing if there was anything beyond that gate over there, and I found this!" Mikey handed the map to Jake, who unrolled it and looked over it carefully. "This could be our only chance to find out who we used to be, before the Ink Demon, and to escape him for good!"
Jake looked down at the small Searcher and squinted in suspicion. "How do you know if this isn't just a trap set up by the Ink Demon to lure us out?"
Mikey opened his mouth to say something, but then looked at the ground. He obviously hadn't thought about that.
"Whatever it is," Robin spoke up, "it wouldn't hurt to at least go and find out. If it's a trap, then it's a trap. If it really is a way out of...whatever this place is, then let's hope for that. I'm going with Mikey, and unless you want to die at the hands of the Ink Demon, if and when he finds this place, then be my guest, Jake. Or you could come with us, and see what this map leads to for yourself."
Jake had no idea who this bigger Searcher was. But he could tell that she really cared about Mikey, and he was touched by that. Jake had said what he said because he was afraid of where the map would go; he just wanted to protect Mikey. But if anything happened to either of the Searchers, and he wasn't there to help them, he'd never live with himself.
"...Well," he said, handing the map back to Mikey, "I GUESS it wouldn't be THAT bad to go out there. And if the Ink Demon comes for us, I'll help fight him off. I think the last time I saw anyone with a weapon was when that Sammy guy came to the vi - "
Mikey rushed forward and hugged Jake's legs tightly before he could finish his sentence. He squealed in delight. "I hoped you'd come because you and Robin are my closest friends, and I want us all to get to Exit together, and - "
"Okay, okay," Jake said, gently pushing Mikey off and chuckling. "Calm down, little guy. Now, I think Lacie might have a couple supplies on her. I'll be back in...when do you think we should go?"
"Maybe...two hours?" Robin suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Mikey agreed.
"Alright. You guys meet me at the dock then. I have the perfect way to get down the tunnel," Jake said, and was off.
Two hours later, Robin and Mikey had said goodbye to the other friends they might've had, and they wished them the best of luck. When they went to the dock to meet Jake, he had a big backpack on his...back, and a rolled up bundle on top of that. Floating in the inky lake and tied to a post was a small rowboat, just big enough for the three ink creatures.
"Got everything," Jake said. "Bacon soup, which was all Lacie had, a couple axes, a lantern, and some very personal items I couldn't stand to leave behind. You guys ready to go?"
Mikey took a look around the village. This might've been the last time he'd ever see it. He quickly and silently prayed to whatever creator there was that everyone would be okay, that the Ink Demon wouldn't find them anytime soon. He turned back around when he was done.
"Yeah," he said. "We're ready."
He and Robin helped each other climb down into the boat, shortly followed by Jake. Jake then untied the rope connecting the boat to the dock, picked up two huge oars, and started to row the boat toward the mouth of the tunnel.
The trio kept their eyes on the receding village, where most of its inhabitants were looking back at them, saying nothing. They either knew that the Ink Demon would hunt them down as soon as he knew they were out there, or hoped as much as they did that they would find a way out.
Soon, the village was out of sight, and the trio was floating farther and farther down the dark, inky tunnel.