Night 2, Continued

(Afton's POV)

"No no, wait!" I yelled, shouting into the hand unit like a dying walkie-talkie. I really didn't know what I expected, the hand unit never spoke back to me, why would it now? Everything was dead quiet, and I hated it. Until I heard the faintest sound. Every sound seemed to be magnified when the rest of the world around is quiet. Listening. It was a whirring sound, echoing off the walls. I immediately wished for the silence to return, as uneasy as it was. Then, I heard something in the vent. The very vent I crawl through. I froze in place. Whatever it was, it could be as big as I was if it could fit in the vent shaft! Then I heard her.

"I recognize you, but you must be new. I remember this... scenario, however." My daughter's voice mixed with machine filled the module.  My body went stiff as she spoke again. 

"It's a strange thing to want to do. To come here. I'm curious, what events would lead a person to want to spend their nights in a place like this. Willingly. Maybe curiosity? Maybe ignorance?" Did she not know she had died? My eyes watered, even though I knew she was only speaking from Baby. The pounding in the vents was only getting louder. 

"There is a space under the desk; someone else before you crafted it into a hiding place, and it worked for him. You will be safe there; just try not to make eye contact. It will be over soon. They will lose interest." She was helping me! I crawled under the desk and pulled a scraped up piece of metal over the front of the desk. It was handcrafted to go there. Perfect if it wasn't for all of the holes in the metal.

"Hello in there." A soft sing-song voice called out to me from outside my hiding place. I cringed as I imagined what could possibly be outside. I looked through the holes in the metal sheet to see if I could catch a glimpse of what I was hiding from. Instead, I saw a blue eye staring right into my own eye. I immediately drew back, making as little noise as possible.

"Someone's inside!" the voice whispered. I stopped moving, stopped breathing, but they knew I was there. It was too late, I had been seen.

"Is it the same person?" Still, it was in whispers. Who was it talking to? Was there more than one of it?

"Knock knock." the voice chimed, then I noticed that my panel was sliding away. Whatever was out there was trying to get in! There was no way I was going to let them inside! I grabbed the edge and pulled back as hard as I could. Whoever was on the other side was strong! I repositioned my hands then pulled again, throwing all of my weight backward. It slid back into place, and the thing on the other side had stopped pulling.

"We always find a way inside" it whispered, almost hissing. I heard it climb on top of the desk and seemingly walk around up there. It then banged its fist against the top. I tried to calm myself, but I was shaking uncontrollably.

"She's watching us!" A harsher whisper than before. It almost sounded worried. Who was 'she'? Was it Baby? Then my brain began to think. What if there was an animatronic outside? I got light-headed and scooted away from the metal plate that separated me from whatever was out there.

"We will see you again soon!" it whispered to me, its voice devoid of worry and replaced with the same voice that spoke to me when it first entered. Sweet, like a little, innocent child. It once again, looked through the panel to reveal its eye, the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. I shivered and backed away even further until my back was against the other side of the desk. I heard the lightest possible footsteps slowly heading away from me. I breathed a sigh of relief until, once again, I heard her voice all around me again.

"When your guide comes back online, he's going to tell you that he was unsuccessful. That you must restart the system manually. He will then tell you to crawl through Ballora Gallery as fast as you can to reach the Breaker Room. If you follow these instructions, you will die." Why would I die? What was so dangerous about Ballora Gallery. Then it hit me. Ballora... 

"Ballora will not return to her stage anymore. She will catch you. Catch me? Did Becca really want to kill me? That was a stupid question, why wouldn't she? Payback.

"The power will be restored shortly. When you crawl through Ballora Gallery, go slowly. She cannot see you, and can only listen for your movement. When you hear her music become louder, she is growing near, listening for you. Wait, and be still." Did she know it was me? She had to know. But Becca... She truly wanted to kill me. So she could be released. She didn't want to be here anymore, and I couldn't really blame her. I was now afraid of her before I had been her friend and even loved her as a treasured employee. The lights then flickered on, and my hand unit screen lit up. 

"Thank you for your patience. It seems that the power system cannot be restarted automatically. You will need to restart the power system manually. Please return to the primary control module." My mouth hung open. She had told me the truth! Now I knew what to do at least. I crawled through the vent again, like he had said. Once I was back, it spoke to me. 

"You will now be required to crawl through Ballora Gallery using the vent to your left to reach the Breaker Room. It is recommended that you stay low to the ground, and reach the other side as fat as possible, so not to disturb Ballora. I will deactivate myself momentarily, as to not create an auditory disturbance. Deactivating." He had said everything she said it would. It was almost crazy. I didn't want to go inside there, to be that close to her, to what I created to kill her, but I had no choice. I heard the click of the vent unlock, and the vent door swing towards me.

I began to crawl through.

Continued in the next chapter...