Chapter 17: The Green Band

The lights curved counterclockwise with the flow of traffic. Each colorful car one behind another going to the owner's desired destination. I didn't feel how cold it was nor the ground beneath me. My eyes slowly scanned the atmosphere around me, some spots hidden by even darker shades of shadows. The street never had a break in the circulation of traffic unless one turned right off onto another street or a parking area.

"Hey, where are you?" My voice echoed about me, staying at a different sound tone than the voices of the humans I saw around me. The girl was gone.

Why do I still refer to her as that?

"Melissa!"

Everything in my head hurt. All of my being felt like it was being ripped to shreds in the cause of losing her. I can't stay in this place alone. I don't belong her-

"Sissy!" A gleeful squeal interrupted my thoughts. My head turned towards the sound, not understanding why I was inclined to respond. A young boy was following this older girl, the two laughing as they stomped down the sidewalk. The girl's short golden hair swayed back and forth as the little boy's arms were held high above his head as he attempted a growl with his high pitched vocal chords.

I couldn't help but smile. Memories flooded my mind: memories of Sam and I going throughout the house trampling the foam blocks from a fort previously standing, the foam darts shot at one another, and the races the two of us and our siblings would compete in throughout the summer.

My hands gently shook as old memories soon passed. My eyes looked across at the buildings that towered above me, the dull, sun-strained paint shimmered briskly with the dying ultraviolet light of the sunset. My feet moved below me as the recognizable building slowly moved in my direction.

Funtime Arcade

The sign glowed an iridescent color. The lavender-gray and aquamarine twisted with one another in such beauty that it was surprising that it dramatically contrasted with the Freddy Fazbear's red and gold. My head slightly tilted, forgetting for the split moment that I wasn't actually there when my body passed through the door.

My eyes flickered through the space. I recognized the front, it full of random arcade games and the weirdest forms of entertainment.

Children darted to and from the separate stages, dancing along with the pop music flowing through the speakers. The sweet smell of caramel, chocolate, and assorted fruits floated about the dining area as the smell of greasy fries, chicken, and pizza began to take over. I sighed softly, distracted by all the familiar things.

I need to find Melissa. She understands this place more than I ever could. She brought me here.

"Irene, I wish Garroth was here..." I sighed as I walked around.

The Marionette looked to and fro, a sweet, kind voice pre-recorded with simple but effective commands.

"Parents, do not fear! Your children will be safe with me as Security!" Its white dotted eyes in a black abyss went to one child after another, the color of the wrist bands first flashing on it's white striped arms.

I recognized this as Henry's doing. He was always paranoid after an incident with me that he feared would also happen to his daughter. The system was as simple as it was told: each child has a band on their wrist, so when close to any exit a security system would alert the marionette, which in turn would move to help.

One child was giggling and moving to the doors. A rose color flashed to the marionette. The stiff mechanical body came to life, joints moving up into a standing position before stepping outside of its purple-white box. The animatronic swiftly moved like a human to the child, a gentle grab at her wrist. She looked up to see who had grabbed her, a little smile beaming across her face.

The marionette didn't move its eternal smile, but a kind voice ensued as she carefully led the child back to the main area, "It's dangerous to leave without mom or dad."

It felt artificial but the voice still held at least a small amount of comfort. One of my own mother who knew what was best for me.

That's a feature only a parent could make sure to include when dealing with children. A sense of love and especially of protection.

The room became louder as the Marionette went back to its resting place. The box lid came down as the little glow of bands softly flashed to black. I softly sighed as I continued on, looking towards more children.

"If I follow the pattern she normally does, then I can find her." My eyes scanned the area with only a glance at each child's face. Which one looks like Henry... Why would she mention Henry if it wasn't for a reason?

To my dismay, no one was recognizable to me in the first three party rooms. Henry wasn't anywhere, even in the office.

"(y/n)! Over here please." My head darted to face the last party room.

"D-Dad?" My steps hastened, breaking into a run before the wall vanished through to behind me.

A slightly younger girl was in front of him. Her (h/l) (h/c) hair was pulled behind her shoulders, swinging swiftly back and forth. My eyes watched her intently as she ran to her father, jumping off of the floor and into his arms.

"Hello there, sweetpea." Dad smiled, holding onto the girl with strong arms and omnipotent love. I walked slowly over to them, seeing the girl's eyes. Her (e/c) eyes were full of light and amazement. She looked to the stage before smiling again, her neon yellow band securely on her wrist. Dad soon put her back down as he walked with her to the filled stage, the kind, fuzzed fox was sitting on a chair, kids gathered 'round.

"Ahoy mateys! Ready to hear of the day Bonnie and I sailed with the captain of the English queen?" Foxy's voice sounded slightly robotic but not so much that it was terrifying. It had the croak of a pirate who spent one too many days breathing the sea air. It made me smile again as I remembered those days that I was so young and saw the world as a new adventure.

Sometimes those days were filled with believing I could command a group of my own.

"Hey!" A loud boy yelled. My head jerked to the door, my head tilted softly, questioning why there was such a shout.

No one else seemed to move, all just engulfed in their own affairs. My own child's head looked to the door but looked at my father before turning back to Foxy. He wasn't worried. I guess that I thought it would be okay.

I softly jogged out of the room, the jog turning into a run, until it was a full sprint. My feet tried to skid to a stop before I would hit a rack before I tripped, simply falling through and landing on the ground. The ground still made an impact, which my body slammed into, going black for even just a moment.

The wraps on my arms bled. I frowned, the stinging pain was lingering on longer than normal. I looked around before seeing three boys altogether, lifting a wooden box on the marionette's. The robot struggled under the weight before the box shut. The boys laughed before turning over their right shoulders.

A little girl, around the same age as I was in this time, was standing there. Her eyes faltered between the people in front of her and the party rooms. She suddenly lunged at the open direction, only to be grabbed by the boys surrounding her. The room for absolutely no reason was empty of anyone other than the four. The girl kicked and squirmed, wiggling free of the boy holding her hostage. The other two blocked the other way, the girl beginning to back up towards the door.

The marionette hit the top of the box, trying to get out. A slit in the box formed, the vibrant green light flashed, very quick and very bright. I wanted to grab the boys. I wanted to help the girl. She had her back to the exit door, her eyes flashed between the boys. Her long, wavy raven hair fell out of the pony tail, her silver eyes were bright against the pink background. Tears continued to slip down her face.

One boy lunged at her, making the door open and the girl tumble out. He laughed, slamming the door behind her.

My eyes looked to the box again. The red color of an alarm was starting to flash along with the green as the boys barcaded the door, keeping the girl from coming back in. They began walking away, the girl jumping up and down by the window, looking in.

I backed up into the outside. I looked at the girl. Her knees were red from the scrape of her fall. She wasn't crying, but was looking in miserably, scared.

Rain softly poured around. It was soft, gentle, not fitting with the scene that just unfolded.

A pair of headlights appeared over down the alley. She didn't flinch at first as she was leaned on the windowsill. Once the headlights gleamed over her, her head turned, hand still attached to the wall as she leaned to look over.

My eyes focused on the figure in the car. Their hat cast a shadow down on their face, I couldn't see.

The door opened and the girl jumped back. My eyes moved between the two before I was backing up with her, trying to see the figure's face. I couldn't see but the body structure of their shoulders showed masculinity. He had his hand by his belt, a knife held fast in his grip. The black suit he was clothed in had drops of water clinging to it, not sliding down until more collided. The dark violet shirt under stood as the backdrop to the light gray tie. His teeth glistened under any type of light, even the disappearing light of the arcade.

She screamed as he lunged at her, knocking her down to the ground as she struggled to break loose.

"No! STOP!" My useless screams echoed, my body lunging to grab him but only went through his.

Five times. Five swings. Five sounds of flesh splitting sickened me. I couldn't do anything to stop this. She screamed and cried, her arms helplessly flailing around before she was too weak to move. He slowly stood, his hat laid on the ground.

I screamed, seeing the face of the man. I couldn't get a grip on the ground as I crawled back on my hands.

He picked up the hat, slowly making his way back to the vehicle that had previously come.

The door opened, the black and white arm of the marionette led the rest of the body of the marionette. It moved fast before the first drops of rain hit it. It continued to move, struggling as it slowly began to collapse to the ground. It crawled on the ends of the arms and the bent joint of the knees. By the time it reached the garbage bin she was behind it dragged itself on the joints of the arms, collapsing next to the body of the girl.

Tears built up in my eyes as my realization grew. I couldn't do anything to help. I never did anything. Never answered the shout. And my father never answered either...

The girl's body stopped expanding and contracting, arms fell, legs relaxed. The marionette laid beside her, the green pulsing of the white it owned stopped. A minute later, it rested, mechanical parts soaked through to never work again.

"N-No..." I whimpered.

"You're on your own from this point on, (y/n)..." Melissa's voice came from in front of me, behind, every way it could have.

"No, no no no i can't do that, Melissa!" I screamed, shooting around to find her. My eyes went blurry from movement.

A burning sensation filled my head. Soon my whole body ached and burned.

"Where are you Melissa...!" I cried, stumbling until I realized I stood above the girl's body.

"I'm right in front of you..."

My throat clogged as everything went dark.

"MELISSA!"