Chapter 17: Deep Sleep

Through the dark we traveled, going to Home Sweet Home. Now, we've seen screenshots regarding the place, and now, looking at it up close, it was... kinda creepy. Especially when it's shrouded in darkness. While Charlotte went to retrieve the key Ollie sent, I went to Home Sweet Home. "I got the key! Wait for me!!" Charlotte called.

I turned and saw her running to me, the key jingling in her hand. "Now let's unlock the orphanage doors and get the backup generator on," PJ said from the earpiece.

Charlotte inserted the key, unlocking the door. We walked in, going downstairs. I like the wallpaper inside this place. And the floor is still in good shape. I don't know how, but it's nice. But toys were hanging from the ceiling. "Ugh... I still wanna know who did this," Charlotte muttered, looking at the poor CatBee toy.

"Dunno," I said.

Opening the door in front of us, we were met with a shit-ton of red gas. When we opened our eyes, our GrabPacks weren't there. I couldn't hear our Game Station friends. Our fanny packs weren't clasped to our waists. But hey, I still had my phone. Charlotte stumbled around, getting caught in my arms. "Alright then– uh... Where are we? And what happened to our stuff??" she asked.

I shrugged, guiding her down some more stairs, and now we had to walk down a super long hallway. But when we got to the end, there was a message written on the wood; "Happy and Fun Why was it Done?" I shuddered and turned my attention to some kind of radio. Beside it was a child's photo. "That's weird– Ooh. We go this way," Charlotte said, pulling me to the right.

We kept going, but then something flashed; like lights. "Tragic news this morning. At 9:45 AM, local authorities report that the body of a young boy had been found on the estate of the late Elliot Ludwig, an esteemed toy maker and originator of the Playtime Company. At this time, an identity for the child awaits further confirmation. Found in an upstairs bedroom in a large duffle bag, officers on-scene report that the remains appeared to have been disturbed. Organs as well as key bones from the skeletal structure were reported missing from the body. It is unknown at this time whether this extraction was, in fact, the cause of death."

Static.

Charlotte and I were flabbergasted. So this was what happened to kids that got experimented on like Marie Payne and Theodore Grambell. As we kept wandering around, another news report played. "Following recent events, Playtime Co. was asked for any comment regarding the discovery. This is what they had to say, quote; 'It's sickening. Elliot Ludwig was a great man, and those who knew him understood that he was not capable of violence, let alone what others now claim. He had a deep love in his heart for children like this one, making the actions of whoever planted the body all the more sick. We look forward to clearing his good name, both in the public eye and the eyes of the law.' STAY TUNED FOR MORE."

Static.

Again, we were left shocked. We walked by a room with a red phone and a picture of a little girl. That's when Ollie's voice played, even though we didn't have the phone with us. "YOU NEED TO RUN."

Turning, I almost jumped out of my skin, and so did Charlotte. Catnap was looking at us before slinking away. Exiting the room, Catnap was gone. "Lord..." I breathed.

Charlotte came beside me as we made our way down another dimly lit hallway, hearing something else. "Despite Playtime's proclamation of Ludwig's innocence, many believe his reclusive and mysterious nature displayed over the previous decades lends suspicion to this claim. When questioned, Ludwig's neighbors indicated that he would often return to his home at strange hours in the night, and depart again before sunrise. Some believed he was sick, others, that– DON'T MOVE. DON'T MOVE AN INCH. Playtime Co., it seems, intends to keep Elliot's name within its brand regardless. What is sure to be a long legal battle will follow."

Static.

"Exit... Where's the exit..." Charlotte gasped, holding a hand over her heart.

Not in the pledge of allegiance way, but in the "I'm scared shitless" way. With every hall we walked down and every corner we turned, the lights flashed. But that's when we saw another radio, but the audio emitting from the radio seemed to be... in reverse... On the floor, the words "IT HAUNTS YOU" were written. And from there, we walked in circles. By the 5th time, the hallway continued. And after more wandering, we came to a room with a TV and a Huggy Wuggy cardboard cutout. On the wall near the TV was the same question; "Happy and Fun Why was it Done?" "Hey, look at that. A TV with an oddly suspicious VHS tape," Charlotte said, holding it.

She sat on an infirmary bed, her legs dangling from it. She then got up and went to the TV. I walked to stand beside her, watching as she put the tape in. The TV then showed a black background with Huggy's head on it. "Greetings, Employees, and welcome to your first day here in Playtime! We're certain that in the days to come you'll find your new family here every bit as loving and supportive as your own," the person's voice said.

"Bullshit. We're not workers," I commented.

"Feel free to wander the halls! Sit in the mess for lunch! Or watch our children play and learn to their little heart's content. Join the Innovationists, where the bounds of science are continuously pushed. Or join the Counselors of Playcare, whose diligence and care for our children will help shape a brighter future, just you see. Now, every one of you has your part in that future, so should you come back tomorrow feeling unhappy for where you are, or what you've done... worry not, for your supervisor is here and happy to listen!" the voice continued.

Charlotte and I looked at each other, arching an eyebrow. "And... should you come back..."

Our attention turned to the TV as Huggy's face began to fade. "... years later... your conscience finally getting the better of you. May you descend into the dark and the dust, finding that all that awaits you are incomprehensible horrors..."

The quote from the trailer! We watched in shock as a terrifying Huggy face came up; his eyes black and void-like, his mouth elongated and filled with sharp teeth. "... each hungry for your return, each eager that they might find you. Perhaps they'd smile at you from a shadow, their smiling mouths filled with teeth and meat and plastic, watching and waiting patiently for their turn at a warm welcome," the voice said.

His voice was darker. It was kinda scary. No, scratch that; very scary. I trembled and slowly began to back up, Charlotte holding my hand. "Or perhaps they won't allow you such time to figure your place in the world you'd left. A world that's theirs now. Welcome home."

Right then, a nightmarish version of Huggy Wuggy climbed out of the TV. "NOT THE GIRL FROM THE RING!!!" I cried.

Charlotte yelled as we both tried running for the exit, having to witness such a monstrosity. But then the unthinkable happened. Huggy caught up to us, grabbing us with his long-ass hands. With a mighty screech, his mouth unfolding to reveal rows of sharp teeth, both of us were plunged into darkness.

...

We woke up. We weren't in the room with Huggy anymore. "So it was all a hallucination?! Are we having some fucking PTSD?! Are we tripping balls?!" I exclaimed.

"Most likely," Charlotte replied with a worried giggle.

That's what happens when we inhale the gas, I guess. It's not like the Smiling Critters cartoon on YouTube where we're laughing and then we die. Nuh-uh. Looking around, Charlotte and I happened to be in a room with a fireplace, chair, and some pictures. But I walked forth, opening the door to see a lobby. Fake clouds were hanging from the ceiling and a chandelier with a moon. There was a cardboard cutout of Mommy Long Legs, and across from her was one of Daddy Long Legs. "Hey, Charlotte? Virginia? Are you there??"

Bunzo's voice came through the earpiece, and I've never felt happier to hear him. "Yeah, we're here. We just got attacked by red gas, hallucinated, and we learned about some stuff that Playtime was trying to hide," I replied.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOHHH–" Bunzo said, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Before he could get the next thing out, he was tackled. "SPILL IT WHEN YOU GIRLS GET A CHANCE!!!" PJ exclaimed.

We agreed to it and went through the orphanage a little bit more, but I stopped. "Holy shit. Charlotte, I found the gas mask! Two of them," I said, holding them up.

She quickly came to my side as we put them on, checking if they fit. And thankfully, it wasn't too small or big. It was perfect. And speaking of which; there was an area with red smoke; perfect chance to try it out, if you ask me. Charlotte and I dropped down to the area, putting our gas masks on. Charlotte pulled a wind-up thing on a car, watching as it drove away, crashing into a wall. "Hey, look below you," one of the Huggies said.

Below us was a purple pad. We used it together, jumping to a floor with no red gas. Soon, we found a VHS tape, and long story short, it was a scientist experimentation log that got interrupted by a child. He asked the scientist if his friend, Kevin, was sick and why he took him away. The scientist lied to him, saying that Kevin was very sick and that when he saw him again, Kevin would be better than ever. Then there was static. "Again, that's a bunch of bullshit. ... But, thinking about it, I wanna know what toy Kevin got turned into," I said.

Well, we should wait for someone to make a theory video about it.

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