Joey Drew Studios, Brooklyn, New York City, June 11, 2018.
I let out a groan as I regained consciousness, and I opened my eyes.
"Ugh...my fucking head...what the hell happened?" I mumbled while my ears were ringing.
As I slowly stood up, I saw the axe propped up on one of the coffins, and I picked it up. While I headed to the boarded up door and started chopping away, I thought about what had just happened and the visions I had seen in my mind.
"The Ink Machine, a wheelchair, and that fucked version of Bendy. Why did those images appear? It's like it was a warning of some kind," I thought as I chopped down the last board and went through the door to find myself in a hallway that led to a staircase leading down. Walking down the steps, I entered a section called Utility Shaft 9 and saw a shelf that had a small painting of Bendy, lit candles, bowls with an unknown substance in them, and graffiti that said 'He will set us free'. The whole thing looked like a peace offering for some kind of ritual.
"What the hell? Did somebody worship Bendy or something? Looks like someone had lost their fucking mind down here," I thought as I looked to the right and saw two more coffins against a wall.
Wanting to keep moving, I moved into a large room and I spotted a tape recorder to my right that had the name Sammy Lawrence on it. I decided to listen to it, seeking any information that might be helpful. I pushed play and a calm peaceful male voice spoke.
"He appears from the shadows to rain his sweet blessings upon me, the figure of ink that shines in the darkness. I see you my savior, I pray you hear me. Those old songs...yes, I still sing them. For I know you are coming to save me, and I will be swept into your final loving embrace, but love requires sacrifice. Can I get an amen?" Sammy asked, then the tape stopped playing.
"Um...how about fuck no, you crazy bastard," I stated, staring at the recorder warily and feeling disturbed at the man's clearly insane ramblings, wondering what had happened to drive the poor bastard into the deep end.
"I said, can I get an Amen?" Sammy's voice rang out behind me suddenly.
"Shit!" I yelped as I quickly turned around, raising the axe, but I didn't see anyone.
"Jesus, I know I heard someone behind me...where the hell did he go, and how did he leave so fast without me hearing any footsteps?" I thought in confusion as I lowered the axe and slowly went down the hallway that was in front of me.
As I walked, I thought about how the voice on the tape and the voice that was behind me sounded the same, which didn't seem possible since Sammy would either be in his 90s by now or dead, but from what I've seen in this place, anything could be possible. Passing a large Bendy cut-out that was on top of a pentagram, I went into a hallway that had ankle high ink on the floor, and I shivered. As I moved through the ink, I saw a dark figure wearing a mask that looked like it came from a Bendy cut-out, white overalls with pockets, and black boots. He was carrying a Bendy cut-out and muttering under his breath as he passed by the open doorway.
"Hello?! Identify yourself! I'm a police officer, and I am armed!" I called out to the figure, but the man didn't seem to hear me as he went down to the left and vanished from my line of sight.
I quickly moved through the ink and went through the doorway, taking a left to confront the man, but I only saw a dead end with the cut-out propped up against a pentagram drawn on the wall and a splatter of ink next to a large crack in the wall on my left.
"The hell? Where did he go?" I mumbled in confusion and wondered if I was losing my grip on reality.
Turning around, I walked down the hallway until I saw a closed shutter to my left and a panel that had three blinking lights.
"Huh, looks like I need to power up this console before I can open the shutter on my left. There should be switches nearby," I thought as I turned around and headed back to the dead end behind me, seeing shelves on my right with cans of food on them.
I grimaced when I saw that the labels said bacon soup, and I hoped that I didn't get desperate and hungry enough to eat the decades old food that are long past their expiration date. I moved the cans out of the way and saw a switch. I flipped the switch and the blinking light stayed on. Heading back through the ink-filled hallway, I found myself back in the room with the disturbing recorder. There I flipped a switch that was next to a poster hanging on the wall, then I turned around and headed to the coffins. Seeing the last switch, I flipped it and headed back to the closed shutter, and pulled the lever on the console, causing the shutter to slowly open with an ominous creaking and groaning sound. I walked over to a boarded up doorway and chopped a few boards down, but I stopped when I heard what sounded like a person groaning.
"Hello?! Is anyone there?! If you can hear me and you're injured, you don't have to be afraid! I'm with the NYPD, and I'm not here to hurt you!" I reassured whoever was groaning, but there was no answer.
I chopped down the last board, took out my flashlight and entered a large dark room where I saw a huge sign that said "Music Department" and had Sammy's name underneath. Nearby, I saw another tape recorder on a small shelf next to the large sign. I walked over to the recorder and pushed play, instantly hearing a much saner and quite irritated Sammy Lawrence grumbling.
"So first, Joey installs this Goddamn Ink Machine over our heads, then it begins to leak. Three times last month, we couldn't even get out of the department because the fucking ink flooded the stairwell. Joey's solution? An ink pump to drain it periodically. Now I have this ugly Godforsaken pump switch right in my office. People in and out all day. Thanks Joey, just what I needed, more distractions. These Goddamn cartoon songs don't write themselves, you know," Sammy snapped in irritation and the recorder stopped.
From what Sammy was saying on the recorder, he was in charge of the studio's musical department and he was the lead composer, but the musical department was apparently having problems with the Ink Machine that was keeping people from doing their jobs, so Joey installed a pump switch in Sammy's office, leaving Sammy none too happy about it. But what caught my attention, is that Sammy sounded not as mentally unstable on this recorder, which made me wonder what had happened to make him go insane.
"I can't keep thinking about what happened here, I need to get the fuck out of this place," I thought in determination and headed to an open doorway that led to a stairway. Shining my flashlight down, I could see pools of ink, blocking the way to the exit door at the bottom of the stairs.
"Of course the way out is blocked. Okay, if I'm gonna get out of here, I need to find a way to drain it. Maybe this ink pump that was mentioned on the recorder can help me," I muttered to myself and pulled a lever to my right, causing the lights in the musical department to turn on and I quipped, "Let there be light."
I walked into the main room and saw gooey puddles of ink everywhere that I could've sworn was breathing. Suddenly, the puddles rose up into shapeless blobs and morphed into some kind of ink humanoids with a pile of black goo connecting to their torsos. They approached me quickly while making the groaning noise that I had heard earlier.
"Holy mother! Stay back, NYPD!" I warned the ink monsters. They didn't comply and swiped at me as they approached, forcing me to jump back. I started hacking at the monsters with the axe, making them melt into puddles again when I killed the abominations. I stood in the middle of the room, breathing heavily, trembling in fear, and trying to comprehend what the hell I had just witnessed.
"What the fuck...no seriously, what the fuck did I just witness?!" I thought incredulously, trying to come to grips with having just seen harmless puddles of ink shape-shift into monsters that tried to kill me.
I shook it off and walked over to the right hallway and saw stairs leading upstairs and another door to my right. I went through the door on the right and saw that I was in a small room that had barrels and crates stacked up against each other around a pool table, posters of Bendy cartoons on the wall, and a large door,rolled down from the ceiling, like a garage door.
"Heh...what I wouldn't give to take my mind off of this fucking hellhole," I mumbled with a slight chuckle and left the billiard room.
Taking a right, I went up the stairs and found myself in what used to be a projectionist booth that was overlooking a recording studio. Seeing a tape recorder that was on the table next to the film projector, I saw that it had the name, Norman Polk on it. I pushed play and heard an elderly male voice that had a thick southern accent.
"Every day, the same strange thing happens. I'll be up here in my booth, the band will be swinging and suddenly, fuckin' Sammy Lawrence just comes marching in and shuts the whole thing down and tells us all to wait in the hall. Then I hears him. He starts up my projector and he dashes from the projector booth and down to the recording studio like the little devil himself was chasing behind. Few seconds later, the projector turns off, but Sammy, oh no, he don't come out for a long time. This man is weird, crazy weird! Now, I have half a mind to talk to Mr. Drew about all of this horse pucky, I really do. But then again, I have to admit, Mr. Drew's got his own peculiarities," Norman admitted uneasily and the recording stopped playing.
"Sounds like everyone thought Mr. Drew was not right in the head, since Norman was a little hesitant to file a complaint against Sammy. Wait, if Sammy was crazy, is he the one who left all these Bendy shrines? Okay, this place is nuts," I thought as I turned around and headed back to the main hall.
Taking the left hallway that branched off into two paths, I took the right path, opened a door, and entered the recording studio. I looked around in awe at the very place where the magic happened and I spotted another tape recorder on the floor. Walking over, I knelt down and picked it up with my only free hand, then set it down on a nearby barrel. I could see the name Susie Campbell. I played the tape and heard a young female voice speaking in excitement.
"It may only be my second month working for Joey Drew, but I can already tell I'm going to love it here! People seem to really enjoy my Alice Angel voice. Sammy says she may be as popular as Bendy one day. These past few weeks I have voiced everything from talking chairs to dancing chickens, but this is the first character I have really felt a connection with. Like she's a part of me. Alice and I, we're going places," Susie stated happily and the recording stopped.
I smiled at hearing the woman sounding so optimistic. The happiness in Susie's voice comforted me in this hellhole. I looked around some more and seeing another closed door rolled down from the ceiling, I backtracked and went down the hallway I had passed earlier. I went down the left hallway that went toward the infirmary, but the stairs were blocked by ink, so I continued back down the hallway until I found myself in a room off the hallway that had a work desk. There, I found a picture representing Bendy's facial expressions, but each different emotion like sad or angry showed Bendy smiling.
"Ugh, creepy," I mumbled as I left the room and arrived at the end of the hall. The door that led to Sammy's office was blocked by a large ink leak that was spraying from a busted pipe.
"Shit, that's a problem," I grumbled until I saw the pump switch through the glass and mumbled, "Okay, if I can just somehow stop the ink flow, I might be able to get into the office."
I looked to my left and saw a recorder that had Wally's name on it, and I played it to see if I could find any useful information on it.
"So I go to get my dust pan from the hall closet the other day and guess what? I can't find my damn keys! It's like they disappeared into thin air or something. All I can think of is that they must've fallen into one of the garbage cans as I was making my rounds last week. I just hope nobody tells Sammy. Because if he finds out I've lost my keys again, I'm outta here," Wally said and the tape stopped.
"Seriously Wally? Why the hell would you record yourself saying this and put the tape next to the office of the one person you didn't want finding out, you fucking idiot?" I questioned in disbelief at the stupidity I just heard.
I recalled seeing something glint in one of the trashcans at the front lobby and I backtracked until I found the keys in a trashcan placed below an Alice Angel poster. I headed back to Sammy's office and unlocked the closet that was to the right of the office, opening the door to find a recording from Sammy and I played it.
"Every artistic person needs a sanctuary. Joey Drew has his and I have mine. To enter, you need to only know my favorite song: The bass fiddle sings with deep articulation, the piano delicately calls, the piano returns in graceful harmony, the bass fiddle returns and sings aloud. Sing my song and my sanctuary will open to you," Sammy instructed and the tape stopped.
Hearing that made me recall what Norman said, and I went back to the projection booth. I turned on the projector which showed a brief snippet of a Bendy cartoon called 'Tombstone Picnic', and I quickly headed to the recording studio, and strummed a note on the bass, ran over to play the piano twice, and back over to play the bass again. The projector turned off and the rolling door retracted upward, opening and freeing the path that led to Sammy's so-called sanctuary. I walked over and entered the hallway, turning right and seeing Sammy's sanctuary. Inside was the ink flow valve, but there was also a desk, a messy toilet for some reason, another pentagram on the floor, and a rhyme on the wall that said 'Sing a happy song, whistle a merry tune. Wait for his arrival, he's coming very soon'.
"What in the name of...okay, definitely not the sign of a stable mind," I thought as walked over to the valve and turned it.
"Alright, one down," I said.
I left the room and walked down the hallway until a Bendy cut-out popped out from around the corner for a brief moment, scaring the hell out of me since I didn't expect it.
"Fuck!" I yelped and then I stormed over to the corner and glared at the Bendy cut-out that seemed to be smirking at me.
"Okay! Whoever the hell is doing that, fuck...you buddy!" I emphasized, pissed that someone was screwing with me. As I looked away, I saw a familiar dark figure with a Bendy mask, white overalls with pockets, and black boots.
"Hey! Can you hear me?! Police! Identify yourself!" I shouted to the person just as blobs of ink oozed over and formed into more ink monsters.
I was hit in the left arm by one of the monsters before I could react, sending me into a wall and making me yell in pain as I unsteadily stood up, and I retaliated by killing the offender with a blow to the head and hacking the other monsters until I was alone. I hissed in pain as I looked at the injury, seeing a gash that was covered in ink and I tried to look for something until I spotted a clean cloth and gently dabbled the ink away until I tore the dirty part of the cloth off and wrapped the clean part around the injury.
"Argh...motherfucker...I've just about had enough of this..." I groaned as I tied the cloth and hoped that I didn't get an infection, since that was last thing I would ever want to get in this place.
I backtracked to the infirmary, seeing that the stairs were clear of ink and I saw a sign above the hallway that said 'Notice: Anyone found faking illness will be docked a full week's wages. Not sick, not paid'.
"Damn Mr. Drew, slave driver much?" I quipped rhetorically as I walked down the stairs. As soon as I entered the room, an ink monster came out of nowhere, jumped me, and sent me crashing to the floor with it on top on me. I struggled with the monster as it pinned me to the floor and I started to notice that it was beginning to melt all over me, and it felt like warm tar was beginning to cover me. I knew that if I didn't do something, the thing would drown me.
"Guh...get the...fuck...off me..." I grunted as I managed to unholster my Glock and shot the monster on top of me three times, making it ooze all over me. I frantically got up, wiping the ink off me as best I could until I managed to get most of it off, but a little bit of it still stuck to me like glue.
"Arghhhhh...oh my God...it's in my fucking mouth...blugh...that is nasty," I gagged as I was trying to spit out the foul tasting substance.
Once I managed to get out most of the horrible taste in my mouth, I holstered my gun and picked up the axe, moving to the the pipe that would drain the ink, but I felt frustration when I saw that there was no valve.
"Ah shit, I do not need this right now," I grumbled until I saw lever that would open a pathway somewhere and I pulled it.
After hearing the sound of a door rolling up and opening, I turned around and went through an open doorway that led downstairs until I found myself in the sewers.
"Fucking perfect. Not only do I smell and look like I took an ink bath, but now I'm going to literally smell like shit on top of it," I thought in displeasure while I glared at graffiti that said 'We're all sinners down here'.
Looking to my right, I saw a large sewage pipe that not only led God knows where, it was bringing in ink from somewhere. I heard a moan to my left, and I looked to see an ink monster sitting behind wooden boards. The monster was strangely wearing a yellow derby hat and I perked up when I saw that it had a valve. The monster noticed me but it didn't attack, which made me think that either the boards were blocking its path, or it was simply afraid of me. I hesitantly walked over to the monster, ready to retaliate if it turned out to be hostile, but the monster melted and merged into the lake of ink, taking the valve with it as I approached the boards.
"Huh, it didn't attack me...maybe these things are more afraid of me then I am of them, and they're only attacking me because they see me as a threat," I theorized as I chopped the boards down and continued down the sewers.
I kept moving through the ink until I spotted graffiti that said 'The sheep will come to slaughter', causing me to shake my head and I kept moving until I saw a workstation to my right that had a tape recorder and a black and white picture of a man that was wearing a derby hat. I walked over to the recorder that had the name Jack Fain on it and pressed play, causing a muffled male voice to speak.
"I love the quiet, and that's hard to come by in these busy times. And yeah, sure. It may stink like Satan's asshole down here, but it's just perfect for an old lyricist like me. Sammy's songs always got some bounce, but if I didn't get away once in a while, they'd never have any words to go with them. So I'll keep my mind a-singin' and uh, my nose closed," Jack stated and the tape stopped.
I recalled that the ink monster was wearing the same derby hat that Jack had on in the picture, making me realize that Jack and the ink monster were one in the same.
"Jack was somehow transformed into that thing...how the hell is this possible? Did the Ink Machine do this?" I thought in wonder as I continued down the sewers until I found myself in a section of the sewer that had two engines, and the transformed Jack Fain who was standing in front of a wooden box that was sitting on a platform supported by chains in front of the graffiti 'Sing with me'.
I slowly approached the gooey blob and stopped a few feet away, making myself look as none threatening as possible by raising my hands. From what I could tell, it didn't seem to want to attack me, and I'd rather avoid any unnecessary killing if I could help it.
"H-hello? Jack Fain? May I have that valve?" I inquired to the gooey creature, causing it to quickly look at me. Seeing that it was beginning to melt away again, I tried to reason with it, "Whoa, it's okay. I just need to stop the ink flow in order to get out of here. See my uniform and duty belt? I'm a police officer and I'm not going to hurt you, I just want the valve so I can get out of this place."
Jack dipped up and down like he was breathing, looked at the very thing I need to help me escape, and he tossed it at me. The valve hit the inky ground in front of me, and I picked it up as I smiled gratefully at the former human.
"Thanks Jack, nice hat by the way," I complimented the gooey creature while I tipped my hat at him.
Jack's body rippled in response as I turned around and backtracked to the infirmary. I headed to the pipe and placed the valve in it's correct place, turning the valve and hearing the ink stop flowing.
"Okay, Sammy's office should be free to access now," I said and left the infirmary.
After backtracking, I found myself at Sammy's office and went through the door that was clear. Examining the area, I found blueprints that showed the Ink Machine and turned on the radio that played upbeat classical music. I spotted graffiti that said 'It's time to believe', but I ignored it as I walked over to the pump switch and pulled it, feeling relief when I heard ink was being drained.
"Thank God...now I can finally escape this fucked up house of horrors," I thought as I left the office and headed to the exit.
Suddenly, something clubbed me hard across the back of my head, and I dropped to the ground in a heap and rolled over onto my back dizzily. As I was starting to black out, I saw my offender, who was the dark figure I had seen many times. The figure was holding a metal dust pan while leering down at me through his smudged Bendy mask.
"Rest your head, it's time for bed," the man soothed in a dark and sinister voice as I passed out.
I let out a groan as I was regaining consciousness to see that I was tied up to a wooden pillar and the mysterious man was right in front of me, holding my axe. From hearing the man on the tape a few times and in person, there was no doubt that this was somehow Sammy Lawrence himself. I looked to my right and yelped in horror when I saw a skeleton on the floor that had tattered clothes on and an old leather wallet next to it.
"There we go now, nice and tight. We wouldn't want our sheep roaming away now, would we? No, we wouldn't. I must admit, I am honored you came all the way down here to visit me. It almost makes what I'm about to do seem cruel, but the believers must honor their savior. I must have him notice me. Wait...you look familiar to me...that face," Sammy mumbled in confusion as he leaned close to get a better look at me.
"Listen buddy, I'm a police officer. Just let me go. You are already in trouble for assaulting a police officer and battery, so you'll get off easy. But if you kill me, you will be looking at the death penalty, and that is if my fellow brothers and sisters in blue won't shoot first and ask questions later-" I tried to reason, but I was cut off.
"Not now, for our Lord is calling to us, my little sheep. The time of sacrifice is at hand! And then, I will finally be freed from this...prison. This inky, dark...abyss I call a body," Sammy spat bitterly as he looked at his arms, and to my horror, I saw that his body was completely made of ink.
"Oh shit. Let me go you crazy fucker! Don't do this," I pleaded to the deranged lunatic in front of me, but Sammy held up a hand while he was propping up the ax nearby and he returned.
"Shhhhhh! Quiet! Listen!" Sammy hushed me and I heard thumping coming from above the ceiling and Sammy continued, "I can hear him, crawling above. Crawling! Let us begin, the ritual must be completed! Soon he will hear me, he will set us free!"
With that declaration, Sammy went to the room on my left and went through the door until I heard him speaking on the loudspeakers around me.
"Sheep, sheep, sheep, it's time for sleep. Rest your head, it's time for bed. In the morning, you may wake. Or in the morning, you'll be dead," Sammy started while I was struggling to get the rope off me.
"Fuck! Come on!" I exclaimed while I was struggling until I saw the vertical roller door at the end of the room in front of me open, making me struggle even harder in sheer terror.
"Hear me, Bendy! Arise and claim my offering! Free me, I beg you! I summon you, ink demon! Show your face and take this tender sheep!" Sammy demanded psychotically.
Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me and something untied me, freeing me and I immediately ran over and grabbed the ax just as Sammy started to sound panicked.
"No! My lord, stay back! I am your prophet! I am your aaaaaahhhh!" Sammy screamed out in agony until the speakers shut off with a screech.
I turned around to see who freed me, and I was surprised when I saw Jack near where I was tied up.
"Jack? Did you free me?" I questioned, and Jack let out a groan, making me add, "I'll take that as a yes."
Jack gurgled and crawled to me until I turned around and saw ink blobs oozing over and forming into more monsters.
"Shit," I stated as I held the ax and charged at the monsters.
While I was taking care of half of the monsters, Jack was taking care of the other half until we were alone. Once I finished the last one, I let out a deep breath and looked at Jack, whose body rippled when he came over.
"Thanks for saving my ass, Jack. Let's get the hell out of here," I stated, and Jack melted into a blob and oozed away.
I looked at the place where Jack used to be and I spotted the skeleton that was laying on the floor, prompting me to walk over and kneel down in front of the body.
"Poor bastard, I wonder who you used to be," I mumbled as I saw the wallet and what I saw when I opened it to check for I'D made me gasp and almost cry.
I saw an old driver's license that showed a man who held a resemblance to me and his name said Henry Stein on it.
"Oh fuck...you're my missing great-grandfather. This explains why you never came back and why nobody found you after all these years. You died in this fucking place..." I whimpered in despair.
A few tears went down my cheeks as I stood up and saw a white sheet that was nearby and I grabbed it, covering my deceased great-grandfather and I looked down at the poor soul.
"I will get out of here and I will make sure you and everyone else that died down here will get a proper burial," I vowed as I turned away from the awful sight.
Shaking my head, I went down the previously closed hallway and chopped down boards until my ax broke.
"Well, isn't that just fucking great," I muttered irritably as I unholstered my Glock and took out my flashlight, crossing my wrists so that I could see while aiming.
I saw an exit door at the end of the hallway, but I didn't care about the ink that had flooded the floor because I just wanted to go home. When I approached the door, a large shapeless blob formed up in front of me until it took the shape of the Bendy monster, who roared at me and started limping at me quickly. Knowing that my gun was useless, I took off down the other hallway on my left as tendrils of ink were forming on the walls. I ducked when Bendy tried to grab me with his gloved hand, and I kept running until I spotted an open doorway at the end of the hall. I ran into the room, frantically shut the door, and barred it with a board. I aimed at the door as Bendy tried to break the door down, but he eventually stopped and I heard him limp away while letting out an inhuman moan. I breathed heavily while I put my flashlight away and rested my hands on my knees, feeling exhausted and my sanity draining from constant horrors. After I regained my breath, I turned around to see another door and I carefully entered a hallway that led to a lift while aiming my Glock. Just when I almost reached the corner, I heard a noise and saw a can of bacon soup rolling into my line of sight. I saw a shadow darting behind the wall and I heard the nervous whimper of some animal.
"Hello? Whoever is there, come out slowly with your hands above your head! I'm a police officer and I'm trained to respond to deadly and aggressive actions with lethal force!" I warned sternly while keeping my gun trained at the corner, making the figure let out another whimper and I heard the sounds of footsteps.
My eyes widened in shock when a tall familiar black anthropomorphic wolf with a tail, white overall with pockets, and white gloves came out from around the corner slowly while nervously rubbing his hands together, his ears flattened back, and his tail tucked between his legs as the wolf stared at me timidly.
"Boris? You...you're alive!" I stammered in disbelief as I lowered my gun and holstered it.
Boris waved shyly at me while I was trying to understand how he was still alive since I saw his dead body upstairs. At that moment, I needed to show that I wasn't a threat and gain the wolf's trust.
"Hey Boris, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," I said gently as I held up my hands to show I was friendly.
Boris walked over hesitantly and I smiled as he stood in front of me and I carefully scratched his head, making Boris smile softly as his tail started wagging happily.
"There we go. See, I'm not a monster," I reassured and asked, "Boris, do you have anywhere safe I could stay?"
Boris perked up and nodded while grabbing one of my arms and leading me to a safe house that was nearby. When we arrived, he showed me around and left me in the bathroom to get the ink off me. Then Boris and I played some card games and ate some bacon soup, which was surprisingly tasty for being way past it's expiration date. By the end of the night, Boris had taken me to a place where I could sleep, and after I took off my duty belt, short sleeved uniform shirt, Kevlar vest, shoes, and hat, I was out like a light as soon as I lay down on the cot.