Okay, second chapter for today.
I may post something tomorrow (crossing my fingers that my inspiration doesn't run dry on me), but I dunno.
Also, out of curiosity, can anyone guess who my Boris' are before reading this chapter? Here's a hint: we know one from the game already, the other two are characters mention in the first chapter (not the prologue).
The safehouse itself was a small one room space that held a small kitchenette in one corner, three hammocks in another, and a circular table in the center of the room. As one Boris brought over a spare chair for Emily to sit on, another closed the door tightly before removing the lever to release the door and placing it in a small box before locking it shut.
Definitely kept them from leaving, and kept anyone from entering.
Emily sat down and a bowl was placed in front of her. The liquid was steaming and the aroma of bacon filled her nose. Her stomach growled and she realized then that she hadn't eaten anything since this morning.
She poked at the food with her fork before asking, "Is this Bacon Soup?"
One of the Boris', who seemed to be taller than the other two, tapped the side of an empty Bacon Soup can, as if to say 'Indeed.'
"Can any of you talk?"
Each one took turns, shaking their head. Emily sighed before taking a bite of the soup.
As she ate, she took observation on the each of the Boris', whom she had now had the company of. The first one, the one to bound on top of Emily upon seeing her, was an almost perfect Boris. Same markings as the cartoon, and the same height, almost everything was the same. The only problem was that he seemed shy and nervous. He sat closest to her, shuffling a deck of Bendy play cards, trying to keep his mind elsewhere.
The second one was a tad shorter with grey overalls and a long black tail poking from behind. Emily could hear the tail thumping against the chair as it watched the other Boris shuffle his deck.
The final Boris, obviously the leader of the three, was taller than the other two, almost six feet in height. He still had the same marking at the other two Boris', but where it was supposed to be black, he had more of a dark grey coat. His white overalls were dingy and covered from top to bottom in ink and soup stains. He was still at the stove, stirring up another pot of Bacon Soup before bringing two bowls to the table. He turned and fetched one for himself and the four of them began to eat in silence.
Once finished, Emily pushed her bowl to the center of the table, turning to the taller Boris, "Thank you, that was delicious!"
He bowed slightly, placing a gloved hand over his heart. The other two started snickering before the taller hit them both on the back of the head with the wooden spoon. Emily chuckled and stood, "Well, thank you for lunch, but I must be finding my way back upstairs."
All of a sudden, all three Boris' rushed to her, pushing her back into the chair, shaking their heads and whimpering.
"But I can't stay here!" Emily tried to reason with them, "Everyone will be looking for, and Joey…"
The leader of the Boris' growled softly. He turned and picked up a pad of paper and a pencil, scribbling across the sheet. He handed the pad to Emily.
Not safe anymore, Em.
Emily looked confused, "What do you mean, not safe? I know it's not safe out there, but I'll be safe above Level K."
The third Boris shook his head, taking the pad back and scribbling on it again: Joey needs you, like he needed us.
"Well, of course he needs me! I'm the assistant!"
He wants you for the Ink Machine.
Emily stared at the paper. Shawn had mentioned something about the Ink Machine being the cause, but how was Joey connected to all this? The man did have some crazy ideas, genius ideas… but there was no way he was the cause for what happened to Shawn… unless…
Emily looked up at the three Boris', fear clearly written in their inky eyes. She began slowly, "What do you mean?"
The leader took the pad and scribbled again. It took him some time, but the note that he handed to her was much longer than the others: He wants perfect toons. We were considered imperfect and where able to escape before anymore modifications could be done. Joey is a dangerous man and will kill you, like he did to us.
"How?"
He put us through the machine, and we were no longer the people we used to be.
It was here that Emily suddenly realized who she was looking at. These weren't Boris', they were three men from the maintenance staff who had gone missing.
Looking up at the taller of the three, she stared at him long and hard before whispering, "Are you Brendan Miller?"
The taller Boris looked taken back as Emily spoke the name. He nodded, smiling, allowing the truth to be revealed at last.
She turned to the second one, the one who was shorter than the other two as his tail wagged back and forth.
"Carter Marshall?"
He made a small woof noise as his tail wagged even harder.
Emily turned to the last one, the nearly perfect Boris.
"Wally Franks?"
The wolf smiled, wrapping her in a hug. Tears sprung from her eyes at finally reconnecting with the men whom she had known since the beginning. Brendan and Carter joined Wally and Emily's hug, relief and joy spreading through the small room.
Emily released the wolves before asking, "Where are the others?"
The three former maintenance staff members looked at each other. Wally shivered visibly while Carter's tail drooped, hiding between his legs. Brendan sighed and wrote on the note a simple answer: Follow us.