"Hello?"
"Hey..."
"...Uncle...?
"Something happened."
"What happened."
"..."
"Uncle-"
"Get down here now."
"...what happened?"
"Gwen, it's your mother..."
Gwen shot up with a gasp. Baby was limp against her as she hugged the doll tighter. Courtney looked over at Gwen with a flat expression, before Chef abruptly threw his thing of slop into the cabin. Gwen and Baby quickly ducked under the blanket before the gruel splattered all over the others. Courtney complained as per usual, Gwen mentally groaning at this. She readjusted Baby into a sitting position, listening to the rain hit the roof like a machine gun. Gwen idly watch the window, expecting something to happen, only for Heather to step in front of her.
"What's been going on with you, weirdo?" Heather spat. The queen bee didn't show much remorse when word got out that Gwen was locked in the spa hotel's basement. This made many of the campers, including the villains, to scold her. Gwen groaned at Heather's remark and flipped her off. Gwen received a scoff in return as Heather left the cabin, umbrella in hand. Gwen left shortly after, heading to the confessional. As she made her way there, Baby sprung to life in Gwen's arm.
"Good morning Gwen", Baby said calmly, "Did you sleep well?"
Gwen nodded slowly, still very tired. "Yeah. Thanks for helping with that." She stretched and yawned as Baby jump up on her shoulder.
"Don't mention it." Baby paused. "Why are we going to the confessional?"
Gwen looked at her friend. "I just... need to get something off my chest..." Baby nodded with a worried look in her eyes. Gwen quickly step into the outhouse and sat on the toilet, pulling her knees up to her chest. She then looked at the camera.
"The only reason I came back was to make things right with Courtney", Gwen started choking up, "And now she hates me more than ever..." Gwen then began crying, pressing her face into her knees. Baby reacted quickly, hugging the goth tightly and giving hushed lines of encouragement. Gwen continued to sob until the intercom screeched to life.
"It's challenge time, campers! Meet me in the clearing!"
Gwen groaned at Chris' announcement, slowly making her way out of the outhouse and to the clearing. She didn't notice Courtney quickly slip into the confessional. The goth shot a glance at the spa hotel as she passed it, feeling chills rocket across her spine at the memories of yesterday. She felt Baby gently pat the back of her neck, easing some of the tension. Gwen quietly thanked her friend and continued to the field, not taking her eyes off the hotel. Inside, Freddy stared back at Gwen with his broken eye, a slowly building giddiness coming from inside his cold, mechanical heart. He giggled, then returned to his basement.
Gwen joined the others with Chris, an obstacle course set before them over a large lake of mud. According to Chris, who stood before two stacks of massive pancakes, the objective was for one teammate to eat a portion of the pancakes and then make it through the obstacles without throwing up. First team to finish the pancakes win. Gwen, while she got the main points of the explanation, spaced out for the rest. The challenge began without a hitch, both hero and villain making it through without vomiting. Before long, Gwen was the next one up. She ate her share of the food, triggered one of the booby traps, and began her run. She made it past the first few obstacles, only for disaster to strike at the Salad Spinner. Gwen hadn't held on properly as the makeshift carnival spun, launching her a way's away. Chris told Chef to go get her. The cook sighed and nodded, running after the flying goth. Gwen and Baby, meanwhile, crashed into a few trees, smacked into some branches as they fell, and hit the ground hard. Gwen groaned as she sat up, wincing as pain shot through her arm. Baby, who was next to her, sat up and walked over. The doll looked over and looked Gwen's arm over.
"You must've just sprained it", The doll said, "Try not to move it to much." Gwen nodded and stood up, hugging Baby close with her other arm. Gwen looked around, hoping to find her way back, only to stop dead in her tracks at the sound of an all too familiar voice.
"That was quite the tumble, wasn't it Gweny?"
Gwen spun around, and both girls stared wide-eyed at Freddy, who stood before them, arms crossed behind his back. He chuckled at Gwen's fear. "I'm surprised you only sprained your arm. A fall like that would usually-"
"What do you want?" Gwen interrupted. Freddy looked at her, then chuckled again.
"What, can't I just talk to you? We barely get to chat!" He said, ending in an innocent tone. Gwen started to give a flat look.
"So you're not going to kill me?"
"Correct, my little cupcake! At least, not yet..."
Gwen tensed up. "But why?"
"Simple", Freddy leaned in, bringing his voice to a whisper. "There'll be witnesses..." Gwen gulped. "Besides, I want to talk with you. I'm not feeling in a kill-y mood today."
"That's doubtful...", Baby spat, "You've always loved to torture anyone you could. Why the change?"
"Well, since you asked, my little plush friend", Freddy teased, earning a snarl in response, "I've got big plans for the coming days, and I don't want to spoil my fun by killing Gwen now. What my surprise is... You'll find out soon..." Gwen felt like it had something to do with the large mound of dirt behind him. "But enough about me! What about you?" He pointed at the goth.
"What about me?" Gwen asked in confusion.
"Don't act stupid, Gweny. I've seen your dreams. I've heard them. I know what's going on..."
Gwen froze on the spot, her heart pounding against her chest. Baby looked up at her in worry when the hug tightened. Gwen felt the ringing in her ears returning as Freddy laughed.
"I'm right, aren't I? I can sense your loss, you're pain." Gwen started to feel weak, her legs threatening to give up. "You are scared and broken. You are done with life, and this show definitely isn't helping."
Gwen was just watching Freddy with a look of horror. He knew. He knew she was... gone.
"Don't deny it Gwen. You can't ignore that she's gone."
Right then, the goth gasped, and turned to run. She tripped over a tree root, however, making Freddy let loose a vicious laugh. Baby growled at the bear.
"You really crack me up, Gweny", Freddy said wiping imaginary tears away, "You really are a clown if Baby likes you. Well, I gotta go. That cook of yours will be here soon. Catch you later, cupcake!" Freddy then took his leave, vanishing into the foliage. Gwen heard his footsteps echo in her head, before she shot up and gave chase. She hugged Baby tightly, the doll left horrified and confused. Freddy stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn towards the goth. Gwen looked at the bear, wincing as her arm moved.
"Why?" was all she asked. The bear turned his head ever so slightly.
"You know why..." And so he left, vanishing into the forest. Gwen collapsed on her knees and began to quietly sob. She hugged Baby tightly as the noise of footsteps on the ground became louder and louder. Chef appeared from the bushes, a scowl on his face. But when he saw Gwen, his face softened. He came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and looked up at him, her eyes the slightest tint of red.
"You okay?" Chef asked.
"No...", Gwen said quietly, "...sprained my arm..."
Chef nodded and led her to the infirmary. Gwen looked Baby cradled in her arm, and gave her a sad look. Gwen knew Freddy was right.
She was broken.
And this show would kill her before it ended.
She hated it.
Gwen was forced to sit on the bench for the rest of the challenge, watching as her team were tossed and turned and flung by the obstacle course. She smiled when she watch Heather fall face first into the mud, and when Duncan threw up after finishing the course. Chris was told by Chef about the plie of dirt they passed, and Chris was actually becoming concerned at the prospect that someone else was on the island, so he told a nearby intern to gather a group to investigate the basement of the spa hotel. The intern nodded and left. All the while, Baby watched the two talk, occasionally looking at Gwen and the course, but was more focused on the host. She hoped Chris would investigate and stop Freddy before things got out of hand. Baby was snapped out of her thoughts when Gwen started to hug tighter. Baby noticed Gwen didn't have much strength in her sprained arm, but it didn't much matter to the doll. She was happy Gwen was okay.
But Gwen wasn't okay.
While she was a master at hiding her true feelings, she was resisting the urge to cry right there on the spot. Her thoughts were still on what Freddy said, how he was right, and how she was so close to breaking down. She looked down at Baby, the doll looking back up at her with her fixed grin. This made Gwen loose some of her tension, but it was still there.
She was well aware she can't keep her feelings buried forever.
The villains lost. This didn't matter much to Gwen, as she didn't feel safe being in the same building as Freddy. But fate had different plans apparently.
Sam had cheated and stuffed some pancakes in his pockets. making the heroes the losers of the challenge. Sam was eliminated, and Scott chose to go for the exile before anyone could say anything. Gwen shook her head, just so done with the day. She made her way to the spa hotel while Baby rested in the hood. Gwen was happy Baby stuck by her side, and was looking forward to their time together after the show. Gwen entered the hotel, and instantly, she knew something was wrong. The air of the building was filled with dread, and the smell of something... rotten. Like a corpse. Gwen walked to the dining room to have dinner, passing the hallway with the basement door. She looked down the hallway, and froze. She turned her whole body down the way, both her and Baby's faces staring in pure horror. The others entered shortly after, only to see Gwen standing still. They walked up to her, Heather leading the group.
"What's going on with you, weirdo?" The queen bee stood next to Gwen slowly turning down the halls. "What are you... staring... at..." She visibly paled at the sight before her. Alejandro and Courtney joined them and stared in shock. The hallway.
It was something right out of a horror movie.
The walls and carpet were torn up and splintered, clearly clawed by something. The cameras that hung from the wall were ripped off their resting spot and smashed. Furniture was overturned, destroyed, or were embedded into the walls. There was something so much worst though. Dangling in the center of the hallway, visible in the flickering light, were two bodies.
The interns.
They were hung by nooses, their bodies lashed and slashed, blood flooding from their injuries and lifeless like waterfalls. Below them was the third intern, his head just visible in the mouth of the suit he was stuffed in. The suit was a bear, it's brown fur stained with blood. The sight was horrific, and was nothing like what happened on the show prior. The scariest thing, however, was the message written above the basement door, which was at the other end of the hall. A message that filled Gwen's heart, mind and soul with fear. Cause the message was from Freddy.
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, GWENY? THIS COULD BE YOU! HOPE YOUR READY!
The others stared at Gwen in horror, said goth close to fainting. She turned away for a second, only to look back, shock filling her features. The others looked, and saw it.
The hallway was back to normal. no blood, no claw marks, no dead bodies. The only thing off putting was the basement door. It was open ajar, a cold purple light flooding from the opening. Courtney took a single step forward, only for the light to die and the door to slam shut. The Vultures just stood and stared for a while, trying to process what they had just witnessed. But not Gwen. She knew what this all meant.
This was her fate.
It was currently midnight, everyone asleep peacefully. The Vultures were still a bit shaken up from the sight in the hallway, but were able to get over it pretty quickly. Except Gwen and Baby. The two of them were huddled close together in bed, the goth struggling to sleep because of nightmares. Nightmares that combined what she saw in the hallway with the visions she'd been having the past few days. Baby hugged her friend tightly, playing a soft lullaby from her built in speaker. It took a while, but Gwen eventually drifted off, Baby cradled in her grasp. From the vent above, the mysterious yellow eye watched before retracting. It traveled all the way through the vents till it reached the basement. It was nothing more but a mass of wires with a single yellow light, a mass of wires that retracted into its host:
Freddy.
Said bear was putting the finishing touches on one of his robots. This one was a bird of some kind, melted with large pointed teeth. The wires fully retracted into his body, and he set the screwdriver in his hand aside.
"Nice to know Gweny got my message", he said to no one in particular. He turn around. "Isn't that right boys?"
Backs pressed up against the wall were the interns, dead and stuffed into Freddy's other creations. One of them, the purple rabbit with a mandible like lower jaw, twitched its head. Freddy tilted his head into a grin.
"Nice to see you guys agree with me. Now, let's bury you before they riff-raff wake up." He picked up two of the bots, a fox and the bird, with ease. He left, leaving the basement in the silence of the dark. The bunny twitched again, it's eye slightly glowing.
"K-K-K-Kill Chri-ri-ris..."
Looks like things aren't going to be getting any easier for Gwen, Baby and the others. Whatever Freddy is planning, it can't be good.
