Greeting: Time for action and spooky atmosphere! I hope you are ready for this.
I'm not holding back or at least I try not to. Enjoy, everybody!
( Crystal's group. Sneaking around the factory. About 8 PM)
The small feet were tiptoeing on the rotten grass. It was long and made noise when the animatronics snuck through it.
It looked like wheat more than grass. No one had cut it for a long time.
The mist lay above them and floated like it was waiting for something.
It was weird that out of all, the animatronics' attention was gotten by the grass.
It was very long indeed and someone could have been hiding in it. Some monsters were children and the grass was more than able to keep one hidden.
They were holding each other's hands in fear. Crystal would have wanted Eclipse to be there, on her other side, and hold her hand.
Shadow was holding onto Crystal's left hand but her right side felt unprotected.
The two boys would have been able to make her feel safe but Eclipse wasn't there.
Crystal glanced at Storm Jr. who was not holding onto anything or anyone.
Shadow was holding onto her arm but Storm Jr. was ignoring it. She was focused and tried to listen for anything human like.
She hoped to hear Leslie sing on the top of the building or something. Storm Jr. could almost hear her boyfriend's desperate voice, trying to call out to her.
Shadow glanced behind the group to make sure no one was following.
" I think we are okay. No one noticed us", said Shadow.
Crystal responded by squeezing his hand so much it hurt.
" They'll notice if you keep on talking. Keep it down", whispered Crystal.
She glanced up to see if anyone was on the roof. It was far away and seemed to be clear but Crystal was not convinced.
" They are here. We have walked into a trap", thought Crystal and gasped.
Shadow pulled her arm. Crystal gasped in dread as Shadow pulled her really close to his face.
" I can hear your thoughts. They scare me as well. You got to fight the paranoia. It's not helping. Soon we'll start to see things as well", complained Shadow.
Crystal nodded to him.
" Keep it down seriously. If we die because you alerted the monsters, I'll kill you both", said Storm Jr.
Obviously, she meant that as a joke. It was a funny one and Crystal would have laughed in any other circumstance.
She glanced up and shut her mouth.
The concrete was stained and covered in plants. Crystal could have sworn that the building had not been like that before.
The windows were as broken as before. There were lights in some of them, possibly lanterns.
Why on earth? She thought the monsters liked darkness.
" Maybe there's a human inside. A witch maybe", thought Crystal.
She imagined Leslie walking in those desolate hallways. His mind corrupting away like the walls and the paint.
Crystal felt bad, Leslie would definitely need their help.
She tried to use that thought to make herself brave.
" You are a pirate. You are a pirate. Arr", said Crystal.
" No. You are dead if you don't shut up, fox", informed Storm Jr.
Crystal covered her mouth. Storm Jr. had been rude and unfriendly but right. Crystal had to shut up before she'd regret it.
They were almost at their destination, Crystal had to keep quiet for a while.
Shadow heard some noises, coming from the other side and inside the factory.
Marionette and Goldie had done something.
By the sound of it, the monsters were surprised.
" Here is the vent. Some slave found it while cleaning this place up", Storm Jr. pointed at the vent cover that was on the wall.
" Bless the witches. Their interrogations in that bunker place are finally paying off", Shadow smiled a bit.
He tried to ignore the fact that the slave and the witches, he was talking about, were dead.
" Crystal", Storm Jr. glanced at her.
" What, Storm Jr.? What can I do?", she asked the wolf.
Crystal hadn't expected that she could do anything.
" I'll help you up. Remove the cover and climb in", ordered Storm Jr.
" Wait. What? Climb in? Me in a vent? You have to be joking", Crystal was shocked.
She was claustrophobic already.
" Toy bonnie told me that vents aren't that bad. She used to crawl into one to get Jeremy Fitzgerald. Go on", told Storm Jr.
Crystal was shaking her head.
" Nope. Not in a million years", she backed off.
Storm Jr. pulled her closer and pushed her to the vent.
" Don't be a whining baby. Get in there, pirate", she told the scared fox.
Crystal was literally picked up and hoist up. Crystal removed the vent cover quietly and dropped it to the ground.
She stopped for a second and stared into the abyss of the vent. She was standing on Storm Jr.'s shoulders.
" Go in", ordered the irritated wolf.
Crystal didn't want to die in a tight space.
Storm Jr. froze her hands and grabbed Crystal's legs.
Crystal got hurt and the pain flowed through her. She jumped up to get away from the pain and ended up in the vent.
An evil move from Storm Jr.
The tight space was dusty and the chilly air ran at Crystal's face. She could see the dust, dancing on its own dance floor, made of metal and stink of death.
Storm Jr. came next and just like that Crystal was stuck in the vent.
She could only crawl forward.
Storm Jr. was helped up by Shadow and Shadow jumped up on his own. The vent was claustrophobic and anything could jump out of the darkness in there.
Storm and Foxy had had to take another way due to this vent. They were too big to fit, even Crystal might get stuck and she was small.
Crystal was afraid. The monsters seemed to love vents.
She could come across one at any time. She had to take it slow and crawl carefully without making noise.
Storm Jr. was not waiting for her. Crystal felt Storm Jr.'s aggressive hand as it slapped her on the bottom.
" Move on. We have no time to waste", ordered Storm Jr.
She had become so violent all of the sudden.
Crystal was scared of both the monsters and Storm Jr.
Crystal thought she saw something move ahead in the vent and stopped.
" Crystal. Get your fluffy tail off my face", said Storm Jr. behind her.
" Shh. I think I saw something ahead", said Crystal.
" Was it a monster?", asked Storm Jr.
" We can't turn back actually. Go forward and we'll see what it is", she added.
Crystal had to got forward. It was scary because she couldn't fight in the vent.
She had to keep her hands ahead of her body. They wouldn't have fitted in if they had been beside her.
Crystal saw that there was an intersection ahead. If there had been a monster, it had probably been crawling along the intersecting vent.
There were only two ways to go, they couldn't go straight. It was either to the left or to the right.
As she arrived at the intersection, Crystal wondered which way to take.
She definitely wanted to go away from the monster. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure which way the monster had come from.
She didn't want to end up following it. She had learned that from movies, never follow a suspicious creature in the dark.
Storm Jr. was trying so hard not to bite Crystal's tail. It was so close to her mouth.
Crystal could feel tension behind her.
" The vent splits up in here. Forward is an option no more. I have to choose left or right. Which one, guys?", she asked her friends.
" Great. Just move your thighs, okay? I don't care where you go, just go", insisted Storm Jr.
Crystal looked both ways. Both directions were equally scary and dark.
The metal, around her, was making weird noises and trembling.
It was like someone was walking right on top of the vent.
The screws were clanking and the noise frightened Crystal.
She let out a whimper as Storm Jr. yanked her tail in frustration.
" Just pick one vent, girl. It's not that hard", complained Storm Jr.
Crystal let out a sigh.
" If you want to be the leader, be my guest by all means. It's easy for you to complain since you are safely between us.
Nothing can get to you", said Crystal.
Storm Jr. seemed to calm down.
" I'll go behind Shadow. If there's two ways to go, I can temporarily go the other way and let Shadow pass.
I'm done complaining. I just want to get to Leslie fast", sighed Storm Jr.
Crystal was happy to hear that.
Storm Jr. was small enough to peek over her own shoulder in the tight space so she did.
" Would you want to go in front of me, Shadow? Shadow?", asked Storm Jr.
Crystal felt Storm Jr. push herself against her tail.
" What's wrong?", Crystal could feel her shiver.
" Crystal. He's gone. Shadow's gone", whimpered Storm Jr.
Crystal gulped and was forced to stop breathing. Her heavy breathing would have revealed her position to everyone.
" What do you mean gone?", asked Crystal.
Storm Jr. snorted.
" He's gone. He isn't behind me although he was there a minute ago", clarified Storm Jr.
Crystal wanted to go back but she couldn't crawl backwards very well.
" Cripes. They got him without us noticing. What do we do?", shivered Crystal.
" Go right for instance. We can't go back now", suggested Storm Jr.
Crystal took a good glance at her right. The vent was dark and everything but welcoming.
She was sure the monster would be waiting for her.
Crystal took a deep breath. She thought about going left as well.
Crystal glanced at her left and a face filled her view. She was about to scream but Shadow quickly covered her mouth.
" It's me, Crystal. Don't scream", Shadow said calmingly.
Crystal was both relieved and angry. She almost had had a heart attack. Shadow was on her side, crawling in the left vent.
" Where did you go? Don't you dare do that again", she said angrily.
Storm Jr. sighed as well, she could hear their voices.
" There is nothing this way. I noticed that there was a vent above me at one point. You probably missed it but I didn't.
I decided to check it quickly. It was longer than I expected but it brought me here luckily.
There were no other vents so this direction is clear", explained Shadow.
Crystal nodded to him.
" We'll have to go right, I don't have any other choice", thought Crystal.
Something came into her mind.
" Was there anything in there? Like a monster?", asked Crystal.
" I saw some blood and pieces of flesh I think. Apart from them, it was just the vent", answered Shadow.
Crystal knew that the monster had gone the other way, she had to follow it.
" Okay. Follow me", nodded Crystal.
She took the right and gulped again.
Storm Jr. stopped to look at Shadow.
" Go in front of me. I'll stay at the back and stop annoying Crystal", she explained.
" Suit yourself", said Shadow.
He seemed alerted and ready to fight. He had heard the weird noises too.
There had been something above their vent or maybe in a vent shaft, above.
Shadow's big tail filled Storm Jr.'s view and she didn't get to talk to him about it.
Storm Jr. glanced behind her to see nothing but darkness. She was creeped out.
What if something had followed her to the vent?
Storm Jr. had to keep moving before she would be left behind. She didn't want to be left alone in there.
Shadow was talking to Crystal and giving her instructions.
" Follow the blood. It's going to take us out", said Shadow.
He crawled forward and Storm Jr. noticed that there was a trail of blood on the ground.
She followed Shadow to the left and saw two other vents behind her. That intersection had had three ways to go.
Why hadn't they gone straight? They would seriously follow the blood?
" Why isn't Crystal afraid to move forward all of the sudden? Does Shadow's breathing on her bottom make her feel safe?
He's probably poking her tail", snorted Storm Jr.
" I can hear you, Storm Jr. Stop making fun of us, that's creepy. Shadow's isn't a creep like Hank was", Storm Jr. heard Crystal at the front.
" She is jealous of me, Crystal. You didn't move when she was behind you but now you do", explained Shadow.
" If something grabs me, you'll grab my feet. Storm Jr. would have just let me go. After all, I'm going too slow", replied Crystal.
" Stop it, girls. The darkness is making you angry. You are like from a kindergarten. Leslie would agree with me", said Shadow.
Storm Jr. and Crystal had to stop being angry. Crystal crawled forward and ignored the blood that was telling her to get out.
There was a vent hatch right below her feet. It had holes in it but they were covered by plants so no light came through.
Crystal missed it completely and crawled straight forward.
She was too focused on the darkness ahead. It took her by surprise.
The hinges of the cover and its locks failed under the pressure of Crystal's body.
The cover fell off and Crystal with it.
She fell to the floor and hurt her legs. Her head was really fuzzy as she tried to stumble up.
Crystal hadn't broken anything too important, she would definitely survive. Crystal's mind was full of other concerns.
" Hopefully, no one heard that, we'll be in big trouble if that's the case", she thought.
Crystal could see shapes around her. There was a fuzzy square right above her. It was surrounded by a rectangle.
Crystal shook her head before realizing that it was the vent and the hole in it.
She could see two long pillars in front of her and the two circles, they were standing on.
Crystal got up slowly and exhaustedly.
" What is that?", Crystal found it hard to see in the dark. Her vision mended itself quickly.
She had just been hit in the head, that was all.
Crystal saw that the pillars were legs and the circles were feet with socks on them.
She went into shock as her gaze followed the legs upwards. She saw a torso and two long arms.
The shape also had a head and two black eyes that were staring into Crystal's.
The monster was staring at her.
Shadow jumped down as quietly as he could. He wrapped his fingers around Crystal's snout so she wouldn't scream.
Crystal tried to break free and scream for help.
" Shhh. Stay quiet and don't move", whispered Shadow's careful voice.
Crystal stopped immediately and just looked into the monster's terrifying eyes. It was rather dark in the corridor, they were in.
The monster didn't move at all, it was like a statue. It was alive and breathing since its chest moved back and forth.
Crystal's could feel its breathing on her face. The air was poisoned by rotting flesh and all other disgusting trash.
Crystal let out a whimper.
She glanced both ways and realized that the corridor was full of monsters. Some were on the ceiling and some were on the walls.
None were moving, just staring forward quietly. Some were on the floor as well, standing like the one in front of Crystal.
Shadow was extremely careful as he pulled out his katanas and let go of Crystal.
Storm Jr. jumped down and froze her hand. Shadow put his katana in front of her to stop her from slicing the monster in half.
Soon Storm Jr. realized it as well, the monsters were not moving.
The one, in front of them, was literally staring into their souls and not moving a muscle.
" Stay quiet. I think they are in a sleep of some sort. Let's not wake them up", whispered Shadow.
The girls found it hard to believe. The monsters' eyes were fully open and their muscles were tense.
They should have been relaxed but they weren't.
Crystal was too scared to even move, the monster had scared the crap out of her. Storm Jr. melted her hand and counted on Shadow's katanas.
" Which way, warrior? I have never seen this part before", asked Storm Jr.
Shadow thought for a moment.
" We must be in the basement area. This is below ground, that's for sure", he answered.
They couldn't get back up since the hole was on the ceiling. If it had been on a wall, they could have gotten in.
" Let's go that way. And be careful not to wake up any of these fellas", Shadow pointed left.
Crystal did not want to go anywhere near the monsters. She was afraid to make a sound.
Even Shadow's talking had scared her. The three younglings headed left and tiptoed at the top of their abilities.
Crystal was terrified of the way they were staring forward. She thought that maybe one of them was faking it.
Whenever she walked by a monster, she expected it to jump at her and tear her apart.
Storm Jr. had to be careful not to touch the ones on the ceiling. Some were on all four while some were hanging upside down like bats.
Their arms were hanging loosely and those were easy to touch accidentally.
She could have easily touched their hand or something.
Crystal could smell the horrible breath and the rotting human flesh between their teeth.
Storm Jr. helped Crystal get through two monsters who were close to one another. Storm Jr. saw that Shadow had no problems, getting through.
She walked forward and went past a monster.
Then she suddenly looked at its neck. It was leaning into a wall and breathing heavily.
Crystal glanced back and noticed her. Storm Jr. had stopped going forward and was walking closer to the monster.
" What is she doing? We have to get out of here", Crystal thought, panicking.
Storm Jr. saw that the monster had a silver bracelet in its right wrist. It was shiny and beautiful.
" Wear this with love!", she heard her own voice say in her head.
The giggling that echoed from her memories, it made her spill a tear.
Shadow and Crystal had stopped. Neither of them were brave enough to get closer.
Storm Jr. was in the vicinity of three monsters.
" My love. I gave this to Leslie. How is it in here?", Storm Jr. asked herself as she got closer.
She was tempted to touch the bracelet to make sure it was real.
" No. No. No", mouthed Crystal as Storm Jr. leaned in.
Storm Jr. wondered if Leslie had lost it before the Grayson hill or if that was a proof that Leslie was in there.
She tried to recall if Leslie had been wearing it while they had been on the Grayson hill.
Crystal covered her own mouth as Storm Jr. foolishly bent forward even more. Then her tail touched the leg of a girl, standing on her left.
She made a sound.
Storm Jr. glanced at her and realized that she should have just gone and ignored the bracelet.
" Do not run, Storm Jr. If you dare to run, it will wake them all up", thought Shadow.
Storm Jr. did not move as the girl bent forward and sniffed the air. The girl's face was a inch away from Storm Jr.'s snout.
She was not sure how close it was to waking up. The dark eyes were staring into hers and the monster made a fist.
Storm Jr. hoped it was just a reflex and that the monster hadn't woken up.
She stood still and did not even breathe.
" Oh god. Oh god. Oh god", Storm Jr. repeated in her head.
The monster tilted its head a little and then stopped.
Storm Jr. was unable to move. The monster remained still.
Shadow walked to her and reached out for her hand.
" Grab me. I'll get you out of here", mouthed Shadow.
Storm Jr. nodded slowly and grabbed Shadow's hand.
He pulled her out of the trap, believing that the monster had fallen asleep again. Storm Jr. left the bracelet behind and tried to forget it.
" He is definitely alive. We'll find it out once we reach the upper floors", she thought.
Storm Jr. was more than happy to feel the breeze of outside. The corridor led to the first floor.
The corridor curved before going out of the basement.
They stopped once they reached the last curve. Shadow could see the doorway that led outside.
Then he let out a sigh.
" Well, crap. The ventilation didn't take us to the upper floors. Dammit!", cursed Shadow.
Crystal and Storm Jr. were disappointed as well. They had crawled through the vents and gotten nowhere.
If that vent cover hadn't failed, they would have gotten up.
They could hear monsters in the main hall. They couldn't go out of the basement area.
" Where do we go now?", asked Crystal.
" Up there. There's a vent. We can get back to the ventilation system through there", Storm Jr. said happily.
It was on the wall so they could get in.
As the others realized that, a monster came to the doorway. The animatronics hid quickly behind the curve.
The monster let out a shout that echoed through the basement.
" Oh no. It did that to wake up the monsters down there. This is the only way up and we can't go anywhere.
We are stuck between the monsters in the basement and the ones up there. The basement monsters are coming up. Crap", panicked Shadow.
" Let's go to the vent then. Hurry", said Crystal.
" We can't, there's no time", Shadow shook his head.
The three animatronics were stuck.
Storm Jr. glanced towards the basement and saw the shadows of the monsters, running their way.
Farewell: That is a good place to leave it.
You guys! If you are still reading this story by now, you must be beasts.
Thank you for that.
See you and remember that I am grateful for you being here.
THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE IS TO WRITE.
