The organs smelled absolutely rancid. He could not tell for sure what they were, or which animal they came from, but they definitely belonged on the inside of a body. Shinier than regular meat, and slightly rotten judging by the stench. The containers they hid inside hardly lived up to their name.
Toby had lost his appetite.
That smell engulfed the whole refrigerator, seeping into all the other food. He was sure they were fine. Maybe. Probably. But he was not about to eat anything, not for a while.
He slammed the fridge shut. Why there were organs inside, mixed with the delicious food, he did not know. His nose still tingled with the overpowering sensation.
He probably should have been asking questions. They were beginning to pile up fast, transforming from a mild annoyance to a grating pain. Besides, even if he was new, he was a Proxy. Top of the food chain, right under Masky and the Operator. Shouldn't he be the one with the secrets?
But why were there organs in the refrigerator? And why did Clockwork talk to Masky the other day? Did Masky have something against him? What did that Ben kid mean by everything he said? What happened to Smile Dog? Why did Masky's namesake look so familiar to him? Questions, questions, questions, and not a person to answer them.
He sighed. While he would never go back to how things were, this was not the life he was promised.
The refrigerator hummed silently to him. He twitched, but was otherwise silent.
And then, a noise.
Footsteps. Footsteps and voices. They came closer.
Toby disregarded them at first, already used to the comings and goings of people he knew only by name and face. But then, a single, simple sentence cut through the air, grasping at his attention as if in desperation.
"Slendy's gonna kill us."
Toby's whole body shuddered. Carefully, he crept towards the hallway the voices came from, positioning himself just far away from the doorless entryway to keep himself hidden. And then he listened.
"He's not gonna kill us," the second voice said, "as long as we don't say anything." Eyeless Jack. He recognized the voice well enough. Somewhat soft, but well-spoken and relatively wise.
"Are you kidding? He's the Slenderman! He's always watching. It's kind of his thing." A much more familiar voice. Jeff the Killer. Loud, raspy, and never afraid to be heard. Or perhaps desperately afraid not to be heard.
Toby noticed the footsteps stop, thankfully close by. "He doesn't actually see everything. He's not some sort of demigod. If he did, he'd know what happened to Smile."
Jeff snorted. "He could be demigod, for all we know. And I wouldn't be surprised if he knows where Smile is, and just won't tell."
Toby furrowed his brows. Smile was missing? This was news to him. He hadn't seen the dog since his first night at the castle, but he thought nothing of it. After all, he still didn't know how the castle worked for the non-Proxies.
"Tha- no, you're an idiot. Slenderman wouldn't lie about that. That's just stupid. You're stupid. I don't even know why I'm talking to you."
"Why's it so hard to believe?" Jeff argued. "We all know he's manipulative. I mean, the whole Proxy brainwashing thing kind of proves it. This is probably just one of his schemes. Kidnap my dog, get me to look for him, kidnap the Rake, and, um... uh..." he trailed off, not so subtly.
"And what? Make you look bad? I doubt you'll need his help for that." Eyeless sighed very audibly. "Look, we're getting sidetracked. Right now we need to find the Rake before anybody notices he's gone. Maybe Seed Eater will be able to sniff him out better than I can."
Although he could tell the situation was serious, Toby had to bite back a laugh at their bickering. "Oh, great! And who'll we send when we lose Seedy? We can't let anyone else know, or else we're dead!"
"You're dead," Eyeless corrected. "I just got caught in your mess. It's your dog that got lost. You just asked me and the Rake to sniff him out. If you get into shit, I'll say you threatened to kill me. You'll have no other witnesses."
Jeff was silent for a while. And then, a muttered "I hate you." Toby imagined him with his arms crossed and his face pouting, like a small child.
Another sigh. "Look, I've been trying to help you. The Rake can't be far. And I'm sure Smile just forgot to check himself out before leaving. We'll just go out and find the Rake and pretend nothing ever happened."
Toby's mental picture of Jeff still persisted. "And if we don't find him?"
There was silence for a moment. And then another. Finally, Eyeless replied, "Well, if the Rake can't find his own way back here, then we'll buy a flower or something for his funeral."
"Sounds good enough for me."
Toby heard footsteps again, this time coming from the opposite way they came. He strained his hearing for any more gossip, but by the time they started talking again, they were beyond ear's reach.
And once again, he was alone. Just him and the dull hum of a refrigerator that smelled of rotting organs.
He should tell Masky. He should tell the Operator. Eyeless and Jeff were taking advantage of his Master's generosity by conspiring and holding secrets. They had compromised the safety of at least one of the castle's guests.
And of course, if Smile and the Rake weren't just missing, and they were somehow attacked, then that was more than a problem.
Toby twitched. He slipped a gloved hand underneath one of his sleeves. The bandages covering his slowly healing wound remained there, a permanent reminder of what Masky did.
This wasn't the life he was promised.
Nor was it Masky's.
Toby walked back to his bedroom, glad for his scarf to hide his smile.
