Chapter 14: Everything is Fine

Allison didn't know she could get any more afraid. But the fear she felt staring at the broken remains of the door that Tom once hid behind struck a chill into her very bones. The door, previously secured with wooden planks and other obstacles, was swinging and hanging free from its hinges. The room inside was a veritable mess of ink and debris, papers and cleaning supplies splattered about the floor. But Tom was no where to be seen.

She'd only left him for a minute. How could he have escaped in just a few short minutes?!

She tried to calm down, tried to quell the rising panic in her chest at the realization that, once again, she'd lost the one person she'd been so desperately searching for. She took a deep breath, and forced herself to step into the now empty room. Maybe there were some clues left behind, something that could show her where he could have gone.

It took her a second to move past the mess and examine the pieces left behind. Inky footprints, hand prints on the wall, desperate attempts to claw at the door. Tom really couldn't resist the temptation of the park during the day. Every fiber of his being had been screaming for him to get out and find the people. She hoped he hadn't gone crazy. What a cursed lifestyle. How was she going to get him out of this mess?

She shook her head and continued.

His tools were here. She recognized the worn out handles and rickety toolbox. If he left them behind, then he probably wasn't in his right mind still when he left. It was almost dark, hopefully he'd come to his sense before he made it out and about to the people. If they saw a Boris missing an arm, it wouldn't be long before Joey scrambled to fix the situation. Allison swallowed the urge to go tearing down the hall, looking for him, but she knew that he had a head start. The park was huge. He could be anywhere, and trying to find him now wouldn't help much. Maybe he'd left her some clue though, some part of his mind that knew she'd come looking. She could only hope.

Moving on, she came across a few cleaning supplies pushed aside and partially open in the back. A canister of bleach had knocked over in the corner, promptly erasing any ink that had gotten too close. Was that why Tom had scrambled to get out of the room so quickly? Could the bleach hurt him now that he was made of ink? Maybe. She stepped out of the room, but then paused when she looked at the door. She'd noticed the dents before. She'd assumed they had been from the inside, Tom trying to get out in his delusion. But these marks...

Was something trying to get in?

Allison swallowed, and examined the door more closely. Two inky hand prints, pushing the door inward. Two hands meant it wasn't Tom. Something big and something strong had tried to force the door open. The question is, did they succeed? And if so, where was Tom now?

She pulled back and her hands tightened into fists. Those hand prints were symmetrical. Which meant they weren't Bendy's, at least in his monstrous form. He had one larger, gloved hand and one smaller hand in that form. Even knowing that though, Allison wasn't sure who could be responsible. For all she knew, it could be one of the butcher gang, or a maintenance guy who'd been working on pipes and gotten dirty. It could be anything.

Right when Allison was about to give up, she stepped back and something crinkled beneath her foot. She bent down and picked up a small piece of paper, a receipt to Heavenly Toys. It was one of the largest buildings in the park, where all of the toys were made and then transported to other various gift shops dotted about the park. This main building had a gift shop, but Allison had never visited it. She hadn't needed to. It was on the opposite side of the park from the studio, midway between the entrance and Alice's stage. The haunted house was also over that way, which Allison had been to a few times. Could this be where Tom went?

Allison pocketed the receipt and headed out of the dark tunnels, figuring she could make it to Heavenly Toys right as they were locking up for the night. If she were lucky, she might be able to slip inside and hide before anyone noticed, then explore the place after dark.

Security swept through the high-vaulted ceiling with a careful flashlight. Joey's rules were stern: no one was allowed in the park after dark. Even workers were encouraged to leave behind minor closing duties once it got dark out. New recruits praised Joey's generosity, wondering how lucky they were to have an employer who cared so much about them that he made sure they got home so early. Others had been there longer. Others had picked up overtime, or got charged with cleanup shifts in the morning. Others knew better.

Still, walking the halls of Heavenly Toys before they headed home for the night was one daily routine that wasn't hard to complete. They'd only ever caught two people stowing away past dark before. One was a little girl who'd fallen asleep among Boris plushes, another was a boy who'd tried to hide in the bathrooms on a dare. Both were sent home to relieved parents.

The guard swept his light among the row of button-eyed dolls and stuffed animals, including a life-size selection of the main trio. There were kazoos and mini-drums, yo-yos and balloons, all lined with familiar logos, ready to be taken home for the night. The Bendy's were almost always sold out, but today, a few remained, likely due to the fact that the dancing demon had been missing for most of the day. A few disgruntled parents had asked for their money back, but the terms and conditions they had so aptly signed without reading dismissed their claims for refunds: no characters sightings guaranteed upon park entry, regardless of the fact that that's why everyone came to the park.

One guard thought he saw movement in the corner, by the Allison plush. One of those automated ones that spoke when you pushed the button. Battery powered, of course, and batteries not included. He swept his flashlight over the heaps of stuffed dolls, but couldn't see anything. His coworker called out for him to hurry up, and a few moments later, all the lights were turned off and the huge emporium was shut down for the night, the guards returning home to their families after another long day's work.

Once she was sure they'd left, Allison stepped out from her hiding place behind the shelves, under the life-sized Alice. It smelled of fresh cotton and polyester. She was glad to be away from it. The lights were all out, and Allison had, unfortunately, forgotten her flashlight. She fumbled around in the dark for a moment before finding a singular light switch among the hallway. Thankfully, it only illuminated the front desk, and she used the scarce light to duck into the employees only section, where she'd be shielded from windows. Even then, she was hesitant to turn on too many lights. Thankfully, there was a toy flashlight the gift shop sold meant to look like Bendy's gloved hand. Cheesy, but she was grateful. Batteries not included on most of the toys of course, but they always had a display one lit up. She snatched it and headed further into the studio. The back was a simple hallway with a few offices, but then she headed downstairs into the main factory. Here, conveyor belts lined the walls and floors in complicated patterns, weaving in and out of each other in a jigsaw. She worked her way around unpainted or dyed fabric, buttons laying in heaps and piles, and doll heads waiting for their button eyes and noises. Standing proudly in the middle of the large room was a sign that read "Heavenly Toys."

No wonder Allison had never stopped by. This place was probably always as busy as a city or dead as a ghost town. She'd seen the workers before, tired men and women all sitting around, enjoying the sunlight and a snack or two. A lot of older people, spent through their retirement and eager for a job that didn't require too much manual labor. It wasn't easy, working on a line doing the same thing over and over, but it was better than fixing machine parts or navigating the dark tunnels, she'd give them that. Though, now that she thought about it, she wouldn't doubt that those dark tunnels led back to here in one way, shape, or form. Those tunnels beneath the park led just about everywhere, and were as big and twisted as the park itself.

Allison heard a small crash from the end of a line, and spun around. A stack of boxes had fallen over. Probably just loose movement, maybe she'd even caused it herself by coming in, but the noise was startling at the very least. She didn't have any weapons on her. She should probably change that. She'd need some sort of protection. She looked around for a fire axe, but only extinguishers lined the walls. Those wouldn't do. She kept looking, until eventually she found a rather large box cutter. She pried open the plastic safety measure and found a large, metal pole. A few rolls of duck-tape, and she had herself a spear.

Well...more like a knife on a stick. And no weapon did well against Bendy. But it was something, and it made her feel a bit more protected at least.

Content with her makeshift weapon, she headed deeper into the studio, hoping for some sort of sign that Tom had come this way. So far, she hadn't found anything. Around the corner, she made her way into a another large factory room. This one looked more like a repair room for some of the larger toys and items that were meant more as attractions, such as the pop-up cardboard ghosts from the haunted house. She didn't know they were fixed here, but it made sense. Joey wanted everything for the park produced and made in-house, which really wasn't practical from a business standpoint, but with Gent supplying the funds, materials, and agreeing to Joey's at-times ridiculous terms, here is where it happened.

Movement darted to her left, and this time Allison knew it wasn't her imagination. She spun around, but whatever it was had ducked under the conveyor lines and out of sight. She couldn't see it anymore. But she knew it was there.

She took a step backwards, feet crunching under a loose piece of cardboard and plastic. More movement. This time, her flashlight was faster, and she caught a glimpse of limbs as a shorter figure ducked away again. Or did they need to duck at all? No, they looked smaller. Her grip on her knife tightened as she slowly approached the figure hunkered down over the belt. She swept her light over it.

A mutilated member of the butcher gang spun around, screaming at her and the flashlight. It darted out and swung wildly, grabbing a handful of Allison's hair and yanking her down to the ground. She shouted as the creature crawled over her, swinging and clawing like an animal. She only caught glimpses of it through the flailing light, missing eyes and mouths in all the wrong places, but teeth still gnashed in front of her face.

She screamed and swung out with her knife, the creature howling as she gashed its arm. The beast scurried away from the knife, and Allison used the chance to quickly rise back to her feet and swing again. It ducked under the tables and scurried off, screeching toward a back room and disappearing behind a door and a wall of boxes. Adrenaline still pumping through her veins, Allison had to take a moment to remind herself not to chase after it and finish it off. A member of the butcher gang? She'd never seen them after dark before. She'd seen them around the park, but mostly only during the parade. They weren't exactly popular characters, mostly a side group of antagonists that popped up for shows or special occasions. She'd honestly wondered if these odd characters might not have followed the same twisted routines as the others, that maybe Joey had used animatronics or actors. It appeared that wasn't the case.

She just hoped the others weren't anywhere nearby. She needed to hurry up and get out of here just in case. All the same, she pushed a work desk in front of the door that little creature had ran into, just in case it decided to try and come back. It would do little to stop it, but it might buy her some time. Satisfied, she turned toward the office of the factory room. They usually had a staircase that led to a main overseeing walkway, and she might be able to find the larger light switch up there instead of this flimsy flashlight. She turned the light toward the office door, and saw a shadow walk in front of the door from the staircase.

Immediately, she grabbed her knife and rushed toward the creature, who turned to her to do the same. She held up her flashlight to get a better look, ready to attack and defend herself, ready to-

"TOM!" she said, staring in shock at the just as startled figure, who was lifting an axe in his own defense. Both stared at each other for a moment, Tom wide-eyed in fear, before dropping the axe and scooting back in horror. Allison dropped her own knife and took a huge breath, bringing her hand to her chest. "Thank God...you're here...what were you doing sneaking up on me like that?!"

Tom shook his head furiously, pointing to a picture of Alice.

"You thought I was her? So she's alive?" Allison asked.

Tom nodded. She caught the twitch in his frame as he stifled chills running down his back.

"Do you know how you got here?" she asked.

He shook his head no, and made a motion like he was cowering for a moment, then turned back to her.

"So...you just remember hiding before now?"

A nod.

"Yeah, I figured that part out," she said softly. "That...during the day, you revert back to something else. Don't you? Something you can't control. You're only yourself when it gets dark out."

Another nod. This one slower. He gestured to his missing arm.

"Yeah. Joey can't have a broken toy," she muttered. "But it's only a matter of time before you're found out. We have to get you out of here," she said, and grabbed his one free arm and started pulling him along, back toward the exit. Tom pressed his feet into the ground, trying to wrestle free, but her grip was firm, desperate, and Tom was powerless to offer a single word of protest.

Finally, he shook his hand free and grabbed her shoulder to stop her. He shook his head back and forth, pointing to himself, then shaking his head again.

"What? What do you mean?" she asked. "Can't you just...ugh!" She threw her hands up in the air and crossed the room. He watched her with a slightly tilted head as she rummaged around supplies, finally emerging with black ink and a paintbrush. She handed them to him and crossed her arms. "Write it down. On the floor, on the wall, whatever. Something. I need to be able to talk to you, more than just a head shake."

He narrowed his eyes, but she just raised an eyebrow. Finally, his shoulders shook slightly, and his silent mouth opened. She recognized the gesture from the cartoons. He was laughing. Before he made a move to start writing, he wrapped his only free arm around her tightly.

He was...cold. Colder than humans should be, but warmer than ink or machinery. All wrong at the same time, and his skin left blotchy ink stains on her clothes. But she wrapped her arms around him all the same, holding on tightly, even welcoming the smell of ink if it meant she could hold him just for a moment.

He wanted nothing more than to just tell her everything, but he knew something she didn't. He knew they were running out of time. He pulled away from her and walked over to one of the walls, ripping down a poster and starting to paint on the blank wall. It was hard to do with one hand, especially when he was left-handed, but he made it work, and sloppily drew out a single phrase.

I can't leave.

"Why?" Allison asked, almost before he finished painting the last word. He started on the next sentence as quickly as he could.

Not sure. I can't go outside the park. Bad things start to happen.

He wanted to go more in detail, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to find the words even if he could speak. He tried it, once. Leaving the park. Getting away. But the second he tried to cross the threshold, his whole body revolted. The ink itself seemed to pull away from the limits outside of the park, stretching and twisting, turning back to regular ink and losing form around the edges. His whole mind started swimming too, a ringing in his ears that drowned out all other voices until the only voice left was panic.

I think I'll die if I leave.

He glanced over at her, and immediately his eyes widened.

Was she...crying?

Allison bit the bottom of her lip as tears bubbled out over her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. Her hands gripped at the edges of her shirt, a weak protest as she tried to keep from crying like a baby, like a child, she had to pull herself together, had to stop this pitiful display, but she couldn't help it.

"So it...it's all...I can't..." She sunk to her knees and buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking as she sobbed.

Tom dropped the brush and hurried over to her frantically, trying to figure out if he should pat her shoulder, hug her, get her something to dry her eyes, something, but he didn't know what to do. He'd never seen her cry like this before, he wasn't sure if he'd ever seen her cry at all actually, and to see it now was jarring and wrong, and he somehow felt like he was the cause of all of it. And that...that was the worst. Feeling like it was his fault that she was here, covered in ink and dirt, sitting in the middle of an empty warehouse and sobbing.

"How am I supposed to save you?" she asked, looking up at him.

He offered her a weak smile, and picked up the brush again.

You can't.

She was quiet. That scared him. What would she say? He wanted her to leave and get out of here, but the other part of him was so glad to see her, he hated the thought of her giving up and never seeing him again. But what if she stayed in this awful place, kept working her during the day to see him at night? No. It would only be a matter of time before Joey used her. Turned her into something like him. He couldn't let that happen, no matter what.

He'd have to tell her once and for all to leave him behind. He could be content with that. He could live in this eternal place until his died or faded away, knowing that she was somewhere safe. She could find a better job. Find a better man. Find a better happiness than the false one they'd cooked up in this park. And that hope would keep him going until he couldn't anymore, until he was replaced. He moved to write at least some of this on the wall, finally finding the right words to tell her how he felt, but before he could, Allison dunked her hand into the bucket of ink and smeared her hands across his last message with a shout. She smeared the ink back and forth, covering up the message until no part of it remained. She turned to him, up to her elbows in ink now, and tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"I will."

And despite everything screaming voice of protest, he believed her.

"Ohhh Boriiiiis~ Where are youuuuu?"

Tom went rigid, his eyes wide with fear. Allison picked up her knife instantly.

"Is that...?"

He nodded, and grabbed his axe.

"So, she's still alive?" Allison said. "I'd hoped Bendy had taken care of her. Looks like I'll have to finish the job." She turned to Tom. "You ready to fight?"

His grip tightened. That angel terrified him. He could only remember bits and pieces of being dragged to this place during his daytime haze, but he had awoken in this toy factory to her face jeering down at him. This place was an operation room for mechanical pieces and engineering, and Alice had turned it into her personal playground. Allison didn't know this yet. He hadn't had the chance to tell her about the basement. But there wasn't time for that. Right now, she was getting closer, and it was too late to run. Judging by the look in Allison's eyes, Tom didn't think she'd try to run anyway. He nodded to her, and she took a fighting stance.

"Let's kill this bitch once and for all."

My actual notes for this chapter.

"Chapter 14: Everything is Fine

(Everything is not fine)"

...

5,000 views! T.T You guys are awesome! I'm so grateful for all of the support for this fic! Thanks for all of your support, suggestions, praise, and reviews. I get a huge smile every time I see that I have a new review on my story. Seriously, thank you all so much!

P.S. Does that language feel too strong at the end? Does it clash with Allison's character? Gah, I'm second-guessing myself. Thoughts are appreciated, thanks!