Chapter 17: The Projectionist

Finally washing off the ink and dirt that had been stuck to her for days felt like heaven. It was amazing what a little warm water could do for her spirits. Allison grabbed a spare uniform after cleaning off and put it on, tucking her hair up into a ponytail and through the uniform's ball-cap. It wasn't much of a disguise, but from a distance, she was easy to mistake for any other food stand worker. There were phones here too, so she went ahead and called a friend to go check up on Cheese. She'd left her cat plenty of food, so she was sure he was alright, but any longer and she'd start to get worried. Content that everything at home was taken care of, Allison set off into the park.

Sticking to the outskirts and keeping her head low, Allison headed to food-stands that were the busiest. In her uniform, no one paid much attention when she ducked into stalls with other workers, carrying boxes of food under arms. She was an actress, after all. As long as she pretended she knew what she was doing, most people left her alone. The ones who didn't were dissuaded by a quick word or offhanded comment.

She'd managed to get quite a few boxes full of cans, food, and water, and headed back down to the tunnels. She still had plenty of time though, or at least, she thought she did. But she also knew that if she headed back inside of the safe room, Henry would probably try to convince her to stay. She could spare a few more minutes. Allison set down the boxes of food outside of the room then turned to head back through the tunnels. She had a feeling that if Joey were keeping Norman anywhere, it would be down underneath the studio, the same place that she'd found and rescued Henry. She peeked her head up into the park only once to check the time. She still had an hour and a half before the park closed.

Which meant an hour and a half that Bendy, and hopefully Joey, would be predisposed. So Allison headed to the studio.

The closer she got, the more voices she started hearing echo through the tunnels. Security offices paced the halls with flashlights. Her stunt in the studio had drawn way more attention than she would have liked, it seems. What was she supposed to do though? Alice was a menace. But she couldn't think of that right now, because the more she thought of Alice's, or Susie's, broken form in front of her, the ink on her hands, the she started to shake and tremble and lose her cool. If she was going to make it passed these guards, she was going to have to look and act the part. Even the slightest hint of nervousness could give her away.

She kept her head down. Moving passed them quickly, but not quite a run. One of them flashed their light at her, but she offered a smile and a wave, not pausing in her stride. That seemed to be convincing enough, because they soon moved on. Allison let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in, turning around and-

"Have you found anything yet?" Joey boomed, walked passed her and toward the guards. Allison's breath latched onto her throat.

"No sir, nothing. These tunnels are clear. Whoever they are, they're probably long gone..."

Joey grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. It took every ounce of control Allison had not to start running. But she had to keep her cool. Had to keep walking through the tunnels without running. Joey hadn't seen her face. He'd barely paid her any attention at all, actually.

She turned the corner and sure enough, there were the stairs leading below the studio. Allison took another look over her shoulder, but Joey and the other security officers were gone. She put a hand to her chest and allowed herself a few moments to breathe. She'd have to be really careful going back to the safe room. She didn't want to lead them there be accident. She was worried they'd find it, but she couldn't think of that right now. It sounded like they were finishing up the search, so maybe they'd cleared that room long before Henry, Allison, and Tom had even found it.

Allison took a deep breath, and pressed on. If Joey was down here, that gave her a small bit of time to look for Norman without him interfering. And Bendy would be out in the park. Now was her only chance. She wasn't going to waste it. She pushed on.

Going beneath the studio again made her heart pound. The last time she were here was saving Henry. In front of that ink machine. She hoped that wasn't where Norman was, she hoped that he would be in a room nearby that area without being near the ink machine itself. She just hated it. It made her skin crawl. She knew it was the source of everything, and she knew that if she wanted to fix this mess, she was going to have to face it again eventually. But right now, she wasn't ready.

She pulled out a flashlight. This time, she'd come prepared with that at least. The small beam of light swept across the dark stairwell as she descended. This place could really use an elevator. Maybe she'd search for one next time, but it probably required an employee key to activate, or who knows, even a key only Joey had access to.

A few floors down, Allison started her search. Norman might be in the actual studio, but if Joey had him contained, it probably wouldn't be the smartest to keep him where other ignorant employees could find him. No, keeping him down here made sense. She'd find him, she had to find him, she couldn't let something happen after he'd put so much on the line to help her. How many days had it been since he'd come to her apartment, fidgeting and stuttering in the doorway while she'd held a knife behind her back? And still, despite that, he was willing to help her. It was a risk, and she was grateful. She couldn't let that risk end in his demise. It wasn't right to sacrifice someone who was helping her to save Tom. A life for a life was never a fair trade.

Was there a light on in that room? That was promising.

Allison stepped onto the floor and away from the staircase. The walls were in decent condition here. Not great, ink still seeped between the seams and pooled at the ground, but the beams weren't sagging and the floor didn't creak, so it was promising. She headed down a long hallway. She'd never seen this area before. There were lots of rooms without doors, hanging lights and small candles lighting her way. She peeked into one room, surprised to see rows of books and chairs. She swept her flashlight down another hallway, this one with several doors and another stairway.

This place was huge, but...quiet. Everywhere else, there was the constant sound of ink pumping through the pipes. But here, that seemed distant. She could almost swear she heard a record playing in the distance too, and old instrumental melody.

Was peaceful the right word? It didn't feel right to call any part of this place peaceful. But it certainly wasn't as chaotic as the rest of the park and areas beneath the studio.

Despite that though, the very nature of this place, like a living quarters, felt wrong in its own right.

Were there people...living down here?

The peaceful feeling disappeared. The hair on the back of Allison's neck stood on end. She knew the feeling, and even as she spun around and looked in every corner without seeing another soul, it was unshakable.

She was being watched.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed on, but the feeling continued. Areas where she ducked into where she swore she saw a flash of glowing eyes, golden and pupil-less. But then they disappeared again.

She quickened her pace, resisting the urge to turn back and run away. Just a bit farther. She had to be getting close.

There was a room at the end of the hall. Lights flickered inside, and Allison careful opened the door. The light came from a projection, playing Bendy's old cartoons on the back screen. Aside from that light, it was fairly dark in the room, and Allison stumbled forward, using her flashlight to find pieces of furniture to move around, making her way to the screen. She watched Bendy dance across the screen, and felt a pang of sadness.

How could something as innocent as a cartoon go this far?

She shook her head and moved forward, casting a shadow over the screen and the light onto herself. And then she heard a hiss.

Allison froze, slowly sweeping her light around the room. That didn't sound like Bendy's voiceless hisses. This was new.

A low whimper, coming from the projector on the wall. Allison stepped forward.

"Norman?"

She moved her flashlight to the wall. There was a shape there, barely, among the wall, underneath the projector. She stepped closer, moving to get a better look. Was that...a body attached to the projector?

Suddenly an inky hand launched out at her, and wailing filled the room. Allison screamed, scrambling backwards as the monster reached out for her. He didn't make it very far, wires and tubes sticking out of his back and head were connected to the wall like leases, keeping him from getting too close. It screeched at her, a half-human half-mechanical noise that made her mouth go dry. The mechanical part monstrous and hungry and cold. The human part was anger and despair and familiar.

"Oh God...oh God oh God, N-Norman..." Allison squeaked. "W...what did Joey do to you...?"

The light from the projection flickered in front of her, and she squinted and turned away from the bright light. It made a gurgled noise, and Allison felt a choked sob rising up in her chest.

"I'm so sorry Norman..." she said. "I...I don't know how to save you, I-"

It screamed again, launching toward her with enough force that the tubes and wires creaked against the brick walls.

"Norman, stop! Stop it!" she begged, stumbling to her feet and pressing back away from him.

He kept pushing, again and again, straining against his restraints on the wall, clawing out at her, reaching out and flashing that light so bright she couldn't see, her eyes were hurting, but she tried to stumble away from him. She managed to push herself away, she heard him screech and push aside desks and chairs to get to her, but right as she thought the wall might give out and give him free reign to get to her, two hands grabbed her arm and pulled her into a doorway, shutting it tight behind them. Allison heard Norman, or whatever was left of him, howl in anger, but she was pulled further and further away.

Allison paused, taking a moment to catch her breath and look up at her savior. "Thank yo-"

A hand clamped over her mouth and nose, pressing a cloth up against her face. Allison struggled and pushed back, eyes wide in fear. She tried to hold her breath, tried to fight it, but her limbs were already refusing to listen to her.

"I still have one favor to collect, little angel," Sammy said, and Allison's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slumped down to the ground. The last thing she heard was Sammy's soft giggles and the humming of all-too familiar show tunes.

She'd been gone too long. It was well passed time when she should have been back, and Henry was getting worried. He'd found the box of food outside the door, a good indicator that she'd at least been by, but when he heard the security guards walking by, he'd feared the worst. They hadn't checked the room, thank goodness, but he knew he had to go after her.

Boris looked at him and tilted his head. He knew Tom would wake up soon. But he couldn't wait. He also didn't really want to face his wrath if he woke up and Allison wasn't there. No, Henry still had time to try to find Allison before the park closed. There was still time.

He quickly wrote Tom a message on the wall telling him where'd he'd gone and why, then looked over at Boris. He looked confused, but Henry knew he couldn't take him with him.

"Sorry," Henry said, heading for the door. "Hopefully I'll be back soon." He stepped outside and locked the door behind him, then hurried up to the park. He didn't know the tunnels as well as Allison, but if he were in the park, he'd be able to find his way to the studio. And that's the first place he had to check for her.

Crowds were starting to thin out a bit, families with small children already packing up and leaving as the park started to wind down a bit. It made navigating easier, but Henry was constantly on edge, looking over his shoulder constantly for someone staring at him for too long, someone who could have recognized him or was looking for him. Maybe he was just being paranoid. He wasn't sure.

He hurried to the studio, heading up to the gate and trying to slip in behind one of the other workers.

The worker paused and narrowed their eyes at him. "Excuse me, I don't see your nametag. Do you work here?"

Henry gulped. Play it cool. He smiled. "Yeah, down in maintenance, as you can probably tell since I'm covered in ink," he chuckled. "Lost my badge down in the tunnels. I'm heading up to get a new one now."

The worker relaxed and chuckled. "Those tunnels are awful. You new?"

"Y-Yeah," Henry said, forcing the small talk. "That obvious?"

"Most newbies are nervous. The whole toon thing sets them off. Just make sure you get your new nametag and get out of here before dark, and you'll be fine," the worker said, holding the studio door open for Henry and then disappearing down a hall with a wave.

Right. Henry didn't have a lot of time. He had to hurry. He glanced at his watch. It was late. He needed to move fast and avoid Joey's office. Norman was the projectionist, right? He'd head toward the recording studio.

He knew how to get to there, at least. It was like going home. He walked passed many other workers, some who gave him odd glances, but most seemed in a hurry, ready to rush and leave before dark fell. If anything, Henry's slightly frantic nature seemed natural with the other workers, and he was grateful that he blended in. He just kept his head down, and kept moving.

Finally, he reached the recording studio, hesitating outside of the door. He heard laughter on the other side. People? There was a faint woman's voice, maybe it was Allison, maybe she'd found Norman and just lost track of time. God, he hoped that was the case because being here in the studio was making him nervous. Joey could step out at any moment, pulling him away and...

No. Calm down, Henry. Just keep your wits about you. Don't get swept up in your fears. Ignore the way your heart is pounding and your hands are sweating. It's fine.

Henry took a deep breath and opened the door. He wasn't sure what to expect of his old art studio. It had been so long, would his old desk even still be there? Would it-

"Ah! Henry! Just the man we were talking about!"

Henry's blood ran cold.

Linda smiled at him. "Hello Henry! Goodness, you sure are a mess. Look! Joey Drew gave us free tickets for the day! He was just showing us where you used to work!"

Joey smiled, bouncing a little girl, Henry's little girl, in his arms. "What a beautiful daughter you have Henry. You should have introduced me ages ago! Isn't that right, little Audrey?"

Audrey laughed, but Henry felt like crying. His legs were shaking.

Linda's brow furrowed. "Henry? Henry, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Joey put his free hand on Linda's shoulder and smiled at Henry. "Oh, I'm sure he's fine. Clearly so shocked to see you, he's at a loss for words! Why don't you come in Henry, take a seat!"

He couldn't. He couldn't move a muscle, how could he walk across the room and sit down?

"Joey's been telling me all about how you agreed to come back and work with the studio! Oh Henry, I'm so happy for you, I just wish you would have told me, I would have understood," Linda said, walking over and taking his hands in her own. "Listen, I know you worried about leaving Audrey and I behind while you worked, but we're okay! Audrey's getting bigger now, she'll understand when she's older too that her father has to work! And we can come visit you! Mister Drew said that we get lifetime passes since you work here again!"

"Linda," Henry started, his voice catching in his throat, but what could he say, how could he tell her that she was in danger, that their daughter was in the hands of a monster? Hadn't he told her about this place? About his fears?

No. He hadn't told Linda. He'd always made her leave the room. Always kept his fears to himself. And now, he'd dragged her into this hell with him.

When Tom woke up, he was alone. The realization sent him into a panic. He looked around for any sign of them, he knew he shouldn't have trusted that Henry, he knew it, he...

The wall. A simple message in handwriting that wasn't his or Allison's.

She went looking for Norman. Gone too long. I'm going to look for her.

Of course she'd gone off on her own, of course she couldn't just be patient for once in her life and wait for him to come back to his senses. No, she had to go running off again, putting herself in reckless danger because dammit that woman couldn't wait for anything in her life.

Tom gripped his head, pacing the room back and forth. What was he going to do?! Now they were both missing, and he didn't even know for how long! Surely they both left before dark, because it had to be dark now. But if they weren't back yet, and he was awake, then something must have happened, surely something must have happened. There was a box of food pulled inside, so at least part of their mission had gone well, but that didn't explain why they were here. He was hoping that Allison wouldn't even be able to figure out that the barricade to the door could be opened from the inside. If she couldn't figure it out, then that meant she'd be forced to wait until he was back to his senses and could go with her.

But no, of course not, Allison was too smart and too impatient to sit around idly by, and he couldn't even stop her, she left right in front of him but he was too busy playing a banjo to go with her.

He hated this. He hated this body and this form and everything about it. He couldn't talk. He couldn't sleep. He didn't even need to eat. He walked around like a mindless drone during the day. He couldn't do anything.

He couldn't even cry in frustration, and he wanted to, he wanted to burst into tears or punch something or scream, but even if he tried, no sound would come out. Joey had sealed his fate and bought his silence all in one fell swoop.

Joey.

At first, Tom couldn't hate him. Or at the very least, he couldn't form thoughts about harming him. It was like a wall was built up in his mind to prevent such things. Probably just another side-effect of this forsaken body of his. But now, not even that wall could quell those feelings of hate.

This was all his fault. All of it. Every single thing that was going wrong in his life was because of that man. Allison was the only good thing this place had ever given him, only to rip it away from him again.

Tom grabbed his axe from the corner of the room and threw open the door. He needed to find Allison and Henry.

If Henry really had gone to look for her, then he supposed he really could be trusted. And he wouldn't leave him behind either. But he was going to find Allison first. It was a big park, but he couldn't just sit by and wait. No. He was going to find her and finish these continuous wild goose chases of the two of them tracking each other down. He'd make her understand that it was dangerous for her to go alone. For her, but also for him. She's the one who made the choice to come back into his life, after he'd given up the hope of ever seeing her again.

She was going to have to deal with those consequences.

Finally found the perfect theme song for this arc in Welcome to Bendyland~

"Don't Speak" By Hidden Citizens. Give it a listen! Hidden Citizens is an amazing group that does covers and original music and this song feels like such a perfect fit for all of the themes for this fanfiction. If I had more time for art, I'd totally try to make a better cover art for this story than a picture of doodles I've done lol. Maybe someday. Anyways~

What do you guys think? Things are about to take a turn. A wild, crazy, turn. About two more chapters, and "Book 1" will officially be finished. Once that chapter is posted, I'll make a poll on my profile page asking whether or not everyone thinks I should start a second story for the next part or just continue here. I'll leave it up to you guys.

I hope you're all ready.