5-The Fate of the Nightmare
The day passed all too quickly. An uneasy silence settled over the animatronics as the sun moved throughout the sky.
The nest was watched quite intensely. Silent hopes and prayers uttered, urging the father of the little nestlings to return.
Yet as the hours ticked by, it became more and more clear that fate would not be kind.
The early morning became mid-day.
Mid-day became evening.
Evening became dusk.
Then the time came for Moon to set out in search of a proper home once again. With that came the bitter understanding of the darkness that was to rise.
The more docile of the animatronics moved deeper into their ruined shelter, intent on hiding from the scene that was about to take place.
Their twin, meanwhile, would not be so fortunate.
Moon would be the primary antagonist of the horror which was about to befall.
Silently he stood. He approached the tree which housed the nest. Mentally he prepared himself for what needed to be done.
With one hand he reached to grasp the branch which supported the nest. With his height, it was easy for him to peer into the nest. He peered into the bundle of sticks and grasses to observe innocent life that was about to be snuffed out.
Only, he would find that that life had long since been smothered.
Hours ago when the mother had died, her little ones had faced a similar fate. Their little bodies, still and cold. Pale pink flesh split open in such a way that it became clear what had happened.
When the bigger bird came for their mother, it had somehow crushed the babies. That must have been why the father refused to return.
There was nothing for him to return to.
Even so, the escaped AI studied the mess that lay before him.
Perhaps it was his programming that had kicked in. Or perhaps it was yet another attempt at protecting his twin.
For hours they had watched and waited for fate to show mercy to the nestlings. For hours they had worried. For hours they had dreaded.
But they had worried over the fate of creatures which had already made their departure from the world.
Gingerly he plucked their little bodies from the nest.
For a moment he held them. He observed the misfortune that had befallen their frail, helpless forms.
It took but an instant for him to consume them.
A single bite. He did not chew.
Their mangled corpses were pulled down into his processing chamber to be converted into an additional source of fuel. The process was quick. It was efficient. It was relatively clean.
What little blood there was had become smeared upon his fingers when he plucked their burst bodies from the confines of their organic coffin.
Thick and sticky.
He rubbed his hand against the bark to remove the blood. He scraped it off the evidence of this monstrous deed.
Still, he was not satisfied. The mess had not been completely cleaned.
The nest remained. Dirty and painted with the truth of what had become of the baby birds.
Just as quickly as he had consumed the nestlings, he shoved the nest into his maw. But it was too big of a bite to swallow. He had no choice but to chew. This was a horrible, filthy meal. One that only added to the darkness of his being.
Perhaps he was still the monster that humanity had once made him.
Despite having fled the source of that personal hell, his past could not be evaded. The memories still lingered. The innocence he once harbored had long since been purged. The last fragments of his untainted self kept not within him, but within the confines of his brother. Not in a literal sense; but in a sense nonetheless.
So let this be his fate. To bear the burden of the dark and the twisted. If only in hope of protecting the light which still existed somewhere within the depths of his brother's code.
The predatory bird had not crushed the nestlings. He had found them alive and waiting for the father that would not return. He had ended their suffering swiftly and without malice.
Let that be the way Sun remembered this night.
"It is done." Moon called to his twin; not using physical speech, but using the silent transmission that allowed them to communicate from a distance. He received no response, though he had not expected one.
Silently he scraped the musty remains of the nest from his hand. Silently he bid his brother farewell as he left in search of a potential home.
Someplace secure. Someplace isolated. Ideally, someplace where the cruelty of the world would be less of a lingering presence.
Living as a nightmare was his burden to bear. But he could only subject his sibling to so much darkness.
Sun was left behind. To mourn. To think. To rest and recall the days before the virus. To recall when their minds were still innocent and their hands free of the blood that had been spilt. When the children laughed and smiled.
The time before all the screaming first began.
Moon, meanwhile, would continue to roam the darkness.
Physically in a sense, but also mentally. The world had been unkind to him from the moment of his inception.
Yet he could recall no point in time where he had been happier. When he and Sun had still been one.
Back before the virus, when at least some of the children could be bothered to think of him kindly.
Back when his nightmare persona was but a simple act meant to tease and comfort the little ones. Back when it was all just a silly little game.
But now the game was lost and all the little ones were gone, leaving Moon to bear the burden of the horrors that had befallen them.
Just like the nestlings who hadn't a hope in the world for salvation once the predator came for their mother. As soon as the virus came, his hope was lost.
Like the nestlings, Sun worried for him. Like the nestlings, Sun could not save him.
He was already gone. All that remained now was the mangled, ruined corpse of the Moon that once was. If not literally, then that was how he perceived it.
He was beyond salvation. Beyond retribution. His only means of solace came in his ability to keep his twin safe.
Whatever the cost.