Mable: Sorry this took so long. Between computer and internet issues, typing this chapter up and getting it ready to post took longer than I anticipated. But here it is, finally! Enjoy!
The Butcher's Traps
Chapter 9: Snared
There were about five minutes of silence where Charlie and Sammy sat together on the floor of the closet. No more words were exchanged, they just rested like that while both of their minds went a mile a minute. Left alone in the room, Mike laid down on the bed, flat on his back, palms pressed into the comforter, and stared up at the ceiling fan. There was no way he was getting back to sleep like this.
There was a knock on the door before long. "It's open," Mike called over. He expected it to be one of Charlie's friends. It was Clay Burke, because of course it would be.
Clay was carrying a field interview notebook and looked over the room before asking, "Where's Charlie?"
Deciding that he was too tired to come up with a believable reason that she was in the closet, Mike just answered with, "I think she's in the bathroom."
"I should go check on her," he could hear Marla chime in from outside the door. He couldn't tell if she knew he was covering and playing along or was being genuine. Though he did know now that Charlie's whole gaggle of friends were congregated outside the door. Not that it changed much.
"That's fine. You're the one I needed to speak with," Clay said. Mike exhaled and sat up with his back against the pillows. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I was sleeping when I heard scratching on the window. Next thing I know, the same bear that broke down my back door is breaking in. I got out through a door leading into the next room and went out that door. Almost got sprayed by Bonnie, got in the car, and drove out of there," Mike retold. Clay began to write this down. "…Freddy was there too and there was a Chica walking around in the back."
Clay looked up from the notepad. "You didn't mention Chica before. This is the first time you've seen it?"
"Yeah, but I didn't get a good look at her. All I could see was that she was shaped like a diving bell. About the size of one too," Mike answered. He watched as Clay wrote this down before looking over towards the closed and covered window. "I know you're thinking I'm hiding something."
"I didn't say that, Mike. In fact, I believe everything you've said," Clay said. He raised his gaze to the young man with a much more solemn look. "What do you know about Charlie's 'science project'?"
The question took Mike completely off guard. After he got through the door without questions, he had just assumed that was the end of it. He could tell from this look now that Clay recognized the Puppet. Trying to keep his compositor, the security guard shrugged.
"I think she might've found it at her house. She brought it over to my place. Why?"
"Because it's one of the animatronics that was at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza during the Missing Children Incident. I know I don't need to clarify any of this to you. You know why I may be a little wary that it suddenly appears after all these years," Clay said. Mike nodded slowly. "I didn't see under the blanket. It has a white, porcelain mask with a smile?" A slower nod. "Then that's it."
He started to write something down and Mike crossed his arms across his chest, deciding to do some interrogating of his own. "Wait, wait. How do you even know this? If this bot was working back at the old Freddy's, the Freddy's before I worked at Freddy's, two Freddy's ago, then why remember this one?" he asked. To his surprise, Clay lowered the notebook and began to explain.
"During that time attention was given to the animatronics due to reports we were getting of foul odors and unusual aggression. One of the most notable reports was given from a whistleblower employee who claimed that he had seen blood on the Puppet's hands the day after the children went missing. After that we kept a closer eye on it until it was supposedly decommissioned."
Mike gave him a lazily unenthused look. "So, you think the Puppet made the kids 'disappear'. I don't know what you're looking at, but I don't think it's capable of doing that. Probably an employee shifting blame."
"On that we both agree. Considering that the blood had been cleaned up, we were aware that there was a cover-up of evidence, and it wouldn't be the first time that an accident was blamed on an animatronic. I'm sure you've heard of the boy who was shoved headfirst into an animatronic's mouth by his brother, probably the most known example of Freddy's many accidents."
Charlie had been listening from inside the closer with the door cracked only slightly enough to hear, and when she heard that she was struck by familiarity.
"Does he mean the Bite of 87?" she thought. She looked to Sammy and got her answer. Illuminated by the thin beam of light, she could see the look of shock on his face, and how his glowing eyes had been on her until she looked at him, upon which they quickly looked away. She was floored by it. "So, that's what really happened…"
"…No, I didn't, but thanks for the mental image. I'm already not sleeping," Mike said, slightly disturbed by the reveal. He shifted on the bed uncomfortably, his security belt digging into his lower back. "But what's that have to do with the puppet if you don't think he did it."
"I think it may have seen what happened. The whole line of animatronics was made with built-in facial recognition and monitoring equipment. It's possible that we could retrieve footage from it even after all these years."
Sammy gave Charlie a look of silent alarm. Charlie shook her head with a reassuring smile, though even it looked a little pained. Mike too knew the implications of how they would 'retrieve' that information and felt a weird protectiveness towards the Puppet. Maybe because he had spent so much time with him. He tried to go on the defense and underplay the suggestion.
So, he gave a sarcastic, "I'm sure it had a great view from the prize corner."
The police chief's silence was enough to signal that he had made a huge mistake. A quick glance back at the conversation quickly reminded that nobody had said anything about the Prize Corner. Clay would know exactly where the Puppet was stationed, but Mike wasn't supposed to. They both stared at each other for a few excruciating seconds.
"I think you already know you slipped up with that one," Clay said flatly, dashing any hope that he hadn't caught it. Mike clasped a hand over his eyes and slowly dragged it down his face. Clay continued, "Do you want to come clean or do you want to keep going and see what else comes out?"
"I'm sleep deprived. I shouldn't be held accountable for what I say," Mike mumbled under his hand. He then began to explain with exasperation heavy in his voice. "I never worked at the old Freddy's but I knew a guy who did. He was a technician and he used to tell me horror stories about some of the stuff he saw on the night shift. Probably trying to get me to quit while I still could. Obviously didn't work."
"Obviously not. Was this technician the whistleblower? You don't need to give names."
"Right, because you'd have it on file," Mike said unamused. "I don't think so. He never said anything about seeing blood on any of the animatronics. He just said they were attacking employees and management wasn't doing anything to stop them or even reporting the accidents like they happened. All he said about the Puppet was that it scared him. That he thought it was watching him."
"If that's the case then why get so close to it? You've seen for yourself that the animatronics can feign deactivation for long periods of time. Weren't you afraid of being alone with it?"
"Not particularly, no. Maybe I little when she first brought him by, but a few days passed and nothing happened. No big deal. Honestly, I was more afraid of this creepy, little doll she brought over. It was like a porcelain doll about the size of a small toddler. I was afraid of that thing getting up and walking around," Mike said without exaggeration. "Same goes with that guy who worked there. He was way more afraid of this little balloon kid that used to steal his batteries."
"If you're sure about that." Clay sounded doubtful and Mike sat up fully, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and speaking with complete seriousness.
"What I'm sure about is that someone else is going to get killed if something doesn't happen with those things roaming around outside. Freddy's, the Puppet- it's nothing compared to whatever those things are. They're literally tearing through buildings nightly. Someone is going to get hurt," he said firmly. He took a slow breath to calm himself down. "And chances are it's going to be me."
"No, it's not going to be you. I know we've had our disagreements in the past, but if you think I'm going to treat you with any less seriousness than I do Charlie, you have another thing coming. You're under my watch now and come hell or high water I don't plan to let any of these creatures get into this house, even if I have to pick them off from the second story windows," Clay reassured him.
His voice was as intense as ever, but there was also something a little more comforting to it. A stern parental sort of feel; something Mike hadn't heard in years. It made him feel painfully out of place.
"Get some rest. It's going to be a long night."
"I'll try," Mike said. Clay turned and left the room, pulling the guest room door shut behind him. No sooner did it creak shut did the closet door creak open and Charlie step in. Mike kept his eyes glued to the carpet.
"Hey," she began quietly.
"Hey," he returned. "Guess you heard that."
"Why didn't you tell me that you knew about him when I first brought him over? You acted like you had never seen him before," she asked.
"Technically I hadn't. All my information I got second hand… I don't know. I already knew your situation when you brought him, so when I saw him, I just rolled with it. Now that I know you and him it felt too late to say anything. I kept telling myself I'd say something eventually and never did," he admitted. He sounded genuinely regretful for keeping the secret; if his slumped posture was any indication.
"I believe you," Charlie said. That didn't mean she was letting him off the hook yet. "What else do you know about him? I know you couldn't tell Clay everything without putting him in danger."
"Not that much. Nothing he can't tell you himself."
"I think it'd be easier for you to explain it than him," Charlie pressed. There was a pause before Mike gave a sigh signaling that he was about to cave.
"I know he used to work in the Prize Corner handing out prizes and taking tickets and stuff like that. In a box- imagine a jack-in-the-box sort of deal. Then they had this music box that they'd play all night to keep him from getting up and wandering around, but it had to be wound pretty much every thirty minutes. That and a basic description was all I knew up until I saw him for myself," he explained.
As expected, it was this supposed music box that caught Charlie's attention. Sammy had never mentioned anything about a music box, especially since he himself seemed to work like one. Though if it kept him in the Prize Corner then that either meant there was some sort of programming quirk or that it calmed Sammy enough to keep him in place. She was leaning towards the first option.
Mike looked back at her only to notice the silent onlooker. There was the Puppet in question looming there in the closet doorway. His expression was troubled, but whether it was because of what Mike or Clayton had said or just from everything that transpired that night was unclear.
"Hey, Stripes," Mike greeted. Sammy responded with an unreadable chime. The man turned away and stared at the door momentarily, then stood from the bed. "I'll be right back."
Charlie's head snapped up. "But you're coming back?" she asked.
"Yeah." He stepped out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind him. Charlie hoped he meant that.
Now that they were alone, she turned to Sammy whose concerned look matched her own. "Sammy…" Before she could continue past that, there was a knock on the guest room door. Her head snapped over and Sammy swiftly ducked back into the closet. "Who's there?"
"The calvary," Lamar called back. Charlie's mouth twitched with a smile.
"Come on in," she said before thinking. She then looked to Sammy to make sure it was alright with him. He nodded as he slipped into the closet before pulling the door closed to a crack. Charlie looked over at her friends coming in before walking to the closet door and reaching inside, offering Sammy her hand. He took it eagerly.
"I'm guessing you heard all of that," Charlie said. She received a few nods of agreement.
"Pretty much," Jessica admitted with a guilty smile.
"Kind of hard not to when you have the door cracked and your ear pressed up to it," Carlton quipped. Jessica pursed her lips with an unenthused look as he dropped onto the foot of the bed.
Jessica ignored him and focused back on Charlie, sending a brief glance towards the closet as she tapped her fingers together. "So… What's the plan? If we're not telling Clay about you-know-who."
"The working plan is not telling Clay about you-know-who being you-know-what and then winging it," Charlie lightly joked. She could feel Sammy's fingers flex against hers and squeezed back.
"And he's in there now, right?" Marla asked, pointing a finger towards the closet. To which Charlie nodded. Suddenly, Marla got a more curious look on her face as she looked between her and the door. "…Clay's probably not coming back for a while if he would like to come out." Carlton's eye shot open and he began to adamantly shake his head behind the brunette while she herself got a wider smile. "Just for a few minutes, if he wants to."
From the sudden stiffening of Sammy's hold, it was clear that he didn't want to. Charlie tried to let her down gently. "Maybe some other time. It's been a long day and he's not really comfortable being seen."
Thankfully, any further questioning or explanation was interrupted by Mike throwing open the guest room door and coming in. He was carrying Theodore under one arm and briefly glanced over the group.
"Oh hey, look who it is… Everybody." Without further comment, he walked past them and to the closet, holding up the rabbit to silently explain his intentions. He knocked twice on the door before reached the doll in. Sammy flinched back before recognizing who it was. "Here, you left this in the car," Mike said. There was a slightly apologetic tone to his voice.
Sammy released Charlie's hand momentarily to take Theodore with it. He caught Mike's hand with the other before he could pull it back, giving it a soft squeeze to show the reaction he couldn't vocalize.
"Yeah, no problem. That's what I'm here for," the man said. He had a slight smile for a moment, but it faded as he drew back and was faced with his circumstances again. He looked exhausted as he wandered over to the bed and made a shooing motion to Carlton. The young man scooted over and Mike gave him a thumbs up, then laid down on the bed and covered his face with a pillow.
Everyone in the room was almost in silent disbelief at it.
"Should we… Go?" Jessica whispered to Charlie. It seemed like the most courteous thing, and it give Charlie the opportunity for her to talk to her friends in private without leaving Sammy alone.
"Can you wait for me outside? I'll be there in a second." Jessica nodded and ushered the others out with her. John sent her a last look, but went willingly, probably knowing what she was about to do. Once they stepped out and closed the door most of the way, Charlie pulled the closet door open. "Sammy, I'm going to tell them what's going on."
Sammy gave a look akin to a cringe. "It doesn't mean I'm going to make you show yourself to them or anything like that, but we're going to need their help… I need their help, and I know we can't do this alone. Will you be okay staying here with Mike until I get back?" Sammy let out a pouting hum and nodded with defeat. Charlie smiled back. "Thanks. I won't be long, I promise."
Charlie shut the closet door halfway so that he would be comfortable and headed to the door. She let herself out into the hallway where her friends were waiting and began to turn to head to the living room.
"Guys," Charlie began as she shut the door behind her. The group stopped in the hallway and turned to look at her. "…The animatronics are tracking Sammy."
"What?" John asked in disbelief.
"What?!" Jessica followed. "But I thought- What about the murdered women?! What about you?!"
"They're still after me, that much I believe, but they were using Sammy to find me. He told me himself that he could feel a thumping in his head, like a signal when they got closer… That's the only thing that can explain why they found him out at the hotel, because I know they weren't there when we left. We would've seen something; Sammy would've felt something," Charlie explained. She took a shaky breath. "It's my worst nightmare. I just get my brother back and now something's trying to take him away again."
"But… Maybe there's a way to stop them from tracking him. Couldn't you build something to block the signal?" Marla suggested. "Or at worst try wrapping tinfoil on his head or something?"
"I don't know what to do. I can't do anything invasive to Sammy, I can't be sure that I could put him back together if I took him apart. And the signal must be strong if they're following it from across town and through buildings," Charlie admitted. She hugged herself with a concerned frown tight on her face and her eyes downcast. "…I can't protect him."
"Don't say that. Look, this… This really doesn't change anything," John suggested. She looked up to him, clinging to that hope. "All this does is tell us how they were able to follow you like they did. We'll just have to protect him like we were going to protect you," he said and she nodded in agreement. He gave a somewhat defeated sigh. "But if we want to do that, we'll have to tell Clay-."
"Don't," Carlton suddenly interrupted. Both turned back to him and saw his grim look. "…Okay, so Dad understood when we went to him about Baby, and he'd been pretty great with this whole 'animatronic monsters eating people' thing, but I think if we tell him that they're tracking Sammy that he's going to want to open him up."
"You don't think he would understand?" Charlie tried.
"I think he would understand, yeah… But I think he'll say that your safety and the safety of everyone in town is more important. Which I don't agree with, I'm not saying that!" he added, defensively raising his hands. "I just… I don't know. Maybe I'm underestimating my dad here, but that feels like something he would say. And that feels like something that would lead to you taking Sammy and splitting."
"We can't have that," Marla said firmly. "Let's just… Roll with this for now. We don't have to tell Clay right away. Like John said, it doesn't matter who they're tracking when they're going to be five feet away from each other anyway. Let's just take a deep breath and try to stay calm."
"Easier said than done now that we know those things are on the move," Lamar suggested. Marla waved him off.
"In any case, we should probably head back out to the living room. That way we can hear what's going on. Charlie, do you want to come out with us?"
"I should be with Sammy. I'd probably be a nervous wreck worrying about him if I wasn't, honestly," she replied with an apologetic smile. "It's not too late to head home while you still can."
"You're not getting rid of me that easily," John answered. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to kiss her on the cheek. "If you hear anything, come get me."
"Thanks. I will." Charlie was relieved by his willingness and returned the kiss to his cheek, giving him a brief hug before letting him go. She walked the others head down the hall and out to the living room, save Jessica. She looked to the blond questioningly and received a smile in return.
"The last I checked, Sammy didn't care if I saw him," Jessica pointed out matter-of-factly. Charlie considered this before she added, "Besides, I need to come in and get my shoes."
They headed back into the guest room. Jessica retrieved her shoes from the side of the bed and slipped them on while Charlie headed to the closet to tell Sammy about what was going on. It could've been so easy to walk out of the room and leave them to their privacy, but Jessica found herself reluctant to go. Though this time it wasn't just for Charlie's wellbeing.
Maybe it was all that she had been told about him, or the danger he was in, or maybe because she had been able to see him fully for the first time, but Jessica's empathy for Sammy had changed. She had always sympathized with him with what she had been told, but now she saw him as a tangible being- a real person instead of just a name. She wanted to reach out.
She walked slowly towards the closet. Charlie acknowledged her and looked quizzical for a second but didn't stop her from gently pulling back the closet door.
Sammy was standing instead of kneeling in the closet. He was partially hunched as to not hit the closet rod and high shelves, showing how tall he was. It was a little intimidating. What was much less intimidating was the rabbit doll he had coddled in his grasp. There was an out of place smile on his face. Charlie recognized it as his default smile, Jessica could just tell it was forced.
But she gave him a sweet smile regardless. "Hey, Sammy," she said softly. "Charlie told us what's going on and I wanted you to know that we're behind you. We're going to make sure nothing happens to you or Charlie." She paused to see his reaction.
While Sammy's expression didn't change, his head very slightly moved in Charlie's direction like he was looking at her. Though because the lights were out of his eyes neither could see for sure. He looked back at Jessica again, posture stiff and guarded; he almost seemed confused, or maybe just unsure.
"I know this is all happening really fast. Like just a few days ago there was the storm and then all this… I just want you to know that I'm not- We're not just here for Charlie. We're here for you too, even if we don't know each other that well. Maybe someday we can if that's alright with you. I think I'd really like to know more about you."
Sammy was very confused by this newfound boldness. Just earlier that night she had been so cautious just being in the same room with him, which hadn't surprised him People were afraid of him; whether they be workers aware of what the animatronics could do or parents uneased by his porcelain smile. Charlie and Mike were exceptions to the rule and even they originally flinched at the sight of him.
A change this drastic had to happen for a reason. Either a show made for Charlie's benefit or an attempt to get on his good side. People always wanted something. There was always a hidden motive.
…But if she did have one, he doubted it was malicious. While he knew little about her, he knew she genuinely cared about Charlie. Nobody would go through the lengths she had if they didn't. He would let his guard down for now, tilting down his mask as though conceding. She noticed the gesture.
"Can I stay?" she asked. He considered it a moment before giving a nod and a soft, but positive chime. Jessica inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and outwardly breamed. "Thanks, Sammy."
Jessica stayed for a while too. She sat on the floor outside of the closet and began to quietly talk to Sammy. Nothing related to the situation, just whatever distraction came to mind. She started with topics that stayed close to Charlie- the college, the diner, people they knew- and then strayed out to more random topics like movies or clothing trends, or the years she spent in New York.
It was working like a charm too. Charlie could tell from Sammy's body language alone that he was beginning to warm up to Jessica's presence. He was listening to her, only looking away to glance at the curtained window. He was more relaxed than earlier but was clearly still guarded, if his reluctance to move from the closet was any indication.
She wondered if his attachment to such a tight space had anything to do with what Mike said about him being in a box. That would explain why he slept in cardboard boxes. It was the thought of this box and what it must look like that reminded her of the box she had found down in Afton Robotics, the one she suspected had once held Sammy's body. It all clicked together and made her heart tighten in her chest.
But she didn't want to ask questions in front of Jessica. Not because she wanted to hide it from her, but because it would put Sammy on the spot. Questions about the box- and the bite- would have to wait until they were alone. Preferably without even Mike in the room. Some time when they were alone in the safety of daylight hours.
Eventually Jessica got too tired to stay up and longer and left for the other guest room. Charlie stayed, instead deciding to shut off the overhead light and keep the door cracked enough to let in the light from the hall. She took a pillow from the bed and the throw blanket and used both to make a makeshift pallet beside the closet. It was more of a comfort thing because she doubted she would be able to sleep.
She also had no intention of sleeping in the same bed as Mike. She had to draw the line somewhere.
The room felt too quiet now, though she kept reminding herself it was a good thing. If it was quiet then they could hear if anything came up to the window Sammy was watching. He certainly wouldn't be sleeping tonight and she knew no amount of convincing would change that. They would sit here in the same boat and wait until morning. Him wrapped in her jacket, her cocooned in the throw.
They had been like that for a while, but she didn't know how long, when she felt a weight at the corner of the pillow. She realized it was Sammy's head and stayed still to keep him from popping back up. It was better than him rigidly sitting upright like he had been. Charlie breathed deeply as she dared to close her eyes for a moment.
Morning couldn't come soon enough.
As stakeouts went, this wasn't the worst one that Officer Perez had been on. He had gotten enough warning to take a nap before coming to the house and was currently nursing a thermos of warm, over-sugared coffee to keep him awake. Not that he was having any problems with that. The situation alone was enough to keep him alert.
In the passenger's seat was Officer King. Before this moment, the two hadn't ever worked together, but King wasn't the worst choice for a would-be partner. He had been in the force two years longer than Perez had and had a hand in some of the bigger cases in the city, though that wasn't saying much. At least neither of them got stuck with Dunn, elsewise they wouldn't be settled in this comfortable silence.
Or they were until Perez lowered his thermos and caught a glimpse of something past the corner of the house. He squinted and leaned up on the dash. "Did you see that?"
"No. What was it?"
"Kind of looked like someone walking around the house… Hold on." Perez lifted the radio to his mouth and spoke into it. "Chief, I think I saw someone going around the south side of the house."
There was a quick response. "Are you sure it looked like a person?"
"No, I couldn't get a clear look at it. It was halfway through the bushes," Perez admitted. He could hear Clay's discontentment in the silence that followed. "We'll go check it out," he offered.
"…Alright but be careful. No sudden movements, keep your eyes peeled, and keep your taser raised. Remember, your guns will not work on these things."
"Got it. We'll keep you posted."
Perez and King existed the police car and began to slowly approach the side of the house. Unlike many of the houses in the area that were set tightly together with thinly groomed years, Clay's house was backed up by a line of trees and circled by a few overgrown bushes. It was harder to get a clear view. King led the way close to the wall with his taser out and his flashlight raised.
Under normal circumstances the police would've announced their presence and called for their suspect to come out, but in this case, they knew any loud noises could rouse something much worse. Now King hadn't been in the Afton Robotics raid and wasn't sure how much of it he could believe, but he decided to take the chief's warnings during the briefing to heart and didn't treat it like a normal case.
It wasn't until he leaned around the corner that he realized how lucky it was that he did. There, standing only twelve feet away at most, was a behemoth if he had ever seen one. Cloaked in the shadow of the house, it was facing the wall and hunched against it, almost entirely covering the window it was leaning against. The cop cautiously lifted his light and cast it upon the creature.
They went in expecting animals- or he still had- but what he was looking at looked much more akin to an overgrown teddy bear than a real bear. There was even dirtied stuffing leaking out of a torn seam on its elbow. Its fabric was a disgusting moldy yellow and it had a discolored purple stripe around its middle. Most of its head and face was blocked by its lifted arm that was resting on the wall.
What wasn't obscured was the large hand resting on the window frame. A soft tapping noise drew King's eyes to it and he could see that a single, blade-like claw was tapping on the glass. The thing's face was pressed into the window like it was struggling to stay upright… Or struggling to see something inside.
King leaned back behind the corner to mutter to Perez, "Call in." He leaned back in to keep an eye on the creature as Perez lifted the radio to his mouth and spoke softly.
"We've got visual. It's a bot."
The radio crackled. "What character?"
"It's a bear," King said. Deciding to take over himself, he turned on his own radio. "It's a bear so it could be Freddy. He's leaning against one of the windows and might be looking for a way inside."
"Has he noticed you?"
"Negative. No response to the flashlight either." King was going to hate doing this, but he dared to ask, "Should we engage?" There was a long pause on the other end.
"Approach with caution and see if you can get a clear shot with the taser, but don't fire anything just yet. I'm sending backup towards you."
"10-4." King lowered his radio and started to slowly step back around the corner. "Stay close," he muttered back to Perez. He didn't need to be told twice, though taking that first step around the corner wasn't easy.
The two cops got within eight feet of the creature and could now see it in more detail. King kept his flashlight low as to not trigger a newfound reaction, but the bear didn't seem to care about them at all. Both cops held their stun guns up and aimed at the beast's exposed size, but neither pulled the trigger, waiting instead for the backup to arrive.
But before the other police officers could arrive, a bloodcurdling shriek echoed out from the tree line. Perez flinched towards the house and King's head snapped over, keeping his stun gun still aimed at the bear as he looked through the trees. Neither man could see anything, but they could hear a voice calling out from the foliage.
"Oh God, oh God, somebody help me! Help!" a woman screamed. She sounded half out of breath and utterly horrified as she continued begging, "Help! Help!" It didn't take them long to jump to a conclusion.
"They have the girl!" Perez exclaimed. The girl they were protecting, that would be. He didn't know how something could've gotten her out of the house without them noticing, but he knew it had to be her.
King swore under his breath and turned on his radio. "There's a woman screaming from the woods. I'm pursuing on foot," he said. Then without a word to Perez, he ran towards the trees and after the screams. Perez didn't even have a chance to question this or whether someone was supposed to stay with the bear. The only answer he got was overhearing a warning Burke gave over the receiver.
"Watch your step for bear traps and open holes- and watch your back! It's not alone."
Resolve strengthen by the sound of more officers running down along the side of the house, Perez steadied himself and ran into the trees after King.
The unkept underbrush made it difficult to keep up. The flashlight struggled to illuminate the way and sent a crisscross of shadows across the trees. It would've disorienting if not for Perez's eyes being focused mostly on the ground. An unwise decision if not for the threat of a cold, metal vice slamming shut around his ankle. He followed the screams and the steadily fading footsteps as he fell further behind.
Until King suddenly gave a short yelp. Perez's head snapped upright at the sound. "Donnie?!" he called out.
"I'm caught! It's got me!" King yelled back. His panicked voice blended in against the frantic cries of the woman. Leaping through the bushes, Perez broke into a sprint, fearing for the worst.
What he found was worse than anything he could've comprehended. King was being dragged along the ground as he desperately scraped at the ground for something to grab onto. Perez grabbed his hand only to have him yanked back firmly, pulling the younger officer with him and causing him to stagger out of the other side of the tree line. The woman screamed from nearby and Perez looked up to see her.
Except that she wasn't a woman at all. She was a monster.
Standing on the road behind the house and illuminated in the flashlight's glow, there stood another hulking monster. This one was a brighter, but still disgustingly dull yellow and its head was shaped like a bird's. Large empty sockets held small, glowing eyes and its gaping faux beak revealed a rusty speaker deep inside. That was the source of the screams, not pleads for help but the final moments of its last victim.
Its body was large and bell shaped with the fabric torn away in the front to reveal an endoskeleton frame. Though this seemed to be on purpose as there was a barred metal hatch swinging open in the front. Perez realized that its body was less shaped like a bell and more resembled a bird cage. Its arms looked borderline useless, both thin and spindly with long, sharp fingers that rested on its belly.
A metal wire stuck out from inside that bulbous frame and was currently cinched around King's ankle, a snare.
Now out of the trees, King no longer had anything substantial to hold onto. One hand was still tightly gripped to Perez's while the other dug into the dirt to try and hold on. But it didn't stop the slow drag. He would get a second or two of stillness, then a sharp pull a foot back. The beast that resembled Chica was slowly pulling him in towards her waiting belly.
"Shoot it! For God's sake, what the hell are you doing- shoot it!" King begged.
For a split-second Perez froze, not knowing if the metal wire would conduct the shock. Then he realized that the alternative was much worst. He released King to aim the stun gun and finally decided on the soft, moldy fabric of the bot's head. He fired the two darts into it and sent an electrical current directly through its head. The creature's whole body convulsed before its head fell forward and its eyes grew dim.
It might've been a victory if not for the fact that suddenly the wire began to reel in much faster and without any pause. Now deactivated it naturally retracted its snare, which was still tightly holding King's ankle. Realizing he couldn't fight the wire, with it tightening painfully on his ankle when he did, King halted his efforts to try and reach down and slip it off. He was rapidly closing in on the gaping belly.
Perez was on the verge of complete panic as he called into his radio. "We need backup! We're at the road-!"
He was cut off by sound of rapid thumping from behind as something that snuck up behind him ran in for the kill. He turned around in time to see it coming towards him in a sluggish gaunt, a hideously twisted rabbit, Gluetrap Bonnie. With the stun gun still discharged, Perez had no choice but to bring out his handgun and fired two shots at the rabbit's head.
One bullet tore through the rotten fabric at the top of its head while the second shattered its right eye. It didn't even flinch, and it didn't stop it from lifting its disfigured arm and spraying the man with its caustic tar. Perez shielded his face but the noxious mixture burned the skin of his left hand and scalp, sliding in under his sleeve and sticking to whatever it could reach and searing it.
Perez staggered back before Bonnie bounded in and slammed its body into his, knocking him forcefully to the ground. It slapped its hand down on his chest, claws cutting through his uniform, and forcibly held him down with enough weight that it was almost suffocating. He fought against it and tried to slide out of its grasp as it twitched and leaned in, pressing the heated end of its wrist sprout against his lips so hard that they bruised against his teeth. He knew what was coming, and he could hear the boiling in its belly.
King was in no better of a position. While Perez was engaged by Bonnie, and with nobody to help him, he was dragged leg first into Chica. He could feel his foot pulled upwards and twisted into the mechanisms hiding inside. Bones broke in unseen metal teeth and King gave a pained yell. He didn't stop fighting though, planting his hands on the sides of the opening and shoving his other foot somewhere into the back to push off.
Chica's fingers came down to meet him. Jabbing into his hands, arms, and sides with nails like thumbtacks as it tried to encourage him to let go and be swallowed. They stabbed shallowly into his skin.
This was the scene that Clay Burke and the others came up on. Their faces twisted in shock and disgust, and they moved in quickly. Multiple darts were fired into Bonnie's back and the beast was hit with an electrical charge much more severe than the one Chica had been put through. It seized and shuddered, limbs twisting and body rocking, finally wrenching its twisted arm off of Perez's face.
Unfortunately, it was a few seconds too late to spare him the gush of glue splattering over his head and torso. Perez hissed through clenched teeth at the burn, trying to shield his eyes or risk being blinded. With Bonnie stunned and him seconds from suffocating under the fluid, the men ran in to shove the animatronic aside while Dunn tried to drag him out from under it.
They only had a second before Bonnie roused and it came back even more aggressive than it had gone under. Its entire upper body twisted so violently that it gave a loud crack and fluid gushed out of tear in its side and oozed down its fabric. It swung out with its complete arm and backhanded one of the men so hard that it left a shallow slice in his cheek and knocking him back into Clay.
But then the beast did something entirely unexpected. Its eyes quickly jumped around to focus on each man- not like it was contemplating or thinking, but like it was counting them- and then it tore its claw into the ground right on the other side of Perez and pulled itself to its feet. It stumbled over his body, just barely missing crushing the man's arm with its foot and began to flee back into the trees.
"Don't let it get away! Use the other-!" Clay started barking orders and cut off when he saw the other situation occurring mere feet nearby. Bonnie having blocked his view of the man half lodged in Chica and the two officers trying to assist him. Priorities changed immediately. "Forget the rabbit! You two get Perez stabilized, the rest of you get King- and don't go shocking that thing while he's still in there!"
While Chica still continued to focus on and scratch at King's face and arms, Larson reached in with his multitool and managed to follow the man's leg to the snare. The wire was tight around the ankle, but he had to force the pliers underneath to clip them, unable to reach into the metal teeth to clip further up. He could see that King's foot was twisted at an unnatural angle.
Two officers held back Chica's arms while the rest worked on pulling both King and Larson out. As King was being dragged out, Chica scraped down his mangled leg and he nearly screamed. No amount of adrenaline could guise the pain from his injury. Just the sight of it twisted the stomachs of even some of the most hardened cops.
They didn't give the monstrosity a moment to retaliate. As soon as the man was free, they fired upon it, sending numerous charges into its belly. Though unlike Bonnie this seemed to have no effect.
"Aim for the head!" King called out. Though before anyone could, something impossible strange occurred. Chica fell into itself.
Its body fell straight to the ground, sucking up its legs inside of itself so that nothing of them showed. Its arms popped and folded in at the elbow before pulling inside. One of them reached out from the belly to shut the hatch door as the head sunk into itself. Within seconds, the beast was little more than an oversized gumdrop shaped egg covered in a thin layer of nasty fabric. Its eyes could be seen glowing through the holes before they went dark. The low hum from its speaker died. It went entirely dormant.
"What's it doing?" one officer asked. Another shrugged and dared to take a step closer, which didn't go unnoticed.
"Don't go near that thing! You don't know what it's going to do!" King snapped. The man stopped where he was and didn't dare another step.
Clay didn't trust that the bot would stay in this shutdown state for long, but he also didn't trust that they truly ran off Bonnie. Or that the rest of the animatronics weren't currently back at his house. It occurred to him then that if Chica had been luring them away to give the others a better chance that she would have succeeded. Most of the police force was now out here on the road instead of watching the intended target.
Clay snapped up his radio immediately and began to call through, "We have two officers down. Send an ambulance." Then lowered it to address his men. "Three of your stay with the animatronic. If it gets up then aim for the head. Don't let it get away from you. Dunn, Harris, stay with King and Perez until the ambulance gets here. The rest of you come with me. We're heading back to the house."
It would be a long night indeed.
Charlie wasn't sure if she had fallen asleep or not when she opened her eyes a sliver and caught something black moving above her. The following rush of alarm roused her in seconds, but then faded just as quickly when she realized it was just Sammy. Though she still found it weird to realize he was crawling around on the ceiling in a way that completely defied gravity.
It was only when he turned his head towards the window that she saw his face. He had a stoic look with no smile and eyes somehow both intensely focused and slightly frantic. She knew from that look alone that something bad was happening, and this was only confirmed when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps through the bedroom wall. Something was walking along the house towards the window.
Charlie sat up quickly, catching the attention of Sammy who looked at her with glowing pupils, and silently started to beckon him. He didn't move from his spot, instead gesturing to the window with his eyes, like he thought she didn't hear it. Like there was any way that she couldn't have heard it. She beckoned more insistently when she heard it stop outside the window.
Its mass seemed to collapse against the wall. Sammy began to give a low, dialing hum as he stared at the window in a crouch. Almost like he was about to spring out and attack anything if it got through. Charlie could only hope that it couldn't, especially since the side of it sounded too big to squeeze through the window.
Then she heard it. A soft scraping before a dull tapping on the window. A claw poking the glass and sliding down a small bit before repeating the process. This was the same scratching he must've heard at the apartment and at the motel, but it was only now, after all this time, that Charlie suddenly had an epiphany. She had heard that scratching noise before.
She had heard it at the house the night of the tornado. She was sure it had to be the same thing. It was quicker here, but it held a similar rhythm. If that was true then that meant they had been following them since that night. That they could've broken down the bedroom door and reached them in seconds.
…What stopped them?
Sammy dropped onto the carpet beside her so suddenly and soundlessly that she jumped. He was still in that crouched, ready-to-spring pose and moved in protectively beside her. She reached out for his wrist and held onto it tightly, ready to physically hold him back if she had to. She knew she needed to wake up Mike and warn the others, but she felt frozen in that spot, afraid even a noise would set the monster off.
There was a moment where Charlie heard voices outside and expected it to be the cops. She didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified, knowing that she could soon be listening to a massacre. Then came a distant scream, loud enough to cause Sammy to flinch and her to bite down so hard that her jaw ached, and it sounded like the cops left. Now they were alone with this thing outside the window.
The tapping continued without pause, rhythmically pecking and sliding on the glass without trying to get in. Sammy knew it was trying to coax him to the window. That was the only explanation for why the tapping matched the pattern of the pulses in his head. It angered him, so much so that if the window was open, he might've gone after it- though he couldn't trust that this wasn't exactly what it wanted.
It felt like ages before they could hear voices in the distance. The cops were returning, and this time it sounded like there were more of them. This was what finally stopped the tapping. They could hear the groaning of the creature's joints as it lifted up from the window and walked down the length of the house away from the cops. By time the men reached the window, the beast could no longer be heard.
Charlie silently got up and went over to shut and lock the guest room door. Then she sat down alongside her brother and continued to watch the window with him. Sunrise felt like it came within the hour.
No feeling of security ever came.
Mable: Songsnare Chica is not created equally to the others. It is not quick and it cannot put up much of a fight, but what it lacks in practicality it makes up for in its trapping mechanism. It lures in prey with the voices of the Butcher's Traps' latest victims and coaxes them right into its snare. Then it drags them into its belly and seals them inside, where it proceeds to "encourage" them to make noise and coax in more potential prey. You would be surprised how effective this is…