CHAPTER 14: Office Space

"Angel, are you sure you're in any shape to head out again? You look exhausted," Dogday said worriedly.

Alex sighed; besides his boiling anger at Catnap, he did feel tired. But he didn't want to stop, he had to keep going. It was just one more task after all and after everything he'd encountered, he felt like sleep would be a bad idea. Just one more task…

"I'm fine, Dogday," he assured hastily, "I still have to power up one more generator. I do that and we can get out of here. The sooner the better."

"Okay, Angel. If you're really sure," Dogday said slowly, giving Alex a nervous glance before returning to his food.

"Well?" Alex said, turning back to the blue elephant, who was looking a bit shaken by the human's rather assertive tone.

"Well, uh… I suppose the school isn't an option?" Bubba asked.

"No, Crazy Delight smashed it to pieces."

"Damn it," Bubba sighed. "Again, I'm sorry. I should have checked the cameras before sending you there to make sure it was safe. I thought they would all be dead from starvation after Catnap locked them in."

"All but one apparently," Alex huffed dismissively before he realized, "Wait, Catnap locked them in there?"

"He did, to keep them away from the children and us," Bubba said, before adding, "it was one of the few times I agreed with him despite all his talk about his damned god."

"Well, she's not going to be causing any more trouble. I witnessed the very messy end first hand," Alex said.

"Good," Bubba huffed. "We never really liked them, and I'm certain they didn't like us either. They never liked when we tried to teach classes. They said we should be seated with the students instead since they were the teachers, not us."

"I remember one of them tried to kick Craftycorn out of her art room," Dogday said remembering. "But, a certain elephant stuck up for her."

"Oh… yeah… I did," Bubba said slowly, his voice gaining a grain of sadness as this memory reminded him of how he acted then, and how he had acted recently.

"Yeah, well, where else can I go now?" Alex asked, getting the elephant back on track hurriedly.

"I guess the only other place that has power; the counselor's office. Let me check," he answered as he quickly tapped at the keyboard. Monitors flickered and flashed from one camera to another in different locations of Playcare. As he looked, Alex noticed something.

"You're using the keyboard again?" Alex asked.

Bubba turned back in confusion before he realized what Alex meant.

"Well, my ability doesn't allow that level of sophistication. I can only control playback, volume and power to the screens, I can't change them," he explained.

"Strange feature to give a toy," Alex muttered.

"I was meant to be a teacher, okay? During lessons I would pause the tape to ask the students questions and review details they missed," Bubba snapped.

"Bubba, calm down," Dogday gently said.

The blue elephant sighed and opened the drawer of keys. He took a moment to unclip the key Alex would need.

"Anyways, I didn't see any movement in the councilors office or right outside. Thank goodness those murderous little monsters are busy in Home Sweet Home or parts of the Playhouse," he said as he unclipped a key from the ring.

"Well, that's good to know," Alex said, as he took the key offered to him.

"I don't know about this, Angel," Dogday said nervously, "If he finds you now..."

"Dogday, Bubba had a point: sooner or later he'll find us if we stay here," Alex said. "I'll try to get back here as quickly as possible."

"If you're going, you'll need this!" Picky said as she dug through her backpack before pulling out the gasmask.

"Oh, thanks, Picky," Alex said gratefully. He had actually forgotten about the mask. Then he remembered something. "Oh, and I think this is yours."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out Picky's pendent. She took it happily and clipped it back onto her zipper.

"Thanks, I couldn't remember where I had lost it back at the house. I would have looked for it, but I had to help you first."

"Yeah, thank you again for that," Alex said.

"I still don't know, Angel," Dogday said, sadly looking down at his now bandaged stumps, "Honestly, I'd feel better if I were with you. I wouldn't let him get anywhere near you."

"Well you're not going anywhere in any condition until you've been properly fed," Picky said. "Goodness, how did you survive down there?"

"That's what I'd like to know too," Bubba said.

Dogday looked away and sat his empty bowl down.

"Catnap… he'd… bring me… ugh… parts of his meals to me. I tried not to eat, but he gave me no choice," he said, guiltily.

Everyone who was listening froze as this bit of detail set in. Picky walked up and gave the downcast dog's arm a rub.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," she said. "It's…it's my own worst nightmare, I couldn't imagine it being real."

Dogday sighed as he placed a hand over Picky's hoof.

"I regret every bite he forced me to choke down. So long as I never have to eat that again, I'll be happy," he said.

"You won't ever have to," Alex said, "cause I'm going to get all of us out of here. And that's a promise."

"I know you will, Angel," Dogday said sadly. "I just wish I could help you in return."

"I could maybe make you some prosthetic legs," Bubba offered, "though I don't know if I have any of the materials down here."

"Then that can wait. You have to finish that battery to power the computer," Dogday said. "That's more important than giving me legs."

"I could help!" Hoppy offered eagerly.

"No Hoppy," Dogday said. "I just got you three back, I can't lose you now."

"But Dogday," Hoppy replied, looking back at the haggard dog, "look what he did to you! Your best 'friend' crippled you!"

"And what are you going to do, rad rabbit?" Kickin asked. "You're not exactly as fast as you were years ago."

"I… I could help power up power poles and nodes," Hoppy said, raising a hand and making it crackle with electricity.

"I think I have that covered, Hoppy," Alex said. To prove his point, he flicked his Grab-Pack hand to the green electric hand.

"But… but… I want to help!" Hoppy wailed. "I can't do nothing! I did that for four years on that ledge!"

"No," Dogday said firmly. "I won't allow it, Hoppy. I just… I won't risk losing you for real."

As he said that he hugged both the rabbit and chicken closer. This brought Alex's inner anger back; how could their supposed friend do this? Even if Dogday had been loyal to the prototype before, it hadn't crushed his loving and caring soul. How could Catnap do this? How could this company do this? His determination surged back to the forefront of his mind.

"Guys, I'll be back before you know it," Alex huffed, as he turned and nearly ran up the stairs.

A few critters called after him but he was already through the pneumatic door before he knew it. This might have been rude, but at this moment, he was directing his anger into getting everyone out. Taking a hard right he made his way up the stairs to the counselors office. As he stomped up, he looked up at the building itself. The day-night programming was starting to turn the lights on to simulate the approaching dawn, making the chipped white pillars look pale orange and the bricks to turn dark purple. On the peak of the fake building he could see a carving of all the Smiling Critters, almost as if they were the founders of this tiny ruined world.

"With imagery like this, it's no wonder Catnap says this is their home," he thought.

Reaching the front door, he unlocked them with the provided key. The double doors opened to reveal a normal set of office stairs heading down. Thinking he could hear rustling in the fake bushes that circled the fake building, Alex ducked inside and closed the doors behind him. Looking down the dark stairway he felt his nervousness creep in.

"Get in, get out," he thought as he tore himself away from the door and quickly descended the stairs.

At the bottom, he came to a small reception area with a desk, a flipped over coffee table and some chairs, which were jumbled in a random and chaotic mess. Ceiling tiles and part of the drop ceiling added to the mess. Two doors left this room; one marked Security and the other, Alex figured, led to the main offices. Trying the latter, the knob refused to turn.

"Locked. Of course," he mentally cursed.

Noticing the heavy metal catch on the door, Alex followed the wires from it leading to a wall panel that opened to reveal a battery slot. The wire continued to a button on the secretary's desk, but it was smashed. Looking to the security office, Alex turned and grabbed the handle. He held onto it for a few moments.

"Please don't be locked," he mumbled.

The handle turned and the door swung inwards. He sighed with relief and pushed his way inside. The security office itself was a small cramped space that resembled the set up in the bunker, just smaller. One television mounted on the wall hung up in the corner, filled with static. A wire from it led to a VCR with a VHS tape positioned. Pushing it in, Alex looked around the room for a battery as he heard the VCR spool the tape up before the screen of the provided TV flickered on to show black then it turned red, followed by a sharp electronic chirp. The words "Emergency Alert!" flashed with each chirp, bringing Alex's memories back.

"Oh, right, I forgot we had alerts like this for every emergency in the factory."

As the tape continued, it blared a company wide alert about some kind of attack. The date read 8/8/1995 and the automated voice spoke of an attack occuring in the factory, explaining safety measures to take. Then, the audio cut off midway, and the text on the screen explaining what to do vanished. The words came back after a moment changing into demands. To open the doors, and that the Hour of Joy had arrived before it cut to static.

"What… happened?" he thought.

It made no sense, an emergency alert couldn't just be changed like that. That had to be through the computer or the person making the announcement had been interrupted. Looking back towards where the office chair was. It was so dark in the cramped space he wasn't sure if the chair had just been covered in really dark fabric, or was stained with blood.

He didn't need to know, he turned and continued to look for the battery. Yanking open a file cabinet finally revealed one, which he snatched up and left the room in a hurry. Returning to the secretary's desk, Alex rammed the battery in. A buzz and a pop was heard as the electricity arced through the wires before a loud CLICK was heard from the door. He grabbed the handle and stepped into the room. On the wall in front of him, he saw words drawn in blood

YOUR TOOLS WON'T PROTECT YOU

"Get in, get out."

Turning down the hallway, Alex could see clouds of red smoke gently wafting from doors that led into offices. Some still had doors on their hinges, others had hastily constructed barricades with impaled toys guarding them. And more messages smeared on the walls in blood, or carved into the plaster with claws.

TURN AROUND AND GO HOME

RUN

HELP

THE PROTOTYPE HAS SAVED US

THE HOUR OF JOY

"Great, he's playing mind games with me now," Alex thought.

At least a few of these were old and dried, possibly years old. The hallway was dim and dark, lit by weak yellow or red lights. Stepping as quietly as he could, Alex ventured down. His anger at Catnap was replaced with fear he had forgotten.

"I should have had more patience before coming here. Why was I in such a rush?"

As he passed by one barricaded doorway, a sound from within caused him to stop and look. Through the gaps in the boards he saw a small Bunzo toy running with his small cymbals crashing before the toy tripped over and fell on its face. As it started to pick itself up something big suddenly came up behind it and snatched it right off the floor! It was so fast Alex nearly didn't see it. But the way it moved, it was clear who it was! Alex managed to hold back a startled cry.

"CRAP… HE'S HERE WITH ME! HOW? WHY IS HE HERE NOW?!"

Alex slowly continued down the hallway only when he was certain that Catnap hadn't noticed him. Quietly he started checking the offices. Many were empty but a lot had different department heads. There was even an office for the head of gas production.

"Jeez, they really didn't care about hiding what they were doing! Was I just blind AND stupid?"

A soft whirring noise from above drew his attention. Looking up he saw a closed-circuit camera slowly pan to the left to aim itself at him. Figuring Bubba had to be behind it, Alex shot it an angry look. How in the world did Bubba keep messing up? Was Catnap smarter than him, or was he sneakier than both had thought?

"Or is he messing up on purpose?" a dark paranoid voice in the back of his mind whispered. "He left Dogday to rot. Now maybe he wants to get rid of you?"

"No… no that's not true…" Alex thought.

"You wanted to trust Poppy and look what happened. Look where it landed you," the voice whispered.

"Shut up. This isn't helping! Bubba is trying his best. I… I just need to hurry before Catnap finds me!"

The voice was silenced by the steady thudding in his brain. Alex rubbed his eyes.

"I'm losing it. I don't know if it's the stress, the smoke, or the exhaustion. Hell, it's probably all of it for all I know. But I have to keep going. We're close…"

.

.

Tumbling out of a vent Alex dropped down into a dark and dimly lit office. His frustration was growing with all the detours he'd had to make to get here. If the doors weren't locked, they were barricaded or blocked by debris.

"All around this office and not one door leading to the generator," he moaned.

Sighing tiredly, Alex looked around the office space. The lights along one side of the room were still on, illuminating the larger office that outsized the six small cubicles in front of it. Stepping over closer, he saw the name on the door; "Head of Playcare: Stella Greyber."

"So.. this was her office, huh?" he thought. "Maybe there is something inside to tell me where that damn generator is."

A look around the office and the papers still left on the desk revealed little to him. He did notice a few papers resembling ones he'd seen in the Game Station. Papers talking about different grades the orphans scored, as well as toy designations. Candy Cat, Bron, Boogie Bot… And in another pile he saw adoption papers that were filled out. What made his blood start to boil was how the names of kids on the evaluation sheets matched ones on the adoption papers.

He couldn't remember ever meeting Stella personally, but he did remember people saying she loved children and it was why she ran the orphanage. At the bottom of the papers, he found a small tape recorder. Pressing play he listened to the sound of Stella speaking to a couple who had come down to the factory to make an adoption. The couple sounded excited and Stella almost sounded pleased herself. The mood suddenly took a turn when Stella discovered the file for the child was marked "Testing." She could provide no answers and the couple grew angry before Alex snapped it off. He couldn't hear any more.

"So it wasn't a complete lie," he said, before crumpling the two papers in his hands. "But that… that bitch knew damn well what was happening! She sent most of them to the Goddamned butchers!"

In a fit of rage, he swiped everything off the desk! He didn't care if Catnap heard him, all he could see was red and all he could feel was rage and the desire to strangle these people. His breathing tightened up before he collapsed into the chair and held his head in his hands. His eyes throbbed, his head pounded, his hands shook with a mix of rage and regret. He felt like he was no better; he'd worked here after all. Sure he was not the one sending kids to be butchered into toys, but with everything that had happened, he didn't know how it was possible to not see the truth that the company tried to hide.

Alex wasn't sure how long it took him to finally calm down, but when he did, he noticed a file still on the table. He would have ignored it but the words "Exp: 1188 - Catnap" grabbed his attention. He picked it up and began to read. The papers at the top contained an attached picture of an average looking boy of about 8 or 9 years old.

"Theodore Grambell," Alex read, "was…. was that his name? His real name?"

Looking through the papers it revealed much that Theodore was a troubled child. He'd been in and out of the foster system before being turned over to the Playtime Co orphanage. His file read he'd received little love or care from the people who had taken care of him and thus he was always distant with the staff members and other kids. One councilor wrote that he felt Theodore's outlook was down to people abandoning him, being moved from house to house.

"Like me…" Alex thought before he snuffed that out. "NO! I don't want to feel bad for him! He's not a kid anymore, he's an adult now and can make choices on his own! He chose to hunt, kill and torture others just like himself! He chose the path of being a monster."

Flipping to the other page he saw a crayon drawing of a stick figure kid sitting on a bed with a strange hand reaching out from under it. It was signed as being drawn by Theodore. Alex tried to push the thought out but he was certain he'd seen that hand before. The next page mentioned Theodore's behavior taking a more serious turn as he'd been caught trying to steal files from the office. He'd done so because his imaginary friend had told him to.

"Imaginary, huh?" Alex thought, looking back at the crude crayon sketch. He didn't want to think anything different about Catnap, it was easier to think he was just a monster. Just another Mommy Long Legs or Huggy Wuggy.

The next page was an incident report. Reading through it revealed that Theodore had been seriously hurt; electrocuted by a faulty GrabPack. Other details in the report mentioned another experiment, 1006, as being reported missing from his containment cell in the hours earlier before it was recaptured and contained again. It had happened not long after staff had found Theodore. But the report also mentioned that the child and the faulty GrabPack weren't found in the same area.

"It would have been impossible for the child to make it from where the GrabPack was found to where staff found him. He had to have been carried there," it read.

"Wait… carried? Did this 1006… save him? Why… and… why does that number sound familiar?"

Alex paused in his reading to try and rummage through his brain, which throbbed painfully when he tried to concentrate. Soon, the voice of a scientist from a VHS tape spoke into his mind.

"In regards to 1006, the prototype…"

Things were beginning to click together. The imaginary friend, the hand under the bed, Theodore's injured body being moved yards across the factory when the child was in no shape to move… it had all been one thing… It was the same thing that had stolen Mommy Long Legs' corpse…It was the Prototype. Turning to the last few pages in the file, Alex saw lots of medical reports and a couple incident reports. These detailed the transfer process of the important parts of the human anatomy into a new body. One that had 3 separate sizes, a prehensile tail, and lungs capable of dispersing out red smoke. The "last of the Bigger Bodies Smiling Critters."

"The prototype tried to save him… and those butchers turned him into a monster…"

Incident reports written by people who signed off their position as "guard," showed a very angry toy that attacked staff. Their response was always aggression with batons, and high voltage stun guns. One guard made a note of saying, "he fears the cattle prods most, all future incidents will require their use to keep him in check." The last report, written by a doctor named Harley Sawyer, was the cherry on top.

"I had my doubts that this subject would prove successful given his damaged state. But miracles do seem to happen. 6 months of conditioning have suppressed his aggressive tendencies and, as such, the higher ups deem him fit to join his "friends" so they call them. Dr. White thinks that it will help his mental state if he can gain some companions that understand him and will welcome him in. While tests in the lab to try to get him to unlock the abilities I've granted him have proven fruitless, same as the rest, Dr. White says this could possibly assist with that. But then he said that about the other 7. I'll need to monitor 1188 closely as his apparent connection to 1006 is most peculiar, and fascinating. This will require further study on my part."

As he flipped the file closed, Alex felt a wave of emotions swirling inside his aching head. Anger, contusion, empathy and disgust being the strongest. The biggest was anger, but its direction was conflicted. He'd not wanted to feel anything for these monsters that wanted him dead. It was easier to think they were just monsters, creatures that had only one thing in mind. How they got there, they were clearly not the same anymore. Death would be a mercy for them if anything. But Catnap… Theodore… he hadn't started that way. He had been a hurt kid looking for some kind of companionship. And he'd found that in the prototype. He'd been "saved" at the cost of his humanity, someone had actually cared about him to try and save him. And he'd gained friends who had built on that sense of belonging.

"Bubba did say he was a friend once… they were friends…"

But this thought became overshadowed by the simple fact that he decided his friends had to die. All for the attention of someone who'd saved him but asked him to do horrible things. Unable to take these thoughts anymore, Alex decided it was time to leave. As he sat the file back down on the table, he noticed one of the other items left on the table. A key. A quick look at the attached tag read; "Generator Access- Office." He immediately stuffed it into his pocket and left the room. He made sure to slam the door behind him hard enough to shatter the glass window.

.

.

"I HATE THIS PLACE."

That was all Alex could think as he pushed his way through the doorway he'd managed to open. Another complicated electrical puzzle completed finally allowed him access to the generator.

"At last," he huffed gratefully.

Opening the access panel revealed the controls. A press of the start button brought the starter to life. It chugged and coughed but it didn't start. Alex tried again and with a loud cough and splutter, the generator came to life.

"Good.. almost done…Now the hard part; getting out of here with my life," he sighed.

He'd had to take many twists and turns to get here. It had required a few drops out of vents or through holes in the floor that were one way paths. A cursory look around the room revealed an open vent. Pushing past his growing frustration, Alex climbed on top of a couple part crates to get access to it. The path ahead was pitch black.

"At least there isn't a pair of eyes staring back at me," he thought.

Just to be on the safe side, he shot a flare down the vent. The flaming ball of fire flew as far as it would go before it hit a corner. Satisfied that he'd not seen anything dart into the darkness, Alex climbed inside. When he reached the corner, he saw the vent slant upwards at an angle.

"Okay, this is promising; up is the way I want to be going."

As he crawled, Alex struggled to make his progress as quiet as possible. The thought of turning a corner and seeing hundreds of glowing white eyes was making his heart race. And it wasn't helping his mental state as the voices in his mind began to run away with him.

"I'm going to die here… I can't die here."

"I'm not… I can't… they are counting on me."

"How long have I been gone? Are they worried?"

"Where is Catnap? He's here somewhere… oh God, is he stalking me? Has Catnap found them?"

"I can see the new papers now; Alex Smith, found dead in a vent in an abandoned factory filled with monsters…"

"Shut up… Don't think that way…"

"Right, Alex Smith; Missing."

"No! Stop thinking that way!"

"What was that? Was that a giggle? Please tell me that wasn't a giggle."

"It's just my breathing…"

"They can hear it, I'm certain they can…."

"No, they can't…."

"Well, they can hear my heartbeat…"

"No, they can't, stop it…. oh God… I'm losing it…"

A sudden strong chemical smell snapped him from his internal torment as red mist filled the vent up ahead. Pulling the mask on, Alex pushed on, the loud huff and wheeze of the respirator spiking his fear all the more.

"If they can't hear my heartbeat, they'll hear this!"

Coming to the end of the vent, it pointed down into a room, a weak grate being the only thing standing in his way. A couple kicks were enough to dislodge the vent cover and Alex dropped down into a smoke filled office space.

"Okay… Now where am I?" he wondered as he peered through the smoke.

It appeared to be a large office with a closet. Stepping over towards a doorway, he noticed the lock was a power lock with no power source as the wires led to an empty battery slot. Staring through the glass of the window, he could just about make out a wall mounted directory pointing the direction of the main lobby. He was almost out. He just needed… a battery.

Turning into the room, he began to hastily search under desks and in boxes. But soon he did manage to find the battery. It's shimmering green glow comforting his nerves.

"Oh god, almost there…"

Socking the big green battery home completed the circuit and the door unlocked with a loud click. He reached out to grab the handle before he was suddenly grabbed and pulled back so hard he landed flat on his back! Alex managed to cough out in surprise before a monster hand clamped around his face! He could only see out one eye of the mask as the nearly black form of Catnap materialized from the red haze! His other hand was trapped by the monstrous felines' other hand, pinning him!

"FINALLY!" Catnap bellowed, his breathing so heavy, clouds of his red smoke bellowed out with every breath, "THIEVING LITTLE MURDEROUS RAT! HUFF…IT'S TAKEN FAR TOO LONG TO CATCH YOU… HUFF… HUFF… HUFF… BUT AT LAST, I HAVE YOU… HUFF… YOU HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR!"

Alex tried to speak but the mask was being smashed into his mouth so hard he couldn't say anything.

"What's that, rat?" Catnap asked, his tone becoming gleeful as his hand gripped tighter on the mask. "It's hard to hear you under this stupid thing. And your struggling is so weak, it's as if you've not had a GOOD night's sleep."

Alex gulped as he knew what was going to happen, and there was nothing he could do.

"Lucky for you, I do possess some mercy. After a good long rest, you'll be ready to accept your punishment!"

In one swift motion, Alex felt the mask ripped from his face. The red smoke began to suffocate him. He felt his mind start to dull, his eyelids growing heavier, his muscles turning into limp noodles he could no longer move. It wasn't as instant as it had been at Home Sweet Home. He was awake long enough to see the shape of Catnap shrink in size… smaller… and smaller… and a very high pitched, child-like voice say…

"Enjoy your cat nap, hehehehe…~"