Monster (Cartoon Cat x Reader)

Round One: Start

I'll play.

Those fateful words echoed around and around in your head as you sat on the carpeted floor of this room that was your prison. Cartoon Cat, as you had decided to call the monster keeping you here, had left a few moments ago for some last minute "preparations" before the start of this twisted game of his. And you hated every second of being cooped up in here. Was it too much to ask to have not been brought in here in the first place?

But you knew you only had yourself to blame. You'd ignored the warnings you'd been given, too caught up in hopes of your dream coming true to appreciate the danger you had been in from the beginning. And even walking in knowing you may die or see something no one was ever meant to see, you hadn't worried. But the torment he had described to you... The glee in his eyes as your growing horror reflected in their large black pupils... that was what you hadn't been expecting. And that's what you were afraid of the most.

You thought back to the list you'd reviewed before coming here, all those names. Had they all gone through a similar torment? The first victim, the young girl... how long had she been trapped in here with that thing? How long had she cried for her parents, calling for them to save her from the monster that lived in the house that had not yet been called cursed? How many teenagers, trying to prove to their friends and themselves that monsters were only fairy tales, had ended up victim to the torture Cartoon Cat had in store for them? How many investigators like herself, both famous and unknown, had realized they were up against something so malicious and powerful that no protection they had on them would ever be enough to save their lives?

You shuddered and tried to turn your mind to something else. First off, the game you were about to play. One thing you knew you couldn't do was panic. He had told you already he wouldn't kill you. You would just get captured again and the game would start anew. You had to think of it in a way that wouldn't drive you insane. A video game maybe. This first run through would be all about learning your boundaries and rules. Get as far as you could and try again next time. Keep going and learning until you could get out.

"Don't give up..." You whispered to yourself. "You will make it..." There was a familiar chuckle from your left and you bit back a scream. Cartoon Cat had materialized out of nowhere, you hadn't seen or even heard the door open. He was grinning right next to her, so close she would be able to feel his breath. Was this thing even breathing? You couldn't tell.

"You seem to be doubting yourself there, darlin'~ I would hate to see you lose too quickly on the first round~" The purr in his voice reminded you of a character you had seen on TV once, a yellow triangle in a top hat. You couldn't remember his name, but he had spoken with the same sadism you heard in Cartoon Cat's voice. It sent shivers down your spine, and almost made you want to charge the window screaming. Everything about him was so... wrong... that it was hard to stay calm. Somehow you convinced yourself to stay in place. He seemed more amused than anything, something that made you feel slightly angry. Did nothing get under this guy's skin? Then you remembered the anger when you almost escaped and pushed the thought away. Better not test-push any buttons that might lead to that result.

"Just tell me the waiting is over..." You muttered, wrapping your arms around yourself. You didn't want to think anymore. Moving and being actively in the moment would help your frayed nerves, or at least your current mental state. Hopefully.

Cartoon Cat actually laughed, not just a chuckle this time. You never wanted to hear anything sound like that ever again. It was high and innocent sounding, but at the same time deep and sinister. It was a discordant sound that made the hairs on your arms stand straight up. "Eager, aren't we? Just go through the door. Because I like you, I'll even give you a five second head start~"

You stood carefully, watching as his neck retracted to follow you. Apparently, he'd been standing upright and his head had just been that close because he'd stretched his neck to avoid leaning down. He was definitely taller than when you had last seen him, too. It was unnerving how his body shifted like that. You'd seen how fast he could move when he wanted to, too. So you turned and ran out the door. It opened easily under your hand, silent as a shadow. That explained how you hadn't heard him come in. You wouldn't hear him exit, either. You took off across the attic towards the stairs as fast as you could.

You were met with a dark hallway, with about three doors on each side and a doorway at the end. Frowning, you went through the end door. Another dark hallway, three doors on each side and a door at the end. Thinking you had somehow ended up on the other side of the room, you went through the door at the end again. Yet again, an identical dark hallway. Shuddering, you darted through the nearest doorway, the first on your right.

To your relief, you found yourself in what looked like a bedroom. There was a closet to your left, a bed to your right, and a door directly across from you. Feeling like you'd seen this room somewhere before, you went through the opposite doorway. A new hallway, lit a blinding white so you could barely see your hand in front of your face. Feeling along the wall across from you and going left, you found a new doorway and entered. This room was dark, made darker by the sudden adjustment your eyes had to make.

Once you could more or less see, you took a look around. Despite still being on the second floor, you were in a bare concrete room with dirt floor and a single bulb in a cage dangling from a wire on the ceiling. No switch to turn it on. Three more doorways awaited you in here, one on every wall. And with Cartoon Cat likely after you already, you were unwilling to backtrack quite yet. So you closed the door behind you and plunged yourself into unbroken darkness. You put your hand on the cold concrete and made your way along the wall, going left. Something small with multiple legs, probably a spider, skittered over your hand and you bit back a shriek, pulling away from the wall and shaking your hand frantically. Once your heartbeat slowed, you brushed your hand lightly against the wall and moved as quickly as possible to the first door you reached. Opening it, you were met with a blackness even more severe than the one you were already in. Deciding you didn't want to deal with that right now, you made your way to the next door. It opened to... a brick wall and a tiny web-filled crawl space. Through door number three.... a lit room with nothing but a potato in a display case.

"This guy's a real comedian..." You muttered, keeping the door open for illumination. You went back to the door you'd entered through and listened. It was fruitless to listen for something that didn't make a noise at all when he moved, but you tried. Steeling your eyes against the blinding light you were sure to face, you opened the door and ran for the doorway across the hall and to the right. Another abnormally dark room, like before. Thankfully, this one looked like an empty bedroom and not like a basement. Also, there was only one door across from you and a closet. Much better than the last room.

You were halfway to the door when you heard it. A sort of slithering sound behind you. You whirled around, eyes flicking back and forth. You couldn't see anything... wait... your breath hitched. One of Cartoon Cat's hands was slipping around the corner, as if it knew exactly where she was. There was a feeling of deja vu, then she heard that.... thing's... voice. Melodic and awful, he sounded like he was crooning as he spoke. "Don't think I don't know how this will turn out, darlin'~" he was getting closer.

"You'll run~ And you'll scream~ They always scream. Not that anyone can hear them, of course~" That awful laugh echoed down the blinding hallway and you were sure he could see perfectly fine in both the dark and the light. Your eyes strayed to the closed closet doors and you moved as quietly as you could towards it. The hand was feeling around the room now. He didn't know where she was yet after all. "And then you'll hide~ You'll think I can't find you wherever you are~ But the sound of your own terrified breathing will lead me right to you~"

He was much closer now, and you slipped into the closet while you had the chance. Silence fell.

All you had to do was wait.