Return To The Machine

Chapter 23

Parker noticed these words from the very beginning. He Will Set Us Free. It means Bendy will set them free. But... why? Bendy himself can't leave this place. Sammy fell to his knees, staring at the set before him. He shook his head and then folded over as if he was bowing to a God. "While I'm angry at the one thing that took everything away from me... I have to admire the amount of power he holds in those inky hands that can take our souls. Don't let that fool you though... I still plan to leave this place before it all goes to hell." he declared. Rosa eyed the stage, horrified by what she was seeing.

"Did... Did Bendy do this?" she asked them. Buddy shrugged. He wasn't even sure. Sammy stood up and kept his head bowed. "I'm not sure... There's been so much going on these past... years... Who knows... It's probably been decades by now..." he sighed. "The only reason I broke from the spell of control was that I was tired of the voices... I want to go home... Please... Please let us go..." he begged as he walked towards the stage and hid his face in his arms. Parker's heart clenched watching their friend cry. "It's so lonely down here... I haven't had a real friend or a real family in years..."

Buddy approached his friend and leaned against him. Rosa clenched her fist. "Park... One way or another we will escape. I don't care how long it takes." Parker nodded. "Me either. I'll help you through it I promise."

Both nodded and looked around the place. There was a bookshelf. They went behind it to investigate. That's when they noticed a huge door was opened. Above it, there were a set of light bulbs above the door that had been opened. Parker peaked through the door seeing several cages hanging from the ceiling. Looking to his right, there was a pathway of wooden planks that formed a way to another section of the area. "Sammy! Buddy!" he shouted back. The two other friends looked over and headed toward them. When they came to where Parker was standing, Buddy's eyes immediately widened.

Rosa noticed his behavior. "You recognize this place?" she asked him. Buddy nodded frantically. Parker and Rosa looked at each other and began to speed into the new space. "Wait! Fools! You don't know what's in there! Bendy could be in there!" Sammy scolded. Buddy chased after them as Sammy groaned having to run. As they walked out to the front, they came across the edge of the new territory. They looked over and saw the large drop in front of them. There seemed to be no bottom to it. Parker felt his legs begin to weaken and took a step back. "Okay, nope. Nope nope nope. I'm not doing this! That's a drop! I don't do heights!" Parker cried. Rosa grabbed his arm which was shaking. "Hey, we're all here! I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Sammy approached the ledge where there was a zipline connecting it to the other side. "Looks like we have a way to the other end. But the basket is just over there. I'll crank it back so we can get started." he told them. As he approached the machinery that would've brought back the lift. As he did, he noticed something in the distance. It looked like a figure. It approached the door on the other side that was visible and they pushed it open. Sammy was alarmed by this. "HEY!" he shouted. The figure looked back, startled by Sammy's outburst. Panicked, the figure ran through the door and disappeared. "HEY! WAIT!" Sammy shouted back, running towards them without really thinking. Buddy saw that he was getting too close to the edge and yanked him back. "Oh whoops! Thanks."

Recovering from his brush with death, Sammy looked back harder. "There was someone over there! Tell me you saw that!" he exclaimed. "I did see something... But I thought it was just another shadow." Rosa told him. "Well, it doesn't matter. We have to get over there. There's someone out here that just recently used this zipline and is wandering this hellhole! Clearly, I didn't help the situation. Enough! Hop into the box!"

Parker, Rosa, and Buddy entered first while Sammy pulled the lever to release them before hopping in himself. Slowly but surely they began traveling over. "Are you sure this is a good idea to be following... whatever it is? After everything I've seen, is this wise?" Parker questioned. "There's something different about that one. I just know it. I'm not sure why... But there is."

The box was still moving slowly to the other end. Unexpectedly, it halted, tilting sideways to the left. It took them by surprise, forcing them to lock themselves into place. Buddy looked up. The reel made them move forward, it was jammed. Carefully he tried to get up and fix it. The minute he did, the box tilted left even more. Parker cried out and held onto the string, Sammy caught himself and Rosa. Buddy noticed this and quickly shifted back to put them all back into place. They fell back and looked back up. It was only more tangled. Buddy shook his head. "He's too heavy. We won't get anywhere unless we untangle it!" Rosa told them.

Sammy looked at it again and shook his head. "I'm too heavy too. One of you will have to do it." he replied gravely. Parker looked up and then suddenly felt his legs go numb. He tried hoisting himself up but his fingers slipped and he held onto the cords with a death grip. Rosa put her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Park, I've got it. You stay here." she reassured him and began climbing up the cords. She managed to get up high enough to reach what she needed to get. She saw that it was jammed in several places.

Hoisting herself high enough to reach them, Rosa untangled them slowly but surely. When she got to the last one, the box shook after being slightly released from the tangle. It wasn't noticeable until Rosa caught the knot. "I've got this! I've got one- more!" she cried.

The last cord loosened. But it moved too fast. The box tilted one way taking the crew by surprise and making them move one side. It startled Rosa which caused her to let go. She began falling.

Screams filled the area as she felt herself go down. Thankfully someone caught her wrist just in time. Rosa looked up in relief as Parker held on tightly to Rosa's wrist as Parker grasped the cords so hard that his knuckles turned white. "H-Hang o-on! I've got you I swear! Don't let go!" he pleaded. Rosa held onto him as well. His grip was getting weaker as the box kept moving forward. Parker's grip on both Rosa and the cords was loosening as they kept moving. As he fell begin to slip forward, into the dark.

Thankfully both Sammy and Buddy grabbed the two teens and managed to keep a hold of the cords around them. "Hang on! We got you!" Sammy reassured them as he and Buddy used their strength to pull the back up into the carrier. They all fell back into the box and cried out as they kept moving closer to the edge. When the box hit the end of their ride, it gently halted, allowing them to recover.

Shakily, Buddy grabbed onto the ledge and pulled himself out of the box. Then he helped the others out of the box and onto the stable land. They shook in place before hitting the flat land with their knees.

They lay out on the ground giving heavy breaths.

"We're alive! We're alive..."