Return To The Machine

Chapter 24

Getting to their feet, they approached the door where they had seen the figure run through. Sammy burst through the door. To his disappointment, there wasn't anyone there. "Damn. Wherever that thing went they're gone. How are we going to figure out a new path now!?" he snapped. Buddy shook his head and walked on down the path. Parker and Rosa followed while Sammy took a moment to wait. Just as they walked, something suddenly appeared in front of Parker.

A flash of light then introduced him to the same hallway with various inky arms sticking out and reaching out for them. Rosa, Buddy, and Sammy didn't react. He was the only one who could see it. There were several whispers and taunts throughout the hall.

Parker... Parker... Parker... Set Us Free... Parker... Parker...

PARKER!!!

Parker then began screaming as he collapsed to the ground. Startled, Rosa turned around along with Buddy and Sammy to see what was wrong. "Park?! PARK!" Rosa cried, trying to get his attention. Parker cried seeing the arms grasping his friends despite them not reacting even once. Fingers wiggled and tried slapping anything that they could get try to get. "G-Go away!" he cried out. Buddy and Sammy looked around wondering what he was yelling at. The visions suddenly went away making Parker snap back to reality.

All he could see now was his friends that were standing there confused and concerned. "Park? Are you okay?" Rosa questioned worriedly. Parker gave a deep breath but couldn't take the stress. He passed out in front of them taking the rest off guard. Sammy and Buddy raced over to get to him. "Hey?! Boy?" Sammy asked frantically. Buddy reached for Parker's face and touched it. He was still warm which made him feel better. Parker's chest rose up and down softly as Buddy gently picked him off the base. "Is he okay?" Rosa asked worriedly. Sammy pushed Parker's hair back to see the rest of his face. "He'll be fine," Sammy reassured her. "I'm not sure what he saw or what happened... But I think it might have something to do with him..." After taking a minute they began walking again.

Entering the new pathway, there wasn't anything but a set of stairs that led up to another section. Sammy and Buddy alternated who carried Parker as they walked up to the top. At last, though, they reached the top of the staircase and stopped. There was a fancy living area with two sofas, an old vending machine, two prominent cases, a lit candle on the table, a statue of Bendy, and a booth. Suddenly there was a loud creak above them.

There was a smaller stage with a stage above. An ink creature came out from the back and approached the middle of it. 

"Oh no! It's closing in! What will we do..? It's closing in... It's closing! When will we go home..? I can't do this anymore! It's all too much! Set Us Free! When will someone set us free?!" the creature cried. Then with that, he walked the rest of the way offstage.

Chills were sent down their spines hearing that. "Into the booth." Sammy ordered as they quickly shoved themselves into the booth. Buddy took a deep breath. "Oh god... What are we going to do? I haven't been this deep before!" he exclaimed. "We'll be okay! I think I know some parts of this new area. I'll try my best to get us somewhere in this studio but I can't promise I'll get us anywhere else." Rosa told them. "I've got a feeling we're in a for a challenge. Maybe there's something I can find down here. Clearly, there's someone down here and I'm determined to find that stranger. " Sammy replied. "I'd still like to be careful. Allison could be looking for us though. Not to mention we could look for anyone of the resistance down here too." Buddy added.

"Aren't you concerned that we might find someone down here we don't want to find?" Rosa questioned worriedly. "Please, we've been through worse! All we've gotta do is keep this guy outta danger while we do it." Buddy reassured as he kept Parker close. "Keep it together. We've come so far. I refuse to lose to this demon." Sammy declared. Together they left the booth together and saw the door that led to another section out in the studio. When Buddy opened the door, his jaw dropped seeing the Ink creatures. They slightly moved at the sight of the wolf as Sammy and Rosa joined him.

Rosa stood in front of them and blocked their path. "Don't even touch them!" she shouted. The Ink creatures stood there whispering in the room. Except they couldn't tell what they were hearing through the massive whispers. Just as they were about to leave to find an exit, one of them grabbed Buddy by the shoulder.

"Turn around! Go back! It's not safe!" one of them pleaded. "TURN AROUND!" another screeched. The group barely took a step back. The Ink Creatures glared one last time before they shrank into the shadows to hide.

There was a vent that was blocked off by ink. "I don't think they want us to go here. There's something clearly we're not supposed to find." Sammy realized. "But we have to go down there! There's nowhere else for us to go! We have to get help and Parker is going through something clearly! It won't be long before Bendy finds us again! We've gotta get ahead of him before that!" Rosa cried. "Trust me, we know! But we're not like you and Parker. If Boris and I touch that ink for too long we'll melt into it and return to whatever form we're told to be and pray Bendy doesn't get to us first. Until we figure out a new path, there's nothing we can do."

The young girl sank to the ground and crossed her legs. She sighed and looked at the vent. There was no way she could go out on her own without Sammy and the others. "And all we wanted to do was get a few ink blobs..." she sighed.

From behind them though, someone approached from the shadows. It wasn't anyone that looked familiar. Then behind them were two more. They approached them with caution. Sammy didn't notice it at first but when he turned around slightly, he held out a wrench that Buddy had given him and held it out strongly. "Don't even take one step closer."

The Ink Creatures bowed showing they meant no harm. "I promise you we mean no harm, Mr. Lawrence. We want to help... We've always wanted to help..." they explained. Buddy's ear twitched in surprise and Sammy leaned back. "How do you know my last name?" he asked startled. For a moment, they stayed silent. Except one of them approached him.

"Because we used to work here... And we want out."