Forgotten Rejects (BATIM)

Alright Joey, I'm here.

Henry unlocked the door to the studio's workshop. The heavy and withered door creaked loudly as he pulled it open and stepped inside. The floorboard beneath him let out a squeak as it adjusted to his weight. The air could only be described as stale, and the room itself was covered in dust and cobwebs. Henry flinched slightly as the door closed aggressively behind him, darkening the area again. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright Joey, I'm here... Let's see if we can find what you wanted me to see." He said to himself and began walking down the hall he had gone through many times before he had been drafted for the war. He eyed the posters on the wall next to him, reminiscing about the old days when he used to draw here. All the adorable cartoons he made, and how nice it was to see his hard work come together and be appreciated by the masses who came to see them.

Entering the dimly lit room in front of him, he saw papers all over the floor, chairs tipped over, and just a shell of what he remembered it to be. He once again thought back to when the studio was just bustling with life. And with these thoughts, he also recalled old coworkers he used to talk with while drawing... Suzie Campbell, Sammy Lawrence, Norman Polk... Wally- His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a noise very similar to footsteps. He wasn't sure if that IS what it was, but regardless, it caused him to turn sharply in the direction it came from. After a few seconds of mostly silence, he slowly moved on. Taking a left, Henry came across his workspace. A single tiny drawing remaining on the dusty and rustic desk.

"Hey here's my old desk! I wasted so much time in this chair..." He sighed, thinking about the past again. As fun and satisfying as it was seeing work be appreciated, the work conditions BARELY made it worth it. He admitted doing something other than dealing with a cramped hand, having to spend the night, spending his days in a VERY uncomfortable wooden chair, and dealing with some rather... interesting situations while working here, was rather enjoyable. Especially since he had gotten a great amount of time to spend with his wife, Linda.  He did sort of regret not coming back sooner; But he had left this part of his life behind. And surprisingly, he was okay with that decision for the time being. Looking behind him, he saw another room he used to be in often.

Inside this other work room were 3 other desks, once belonging to former coworkers that Henry didn't really remember too well, to his disappointment. Having had enough thinking about the past for now, he continued to explore. Henry would be lying if he said he wasn't uneasy here. In fact, he did consider leaving when a board fell from the ceiling. Unfortunately for him, the door was locked tight when he tried to open it. Though he was SURE the door wasn't locked but for some reason, the knob wouldn't budge. And despite it being so withered, the door was still tough and sturdy each time he hit it with his shoulder or tried to kick it down. In the end all it got him was an aching shoulder, a splinter in his hand, and a kind of funny feeling in his foot.

So, with nothing left to do aside from sit there and wallow, which he didn't want to do, he continued to wander the studio. Eventually he made his way down a rather long hallway and into a room he didn't remember too clearly. Carefully, he stepped over a pipe in the middle of the path, and peeked into a HUGE room he didn't really remember seeing until only a few weeks before left. Slowly, more and more memories came back to him.

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[30 years ago]

"And here it is, Henry! Soon to be my GREATEST creation... The Ink Machine." Joey Drew stated proudly as he flipped a switch. The ground began to rumble and the sound of chains pulling up something from the huge pit below them, filled his ears. Henry covered them, finding the sounds rather unpleasant, but soon found his eyes slowly widened as he beheld the somewhat large, yet unfinished machine as it was revealed, pipes running through the bottom of it and dangling over the shadow filled pit below. He was left speechless...

"Isn't she a beauty Henry? And this baby is going to make us RICH... I just know it..." Joey spoke so confidently, leaning against the railing and staring at the rather odd machine. No one at the time knew what it was, nor what it was really going to be used for, Henry sure didn't, but he couldn't find the words to ask. Joey eventually let him leave and didn't give him a chance to reply. Which did frustrate him at the time, but Joey quickly walked off as Henry slowly regained his composure. He sighed and stepped over the pipe now in the middle of the hallway. That was definitely going to take some time to get used to...