Chapter 16: Closer

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Years later, the haunting corridors of the playhouse witnessed the entrance of a human. Among the forgotten chambers, the human stumbled upon the dimly lit prison cell, where DogDay, with barely any life left in him, lay in confinement. A shadow of his former self.

DogDay looks up, "You... you're Poppy's angel... Come to save us." He laughed gleefully, not caring how much it hurt his stomach.


He stopped.

"Nothing left to save, not here... You're in CatNap's home angel. Their home."


The Human didn't speak, but just stared in awe and fear.

"A million pairs of eyes are on you now. Watching, waiting, hungry." DogDay shivered at the giggling of the Mini Critters in his head, as they felt like they were getting closer. "They want nothing more than to crawl beneath your skin... And eat away at you bit by little bit, fill what feels empty inside themselves."

DogDay looked at the dry puddle of blood beneath him.

"That... thing... CatNap. The Prototype is his God, and this is what he does to heretics." DogDay took a few deep breaths, the giggling and gurgling was louder than his own voice inside his head. "These little zombies follow  to avoid that very fate, and in return, they are fed. We tried to fight it, The Prototype's control. I'm the last of the Smiling Critters.

He looks up, seeing the human's scarred face. They've clearly been introduced to the demons that lurk here too.

"Listen to me, you need to get out of this place. You need to live." DogDay's dark soulless eyes meet with the human's, "You and Poppy can fix this, end this madness, the torment-"



DogDay is suddenly cut mid-sentence as a horde of Mini Critters enter through an air vent in the cell, and begin to swarm around DogDay's mechanical body. Their movements were calculated, synchronized, as they crawled into the open parts of his body, eating away at his flesh from the inside of his body.

"Oh no... OH NO!" DogDay screams as he feels his flesh ripping apart, "LEAVE ME! PLEASE! JUST GO! RUN!"

The Human nervously steps back before DogDay's remains fall to the floor.

DogDay can feel the Critters taking control of his arms, and slowly hijacking the entire body.

As the possessed form of DogDay, now animated by the collective consciousness of the Mini Critters, pursued the human through the haunted playhouse, a sinister chase unfolded in the dimly lit corridors. The zombified canine crawled after the human with an uncanny grace, its hollow form echoing the relentless determination of its new inhabitants.

The human, realizing the unnatural and unsettling transformation of DogDay, ran through the labyrinthine soft play area with a mounting sense of fear. The sound of DogDay's erratic paws pounding the ground as his corpse crawled after the human.

DogDay's mind cried for help, but the Mini Critters were in control now.

Glancing over their shoulder, the human's eyes widened with terror as they observed DogDay's soulless eyes now adorned with glowing little white pupils.

The chase reached its zenith as the human, fueled by fear, sprinted through the dimly lit play area, desperately seeking an escape from the relentless pursuit. The possessed DogDay, driven by the collective will of the Mini Critters, closed the distance with an unsettling swiftness.

With each step, the rhythmic tapping of the possessed form echoed through the haunted playhouse. The human, their breaths heavy with fear, glimpsed the glowing eyes of DogDay drawing nearer, the haunting light reflecting the relentless pursuit of an unholy alliance.

As the human sprinted towards a seemingly secure door, their hands fumbled with the handle in a frantic attempt to find refuge. Panic set in as they managed to push the door closed just in time, creating a barricade between them and the possessed DogDay.

On the other side of the door, the rhythmic tapping ceased momentarily, replaced by an unsettling silence. The eerie glow of DogDay's eyes seeped through the cracks around the closed door, hearing the human running away from the other side.

The possessed canine, now blocked from reaching the human, stood on the other side, the dim glow of its eyes contrasting with the shadows that enveloped the haunted playhouse.


He lay there, staring at the ceiling, how this all started and how it would end.

DogDay squirmed in pain, as the last bits of his insides were ripped apart by the Mini Critters.


"Thank... You..." He managed to whisper, as he felt the Critters crawling out of his body.

He couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, he couldn't move.

He was free.

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