A Different Path

Chapter 1

She opened the gate by a hidden switch. The female mascot glowered down at the human, so sure he would die at the last of the children's hands. The other two had failed, but she had forgiven them. What kind of parent would Mommy be if she inflicted any cruelty on the poor little thing? She chose then to make her grand entrance as the ex-employee walked in, their eyes more guarded and cold than before this encounter. It took her back by a bit. This human had no emotions. He didn't speak. He was essentially a living puppet under Miss Poppy's spell.

The ex-employee switched on the TV to listen to whatever it had to say. Like the others, the same voice repeated the introductions for the game. He mostly did it to annoy Mommy. Even he had a childish streak to them. It just wasn't often that he showed it.

"Welcome to Statues. This advanced obstacle course is designed to test your physical endurance and strength. The rules are simple, the lights will turn off, you can move through the obstacle course at this time. However, when the lights turn on, you can look around, but cannot move. You may move again once the lights turn back off."

The caterpillar mascot he'd had seen a cutout of, appeared through a vent. He looked oddly cute. The ex-employee would've taken him for an alley if he didn't know his affiliation with Mommy. Speaking of the devil, she banged on the wall impatiently, waiting for the tape to end.

"The lovable PJ Pugapillar will follow you! If PJ reaches you, your test is over. That's all, good luck!"

She seemed to beam with excitement as she climbed on the glass. The ex-employee still felt no fear as she grinned at them with a sinister look in her eyes. He lost his emotions years ago. And he hadn't felt anything in years. The caterpillar mascot seemed to sense their sentiment, giving the ex-employee a convent look before Mommy noticed. It was only for a second, but it was enough for the ex-employee to know that someone cared. 

"It was always so sad to see the kids go. They called me mommy because I was the closest thing they ever had to one. But they'd come for games, and never come back. They left Mommy to die alone. Mommy didn't deserve that. But you...you worked here, so if anyone deserves to die alone, it's you."

Probably true, but he wasn't planning to just yet. The gate opened, and he sprinted in the darkness away from the monster chasing after them. He followed behind, his form quicker than it looked at a first glance, the ex-employee running for their life. He didn't want to be caught and possibly killed.

Just. Keep. Going.

The game was harder than he'd anticipated. Whoever thought that statues would be fun was an idiot. In the ex-employee's book, they were borderline insane. How did having a giant canine caterpillar chasing you in the darkness even count as fun? It was downright creepy. They were frightened, maybe even terrified.

If I fail this, then I'll actually listen to Poppy for once...if we reunite. She may babble, but she has a point of how dangerous these toys are.

He had to imagine how the children felt when they had to endure this game to get through to the next level. Gosh, it must've been traumatizing for them. He recalled a brief recording where the children screamed in PJ's presence, the mascot having lesser control of himself back then, than he did whilst chasing the ex-employee. He kept looking back at the caterpillar mascot pursuing them. He kept moving every time it went light and every time it went dark. He had no choice but to try and outrun him. Pressing a button on the GrabPack, he sent it flying and the hand curled around a nearby ring.

I need to get a few between us.

He flew a decent amount of distance between themselves and PJ, the caterpillar looking mad as he freakishly moved all of his limbs in sync to curl around the beam and climb it. His placid smile staying the same the whole time as he stayed at with a mix of blood lust and amusement. He was enjoying this game, that much the ex-employee. 

Mommy simply watched with increasing glee as he became more exhausted. It had been days since he'd slept and hours since he had a chance to rest. With the rest of the toys hunting them, the ex-employee had to stay awake and alert to fight off any potential enemies.

I freaking hate this place.

He glared at the spider lady, wishing he could speak and curse at the mascot. She merely titled her head in a curious way, her entire form on the glass, climbing and making herself stick to it like a true spider would.

Why is she called Mommy Long Legs if she's supposed to be a spider? 

The ex-employee groaned as he made their way to the final yellow foam thing. He was about to carry on, then he saw the dead end. Turning around, he instantly knew Mommy planned this with the sharp grin and the psychotic color of her eyes slowly being consumed by a grayish tint. She had cheated. She'd meant for the game to win over the ex-employee. He needed a way out of this fast.

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How was the first chapter? The one-shot was really long, so I decided to split it up. That was y'all don't get a super long chapter, then much shorter ones. That would be really downgrading, wouldn't it? Anyways, hope y'all are have a good day.