»Of Godhuman Nature« [Five Nights At Freddy's]

Chapter XVIII - Before The Storm

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" Ouch! "

                A short-lived but sharp pain in her wrist made Lily drop the dowel she was holding & back away from her fairly cluttered workbench with a loud, frustrated sigh. This officially marked the fourth time this morning that her clumsy self managed to get involved in some serious business with the soldering gun, & it was only seconds away from becoming personal. A bit too personal for her liking.
Inspecting the wound to determine whether or not it needed medical attention was hardly necessary; the ongoing burning sensation gradually eating its way through various layers of skin accompanied by the sickening smell of burned flesh spoke for itself. At least Mr. Afton had been anticipatory enough to put additional supplies into the small first aid kit right beside the workbench, one being a brand new tube of aluminum ointment. It was almost as if he had been perfectly prepared for her clumsiness all along...

           Tossing the servo box back onto the table she walked across the room toward a small marble sink, opened the tap & allowed a fine stream of cold water to run over her sore wrist in an attempt to numb the stinging pain. As she stood there waiting for the nasty sensation to fade her eyes darted to her other hand where two small patches already concealed her first two burns in a rather amateurish fashion; one around the bottom of her index finger, the other on the inside of her palm, just below her thumb. The latter already looked like it was about to come off again any moment...
The third burn, however, graced a part of her body that would've caused her to fall victim to a fit of genuine laughter, had it not been for the quite intense surges of pain her nerves were forced to endure every time she moved her right leg.

              She peered down at the big, quite striking hole at the very bottom of the grey safety apron she was wearing & heaved yet another sigh, this time vocalizing relief.
Without the thick flame-retardant material things undoubtedly would've ended far worse than they did, even though the hit both her skin as well as her dress had taken were nothing to brag about. Furthermore, it was most important that Mr. Afton did not find out about the series of little accidents she had suffered throughout the morning. She had a reputation to keep. Or rather, a first positive impression to delicately care for & sustain.

          I wasn't this distracted & incapable yesterday... What is the matter with me this morning??

Reaching for the tube of ointment Lily threw a quick glance back over her shoulder at the hunched yet still intimidatingly large body of Springtrap beside the workbench, the only thing preventing his massive form from tipping over being a thick metal pole in his back that literally connected the animatronic to the ceiling.
The way it just sat there, bereft of motion & with vacant eyes, both its stout arms resting on top of its thighs as if deep in thought, contemplating... It looked almost human, although in an unsettling way that kept sending chills up her spine.

" You look like you have a lot on your mind. "
Lily eyed Springtrap like she was actually expecting a response, & who could blame her after these two bizarrely vivid encounters with he animatronic that had taken place somewhere between the state of sleep & wakefulness?
It was becoming more & more challenging to tell what was real & what merely the product of her traumatized, thanks to her colorful imagination above average vibrant subconsciousness. And this mysterious animatronic right here was only the tip of the iceberg...

              " I still wonder...," she whispered as she attended to the newly inflicted burn on her wrist, " Why did Mr. Afton build you?

I mean... Why did he truly build you? "

            Using a cotton pad to apply a generous amount of the aluminum ointment on the burn below her wrist she stared straight ahead into space as an avalanche of thoughts & questions swept through her mind, & soon she froze mid-action like a robot whose power supply had been cut short. Behind her eyes scene after scene started replaying like a movie; every single moment shared with her boss asking to be relived, every single conversation so eager to be analyzed, it was rather challenging not to lose track of what things truly mattered. Her fascination for Mr. Afton had gone from sprouting from a feeble seed with smallest chances of survival to a profound & intense admiration within only a handful of days, that was impossible to deny at this point.