Ruthlessness Is Mercy Upon Ourselves (Reader Insert)

This Is Only the Beginning

Right there, on the wall, the painting of a giant Poppy flower. "It's right there. This means I'll finally get the answers!" I exclaimed with a smile; this mystery is finally about to come to a close. Who knows? Maybe i can get back home on time before Mom and Dad can wake up!

I ran on the catwalk, turning many corners until I made it to the staircase. When I made a couple more lefts and rights, in the middle of the walkway was a regular, standard, black VHS tape. I walked over and picked it up, confused. I looked around before I spotted a TV. I turned over to where it is, then looked down at the tape in my hands. Should I? I mean... I could give me something worth of value. I walked forward, turning left, then right, and made it to the VHS player. I inserted the tape and looked up at the screen.

"Final long. In relation: 1-0-0-6; The Prototype. Coordination and cooperation is evidently within his skillset, as well as the skillset of all other experiments of his type. Though still missing, today's events are no doubt in relation to him. His absence was a flaw in the scientific process, which should have no circumstances been left unaccounted for. That's why I'm making this log; So that the same mistake won't be made twice. Any future experiments will need to be contained and disposed of in a secure location. Hmm, I'm not worried about myself. One breakthrough and I'll be back. We must forge onwards in the name of science, whether those who are beneath us understand it or not! End of-"

My hands were shaking, my expression filled with either surprise, shock, both? I can't decide. They were... experimenting? Did they experiment on people? Did they... Did they turn into toys? It makes since sense that there's blood on those pipes. If they did, then... that means... I looked over from where I started before slowly moving my gaze down to the foggy, dark abyss below. That means... "I killed someone." I muttered, moving a hand over my mouth.

I walked backwards, turning around and going the other way. I killed someone... No one needs to know... I did it in self-defense... he was going to eat me, or something... but... it wasn't his fault... He was probably- no, definitely tortured from those experiments they did on him, whoever he was...

My train of thought was cut off, the sounds of screaming and pounding echoing in my head when I realized that I was standing in front of the door, my arms wrapped around myself, nails digging into the fabric of my now dirtied jacket.

I looked to the sides to see that a variety of small toys were hanged with blood splotches covering them. Around the door were various messages of warnings in red, yellow and blue: No, Go Back, Stop, Turn Around, Run, Danger, and a number of arrows pointing away from the door. It's not like I have a choice with being stuck down here. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

I grabbed the doorknob and opened it. The inside quite surprised me with how different it is from the outside. There were lamps connected to the walls, somehow still receiving electricity. Speaking of the walls, the wallpaper gave me a sense familiarity of my childhood home before we moved.

I walked down the stairs and down the very long hallway until I entered a room. There was a closet, a lone dollhouse, some blue cushions, some blue, pink and green pillows with polka-dots, and a shelf filled with books.

I walked into another hallway, with the lamps now having a red hue to them, unsettling me. Just up ahead were two doors. I walked over it them, setting a hand on each door and pushed it open.

Inside the room, it had a variety of cushions and pillows, a rotating red light, and at the center... was a doll in a glass case, and the doll looked like the one in that was on the tape. I walked closer to the case; the Poppy doll's eyes were closed, to which I couldn't decide whether it was better or worse for my nerves.

I slowly reached for the handle, and when I grabbed it, I swung it open. When I did that, the lights flickered until my vison was drenched in pitch black.

"You opened my case..."