Poppy Playtime: Illusion of Control

Home Sweet Home

We now stood in front of the doors that had vertical black bars over them. Almost like skinny prison bars. A click from the keys and we were in. The doors opened very smoothly despite how old they were. I ducked down to fit through the doorway. We then found ourselves in the small foyer. The wood floor was covered by a carpet with a red pattern on it. Its boards creaked as we stepped in. Ahead of us was a staircase that turned down to the right. We followed it to the bottom. The wallpaper stayed the same green diamond pattern all the way down and into the next hall. There were a few pictures of the orphans hanging on the walls. Most of them looked like they were having fun in various parts of PlayCare. A few toy parts were littered around the edge of the hallway. Blood spatters stained the floors and walls where they had met a gruesome fate.

The human reached out and opened the brown door that lay at the end of the hallway. Behind it, a big wall of red smoke greeted us. I gasped and pulled my partner away from it.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He asked.

"That was a close one. You almost stepped in there without a gas mask." I sighed in relief.

"Gas mask? Is this stuff really that bad?" He curled a brow at me.

"Yeah, it does weird things to your mind before you end up falling into a deep sleep." I explained.

"Well, do you know where I can find a gas mask?" He prodded.

"Uh...not really." My yellow fingers scratched my head, nervous about where he might be going with this.

"Then I guess we'll just have to do a quick in and out." The person said.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Home Sweet Home is big and there's no way you can explore all of it on one breath. Sit tight and I'll go look for a gas mask for you... Because I really don't want you going in there unprotected. I shouldn't even go in there without something for protection either. It affects me just the same as you."

"Is this smoke as bad as you say it is? I really think I can do a quick in and out with this." The human persisted.

"Please just hold off for a moment and let me go back and see if there's a gas mask nearby." I said as I turned to go back down the hall and up the stairs toward the entry way. There was no sign of a gas mask in the building. So I went to reach for the doorknob. Curling my fingers around it, I attempted to turn it. A snarl of surprise came from my throat when it wouldn't move. It's locked! We're locked in here!

"Hey, who locked this door?" My fist began to pound on the door. "If you can hear me, unlock it now or I'll hurt you when I find you! Let us out of here!" I kept pounding but to no avail. With little other option, I turned and went back to where I had left my friend standing only to find an empty hallway and the door still open.

"Oh no! This is not good!" My hands seized my head. I rushed to the door. But the sight of the red smoke made my body instinctively come to a stop. "Why would you go in there without me?" I asked the empty hall. "I've got to get in there and find him." Taking as deep of breath I could muster, I rushed in.

Using all four of my limbs, I clambered as fast as I could down another flight of stairs. It then opened up into a long hallway that housed many doors and turns. Thus began my journey into the maze that was Home Sweet Home. My eyes darted around, hoping to find any trace of the human through the thick red smoke.

Eventually, I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I would be surprised if the human could have held his breath much longer than going down the stairs. Taking a big gasp of that intoxicated air, I coughed as the fumes choked me. There were hints of lavender and poppy flowers in the smoke's scent.