Poppy Playtime: Illusion of Control

The School House

My friend picked up the key and we headed out of the statue. We walked over to the large board that held the map of PlayCare. I had never been inside the school, so it was a good idea to get familiar with that area. And I certainly had never been in the playhouse either.

"Okay, so the school is over there." The person pointed at the map. "Which means that playhouse is behind us." We turned around to be greeted with the big yellow building. It looked like a big-top building that belonged in a circus. I'm sure that's what it was in there at one point. Crazy with all the orphans climbing and jumping around. Completely unaware that they could be plucked away at any time for testing. Never to see their human body again.

My friend inched a little closer to the forbidden building. There were big red doors with the word "PLAYHOUSE" written over the top. Each of the letters alternated in coloring between red and blue. And above this word was a splash of stars (also red and blue) to make it seem fun. Off to the right of the doors someone had written something in blood. It said "The Hour of Joy". For many of us, that was a very unpleasant memory. Unable to control our actions as we rampaged throughout the factory.

"I wonder what goes on in here that's so bad." He said with a shrug.

"I don't know. I've never been in there, but it definitely gives me the creeps." I admitted. And then a scream of utter agony resonated from within the building. We both flinched at the sudden shriek.
"Yeesh, I feel bad for whoever that poor soul is." The human pointed at the doors as the scream died down. I gave a concerned grumble that almost sounded like a whimper. I wish we could've helped this soul, but that would mean going against Poppy's plan by barging in there. We would have no idea what we would be up against. I swallowed my instinct to help.

"Maybe we should just go over to the school before we hear anything else awful." My yellow hand pointed away from the death building.

"Yeah, let's hope the school is better than this place." He agreed.

We walked up the path and went next door to the school. This building looked much more humble. It was made from bricks and had a welcoming bright blue door. My friend used our new key to unlock it.

"And into the dark we go again." His voice didn't sound as enthusiastic now. We stepped into the hall of the school and followed it around. There were murals of the various toys on the walls such as Boxy Boo, Candy Cat, and Bron the dinosaur. This place had the same smell of decay that most of the factory did. After winding around a couple turns, we went through another pair of blue doors. This looked to be the main hall of the school, which was in clear disrepair. Pictures and boxes littered the floor. Trash cans were tipped over. To our left was a row of colorful lockers. But even their paint was chipping off. Each had a pair of eyes over the door as if they were supposed to mimic the color schemes and personality of us toys.

"Not gonna lie, those are a little creepy." The human said as his light swept over them. And then the phone rang again. "Hey Ollie." He answered it.

"Hey again. Let's make this one quick. Turn on the generator, leave, and plug the school's power cord in the center. Be careful in there, I don't think I can connect to you on that side of the dome. And you won't be alone. There's someone else in there too. They're not your-" and then the child got cut off by static.

"Hey, Ollie! You there? I thought you said this one was going to be easy! Who's in here with us?" But there was no reply from the phone. I shrugged, not knowing who Ollie was referring to. We had no choice but to keep going further into the school. Off to our right was a door that led to a classroom. We entered and looked about. It was in even worse condition than the hallway. Chairs and desks were flipped everywhere. Backpacks and toys were left scattered about. Amazingly enough, some of the bookshelves were still in one piece. There was even a piano in the middle of this room. The PA system crackled above us as we approached the musical instrument.