Ink Demonth 2024 Short Stories - Bendy : The Untrusted AU

Day 23 : Stairs

Tom counted the seconds in his heart heavily.

Ten thousand nine hundred and twenty five, ten thousand nine hundred and twenty six, ten thousand..

He wasn't sure if they were the right numbers, though. All he knew was that he needed a way to keep his sense of time in check.

In this strange plane between the ink world and the real world, nothing should adhere to logic.

The apparition that looked like Grant Cohen lead him forward, back through the way he marked and explored, and to the circular room he fell into initially.

Instead of an empty floor lined with a few loose machinery, there were stairs that seemed to extend to infinity in that place.

"Grant" bluntly pointed up the stairs that didn't seem to end.

"The exit." He said, his tone unchanging.

Tom glanced up at the endless darkness above his head silently, trying to estimate where it ended.

Is it truly safe?

"You'd rather take the stairs, wouldn't you?" "Grant" brushed past him, walking back down from above and turning his back to Tom.

Wait, when did he climb up? Tom felt an ominous premonition surge in his chest. He looked down at his feet, finding himself already on one of the steps despite not having taken a single step. He whipped around, finding "Grant" still standing there, his eyes hollow and lifeless.

"Start climbing." The apparition spoke softly, his figure beginning to vanish into thin air.

Tom reached out his hand, wanting to say something to the "accountant". His mouth ran dry as his mind couldn't find the words to say to him.

The apparition disappeared without another word.

After that ordeal, Tom could clearly see the environment around him.

Stairs.

It was just stairs.

One that has no beginning, nor end.

The darkness surrounding the scene was hollow, intangible. Tom didn't dare to consider what would happen if he stepped off the stairs.

Probably into the Dark Puddles, never to emerge again.

He shook his head in dismay, trying to ease the fear of infinite spaces in his mind. Tom reached for his pocket, pulling out a loose screw. Mindlessly, he placed the screw on the step directly in front of him, hoping to use it to check if the stairs were truly continuing on.

It would make him feel worse if he saw it again, but then, it might be an even more horrifying scenario if he kept going, and didn't.

The man slowly took a deep breath, and began his long voyage... up the set of stairs that may never end.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 3 (Part 3/5)