The Springtrap Saga Book Four: Darkness in the Stars

Chapter Seven

The moment the sun pries his eyelids open, he knows something is wrong. A heaviness leaden with foreboding chokes the air. It feels like a lump of ice is lodged in his stomach, siphoning all the warmth from his body. A shiver claws at his chest, along with a wild rush of adrenaline. The wrongness is back. The same wrongness he felt the night the other adults disappeared.

     The kids!! His legs bundle into a staggering run. The panic buzzing through his fingers pummels them into clumsiness. The tremors dancing along his hands flow into the door handle, jostling it into a rattle. Not bothering to stifle the noise erupting from his motions, he swings the door wide open.

     And sees the blankets are limp and empty on their beds. It's as though the kids simply deflated into thin air. The room is unblemished by any signs of a struggle. Everything perches on its shelves, radiating false security.

     The ground seems to plummet beneath his feet. A rush of vertigo tangles around his vision, pushing it into a blur. He braces his palm against the frame carved into the doorway, curling his fingers around the elevated ridge as his balance distorts. Nausea swells in his gut and washes him in waves of hot and cold. A smile, spiked with delirium, cracks across his face, too wide to be a happy smile. Reality floats away from him.

     Panic stretches his voice thin and manic. "Kids... where'd you go...? Come on, you can't do this... I'm making WAFFLES!" A deranged chuckle bounces in his voice box. Fractures are winding across his world. It's as though the devastating loss of his children hasn't quite sunk in yet- like it's fluttering on the edge of reality.

     Obviously, they're not gone. They're just... just... playing hide-and-seek. Yeah, that's it. Those little stinkers! He'll find them, hug them, and make them breakfast. It'll be GREAT! Everything is going to be OKAY.

     "Come on, kiddos! Now is no time for games!" Somehow the smile bisecting his face slants even wider. Blurry streaks sway across his vision. "Aren't you hungry? You little ones are hungies, huh?"

     He feels like he's losing it. He knows he's acting frenzied and insane. He supposes it's his mind's attempt at plugging up the pain, shielding him from the truth so it doesn't shred him into anguished shreds. Though his steps are threaded through with the clumsiness of unbridled fright, he stumbles through the house at record pace. He sifts through every blanket and peers into the shadows lurking under every bed. He dissects the closets and pounds on all the doors. He practically turns the garage inside out before his legs send him bursting outside.

     Crisp morning air, perfumed with the sweet scents of early spring, rushes against his face. Normally, he would allow himself to bask in nature's glory. But right now, the only thing reverberating around his mind is thoughts of the children. His padded feet skim the concrete in a dazed run. His eyes peel back the layers of every corner. He screams for them so loud the windows vibrate. He distantly wonders if he might rupture his voice box. He combs through the shed and peers under the house to no avail.

     At this point, the manic delirium evaporates, leaving a raw knot of terror in his chest. Tears crawl up his throat. The world shudders out of focus, and he thrusts his head back to belt out one last call, riddled with frantic desperation. "KIDS!! KIDS, KIDS, KIDS!!!! KIIIIIIIIIIIIIDS!!!!!"

     His shouts hum around the entire neighborhood, hurtling off the walls and spearing his hearing receptors. It's no use. They're gone. His beloved children are gone. Somehow, someway, something has taken them. And probably hurt them. They might already be dead.

     Crystal and Leo hated him, but he adored them as family. He wanted to be their uncle. And Summer was everything to him. She was truly like a daughter to him, and he finally, finally felt like a dad. He loved her more than he thought it was possible to love anything. He loved the other adults, too.