The Springtrap Saga Book Four: Darkness in the Stars

Chapter Sixteen

Chaos explodes in a torrent. Shrieks split the air as Cosia, their wise, noble leader, crumples inward. Blood the color of night crawls along the ground, gushing from her wound, and Springtrap can muddle his mind with the delirious illusion it's just oil.

     Confusion fogs his mind when he feels drops of moisture seeping into his shoulder. Then, his gaze drops toward his daughter. Tears are slithering down her cheeks. He gives her a brief nuzzle on the head before leaping into action. Every second counts.

     "Kids, let's go!!" An urgency he has never known before sears through his voice. A new kind of terror warps his mind. He's been terrified for his own life plenty of times. He's stared death straight in the face. But never have his loved ones been thrust into such gruesome danger. Losing his family would be a thousand times worse than death.

     Chairs topple to the ground as he carves a jagged path through the roiling crowd. He sweeps his hands into shoves that send tables tumbling away. A steady glow, ingrained with determination, spills from his eyes. He doesn't bother to stifle the urge to belt out a fury-riddled scream as dozens of aliens, lost in a haze of mad fright, stumble into his way. His rasping, inhuman shriek barely dips above the cacophony of others screams swarming the air.

     Even now, he refrains from pushing anyone. Everyone is just trying to survive, and he's done being the bad guy. Instead, he weaves around them, energizing his pace with speed muddled by clumsiness.

     A tunnel spears through the earth, and ambient light embedded in unseen fixtures unravels the darkness into what would, in other situations, be considered a cozy glow. He brushes past the creatures darting in their frenzy, penetrating the gentle orange-gold haze of illumination. The thunder of footsteps behind him hammers against his hearing receptors, but he doesn't bother to twist his head back.

     His eyes swoop down, checking Crystal and Leo are still beside him. Relief loosens the knot lodged in his chest when he sees the children sprinting next to him. Tears frame their eyes, the whites stabbed through with veins of red. The liquid trails down their cheeks, dripping past wobbling frowns drawn taut with fear.

     A cry spiked with anguish shreds the air behind him. This time, he whips his head back. He immediately regrets what he sees.

     Dismay shoves his eyes into a bulge hooded by a grief-stricken furrow. One of the enemy scientists has descended upon a mammal peppered with spots of reptilian blue. Vicious talons churn the being into a mangled heap. The flurry of strikes flings lime-green blood onto the walls.

     The walls of Springtrap's chest spasm into a heave. Nausea brews in his gut, pummeling him with waves of hot and cold.

     He clamps a hand over Summer's eyes, but it's too late. Her young, innocent gaze was already assaulted by the violence. Sobs punch her chest into sputtering jerks. He has no other option but to bury her face against his shoulder and keep running.

     The tunnel unfurls into three diverging passages. He doesn't allow himself to wallow in hesitation. He swerves to the right, hoping it'll hinder the scientist's relentless pursuit. More shouts of agony mangle the air, only to be sliced into gurgling halts.

     He has no idea where the hell those escape pods are. He's running in a tangle of confusion, relying on sheer luck. Which is a problem because he doesn't have the best track record with luck.

     I don't care if I survive. All that matters is that the children survive.

     His pace is bogged down by Summer's weight in his arms. Which means she's trapped with him while her cousins race ahead toward freedom.