Lassoing the Cresent Moon

10. A mysterious helper

"Part of the Train Code" I grumbled as I stuffed the ripped piece of code into my pocket. "What kind of sick sadistic-"

I stopped as I left the musical memory game room.

That wasn't there before.

In front of me, the floor had been scratched on, to form the words "Welcome Home."

"Audriella~" A raspy voice whispered.

"Who's there?" I jumped up and looked around to see no one. Was I starting to lose it?

"Why...are you here?"

"I-I came-" I looked around before my eyes landed on a dark hallway. "to find out what happened to my brother, Sam."

"Why now?" There- I was sure the voice was coming from the hall. I gulped and took a few steps back. I trembled a little before straightening my back.

"I'm grown. It's my first opportunity to sneak in." I answered.

I heard shifting and saw a large shadow move in the dark. "I know you Audriella." It was climbing the wall before it disappeared. "that's not the whole truth."

I furrowed my brow. "Who are you? Show yourself."

There was a pause before It hissed. "That wouldn't please my lord."

"Your What?"

"My savior, The prototype...You want to know what I think?" My eyes widened. I'd heard of that, the prototype! I needed more information. I needed to keep this toy talking.

"What do you think?"

"I think... Guilt haunts you." My blood ran cold. I didn't expect that.

"You..." I resisted the urge to lower my head. "You're not wrong."

"Honest as always." It whispered. Suddenly a folder fell next to me from above. I turned to look at it. These were... files? I quickly picked them up. I opened it before hearing steps walking away.

"Wait! Who are you? Why are you helping me?"

It didn't stop. I stared as the noise grew further. "Wait!" I tried to chase after it but it said nothing. "You can't just leave! Who are you?" I received no response before I stopped.

I was just in front of Whack a Wuggy, The next game in Mommy's list of sadistic ways to play with me. "Listen we can strike a deal!" I called out. "We can make a trade!"

There was no reply. I sighed and looked back at the folder in my hands. These weren't even Sam's files. I huffed. It was someone named Marie Payne.

Marie Payne?

Why did that sound kind of familiar? I leaned in closer as I read..

- Transfer Request -

Experiment 1222 - 'Mommy Long-Legs'

Subject - Marie Payne

Abilities:

Mommy Long-Legs has the unique ability to stretch any of her limbs for several hundred feet. This includes her fingers, arms, hair, neck, waist, and legs. She's very hostile towards the staff, but is very motherly and acts warmly towards the other experiments. She is protective of them.

Problem:

The hostility is quickly becoming problematic, but perhaps there is a solution to put her in her place.

Proposal:

Mommy Long-Legs would be perfect for facilitating everything with the children in the game station. She has the warmth that a mother should, and any rowdy child can learn to 'listen to their mother.' It makes sense that her seeing these children daily would improve her behavior, and it is very unlikely she will act out in front of the children. Have her transferred to High Security Maintenance immediately. Conditioning can begin.

Conditioning? What the heck had they done to her?

I turned the page to see another file. A request form.

'Formal Request Form

Name:

Dr. Matthew Wayson

Nature of Request

Windows in game station

Why:

I don't know if you've ever spent weeks on end in a windowless, artificially lit room, but let me tell you something: it's far from pleasant. The kids are getting rowdy too. You can just see it on their faces. I know there's not really a way to get natural light down here, but there's other ways, right? I'm thinking about fake windows, all around.. Do that. and bam! There's some actual LIFE down here. I saw it on TV last week. This underground place had fake windows. Big lights behind glass. It makes the whole place feel sunlit. It's nice! You want everyone in the right headspace for these games, don't you? Do the right thing!

ADD WINDOWS!'

But... the game station had always had windows.

...right?

Not having windows would be...wrong. I mean we were already an underground orphanage.

My lips parted at the thought. That already sounded pretty messed up. I decided to sit down and close the files for a moment.

Playtime Co had always felt like a paradise... How did this make any sense? How...did I not remember any of this? I could have sworn Playtime Co had windows.

It had to have windows...it wasn't a jail cell for lonely kids. I swallowed a hard lump. I went back to Marie's transfer request. The way they labeled her.

Experiment 1222.

Were...we just numbers to them? My fingers ran cold as I realized the meaning behind the number. How many experiments had they done??

I closed the folder and stuffed it into my backpack before looking up at the Whack a Wuggy header. Fine. I'd play her stupid game.

But I wouldn't be her entertainment. There was still too much at stake. With each answer I only craved more of them.