Cathryn tightened the ponytail she'd tied at the nape of her neck while the animatronics bickered over the plan in silence. Well, Bonnie and Chica that is. Foxy was more impatient than irritated, admiring his hook in the dim light behind the curtain.
Cathryn was excited to get out of Pirate's Cove, even if what would follow was most likely her untimely demise. She was the only one with lungs to breathe and the atmosphere backstage had her convinced she was suffocating. Every few seconds she was forced to calm her rising panic.
"Let's go already," Bonnie urged, and Foxy agreed with a stiff nod.
Chica's mouth was still closed when she asked, "Is everyone ready?"
Three pairs of eyes shot a not-so-subtle glance in Cathryn's direction. She pretended not to notice, instead, she admired the shadowy performance room the best she could through the thick, starry curtains. Most details were lost to the darkness. Cathryn stared hard enough that the image of nothing began to blur together until a wicked, imaginary face was grinning back at her with blood red eyes. She shuddered and backed away.
"I'm ready," she breathed, willing conviction into the lie. The longer they hesitated, the more rattled her nerves would become.
"Great," Bonnie smiled. His casual attitude surrounding what might be her doom left Cathryn's chest hollow.
She frowned at him.
As per usual, the rabbit didn't seem to care.
Chica blinked at Cathryn, "Fine then. You all know your places?"
Bonnie didn't attempt to hold back his groan, "Yes, yes, we know, Chick–"
The chicken glared just like Bonnie: Expressionless.
"–everyone stays quiet. Patch lures Boss to the stage and hides. You and I sneak towards the entrance of the East Hall with Kitty here, and we all ambush Boss together. Unless of course, Boss doesn't take the bait. In which the plan is doomed, Cathryn dies, and we have to suffer until someone less experienced comes along to help or Boss regains common sense."
Chica's angry muttering was inaudible.
"Aye," Foxy shrugged. He sent Cathryn what might've been a sympathetic glance.
"How are you going to distract Freddy?" she whispered to the fox. Cathryn didn't need to run around with him as bait, right? She'd paid attention to some of the plan, but the animatronics had been less concerned with her role than they were each other's.
"Noise," Foxy explained. "Lot's o' bangin' noises."
"But remember," Chica said, her face firm. "The most important thing is to move quickly. Freddy's going to try to–"
"We know."
Chica looked ready to strangle Bonnie, a feeling Cathryn could relate to. The bird continued in an even tone, "Freddy will try to confuse us. Focus on your role. Do not be dissuaded."
"Aye, lass."
"Can we go now?"
The robotic sigh Chica released flooded Cathryn with adrenaline, "Keep in mind, nothing too aggressive. Freddy isn't in his right mind. He should be impatient enough to fall for our trick, but he's still our leader. No serious harm can come to him."
"Hey, I didn't break you when I won our fight," Bonnie's smug reminder did nothing to boost team spirit, "and Boss didn't have to tell me twice. So let's get this over with already." His prideful remarks worked in place of a group cheer and the circle of animatronics separated, the giant rabbit taking a few intimidating steps towards Cathryn.
YOU ARE READING
Alone With Them
Fanfiction"As anxiety pooled in her stomach, it was all she could do to keep from throwing up on his leg and giving away her position. Yet she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Freddy could sense where she was hiding. There was nowhere she could go in t...
