The Silver Hook (Sequel to That Crimson Animatronic) Book Three.

Chapter Nineteen - 'Fall Away'

CHAPTER NINETEEN - Fall Away

"Mike's in trouble." You murmur under your breath as you flick through the cameras on the tablet. "He isn't showing up on the cameras. What if... no, of course not, that's stupid."

Not quite. The voice teased in your ear. You turn around but, per expected, there was nothing. Sorry, dear, but you can't see me.

You scowl. "Why can't I? Answer me that."

I can. The voice paused for several seconds, and you busied yourself with checking the cameras. No Mike. But where's the fun in that?

And then the voice is gone, leaving you in icy silence. You hate it, the way that you feel as if someone is watching you, but you're too afraid to turn and look. So you focus on the tablet. Nothing. Why wasn't Mike on the cameras? You specifically told him to stay in the few points.

"Well, it's Mike." You mutter under your breath. "He's always off and all. Getting into trouble and messing with me. It's probably another one of his jokes."

The lights outside flicker, making a static sound. You whip your head around, narrowing your eyes studiously. That wasn't odd; they always did that, as if they knew when something small would scare you. Sometimes it gave you shivers. Like now.

You flip your attention back to the cameras, flicking through them and looking out for anything suspicious. You can't see the animatronics, but that's to be expected. They're always off, doing whatever they do. Like Gold.

"Whatever he does." You roll your eyes. "Those creepy human suits and all. Next time I see him, I am so pestering him until he tells me."

Still no sign of Mike. There's an itch feeling under your skin, the crawl of dread. What if that puppet has gotten hold of him? A thought comes to mind. What if the puppet is the one whispering things in your ear?

"Mike, where are you?" Desperation has managed to creep into your voice. "Don't tell me you're in trouble. You can't be in trouble, not now!"

Still nothing.

You wait. Maybe he'll show up. And wait - looking around the office, glancing into the hallways, monitoring the cameras. Nothing; absolutely nothing.

You're right. The voice hisses, almost helpful, in your ear. He is in trouble. Could die, in fact. You had better hurry.

"Where do I go?" You find yourself asking thin air, but hoping with all your heart that the voice isn't lying, and that it will help. "Can you tell me?"

Fine. The voice hesitates for a mere heartbeat. But you'll have to pay me back.

"What with?" Now you're plain out confused. A voice wants money? Or-

You'll find out soon. The voice is doped with satisfaction. I promise you that... mortal.

You find yourself becoming increasingly annoyed. Why wouldn't you, though? "Fine. I'll do whatever you want, just as long as you tell me where to go."

Alright. The voice says. To the toilets.

* * *  * * * * * * * *  * *

"What are you?" Mike pressed himself to the sinks, the porcelain digging into his spine. "Why are you here? Get away from me!"

The creature or whatever it was, stared back at him. Tiny white dots glimmered from it's hollow black eyes, and it tilted it's head like a curious puppy. "You do not know who I am?"

"No!" Mike raised his hands, as if to wave it away. "Can you leave me alone? I'm finished alright - if you're some toilet guardian, then you can have your toilets!"

"I don't care for your petite mortal jokes." The creature grinned. "All I want is your soul. Nothing more, nothing less."

Mike's eyes widened. "What? My-my soul?"

"That is what I said, human." It blinked. Ever so slowly. "Promise you won't scream? I don't want broken souls."

"I- what's that?" Mike paused and looked around, searching for the source of static-sound. "You can hear that, can't you?"

The creature hesitated. Then it glanced upwards and glared at something behind Mike. It's features became cold, no longer the fake-innocent creature. "You shall not stop me."

Mike, holding his breath, turned. "What the heck?!"

The broken fox-type animatronic made an odd sound. Like static. No words came, just the gamble of static, of which the puppet-thing seemed to understand. When he looked back, the creature was speaking in a low hum noise, or at least, Mike supposed it was speaking.

"What is going on?" Mike questioned with a shake in his voice. "Why does this always happen to me?"

"Sorry, friend." Another voice joined the conversation. "But even I cannot answer that one."

With a gasp, Mike turned slightly. There was Gold, pressing a finger to his mouth. Mike got the message and stayed quiet. It seemed a logical thing, and Gold wasn't so bad anymore. Even if he did have weird human skin packed away in a box.

"Right, my even older friend." Gold beamed. "You're not going anywhere."

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Thanks so much for reading! The next chapter is the last before an epilogue. Yes, this is much shorter, but it's supposed to be that way!

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Kisses, Nat xx

(try to ignore layout problems, if any. My computer/Wattpad is acting up again.)