YouTube: Dream Gamers: Book 3: The Humatronics

Chapter 15

The facility was eerily quiet. Only the sounds of Mark's footsteps could be heard. If he'd had more time, and if Jack hadn't pestered him and played with his emotions, who knows what he'd have done to him?

Fuck you, Voltox. Mark thought in disdain. It was all her fault that this whole "experiment" was started. This wasn't an experiment, this was madness. But he couldn't escape her. She would torture him if he didn't do what she pleased. Mark had lost control of his life. Again. However, this was a different sense of control loss. Back then, it was figurative, divorced parents, no woods to escape into with his brother, later, his father died right in front of him, he was kicked out of his step-mother's house, got laid off from work, his girlfriend broke up with him, and he ended up in the hospital for two weeks. He was able to take control of his life again, just by doing what he loved. But this time, it wasn't figurative, it was literal. He was being used as a slave to the monster in his mind.

What kind of name was the Voltox, anyway? Where did it come from? the name sounded like a real word, but Mark couldn't for the life of him find a definition for it. Why was this creature called "The Voltox"? It was an unanswerable question.

This could be the end for all I know. Mark thought. He had no way of knowing if Jack had set the A.I.s to activate at a specific time or not unless he asked. Mark looked at the wall with the neon lights that silhouetted a city skyline. The lights were still blue, as they had always been. Why did he feel like they would change color tonight? It was a strange feeling in his heart that something was going to come to an end.

Mark looked at the clock. He still had fifteen minutes until the shift truly started. He had to ask Jack if he did set the A.I.s to a timer. However, Mark still wanted to beat Jack to a pulp with his fists. The good side of him told him not to, but the whispers of the Voltox told him to demand it.

Mark bowed his head and opened the door to the Safe Room. He passed Arin and Dan without looking at them. He couldn't bear to look at what he'd done to him. Every time he saw them, he felt guilty, and the urge to hurt in order to push his feelings away. He refused to even look, and kept his eyes on his feet.

Mark opened the door on the opposite end of the room, keeping his head down, not wanting to look at Jack's beaten face.

"Six A.M. already?" Jack asked, sounding broken.

"The shift hasn't started yet, you Irish idiot," Mark tried to joke, but his tone said otherwise.

"Why are you here, then?" Jack asked, staring daggers at him.

Mark looked up to see Jack sitting there, his normally bright blue eyes drained of livelihood.

"Did you set the A.I.s to a timer?" Mark asked, not wanting to give his guilt away.

Strangely enough, Jack started laughing. First quietly, progressively getting louder and more maniacal, giving Mark a horrible sense of dread.

"Of course I did, you fucking idiot!" Jack shouted, with an insane smile on his face. "I set the Humatronics to A.I. 20 before you found out it was me!"

As Jack continued laughing, Mark understood why he was. He was laughing away pain. He didn't want to do this, but he had to laugh away his fear and guilt, like Mark was pushing his aside by beating the crap out of his victims.

"Mark," Jack had stopped laughing, and was staring at Mark with worried eyes. "Please, let me help you. There's still time. I can stop the timer. I can spare you, but only if you spare me."

Mark longed for Jack's friendship again, but the Voltox was whispering to him.

Either kill him or walk away and take the shift, Mark. She told him. Or I'll make sure you never know what it's like to be healed from your pain.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Mark told Jack solemnly. "But I can't."

Then Mark turned, walked out, and closed the door.

"What was going on, Mark?" Dan asked, sounding worried. Mark didn't answer, nor did he look at him. He just kept looking forward, towards the door, towards the security room to take his shift. He had to remain emotionless, or he'd break down.

Mark walked out of the Safe Room, and the neon skylights on the wall turned scarlet, making the facility seem much darker. Mark was right. The end was near.

Fearfully, Mark walked to the security room, and braced himself. 4/20 mode IRL? He was going to die, no doubt about it. Mark took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the clock struck twelve.

Freddy, no, Jordan sprung to life, immediately filled with rage for his defeat last night. Cierra, Bethany, and Isaac woke up beside him, ready to take on the final challenge.

Light, door, light, door, door, camera; the pattern Mark had repeated for hours at a time had been burned into his mind, which gave him the title of King of FNAF. It was more tiring this time, as he was using his whole body instead of his hand. Luckily, he was making progress. 2:00 A.M. had arrived.

Jordan camped the door for the perfect time, but it never came. He almost got closed in the door multiple times, but his enhanced reflexes allowed him to dodge in time. Every failure made him even more enraged, fueling his lust for Mark's blood to be spilled. Every now and then, one of Jordan's siblings would scream in anger, pounding on the door they were blocked out of, so hard that the lights would flicker. Cierra and Bethany would occasionally twitch, their muscles itching for the end of the night, the end of all the pain.

Mark was growing tired, unable to keep up with the pattern efficiently. It was nearly 5:00. He had to make it only one more hour! He had to do this! But he remembered something that made him break the pattern. Jack. Jack had never wanted this, did he? Time stopped for Mark, and his heart skipped a beat when he realized what the Voltox was trying to do. She wanted Mark to turn against everything he knew, everything he loved, in favor of darkness.

Mark almost collapsed from the emotional weight, but survival was more important.

5:45, the power went out.