Blood and Ink

Chapter 18

There was no time to lose. Boris was in trouble, and the group had to get the haunted house powered up if they wanted to save him. The group split up into four groups of two, heading into their own directions from the storage room. There were some doors that led to different places all around, and each door had their own department tied to the abandoned theme park props: supply closet, research and design, attraction storage, and maintenance.

Henry and Alice headed to the supply closet as everyone else headed to a different part of the storage. The two entered the supply closet, finding what appeared to be lots of Bendy costumes. Both Alice and Henry didn't like seeing how creepy the Bendy costumes looked, mainly with the creepy smile that the costumes had on the masks.

"Joey sure made Bendy appear so scary..." said Henry

"He said he had the right to decide what to do with us since he was our creator. The one who brought us to life," said Alice.

"How did he bring you to life?" asked Henry.

Alice looked at Henry for a second, not saying anything. She let out a sad sigh.

"He used this device called the Ink Machine, which brought us to life through some rituals," she said.

"Well, even if that granted you what he defines as life, that's not bringing a character to life. A true creator of a character puts time and thought into their design, their personality, and their story. Alice... don't you think whoever did that for you, Bendy, and Boris is your real creator?" said Henry.

"I... I never knew that... Joey told me and my friends lies, but we were lied to so much, we couldn't perceive a possible truth from any other sources," she said.

"Would you want to know? Who created you, Bendy, and Boris, I mean. Would you all want to know who your creator really is?" asked Henry.

Alice fell silent. She looked away from Henry for a moment.

"I don't know, Henry. I don't think I want to know, but I am curious," she said.

"It's okay if you don't want to know. I understand because Joey has hurt you," said Henry.

"You're not like what Joey said you were..." said Alice.

She turned to face him again.

"Joey said that you abandoned the studio. That you only cared about yourself, and you didn't care about anyone here at the company. That you left the studio to rot. Joey said horrible things about you. But... now I know that's not true. Even before I met you, you've been trying to help us," said Alice.

Henry didn't say anything to Alice. He let hers sink in. While he did expect Joey to do such a thing, it still hurt to hear it come from one of the cartoon characters.

'Joey... you lied to them. But... maybe this is all my fault...' he thought.

Before either of them could say something, the two heard something fall off of a shelf. They spun around in panic, thinking that another Searcher or One of the Lost Ones was nearby, but the shelf had fallen on its own. Henry walked over to investigate, and the shelf must've collapsed because of how rotten the wood for the shelf looked.

"This place really is falling apart. It still surprises me of how much bigger the place got after I left," he said.

"Why did you leave? Why did you stop working here?" asked Alice.

"My job got in the way of my family. I loved making cartoons here, but my family was just as important. My wife and I wanted to start a family. We wanted kids of our own, but because of how busy I was with my job, I knew I wouldn't be there to see our children grow. So I left to start a family, achieve one of my dreams," said Henry.