New Animatronic (reader insert)

....and More Shit, too

"Jeremy, are you crazy?"

My eyes flung open and I nearly screamed when I saw Mike starring me down. His eyebrows were narrowed, his piercing blue eyes looking directly into my own. A flash of remembrance hit me as I recalled what had happened before I fell asleep. Samantha, Carolyn, Zak, Jeremy, Mike.

"Mike, is there something wrong?"

Behind Mike I saw Zak standing further away, out of earshot probably, holding a small camera.

"Nothing, Zak, just talking to Jeremy for a moment!" Mike called back to him then turned to face me again, a worried expression instead of an angry one.

"M-m-m-m-Mike." My hand moved to rest on Mike's arm. But I didn't move it. Neither had I been the one that spoke. I wasn't the one moving my body, I couldn't turn my head, Look in a different direction, nothing! It was like I was a movie, strapped in my seat and not allowed to move.

"I i-i-its-its it's o-okay." Jeremy's voice came from all directions around me. "I-i-i-i-i know wh-w-What, what im doing."

"You sure? This is possession, Jeremy, this ghost kid doesn't have a good history with that." Mike looked over his shoulder to Zak, then said in a more hushed tone, "Don't you remember what happened with Zak?"

"M-m-m-Mike." Jeremy's tone warned. The taller man sighed and his head dipped down lower. "Sorry, Jeremy. I just-" he paused and ran his hand over his mouth to collect his thoughts, "I just want you to be safe. I don't know what I'd do If anything happened to you."

I felt a rush of positive emotions, like sympathy or joy. It felt weird to me, not what I'm currently feeling, but it was enough to make me smile. Or at least, enough to make me think I was smiling.

"I-I-I-I-I'll, ill, I'll be fine f-f-for now," Jeremy wrapped his arms around Mike and gave him a tight hug. I could feel Mike tense up then relax into the hug, wrapping his arms around us. It was weird, again. I could feel the warmth from him and hear his heartbeat, but I wasn't the one who wanted to listen to it. This must be what Jeremy had mentioned. How he couldn't move or speak, watching from his eyes as I moved around. Now I'm the one stuck inside his mind. I guess the tables turned.

"Be-b-b-b-be Bes-s-s-s-sides, y-y-you don't want to s-s-sc-sc-scare her." Jeremy broke from the hug and looked up at Mike. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'll never understand half the things you do."

"Y-y-y-You, you don't need t-to."

"Guys, I think I caught something over here." Zak caught our attention. We all hurried over to him and he showed his camera screen. It showed a picture of Jeremy and Mike talking in the first frame.

"So i was taking photos, rapid-fire, around the room and I caught something by you two," Zak explained as he pressed a button and the screen changed to a similar image, this time the two men in the picture moved a little bit. Then the next shown a dark shadow almost directly behind Jeremy, a faint black smoke curled around him. A shiver ran down our spine and Jeremy backed up a little bit when he saw it. I became nervous when I saw it myself, too. Was a child spirit right behind us and we didn't know? Could they have hurt Jeremy? If it's not one of them, who could it have been?

"What the hell?" Mike grabbed the camera from Zak, who looked shocked for a second and was about to protest. He didn't have the chance when he noticed how fixated Mike was on the camera. He looked from the screen and to Jeremy, but I knew he was looking at me. His intent in his eyes spoke volumes, so much so he didn't need to even speak.