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“We’re going home, right?”
It was a question Ryan had asked often, maybe too often.
The boy would repeatedly ask the same question during their travels. Whether they were similar or dissimilar in taste, they all left a negative impact on the Afton family's two eldest siblings.
Elizabeth's answers were always sparkling, despite her cautious demeanor. To keep her little brother calm, she always said that home was "just on the other side" or "we're almost there."
And yet, Michael was the one to answer.
“No shit, what’d you think we’ve been doing all this time?”
Elizabeth hit her older brother’s arm, to which he winced, looking over at her with a shrug. The teenage girl gave her brother the ‘look’ to which he rolled his eyes, continuing with the path they took in the first place. Which, in itself, was a long and difficult journey that seemed to have no end in sight.
The children were traversing through a dark area, one coated with confetti, candy, and random assortments of playground equipment. And as tempting as it was for any of the children to pick up the candy and indulge in their inner temptations, they knew better. For all they knew, that candy could render them sick, or worse, turn them into candy monsters ready to be eaten by the creatures that lived in the dark.
Michael was in the lead, flashlight in one hand and sword (or cutlass, as Michael corrected his siblings) in the other.
His garments were various variants of what he had accumulated on their journey. His dark gray sweatshirt, ripped black jeans, usual white socks, and black Converse were below. Bandages placed carefully across his old and new wounds were layered on his skin. Over that was a ragged doublet, stained with blood and seawater, that the older adolescent had taken as a personal souvenir when he had battled off the terrifying pirate fox a while back.
Elizabeth was the one who persuaded him not to wear the eye patch for good measure.
Ryan was in the center, holding a golden plush bear in his arms, a plush that should not be able to talk but does so anyhow. Although it was on rare occasions that it spoke, it seemed like regularly that silence was its key.
It was a bizarre discovery made by the children, one that wasted a lot of time wondering whether it was safe to take the bear with them or not. Ryan had persuaded them to take the plush since, in his opinion, it "didn't look scary." To avoid another tearful outburst, the two elder siblings consented and grudgingly permitted the golden plush to accompany them home. They would have thrown it out if it hadn't given Ryan the confidence he needed to take better care of himself. His clothing was scattered about in unusual parts of this God-forsaken land. He was dressed in a black shirt with gray stripes underneath a black sweater, blue pants, brown loafers, and bandages on his arms and knees. They were all curiously coated with the same monsters they had fought since the beginning but as cartoon characters.
On his back, he carried the backpack, which was used to carry any necessary supplies for their excursion.
Elizabeth was at the back, emerald eyes concentrated on every area of the structure, hands tightly wrapped around her hefty mallet.
The girl had every right to wield the weapon she had used in past bouts and bash her opponents to bits. Elizabeth didn't hesitate to use the mallet, which was lying nearby while her brothers were cornered by a bear with numerous eyes. She was quick to wrap her hair up as she walked, adjusting her headband to keep her wild orange hair in place. She slid her weapon beneath her armpit and felt her pink shirt crinkle and the buckles of her flower-printed overalls clinking. Her feet were throbbing in pain from the black boots she was wearing, her socks barely cushioning her heels as they scraped against the insides of the boots.
She could manage her pain, but she secretly wished she hadn't used so many bandages on Ryan.
When Michael abruptly came to a halt, Ryan nearly collided with him, and Elizabeth did the same. She grabbed her mallet, ready to use it in another battle, seconds before she noticed Michael turn off the flashlight and raise a finger to his lips. He quickly but silently sidestepped to the wall, Ryan and Elizabeth trailing behind, all taking care not to make any noise with their movements.
The siblings leaned against the netted walls, keeping their eyes fixed and their mouths tight. They waited for a minute or two, the silence nearly enveloping them whole before they heard it.
A jingle.
As Ryan drew his golden companion close to his chest, Michael and Elizabeth prepared their weapons. The jingle's tone seemed to echo around the space at random intervals. It seemed to come from the ceiling, then the walls, and then from just under the siblings' feet. The three stumbled over each other, their heads looking around into the dark to try to make sense of what was happening. But no matter where the children looked, they couldn't see where the source of the jingle came from. The jingle became louder as time went on, and the children held their breath as their ears were assaulted by the relentless jingles.
It was like a song that never stopped at its highest note, a church bell that never ceased chiming, and a phone that could never be answered. The three knelt with their hands over their ears to silence the chiming, and it was excruciating.
And the ringing had ended exactly where it had begun. Silence flooded the entire area and the three Afton children breathed a sigh of relief until they heard another sound. Instead of the rattling of the bells, as they dreaded, a playful melody was playing from the remote corners of the chamber.
Nobody moved until Michael stood up, cautious not to make a sound, and walked ahead to investigate the source of the noise.
The teenager turned to say something to his siblings, maybe as a quick joke to lighten the mood before a light shined from far ahead. Quickly, the three prepared for a battle, Michael raised his cutlass, Elizabeth prepared to swing her mallet, and Ryan listened in on what his golden friend may say. But as the three took their time to look around for the danger, they all soon noticed that there was none.
Another round of silence rang amongst the siblings, their eyes looked all over, and every single corner (visible or not) was examined carefully. But similar to the situation from before, there was nothing to be seen other than the light from afar. And just like that, the three stood back in fear that this was a cruel trick being used to persuade them into another elaborate trap.
The light might have represented a path home for arrivals, a sign of hope. The three, however, were wiser because a different creature had previously captured them using the same light. Fortunately, the three worked together to defeat a monster that had nearly prevailed. Ryan as a deterrent, Elizabeth as an aerial assault, and Michael who, once it dropped, stabbed its heart.
Michael looked back at his siblings, making sure they were okay, he carefully made his way over towards the light. The others followed along, Ryan looked down at his feet while Elizabeth made sure no one was behind them. The closer the three made their way to the light the better they picked up what was being shown.
And what was shown wasn't exactly what the three had expected.
“Should we go in?” Worry crept into Ryan's voice as he questioned, peering over at his two older siblings.
The light shone on a tube attached to the wall, its colorful arrangement distinct from the other tubes the children had traversed. Large and colorful words of the next room they would have to enter were just above the tube: Slide Into Fun! (That’s new) The music had become a little louder, and if any of the children peered in, they would have a better opportunity of hearing what the beat included. And what it entailed was beyond their comprehension; it appeared more frantic than a cheerful tune.
Michael paused for a while, returning his gaze to Elizabeth before directing his eyes to the darkness behind them all. The dreadful feeling of fear coursed through their heads as they considered walking back from where they came. They had gone a long distance from point A to point B in their minds, but given how twisted the whole world was, they could as well be at point G. Walking for hours without food or water proved to be a chore, rather than a necessary result of not seeking deeper for some sustenance.
Michael shifted his attention to the tube, carefully peering through it, unable to see what lay on the other side as it curved around the corner. He couldn't see any other way out of this position, so he walked into the tube with his cutlass.
"Michael, please wait-" Elizabeth took a step forward, her voice low but concerned.
"It's fine, I'll go first," the teenager said, taking care not to rush in. "You wait here, and if I don't come back out in five minutes, come for me, but make sure Ryan isn't first."
Elizabeth despised Michael's phrase of waiting for him for 'five minutes.' Even at home, that was too much for the older girl to take as she let her mind run wild with infinite possibilities. Each one is worse than the last. However, in this situation, five minutes may easily mean you're entirely exposed to whatever was on the opposite side.
And Elizabeth didn't want this behavior to continue, so she put her foot down and spoke up.
"No, we're going together. You're upfront, Ryan's in the middle, and I'm at the back. That way, you get the first hit, Ryan is safe, and I can guard the back if anything comes up."
“Liz-”
"Please, Michael, I'm-" the teen girl drew Ryan closer to her-"we're tired of waiting for you. I understand you want to keep us safe, but this isn't the way to go about it. If we're going home together, we'll have to deal with whatever comes our way."
Michael stared at his siblings and appeared to want to dismiss the statement for a brief minute. Of course, he intended to protect his family by whatever means necessary, including rushing into conflict head-first. But he'll have to agree that making them wait like sitting ducks isn't going to work. Besides, he'd had too many brushes with death based only on this concept, so he couldn't argue that he was in the right to Elizabeth.
Besides, it didn't feel right to make Ryan cry at the notion of his older brother dying while he merely sat around and watched.
Michael grumbled and stepped forward, positioning his feet at the corners of the slide to make room for his siblings to sit behind him. Elizabeth smiled and motioned Ryan to sit in the center, while she took her place at the rear. Ryan sat down, holding his brother and watching him slide his cutlass away from him so it didn't poke him. Elizabeth took a moment to reposition herself with her mallet, placing the handle over her right shoulder to make it fit alongside the others.
"Are you ready?" Michael inquired, his legs trembling from the strain of keeping everyone in position.
"Ready," Ryan said as his hold on his golden friend tightened.
"Ready," Elizabeth said, holding her weapon in one hand and the other over her younger brother.
Michael nodded and lowered his legs, allowing gravity to pull the three all the way down into a world they didn't know.
As they fell down the rainbow-colored slide, the three children braced themselves, their bodies tight and their faces wrinkled up. Any attempt to close their eyes was met with a blinding light and a surge of air from all directions. When any of them tried to focus on the colors, they turned into a throbbing blur and traveled even faster through the slide. Michael clenched his teeth, Ryan huddled behind his golden friend, and Elizabeth felt her hair spin about and stick to her face.
And as soon as the three felt the turmoil would continue, they arrived at the end. The siblings all sunk into the unknown as different colors invaded their vision. They all tripped over each other, their hands flailing and their heads just over the pool they'd just fallen into. Michael shook the colors off his shoulders, Ryan could barely stand on the tips of his toes, and Elizabeth nearly dropped her hammer in the chaos. It took them a moment to discover they had fallen into a ball pit, one that they had to acknowledge wasn't as deep as they had assumed in the initial few seconds of their arrival.
When the three looked up, they realized how big the room they had just entered was.
Colors as bright as the sun were used to cover the entire perimeter. Aside from the ball pit, random color combinations were mismatched and piled on top of each other with no rhyme or reason. With misplaced kiddie chairs, tables, and toys are strewn haphazardly. There was no point in looking for a pattern when everything came tumbling down to build a room for toddlers and babies alike.
Looking overhead, a dome-like building with a brilliant sun with blue skies that radiated across the chamber stood above. It didn't hurt to look at it, but it didn't provide quite as much heat as one might expect. A few clouds were strewn around, but they shed little to no shadows into the room itself. Which, to the Afton children, could very well save them from the dread they felt when they saw what awaited them from afar.
In the center of the space, large play structures stood tall and proud. It was a sprawling maze of interconnected climbing structures, twisting slides, and bridges. It, too, resembled a web of unevenness and a heap of untidiness, like items thrown about on the ground of soft cushions. Despite this, the structures did not sag or crumple beneath the surprising weight of its messiness.
And the Afton kids were all taken aback by the pandemonium of the entire perimeter. They didn't move, but they all stood there, unsure of what to do next.
The music seemed to occupy the siblings' heads as they sought to figure out how to get out. Elizabeth turned to face the slide from whence they had come, only to be met by a wall. She clicked her tongue before looking ahead to see Ryan struggling to walk and Michael carefully surveying the rough path that was the ball pit. She made a move to grab her younger brother, being careful not to make too much noise, when she noticed Michael tense.
He looked to his left, seeing something she couldn't, her vision obscured by a big foam-bricked wall that loomed up against the ball pit. Looking back at her brother, Elizabeth nudged Ryan behind her back as she slowly approached him. The bright plastic balls parted to let her pass, and her grip on her mallet tightened as she took a slow look at what Michael was staring at.
She hadn't expected to be surprised by what she was witnessing, and after nearly dropping her weapon, the teenage girl tensed as well.
There, sitting in a comically small chair next to an even smaller table, sat a boy no older than Michael himself.
He was tiny, pallid, and stunned to encounter someone who looked exactly like him in the same room as him. His eyes were wide and shaking behind his heavy spectacles, and a distinct line of sweat ran down his brow. The teenager brushed his hair with a shaky palm, his eyes wide as he squeezed his skin fiercely.
Michael wasn't sure if he was a threat, so he kept his weapon raised and his gaze locked on him in case he did something strange. Elizabeth was the one who spoke up, possibly to inquire as to who he was and whether he required assistance. But it was Ryan who spoke first, tripping over his words as he drew everyone else's attention. They all turned to stare at him, who raised a finger in the air, tears welling up in his eyes as he noticed something that everyone else missed.
“L-l-look!”
A cutout of a castle encircled by clouds and stars stood up against the wall. A balcony protruded from the opening, unoccupied but foreshadowing what was to come from the red curtains that swept behind it. The drapes parted like the ocean, revealing a creature that the children thought was nowhere to be seen for just a moment.
It spun and whirled around the balcony, its red and yellow frills tied down with ribbons and bells. Its head glowed like the sun, its smile was wide enough to break its face in half, and its eyes were as blank and wide as the clouds that hung above. Each bell jingled and chimed in response to the creature's every movement as it laughed and giggled its way over the edge.
“Hooo Hooo Hooo!”
It then clasped its hands together and knelt to its knees before leaping and plummeting into the ball pit below. Colorful plastic balls floated around in a blur before falling, and The Afton Children went silent, their fears becoming a reality.
Michael tightened his grip on his cutlass, licking his dry lips as he studied his surroundings, his eyes alert for any movement in the ball pit. There were none, so he took a single step forward when something grabbed his ankle and dragged him down below. He appeared to be about to stab something before being swamped by the plastic balls.
When Elizabeth saw her brother disappear into the pit, she trudged through the ball pit, mallet raised to obtain a clear shot. She threw down her weapon when she thought she spotted movement, only to feel a tightening grasp on her back before being pulled below. Her screams were abruptly cut out when the plastic balls engulfed her as well.
Ryan gasped as he saw his siblings vanish before his eyes. He took a few steps back, his heart in his throat, his hold on the golden plush tighter than before. He swallowed and spoke gently into the room, a shaky whisper drowned out by the frantic music.
“Michael? Elizabeth?”
If Ryan could have seen the teenager by the chairs, he would have told him to flee. To get out of here, hide, or do anything else that will keep him from staying in this room any longer. Unfortunately for Ryan, he had already felt slim fingers curl around his waist, and before he could cry out, he was dragged into the depths of the ball pit.
The ball pit was far deeper than Ryan had anticipated. Instead of a standard pool of rainbow-colored plastic balls, it was an entire ocean of every color the boy could think of. The green of an emerald, the blue of the ocean trenches, and even the red of a firetruck were all present amongst the rest. And it was all quite suffocating for Ryan, who strained to climb out of the pit and take a fresh breath of air.
He had assumed that, like before, he would have to stand on the tips of his toes to get leverage. However, it appeared that the room had paid no attention to his struggles and had instead followed whatever rules the creature of this room deemed suitable. And it appeared that this creature had taken advantage of the boy's helplessness, as Ryan felt his backpack and golden plush being snatched from his arms. He reached for his golden friend, only to have a glimpse of its white eyes look into his own before it vanished into the deep depths of the ball pit.
He cried out, hands outstretched, trying to search through all the colors around him for his golden buddy when he felt slender arms wrap over his chest. Ryan struggled, and as he struggled, he felt the pressure build up on his head, his ears popping as he was dragged up. He could feel something else struggling beside him, and he struck what he thought was the monster before hearing a recognized grunt.
The boy looked to his left and nearly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was Michael who battled through the shifting colors, just like Ryan. And he could see Elizabeth, moving her arms around to free herself. The three collectively strained against the monster's iron grip but failed, leaving them unable to escape what was to come.
The three drew a big breath after breaking through the ball pit's barrier. Coughing out the grit and muck that had accumulated within the pit, causing their lungs to burn as they did now. The three heard it cheer with glee as it jumped out of the pit and onto the cushioned floor, yet they hung practically limp in the creature's arms.
"I've found new friends!!!" The creature rejoiced and jumped with joy as it held the Afton children in its arms. "How lucky I am! New buddies to cheer, dance, and play with all day!"
Another whirl was performed, causing the three to twirl along with the creature before being placed on their respective kiddie chairs. The hit made the kids gasp before the beast squashed them together like a sandwich to keep them in place. The three had hardly begun to relax when the creature leaned in, wide-eyed as it studied each of them.
“I’m so excited, “it giggled, “so so so EXCITED!”
It was bouncing around, the bells attached to its shoes jingling along with it. However, the Afton children were unable to match their passion, causing them to remain silent in the face of their boisterous nature. Michael became agitated, Elizabeth appeared terrified, and Ryan seemed nervous. They didn't want to say anything for fear of saying the wrong thing, but the creature spoke for them.
“We can finger paint, tell stories, drink Fizzy-Faz until our heads EXPLODE, and do it all over again and again and again and again and again and-”
As the astronomical monster began to rant about what to do, the three remained seated and rehashed the previous events. They were prepared for a fight as usual, but because they were caught off guard, they were unable to land a proper hit. Perhaps by allowing this monster to go on its rambles and turn around for a fraction of a second, they could land the correct hit.
Michael reached for his cutlass, only to feel nothing but air. His eyes widened briefly before he noticed Elizabeth, who was staring at him with her hands grasping her overalls tightly. Their weapons had been taken from them when they least expected it, most likely buried away in the unending ball pit they had just departed.
When he looked at Ryan, he noticed that his backpack, as well as the unsettling plush, had been removed from him. Even though Michael wanted to thank whatever God there was for getting rid of the doll, the teen could see how much it hurt his younger brother.
His cheeks had turned red, his eyes had damp and his bottom lip had quivered as he sulked in his chair. Ryan was about to cry, and he was about to do it in front of this monstrosity, which, according to Michael, could only make it worse. If this thing is incapable of reading the damn room, who knows what it will do if someone goes out of line?
What happens if someone or something ruined its happy-and-go-lucky demeanor?
What if someone or something cried?
What would it do then?
Michael decided to speak up, attempting to appear as unruly as possible to draw all attention to himself. He crossed his arms, stretched his legs out wide, and let out a big huff, loud enough to drown out the bizarre babbling of the monster.
“You’re rude.”
The monster came to a halt, its neck slowly rolling over, and it gazed over at Michael, disbelief visible beneath its fairly constant smile. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the creature's face as it appeared to rotate counter-clockwise as Michael opened his mouth to speak. It came to a halt when it landed where it had been previously, its voice somewhat strained but happy.
"What was that, new friend?"
Nonetheless, Michael maintained his demeanor.
"You heard me: You're rude." The teenager huffed again, disappointed, as his siblings stared at him, perplexed.
They had no idea what he was doing, but they'd figure it out in a minute or two; he just needed to make the case. So, to make his case, he raised his hand and listed the reasons why this thing was allegedly rude.
One finger.
“You’re loud.”
“I love being loud, “the creature cut in but Michael continued.
Two fingers.
“You took our stuff.”
“There will be no weapons in The Daycare!”
This was a Daycare???
Does a Daycare technically make itself out as a playground?
‘Reasonable questions in an unreasonable place, ‘Michael thought, tapping his foot impatiently.
Three fingers.
"And you haven't even given us your name!" What kind of friend are you if you haven't even given us your name?!"
Elizabeth went along with the same attitude her brother had toward the monster. She, too, folded her arms, pouting her bottom lip and huffing the same way her brother did.
"Our mother once told us that not introducing yourself to others is impolite!" You haven't even provided us with food or drinks! All my siblings and I had been running around for who knows how long till we arrived! We're completely exhausted! How could we play any games when our bodies have so little energy to work with?"
She averted her gaze from the monster.
"How selfish you are to make this all about yourself!"
The astronomical monster gasped, lifting two hands (or claws, as its nails appeared sharp) to cover its mouth in shock. The rays around its head shook before dimming, like damp paper, the truth of its previously joyful nature sinking in.
“No! No! No!” It wailed and shook its head from side to side. "I didn't mean to do that! I was just so excited to have new friends again! I didn't mean to be so rude! I'm so so so so SO sorry!"
The monster stood on the table, the corners of its smile dropping as it peered over the three Afton children. The three held their breath, watching the monster murmur an apology for all the reasons they thought made it appear harsh. So many reasons were presented as to why this had to be that or why or whatever it could say to justify its erratic behavior.
If it could, it would cry genuine tears, but it would be detrimental to the three finally escaping this location.
“We can start by saying our names.” Ryan’s meek voice called out, hands raised but unsure if it was safe to touch the monster. It looked down on him, wide eyes stressed and shaking, almost desperate for a slice of sympathy from any of the three.
"We don't think you're rude; we just think you could have introduced yourself better. Maybe by shaking hands? That's how we welcome people where we come from, and we're just not used to your way of greeting."
The young boy extended his small hand toward the creature, surprising not only it but also his siblings. Both of them dreaded the creature's inability to control its own emotions, especially when it came to their younger brother. Who, by the way, was displaying such bravery toward a creature not barely a few minutes earlier had nearly made him cry.
“My name’s Ryan Afton, what’s yours?”
The creature peered down at Ryan's hand, crouched to its knees, and slowly leaned its hand over his. It cocked its head, its gaze drawn to how vast its hand was in comparison to the child's before the boy gently gripped it and gave it a slight shake. For a brief period, it appeared as though the creature was about to let go before mimicking the boy's demeanor and shaking his hand.
“Sun.” The astronomical creature-Sun-finally said after that brief period of silence.
Sun peered ahead at another hand, his gaze trailing over to discover that it came from the teenage girl with orange hair.
“Elizabeth Afton.”
Sun stretched their other hand across to shake Elizabeth's hand, and despite being on the opposite side, it shook with a bit more confidence. And before long, another hand rose to shake Sun's. Sun then lets go of the other's hands and grabs the teenager's hand hard, shaking it excitedly.
Michael struggled not to pull his hand away from Sun, sensing the creature's distant warmth.
It wasn't quite sweating, but there was a sense of anticipation built into the unsettling monster. Nonetheless, Michael smiled and shook along with the thing until the shaking got too much and he forcibly removed his hand.
He was quick to respond.
“Nice-uh-grip.”
Sun laughed to itself as it swung side to side on top of the table, its head twisting in rhythm.
"Now that we've introduced ourselves," Elizabeth said, "I think this calls for a-uh-um-"
"A party?" Sun inquired, its voice rising as it leaned in closer to Elizabeth.
She clasped her hands together once, forcing a smile on her face. Or maybe she just wanted to think of whatever idea she had to get as far away from this monstrosity as possible.
"A party, indeed! In honor of our arrival, we should have snacks, drinks, and everything! We can have a lot of fun! So many games to play! Now that there are four of us, we can do whatever we want!"
“Don't forget Sam too! He's part of the party!!!”
The three looked puzzled for a moment before turning their heads over to their right.
Sun spun around to the next table, where the still-shocked teenager sat, his eyes and mouth wide and immovable. He didn't notice Sun grabbing his shoulders and heaving him to his feet, practically dragging him over to the others and putting him next to Michael in the process.
“This is Sam, he’s my BESTEST friend! He's been here longer than everyone else! We go through everything together from playing games to telling stories, and even having so many sleepovers!”
The apprehensive teenager was pulled in close to the creature, a feeble smile on his lips as Sun tightened his grip on his shoulders. It then stood up and twirled three times, bells jingling, as it rejoiced that Sam would now be able to play with kids like him once more.
“I'm so excited! So so so excited!”
Something rapid raced through the children's eyes, so fast that they couldn't realize what it was until Sun rose in front of them. It was some kind of harness, connecting itself to the creature's back and causing it to ascend in the air, practically flying. The three took attention, particularly Michael, who saw that the harness appeared to connect from the ceiling itself.
Sun appeared to fly back toward the balcony from which it had come, the harness releasing itself from its back as it danced through the crimson drapes. Sun peered through the drapes, its smile bigger than ever.
"I'll be right back! Now don't move, I need everything to get this party started!"
Then it went back in, the curtains moving for a few seconds before stopping. Aside from the obnoxious music, the four children were enveloped in silence as their gazes remained fixed on the balcony against the wall.
Ryan leaned into his sister's arms, taking slow breaths in and out until he let out a sigh of relief. Elizabeth held her young brother close, eventually relaxing on the seat she was in and tenderly patting his back. Michael leaned back, his brow furrowed as he dug his fingers into his scalp, finally letting go of his 'tough' exterior.
“Christ, that thing’s creepy.”
He felt a pinch in his side and snarled at his sister.
“What?”
“I don't know what you were thinking back there but that was very stupid, Michael. Very, very stupid.”
“I was thinking on my feet, I didn't know what else to say!”
“You could have been nice!”
“You followed along! Don't act like you didn't!”
“Only because it was the truth.”
“I just said the truth-it was a distraction-would you rather have it see Ryan crying? I doubt it.”
“That doesn't give you a reason to agitate it! For all we know, that thing could have torn you in half and made us play with your insides!”
Michael rolled his eyes.
“Better to use all of me than none of me.”
Another pinch.
“Ow!”
Elizabeth turned her head over towards Sam, giving an apologetic smile.
“You’ll have to forgive my brother, he doesn't think before he speaks. He's had that problem even before we got here. Uh-your name is Sam, right?”
Sam blinked, perhaps for the first time in a long time, as he raised his hands and hastily rubbed them. He opened his eyes and glanced at the three, blinking rapidly before stopping and staring at them.
“You’re all real, right?”
"We're as real as you want us to be," Michael said, smirking before catching himself when he saw Sam was serious.
"But, yeah, we're real. We're real."
“You haven't seen anyone like you in this place?” Elizabeth asked, letting Ryan peek his head from her arms.
Sam shook his head.
“No, not for. . .” He trailed off, suddenly remembering something painful as his face looked frightened for a moment. “I don't know, it's been a while, I-I can't remember the last time I. . .”
“How long have you been here?” Ryan asked.
Sam shook his head once more, this time more urgently.
"I forgot." He admits. “The days here are all the same; they’re rarely different. I can't sleep much at night, but I have to, but I can't, but I-"
"Okay, Sam," Elizabeth said abruptly, "We don't have to go through all of that, but promise to breathe for me, okay?"
The blond was hyperventilating and didn't even notice, but he nodded and followed Elizabeth's suggestion. He tried to calm himself by putting his hands to his chest and closing his eyes to avoid tears from falling down his reddening cheeks.
"Sorry-Sorry," he murmured, "Sorry."
“I just-I haven't talked to anyone else but that thing all this time, it was driving me crazy.” He brushed his hands over his scalp, pinching it slightly, he took a deep breath in and out. “Oh God, thank you Lord for sending someone sane my way.”
"Defy sane," Michael mumbled as Ryan perked himself up, his mind set on a single question.
“Do you know a way out of here?”
Sam perked up as well, a sliver of hope crossing his face before being immediately swamped by despair.
"You can't see it, but there's a door out of here beyond the play structures. It's too heavy for me to open, but that thing can. I'm not sure what's on the other side, but I'm very sure it's much better than this."
"That's one thing, but we can't leave without our belongings. We're naked without them; we need them to survive." Elizabeth mentioned, her gaze fixated on the vibrant ball pit.
“Your stuff isn't in the ball pit, “Sam stated, “it's in its room.”
Michael pointed to the castle-like balcony on the room's far wall.
“Is that its room?”
“Yeah.”
“Any chance we could get in without getting noticed?”
"If you're lucky, yes; otherwise, it's timeout for you."
"Please tell me that timeout isn't as gruesome as my mind is making it out to be."
"It's humiliating more than anything," Sam groaned.
Elizabeth looked up at the ‘sky' in the room, noting that the sun was slightly lower than it had been when they arrived.
"Does the sun move around here?"
Sam's eyes were drawn to her.
"Kind of, it's a day and night thing, it doesn't set until. . ." he trailed off, raising his hands to check his measurements, "two hours, more or less."
Michael sighed and cupped his palms over his face.
"I couldn't stand that thing for five minutes, and you expect me to keep talking to it for two hours?! Please tell me that the nighttime is better than the daytime here."
Sam froze his hands in a vice hold on his jeans that rendered his knuckles white. His reply was swift, almost urgent, his words barely audible.
“No!”
Michael's expression was irritated as he gazed at Sam.
“What? We could just sneak in, find our stuff, and leave. What’s wrong with that?”
"It worked for us before, so why can't it work for us now, “Elizabeth inquired, puzzled by Sam's sudden reluctance to go along with the plan.
Sam swallowed hard.
"No, you're not getting it; it's different at night. It doesn’t sleep, it transforms, it-"
“I got it! I got it all!!!”
Sam flinched, his head darting toward the aggravating voice, concern threaded through his body. The three copied his movements as they watched Sun burst through the curtains of its room carrying the essential supplies for the party. It held balloons, bright construction paper, glitter glue, and even a few food and drinks on the side.
It was surprising to see its thin arms carrying so much at once, but then again, it carried the Afton children without difficulty.
Sam covered his mouth, saying something under his breath. "At any time, if the lights go out, go to sleep."
None of the three had time to ask what that meant.
Sun leaped off the balcony, the harness rushing down to catch it before it crashed into the ball pit below. It flew over to the children, giggling like a child and enthusiastically kicking its jingled feet as it said how much fun they'd eventually have. It landed almost perfectly in front of the children, the four flinching at the sudden impact of its landing.
The objects were hurriedly fumbled onto the table, some of which fell onto the floor and the children's laps. Nobody moved until Sun began to rearrange the items, almost carelessly attempting and failing to put them all in order. It was as if it couldn't decide what to do first, putting the food on top of the construction paper, then the drinks, and finally the balloons.
"How about we start with some food?" Elizabeth promptly suggested, placing one hand on her stomach and gently caressing it. "It's terrible to play on an empty stomach!"
"Oh, yeah, definitely," Michael said as he removed a bag of chips from his lap. "You should have seen me days ago, I was playing tic-tac-toe on an empty stomach and I lost more times than I can count!"
"Who won," Sun inquired.
"I did," both Ryan and Elizabeth said before nervously looking at each other.
"Well, there are no winners or losers in the Daycare," Sam assured the others, much to Sun's delight. "Every day, no matter what, we all have fun here."
Sam appeared thrilled, despite his irritation, as he opened a candy bar for himself. He didn't want to eat or drink whatever Sun had given to everyone, but knowing that this was the only way to survive, he didn't have much of a choice. But now that the three had seen Sam's dissatisfaction they recognized that this junk food was all Sam had eaten for God knows how long.
It must have explained his unkempt appearance and pallid skin.
Sun, on the other hand, drew Sam in close, perhaps unaware or unconcerned about his deteriorating health. Its frighteningly uncanny smile grows as it recalls past games the two played together while the Afton children ate. Except for a few missing aspects that the toddlers hardly noticed as they fed their ravenous cravings, every story between the two seemed the same.
Apart from the food and drinks being called and tasting strange, the three didn't mind and ate till their hunger was satisfied. Their only hope was that the food and beverages would not slow them down on their way home. Nonetheless, they listened, only pausing to ask questions that were entirely focused on Sun and Sam in general. Any other question would risk the creature having an outburst, and no one wanted that. So the three were cautious yet persistent in their pursuit of further answers.
Besides, with further knowledge, they might be able to not only get their belongings back but also get out of here with Sam along for the journey.
"How long has Sam been here?" Michael inquired, swinging his 'Exotic Beverage.'
"A little while," Sun said, taking a piece of construction paper to fold.
"How long have you been here?" Elizabeth inquired, munching on her 'Disappointment Chips.'
"A long time," Sun answered, drawing on the folded paper plane with markers.
"How long?" Ryan inquired as he ate a single piece of chocolate cake.
"Long," Sun responded, easily sticking multicolored stickers to the paper plane.
Detailed questions.
"Do you live there? In that castle on the wall?" Ryan questioned, pointing toward Sun's previous location. "It's really cool! I wish I had that kind of room."
Sun perked up at the question and tossed the paper plane over toward Ryan. The paper plane floated around aimlessly until it landed on his cake, the frosting splitting to allow it to settle softly.
"I have everything in there! I have all of my favorite toys, games, and even candy! Sunnydrops are my favorite candies!"
“Sundrops? What are those?” Elizabeth asked, opening a 'Freddy Fudgebar' to munch.
She observed Sam make a face, but she couldn't tell if he was sick or terrified of the mention of these 'Sundrops' because he changed it as soon as Sun looked at him. Sun, on the other hand, leaned over to Elizabeth, their stretched fingers brushing against her ear before hastily pulling out a small piece of wrapped candy.
“Sunnydrops, “Sun corrected Elizabeth, “Although you can call them Sundrops if you want, I don't mind, friend!”
The sweet was wrapped in orange and yellow colors, with a brilliant sun in the center to signify the candy's name. It was as bright as the Sun, if not brighter, and identified the creature as a whole.
What Elizabeth didn't expect was for the candy to be shoved up her nose like she was being spoon-fed. The teen blocked the candy with her hand, cramming her face with the fudge bar to avoid eating the Sundrop entirely. Michael broke up with the strange situation while he finished his soda in the process.
"What exactly does it do?"
"You want it?" Sun asked, leaning on its chair, to offer the candy to Michael instead of Elizabeth.
It completely evaded the question.
"I just wanted to know what it does. I never said I wanted it."
Sun cocked its head, its face slowly turning over, a faint smile twitching. Its grasp on the sweet intensified for a brief moment before entirely relaxing.
"It gives you an energy boost," Sam conceded to calm the situation, his grin fake but eyes pleading with the others to join him. "It helps you have more energy than usual, and it helps me when I'm tired, doesn't it, Sun?"
The creature's face rotated all over, and orange rays rushed in and out as it turned over to Sam. It noticed the teenager delicately place a hand on its shoulder, and his confident smile immediately relaxed the celestial creature.
“Oh yeah, you’re right!” Sun began to laugh, and the rest of the children joined in as if they were a part of the joke.
They needed to get out of here.
"You don't have to eat them now, but you can have them whenever you want!" Sun twisted its hand and created three separate Sundrops for the Afton children. "Just don't eat too many of them or you'll throw up!”
Sam nodded in agreement, though he looked like he was about to do it if he had to see any more of those candies. So the three hastily grabbed theirs and stuffed them inside their pockets. They had no intention of eating them anytime soon and would most likely throw them away when they finally left this area.
"We won't, we promise!" Ryan finished his cake and wiped his mouth with his sweater sleeve.
Enough time had gone, and the three were full, or full enough to stop eating junk food at this point. They might have continued if it meant that whatever happened next would be pushed back for a few moments longer.
Sun jumped onto the table, bells jingling as its two hands held itself high and its feet kicked the air.
"Are you ready to play a game right now? Are ya? Are ya?"
The kids blinked, all confused, until Elizabeth perked her head up, a feeble smile plastered on her face.
"Oh, the games, yes, the games." She fumbled with her fingers, her gaze flickering from her brothers to Sam and back to Sun. She'd forgotten she'd promised to play games after having eaten. But what types of games could keep this creature occupied long enough for them to retrieve their belongings back?
“What kinds of games could we play here?”
"I'm glad you asked, my friend!" Sun curled itself around and sat on top of the table, causing everything to shake. "There are so many different games we can play! Let's play Tag! We'll be able to play Hopscotch! We can have a game of Red Rover! Let's play Simon Says! We can have a game of Duck, Duck, Goose! We can have fun playing-”
And it kept going and going and going.
And the three nodded, smiling as they looked over at Sam, terror in their eyes. Sam just shrugged, unsure how to proceed with whatever Sun wanted from all of them next. It all happened so fast that none of them knew what to do next or how to carry out the plan effectively.
"How about a game of Hide-and-Seek? Hide-and-Seek is always fun!" Elizabeth exclaimed, tired of Sun's energetic nature and yearning for some peace.
“Hide-and-Seek? Hide-and-Seek is my favorite game! We can have as much fun playing hide-and-seek all we want! It'll be a lot of fun!!!" Sun jumped from side to side, giggling as more items fell off the table.
Elizabeth laughed as well, gaining additional support from the table for the game they'd have to play. She turned to face Sam, who, like Sun, moved his head from side to side with a smile on his face. She turned to face Michael, who was clearly distressed by the situation but grinned along, probably wondering when he'd be able to reclaim his cutlass. Elizabeth then turned to Ryan, expecting him to share the same enthusiasm as everyone else, but was surprised to see him do the opposite.
The small child remained motionless, his eyes wide and glistening with tears. He didn't seem to resent Sun's lightheartedness; rather, he seemed to be focused on something else entirely.
"Ryan," Elizabeth asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, "what's wrong?"
Ryan's bottom lip trembled as he battled to get the words out. He swallowed hard, putting one hand over his sister's and tightening the hold. He couldn't form the words the way he wanted to, so he pointed out what he was looking at with his free hand. Following where her brother pointed, Elizabeth's gaze wandered over every minor feature that could have frightened her brother.
It wasn't Sun's mess, the concept of playing with a creature they hardly knew, or even Sun itself.
But something far worse. . .
“Oh, God.”
Michael hadn't noticed, still furious about the prospect of playing a simple game of Hide-and-Seek to see what was bothering his siblings. It took Elizabeth grasping her older brother's arm, fingers sinking so deeply that they cut his skin, for him to notice. He growled, side-eyeing his sister before his gaze was drawn to her terrified expression. He looked about, bewildered, before swiftly rising to his feet, knocking the kiddie chair back, setting one foot back, and raising his fists.
Sun was taken aback by this and promptly stopped its cheerful tune as it saw the three's scared expressions.
"What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?"
Sam was taken aback by the three's abrupt shift of demeanor, especially when it was displayed quite carelessly in front of Sun. He was afraid that something else was going on here, so he turned toward where the others were gazing. Nothing could compare to how frigid his body felt the minute he saw the beast beyond his reach.
It stood playfully behind the crimson curtains and beneath the bright light above the balcony attached to Sun's room. Its fur was golden, its vest purple and adorned with numerous stars, and ears awry, a purple bowtie deep as its large eyes, and an eerie smile. From the balcony, the rabbit gazed down at the children and creature, softly waving once everyone's attention was drawn to it.
It giggled at the children's terrified emotions, especially the one made by Sun, who gently moved its head to look at it. The celestial entity dashed off the table, stomping its feet and pointing one long finger at the rabbit.
"What are YOU doing here?! You've been banned from Daycare! BANNED!!!”
The rabbit tilted its head before laying one hand on its chest and pointing with the other. It looked behind itself before returning to the enraged Sun, pointing to itself once again to ensure it was the one Sun was accusing.
"Yes, you! What other rabbit comes into MY Daycare and hurts MY friends?!?"
It appeared to be answering that question before stopping to ponder and laughing it off as if it were a complete joke, much to Sun's dismay.
Michael grasped Elizabath's arm and pushed her up, forcing her to move rather than stand there. He did the same to Ryan, who grasped his leg and covered his face with his coat to avoid the rabbit's gaze.
"Come on, let's go, let's go, let's go!" Michael snarled, pushing the two aside and taking the lead.
"But, Sam-" Elizabeth began before Michael cut her off.
"-can also run; what matters now is that both of you are safe; let's go!"
But Elizabeth ignored her brother's plea, sprinting over to Sam and gripping his shoulders, attempting to bring him to his feet. He stumbled, of course, but he didn't take his gaze away from the rabbit that was going to reach into Sun's room and take something out.
"Come on, Sam, we have to get going!"
Sam moved slowly, and Elizabeth strained to urge him to move quicker.
"Sam, could you please-"
"I saw it before," he murmured gently, "I saw it before."
"Sam, you're not making any sense!"
"Elizabeth, come on, let's go!" Michael yelled, now holding Ryan in his arms and taking a few more steps back, attempting to create as much space as possible.
Elizabeth turned to her brother, ready to speak her mind before a shriek pierced through the air. The children flinched and redirected their attention toward Sun who held its hands up to its head and pulled at the orange rays.
“What are you doing?! That's MY stuff, not YOURS!”
The rabbit laughed at the creature's annoyance as it pulled out a single slingshot and held a small ball in the other hand. It delicately shook it before placing it in the leather pad, fun pulling at the rubber before drawing back and aiming down below. It pointed to Sun, then Sam, Elizabeth, Michael, then Ryan. It appeared to be unsure who to hit, pointing from one person to the next before slowly increasing its aim into the air.
No one could figure out where the rabbit was going until another scream split the air, this time from Sam himself. He threw Elizabeth off of him and stood as tall as he could, his arms flailing crazily as he yelled for the rabbit to stop. Tears streamed from his eyes, and his voice cracked under strain as his pleading got increasingly frantic.
“No, stop, don't do it! Stop! Stop it!”
Suddenly, Sun began to freak out as well, the harness that was used from before began to fall and attach to his back. But it paused, twitching slightly before it could do its job, Sun crying out as it tried to jump up and grab at it in time.
But it was already too late.
When the rabbit let go of the slingshot, the ball flew past everyone's heads and above the play structures. It proceeded through the fake blue sky, the false white clouds, and eventually hit the burning sun that oversaw the Daycare.
Nothing had happened for a few moments, only a dreadful quiet that lingered in the Daycare.
Sun didn't move, Sam didn't shout, Elizabeth didn't speak, Michael didn't hiss, and Ryan didn't cry. It was all very still, and no one dared to disturb the stillness before a crack emerged in the sun.
Following this point, another crack developed, then another, and another, until five cracks formed across the fake sun. The light dimmed and flickered like an old lightbulb, striving to stay alive before the parts began to fall apart, all five of them dropping down and landing all around the Daycare.
Aside from the bright stars above, darkness enveloped the Daycare like a blanket.
Everyone kept their gaze fixed on the once-bright sun above, which had now turned black and dismal. There were small rays of light peering through the play structures, and despite how difficult it was to notice them, their dim light was apparent through the gaps.
At the moment, no one spoke nor moved; the Afton children all gazed at each other, unsure, before looking over at Sam.
Sam was petrified.
His body was trembling from head to toe, his jaw was slack, his eyes were watering, and his voice was full of forced whimpers. His eyes were fixed where the false sun had been, and he shook his head slowly, lifting one hand over to his mouth to stop sobbing. Elizabeth leaned over to ask Sam if he was okay, but he swiftly looked at her, his frightened expression far outweighing hers.
If he could talk, like he was trying to do, he would have told her to run.
The music had long stopped, the silence was deafening but it was soon overcome with strained gasps from afar. The children all looked around, their attention drawn to the struggling figure beneath the starlight. Under strain, its body twisted and cracked, its screams became brief and urgent, and its face contorted in misery.
“No-No!”
Sun roared, straining the children's ears, and they watched as it rolled over and stared at the rabbit. Sun screamed in scorn, arms wrapping around itself to prevent its chest from shifting entirely around.
“Why would you do that?! Shine on! Shine on! No more rays mean there's an eternal maze!”
Sun yelled, its face swirling to one side like a globe; another face was hidden from the other side, but Sun held it back with the tips of its fingers. Digging away to keep itself intact, it failed to stop its chest from entirely twisting around, and the sickening cracking of bones was heard. Its slender arms snapped like twigs, as did its fingers. Sun choked on its screams, writhing abnormally before its knees crumbled and twisted beneath it.
They snapped as well, and the creature entirely froze, falling back and into the ballpit, sinking into the now-dark colors beneath.
There was a brief stillness, and the children all stood back, frightened, until the multicolored plastic balls began to separate. Two hands emerged from the ballpit, their fingertips covered in blue, and positioned themselves on top of the padded floor.
“Naughty children. Naughty children.” A raspy voice called out, effectively shaking the children to their core.
A pale head lifted above the ballpit, tilting ever so slightly as its red eyes illuminated the darkness. Its face was that of a crescent moon, its smile wide and unforgiving, the golden bell fastened to the end of its sleeping cap jingling with each spin.
“The sun is gone thus the light will not go on. An eternal night is in sight. Good children sleep and don't peep.”
It leaned in closer, its flaming eyes piercing the children's.
“Bad children are awake and tend to break.”
The beast leaped from the ballpit and landed gracefully on the padded floor, one foot lifted and the other holding it high. The bells jingled louder than the bones creaking beneath the creature's flesh.
“A punishment must be made so that the rules will be obeyed.”
It then hopped around on two legs, chuckling at the children's horrified reactions.
“Nighty-night.”
It then jumps into the air, using the harness like Sun had used, and vanishes into the darkness above. The rabbit's purple eyes sparkled happily from beyond the darkness as it waved its hand and vanished through the scarlet curtains. Its muffled laughter resonated throughout the Daycare, and silence quickly took over.
Elizabeth didn't dare to move, her gaze fixed on where the rabbit had been, and yelped when a hand grabbed her shoulder. When the same hand moved over her mouth, Michael's face obscured her view; his face was strict yet troubled.
"Elizabeth, come on, we have to go." He spoke in quiet tones, the sound of Ryan's sobs restricted by the child burying his face in his shoulder. "Look, I don't care if there aren't many exits; there has to be one, there has to be."
“There’s only one,” a hushed whisper came from behind Elizabeth, “only one.”
Sam stood awkwardly as if he was ready to pass out, but he maintained himself upright. He was still in shock, beads of sweat poured down his face, and he appeared paler than before. He peered up at the Afton children, almost collapsing before catching himself and taking a big breath in and out.
“We have to hide now.”
The four hurriedly fled as they heard mocking laughter from above. Sam grabbed Elizabeth's hand and drew her towards the play structures, Michael swiftly following as he gazed up at the sky. A blaze of scarlet engulfed him like a spotlight, the figure's joyous laughter ringing throughout the Daycare.
“Hidey-hide! Hide-away! Bad children will pay!”
It was a maze of complicated and sloppy platforms thrown together hastily, much like a child constructing an assembly out of building bricks. The inside of the play structures was just as intricate and challenging to explore as the outside. Apart from Sam, the Afton children were tripping over or collapsing against the materials hiding therein. Elizabeth slid on the elevated platforms, Michael cursed after tripping over a wedge, and Ryan sobbed after his head smacked the punching bags.
There was no point in stopping knowing there was little they could do to avoid whatever that creature had in store for them. If only they had their weapons, they wouldn't have had to flee and hide like prey. But they had no idea where they were and had no idea what to do next because they couldn't see anything in front of them.
All the three could rely on now was their poor eyesight and Sam.
A flash of crimson passed over the children, but they went on, Sam actively turning every conceivable corner in search of the precise spot where he needed to go. Elizabeth could feel his grip on her wrist tightening whenever she slowed them down. She turned around to see her brothers, both of whom were struggling to keep up as another flash of red passed over them, bathing them in light.
Another giggle, but this time it sounded closer, perhaps even directly above them.
It was cut off when they all went through a netted floor, with only one portion open, unlike the others. Everyone landed on their feet and marched through to avoid the beast once and for all. The children had landed in a clear area with little equipment in sight, and when they believed they could keep running, Sam stopped them.
He placed a single finger to his mouth, raised his glasses, and went on his knees. He inspected the padded floor below, his fingers curling, looking for something the Afton children couldn't have known. Elizabeth stared at Michael, who shared her puzzlement before they heard a click. They looked over and noticed a section of the padded floor had been cut away from the rest, leaving a nice hole in the center that was sufficiently deep enough for them to hide in.
Sam motioned toward the hiding spot, one hand supporting the padded section and the other assisting them in entering.
Elizabeth was the first to enter, her heart in her throat until she heard a jingle not far away. Her feet settled into the darkness, and she knelt against the wall, waiting for the others to join in. Michael jumped in, Ryan still in his arms, and quickly apologized for accidentally kicking Elizabeth's calf when he sat down. Sam was last, hastily going down on what little area he had left before closing the cushioned piece behind him, sealing it as best he could so that no light could enter.
The four were enveloped in darkness before a light shone, and everyone cried in surprise at the startling brightness.
"Sorry," Sam said, pulling the beam away from them, "Sorry!"
"You could have warned us," Michael grumbled as he rubbed his damp eyes.
"I said I was sorry!"
The light was directed down to the ground below, illuminating a black but uneven surface. Despite this, the light shone on everyone else, emphasizing their crowded condition. This hiding place, coupled with whatever else Sam had kept within, could barely keep them together.
"What exactly is this place?" Elizabeth inquired, sliding her arms up and over her knees to give them more room.
"I made this place myself when I needed some privacy. I rarely use it on Sun, but I use it a lot more on Moon, but I'm careful not to rely on it too much since I don't want this spot to be discovered." Sam nudged himself forward to get something behind him, pulling out another flashlight and handing it to Elizabeth.
"It's not much, but it's the only other flashlight I've found in here; Moon destroyed the others."
Elizabeth thanked Sam and gripped the flashlight tightly, noticing the features such as the cartoon bear imprinted on its side.
“That’s its name? Moon?”
Sam nodded.
“Creative, I know.”
Michael moves, allowing Ryan to settle securely on his lap. With new tears streaming down his crimson cheeks, the small boy wiped them away with his sweater.
“Was that why you were scared of the night? Because of Moon?”
Sam nodded again, his hold on the flashlight tightening.
"Yeah, it's different with Moon than it is with Sun."
The teenager put the flashlight between his knees and moved his hands around to further explain the world.
“In this place, there is day and night, a fake sun and moon, and Sun and Moon keeping peace. They both have their responsibilities, with Sun in charge of playing with the children and Moon in charge of putting the children to sleep. If something disturbs the peace, such as what just happened, everything goes wrong.”
“Has this happened before?”
Sam shook his head.
"Not that I'm aware of."
The children sat back, and when they heard a distant jingle, they quieted down. They all leaned in, their voices quiet and their breaths steady, and continued their chat.
"Does anyone have a plan?" A good one?" Michael questioned, caressing Ryan's back to distract him from the distant bells.
"We all saw the sun break apart, but it didn't just vanish; the pieces just fell off and landed somewhere around the Daycare. Maybe if we could retrieve them and put them back together, the sun would return to normal and bring Sun back! Maybe even get our stuff in the process too!”
Elizabeth explained before turning over to Sam.
"Sam, you might be able to guide us through this place. We don't know the Daycare or Sun and Moon as well as you do, so you could help us!"
Sam sucked his teeth nervously as he peered around at the others.
"Well, I mean, I suppose I could-" He averted his gaze, reaching over again to pick at his scalp. "But I'm not sure if this could work; I'm not saying your plan won't, but I'm not sure what would happen if it didn't so-"
He rambled on, stating that everything that might go wrong had to go wrong, his picking becoming more frenzied.
What if Sam fell? What if he thought something too slowly and Moon picked up on it? What if he made a mistake and they all died as a result of it? What if they don't arrive on time? What if the sun never rises again, and the night is as everlasting as Moon claims? What if Moon-
“Hey, I know it may not seem like it, but we're going to get out of here," Michael said as he leaned closer and grabbed Sam's hand.
"I know you're scared; we're scared, too, but we have to focus; the longer we sit and wait, the more time we lose. Didn't you say we had two hours before the sunset? I'm sure it'll keep moving even without the pieces. What next? When the moon rises, we lose our chance and continue fighting for God knows how long."
Michael shook his head.
"I'm not going through that, and I'm not going to put my brother and sister through it either. We're all getting out of here, no man left behind."
Sam looked at Michael, confused about what he had just said.
He looked over at Ryan and Elizabeth, who, despite their fear, had a glimmer of hope within them that he couldn't shake.
They all wanted to go home because, like him, they had overcome numerous obstacles within this structure. This Playground is a place with no rules but their own, a word that sucked in the naive for the guilty to rip and consume for sick pleasure or food.
In a seemingly limitless world, however, like a dark tunnel, there was always a light at the end.
Sam wiped away his tears, blinking quickly as he forced himself to concentrate. He would apologize for his behavior once more, but he could tell that everyone was sick of hearing it. He squeezed Michael's hand, nodding with a faint but confident smile.
He is going to get out of here and see his mom again.
"Okay, but if we're going to do this, we're going to do it quickly," Sam said, rearranging himself with renewed energy.
He rummaged on the floor before pulling up a piece of candy that appeared to be a Sundrop but was actually fashioned like the moon. The crescent moon and stars were imprinted on the wrapper with yellow plastic bordered with blue.
"This is a Moondrop; it's similar to a Sundrop, but they make you sleep instead of stay awake."
Sam gave the candy to Michael to examine, who then passed it on to his siblings.
"Moon will try to give you those when it catches up with you, whether you want them or not. Don't be fooled by their size; they work quickly and you'll be down before you know it. It got to me several times until I understood I could counteract the effects with a Sundrop. If it comes down to it, it will make you sick, so prepare yourselves if that happens."
He pointed to everyone.
"Each of you has a Sundrop; there are a few more in here; pack them up. When the energy spike hits, it hits hard, and the same can be said when it drops, so make the best of it."
Ryan perked up as everyone stuffed more Sundrops into their pockets.
"Who's gonna get our stuff?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
"Someone has to get into Sun's room, right? It may be in there, behind the red curtains!"
Elizabeth considered Sam.
"Someone has to distract Moon, and Michael and I could do it while you and Ryan get our stuff."
Sam disagreed.
"No, we need the pieces; there are five of them; you'll need me to go around and get them all. You're lost without me, and you'll risk meeting with Moon without a weapon or a plan. The Moon is not like Sun; it is different, faster, and sneakier; it is all your nightmares would be about!”
"Are we all forgetting the damn rabbit who started this whole damn thing?" Michael growled under his breath. "What if it's still in there? Anyone of us may run into that thing and the next thing we know, we're laying in a pool of blood with a knife jammed in our necks."
"We could use something else to fight Moon with," Elizabeth suggested.
"Elizabeth, I love you, but I'm not going to die by trying to kill that thing with a plastic kiddie chair!"
"I'm not saying you have to kill it; I'm just saying we need to distract it long enough so it doesn't kill us!"
"Listen," Sam declared, "you two can argue later, but I think right now we need to focus on what's important here.
“We have to fix the sun, retrieve all of our stuff, and leave before either Sun or Moon catches up to our plan. If either of us slips up, even by an inch, we’re goners.
“When we get out of this spot, we all run to the nearest glowing piece of the sun. It doesn't matter where it is; what matters is that we all stay together and don't lose sight of one another.
“If we split up, we get confused, and Moon will take advantage of it. It’s happened before, it wasn't pretty.”
Sam leaned in, his hand stretching out in the center for all to see.
"If we're going to do this, we have to all agree that whatever happens next, we're going to give it our all." This isn't just another battle against whatever monster you've all faced before; it's something new.
"Because the moon is different, we must endure.
"We run until our legs give way, we fight until our bodies go numb, and we survive because there are people we care about outside of here."
The others cupped their hands around Sam's.
To indicate the consent given to each of them, a reaffirming squeeze is offered. They were scared, of course, but if they simply followed the plan and didn't let anything distract them, they'd be able to get out of this place.
What dumb beast is going to stop them if they've all made it this far to survive?
Not Sun and certainly not Moon.
Sam made a move to remove the cushioning section from above, ready to tell the others if it was safe to step outside.
"Sam, wait," Elizabeth murmured, causing Sam to pause and gaze down at her. "Were there others like you stuck in the Daycare?”
Sam took a big breath in and out before looking up, tears in his eyes.
"There were five of us, but only three got in here: me, Larry, and... "
The name called out came out more as a cry than a whisper, but it was swiftly suppressed when the teenager pushed the cushion up.
"Do me a favor: whenever Moon looks you in the eyes, look away."
No one bothered to ask what he meant by that.
Sam slowly slid the cushion up, shutting off the flashlight to avoid drawing attention to themselves. His gaze wandered over the seemingly empty plain, looking for any sign of movement or a figure's line. He looked around three times before pushing the cushion to the side and exiting. The Afton children followed, their eyes concentrated on any hint of movement, but they saw none.
Sam closed the hiding area and moved ahead of the three, taking care not to step on anything that would make a noise. Ahead of them was a gap that led to the padded floor from the exterior of this play structure, and another play structure was visible. Something glowed from the bottom of the play structure, and through the many crevices lay a piece of the sun.
It was simple.
It was easy.
Maybe too easy.
Moon hadn't even appeared yet, possibly waiting for the right moment to strike. Sam expected it to be on top of a play structure, peering through the numerous openings to catch them off, guard. It had worked on him previously, the sensation of large hands reaching through the holes, gripping his neck, and tugging him.
It would always stay with him, even now as he steps into the open with the others, his pulse pounding like a drum.
The silence was deafening within the Daycare, apart from the soft press of walking over the padded floor below, the children were completely silent. Their feet walk over discarded toys, bright bricks, and colorful wedges all at the same time. All were overlooked for the sake of carrying out the plan, despite Michael's realization that he might utilize them to his advantage.
So far so good.
Sam slid beneath the gap and crawled through the tunnel before noticing the bright piece in front of him. It was jagged but gleamed with such light that simply glancing at it nearly blinded the teenager. He reached over and took the piece, feeling the warmth travel through his palm as he carefully pocketed it.
One down, four to go.
The Afton children came up behind Sam as he searched through the many passageways for another shimmering fragment of the sun. Elizabeth gently assisted Sam, touching his shoulder to alert him that another piece of the sun was just a few floors above the play structure they were in. It was a challenging circumstance with multiple tunnels, ropes, and jagged wedges, but nothing Sam couldn't handle.
As Sam figured out how to get to the piece faster, Michael felt Ryan’s grip on his arm tightened. He looked down at his little brother, turning his head over to see what was wrong before he quickly snapped his head back, breathing hitched.
There was a faint creaking in the air, similar to how a door squeaked when the hinges were corroded and overworked. Gentle ticks reverberated as the sound continued, barely heard enough to hear, but it was evident it came from above.
A figure appeared to swim through the night sky from the darkness. To maintain the illusion, arms traverse the deep black with legs kicking out. Bells jingled softly alongside the elegant movements as the beast softly sang out a barely audible symphony.
“Bad children will pay, bad children will obey.
They’ll run and cry, while I fly high.
I’ll find them soon, for I am the moon.
The stars shine bright, for this is the night.
They stayed up too long, and that is wrong.
They must go to sleep, as I come for a sweep.
I shall swim in the dark, and I will make my mark.
Bad children will be punished, for they have done it.”
Michael reached across and squeezed Elizabeth's shoulder. The teenager got the message, and her tapping on Sam's shoulder became more frequent. When he turned his head, it only took one desperate look from the others to convey the complete message. He motioned his hands toward the ropes, his feet moving fast yet carefully over the toys around him to ascend.
The Afton children followed, taking care not to make any noise that would alert the beast to their presence. The tune continued with its rhythmic lyrics, but this time it was joined by laughter and chuckles.
Sam was on top of the platform, passing through the tunnel while waiting for the others to join him. Elizabeth was the second to arrive, going up with some difficulty but entering the tunnel. Ryan was raised by Michael, and the tiny child clung to the rope and climbed to the best of his ability, his shoes scraping the plush walls to acquire what little friction he had. Michael started climbing behind him before noticing Ryan make a bad foot maneuver and tumble. He hurriedly reached out his arms to catch him, but he lost his grip, allowing the rope to slide from his grasp.
The two landed on top of the toy mesh, and loud squeaks reverberated throughout the play structure.
Something cold rushed through Michael's chest, and a tightness gripped his heart when he overheard the creaking come to a halt. Ryan froze on top of him, his eyes darting up and across toward the opening, where the sound of bells clashed together once before coming to a halt.
A red light flashed through the opening, passing over the brothers like a lighthouse before returning, the brightness intensifying.
“There you are,” the creature teased, getting closer, “and to think you could run so far.”
Michael hurriedly got to his knees and, heaving himself up, grabbed his brother's hand and lifted him to his feet. He staggered over the toys to get him any higher to Elizabeth's waiting arms. But the distance was too great, and Elizabeth would fall if she went any further, so the teenager pushed Ryan into the nearest tunnel.
Ryan turned to protest but was hit with another shove, this one rougher than the last.
“GO!”
Elizabeth went out more than she should have, urging Michael to grab her hand and pull him up, but he ignored her.
“I SAID GO!”
The red light got brighter and before Elizabeth could reach even further she was pulled back, Sam’s arms around her waist. She struggled as she was dragged back, her eyes catching Michael picking up a random item to defend himself with. Gravity pulled both teenagers down the tunnel, tumbling over each other until landing violently against a plastic wall, two more tunnels branching out at their sides.
The pain rushed through Elizabeth's body, and a stunning numbing sensation jarred her nerves. Her muscles hurt and her knees popped as she slid off Sam, who groaned in relief. When he saw Elizabeth reach over to where they had previously passed through, he uncomfortably stood up to catch up to her.
Despite the shock, Elizabeth tried to crawl back, but Sam stopped her, coughing out his words.
“Don’t-” he pulled her over to his left, “don’t.”
“It’ll kill him!” Elizabeth screamed.
"There was another tunnel he could crawl through; all he has to do now is distract Moon, and he'll be fine!"
“But-”
"Moon doesn't kill the first thing it sees; instead, it puts kids to sleep and calls it a night. When under pressure, it resorts to other means and becomes agitated. We don't need Moon to become furious; we only need to put the sun back together, gather our belongings, and leave before the night falls."
Sam proceeded to the left tunnel, and a burst of light emanated from afar.
The other piece.
"He'll be alright, Elizabeth, I swear, but we can't just run in like that. We need to be prepared, put the pieces together, and get the sun back."
He gave a flashlight-the one he gave her before-to her as he turned his on and made his way through the tunnel. Elizabeth lingered, unsure if she should go to her brother or follow Sam. But as Sam went on, Elizabeth was fast to follow, fearful that if she lost sight of him, the entire play structure would collapse.
This was Michael she was thinking of; he wouldn't go down like that. He can think for himself, devise a plan of escape, and fight back when a conflict is underway. He could take care of himself just well with or without his sword, but what about Ryan?
Would he be able to handle being by himself?
In this place? With that thing crawling around?
And that rabbit?
Elizabeth trembled but stayed in line, after Sam as they rushed to collect the next piece. She could see the other part of the sun far ahead, through the tunnels' see-through plastic domes, laying pretty innocently in between two wedges through a netted wall. It was right there, but due to the barrier, the two couldn't get to it quickly.
Elizabeth had a terrifying thought that she couldn't help but question Sam about.
“Could it get in here? In the play structures?”
Elizabeth nearly hit Sam who stopped for a moment before he continued, his movements a little more hurried.
“Yeah, it can.”
Elizabeth hurried beside Sam, ignoring the discomfort of her hands and knees scraping against the tunnel's plastic. She came to a halt as Sam did, and another network of tunnels obstructed their route before he turned to the right. Elizabeth was concerned that it would be like a maze, with so many tunnels to navigate. But Sam came to a halt in the middle, and Elizabeth noticed him tapping the tunnel with the tip of his flashlight. Sam gave a brief nod before sitting on his rear end and kicking one section of the tunnel.
Nothing happened before he attempted it again, his leg shaking as he applied extra force to the opening to make it give way. The portion collapsed, revealing an infinite expanse of nets, ropes, and wedges on the walls, as well as a bottomless abyss. Sam looked back at Elizabeth, making sure she was okay before making his way to the walls to cling to, flashlight in between his teeth.
"You have to be careful around here, there are trap doors everywhere," Sam said, words muffled by the flashlight.
“Good to know?”
Elizabeth crept out of the tunnel, gripping her flashlight with her teeth and holding onto the netting wall, shuddering as a surge of cold air passed her. Despite the cold, she continued to climb, Sam slowing down so she could catch up to him. She was slower than him, her feet struggling to keep up and nearly slipping. Her boots weren't designed to climb a netted wall, especially with the pattern being so erratic. She could put her foot on one pattern and almost slip on the other, and the strain on her fingers to keep their grip on the ropes made them feel as if they could snap off like twigs.
Nonetheless, Elizabeth persisted, anxious to finish the sun and see any of her brothers again.
The two climbed, disregarding the cold and the tinkling of bells that passed them by. Nobody knew where the bells were coming from; like previously, they may come from the top, bottom, right, or left. It didn't matter; what mattered was that if any of them let go, they'd fall into whatever lay at the bottom of the abyss.
It reminded Elizabeth of another abyss she glimpsed when speeding down a slide with the bottom half see-through. All there was to see was pure darkness, with no sense of light apart from the fear that one could fall and never return to tell what was from within. But she swears she saw something within the abyss similar to this one, possibly a monster that she and her brothers will have to fight or flee from shortly.
She hoped that wouldn't be the case.
Sam finally came to a halt after a few minutes of climbing, his gaze drawn to the glow of the fractured piece within a plastic dome. Elizabeth caught up, panting and puffing in exertion as she finally allowed her body to rest after too much climbing. She stared through the plastic, then at Sam, and finally around the entire area. She withdrew her flashlight from her mouth and stuffed it deep down her pocket to keep it from sliding off.
"Okay, so how are we going to get it?"
Sam took out his flashlight and placed it under his armpit, pausing to glance around for a way in. He grabbed a wedge above him before it toppled over, Elizabeth seeing it tumble into the abyss. Sam still hung on, clicking his tongue before reaching for another wedge and pulling it down as well, letting it fall.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to find a way in, there's always a way in."
Elizabeth noticed a tiny ledge beneath another wedge that had fallen. It wasn't as huge as she had imagined, but it was big enough to sit and possibly stand on. Another few wedges were removed, and the two teenagers were soon pulled up and seated on the ledge. There was netting behind them, the rope digging into their backs as they finally allowed their bodies to rest from climbing for so long, their now crimson hands pulsing from misuse.
It hurt but not as much as realizing how far they had come from the tunnel they traversed before.
They exchanged glances before turning their heads to inspect the netted walls behind them. Elizabeth pulled on the ropes, but it didn't reveal as much as she had wanted, so she turned to Sam for help, only to discover that he was experiencing the same problem.
“There’s a certain tie that gives itself away, it's somewhere around here, give me a sec.”
Elizabeth explored the netted area for this 'certain tie,' her still irritating fingers fiddling with the rope laces. She examined the netted walls' edges, straining at each loose strand of rope to see if any of them gave way. She was astounded to see one give itself away, the rope eventually unwinding and revealing a channel for the teenage girl to enter through.
"There we go!" Elizabeth smiled as she let herself fall through the netting wall into the padded platform, allowing her sore muscles to rest.
"Thank God, I thought we'd have to climb even higher." Sam laughed as he crawled through the opening, and relaxed as well, stretching his legs.
“If we did then I think I’d die.”
The two laughed briefly before quickly rising to their feet and continuing on their trek. Elizabeth noticed a ray of sunlight shining through the overlaid playground equipment, beyond the tunnels, netted floors, and plastic domes alike. Sam scanned the scene with his eyes, attempting to figure out where they could find the piece more quickly. He decided that another tunnel adventure was in order, much to Elizabeth's dismay.
"Trust me," Sam explained, "if there was another way, I'd gladly take it."
He proceeded around the perimeter, looking for an opening where the two could enter. Elizabeth followed suit, walking through the previous entrance but without pausing to notice the sounds from afar. She heard it at odd moments while climbing alongside Sam, the ring of a bell too far away to determine where it had come from. She ignored it for that long because she suspected Moon was on the outer layer of the play structure.
But, just to be safe, she checked the entrance to hear the bells again.
Elizabeth listened intently, her eyes blinking at the darkness below. Something distorted within the darkness; it moved too swiftly for her to tell, but she knew it was there. She leaned in close, her eyes straining to pick up any detail that would help her determine whether it was real or not. Something sped by like a flash and Elizabeth stepped back, her eyes wide.
She saw red.
Elizabeth dashed over to Sam's side as he surveyed a tunnel; he was debating whether or not to go in it, but Elizabeth had beaten him to it. Stepping inside the bright tube, she drew Sam in with her, her fears soon catching up with him.
“It’s following us!”
They plunged down the tube, going down for a few seconds before coming to a stop. They scurried through the tubes and tunnels in a flurry, keeping their eyes and ears alert. Elizabeth didn't plan to take the lead, but she did, glancing aimlessly as she struggled ahead with Sam in the back. Fearing that Moon was getting closer than they thought, the two took numerous detours to get even further than they had been.
The bells seemed to resonate throughout the tubes as soon as they did this.
Elizabeth peered through the see-through domes, still seeing the piece lying innocently in between the wedges. She came to a halt, her gaze drawn to the tube she was in and the others that were pasted all about her like they were snakes entangled. But she was aware that none of them led to her planned destination.
“Wait-stop.” Elizabeth sat up, and Sam came to a halt just behind her.
“What’s wrong?”
"These tubes aren't getting us anywhere; they're just going in circles." Elizabeth kicked the tube ahead of her to see if it would reveal itself. "We need to break this down and climb our way through, so we don't have time to keep crawling."
She kicked again, harder than before, and continued the assault until she noticed the results. Sam didn't stop her, instead telling her that there might be another way to get to the piece.
"You know, I don't think kicking the tube down will help. If we could just take another path-"
Elizabeth braced herself as the tube dropped through and landed on the playground equipment below. It rumbled against the equipment before coming to a standstill, a sliver of the sun still beaming ahead.
"Or maybe not."
Elizabeth fell from the height, landing awkwardly on top of the netted floor below, and waved her hand over. Sam jumped in, landing close to her, almost falling as the entire floor trembled under their weight. As the two rearranged themselves, they turned to face the piece, which was shimmering and alive.
"There it is," Elizabeth murmured as she stepped closer to the piece, Sam close behind her, both of them regulating their steps so their feet didn't go through the holes.
“Elizabeth, wait-”
“What?” Elizabeth turned over, her eyes widening as she nearly grasped for the piece.
“The bells.”
“What about the bells?”
Sam pressed his two fingers to his right ear, intently listening.
“They stopped.”
Elizabeth felt her fingertips brush the rays of the sun, and the warmth spread through her hand and into her arm. She automatically grabbed it, carefully placing it in her pocket as she sighed deeply.
Two down, three to go.
She stood up again, her feet shaky, and walked over to Sam. She made no move to run, nor did she trip as the shaky floors under her creaked under her weight. When she heard the bang, she yelped, and Sam did the same before they both looked over at the source. Another blast and their heads snapped to a certain tube. It shuddered beneath the pressure of whatever was inside the tube, another bang reverberating, and it shuttered once more.
The two took a step back as another blast shattered the passageway, the pieces breaking apart. The two shouted as the pieces nearly touched them. Falling to their backs, they felt the plastic tubes shake and shred against the shaky ground.
It was a miracle it didn't fall apart until the two heard laughter from above.
“They run and they cry, but I'm always nearby.
They break and they tear, but I'm always there.
They think they can cheat, but their plan is incomplete!”
Moon crawled out of the broken tube, spinning its head like a wheel and laughing at the two's situation.
“To break is to mend, and that means everything must come to an end.”
It leaned forward, its red eyes devilishly flashing in the darkness, before stooping and preparing itself for a split second. When the cosmic beast sprang out and fell on one of the plastic tunnels below, the netted floor groaned even more, unveiling itself.
The ropes gave way under the pressure, everything and everyone plunging through, all crazily twisting and turning as every net below continued to come apart. Elizabeth screamed as she felt her body flung around and twisting like a doll, the ropes cracking against her as the tubes hit her in all directions. She could hear Sam cry as well, and through her tears, she could see his form going through the same agony as she was.
The stop was abrupt but fleeting, a swift snap of everything coming to a rest bringing Elizabeth a few seconds of darkness.
She must have passed out, or the darkness may have led her to believe she did. Elizabeth didn't know; all she knew was how much her body trembled in pain. She couldn't move without moaning as the abrupt pierce of agony struck her body like a bullet.
She moved to rise, the pain searing her body before a flash of crimson grazed her.
Elizabeth came to a halt, her stomach cramping as she did so. She raised her head to see where the light had come from; it was only a few yards away, barely visible behind the shambles. Elizabeth rolled over, groaning in pain as she struggled to crawl away, her body screaming for her to stop.
Objects were being pulled away from her, bells softly tinkling as a raspy voice calmly called out to her.
“Shh, shh, shh.”
Cold hands gripped Elizabeth's ankles, jerking her back as she yelled out in pain. She caught her breath as the same hands rolled her over and gently lay her on her back. She closed her eyes tightly, refusing to look the creature in the eyes, Sam's warning echoing in her mind as she did so.
The sound of plastic being unwrapped, on the other hand, perplexed her. She considered peering through her eyelashes to see but decided against it for fear of what else the beast would do to her. What she didn't expect was for the cool fingertips to scrape her mouth, quickly bypassing her teeth and opening them wide. Elizabeth's heart lurched as the same frigid fingers clamped her mouth shut.
“Eat a piece so that your pain will cease.”
The teen struggled, her hands weakly gripping the frigid hands as the taste of raspberry coated her tongue.
The Moondrops. . .
Elizabeth kicked, punched, scratched, and yelled, but it wasn't enough to stop Moon, who held her down with ease.
“You fight and refuse, but that is no excuse.
Sleep will befall you, and your brothers too.
Shut your eyes, for the moon is about to rise.”
Despite her efforts to hold it back, the candy appeared to melt on her tongue. She could feel the candy pass through and down her throat, and the muscle constricted instinctively, causing the teen to choke. However, her efforts were futile, and she swallowed the candy, leaving a coat of raspberry in her mouth, which nauseated her.
Elizabeth felt her body weaken like a snap of fingers. Her limbs were sluggish, her head was foggy, and her struggles slowed to a halt. When she opened her eyes, instead of seeing the creature clearly, she saw a shade of blue with stars blocking her eyesight. Even while her thinking believed this was terrible, a portion of her thought it was soothing.
That seemed to appease Moon, as it let go of Elizabeth and started on its journey to locate the others, leaving Elizabeth to fend for herself.
It sang a tune as it crept out of sight, chuckling as another child was finally put to sleep.
But as the creature departed, Elizabeth found herself internally straining, fighting the need to close her eyes and succumb to exhaustion. She couldn't sleep because her thoughts were preoccupied with the possibility that she might never wake up again. She needed to fight, and she knew exactly how to do so.
Elizabeth raised her right hand, her numb fingers fumbling in her pockets. She gritted her teeth as she dug deeper, resisting the impulse to give up and sleep. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, finally feeling the thinning covering of a candy wrapper graze her hand. She grasped it and yanked it out, her body becoming increasingly weaker as she struggled.
With her left hand, she grasped another piece of the wrapper and pulled. She failed and the candy hadn't opened, the teen huffed and tried again, but the wrapper was still resistant and didn’t go through.
Elizabeth cried, her senses fading as her eyelids grew heavier. She let her arms fall, the pins and needles had become numb by this point, finally putting her down. She couldn't struggle any longer; she didn't have the energy. Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed, her thoughts elsewhere.
She couldn't hear the running steps, she couldn't feel the hands over her chest, or even hear the words coming from their mouth. What little energy she had left was squandered on speaking, and when she believed she had completed a sentence, she only spoke two words.
“. . .drop. . .mouth. . .”
After a few seconds, something was inserted in her mouth; it tasted like an orange, but the flavor appeared to stretch out more broadly. It started with orange, then lemon, and finally an excessive amount of sugar. The Sundrop's contents dissolved and flowed down her throat, breaking apart and eventually working their way through her entire body.
Elizabeth's formerly calm heart began to race, her slow breathing became frantic, and her body felt like it was on fire. Elizabeth sat up and gasped, her eyes wide, as the pins and needles felt like a rapid flash of electricity, her pain being overpowered by adrenaline. She was trembling from head to toe, her ears ringing as all of her senses went into overdrive.
Ryan recoiled in surprise, watching his older sister shiver with this sudden surge of energy within her. He would have made the move to see if she was okay before she turned to face him, fists up and shaking furiously. The boy suspected he'd given her too much of the Sundrop, his mind criticizing him for not being able to break the candy in half to give to his sister. They all came to a halt as his arms were wrapped around him and his face was buried against a chest where the heart beat so rapidly that Ryan thought it was a drum.
"You're okay!" Elizabeth exclaimed, cuddling her little brother. “Thank God!”
"I'm fine, but what about you?" Ryan inquired, his voice muffled by his sister's overalls. “You have bruises all over you, what happened? I heard a crash earlier and ran over here to see. Did you fall?”
“Yes-well-” Elizabeth looked down at herself; despite the darkness, she can see the countless bruises and cuts that cover her body. It was the Sundrop that helped her withstand the pain, and she thought it a miracle she didn't break a bone.
Or maybe she did, and the rush was numbing the agony even more.
"I'm fine, Ryan," she lied, "I just need a few bandages, that's all."
The teenager glanced about until she located her flashlight, then turned it on and inspected her younger brother. He barely had any bruises, let alone a scratch, but she thought it a miracle given the numerous traumas he had sustained before all of this.
“Are you alright? Nothing hurts? No pain? It didn't go after you?”
Ryan shook his head.
"No, I heard the bells, but all I did was run. I even got to the other playground over there to hide and search for the remaining pieces. When I heard the crash, I stopped and went over to you." The child reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece that shined with such splendor.
The other piece of the sun. . .
Elizabeth gazed up at her brother before immediately digging through her pockets for her slice of the sun. When she found it, she showed it to Ryan, her face beaming with delight. Ryan had found another chunk of the sun!
Three down, two to go.
But where was Sam?
Elizabeth looked about, using her flashlight to explore the playground equipment surrounding her. She rose to her feet, grabbed her brother, and they both searched for the missing teen.
“What’s wrong?”
"It's Sam, he has the other piece, but I can't find him." Elizabeth shifted a tube, knocking over a wedge beneath it. "We'll need him to fix the sun."
Ryan tugged Elizabeth's arm and directed her attention to the now-broken ceiling. Elizabeth gazed up, the flashlight's beam illuminating the wreckage above her. The ripped nets, broken tubes, and even the climbers were all distorted by what had happened, yet it appeared that it was slowly repairing itself. It wasn't fast, but as the seconds passed, the structure began to mend from the assault. With it came the sight of a human entangled in the nets, their body twisted in the seams and their face covered between the cushions of the platform above.
It was Sam.
“Oh my God-”
He didn't appear to be breathing.
Elizabeth glanced around until she located a set of climbers nearby, then got her brother and proceeded up the stairs. Climbing from one floor to the next in a hurry, not one step was misplaced as they turned from one corner to the next. Once they saw the torn seams where Sam had been held, the siblings ran, grabbed, and hoisted Sam over to lie on the cushioned floor. While Ryan looked for the other piece of the sun, Elizabeth gently shook Sam's shoulders.
“Sam? Sam, can you hear me? Sam?”
The teen was out cold, with similar injuries to Elizabeth, but he was still breathing, albeit gently. Elizabeth checked his pulse, which was slow but not as worrisome as she had expected. She reached into her pockets and pulled out a Sundrop, oblivious to her brother's futile attempts to connect Sam's piece to the piece he had acquired.
Elizabeth unwrapped the wrapper and popped the candy into Sam's mouth, her mind racing with possibilities.
Terrible possibilities.
“Sam, please wake up. Please. We can't do this without you, please wake up! Please!”
Elizabeth felt Sam's body stiffen slightly beneath her fingers and saw his eyelids flicker open as his gasps became harsh and rapid. He stood slowly, coughing as Elizabeth supported him, smoothing his hair and adjusting his now-broken glasses on the bridge of his nose. He groaned as he regained consciousness, his blue eyes wandering over where he was to Ryan and then to Elizabeth.
“Ow.”
The siblings breathed a sigh of relief as they watched Sam slowly rise, the candy's effects gradually restoring his strength. They both unfastened the rope mesh around his body and assisted him to his feet, wiping away whatever dust he had accumulated during the fall.
"Are you okay? Do you need to rest a little longer?" Elizabeth tested Sam's forehead with the back of her hand to determine if it was hot or not.
"No, no, I'm fine, honest." Sam raised his hands and massaged his eyes, hissing as the wound on his brow deepened.
"Sorry, "Elizabeth took her hand away, but Sam waved it away.
"It's fine, what happened? Do we still have the pieces? Are they safe?"
"They are," Ryan responded, raising the two pieces he had collected before Elizabeth gave him her piece, making three.
"We fell a long way, but the pieces are still with us. Ryan found his piece on the other play structure; we believe we can find the rest if we go over there. There are only two left, so I'm sure we'll be alright." Elizabeth gazed across at the structure they were all in before catching a glimpse of the bridge from a distance.
“There it is, let's go.”
The three continued walking, Sam complaining briefly that he had lost his flashlight in the tumble. Regardless, he would rather have that happen than lose the portion of the sun that needed to be repaired. The sooner they have Moon taken care of, the sooner they can leave.
Elizabeth turned off her flashlight as they approached the bridge, keeping her eyes vigilant for any signs of a flare of red. There were none, but that didn't stop the teen from walking carefully down the route, the two following close behind. They kept their eyes peeled as well, not just to protect the sun's fragments, but also to prepare for any future attacks.
The bridge creaked under their weight, tilting down and swaying slightly as they took cautious steps forward. Their bodies were crouched, almost crawling, as they tried to keep themselves as tiny as possible. One step equaled a creak, one lean equaled a small tilt, and one shaky breath equaled an anxious tremble.
Two pieces of the sun shone from within the other play structure. One from the deep pits and one from the top, both gleaming brightly despite the darkness. Elizabeth continued marching until she heard a growl from above.
Elizabeth sprang back without hesitation and suddenly felt a gust of air pass through her. She felt her body crash with Ryan's and Sam's, both of them tumbling back as a massive weight slammed on the bridge, violently shaking it before coming to a halt. A blaze of red engulfed the children, a familiar face twisting around as the beast twirled around, hands gripping the reins fiercely.
“You deny my gift of sleep, how much that wound of mine goes deep,” Moon bellowed, its body twisting strangely as the children took a step back, their gaze drawn away from the creature's scorching red. “Surely much more can be done, perhaps further damage must be done to the sun.”
"You can't keep Sun out forever, Moon; you have to let it out at some point! You both take turns! Those are the rules!" Sam yelled, his gaze fixed on his shoes, his hands on Ryan's shoulders to protect him from going off the bridge.
Moon tsked at Sam, wagging one finger side to side in the air.
“Sun has had their fun, under the rays of the sun. I've been kept in the dark, barely making my mark.”
It took a couple of steps forward while holding its palm to its chest, causing the three to move back.
“It’s time for a change, and I know that may seem strange. But I hold my promises to heart, you all will enjoy this brand new start.”
It chuckled as it approached, and the three took another step back to avoid it, fearful they'd have to run all over again. Moon leaned over, sharp nails nearly touching Elizabeth's head, before feeling something hard smack into its head. Moon shrieked, gripping its head, before another harsh force slammed into it, bending its body back and nearly knocking it over the bridge.
Moon cocked its head to look for the source, growling as it seized an object thrown its way. Moon tore the plastic kiddie chair in half, its gaze then finding a familiar figure who leaped up and down, swinging his arms violently.
"Hey, I'm still awake," Michael exclaimed, snatching up another kiddie chair and tossing it at Moon.
Moon effortlessly seized the chair and jumped off the bridge, landing on the cushioned ground, growling at Michael. Michael, on the other hand, continued his tricks, kicking over a table full of painting supplies and letting them topple over before fleeing.
“Come and get me!”
Moon yelled, crawling on all fours and chasing the teen with undeniable speed.
“Clean up! Clean up!”
The three sprinted, Elizabeth in front, Ryan in the middle, and Sam encouraging them to run faster. While Moon was distracted, that didn't mean it couldn't run just as rapidly to catch up to Michael as it would to them. They needed to grab those last two parts quickly before Moon caught up with them and put a halt to their plan.
"I don't get it; why would Moon want Sun to be gone?" Ryan asked, nearly stumbling over a wedge as they passed a punching bag.
"The days last longer than the nights," Sam explained as the three of them crawled into the tunnel. "It makes Moon jealous, and it thinks it's unfair that the Sun gets all the attention and not it."
"Well, it got our attention," Elizabeth exclaimed, kicking a fallen wedge out of the way to reach the broken piece.
Elizabeth dashed over, grabbed the piece, and jiggled it about to pull it out of the maze of tubes and wedges. Once out, the item shone just as brightly and vividly as the others. She handed the piece to Ryan, who tucked it into the pocket of his jacket alongside the others.
They were all so dazzling that Ryan could have been mistaken for carrying the sun in his pocket.
Four down, one to go.
"All right, the last one is on top of this structure. If we keep ascending, we'll be there before the moon." Sam said, adjusting his spectacles as he gazed out into the Daycare, making sure Moon was still preoccupied with dealing with Michael.
Elizabeth approached Sam's side, watching Moon angrily crawl through the Daycare looking for her elder brother. Twisting itself about like a worm to aid in its efforts to locate the offender in time to administer a proper punishment.
Whatever that punishment may be.
"Come on, we'll make it."
Sam nodded to Elizabeth before walking over to guide the two siblings to their destination.
It was difficult and loaded with many pieces of equipment designed to obstruct their way, much like their previous travels in the other play structure. Throughout their journey, Elizabeth stayed close to her younger brother, ensuring his safety as well as the safety of the sun's fragments.
Sam leads them on, directing them through each hurdle in their journey to the summit.
They pushed their way through the various nets, rammed and kicked every wedge of various shapes and sizes, pounded every punching bag, and crawled through every tube to reach the top.
They were going to make it, they knew they were.
The completed component sat atop a jagged platform, barely supported by netting floors and other walls. Plastic pipes held everything together, like a makeshift tower made of plastic straws and marshmallows. The entrance was on the side, but it was much smaller than the three had anticipated, one small gap that, if disturbed even slightly, could cause the platform carrying the item to fall.
It was too risky.
“I can't fit through there,” Sam muttered.
“Me neither,” Elizabeth replied.
Ryan sat back innocently, eyes fixated on the final piece, while the two slowly turned their heads to him. When he caught their gaze, he kept his head down and shook it side to side.
"What if I make a mistake? What if it falls? What happens then?”
"Ryan, you got a piece before in this place, you can get the other."
"But it was at the bottom, not on the top!"
"Ryan," Elizabeth said, putting her palms on his cheeks, "you can do it, okay? You just need to get through that gap, climb over as slowly as you can, and collect the piece. It's as simple as that."
Ryan huffed, still looking worried.
“I’ll be right here with you, I promise. It's just right now we don't have a lot of time and Michael is in trouble and we have to help him. Like how he helped us many times before. Remember how he helped us swim through those pools? Pulled us away from the mud? And ran away from those monsters in the dark?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Well, now it's our turn to help him in the same way that he helped us. Can you help me, Ryan? Can you get it? For Michael?”
Ryan held his breath, holding his tears back as he offered a firm nod. He let the two teenagers hold him up, carefully inserting his head through the gap, his arms snaking their way in before his hands clasped the net. Ryan put his feet through, keeping his breathing in check, putting his feet down on what little traction he had and holding himself up. Ryan stiffened as the platform above rocked slightly, but a few seconds passed without incident and he proceeded.
Elizabeth and Sam watched Ryan carefully walk around the platform, feet shaking to preserve balance, the entire structure of the component shaking with each step. The boy's hold on the platform tightened with each rotation, each struggle causing the last piece to slide ever so slightly. When Ryan got close to the piece, it hung awkwardly at the edge, ready to fall into the abyss that was the play structure, until Ryan slowly put his hand over and grabbed it.
The child curled the piece across to the palm of his hand with two fingers. When he was certain that it was tight enough, he slipped the piece into his pocket, letting it fall through and clink with the others. Ryan sighed, leaning back slightly to look down at the two, a little smile on his face.
“I got it!”
Elizabeth and Sam breathed a sigh of relief, almost collapsing as their fears were put to rest.
Five down, time to build.
"All right, Ryan, you can come down now; we'll fix the sun together."
Ryan agreed and walked over to get himself down and finally build this sun once and for all. The sun will be fixed, Michael will be saved, they will be able to reclaim their belongings, and they will be able to flee this world, taking Sam with them.
Everything was coming together, one more piece to the puzzle.
Ryan was ready to walk through the opening when something hit the play structure, causing the entire tower to shake. Ryan looked around, attempting to figure out what was causing the attack, only to hear the blast again, his body swaying side to side as the vibrations hit him harder.
“Ryan, hold on!”
A slender black wire swung back and forth from a distance, bearing a figure at the end. It ascended the play structure, only to jump off, swing back, and crash against the tower with such power that it shook all over. As other portions of the play structure began to crumble, the children grabbed on for dear life.
“Enough of these tricks, the sun cannot be fixed!”
Ryan felt himself lean to the far left, just above Moon who crawled even quicker at him. He could feel Elizabeth and Sam's hands jump up and clutch onto him, attempting to pull him back into their arms, but their grip loosened with another hit.
“You all play a fool’s game, there's not one prize to claim!”
Ryan's grasp on the pillar was loosened by another impact, his right foot falling while his left foot sank deep into the gaps of the netting walls. He could hear the bells from beneath him getting closer with each passing second, so he rushed swiftly to free himself. He could hear the fragments of the sun jingling around in his jacket pocket, all five of them nearly falling out as the boy quickly put them back in.
“Elizabeth, help me!”
“Just stay where you are, Ryan, we’ll get you down!”
Elizabeth yanked at the nets that had entangled themselves around her brother's foot. The ropes were tangled, imprisoned among knots both heavy and light, and difficult to untangle. Ryan elevated his foot, but it was still trapped; Elizabeth's fingers burned as she yanked harder to free her brother.
Sam placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder, his gaze drawn to how close Moon was to them.
“Elizabeth, we don't have enough time-”
“Unless you have a better plan, Sam, I’d love to hear about it!”
Sam moved his eyes around, trying to locate something that could aid them. He noticed Moon's proximity, the wire that provided Moon with an advantage, and the ballpit's distance. It appeared far away from up high, but it was still close enough to leap in regardless of the distance.
"Ryan, you have to jump into the ballpit."
“What?!” Both Elizabeth and Ryan shrieked, staring down at Sam as though he were insane.
"Sam, you can't be serious!" Elizabeth exclaimed, still attempting to rescue her brother.
"I'll die if I jump!" Ryan cried, almost losing his balance, and raised his right foot again to try to release it.
"It's the only way Elizabeth and I can get down from here. I know it looks far and like you'll break something, but I swear you won't! You just have to believe me when I say that if you land on the ballpit, you will not get hurt! I've done it before and made it perfectly fine; you just have to jump!"
Sam peered over his shoulder and saw red over the structure, nauseating laughter roaring nearby. He looked back to see Ryan's foot almost through the nets; it just needed one more tug to be free.
"I swear to God, it's the only way; just jump!"
Another blast was heard, this time shaking the entire top of the play structure.
There was a creak, and the roof dropped, striking Elizabeth on the head. Sam fell with her, his knees buckled as the platform below him collapsed under pressure. Ryan dropped as well, his body now dragged down to the right, nearly splitting itself apart, and he could see that he was closer to the ballpit than ever before.
The boy cried out and his grip on the pillar tightened again before slipping.
He was slipping.
A creaking sound was heard, and the boy turned over to see Moon perched on top of the pillar. As it moved closer to Ryan, its claws crushed the plastic pipes beneath its grasp. Its red eyes shone brightly with hatred as it growled like a dog, its head spinning and clicking around like a broken clock.
“Enough of all of this, your trouble is too much to dismiss! Punishment is greatly needed, your delinquency has exceeded!”
Moon jumped once again, hitting the pillar, which eventually toppled back, and the boy was sobbing as his grip tightened. He was slipping too far, his knees were cramped, his arms were quivering, and his nails drove further into the plush of the wedge. He saw a blue-tipped claw reach across, preparing to grab his head and pull him in, the crimson smothering him.
“Maybe a good rest isn't enough, it looks like I have to be a bit rough.”
Ryan held his breath and jumped.
Moon shrieked as it leaped for Ryan, limbs, and claws outstretched and ready for the capture. Its body came to a halt, ankles entangled in the nets that lay below it. Elizabeth and Sam braced themselves as they pulled with all their strength, watching the beast fall as a result of their efforts. Moon smashed against the edge of the play structure, the wire clinging to its back shuttering with the rapid change of pace.
“Let’s go!”
Ryan could hear Sam scream as he fell, arms curled around the pocket containing all of the pieces of the sun. He swears he could have heard more of the conversation before his body was swallowed by a swarm of different colored plastic balls that devoured him whole.
He gasped as the air left his lungs and his body seized upon impact.
Ryan gasped for breath as he came to a halt, his limbs splayed out and moving frantically in an attempt to find a grasp. His chest felt tight, his breathing was quick, his head felt light, and his tears finally came as he sank farther. He screamed, his struggle intensifying as he felt his body fall deeper into the ballpit.
“El-Elizabeth! Mic-Michaell! Ss-Sam! Help!”
The child struggled, feeling powerless in his situation. He was going to drown and die. And if he didn't drown, Moon would come and get him, and he'd die. Or he'll keep sinking and falling through into another world without his family, his things, or his golden buddy by his side to help him survive.
Ryan was going to die.
That was until his palm brushed against the side of something soft and plush-like.
The child turned his body over and grasped the object without thinking, his thoughts screaming at him to hold on and not let go.
Don't let go of what's keeping you alive.
Keep breathing, keep thinking, and keep running.
Keep being yourself, no matter what happens, keep yourself alive and well.
Ryan gripped the object even closer, and after his fingers laced the edge, he heaved himself up and finally took a long breath in. He turned over again to lay against the plush ground, his body freezing against the night air, his limbs shivering to keep him warm. His eyes were wide and his vision was clouded with tears, and when he raised his hands to look, they were shaking.
He moved his head to gaze around, his eyes catching a brick-like pattern moving horizontally. Looking back, Ryan realized he had fallen into the ballpit, only to find himself directly on the castle-like structure that lay underneath the creature's quarters.
If he had jumped any farther. . .
Ryan shook his head, standing back up and pulling himself together. He dried his eyes, wiped the sweat from his brow, and examined himself for any concealed damage. He didn't have any, but before Ryan could rejoice, his mind wandered to what he was meant to do.
The pieces-
Ryan delved into his jacket pocket, hoping that his worst fears would not come true. He took one piece at a time, putting them out in front of him and counting them as he went.
One, two-
He dropped the second piece, weeping as he ran to retrieve it.
Three, four-
The fourth one slipped from his clutches, but he retrieved it swiftly and set it down with quivering hands.
And five.
Ryan exhaled, his shoulders slumping in relief, his eyes closed as he clasped the parts together with his two hands. He breathed in and out unnaturally, his concerns still affecting him, and a few tears escaped as he delicately touched the fragments.
"Thank you, God," the small boy whispered, finally feeling himself relax as the words left his lips.
“Ryan!”
Ryan jumped, turning over to who screamed he calmed down seeing that it was Michael. He looked disheveled with parts of his clothes ripped but otherwise alright. He stood by the edge of the plush floor, away from the ballpit, he was close but still far enough to not make the jump over and join his little brother.
“Are those all the pieces?”
“Yeah, all five of them!”
“Okay, put them all together, and hurry the sun’s going to set!”
When Ryan looked up, he saw the dark mass that was the sun practically sliding over to the edge of the dome. Something white and bright was beginning to appear across the artificial sky; it was the moon.
Rushing himself, Ryan gathered the pieces and began to put them back together again.
One piece was placed on top of the other, one was misplaced, and the other was mixed to ensure it was in the appropriate spot. The small child remained concentrated despite his anxiousness, putting the pieces together in the correct locations and watching as it glowed in front of him. The crack lines flashed so brightly that Ryan had to close his eyes before they faded. The fragments shook slightly as they began to separate, their once-collected light becoming its own. The small boy stood powerless as the light faded and the pieces reverted to their previous state: broken.
"Ryan, what happened?" Michael yelled.
"I'm not sure, the pieces won't fit together, it's not working!" Ryan pushed the pieces together in an attempt to make them fit and fix themselves, only to achieve the same result as previously.
“No! No! No! Please! Please work!” The pieces refused to aid the boy’s cries, still broken as before. “Please!”
"Ryan! Michael!" Elizabeth dashed over, Sam by her side, both of them wearing ripped clothes like Michael. "What happened? What's going on?"
"The pieces aren't fitting together; they keep breaking apart."
“What?!” Elizabeth turned to face Ryan, who was struggling to fit the pieces together, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Sam looked around for the sun, the black bulk still moving slowly to finish its turn for the day. He then looked across to Moon, who was still clinging to the side of the play structure, tearing through the seams of the nets twisted around its ankles with its sharp teeth. He then returned his gaze to Ryan, and as a thought formed in his mind, he cupped his palms over his mouth and spoke.
“Climb up to the sun!”
Everyone turned to Sam.
“What?”
"The sun!" Sam pointed up at the dark mass that was the sun. "Put the pieces back together where they belong; maybe that's why it's not working in the first place; it just needs to go back!"
The Afton children stared up at the empty area before returning their gaze to Sam.
"You can't be serious," Michael mumbled, his face solemn.
"The pieces aren't completely dead; they still have light in them. I believe they’re not working because they’re not at their assigned place. Ryan has to climb up there and put them back together; it's the only way!"
"And what if that doesn't work?" Elizabeth asked, her worried gaze shifting to Ryan.
Sam had no response; he was equally confused as the others were by their limited options. They didn't have any weapons, and what they did have were toys, plastic furniture, and art supplies strewn about to distract a very angry beast. They needed to move quickly, survive, and find a way to bring the sun back.
"I-I'm not sure. I'm sorry; I'm not sure if it will work, but we have to try. It's the only way."
Michael and Elizabeth exchanged glances with Sam before turning to face Ryan. The small child gazed up at his elder siblings, tears in his eyes as if he was about to pass out from the tension. Regardless, the two gathered themselves and talked to their younger brother, their voices strong but uncertain.
"Ryan, you have to climb up there," Elizabeth said.
"You heard Sam if you put the pieces up in the sun, it'll come back," Michael added.
"You can do it, Ryan, just like with the fifth piece, you can get it just fine!" Sam commented.
"I fell when I got the fifth piece!" Ryan complained, looking irritated. "I nearly died!"
"But you didn't," Michael quipped, "you lived!"
Ryan huffed before looking up, the balcony blocking his view of the empty sun. He then looked down at the pieces, unsure whether he should go ahead with this new idea. But it appeared like he didn't have a choice, as he gathered the pieces and stuffed them back into the pocket of his jacket. He stood up, legs trembling, and took one last glance at the three before grabbing at the reins attached to the walls and starting to climb.
The three observed the small child struggle along the way, his body resting for a few moments before leaping back up.
He'll get there, one way or another.
"Okay, so now what?" Micheal inquired.
"We distract Moon," Sam replied, turning back with the others to look where Moon had been but saw nothing but a tangled mesh of nets and plastic pipes alike.
Moon was gone.
The three took a step back, their eyes wide and seeking, before hearing a click from overhead. Without hesitation, the three jumped out of the way, sprinting far and wide as a scream split the air, the beast dropping from above and landing where the three had been. Moon turned its head fast, producing clicks and cracks based on the strain of its bones as it stooped down and hissed at the three.
It didn't bother calling out in rhymes, instead rushing in a rage to chase the three rather than thinking straight and going after Ryan.
Ryan hadn't bothered to turn his head, freezing upon hearing the scream, and his entire body shivered when he heard the bells. They rang in unison before quickly clustering together in a frenzy, moving hastily to imitate their owner's unexpected motions.
After a few moments, Ryan continued.
Ryan supported himself by placing his feet on top of the false stars that shone beneath the balcony. He clung to the reins above and lifted himself, his upper body burning while his legs dangled uselessly below him. He climbed upon another artificial star, resting for a moment before repeating the process, the routine being the same. He didn't stop, he didn't change, he just kept going till he got to the very edge of the balcony, the flat surface inviting him as he dropped over.
He exhaled nervously, his muscles aching as he stood up to prepare to climb even higher when he heard something move behind him. The child instantly froze, taking in his breath so quickly that his heart lurched inside his chest.
Was the rabbit still inside?
Was it observing them the entire time?
Was it waiting for him to come up so it could murder him?
His breath returned swiftly, his chest shook, and the action repeated itself before Ryan knew it.
Hiccups.
“Ryan!” A soothing voice shouted from behind the red curtains, distracting the boy from his terrible thoughts.
Ryan paused, his eyes squinting as he turned over towards the curtains, feet planting themselves on the balcony for increased leverage.
“Fredbear?” He took a step forward, bringing his hands to the curtains before pulling them back, unsure whether he should go ahead.
Another hiccup.
"It's me! Help me get out of here, it's so crowded I can't move!" The voice spoke out softly but urgently.
Ryan glanced back, his gaze drawn to the abrupt movement of a flashlight over red, numerous steps taken with muttered curses, and many objects flung around in the dark where he couldn't see.
Moon was distracted by the others.
He looked up and saw the empty sun, still moving slowly, perhaps too slowly to finish its cycle.
"Ryan, please, I can't breathe!"
Hiccup. Hiccup. Hiccup.
Ryan examined the Daycare, then the sun, then the fragments in his pocket, and finally the curtains. He tapped his foot up and down, biting his bottom lip, mentally chastising himself before peering through the red curtains, eyes wide and searching.
“Fredbear, where are you?”
It took him a moment to realize how cluttered the room was.
His brain fought to fathom the disarray in front of him as he stood on the balcony. There was no doubt that the space was large, but what worried Ryan was how much trash was strewn around and left to decay. There were dirty and clean clothes nearly everywhere, mismatched shoes tied and hanging from the ceiling, toys thrown all around, and party supplies of all types strewn throughout. Ryan found himself reconsidering his idea to save his golden friend and go over to fix the sun.
Hiccup.
“Ryan, over here!”
He quickly changed his mind, his head darting towards the speaker, which was now muffled by the many items packed together. He hesitated as he stood behind the metal bars, afraid of sinking into the muck like the ballpit. He didn't want to feel like he was drowning again, or, even worse, that he'd be much slower to help the others.
Hiccup.
“Please, Ryan, I'm sinking!”
The child hopped over, his ankles sinking into the waste as his body shook from the sudden stop. He didn't sink, but he felt stuck, his legs going slowly to reach his golden pal. He noticed two plush arms swaying around between two gigantic plush toys portraying both Sun and Moon. When Ryan was close enough, he leaned in, grabbed both soft arms, and pulled.
Hiccup.
Ryan pulled even harder when Fredbear became trapped, and the plush bear was eventually released. The boy drew back, the golden bear plush landing gently on his chest, fully safe.
“Wow! That was intense! Ryan, thank you for saving me!" The golden plush cheered, adjusting its purple top hat and bowtie. "If you waited any longer, I'd be six feet under by now!"
Ryan sighed, eventually drawing his golden companion close to his chest and squeezing him. The plush soothed the boy by patting his face with its nubby paws, the pads feeling warm on his tear-stained cheeks.
"Aw, it's okay, buddy, there, there! No more tears, your eyes will swell up!"
Hiccup. Hiccup. Hiccup.
"Wow, hiccups as well?" Take some deep breaths, buddy; you've got to breathe for me!"
"I thought I'd lost you!" Ryan sniffed, mucus threatening to fall from his nose.
The golden plush shook its head softly.
"You'll never lose me, friend! I'll never leave your side! Literally and figuratively!" The white of the plush's eyes wandered across to a specific region of the room.
"Now, about those weapons. . .”
"You found our stuff? Where are they?" Ryan gazed around, looking for something recognizable that attracted his attention.
"Oh, no, that's why I'm glad you're here! So you can assist me in locating them! That foolish little sun has buried them, as it has all the others!" The plush replied with its happy-go-lucky smile.
"Are there other weapons?"
“Yes!” The gold bear reached behind itself and pulled out a slingshot, one Ryan recognized from the rabbit.
“That’s-”
"This one, especially!" His golden friend cut him off, giggling the whole time. "You can't imagine how much trouble this has caused so far!"
There was a smash from afar, followed by a shout that Ryan recognized as Michael's. He twisted around and tried to sit up, only to feel his legs sink deep into the debris, his heart lurching in his chest, causing his chest to jolt.
Hiccup.
“You better hurry up, buddy, I don't think we have much time left!”
Another collision occurred, and Ryan found himself straining to peer through the red curtains from where he stood. He could hear the commotion but couldn't see it as clearly as he would have liked. But based on the sounds, he knew it wouldn't be good.
Hiccup.
The child rolled over with a heavy heart, searching among the rubble with his golden companion in his arms for aid, as another crash rang out overhead.
And Ryan would be correct, for the disorder within the Daycare could not have been more frenzied.
Especially for Michael.
Now, Michael had been tossed across a room before, and he'd undoubtedly suffered greater injuries from his father than from a creature designed to run around in the dark.
That being said, he understands how much energy it took to be lifted by his head and flung across the Daycare and into a kiddie table. He'd been drowned, bit, cut, and even had a bone fractured, yet being flung off to hit a table felt refreshing.
Unfortunately, his body reacted differently, and a burst of white, burning pain covered his right side.
He collapsed on the soft ground, coughing as his lungs burned from overuse. Even though his muscles screamed, his bones ached, and his vision blurred, he smiled. He stood up, spitting out the blood from biting his tongue too hard on impact.
“Is that all you got?”
Moon snarled, crouching low as if about to pounce. Its nails sunk deep into the ground, and it let out a deep rumble from the back of its throat, legs twisting in preparation for another run. It pounced, only a few inches above the ground, before a big object struck its body, a green wedge shaped like a cube lodged into its back. Elizabeth followed closely behind, leaping high from the play structure above, her boots striking with the item so forcefully that Moon fell face down from the weight.
It reared its head before Elizabeth kicked it down and dashed off to meet Michael and Sam in the other play structure.
"I told you to distract Moon, not kill it!" Sam murmured as he watched Moon scream and rip the wedge off of itself.
"Hey, it's better to get a head start on killing it now if the sun doesn't work," Michael replied, chewing on another sundrop to replenish the energy he was losing.
"If the moon does come up after all, we've just wasted our time with the pieces, and Ryan still hasn't fixed the sun." Elizabeth peered up to where the balcony was, her gaze not catching up with any small figure. "I can't see him, I don't know where he is."
"How much do you want to bet he's in that thing's room?" Michael looked up at the balcony, seeing only the faint lighting created by the false stars around it. His brow furrowed, his eyes attempting to grasp any shape of his younger sibling before giving up and focusing on Moon. "I think he's getting our weapons back."
“Is he?” Sam murmured, cowering with the three as a blaze of crimson flashed by. "It's gotta take a while, there's no way he'll make it to fix the sun if he doesn't."
"If he does find them, that gives us the advantage to fight back instead of just throwing everything down," Elizabeth said quietly as she watched Moon eagerly clean up Michael's mess after he was tossed down on the table. "Honestly, the more we make a mess, the more irritated Moon becomes and pursues us instead."
"If Ryan needs more time, we'll give it to him," Michael said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "We just need a better approach to all of this."
Another flash of red, and the three crouched once more, concealing as best they could from the cosmic creature's prying eyes.
"That balcony," Sam murmured, looking at it, then at Moon, and then at the wire that hung unnervingly in midair, "we have to keep it away from the balcony."
Moon was seen crawling from one spot to another, grumbling to itself as it tried to discover the three through little gaps. It was agitated, twisting and snapping itself into one shape after another to keep itself in place. Its scarlet eyes didn't miss a single detail, and each misplaced thing was quickly examined.
Every smear was removed, no paper or crayon was misplaced, and everything was returned to its proper position.
So why did it feel so wrong?
Bells rang as the monster stared through the gaps of the play structures, its face rotating fast before stopping midway, its frown deepening as it found nothing once more. It was fully aware that the children were hiding, and no matter what it did, they would not remain down.
It had dealt with this behavior before, with appropriate punishment and lessons learned, but these three children were generating more of a commotion than anticipated. Two were Sam's age, and the other was as young as any child in this playground. All three came in and were allowed to have some fun, but declined for various reasons.
Reasonable reasons by Moon’s standards but incredibly rude to Sun.
Sun, on the other hand, displayed just as much energy for any child, particularly new ones. They would have played, squandered all of their energy, and then slept when the night came.
It has always been like that, for as long as Moon could remember, nothing could have changed that until now.
It was until the rabbit came along and interrupted the cycle. Moon had seen that rabbit previously, but only on rare occasions, unlike how Sun saw it. But it should appreciate that rabbit since now it has the opportunity to achieve what it has always wanted and has more time to do what it was created to do.
Put children to bed and discipline those who do not.
And all of these children need to sleep.
There was the sound of objects toppling down out from Moon's sight. It shifted its gaze to the sound, perplexed as to where it had come from, and inspected its crimson eyes side to side, looking for anything out of sight. Nothing seemed out of place, but the sound returned, this time with a shriek overhead, and the sound of a young child crying out.
Far from the Daycare, far from Moon's embrace, and beyond the scarlet curtains of its room.
Moon shifted its gaze to the side, carefully inspecting its surroundings and arguing with itself whether or not what it had heard was true. It stepped closer, past familiar playsets, kiddie tables, and chairs. It listened again, conflicted at the noise before it happened again. The monster leaped back in awe and crouched low before rising again, slightly conflicted.
Has the rabbit come back? Why? That was unheard of; it never stayed in one area for long before fleeing, unless it came back for the children.
Or it came back to fix the sun. . .
Moon made its way back to its room, annoyed that the rabbit dared to return. But the thought that it had returned to cause more harm than necessary sparked an anger unlike any other within Moon. Enough rules had been broken, and it was time to put an end to it all.
But before Moon could even try to go to its room, let alone bring the harness down to take it up there, there was a shout.
“Hey!”
Moon shifted its weight backward, settling into a squatted position, its face tilted around to properly align to see what had called out to it. There was a familiar face, a blond teenager standing back with a nervous but serious expression on his face.
It was Sam.
“Still not down-uh-asleep! I'm not sleeping!" He declared, puffing up his chest and crossing his arms.
Moon was not amused, puffing in frustration.
“Sam, go to bed, rest your weary head. Your troubles may be bad, and I know you don't want to make me mad. So sleep tight and well, so that your punishment won't make your life a living hell.”
Sam gulped but he didn't back down.
"Sorry, I have too much energy in me; that will not do!" He lifted his broken glasses to the bridge of his nose. "You're going to have to put me to bed."
Moon let out a low growl.
“You’re testing me, why won't you let me be?”
Sam licked his dry lips before proceeding, still hesitant but eager about what he had to say next.
“Because Sun knew how to get things done in time.”
Moon's expression was the most enraged Sam had ever seen. Its forehead furrowed, its snarl deepened, sharp fangs protruded, and its growls sounded unearthly. Its wrath was unlike anything Sam had ever encountered, even that of individuals he knew back home. But the blond stayed put, maintaining his ‘smug' demeanor, and blew a raspberry to add fuel to the already raging flames.
Moon pounced, disregarding the cable attached to its back and crawling on all fours to its targeted prey. Sam only moved when Moon got too close, deciding to go past the wedges close to the nearest play structure. The wedges were all pushed back by the force of Moon crawling by, either torn to shreds or thrown aside, it didn't matter, Moon was angry.
It was enraged as it chased Sam down and through the bottom half of the play structure. Bypassing random rooms, pillars stuck up that held the construction together, past the punching bags, and even out of the play structure to continue its rage-induced hunt. Sam hadn't stopped running for even a second; he didn't bother looking back, preferring to make a fuss and throw anything in Moon's way.
But it was close, its claws spread and ready to grab; both it and Sam knew he couldn't keep running forever.
He'll get worn out just like he always does. He'll pause to get his breath. He is going to trip and fall. He'll make himself appear foolish to impress anyone who pays him any attention. If he continues on this path, he will make the others the next Raad, or worse, he will become just like everyone else.
Naughty children. . .
Moon slipped, catching itself off guard and rolling until it came to a halt, the wire on its back groaning with the sudden change of pace.
Moon stood back up, glancing down to discover what had caused its fall: multicolored plastic balls. It made the move to keep pursuing Sam when something hollow hit its shoulder, and its head cracked over to see who had done it. And it noticed a young teenage girl beside the ballpit, holding two plastic balls in her hands before making the move to throw them at the thing. She, too, blew a raspberry and ran away, laughing the whole time, causing Moon to grasp onto a fresh target and keep running.
Elizabeth, like Sam, avoided Moon's clutches by avoiding the tunnels of the other play structure. Moon stared as she seemingly flew by and slid down every colored tube and slide there was. There was no stopping her; she only looked back to stick out her tongue when she felt she had gone far enough. Moon was speedy in the chase, but because of its rage, its actions became chaotic and hurried. Its claws clawed the plastic of the tubes, tearing away at the product and making even more of a mess to clean up afterward.
But, like Sam, Elizabeth slowed down, her legs cramping as she landed too hard on the platform below her after passing through a random tube. She came to a halt for a time, massaging her painful knees as her face wrinkled up in misery. Moon had leaped in after her, hands ready for the grab, before the girl abruptly jumped out of the way. Moon smashed onto the now-empty platform, its body breaking up like paper, its cry cut out, its bells wailing pathetically.
The shock was brief, but the agony was not.
Moon coughed out and spit and blood flowed out of its mouth as it stood up. It twisted its head to where Elizabeth's receding body was, its limbs stumbling before it fell, then getting right back up. The crimson in its eyes flickered like a dying light before returning in full force, a seed of hatred embedded in its psyche so deeply that it was pained. It felt like invisible hands probed deep into Moon's head, fingers playing with emotions, squashing its empathy and stretching its rage like clay.
And Moon couldn't help but let it happen, a purple haze covering its eyes before returning to red.
It slowly regained consciousness before turning over to the noises of the teen girl fleeing, pausing for a single second before rushing after her. It noticed her turn to the left, but the creature chose a different path, going to the right. Its body began to hit the sides awkwardly, generating a noise that echoed throughout the passageways. As the creature crawled faster, the cord on its back scratched against the plastic, but Moon paid no attention and continued on its quest.
It came into contact with the identical cut corners, four tubes extending from the right, left, up, and down.
One quick look to the left, nothing.
One quick look to the right, nothing.
One quick look to the top, nothing.
With one quick look at the bottom, it paused, and it dropped down, slipping down a slide of yellow and crawling low below a netted ceiling.
It waited, ears open to any kind of noise, before hearing it.
The sound of hurried footsteps.
Moon remained silent, their eyes turned down to avoid being noticed by the light of their gaze. It crept beneath the low net, its ears picking up on the girl's erratic noises as she ran from one tube to the next. It waited for the sound of boots on plastic, which had been far away but had now become close and urgent. Moon raised its hand, allowing its nails to hit the plastic, softly scraping the tube enough to know it was there but not making too much noise to give itself away.
The steps began at the back of one tube and progressed toward the tube Moon had been under. She moved left and right, one leg over the other, one hand on the tube, the other clutching her flashlight, and her eyes were always ahead, looking for a way out. When she stepped on Moon's area, the beast ripped through the plastic with its one claw and grabbed the teen's ankle.
Elizabeth screamed as Moon strengthened its grip on her, dragging her down through the narrow space while she strained to resist its grip. She raised her flashlight and smacked it on the beast's hand, hoping it would let go. Moon, on the other hand, tightened its grip even more, its fingers wrapping over her skin like snakes, reluctant to let go for this only chance to get back at her.
“What kind of punishment shall you get, it’ll be painful I bet! It’ll be harsh for the others, much like what I’ll do to your brothers! But for you, who knows what I’ll do!”
Oh, how it’ll twist this girl's bones like a doll.
It’ll pull at this girl’s hair till her scalp peels off.
It’ll bite into this girl’s skin until she bleeds red.
It’ll stuff her mouth of Moondrops till she chokes.
There will be no naughty children in this Daycare!
Moon chuckled as it drew Elizabeth down even lower, readying its other hand to seize her waist before a sharp jab was given to its throat. The beast let go, choking on the unexpected assault on its windpipe, and gulped for air before beginning a furious coughing fit. Elizabeth, on the other hand, bolted, limping slightly as she slid down another slide away from Moon's sight.
Purple. It saw purple.
That deep and elegant shade of purple assaulted its view like a flood submerged a village. The hazardous waves swamped people's houses, possessions, and bodies. Filling them with acidic water that filled their lungs, intestines, and even brains.
Suffocating, it was suffocating.
But purple was all Moon saw as it followed Elizabeth, the red simply a passing shade among the purple. The combination produced a deep magenta that swirled and became dreadful as the beast crawled through the tubes like a snake.
Elizabeth hadn't made it through the exit before she felt something hard hit the back of her legs. Her legs buckled and she fell over, body tumbling a mere few feet away from the play structure. When she looked up, she saw purple swallow her body, followed by red and then a deep magenta. The teen immediately began to crawl back, eyes wide as the astronomical beast followed suit, face stone cold and serious.
It made no rhymes; its wrath was too strong for it to consider anything other than a proper punishment.
A long-overdue and much-needed punishment in this age of scarcity and precision. Moon was extremely fortunate to have the entire Daycare to itself and only itself after the sun went down. Allow it to enjoy the delight of holding things accountable without the constant intrusion of Sun.
This isn't Sun’s realm anymore, this is Moon’s.
A whistle broke its train of thought, and its body stiffened as it exited the tube and into the Daycare.
Moon and Elizabeth both turned their heads to the whistle, their eyes drawn to a sight unlike any other. Michael and Sam stood beside the two, grasping a black cord in their hands and straining with all their might to pull it back. Moon took a moment to realize that the cord they were holding was the same black cable that was used to quickly circle the Daycare.
It had the same color, texture, and even length to travel this far. Moon, who was intently following it, immediately discovered that it had traveled far further than expected. It grew higher from the darkness above and twisted all about the Daycare, disappearing and reappearing throughout the play structures.
And all of it was connected to Moon’s back.
Moon gazed at the two teenage males, its expression changing from stone cold and serious to startled and scared. Its grasp on the cushioned ground tightened, its nails biting through, and its body shook as it anticipated what might come next.
“Don’t-”
“Nighty-night!” Michael teased and the cable was let go.
The cable snapped back, smacking Moon in the face with such power that its body wrenched back. The wire attached to the beast's back cracked, and it yanked back fast, anxious to release the tension built up by being held back for so long. And Moon, having responded too slowly to the pain of its cable striking it in the face, soared back and across the Daycare at breakneck speed.
Its vision couldn't have kept up with the suffering it was going through.
It saw yellow but its ankle shattered when it hit hard plastic, green but its wrist twisted as it tried to grab onto the nets to stop, and blue but its legs broke when it came into contact with the plastic pipes that held the play structure together.
Every single color signifies everything breaking or bending strangely once the creature's body collides with whatever it has previously crossed. It attempted to reach for the cord to disarm it from behind, but it was met with another hit and its fingers broke like eggs.
Fire, it was on fire.
Nerves exposed, intense anguish, bones cracking, and the body twisting relentlessly. Moon was in pain, but when it tried to stop it, it seemed to keep going and going, despite its pleas for the cable to halt and quit its continuous progress. Even still, the cable continued to tug, and Moon pulled back, flung, and hit every inconvenient corner and stop there was. And the more the creature resisted, the harder the wire pulled and the more injuries it endured.
And so Moon stopped.
Moon stopped struggling.
It let the abuse continue, let the cord drag it back, and allowed its body to be broken.
There was one more impact, and Moon was being dragged a few feet before its broken body was hauled into the air. And the children who were there to witness it all, all three of them stunned by what had just occurred. They all gasped as the body came down, the wire finally releasing, gravity taking the beast and allowing it to crumble on the ground.
The beast was silent, it didn't move.
“Is it-” Sam started, but Michael cut him off.
"I hope." He pushed his hair back and took a deep breath, drawing Elizabeth closer as she wrapped her arms around his. "God, I hope so."
“Hey!”
Everyone jumped, expecting to run all over again as they looked at Moon, but instead turned their attention towards the balcony. Ryan was on top of it, clutching everything they had lost but had rediscovered again in his arms. He was out of breath, his hair was in a tangle, and his clothes were ruffled; he appeared to have dug through something to look the way he did. He then appeared stunned by the ruckus around him, clumsily shifting his feet as he caught everyone off guard.
“Sorry, I have the-uh-weapons.”
A golden plush leaped up from behind the boy, perching itself on top of his head, nub-like arms grasping his brown hair.
“And me!”
While Sam was startled by the unexpected sight of the golden bear, the other two groaned.
"I bet you two were the ones who missed me the most!" The plush spoke up, but before the other two Afton children could respond, it turned its attention to the wounded beast. "Oh my, has it already been beaten?" That's a pity; I'd love to see it face to face, just like I did with its other half!"
The plush came to a halt.
"However, knowing how that half felt about me, I doubt it'll like me in the dark!"
Elizabeth sighed, narrowing her eyes to get a better look at her younger brother.
"Ryan, are you okay?"
"I'm fine! I'm sorry for taking so long; it's messy in there! I got stuck a lot."
"It's fine, Ryan; as long as you're safe, everything is fine. Thank you for getting everything. Did you get your backpack?"
Ryan moved over, revealing the backpack on his back, which was still as secure and full as before.
“Yup! It has everything! I made sure of it!"
“Okay, thank God,” Elizabeth muttered before raising her voice. “That's good, that's great, Ryan!”
Michael sniffed, huffing as he looked over at Sam who kept on looking at Moon. He patted him on his shoulder, shocking the teen who looked right at him, his eyes seemingly broken behind the broken lenses of his glasses.
“You alright?”
“No-yes-no?” Sam pinched the bridge of his nose in haste. “I-I don't know. I don't, I’m sorry, I can't think straight right now.”
Michael smiled.
“Hey, you don't have to. We did it. It's gone, Sam, it’s gone.”
Sam appeared to be on the edge of tears, but he kept them back, unsure whether to cry tears of delight or horror. A couple escaped and he let them fall, a slight laugh escaping his lips as he allowed his mind to accept the fact.
He was free.
Oh my God, he was free.
Sam surprised Michael and Elizabeth by wrapping his arms around them. The two stood there, stunned by the unexpected hug, before wrapping their arms around him. Softly caressing his back to calm him down and reassure him that everything was fine, they were going to get out.
“Thank you. Thank you all so much.”
“It’s fine man. We gotta survive somehow, some way.” Michael replied.
“Let’s just get out of here. Whether the sun is fixed or not, I think we can open that door together.” Elizabeth confessed.
Sam's hold strengthened before he let go; moving back, he eventually dried his tears and nodded his head.
“Yeah, let’s-uh-let’s do that. Let's go. I wanna go home.”
"Me too!" Ryan exclaimed, nearly losing his sibling's weapons before regaining control of them.
Everyone laughed because, for once, they could laugh without fear of being interrupted. They can unwind; they're free, albeit not from this location. They were getting closer, they were certain of it. But as the laughter died away, a sense of unease began to creep into their heads. It was little and scarcely apparent, but it was there, stealthily sneaking up on the children and striking when they were least expecting it.
Suffocating. It was suffocating.
Everyone turned back to look at Moon, whose body was as still and twisted as ever, but they chose to take a closer look.
It didn't move, it appeared dead, and its chest, although being pummeled and with shattered ribs protruding, didn't expand to show it taking a single breath. It was perfectly still; it was supposed to be dead, or at the very least so beaten that it couldn't move an inch.
Even still, as the children watched, they all observed the same thing.
The beast's finger, with its gruesome design of being snapped back with a nail, so shattered that it bled with a color not found in humans.
It twitched.
“Cutlass, now!” Michael demanded, reaching out his hand for Ryan to throw down his weapon.
Ryan threw the blade down, the forged steel gleaming under the fake stars before slashing through the cushioned surface like paper. Michael seized the handle, pulling it from the ground, and moved toward the beast, his face flushed with frustration.
“What are you doing?!” Sam yelped.
"I'm taking care of this once and for all," Michael raged as he charged up to the shattered beast. “Because I'm completely done with this shit.”
No one could stop Michael from putting an end to this endless night once and for all. He was exhausted, his body ached, his siblings nearly died, and this monster was still alive. And if it was still alive, it could just as easily get back up and fight again.
And Michael couldn't have that.
No one could.
Michael poked the creature's throat with the pointed tip of his cutlass, capturing whatever attention it had and directing it all to him. He kicked the beast over, eliciting a piercing hiss from its shattered jaws, and plunged the cutlass deeper.
Thick sludge seemed to come out of the beast like blood, pouring from its open wounds and collecting on the floor. Michael didn't mind it, but he did mind the muttering the beast was saying under its shaky breath.
"Hey," Michael said as he raised his cutlass to deliver the killing blow. "If you want to speak, say it out loud so I can hear you."
Moon opened its mouth, tongue flailing and teeth splintered, its speech barely audible. Nonetheless, it spoke, its lungs straining for air as it delivered its 'last' words.
“I've had enough of this, surely something is amiss.” Moon gazed up at Michael, its eyes twisting and churning with a new passion. “Too much trouble was made, and I’ve been played.”
Purple swirls spun around like a spinning top, replacing Moon's red eyes. It stood uneasily on its two broken feet, unmoving, a lovely tune playing in the background as the swirls continued to spin ever so slightly.
“Foolish little souls, there's nothing you could’ve done to finish your goals.”
Michael went on to destroy the creature, but his attention was drawn entirely to the beast's eyes. The purple swirls seemed to take over his consciousness, replacing his once-murderous craving with a peaceful haze. He couldn't move, his body was paralyzed, he couldn't feel his fingers wrap around his weapon and hopelessly let it tumble to the ground beneath his feet. His thoughts were fixed on the color purple, its richness, its power, and the way it had taken over his feeble mind.
"What is it doing?!" Elizabeth cried out, her dread causing her to stand back and watch the mayhem unfold.
Moon hadn't done this before, and neither had Sun.
Was this a trap to make anyone stop in their tracks, allowing simple access for an attack? If so, why hadn't they done it before?! Was this some trick? Another game? Another prank? Another way to delay the inevitable?
What was it?
“Sam, was is it-” Elizabeth looked to Sam, anticipating an explanation for what Moon was doing, only to be cut off by what she saw.
Sam's fear was stronger than ever. His face was slack, his mouth open, his bottom lip quivering, his eyes wide, and sweat was streaming and pooling on his skin. He was pale, perhaps even paler than before, but his anxiety was so intense that it affected Elizabeth as well. She couldn't help but feel the same way; even if she didn't comprehend what was going on, she knew it was horrible.
Sam knew what was happening.
“Sam-” Her voice was so small. “Sam, what is it doing?”
Why isn't she moving? Why isn't she scooping up the kiddie chairs and hurling them toward Moon as a distraction? Why isn't she yelling at Ryan to give her the mallet so she can fight? Why isn't she protecting Michael? Why is she stuck where she was? Why aren’t her legs moving? What was wrong with her?
Why is Sam moving so slowly? What is he thinking? What's going on? Why was he talking to himself? What was he saying? She couldn't hear him. Why couldn't she hear him?
Has she been affected? Was that it? Was that why she wasn't moving? Was simply gazing at Moon or being near it while it was doing whatever it was doing enough to put an end to her? So why wasn't she looking away? Why can't she get away? Why can't she do anything?
Elizabeth felt something cold touch her fingers, completely stopping her train of thought. She looked down to see broken vintage black-rimmed glasses being placed in her trembling hands. With its lenses shattered and rim slightly bent, it was a surprise it didn't fall apart when folded close.
“Sam?”
“When you go home, find my mom, her name is Judy Barker, and she lives at 2364 Meadow Lane. She had blond hair and blue eyes like me, she loves to paint and she listens to rock music.”
“Sam-” Elizabeth gazed at Sam, seeing his previously anxious face transform into an empty stare.
He appeared defeated but calm, possibly on the edge of tears, but Elizabeth couldn't tell. But one thing she was confident of was that he had considered saying this before, the words so calculated and uttered that the teenager must have spoken this to himself in eagerness to tell another person.
“Sam-” Sam tightened his grip on Elizabeth's arms, his face flushed with what little confidence he still had.
“Please tell her I love her and I'm sorry for not coming home.”
Elizabeth shook her head, her eyes wet with tears. “I don't understand, Sam; what are you talking about?”
Sam stepped back, releasing Elizabeth from his tight grip and he gave a small smile. “Please tell her, for me, please.”
And then he ran, not toward Moon as Elizabeth had imagined, but toward Michael.
The blow came fast and powerful, knocking Michael off his feet and allowing him to fall to his side. His trance-like state quickly transformed into horror and fear, with his body jolting when he hit the ground. He looked confused, twisting his head to face Moon before looking over to see who had pushed him over, his eyes widening as he discovered it was Sam.
Sam raised his hands, completely consumed by the purple of Moon's eyes and the hypnosis that came with it. When his eyes became fuzzy and blank, purple overtook his blue orbs, his body came to a halt. The moon's stare was unrelenting, the purple swirls getting faster and faster before coming to an abrupt stop.
The beast’s irises expanded suddenly.
“Moon, just wait-”
And Sam’s head exploded.
The teenage boy's skull ruptured like a balloon loaded with too much air, and his insides blew out. Instead of his brain being sprayed all over the place, there was bright confetti fluttering around and settling gracefully to the earth below. Sam's headless form swung to the right and then to the left before collapsing to the ground. Small wrapped candy fell out of his corpse like a piñata, all decorated with a crescent moon and painted blue.
Moon dove down and started eating Sam's corpse before anyone could react. Its twisted fangs tore through his garments and started consuming the sugar that was inside him. The celestial creature let out animalistic grunts, its now crimson eyes filled with madness and hunger. Its chipped claws dug and tore further deeper to retrieve the rest of the sweets, seemingly unconcerned about the other children.
And the Afton children just stood there helplessly watching Moon consume their friend.
Michael, who was the closest to the occurrence, simply watched the creature eat the sweets from Sam's corpse. He couldn't reach for his cutlass because Moon would catch up to him and consume him. His startled eyes then shifted to his sister, who stood back with the same shocked expression he had.
Elizabeth, who was far from the scene, clutched Sam's glasses tightly. She clutched it tighter as her thoughts drifted to the familiar candy that came from Sam's corpse.
They were Moondrops. . .
When Elizabeth's mind formed the connection, bile gathered at the back of her throat and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Then that means the Sundrops were. . .
Elizabeth suddenly doubled over, horrible chunks of food, liquids, and bile splattering into the ground in front of her. She collapsed alongside it, a nasty taste in her mouth, hyperventilating, and more tears streamed down her face like a river.
“Oh God, oh God no, God why-” She sobbed to herself, hiding her mouth with her quivering hands. When she spotted Sam's glasses, she sobbed even harder.
Ryan, who was further away from the action, was shocked by what had occurred to Sam, what Moon was doing, and how his siblings reacted to it. He felt ill as he saw the beast tear into Sam, growling as it devoured the candy indefinitely, its body seemingly regenerating on its own as it went. Moon seemed to be healed by the sweets rather than being made to drop down and sleep like the others.
A voice was calling out to him.
“Ryan! Ryan! Ryan, snap out of it!” A golden plush emerged in front of him, and its round golden ears wiggled as it finally drew the boy's attention. “Come on, buddy, we have to hurry, that sun can't fix itself, you know!”
“Wh-what?”
“The sun, Ryan, the sun!” Fredbear pointed up to the black mass above him, which was still empty. “You need to fix the sun! Come on, it's the only way, now!”
“But Sam-Elizabeth-Michael-” Ryan cried, tears falling from his eyes.
"Will be fine on their own!" Fredbear chimed in. "Michael has his cutlass, and you must throw Elizabeth her mallet to fight back! Ryan, we need to hurry before it's too late!"
There was a screech, and Ryan turned to see Moon clutching its arm firmly as Michael raised his cutlass, the forged steel with a thin line of blood flowing down to its very tip. He appeared to be just as angry as the beast, but he was prepared to fight. Ryan hadn't even understood how he got his weapon until he realized he was still clutching Elizabeth's mallet.
He still hasn't given it to her!
“Elizabeth!” Ryan exclaimed, concentrating on planting his two feet and preparing to swing the heavy mallet over. Elizabeth hadn't moved, her thoughts still focused on what she'd just witnessed; it would take something more to shake her out of it.
Ryan held his breath and raised the mallet, taking a few steps back before hurling the weapon, which flew out and crashed against the kiddie table beside Elizabeth. She jumped, looking over at her mallet, before turning her head to hear Ryan call out to her.
"Get up and fight!" He yelled as he walked over to the balcony's edge to climb atop the thin nets to repair the sun. "Help, Michael!"
Elizabeth looked back at Michael who swiped his cutlass to avoid Moon’s quick swipe. He screamed as he swung again, Moon quickly avoided the attack and turned its head all around with a growing smile.
“Such a pain to lose a friend, but everyone meets their end. Sam was such a doll, but he knew eventually he’d fall.” Moon swung its body around to face Elizabeth, who raised her head to meet its gaze, laughter escaping from the beast's throat as she trembled. “His essence helped me heal, and oh how that was a fine meal!”
Michael found himself stumbling to keep himself upright after missing a jab to its chest. Moon crawled over Sam's eaten corpse, plucking a Moondrop off it, unwrapping it, and eating it. The wound on its arm healed quickly, and the creature chuckled as it jumped back and finally let its bells sing freely and without fail.
“Although hunger takes me whole, it is rooted in my soul. I desire much more than a treat, for it makes me feel complete. My stomach hasn't had its fill, but I'm sure it will.”
The creature’s head twisted over to Michael, watching him raise his cutlass like before, ready to strike. It then twisted its neck to see Elizabeth who was struggling to get up on her two feet, red eyes catching the mallet nearby.
“Both far too old for me to care, it's too much for me to bear!” It then leaned over, its bells ringing, towards Ryan, who was struggling to climb up the netting to the ceiling above. “Maybe one is enough for me, oh how much fun Ryan will be.”
Elizabeth stood up and dashed to her mallet, grasping the handle and raising the weapon over her shoulder to face the beast.
“You’ll catch me dead before you get your hands on him!”
Moon chuckled and jumped up in the air again before landing on the side of a play structure. Its ruby eyes shone brilliantly as it watched the two teens gather and prepare for a fight.
A proper fight that is.
“A friend of mine was lost, from that comes a great cost. I have a job to do, but it gets stopped by the likes of you two. Such a fuss you both make and all for your brother’s sake. Your will is strong, but I’m afraid it's gone on for too long.”
"And we'll keep fighting," Michael shouted, pointing the cutlass directly at Moon.
"And we won't stop until you're as good as dead," Elizabeth shouted, raising her mallet and smashing it over a cube-shaped wedge.
The wedge gave way, and the stuffing flew around in a flurry. Moon growled yet another mess to deal with, only this time it would have to handle it.
“So be it.”
Moon's neck moved around, as did its torso, yet its face remained stationary. A smile grows to an unsettling point before quickly opening up to reveal sharp teeth. Tongue jutting out and sucking whatever bits of Moondrop candy or Sam's flesh remained in between its jaws.
“Let us fight until the moon is lit.”
Moon ran forward, more energized than ever before, toward the two teenagers. Michael and Elizabeth braced themselves, held their weapons back, and swung at the same time when Moon got too close. Moon had flipped over at the last second, bracing its legs, and jumped over the youths when they had used their weapons.
The creature landed on the ground with its hands, kicking back its legs and laughing as the two teens slid forward. Michael landed on his knees, Elizabeth on her stomach, but their grasp on their weapons remained firm.
Michael whirled back, his spine aching, swung his weapon, and watched as Moon leaped back at the last second. The creature smiled as Elizabeth stood up, striking her mallet with one hand but missing and nearly hitting Michael.
“This place is a mess, but it's a success!” Moon sang as it twisted its body, one hand placed on the ground, its bells ringing.
As Michael stood up and swiped his cutlass, Moon turned over to the side and sat next to Elizabeth. The teen girl turned, but her waist was seized and raised, her body soaring up in the air before being thrown to the side.
“More children will come, but they’re all very dumb!” Moon rose and strode towards Elizabeth, ignoring Michael who was preparing for the attack by running towards it.
“How foolish you both are, to have to come this far! I’d say you’ve wasted your time, but that’d be a crime! I've enjoyed your stay, but I’d prefer it if you both went away!”
Moon came in to strike the teenager, but Michael dived, pulling back his cutlass before thrusting it forward. Moon deflected the attack before Michael swung to the left. Moon leaped back as the blade slashed through its chest, blood flowing out of the wound as it screamed.
Elizabeth instantly stood up, raised her mallet, and swung it at Moon's chest. Her effort wasn't as strong as one might think, but it was enough to push Moon off and let it fall and tumble over a few feet away. The beast snarled, baring its teeth as it moved its face around, stopping ever so slightly and making loud clicks with each twist.
“You all weren't the first, but you’re all certainly the worst.”
“Thanks, we try,” Michael remarked charging forward, lifting his cutlass for a swipe before Moon leaped aside.
“Can't imagine what you’d considered being the best,” Elizabeth exclaimed, raising her mallet and allowing gravity to pull it down towards Moon, who moved again and nearly shattered its ankle.
“The best obey the rules I’ve placed,” Moon snapped their back to evade two attacks from both of the siblings, “without them, this place would be a waste.”
“We’d beg to differ,” the two siblings commented as they attacked once more, merely chipping away at the creature.
Close, they were close, just like all the others.
The Afton Children had previously dealt with terrible monsters in this location, Moon being the most difficult. For each room they enter, they'd have to devise different fighting techniques for specific enemies.
If they're lucky, the room will be empty, allowing the three to patch their wounds, eat a snack, recover, and carry on. One of them would keep watch while the others slept until something happened or their turn was up. The three made do with what they had, largely suffering from empty stomachs, open wounds, and even restless nights as a result of their journey.
If they weren't lucky, the room would be another test of their survival skills, weapons or no weapons. The three struggled at first, almost losing each other as they all fell into crisscrossing slides, random dead ends, or even an open tunnel that went to another area entirely. It was a miracle that they kept together until they had their weapons; such close calls were few and far between.
Michael would slice, Elizabeth would crush, and Ryan would be on the sidelines, desperately trying to find an exit or a means to beat the monsters without getting wounded.
That golden plush was the most helpful to the group, especially Ryan, as it regarded the child as its favorite and gave him advice on how to survive apart from the other two. Another pointless argument; obviously, the plush would play favorites; it looked creepy enough to do so.
That was exactly what it was doing now, directing Ryan to climb the walls faster to reach the sun and repair it to restore it to life. Of course, the child struggled, his tiny limbs compared to sticks, he's surprised they haven't snapped under the amount of pressure he's putting on them. But the plush merely gave him enough courage to keep going, no matter how terrifying the situation was.
He was close, he was so very close, and it was obvious that Moon took notice of it.
But not before recognizing a trend in each of its adversaries. Dodging once more only to be hit and sliced, more injuries incurred as the two never back down to take a breather. Moon jumped back, one hand sliced and one smashed on its thigh, to give itself some space, some time to deliberate.
Michael would deliver three slashes, a punch to the face, or a kick to the shin. His combat style was rapid but severe, always to the point, and he never backed down for a second. He'd twist his wrist to angle his cutlass to deliver a powerful strike before plunging into a punch or a kick to distract.
A swing to the left, a swing to the right, an upswing or a downswing; it didn't matter; that mallet would have killed Moon. Elizabeth's fighting technique was swift, but if it hadn't been for her thoughts being focused on Sam's skull bursting, she could have had a better chance of delivering the fatal blow. Nonetheless, she showed promise by the amount of destruction she caused as her mallet descended, shattering everything in its path.
Moon would dodge and twist as much as possible to evade the attacks, having enough Moondrops in its system to ensure it had a greater chance of moving quicker. But the two had predicted it, and unlike before, when they both had been pushed around like paper in the wind, they altered their strikes to work better with Moon's.
Moon moved to swipe, both claws ready to pierce deep.
"Left," Michael pointed out.
"Right," answered Elizabeth.
And then there was a rapid jab to its right arm and a hard bash to the side of its chest, bones cracking as the creature gasped for air. Moon crawled back while clutching the wound close, its skin divided once the blade up through its arm, blood running again.
It snarled as the two approached, their weapons readied, ready to deliver another lethal blow like before.
It was making no progress.
Moon turned to the discarded corpse of Sam, red eyes catching onto the rest of the Moondrop candies left over and ready to eat.
It just needed another boost.
Moon moved over to the body before receiving a severe bash to the back; it shrieked as it felt its spine give way, its legs dropping like flies. It turned to face Elizabeth, and with her mallet driven deep into its back, she twisted it, causing the beast to howl once more.
“Leave him alone.” There were tears in her eyes and the broken glasses folded onto her shirt gleamed under the false stars.
Moon gritted its teeth, refocusing its mind on its now broken back. It was dislocated, and nothing was particularly broken, but it was still enough to cause great agony throughout its body. It noticed Michael come close, cutlass ready to be driven into its throat.
Make some more time. Make some more time.
“He's long gone, why bother to live up till dawn?”
A crack.
“I do miss him so, and it pained me to see him go.”
Reigns of fire spreading.
“But his sacrifice wasn't in vain, his death was quick and without pain!”
A snap.
“And the candies were delicious, and so very nutritious.”
Crack, fire, snap.
Crack, fire, snap.
Crack, fire, snap.
“But it's an addiction I'm afraid, one I have no will to break without an aid.”
One foot moved slightly, and the other followed suit, both before the two could notice.
“And I need more, so much that I can't ignore.”
It snapped its back into place, and the mallet that had been digging into its back was knocked out. Michael attempted to stab Moon before kicking him in the stomach, effectively knocking him down alongside his cutlass. Elizabeth dashed for her mallet, while Moon dashed for the candy, cramming its face with as many sweets as it could before turning and avoiding another strike.
“I said to leave him alone!” Elizabeth screeched.
Moon kicked the mallet, the tip of the handle poking Elizabeth's chest; the teen girl yelled out as she let go of her weapon and held her chest. Her legs were swiped and she collapsed, her hands lax on her handle, which she clenched once Moon slid over her. She could feel its weight on her as it leaned in close with a snarling frown.
Something snapped, the beast's jaw cracking to the left and right before slowly opening wide. Elizabeth was met by sharp teeth, a long tongue, Moondrop candy, and the beast's saliva. The teen girl cringed as she felt it fall across her face, seeping over the morsels of sweets.
Moon hissed and tossed its head from side to side as the beast dove in, its fangs clamping down on the handle. Elizabeth's arms jerked from side to side in time with the beast's jerking, and to maintain her grip firm, she kicked Moon as hard as she could. Her knees were wedged against its stomach, her feet battling its legs, and her upper body was straining to keep itself steady to hold onto the mallet.
Moon suddenly let go of the handle of her mallet and shoved it aside, moving in close to Elizabeth's face. Elizabeth shrieked as the teeth almost struck her flesh; she closed her eyes and turned away, bracing herself for the worst. Moon let out a piercing shriek as it drew back, its back arching so high that the sound of its bones cracked.
Elizabeth looked at the creature in shock, her eyes watching it shake unnaturally as it gripped its head in agony.
She noticed Michael stepping back, and, strangely, his cutlass had not been plunged into the beast as she had expected. It was as if an unseen force was driving Moon to act as it did, its face was frozen in misery before returning to its previous state, now filled with disorientation.
It disregarded the teenagers as it gazed about quickly as if looking for the source of its agony before stopping completely. It took a steady turn to the back, right at the balcony, before looking up at the sky above.
The two siblings heard the creature gasp and a gentle rhyme come through its lips.
“How could this be done, I thought that boy would have run. Broken pieces all about, I never thought there’d be a way out. The sun will come again, oh how I wonder what will happen then.”
It looked closer and the beast clicked its tongue in distaste.
“That cursed bear, how jealous I am with how much you’re aware.”
Elizabeth and Michael followed Moon's vision until they discovered what caused it to act the way it did. The once dark point in the sky had suddenly begun to shine with brilliant light, far away and out of their reach. It was a single area, so small and strange, but it was there, along with a small boy anxiously reaching into his pocket for more pieces.
The sun.
Ryan is fixing the sun.
And it was working.
One down, four to go.
When a black wire fell from the sky, Moon prepared to be lifted and flung over to attack Ryan. But a single stroke of a cutlass brought Moon's scheme to a halt, the cable flying around in two parts, acting out in agony as if it was in pain.
"Sorry, not sorry, but we can't keep you flying around. You have to stay down, for good." Michael smirked before kicking Moon in the face, causing the beast to slump back as the cable slid from its back. "My brother is up there; we can't have him hurt, can we?"
Moon's entire body spasmed, causing its limbs to freeze. It groaned, pressing its claws into the cushioned ground below to transfer its anguish to another.
Two down, three to go.
"Is it working?" Elizabeth asked, straining to get up, and Michael hurried over to assist his sister.
"It is." Michael smiled as Ryan began to work faster. “He's doing it.”
Moon rolled over, resisting the aftershock of the sun's influence, the spasms still present. It shook it off, trying not to make itself too conspicuous as it gradually regained its vigor. It needed to move quickly before another shock could stop it.
It couldn't struggle any longer; one more shock and it'll be dead for good, with two weapons equally capable of killing it. The cord was gone, it couldn't heal without its other half, and the only way it could go was by its hands or feet.
It needs to go, now.
"Hey, hold on," something sharp pricked Moon's neck, "you're not going anywhere, you're staying right where you are."
Moon growled as it looked at the teenager as Michael kept the creature down by resting its foot on its back.
"Elizabeth, be honest with me, do you want to face Sun after all of this?"
Twitching, the cord was twitching slightly.
"If we're being completely honest, no, I wouldn't." Elizabeth snarled. "I have empathy for it, so I'd rather save it the pain of seeing Sam in his condition."
Above, the cord squirmed like a worm, damaged but still alive and eager to be finished.
She held her hand up and grazed her fingers over the broken glasses, she looked away to grab at her weapon.
Moon shifted slightly, allowing the fallen cord on its back to glide to an exact spot.
“I have no empathy for whatever that thing is, kill it if you have to, we’d be saving any unfortunate soul who comes after us.”
The twitching rope began to slow slightly, directing itself above the three, particularly Moon, who watched it go up high, nearly ready to attack.
"So be it," Michael drove his sword deeper, Moon trembling beneath his grip.
Move. Move. Move.
The black cord shot down in a rush, smacking Michael in the face before immediately tying itself to the fallen cord attached to Moon's back. The two cables swiftly came together, twisting and swirling like snakes before the cut ends eventually came together and linked.
Michael yelped and stepped back, gripping the wound on his face. Moon, now feeling the wire snap, let it pull it up and shove Michael out of its back. Elizabeth, unable to stop Moon, went to Michael's side to see whether his injuries were serious.
“Ryan,” Michael choked, “it's after Ryan!”
Elizabeth looked over to where her younger brother was, her gaze drawn to how Moon came to a halt, its body quivering wildly. Moon's face was carved with pain as one claw grasped the ceiling rails and the other bowed backward. It resisted the discomfort, the cable trying to cling on, but it clutched the rails and forced itself to climb.
Three down, two to go.
Elizabeth ran over to the edge of the Daycare, heart in her throat.
“Ryan,” she screamed, “put the sun back together, now! Do it now! Hurry!”
Ryan flipped his head over, his eyesight obscured, and all he could see was his sister standing near the ballpit, her screams echoing. He didn't seem to realize what was wrong until he heard a tiny chuckle from above, his golden companion looking behind him.
"Oh, look at that!" Never in my life would I have to witness such desperation in such a creature! How lucky am I!”
Ryan paused, his free hand stopping from reaching into his pocket to get the other two pieces.
“Wh-what? What's happening?”
"Can't you hear it? It's in agony, but it's frantic to get to the top. To always be at the top. It has no desire to change this. It doesn't want the sun back." The golden bear arrived in Ryan's vision, its ears wiggling as it saw the realization settle on the boy's face. "It's after you, Ryan."
He had been doing well till now, repairing the sun with the difficult parts his siblings had discovered and had to be reassembled. He had climbed this far, his limbs burning from the incessant effort to stay put, to keep climbing, to stick to the new plan of fixing the sun and leaving. But the child was frozen, his ears turned into a persistent shock by his sister's screams and Moon's taunting rhymes after hearing the constant fighting in the background.
“Fix that sun, and there’ll be nowhere left for you to run! Fix that sun, and you’ll be the only one! Fix that sun, and the pain has begun! Fix that sun, and there will be no fun! Fix that sun-” Moon began to rant, excessively rhyming with little to no sense, its voice becoming louder as it approached Ryan.
Fredbear was right, it was desperate.
Or maybe, it was losing a fight within itself.
Ryan went to grab another piece, and after grabbing one, he took it out and stuffed it alongside the others. His body felt hard against the ceiling rails, aching for something to relieve the pressure, and certain parts of his body went numb. His fingers tremble from the warmth of the piece, and his eyes water as the illumination increases.
The sound of bells ringing pushed Ryan to go faster, nearly smashing the piece into its proper place in a rush. His efforts were successful, and the piece was correctly positioned, fully integrating with the rest of the components that shone beautifully when another piece of it was finally added.
Four down, three to go.
Ryan looked up after hearing a scream and seeing the horrors before him. The beast was screaming like a madman as it kicked its feet out and smashed the ceiling rails in its fists like carrot sticks. Its face turned to the side, and another bright-looking visage appeared before turning back, Moon clenching its teeth together.
“You will not come back, not when there is so much more left to unpack!”
Parts of its attire began to shift, going from dark blue and covered in brilliant stars to yellow and orange. Its nightcap began to shrivel up like a raisin before returning to normal, the bell at the end weakly chiming at the sudden action. Its skin began to alter from blue to yellow before returning to blue.
“Your presence is unwanted, it is very much daunted! My time isn't done, it has only begun! The sun will fall, and the moon with its call! I will come again, and you’ll know exactly when!”
Ryan couldn't help but observe this wild metamorphosis, ignoring Fredbear and Elizabeth's pleadings to repair the sun to see what else the beast could do. He was afraid of what would happen if he tried to fix the sun after all and had to deal with the ramifications of Sun reacting to the mess that had been left in the dark. But he was also afraid of what Moon would do if he didn't fix the sun; what horrors would it inflict on him and his siblings if they stayed longer than planned?
And would they live, or would their brains explode and their bodies be consumed as a means to an end?
Ryan couldn't have that, he just couldn't.
So the child dug into his pocket, ultimately pulling out the last piece of the sun, and raised it high. Everyone could see it no matter how far away they were, and they could sense its significance for the entire Daycare.
Michael could see it, Elizabeth could see it, and Moon absolutely could see it.
While Moon's face flushed with wrath and dread, it could only glide its fingertips over the boy's shoulders as it saw the event. Ryan had turned away from the beast, his face heated with a desire to put an end to this insanity once and for all, and slammed the last piece of the sun, seeing the once forlorn star resurrect itself to its exquisite beauty.
Five down, shine bright.
Ryan felt his body give way once the sun shone brightly with life, the light so brilliant that it hit him like a slap in the face.
He felt himself fall before lengthy fingers seized his shoulders, nails digging through his garments and piercing his skin like hooks to a fish. He screamed in agony, but his ears were assailed by the shriek just above him, the sound so powerful that it drowned out his own. His eyes were dazzled by the fake luminosity, and the only thing he could see was pure white, but he could feel vertigo hit him as his body was flung around.
He felt himself go down, up, right and then left before the fingers seized his left arm. He was dangling hopelessly as the screams became louder; all he could hear were bells, bones breaking, and garments ruffling. Ryan shouted out for help before his body hit the ceiling rails above, the pain searing him and pulsing ever so slightly.
He could hear his siblings scream out for him, whether in genuine fear for his well-being or for the beast to let him go, it was all so convoluted Ryan couldn't tell. All he could understand was random parts of his limbs being grabbed at and his body thrown around in the air like a toy while the beast transformed against its will. It seemed like it wanted to scream out another rhyme but failed and shouted inconsistent sentences to describe its rage at its failure.
“The pieces should fall! The pieces should die! The sun has come back! The light should die! The children are awake! The night is gone! My power is no more! The sun burns me! It breaks me! It brings me agony across realms and worlds alike! I cannot take it anymore!”
Colors returned to Ryan's eyesight, and despite being clouded by the incessant swaying and throwing, he could make out his surroundings. The irregular hues of the play structures, the blue of the false sky, the crimson of Moon's eyes, and even the clear blobs of his tears dropping about were all visible to him. He was still in the air, still subjected to the tumultuous metamorphosis of the Moon to the Sun, and still treated like a broken puppet on strings. Ryan attempted everything in a swirl of blue and yellow to have the beast let go of him, earning another tightening hold on his limbs.
He gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his cheeks as he struggled on, trying to ignore the sensation of his stomach turning, he seized one of the hands-on his ankle and yanked. The fingers were like steel, refusing to let go and preventing blood from flowing through his veins. The creature's wrist was snapped and it screamed again, the black wire holding it aloft quivering in pain as it strained to keep the beast up high.
Ryan could feel his insides churn as he was drawn down before stopping as the cable halted and went up again. This happened two more times until Ryan felt his body being lifted high, higher than expected, and vertigo striking him even harder than before. He felt like he was going to puke like his insides were about to become his outsides like anything he had eaten and drunk before was going to come out in nasty, disgusting pieces of stomach acid.
He wanted to do it, but a disfigured visage with punctured orange rays and two halves fighting for dominance prevented him from doing so. Blood flowed from the two halves from top to bottom, one white and the other yellow, one eye red and the other white, both peering deep into Ryan's sapphire eyes.
No words could explain how angry the two halves were at the boy.
“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”
And then they dropped, not into the play structures, not into the soft floor of the Daycare, and not into the multicolored wedges below.
But into the ballpit.
The intricate, colorful tangle of plastic balls was where the two had landed and disappeared.
“RYAN!” Michael and Elizabeth ran toward the edge of the ballpit, each brandishing their weapons, they stopped once they were near.
They were helpless before, having watched their little brother being swung and thrown around like a rag doll, and they felt genuine terror when he plunged from so high and landed so suddenly. It wasn't like before when he was alone, but now he was with a creature as unpredictable and terrifying as all the other monsters in this place.
Who knows what was going on in that ballpit, especially given how twisted the beast's views were in general?
What would it do to Ryan if he was in there?
Would Moon kill Ryan in the limited time it has before returning to Sun?
Would Ryan reappear as a corpse or with permanent injuries?
What was going on?!?
“I’m going in!” Michael exclaimed, making a move to dive in before Elizabeth stopped him.
“You’ll drown! It’ll kill you in there!”
“I don't give a damn, Ryan’s in there!” Michael shoved her arms away and crouched to jump in the ballpit, weapon in hand before the multicolored plastic balls began to move.
It was a minor detail that few would notice, but Elizabeth did. She grabbed Michael's arm and pulled, then indicated where the action occurred. Michael was about to dismiss her before the ballpit moved again, but this time a hand sprang out, tiny fingers eagerly clawing at the air for some type of leverage.
It was Ryan.
Elizabeth grasped her mallet by the hammer and extended the handle far into the ballpit. The handle wiggled uncomfortably before the hand felt it, at first afraid to hold on before clinging on for dear life.
“Ryan, hold on, we’re going to pull you out!”
Both siblings grabbed onto the mallet and pulled, nearly tripping as they tugged as hard as they could. The small hand held onto the handle, soon accompanied with another hand, the tugging soon worked and a head poked through the ballpit.
Ryan gasped, his eyes cloudy and filled with tears, and yelled out as he was dragged out of the ballpit. On top of his shaggy brown hair sat the golden plush bear, still looking and still holding on, refusing to let go of the child despite the events of the previous night. Ryan's bottom half was still locked, and while he wailed harder when he was pulled, he kicked where he could relieve the strain of hands gripping his waist.
“Ow! Ow! Ow!” Ryan could feel bruises grow on his skin as claws slashed into his flesh once more as the hold tightened. However, his siblings clung to him with all their strength until the hands gripping him let go, Ryan sighed in relief before his body launched forward, immediately colliding with his siblings and tumbling to the ground below.
The three groaned as the wounds they had accumulated by far exploded with agony and flourished throughout their bodies. The adrenaline had done its job of keeping the pain at bay, but this one hit brought it back in full force. Still, the three sat up, their stuff by their sides, sighing heavily and holding themselves together.
Ryan was the first to speak, or rather cry, his entire body shaking as he buried his face in his sibling's arms. On closer inspection, the injuries were not as lethal as the siblings had predicted. There were bruises, cuts, and even scratches that managed to cut through his garments. Ryan, on the other hand, was alive, devastated but alive, wailing like a baby as he clutched his siblings for dear life.
“I-I could have-I could-I didn’t-I was-I was so slow!” The tiny child shouted out, globs of tears streaming from his eyes, hiccups escaping as he talked. “I c-could have sa-saved him! I-I-I could have saved Sam! I’m sorry! I-I’m sorry!”
“Ryan, no, don't say that. Don't say that!” Elizabeth brushed her younger brother's tears away, kissing him on his head to calm him down. “It’s okay, it's okay, it's not your fault. It's never your fault, you did all you could, and we did too.”
“Hey, hey, Ryan, look at me, look at me,” Michael stated, stroking his hand over Ryan's head, ignoring the golden plushie with the perpetual smile. “You did well. You did amazing. I'm proud of you, I'm so proud of you.”
The child turned away, his eyes capturing Sam's lifeless body before his gaze was cut off by his siblings.
"Don't look at that," Elizabeth replied, tears welling up in her eyes. Look at me, only at me, nothing else matters. You're safe now, we're safe, and we're going to get out of here, okay?"
Michael nodded, pulling his two siblings into a tight embrace.
The others followed in, their arms and hands tightening, almost suffocating, but not enough to damage them. "We're leaving, we're going, okay?
Forget anything else; we're leaving right now." When he let go, he rose to his feet and checked to make sure nothing else was in the way.
“Let’s go.”
They stumbled away from the ballpit, keeping each other at arm's length, and made their way to the Daycare's massive door at the far end. They made little to no noise, fearful of alerting the beast hiding deep in the ballpit, and gazed away from the body from their far right, Moondrops appearing shimmering beneath the fake sun's light.
Even when they were close, the sudden rush of plastic balls moving caught the three off guard. Even when the crazy music that had been playing above resumed, they could still hear the familiar ruffling of the ball pit and the bells that accompanied it. They resumed their stride after the brief pause, now with faster steps, their bodies turning cold as they heard that loud and annoying voice.
“HELLO AGAIN, NEW FRIENDS!!!”
Sun leaped out of the ballpit, rolling like a ball, jumping high, and landing gracefully in front of the kids. Its body was as dazzling as the sun, its smile as wide as the sky, and its garments were spotless, with not a single tear from the previous attacks. It seemed as if the creature had never been hit, not even on its body or its garments.
It was perfectly fine and full of vitality, but the Afton children were spent and had no more energy to fight.
"Where are you going?! I haven't gotten a chance to thank you for bringing me back! Without you, I'd be stuck, and that means old Moon wouldn't let me out for a LONG time!" It leaned in closer, as it had done before, and its smile expanded even more. "Do you know what that means?" A party! That is an outstanding one! A perfect one! One for the ages!"
Sun backed up as two weapons swung and landed where it had previously stood. It appeared stunned by the scene, observing as the two eldest Afton siblings clutched their weapons with hostile expressions.
"We're not going to throw a party. We're leaving!" Elizabeth exclaimed, raising her mallet in preparation for another swing if required.
"Open the door," Michael hissed, positioning his cutlass, "NOW!"
Sun looked hurt.
“What? Why?”
“We want to go home now!” Ryan cried out, now holding his golden friend close as it eyed the astronomical creature with its white eyes. “Please!”
The rays around Sun’s head dipped slightly, its face contorting into a depressing frown.
“But why? What did I do wrong? Was it Moon? What did Moon do? Did Moon hurt you? I'm sorry, friends, but if you don't follow the rules then Moon will get angry.”
"It almost killed us, man, we're not going through that again! Now, let us out; we're tired of this place and sick of you!" Michael exclaimed. "Now either get out of our way or I'll cut your body in two!"
The shadows on Sun's face seemed to wane, a slow turn was made on their face, and slight irritation was formed on their features.
"Be careful with your tone, friend; I don't like your attitude."
But before Michael could respond, Sun had stopped him, its face snapping back to its original spot, eyes catching onto Elizabeth. Its glossy eyes seemed to focus on one single thing that Elizabeth had on her, something no one could specify until it was said.
“Why do you have Sam’s glasses?”
Cold. Everything felt cold.
Everyone kept their jaws shut, their bodies froze, their eyes wide, and the three of them refused to speak the truth. Michael and Elizabeth both tightened their grips on their weapons and took a step forward, stopping in front of Ryan.
Sun's frown twitched.
"What are you doing with Sam's glasses, Elizabeth?" It cocked its head slightly. "Why is it broken? Where is he?"
Silence. Unforgivable silence.
"Where is Sam?" Its voice was deeper now, tinged with worry but with scorn. "What did you do? What did Moon do?"
Sun rose and began to look around; despite the children's efforts to stop it, it had finally discovered what they were attempting to conceal. Its body was quiet, its mouth slightly open, its arms at its sides, and a raspy gasp from its lips. It just stood there, stunned, for a few anxious moments before it began to move.
The Afton kids were startled, expecting another fight and bracing themselves for it. Only to watch the beast utterly disregard them, strolling off in a trance over to Sam's corpse.
The corpse gas appeared significantly worse in the light than it did in the dark. His garments were ripped to shreds, his skin was shredded and jagged, and Moondrop sweets were still shoved inside of him, all spread out and waiting for a bite. If one looked closely, one could see portions of what were supposed to be his insides, all badly jumbled in with the candy.
Sam's skeleton had been misplaced and chewed through like nothing; bits of his insides remained intact but seeped through his clothes, skin, and even the candies. It appeared to be a macabre art piece depicting childlike innocence as well as the awful reality of the world within this Playground.
And it was all right there in front of Sun.
His once-best friend had died, leaving just candy and his half-eaten insides behind. No one could have predicted this filthy, terrible, and unusual exhibition. Nothing could be done to repair it, nothing could be done to reassemble him, and nothing could be done to bring Sam back from the grave.
Sun could never enter that realm, and as it reached down, it touched what was left of the teenage boy.
Fingers grazed the candy, sinking deep before moving apart, away from what remained of the body. Sun was dazed, focused simply on seizing what was left of Sam and keeping him in its arms. Even when the body didn't move, Sun manipulated it to resemble how a human can move on its own. But the body crumbled like a house of cards, and, much to Sun's despair, it didn't rise again.
It mumbled.
The children didn't hear it since they were too busy walking toward the door to notice.
Sun spoke again, this time louder.
“. . .banned. . .”
Ryan was the first to notice, with his golden friend following behind, ears wriggling to catch on to what was being said. But before the child could inform his brothers, Sun rose to its feet, its body shivering slightly as its rays quickly turned around.
“Banned. You’re banned.”
Elizabeth finally took notice as Michael grabbed the door handle and pulled. It didn't reveal itself, and when he realized no one was assisting him, he turned with an annoyed expression on his face. When he realized what was going on, he moved his cutlass forward gently, gulping whatever saliva remained in his mouth. He waved his hand over to gather everyone behind his back, but before anyone could take a single step, the beast let out a scream.
“BANNED! YOU’RE BANNED!”
Sun then twisted toward the children, pointing an accusing finger at the three of them, its visage darkening with wrath. Tears escaped its lifeless eyes, and for the first time, its feelings couldn't be held back any longer, being thrust into the spotlight and ready to flood out like a broken dam that could never be repaired.
“YOU’RE ALL BANNED FROM THE DAYCARE!!!”
The creature then proceeded to walk towards the Afton children, who instantly reached over and attempted to unlock the door for an escape. But the door didn't open an inch, and as Sun got closer, the air seemed to get hotter, almost searing, enough to give any of the kids a terrible burn. Sun had already beaten them to it, reaching out and grabbing the three in a hold so tight their bones could snap.
"I give you some comfort. A place where you could all have fun without worrying about the horrors outside. But you're all too selfish to notice! You all took advantage of my kindness and brought THAT monster with you!"
Sun's rage-filled tirade overpowered any attempt by the Afton kids to defend themselves. Everything centered around how they were mischievous, harsh, and single-handedly destroyed the Daycare and everything it stood for.
How could they do this?!
They hesitate and bring less required bad energy into a positive-filled area, despite everything it has ever done for them to feel safe.
They were just as responsible for Sam's death as Moon was, enticing their irresponsibility onto him and forcing him to act the way he did.
Sam would still be alive if it hadn't been for them!!!
"I've had enough of this! Enough of you all! Enough of naughty children who believe they can do whatever they want at MY Daycare! I've had ENOUGH of it, ENOUGH!"
The door began to open on its own, and the Afton children all watched on, hoping that this might be their ticket out. That the only means for them to go was finally in their grasp. Their hopes were quickly dashed when their gaze was drawn to three colored tubes, each specifically set in a wall of pure darkness.
The left was red with scratch marks all over, the middle white with colorful sprinkles covering the entire foundation structure, and the right black and white.
When the Afton children realized what Sun was up to, they all began to struggle and yell for it to stop. They couldn't use their weapons because they were being pressed so tightly against their bodies, like glue. They yelled instead, all desperate for the thing to change its mind. They will follow the rules, they will not be naughty children, and they will play with it for as long as the sun shines.
Just don't separate them!
Sun, however, ignored their protests and just pushed the three out and into their respective tubes.
Michael is on the left, Elizabeth is in the center, and Ryan is on the right.
The children wailed and attempted to hold themselves together, pleading with Sun for mercy, but they were met with frustrated tears. They had no choice but to plummet into their respective tubes, screaming out each other's names as their bodies vanished into the abyss.
Sun was left yelling after them, its voice as bitter and enraged as it clutched the doors with its two hands.
"AND DON'T COME BACK!"
The doors were sealed, and the Afton children continued to plunge over the slides, their screams becoming the only screams they could hear as they echoed and swallowed them whole.