Into The Depths [Undergoing Rewrite]

Chapter 15

The humans explored nonetheless, keeping an eye out for any strange looking puddles or other dangers.

⊱⊰ ???⊱⊰

I sighed, gently rubbing my face as I stared at the humans. I had never seen so many people in a long time, as even the lost one's village only came to about forty souls. Only when the studio was open and at its prime had I seen similar numbers. Perhaps more, but my memory was pretty spotty when it came to life before the ink.

Besides, it would be nigh impossible to try to take one of those little sheep from the herd. They would attack me, and I had watched them take down a few searchers that popped up to drag them into the ink.

Stepping back from my hiding place, I moved through the walls to see a group of them in my old office. It angered me just a little, seeing them touch what was once mine, but I wouldn't let the emotion take control of my actions. Not yet at least.

Henry had already escaped my sacrifice, but I was doubtful I could call the ink demon even if I did manage to capture one of these sheep for another try. He hadn't shown up when I had tried with Henry, and these humans weren't special. Why were they even down here? Nobody had come to the studio in a long, long time. I was sure of that.

I sighed again to myself, before figuring why the hell not? It doesn't matter if I die anyways. I'll always come back. Even if it means being drowned in the very ink my body is made of. A horrible experience, but it was fitting for this hellhole of a studio.

I quietly creeped through the walls, searching for an easier target. To my absolute luck, one of the humans were foolishly walking away from the rest of the group. I hummed to myself in delight, before immediately hushing up. I could only hope I didn't give myself away.

I hurried closer and waited for the young man to approach my hiding spot. I readied my axe, raising the blunt edge so that it could easily knock him out without much noise. 

Only a few more steps...

⊱⊰ With the main group⊱⊰

People walked to and fro as evidence was gathered and secured. While they may be looking for 6030, it didn't hurt to learn more about the anomalous studio.

Heads whipped around as a loud thump was heard in the next room over. Fearing the worst, two people with axes and a batter rushed forwards. Yells erupted from the room as more people bolted over to the commotion. 

Charging in, the leader of the second group paused to take in the scene in front of him. Two men on the floor, one clutching a (superficial, yet painful) leg injury and the other unconscious as two of his men wrestled with another person on the ground.

With a shriek of rage, the stranger on the ground lunged up, managing to fight off the men on top of him before bolting for the walls. By now though, there were enough personnel to easily block it's escape routes. 

Huffing, the being stood in the center of the room, holding an axe to its side as it eyed up the humans. The weapon glinted red in the yellowing lights of the animation studio. It looked almost human, if you excluded it's inky body and cutout-mask. It seemed to be able to see fine despite it's face being covered up.

Someone readied a net gun while a few other people stepped forward to distract it. It didn't seem to know what to do with so many of them present, but it raised the axe in a threatening manner, never letting its eyes (...?) leave those approaching it.

With a faint whipping sound, the net gun fired, hitting a direct shot on the inky humanoid. It yelled out in surprise, dropping the axe in surprise before frantically starting to untangle itself. People hurried forward to remove the weapon and to secure the anomaly. 

When the being was finally secured, it was tied to a support beam while being trussed up and dazed from a light blow to the head. The leader of the second group reached down, taking off it's mask. The effect was immediate.

With a howling wail, it struggled to cover its face, all the while screaming, "Don't look at me!". Prying the entities hands away from his face, the man and the people peering over his shoulder gawked at the glowing yellow eyes and emaciated features. 

Quickly realizing his mistake, he sheepishly gave the mask back. It quickly put the mask back on, before attempting to curl up into itself with a whimper. It murmured reassurances to itself, almost too quiet for them to hear.

Somebody noticed it's starved appearance and took one of their pre-prepared food supplies from their transport bag. He tossed a sandwich to the creature's feet, who quickly noticed it and started eating, lifting the mask up just a little bit so the food could barely squeeze through the opening. 

It soon finished, and wiped what crumbs remained from its mouth. "Thank you. Food is hard to come by nowadays. Sorry for attacking, I wasn't in my right mind." The humans stared at it, surprised it wasn't like it's legless counterparts.

It perked up, seemingly quite cheerful after its meal. "Why are you here? The studio is supposed to be off limits." The group leader spoke up, "We're looking for SCP 6030." He held up a picture of said SCP. "Have you seen it?"

The masked humanoid tilted his head. "That's Bendy. Why did you call him 6030?" The human frowned. "That's none of your concern. Have you seen it or not?" It was impossible to tell what the newfound SCP was thinking with the mask on. "No. I haven't seen him lately."

The man scoffed, displeased. "What are you?" He wanted some form of information at least. "I am what we call down here a Lost One. I may look different from the rest, but I can assure you I am still one of them. Better question. Why are you looking for him?"

"Lost one? Is that your name or something?" A man piped up from behind the main interrogator. "No dumbass. I'm a Lost One. It's what we call souls who get stuck in this hellhole of a studio. Some are... Uh... exempt from this title though."

"Alright then, what's your name?" The man who spoke before rolled his eyes, but it was only polite to ask for a name. Chances are they would bring it along with them as a guide of sorts. It seemed to know its way around the studio, and it mentioned other inhabitants.

"Name's Sammy. Sammy Lawarence. Oh, and by the way? Welcome to the music department."

//Soo, yeah, Merry Christmas- or whatever you celebrate-! Sorry to keep you all waiting, but I postponed the chapter so it could be a nice little gift (totally not a bribe to not get mad at me eheheheh-). The main reason why this chapter took so long is simply put- art! I finally Drew a character height reference chart! It may not be the best, but I worked hard and I hope it pays off.

Anyways, say hello to Sammy! See ya in the next chapter!

[Total words: 2558]