Alone With Them

Chapter 28

Chica didn't bother to look at her, let alone respond, her focus on a target only she had yet to see.

Bonnie's smugness returned, "You'll see."

Her heart shriveled. Her bandaged hand ached with memory.

Chica chirped a few quiet, but high-pitched notes that called Bonnie's attention. Cathryn couldn't say if the rabbit obeyed the orders, but both animatronics moved in sync towards the open door. One clung to each side against the metal wall, Chica carefully avoiding letting herself brush against the button that closed the door.

Cathryn trembled and weakly attempted to calm herself. Every time she was frightened. A feeling both wimpy yet understandable. She was expecting the sight that would soon unfold before her eyes, but that didn't make the paralyzing dread disappear. It worsened with each day.

"I can do this, I can do this."

Even Bonnie didn't bother to mock her chant.

Cathryn almost believed her words until she heard the heavy footsteps pick up pace. The sound was muted by thick walls, but not for much longer. Metal clashing against metal rang hauntingly throughout the restaurant and hung in the air. The chills across Cathryn's body were becoming all-too familiar.

Bonnie and Chica were frozen enough to be statues, their focus unmoving from the open door. They didn't even blink . . . and Cathryn considered slapping herself in the face when she realized she'd been expecting them to.

Robots. She was dealing with a bunch of freaky robots. And here came another one, rushing down the hall in a fury of red, torn metal, and a whiff of burning, like the tangled wires visible through the gaps in his fur-coating were creating a small electrical fire. His stench was certainly the most endurable.

Foxy. The dumbly named pirate fox was nothing but intimidating, his right hand a plain, metal hook that reflected the light into Cathryn's eyes. His image was only clear for a moment as he charged through the door. Rushed, heavyset footsteps rattled the room, the vibrations they caused traveling up through Cathryn's shoes and making her teeth click together.

Her hands clutched the metal pole, but her mind wasn't ready to fight.

Luckily, she didn't have the chance to defend herself. Bonnie and Chica stepped out, each seizing an arm and placing their firm grips on Foxy's shoulders. The fox managed another step before his momentum came to a complete halt. Angry beeping and thrashing ensued.

"You can do this," Cathryn murmured, sliding her feet across the tiles. Her face reared back, afraid to get ripped off if she leaned too close.

Bonnie's hand slid to hold Foxy's jaw and the fox's head movement begrudgingly slowed. "Hurry up!" Bonnie called to her, his arms beginning to tremble.

Chica bore no physical signs of weakness.

"Okay, okay." Cathryn inched closer towards her target, her right hand once again stretching into the open air, poorly protected. If Bonnie lost his grip, it'd be over. She swallowed hard.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Chica's attention shifting from Foxy to Cathryn. The bird opened her mouth, and maybe even talked, but if she did, Cathryn couldn't hear it over the echo of her own pulse.

Her outstretched fingers twitched as she caught Bonnie shouting something back.

"Just keep holding!"

Cathryn's fingers passed over a row of razor teeth when Foxy began to shake with a greater ferocity than before. He almost seemed to be short-circuiting the way his gears caught and shook. Then his one golden eye shifted into an unforgettable, nightmarish red glow.

Foxy's eyepatch flapped up and down to reveal a second red eye as he let out a screech that made Cathryn feel like someone was peeling off her skin. His head bobbed back and forth, trying to bite her, his jaw stressing against Bonnie's fingers that already held a few tears.

The close distance shot a streak of pain through Cathryn's head, and her hands flew to her ears.

"The chip!" Bonnie shouted over the mix of Foxy's aggressive flailing and Chica's constant beeps as her body subtly twitched.

"I know!" Foxy attempted another lunge at her, his strength only enough to land his teeth near Cathryn's face and not through it, and she stretched her hand into his mouth. Metal parts worked on overdrive and brushed painfully against her fingers along with searing hot wires that had snaked into the wrong places.

Cathryn clenched her eyes shut to hold back tears and probed through the pieces. No. No. It was bad how quickly she could identify the chip once she found it. Her fingers met a sharp corner, and she yanked it out with a final, exhausted tug.

Foxy screamed and kicked out at her with his clawed, metal feet. She only noticed Chica had been holding his legs back with her own as Cathryn's vision blurred and she transformed into a lump on the ground.

The animatronics didn't budge until Foxy powered down. The fox collapsed lifelessly in front of her.