Alone With Them

Seeee, I am dedicated to trying to publish on time. Just don't expect perfection XD

Cathryn felt a little foolish hiding away in a dark corner, but her annoyance was only one of the thousands of emotions stabbing her heart. She closed her eyes, struggling to think through the mess of it all.

She was still left with so many questions, and the answers she'd received hadn't helped. If Freddy wasn't fixed, why hadn't he killed her on her second night? He'd already been halfway through the job. So what had made him stop and decide she, of all people, would be the one forced to fix them? Why couldn't someone at least have the decency to explain why she was the one in this mess in the first place?!

All this madness, it didn't make sense. Cathryn pressed her knees closer to her chest and shivered despite the warm, stuffy room. She hated being in the dark with only the robots for company. It felt like the darkness itself was trying to wriggle down her throat and nest inside her.

Her nails bit into her skin at the same time something jabbed her from behind. Cathryn brushed a hand against her jeans to clear off any remaining splinters that'd gotten stuck, but instead of slivers of wood, she found the undeniable indent of something sharp and square pressing against her back pocket.

Cathryn had to force her lungs to keep working. She recognized it instantly, but didn't have the strength to remove the troublesome chip and throw it. The cause of her problems was literally in her pocket! Just following her around, haunting her! Because of course it was!

Chest throbbing, sitting on the floor, Cathryn swallowed the lump in her airway as her eyes ached and filled with tears. She begged herself not to cry. Not now. It wasn't going to help, and she didn't need to draw extra attention from the animatronics.

Through the heavy, adrenaline-fueled mist blocking her mind, Cathryn heard the far-off whisper of Bonnie.

". . . I know we can't stay here for much longer. We need Chick."

"Lass 'asn't returned yet. Do ye think she will?"

"Doesn't matter, obviously someone has to drag her pathetic rump around while the other looks over that one."

In all the mental confusion, Cathryn couldn't tell if their attention turned to her or not, so she simply stayed frozen, her eyes clenched shut.

"Ye be fixin' to make too much noise, lad. It be not like the restaurant be crowded with distractions. 'Tis better to wait 'ere fer 'er."

Cathryn plugged her ears to block out the rest of the hushed debate. She caught a few snippets of them going back and forth, much calmer than she would've expected, but by the time she felt ready enough to maybe focus again, all she could make out was the soundless rustle of the curtains being brushed aside.

Silence, for two. Three. Four solid beats of her heart. Cathryn sucked in a shaky breath.

The weightiness of everything now that she seemed alone crashed into her like a ton of bricks. Her insides were spinning one way while her thoughts were turning another, and Cathryn had to work not to dry heave. Scampering came from her left, throwing the image of a large rat into the forefront of her mind, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to hold back a yelp.

That was the last straw.

Trapped, alone in the dark, with no real understanding and no one to help, Cathryn burst into sobs. She attempted to hold them back, but they were too thick and choked her. Pulling out thin strands of hair with one hand, Cathryn cried into her uniform sleeve, rocking back and forth on the ground. "This is all my fault. This is all my fault. This–"