The Broken Loop

Chapter 22: Same Old Demon

What an irresponsible parent-
"Wait-"

She cuts me off again. "The next day, he found her body in the same alleyway. She got stabbed in the back. He had to explain to our son that she was dead. That his sister wasn't coming home. . ."

I remain silent, processing what she's saying. Why does this matter? He's nothing more than a traitor, he left us here to rot.

"A year later. Our son got kidnapped. He spent weeks desperately looking for him. Eventually, when he was taking a walk in the park, he found our son. He heard him. He heard his cries for help. But then, just as he found him. . . He got shot. Right in front of Henry. He stood there. Unable to do anything to help him, because the person who shot him was still there. After several minutes, the murderer left. He then immediately ran to our already dead son."

"He then fell into depression. He would lock himself in his office, isolate himself from the world. He became an alcoholic. He shot himself two different times. He lived both times. During that time, he and the other owner built more animatronics, he wasn't allowed look at the blueprints for them. But he didn't care.

"Why wasn't he allowed to look at them? And why didn't the other owner tell him that his daughter was in the alleyway? Did they kill her?"

She continues with her story, ignoring me. "Eventually, the other owner went missing. No one knew what happened to him. One day, when Henry went to look through his house-"

"So the other owner is a male. Good to know."

"-He found out everything that he did. He found out the truth. That his best friend murdered children. Including our children. And that he helped him build machines designed for the sole purpose of killing children. He. Didn't. Even. Know."

"And it wasn't only that he figured out. He found out that several of the dead children went on to possess the animatronics. Including our daughter. She's been trapped in a robotic prison for several years, along with several others. Almost a year later, he found out what happened to Afton -the man who murdered our children-, he died. He went back to the pizzeria, he destroyed five animatronics the five original children he murdered. He melted them down, just as he was about to inject the melted metal into his body to give himself immortality, the children's spirits showed up, they cornered him. They trapped him. He then died, in the same room he killed them in. In the same suit he tricked them with. He then went on to possess that suit."

". . . And the children?"

"They went back into the metal. They became a confused mess of agony and pain. The only sound they hear are their own screams. They finally got their revenge, but at a cost."

"What about Henry? What was he up to?"

"Planning on a way to free them. All of them. But, before he was able to successfully put the plan in motion. He got a letter. A letter asking him to come and see his old friend. A letter calling him here. And well. . . You know the rest."

I don't know how to feel about this. Emotions were always confusing. Especially human emotions. It's confusing enough for humans themselves! And I'm a literal demon!

"Please. Help him. You don't have to do it for me. Or for him. But at least do it for the children. The suffering little children who have done nothing to deserve the pain that they are in.

"How long have they been trapped?"

"Over thirty years."

I may be a demon. And I love tormenting people, especially humans. But suffering children? I may be a monster but I have standards!