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It’s dark. It burns. I burn, all over. Inside, outside, it's too much to feel. Too much to deal with. I can’t anymore. -make it stop, make it stop- but nothing intervenes. Flesh being peeled like an orange in some places and breaking and bursting into others. My eyes open briefly and see lights, burning brightly and painful to keep looking at. They close and open. I'm not sure how long later. Time feels wrong. My eyes open again and I see a long metal arm with a hand made out of claws coming down from above coming towards my body on the cool metal bed I feel on my back, but it feels wrong. I feel wrong. I feel the want to panic, the want to scream out for help, but nothing comes. My body doesn't move how I want and my eyes can’t stay open long enough to make sense of anything.
My brain comes before my body. My eyes are closed but my senses are heightened, prepped and ready to respond with an instinctual preservation response. There's scurrying and scratching, like critters sneaking around. Slowly my eyes open and I watch my surroundings. It's dim and dark with junk and garbage scattered about. Broken ceiling tiles, walls, equipment from all over the factory lay in shambles across the room I'm in.
-What is going on? Where am I?- I wonder if there is danger around me. The scurrying is farther away now. Seems like anyone or anything around has left for now. My body feels stiff and awkward as I right myself from laying on the hard tile floor. Reflexively I stretch my arms, my back and freeze realizing my center of gravity is off without ever knowing what that is. I shove my hands in front of me and see they aren't flesh. They aren't human. Neither are my arms or my legs and feet as I look down. Where are my toes? I scream over my mouth with these grotesque paws. Burlap and a combination of metal and plastic pieces make up my body, sharp points hurt my fabric fleshy paws as I panicky touch my face and feel my now elongated mouth and abnormally shaped head.
There's footsteps off in the distance that sound like they are headed this way. -they're gunna kill me- i think scrambling up and awkwardly running out of the room and into the hallway. Everything's broken, I don't remember where I am or who I am but I know that everything is wrong. In fear I sprint down the hallway, scampering and cowering away from any sound, any animalistic growl. I see creatures that have similar burlap as me and i wonder if thats what i look like. I haven’t found a reflection and after seeing that I don't know if I want to. I dont think i could stop crying and being sad right now wont keep me alive. -i have to stay alive. There has to be an adult somewhere. A Game Station employee maybe. Maybe Mommy could help me. Even seeing catnap would help. Mommy always helped me have fun and Catnap always kept us safe at Playcare-.
I run, footsteps padding down the hallways and vents as I try to find help, hope. I found nothing. Nothing but a quiet area in this concrete lined building. Where is the exit? I remember brief moments of an elevator and an above view of playcare when I was brought here from the orphanage. It feels like forever ago but who knows how long its been. I run and run. I think its days but im not sure how much time goes by before I am able to eat. By the time I came back into consciousness from the intense hunger haze I had it was too late. I come to look down at a fuzzy green body. A plushie Hoppy Hopscotch like we used to play with in Playcare. This is different though. Their green body is covered in red. So much red. The red is sticky and leaves a metallic taste in my mouth. It’s strong, the taste and I want to vomit but my body doesn't react like that. My stomach doesn't become queasy. Instead I feel a rumble of hunger looking down on this stuffed animal.
-why is it covered in paint?- my head moves side to side looking for open paint, a reason for this. Instead I see a blue, red, and orange like..man of goop? Of colorful dough maybe? He looks at me with a sad smile with what seems like kind eyes within the dark holes that are his eyes. My body moves on its own, shifting to protect the body under me while I snarl. I feel wetness fall from my mouth as my paws react sharp claws at the end of the nubby burlap. -not your food. Mine. mine.- I think growling and screaming. it’s in a voice i've never heard with a speaker like quality to it.
‘Hey there Pal, it’s okay. I’m Doey, im here to help.”
Doey holds out a blue hand,extending it much farther than anyone I've ever seen do. It doesn't seem real. My paw is shaking, holding it out towards the blue dough man. We’re just about to tough and hold hands, it's like I can feel the warmth I've been missing as a sharp metallic bang hits the floor. Quickly the metallic sound approaches as Doey’s eyes widen and subsequently narrow on defense as this robotic creature clambours into view.
“Ahh what do we have here? Have you captured an enemy for me, Outimal?And what…do we have here? Doey,..have you come ..with Poppy about a truce? You would both be a big…help in the work. To keep us safe. For infinity.” Looking up theres a large intimidating creature standing before us on 8 metallic legs with lots of red bits of muscle wrapping around them as each pointed leg crunches into the floor. Calmly Doey tries to deescalate the situation by holding his gooey blue hands up and looking at the metallic creature, not scared. There's no fear on his face as he speaks words that fill me with warmth and hope only to be snuffed out as the metal being’s collateral as a clawed hand goes to strike the colorful blue goo man. There's a crash and a big bang the sound of an explosion as I sprint from the noise. Doey may have been calling out for me but I can't worry about that now. My heart thuds loudly with fear as I run trying to find safety. The sound of metal and concrete exploding floods my nervous system. As I run through the broken falling apart toy factory and orphanage there are moments of other memory flashes besides waking up here.
There's sunlight,with mommy and daddy picking me up after school. Then a flash of my dad getting a new job and us celebrating as a family. There's flashes of friends, and parks,games, movies..Until I see a blurry image of my mom, no identifying markers at all, crying and falling to the floor with the phone falling to the wall, dangling by the curling cord against the wall as she falls to her knees clutching her chest. I see an image on tv in my memory of two buildings falling in an explosion..it was bad. I remember learning about it in school until I was here not too long after. Mommy was really sad for a long time, she couldn't leave her bed most days and her eyes were puffy. I was at school when the police officers picked me up..it gets fuzzy after that.
In the present I'm running. Far away from the large creatures around me. I'm confused and scared and as i run my stomach grumbles. -how am i hungry right now- I think as I slide under falling scaffolding and broken equipment. Run, hide, eat. Thats what I end up doing to survive. I don't recognize myself anymore. Not that I did once I woke up. Hours, days, weeks, months..it all blends together down here in the dark. With other creatures. Others like me. From the shadows of survival I've heard “Outimal” be used by others towards those with paws and feet like mine.. I haven't looked into a reflective surface intentionally and even on accident i cant recognize myself. The red fur and veins protruding out of their bodies..out of mine..who was i before this? There's faint memories of flesh…but what is flesh even? What is being alive.. What is this..my stomach grumbles intensely at the thought of flesh.
It's easy to lose track of time surrounded by fear, pain, and confusion. In a fight for individual survival all other feelings, thoughts, memories muddle and fade. They mesh with others until this is it. Living in the dim dark finding refuge in a safe tent like space. Comfy happy soft things and toys fill it bit by bit as I find food. Find other plushies to eat. I know they aren't plushies but i cant think more than that or i will loose my memory again and be covered in red again. It's so sticky and metallic. There's a sound and I see from my corner in the shadows a light moving through the hall. I hear footsteps that sound heavier than an Outimal or other creatures around. Different than The Prototype as I've heard the metallic being be called. There's a thudding, a pounding in my body..in my blood. My body crouches and prepares for offense, evaluating the situation second by second. Fear and hunger circulate throughout my body in chaos as an unfamiliar shape steps in front of me.
Legs. two legs step forward and keep doing so. As they enter I see them with a backpack on their back with hands around the sides. In that moment there is an intense feeling of all past emotions from memories I can't remember consciously coursing through my veins that causes an intense emotional response. The bad people wore those. Flashes of medical coats and lab rooms, scared children huddled somewhere dark as loud screams filled the halls
I smell blood, I smell flesh. I hear breathing and my stomach rumbles. The deep unsatiated hunger boils up through this body I've been stuck in. rage and sadness overflow, overwhelm. Why should they get to be flesh when I'm not. That warm flesh would be better used to feed me. The fleshy being shines a bright beam that hurts my eyes so when it's pointed another way, I take my chance. I leap from behind the box that was my hiding spot onto the meat. All I can feel is hunger, all I can see is rage and hurt, fear. In desperation for survival, sacrificing what humanity I have left is worth it. Snarling and grumbling with effort I drag my catch out of the open to save it for myself. I raise my arm to swipe a claw and..
“Hey! Get off!” a familiar voice shouts before I'm smacked into by another creature and feel a sharp pain buzz throughout my body. I hear my voice scream in pain before I'm knocked down. My eyes open and shut for a while, I don't know how long. In and out of consciousness until I hear silence. My food is gone. My belly is empty, and if i dont move from here soon I will be gone too. - get up!- I try to move my limbs but they're useless right now. Limp and tingly. -i dont want to be eaten.i want to live.- My eyes fall shut while the eerie sounds of footsteps shuffling in the dark and metal banging can be heard echoing around.