It's Somewhere Beneath Us

Red Velvet Cake

When I said that the routine was the same every day at the playhouse, that wasn't necessarily true. There was one night of the week that differed from the rest without fail. Cake night. One night on the same day of every week (As far as I could tell from my watch), the birds would gather everyone into the kitchen for dinner. However, instead of just sandwiches, one of the birds would always head down the hallway into the nursery and come back wheeling a layered cart with tins of smashed and ground meat. I considered checking in on the nursery camera to see if I could discern where the fleshy mounds came from, but it was one of those things that I figured I didn't want to know about. Besides, the dark room was impossible to see into anyways, and none of the lights on the control board seemed to help. As long as it didn't involve my friends or an escape, the details were irrelevant.

That changed as my brain formulated a plan while sitting in the dusty computer chair.

The piles of meat weren't brought in to be eaten raw. They would wheel it into the room, much to the delight of the puppets, and place the tins in the oven to cook while everyone ate. I could smell the permeating scent of burning meat all the way from my safe room. They came out of the oven in underbaked loaves, still bloody and fleshy when they were finished. The birds would then layer the massive slabs together and frost the outside. The first time I watched them do this, I was confused, but what they were doing was clear when they stepped away. They were making some sort of vile cake of flesh. They would set it on the table as all of the puppets horrifically cheered and screeched noises of excitement. They would then cut a slice for everyone at the table, but as my friends watched Larry handle the situation, they saw that it was okay to pass their portion off to one of the puppets. The birds even seemed to applaud this display, as if they were parents praising their kids for sharing. The puppets seemed to love it too, as they lapped their bloodied, furry lips.

At the time, all of this had seemed unimportant. Just another strange and disturbing thing that the house presented that I wouldn't understand no matter how hard I tried. But when I decided I needed to vault down through the roof of the kitchen, I knew I would need something to cushion the fifty-foot fall. If I landed on the hard table or on the floor, there was no chance of me recovering in time before chaos broke loose. Now, I understand how insane jumping smack center into the middle of a murderous dinner sounds, but strangely enough, that wasn't even the most dangerous part of the plan. That was just the middle. The rest was much, much worse. But I didn't stop to think about it. If I thought too long, I knew I would change my mind and come up with something else, and I didn't have time for that...

I waited until the playhouse went to bed for the night and then stood from my chair. Unfortunately, there was no time for sleep either. I made sure the alarm on my watch was still set for when my friends woke up then crossed to the door. As I placed my hand on the knob, I looked back at the screen. The camera was angled next to Bea. It felt weird leaving it like that, but it gave me the same comfort that lying next to her did.

"Stay safe, guys. I'm coming for you."

I began making my way through the decrepit halls of the place I called 'home,' stepping quietly as I went. The darkness and silence were much more foreboding now that I was alone. It made me glad in retrospect that Dan had followed me those first few days, although I still would have preferred everyone be safe over comfort. However, despite the tension, I hated to admit that it felt oddly pleasant to be in the familiar setting once again. I was sick of seeing the sterile rooms of the playhouse.

As I went, I made sure that I grabbed any food that I could find. I hadn't left the surveillance room since my arrival, and I had blown through all the supplies I was carrying in the meantime. But food wasn't what I was looking for. If I was going to pull off rescuing my friends, I would need a few other things.