Treasures of The Damned

13. The Steel Nightmare

When Briar awoke, she let out a small gasp of pain, pressing her lips together to stop herself from making any other noises. She didn't move, looking around for a few moments.

The footsteps she'd heard earlier sounded much closer now, and through the spinning world, she could faintly see the glowing red eyes of one of the other animatronics looking for her.

You've gotta get up, Briar...come on. Don't give up.

It took her a few moments, but then she was able to slowly sit up, holding her stomach with a pained noise, which she quickly cut off by biting her bottom lip.

After sitting up, it was easier for her to stand and she looked around with wide eyes. She held her stomach, biting down a pained noise.

As she slowly rolled to a standing position, she looked around. The closest door to her was a back door to the snack bar, which she limped to.

When she made it in, she kicked a few barrels in front of the door, that way she'd hear when someone came in after her.

After searching for a few moments, she found a first aid kit and looked through it until she found a self-adhesive bandage, which she used to tightly wrap around her stomach. After she finished with the bandage, she sighed softly and tried to keep her breathing shallow that way she wouldn't be putting too much pressure on her bruised ribs.

As she looked around, she realized her stomach was rumbling, and she cursed. "I mean...yeah...I have been running around all night..." She muttered to herself, looking around for a snack for a few moments.

As she was searching, she lifted her head and paused for a few moments, when all of a sudden her senses were filled with the sweet, amazing scent of Baby's Breath, her favorite flower.

She looked around, trying to find the source of the flower. She was desperate to find it.

But-...it clouded her senses too much, and she forgot she was in constant danger...at least until she was face to face with Seonghwa, who tilted his head and smirked down at her.

"Wow, this does always work." He smirked in a taunting voice, watching her as he grabbed her by her upper arms and sat her down on the counter.

She squeaked softly, watching him with wide, scared eyes. "Aren't-...aren't you going to kill me?"

"Oh, I will. Eventually. But it's not fun when the little mouse can't run away because she's hurt." He glanced back over at her and smirked softly.

"So then-...what are you gonna do?"

"We're gonna sit here until you at least get a little better. I don't know. We'll see what happens."

"But that's not what we're supposed to do, Hyung." A different voice spoke up from the darkness on the other side of the snack bar.

Both Briar and Seonghwa looked to the side, where Jongho looked up at them from the darkness, his red eyes glowing softly. "We're supposed to kill her, Hyung. We can't keep her alive. Hongjoong already did that once today."

"And? I don't like killing the victims if they're hurt. It's not fun at all."

"Then let me kill her."

"How about no one kills me?" Briar spoke up after a few moments. "My dad said your souls are trapped in these animatronic bodies, correct?"

This time, both animatronics glanced over at her. "How did you know that?"

"I just said my dad told me- how stupid can you be?"

"Well, how does your dad know about us?" Seonghwa asked softly after a few moments.

"My dad is Song Mingi. I've already run into him today. He recognized me."

"Huh. So that's why Hongjoong looked angry. He must have seen Mingi talking to you."

"Well. Yeah. That's also why he took control of Mingi." Jongho huffed softly.

There was nothing said between the other two animatronics and the human girl for a few moments, before Briar shifts, slowly stepping off the counter. "I'm just gonna go-..."

They didn't even seem to notice her at all, just allowing her to slip away and walk out of the snack bar, closing the door as quietly as she could behind her. She didn't know if they needed a recharge, or if there was just something more important than killing her, but she didn't care. She'd gotten out of there, and that's all that mattered.

As she looked around, she squeaked softly when she could hear footsteps. She figured it was probably one of the other members looking for her around the park, but she still crouched behind a bush and waited for a few moments and hummed ever so softly.

When she heard the footsteps recede, she slowly stood up as well and continued to sneak around.

She kept a hand around her stomach, wincing every once in a while as she walked, keeping herself in an awkward crouched position.

As she snuck around, she kept her eyes and ears open, hoping she'd be able to hear the animatronics before they heard her. Before long, she found herself at the front gates to Treasures of Ateez, and she stared at them silently. Freedom was so close, that she could almost taste it, but it was so far away, that there was no way for her to escape.

When she turned around, to go find some safety in one of the nearby buildings, she was suddenly attacked, pushed back against the fence with a cry of pain.

When she looked up, she was met with the sight of Hongjoong, who snarled at her. One of his hands was open and outstretched, and she could see the wires that made up long claws.

Just as she started to try and get up, leaning on the gate, Hongjoong pounced forwards once more, his claws digging into her skin and leaving four long, deep gashes on her left calf.

On instinct, she cried out and kicked at him, successfully kicking him back and away from her. She was able to shakily stand, and she stared at him for a split second before she limped away from him, rushing to try and get to safety.

That's when she saw it. Jongho's building. She quickly opened the door, closing it behind her, before limping to the outfit room and falling to her hands and knees with a cry.

Her stomach hurt, her head was pounding, and now her entire leg felt like it was on fire. She suppressed her cries, pressing her lips together softly as she searched.

Soon, she found it and opened the door to the hidden storage room. She crawled inside, barely able to close the door behind her before the tears started falling and she stared at her mangled leg.