I have not yet determined a name for this

~Chapter Seven~ NIGHT THREE pt. 1

It was kind of similar to the chase sequences I'd shared with Sundrop during our previous sleepovers, if you ignored the fact that I was in almost complete darkness and my life was essentially on the line. Two major differences, but nothing I couldn't account for, right? All I had to do was keep moving.

Much like his friendlier counterpart, Moon verbally taunted me as I breathlessly made my way through the play structures, my heart thudding hard against my chest and my body overwhelmed with adrenaline. There were small sources of light here and there that I was practically banking on to avoid losing my footing, and I tried to have my hands on something at all times to maintain my balance. Otherwise, I was flailing helplessly in the dark, and injuring myself on a plastic slide actually sounded worse than being caught by Moon right now. Perhaps it was the fact that something deep inside me told me his intentions weren't entirely murderous, though I had no idea what they could be otherwise.

Regardless, I attempted to stifle my heavy breathing and keep my movements as quiet and subtle as possible, only occasionally prompted to speed up by a nearby taunt, spoken in a low, predatory tone that sent shudders rolling down my spine. God, he was so fucking creepy. There was no way in hell he lasted more than a minute in the presence of a child. On the plus side, I could discern his general direction from his awful voice, and that influenced the paths I took to avoid him.

I was crawling frantically onto a padded platform when his most recent tease came in the form of a growly chuckle, sounding just a little too close for comfort. My body supplied a fresh rush of energy as I picked up the pace, my eyes wide and scanning the surrounding darkness for anything amiss, any signs of movement. As I ascended towards the top of the play structure, he spoke.

"So close..." he taunted, and then, as I approached the opening to a tunneled slide, I heard him coming up from behind.

I should've just kept moving, but instead, I whirled around on instinct, hoping to get a better sense of just how close Moon actually was—it was admittedly hard to tell. In confirmation of my worst fears, I was greeted with a pair of glowing red pupils, aimed menacingly at me and only growing closer as he crawled towards me on all fours like some kind of deranged animal. Oh, sweet Jesus fucking lord.

He was less than a foot away when I launched a surprise attack, leaning backwards into the slide and kicking him directly in the face. He released a startled grunt of sorts, and I could vaguely see him stumbling back as I retreated further into the slide. "S—sorry!" I said as I ended up sliding down in reverse, too far in to properly adjust myself. I supposed the guy didn't really deserve an apology considering the nature of our game, but it felt wrong not to give one; after all, he and Sun still shared the same vessel.

As I haphazardly tumbled out of the slide and onto a mat, I hastily righted myself and got to my feet, my vision blurring as a result of my quick movements. God, I couldn't see for shit. I had taken maybe a single step when I felt something cold and metallic latch itself around my ankle, yanking backwards with a force that had me collapsing on the padded floor near instantly.

"Fuck," I muttered as my vision continued to fade in and out of existence, leaving me with little options for escape here. I kicked wildly at the grip on my ankle, twisting my body to get a proper look at the animatronic slowly exiting the slide in the most disturbing fashion possible—it was like the scene from It where Pennywise exits the refrigerator, but everything is made worse by the fact that you're in complete darkness. His red pupils were fixated on me even as his head rotated a several good degrees, clicking and jingling while his body moved in a scarily flexible and seamless fashion.

"Got you," he growled, and my breaths were growing heavier as I continued trying to kick him away, simultaneously pushing backwards on my hands and elbows.

My free leg was raised to kick when it was suppressed by Moon's other hand, shoving it back down onto the ground with unexpected force. "Oh, fuck," I whispered, now relying only on my upper body for resistance and support. I thrashed against his grip, but he was already too close for there to be any chance of escaping; he crawled menacingly over me and transferred his hold to my arms before I could so much as process it. "Fuck," I repeated in my growing panic.

"Naughty...naughty girl," the animatronic taunted, his head rotating slowly on its axis and his gaze penetrating my very soul. Christ, did he need to say weird shit like that while he was pinning me against the floor? We're in a daycare, Moon, have some decency. "It looks like...you lose..."

"Best two out of three?" I offered with a nervous grin, still wiggling against his grip in a useless effort.

He chuckled darkly, lowering his face to bring it closer to mine. His nightcap was dangling just above my cheek, the little bell jingling softly in the darkness. "We had a deal, didn't we? Yes, we did..." he cooed. "We played...you lost...now you ought to be punished."

Well, shit, he wasn't wrong. "Don't I get a set of last words or something?" I questioned anxiously, attempting to stall. "Y'know, something to remember me by...c'mon, fair play." I was spouting utter bullshit at this point.

"You really think I'm going to kill you, don't you..." he suddenly croaked, causing me to cease my struggling.

"What?" I blurted on instinct, my eyes widening in startled confusion. "What else could you possibly do? This is like a textbook murder scene, the cops will find me dead tomorrow and..."

He cut me off with a harsh chuckle and a sharp tone. "Something FAR WORSE," he hissed, but he was unable to elaborate; the lights suddenly flickered back on with a light hum.