THE CYCLE OF TORMENT

CHAPTER XX: PINKEYE

Larson stood outside of the pizzeria, a look of worry plastered on his face. As far as he knew, this was where Tabitha was. Her car wasn't here. Whatever was after her must've been chasing her since she left his apartment. Why her? Why come after her? Larson didn't stand around for too long. He needed to make sure Tabitha was okay. He prepared his handgun and carefully walked up to the front door.

He checked the door. It was unlocked. He slowly walked inside and drew his gun. "Tabitha? Where are you?" Larson called out. There came no response to his call. He turned on his flashlight and looked around. The place wasn't that large. There couldn't be that many places she could hide.

He checked behind the counter. She wasn't hiding under there. He carefully walked into the kitchen and turned the lights on. He checked under the counter and behind any corners, but still no sign of Tabitha.

"EVERETTE."

Larson jumped and aimed his gun at his surroundings. He could've sworn he heard a breeze of wind behind him. It almost sounded like someone exhaling a deep breath behind him. He could've sworn it sounded like someone was calling his name. Well, he didn't necessarily hear any words being spoken. It was almost as if the word suddenly appeared in his subconscious without his permission. As strange as it was, he couldn't find Tabitha in the kitchen.

"Tabitha? Where are you? I got your call. I came as soon as I could. You can come out now." Larson called out once more. Still, no response came. Suddenly, he heard that deep breath again.

"THE BALL PIT."

The words came out of the blue in Larson's mind. What was going on with him? Was this all even real? Maybe, he shouldn't be drinking so much after all. Still, why did he think about a ball pit? It didn't matter to him. Sure, he saw a ball pit off to the side of the dining room when he first walked in, but he doubted that Tabitha would hide in there. It would be too obvious and she would definitely get pinkeye.

He saw a supply closet on the other side of the dining room. He walked over to it and opened the door. No sign of Tabitha. He didn't know where else to look. He turned around and looked at the ball pit. Could she be hiding in there? Tabitha did say that this restaurant was where she was hiding, right? If he wasn't mistaken, he was currently in Jeff's pizza. Yet, he found no signs of Tabitha being here.

Was it all in his mind, or was it all a trick? Maybe... she was already dead. No, he couldn't think like that. Tabitha wasn't dead. She was a fighter. Larson had to keep looking. Maybe his only option was to look in the ball pit. He didn't want to waste any more time, so he quickly walked over to the ball pit. Something about it seemed... unnatural to Larson. He was never one for superstition, but Larson felt like there was something very evil about this ball pit, like whatever was inside shouldn't be there. He stepped over the edge and stepped inside. He felt around, hoping for some sign of Tabitha's presence in the ball pit. There was nothing.

With a heavy sigh, he turned around, feeling defeated, and was not expecting what he saw next. Behind him, standing outside of the ball pit, was the same woman he saw in the junkyard, staring at him with those same glowing, green eyes, baring a large smile on her face.

"You!" Larson shouted as he pointed his gun at the woman. Now that he was closer, he could see metal between the joints on her limbs and also making up her entire neck. He also noticed how tall she was. She was easily seven feet. Her smile grew wider, sharp teeth made much more visible to Larson.

"YES. ME."

She spoke with a sinister tone. She then lifted her left hand up and almost looked as though she was examining her fingernails.

"You're the one who was after Tabitha, aren't you?! Where is she?! Tell me right now!" Larson demanded, aiming the gun right between the woman's eyes. The mechanical woman still kept smiling, as if she was confident that Larson couldn't hurt her.

"YOU'RE STANDING ON THE ANSWER."

Before Larson had time to respond, the woman closed her fist and long, black tendrils erupted out of the ball pit, wrapping around Larson's arms and legs. They prevented him from moving or squeezing the trigger. The tendrils seemed to be made of liquid and had a strange copper smell.

Blood. They're made of blood.

As the woman laughed, Larson was dragged under the ball pit and felt as though he was falling. He looked around and only saw a void. An empty, black void with no land in sight nor sky above him. He screamed in terror as he fell, unable to do much else. He fell for what felt like an eternity. As he did, he thought about Tabitha and how he couldn't save her. He failed once again. There was no rectifying his mistakes now.

Larson's thoughts were silenced as he hit the ground with a loud thud. He had the wind knocked out of him, but felt that his limbs were still intact and that he could move his whole body just fine. As he got up and looked around, he was no longer in a pitch black void. It looked as though he was on top of a hill that overlooked Hurricane. Behind him stood a one story house. It was still a decently sized home, though. Why did he recognize this house somehow?

Before he could finish his thoughts, he heard a car pull up into the driveway. He turned around and saw a purple car parking in the driveway. Three children were the first to get out of the car, followed by the supposed mother. The youngest son had short, brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a black T shirt and jeans. The daughter was young, most likely just a couple years older than the youngest brother, and had blonde, curly hair and green eyes. She wore a pink dress. The older brother had black hair and blue eyes and wore a grey T shirt and jean shorts. The children all stared at the house in amazement and wonder. The mother stood behind them and wrapped her arms around them. She had blonde hair and green eyes like the daughter, but was wearing a green, long-sleeved, button-up shirt with a black skirt. She also shared her children's happiness. Finally, the father stepped out of the car and walked up to his family, joining them in gazing upon their supposed new home and wrapped his arms around his wife and children. As they smiled, Larson was shocked and bewildered. He recognized that man all too well, that short, combed black hair, those blue eyes, that smile... Larson was currently looking at the co-founder of Fazbear entertainment and serial killer of Hurricane Utah, William Afton and his family.

"WELCOME TO MY WORLD, AND TO WHERE IT ALL STARTED."

END OF CHAPTER XX