Inked Souls - A BATIM Fanfiction

Chapter 13

"I thought Sammy died," Kat murmured, breathing deeply. Boreo only shook her head. "All the deaths and missing persons related to the studio? All here. All reduced to crappy ink because of the monsters of society. And by that, I mean Joey Drew. Son of a... gun."

To Kat, if I.B was /the/ Samuel Lawrence, there was no explanation for his weird behavior other than the ink. "Do you know how long his ink thing has been going on? His public appearances were little to none. And if it's a recurring thing, why did nobody seem to give a damn?" Boreo sighed, groaning. "It doesn't how long it went on for, it matters now. Stop clinging to the past, it won't help the future." With that, Boreo turned her back to Kat, clearly bothered. Reluctantly, Kat pushed further. "What did he do to bother you so much?" Snapping back around in the blink of an eye, Boreo bared her wolf teeth and growled lowly. "Because," she took a breath. "Samuel L. Lawrence is an absolute bigot who did not give two damns for his fellow employees, managers, producers, or anything and anyone. All he could possibly care about is that uptight pushover Susie. Hello, Susie! this, you look absolutely darlin' today Susie! that. Ugh, and she was the ugliest woman I've seen. Horrible voice, too. Always sounded screechy and rickety. Good thing she was fired. Good riddance."

Kat left Boreo alone after her rant, watching her sit in the corner. The rickety sound of a soup can opening briefly filled the room. It was then Kat realized how hungry she was.

"May I have a bite?"
"Take a bite and it'll break your teeth. Here," Boreo flipped the can upside down, and slowly what seemed to be a black brick fell out. She cracked a piece off the end, and tossed it towards Kat. "Crap's ancient," was her only explanation.

After studying the slab of 'soup', Kat eventually took a crumb(?) and popped it into her mouth. There was little flavor, but on the inside the substance was softer. Better than nothing.

"I don't think I've heard of a Susie at this department before."
Boreo raised her eyebrows. "That's funny. You're only, like, a couple years apart. Age wise, of course." A pause, as if Boreo was deciding whether to tell the truth or not.

"Susie Campbell. Rude, sassy, and ignorant. Former voice actor, or VA, for the old cartoons. While she mostly did background voices, she also played the role of Bendy's 'girlfriend'," she put air quotes up. "I thought one of the Pendles played Alice," Kat informed, recalling memories of the creepy doll-like character. "Pendles? Oh- you mean Alison. You're not wrong. She moved up here to New Jersey when she heard Susie was fired, leaving the role of Alice open," Boreo replied, referring to her earlier rant of the former angel. "Unlike her predecessor, Alison is quite the angel. Once you get over her Southern accent, of course."

Kat put her hands behind her head and sighed. "Did everyone at the studio turn to the ink?"

Boreo hesitated. "Honestly? I don't know. It's all taken a toll on us. When I try to look back, all I remember is a name. I don't know who they are, but it's what keeps me going. Gets me thinkin'; was I always a wolf? Always just a pink shirt and bowtie wearin' creature?" She paused. "So, whoever it is, I've got to thank Buddy."