Distorted Senses

Chapter 5

"Quick. In here." Bonnie whispered, motioning the kids through the giant doors of the forgotten bowling alley as his magenta eyes scanned the quiet hallway. Wincing, he glanced down at his exposed side. Wires and springs peaked out from his cracked red and purple jumpsuit. He would have to try and repair that wound himself later. Maneuvering around him, Garrett pushed Marie inside the alley. Bonnie covered his wound and shut the door. The bowling alley was quiet, save from the few floor bots rolling around like remote control cars. One of them stopped in its path and noticed the kids. Marie had her back to the small clean-up bot, admiring the art decor.

A soft whir emitted from the bot as it approached Marie. Its glowing eyes seemed to try and make sense of who she was. Inching closer, it tilted its head up and nudged the girl's backside. Marie jumped and whirled around, letting out a garbled shout in surprise. Her eyes widened in fear like a deer in headlights. She whacked it's head with her bag in blinded panic. Both Bonnie and Garrett jerked, turning to see what was wrong. The older boy dashed over and pushed Marie behind him, the younger girl still trying to whack the bot with the deadliest of glares. "Woah! Woah, it's ok! It's ok! It's just a floor bot!" Bonnie said as he stepped in between both Garrett and the floor bot. His sky blue paws were outstretched while his eyes held urgency and worry.

The yellow bot scooted back and whirred. Its yellow eyes looked at Bonnie and then the kids. "She's hard of hearing. Deaf. So you need to go in front of her ok?" the bunny explained. The maintenance bot blinked then chirped in understanding. He sighed as his ears dropped lightly. Marie peaked out from behind her brother, narrowing her hazel eyes at the floor bot. She seemed to have calmed down but was very annoyed with the wet floor bot, her eyes glaring daggers at it. Bonnie sat down. "Sorry about that. They don't mean to be so bothersome." he stated. Garrett watched Bonnie with a weird look. How did he know how to get her attention like that? The boy thought to himself with a frown.

There was an awkward silence between the trio and the floor bot who rolled away. Pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing with exasperation, Garrett turned his attention to Bonnie. "I'm sorry about my sister erm...coming here unwanted." The bunny waved him off. "It's alright. But, why was she here?" he asked inquisitively. The boy glanced back at his sister, who was looking around the bowling alley and sitting on a bar stool. His attention returned to Bonnie. "Our dad disappeared a few years ago. This was the last place he was seen alive. Marie's been sneaking in here to do "police work". I've been telling her to leave it to the authorities but..."

The 18-year-old trailed off, his expression changing to one of somber, anger and frustration. Bonnie watched and listened respectively, his mind flashing images that were either from a dream or someone's memories. He didn't understand what was happening or whose memories he was seeing. Nonetheless, he had to close his eyes to stop himself from falling over. Stumbling a little, Bonnie groaned. It caused Garrett to take a step towards him quickly, wrapping the bunny's arm around and over his shoulder.

It was then that Garrett noticed his exposed side wiring. "Geez, what happened to you?" He inquired, eyes wide in surprise as Bonnie managed to sit down across from Marie on the floor. The animatronic groaned. "I...I don't remember." He admitted. The boy's eyes glanced between Bonnie's wound and his face. Finally, he turned to Marie and with palms facing down, flipped his hands over going from the middle to the outside of his chest. Then, he made his hands into fists with his thumbs up and tapped his chest twice with his hands.

Marie watched him and then obediently opened her backpack. He rummaged through for a moment before pulling out a small tool belt. A pair of pliers, screwdriver, hammer and other tools hung from the belt. Bonnie watched in intrigue. "What was sign was that?" He asked Garrett. "I told her to open her bag. I can help fix up your side if that's ok." The teen answered, kneeling beside him and scanning his array of tools.

Confusion washed over the bunny's face. The boy could fix animatronics? "You know how?" Bonnie asked in disbelief and he nodded in reply. "Like I said, our dad was a technician here. So he taught me a few things." He explained, beginning to replace some of the frayed wire ends. A working yellow optic watched Garrett with peaked interest. "He sounds like a good role model." He commented. "He was. I...I miss him." The boy said quietly, his tone underlying sadness. There was an eerie silence surrounding the pair as Garrett continue to repair his side and moving to work on his face. The rabbit animatronic winced. Even though he was robotic, he could still experience pain...

While he worked on repairing Bonnie, Marie came over to Bonnie himself. He waved with a small smile. The girl seemed ok, despite having been chased, attacked and nearly caught by the other animatronics. She seemed exhausted though. Marie sat beside him, placing three fingers to her chin before placing them in her other hand. She was thanking him. 'For saving me earlier.' She added while signing. Bonnie raised his one arm to sign. 'You're welcome.' He replied kindly. 'You look very tired. We'll probably be here for some time. If you want to rest, you can.' He added.

Marie's eyes followed Bonnie's hand movements and she nodded in agreement. Glancing at her older brother, he nodded and waved her off. The brunette took her bag off her back and placed it under her head as she laid down to rest. Her eyes immediately began to droop closed. Within seconds, Marie was sound asleep next to Bonnie. As she slept, the sentient animatronic couldn't help but stare at her entranced. It seemed like there were more memories blurred than what he wanted to know. But that would have to wait to be investigated. Now, Bonnie felt his own systems begin to shut down. Apparently his body's battery was low and he didn't realize it until now, thanks to his vision becoming static and warnings popping up all over.

"Bon, I'm gonna have you go in rest mode and I'll see if I can find you a battery to charge you up ok?" Garrett's warbled voice came from his left. "Y-ye-yeah. A-alright. Be...b-be careful." He managed to reply before his eyes closed.

Entering Rest Mode