Robotic Night

Chapter Eleven: Unsettling Reveal

I groaned as I slowly regained consciousness. I shifted and noticed something right away. Two things. I was lying on something soft and my body felt strange. The best way I can describe it was this feeling of being powerful like I just gained newfound strength.

I slowly opened my eyes, my vision being assaulted by neon lights. I blinked a few times in the hopes of regaining my vision. It felt like an eternity, but my vision slowly returned to me. Once it did, I looked around to see where I was. The familiar purple walls, the large star hanging from the ceiling, and the purple couch I was lying on was all I needed to know to put together where the heck I was.

'Roxanne's green room?' I thought to myself. 'How the hell did I get here?'

Some movement from the corner of my right eye caught my attention. I looked and felt a scream build up in my throat. Roxanne Wolf was sitting up from the chair that usually faced her vanity desk and was heading over to me.

I pressed my back against the couch and whipped out my dad's gun from the holster, pointing it at her. I didn't want to shoot her, but after all that's happened to me so far, I wasn't going to let my guard down one bit.

"Freeze!" I shouted. "Don't move!"

Roxanne stopped in her tracks, holding her hands out as if to tell me to calm down with an expression of fear plastered on her face. I didn't know if life flashed in a mascot's eyes, but if it did, that might be happening for her right now.

"Mihael, calm down please!" Roxanne pleaded. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Bullshit!" I shouted. "You tried to kill me earlier! How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?!"

"Mihael, I swear, I'm not trying to trick you!" Roxanne cried out. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have by now! I brought you here to my green room since it was the safest place in the Pizzaplex for the moment! Please, Mihael! You gotta believe me!"

I eyed her for a moment, trying to see any signs of deception in her eyes. People say the truth always lingers in the eyes. It is also the key to finding deception in somebody, especially those who mean harm. I found no such thing in her eyes. There was truth deep in them.

To top it off, I noticed that the aura surrounding her was much different from the one back in the utility tunnels. This felt much like the Roxanne Wolf I knew for a short time, a feeling of safety, security, and trust. More importantly, what she said was true. If she wanted to kill me, she would've done it while I was unconscious rather than sit and watch over me. Plus, it made the feeling of being lifted off the floor before blacking out.

I sighed before putting the gun back in the holster.

"Okay," I said slowly. "I believe you."

Roxanne relaxed, a sigh leaving her lips as she lowered her arms down to her side. She began walking over to the other side of the couch, a concerned look plastered on her face. She sat down next to me, patting down on the couch, signaling for me to sit down next to her. I hesitated for a moment before doing so.

"So, how are you feeling?" Roxanne asked gently.

"Aside from the confusion I am feeling right now, I feel alright," I said. Something clicked in my head when I realized something. I had no idea what time it was or how long I had been out. I looked the wolf dead in the eyes. "Roxanne, what time is it?"

She hesitated for a moment. "About 1:13 AM. You've been out for a good 27 minutes."

1:13 AM?! 27 minutes?! I was surprised at the time and for how long I was out. I was expecting maybe an hour or 2, but holy shit. I couldn't wrap my head around that. Speaking of which, I was very curious about one other thing, a question that would nag at me from the back of my mind if I didn't get an answer for it right away. To top it off, I wanted to know what the hell was going on. Why any of this was happening to begin with? I had to know.