One Shots Book

Don't Choose Dare (SDMN)

Here's my sorta-late-but-still-great Halloween special! I HOPE you enjoy~!

Don't ever choose dare. Dares can cost you your life, or the life of one you care for. You may be asking: Tobi, what drugs are you on? I'm not on anything, I'm just telling you from experience. Let me tell you the story.
It all started with a stupid, stupid dare. We were in a rural part of America, which state exactly has escaped me now. Me and a couple mates were taking vacation, hiding from our responsibilities for a week or so. Apparently, there was an abandoned factory nearby that was haunted. And my mates- being the idiots they all were -had decided that for my dare, I had to spend two hours in there. "Only 'til 3" they said. I said I wouldn't do it, that they were nuts. So, rather than accepting no, Josh was so fucking stupid that he decided he'd tag along. Said he'd keep me safe. Oh, if only he'd known how true his promise would be, and what it would cost him.
I'll admit, I was scared shitless when I saw the place. It sure looked haunted. I was shaking- with good reasoning -as Josh took my arm and dragged me into his grave. It was dark, but not all the lights had blown yet. A single lightbulb still glowed, very faintly outlining the entryway. Josh muttered something, it sounded like "why the hell does this place still have electricity" but I could never be sure. As we walked into the factory itself, Josh told me about the history of this place.
"It belonged to a company that went out of business. They made these weird replicas of humans and called them uBots I think. They had five teenagers who died while working here, so the whole thing was shut down by the government."
"Kids died here? I thought they just went bankrupt..." I had whispered to myself, looking around only to make eye contact with someone else. "Josh, what is that?!" I screamed as I put him between me and the oddly humanoid being I saw. Josh was such a dumbass and walked up to the machine.
"Huh," he had said, "must be a couple orders that never got shipped out. Weird."
"They creep me out dude. Can't we just leave already?" I had begged, not caring about the stupid dare.
"No, I wanna explore more. I think I remember where the kids died." Josh said as he took off between the rows of machines. I began to follow, but I felt like someone was watching. I turned to see that five robots were now staring at me, eyes glowing red.
"hELp uS pLeaSe!" A broken voice screamed from one of the robots. It was a tall blond, very lanky. He wore a blue jumper, the paint of it chipping off by this point. I yelled and went running after Josh, not noticing the quiet footsteps following me. I wish I had.
When I reached Josh, he was standing around a blood stain, staring intensely at the machine before him. The gears were stained with blood, a pungent smell in the air. I slowly walked towards him, trying to avoid the splatter.
"This is where they died. At least, one of them. If I remember correctly, his name was Vikk." Josh had told me, my heart pounding. The place wasn't safe. I could feel it. I knew it.
It happened within a moment's time. The machines turned on and before me a scene played out. The room was brighter, though not by much. The constant grinding of gears and machines filled my mind. But the machine in front o me held an interesting body. A short boy, dark skin. Black hair. A tattered, filthy polo. It looked like it was once a crisp blue. He reached for the lever across the machine, he needed to turn it off. It was malfunctioning. His hand couldn't reach right. He was only an inch too short. His hand went in first, his arm disappearing before he could even realize. He couldn't even scream, it all happened too fast.
Josh grabbed me back, returning me to reality. I was about to reach in, ending in the same fate. I caught a glimpse of a robot, looking exactly like the boy I had seen. "What were you thinking?!" Josh yelled at me as he pulled me far enough away that I couldn't reach the machine. But I barely heard his question. I could still see the machine. The lights brightened again, and I saw the blue jumper I saw earlier again, rushing over. He screamed the same "help us please!", only it was much clearer. He was trying to turn off the machine. But all the blood, the small chunks of the other boy flying out. I don't blame him for missing the switch too. Seeing as the gears were slightly clogged with the other boy, however, he had plenty of time to scream. By the time that the emergency shut-off switch was hit, only ankles remained, his feet limply attached. Panic and terror filled the other employees, so many bodies flooding to the scene that had occurred. The lights dimmed again, the machine sound stopping. Josh was speaking to me in a panic. Asking if I could hear him, asking what was wrong with me. I wish I had an answer for him. I suddenly freaked out, my desperate attempts to explain in my panicked blabber heeded no results. I grabbed his arm and ran as far as I could, the screams of terror and pain filling my ears. I could hear the footsteps this time, five different rhythms of feet pounding against that concrete floor. We eventually made it to an office, the sign reading Management. I dragged Josh in, slamming the door shut.
"Fuck, mate. What the hell is happening?!" Josh gasped. I simply stood there, trying so hard to find words to describe what I had seen. The way I explained it to you, that was the nice way to put it. No words exist to explain everything that had happened.
"It's haunted. I saw them die." I muttered, panic settling in again.
"You what?!" Josh was terrified too, at this point.
"The blood. The agony. The screams."
"Tobi, mate. You've lost it." Josh said, his words being followed by the office door shaking. I turned quickly to the door, watching as the door barely stuck to its hinges. Through the cracks, I could see glimpses of faces. Human faces.
The room became extremely bright around me. I couldn't see, having to squint to let my eyes adjust. The door whipped open, revealing two young boys. The first in was pale and tall, blond hair in a quiff atop his head. He looked similar to the boy with the blue jumper, though he wore a black, short-sleeve shirt. Behind him, lay the other boy. He wore (wtf does Ethan wear?) a patchy, long sleeved black shirt, though something told me it didn't begin as black. He was larger than the first, but not large per say. The first boy stormed over to the desk within the room, now covered with pictures of a family. An older man sat there, way too large for it to be healthy. He smiled widely as the other two entered the room.
"Hello Simon! Ethan! My boys! How are you doing today?" The man spoke, his body shaking as he moved.
"Did you not just hear what happened?! Harry and Vikk are dead! You're bloody machines killed them!" The first boy yelled, panic and anger filling his voice.
"Now now boys. No need to-"
"What do you mean no need?! I'm going to panic! I can't work here anymore. This is my last straw!"
"I agree with Simon on this one. I'm quitting. This isn't worth the risks."
"Now now boys. Who said you could leave?" The large man stood up, reaching into his top drawer.
"You can't keep us here. We quit."
"Now now boys. I don't want to do this." The man pulled out a pistol, unlocking the safety. Another boy ran into the room, his skin dark. He wore a dark grey shirt. "Ah JJ. Are you here to quit too? Well, might as well kill three birds with one gun."
Josh shook me out of the illusion, the door coming off its hinges. I had reached into the drawer, a single area was cleaner than the rest. Where the gun had laid.
"Tobi, listen closely. Once there's an opening, run for it. Don't look back, alright? Just get out and call the cops." I nodded, terrified.
"yoU cAN't KeEp uS hERe." Screamed a robot, the blond boy from the illusion. He charged at Josh, Josh dodging easily. The other four slowly worked their way into the room, their attention on Josh. All of them were from the scenes I saw. Finally, an opening appeared. And I booked it.
As I ran to the door, I heard shrieks of terror and pain as the machines all began to turn on. I didn't look back, running as fast as I could. Back through the entry way, opening the front door. I looked back for Josh, contemplating going back. But as that familiar blue jumper entered the entry way, the sole light bulb left exploded. I screamed, slamming closed the door behind me as I rushed outside. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I ran over to where the boys were waiting.
"Call the police. Now."
Josh never came back out. You can guess the rest.

Sorry it's late! But lookie, I updated! I'm so sorry everyone. Until next time, Peace my cheeses! I love you all <3