Candy Pop Corpse

3. Tiramisu Tears

Slurred cries stirred me awake. I cracked my eyes open just to find someone oogling them. Startled, I crawled back. "Ge-Get away!"

The more distance I put between us, I noticed the person was neither Guno nor Freddy back for more, but a girl wearing a bloodied dress. She kept her mouth agape, mumbling, "Mama... candy... save?"

"Huh?" I tilted my head, less defensive. "What about your mom?"

The girl took deep breaths and pointed to the candy swallowing up our feet."I... I want to h-help Mama. Found you. Thought you were dead-dead... took sticks out... buried you."

It took me a few seconds to piece together her puzzle of a sentence. I looked down, taking in the view of pastries sticking, sliding and dripping on my clothes. "Ah, thanks." I think.

After ripping the melted lollipops and crushed macarons off, I gripped onto the counter and tried to stand. Only to fall flat on my face. I gritted my teeth and huffed. "Dammit, I can't find Jack like this!" Those fucking savages, when I find them I'll make sure to―

Before I could finish the thought, a foul smell caught my attention. My head whipped left and right to find the source, until I spotted two corpses whose ribcages were in plain sight, bloodied and cracked. The grotesque odor made my stomach churn, yet I was captivated by it.

Wait...

My gaze switched from them to the girl, who was hauling a pile of candy in her thin arms. Did she do this?

Rainbow-colored vomit ejected from my mouth before I could ask. It splattered on the black-and-white checkered floor, landed on me and stained the steel racks greenish-pink. Once I hacked up the last of it, I wiped my lips. Gross.

A lollipop waved in front of me. The girl tapped it on my nose with a smile. "Miss... okay?"

I took her offer and sat back down. The stick twisted between my fingers. "Nah, not really. Glad those crowbars are out, though. Thanks, uh... what's your name, kid?"

She smiled big and folded her arms behind her back. "Mary!"

I couldn't help chuckling at her innocence. "I see. Well, Mary, can you tell me what happened here?"

The girl lowered her head, allowing blonde curls to veil her closed eyes. She smirked, pointing to the bodies. "You ate them. Chomp, chomp, chomp."

What? My eyes widened as I licked the back of my mouth. Blood and frosting covered the bumpy surface. "No, no, no, why? I'm... I can't be like them! Yeah, that's it. It's a lie, a lie, a lie―"

Yet Mary shook her head. "Truth. You're like me. Dead, right?"

"No!" I slapped my hands over my face while incoherent mumbles sputtered from my quivering lips. Looking to Mary, then back to Freddy and Guno's corpses, it wasn't long before a scream erupted. However, the sound was muffled by Mary's sticky hands.

Her nails dug in my skin, but did little to stop my rampage. Still, she continued. "Shush. People may come. We... need to leave. Don't want to die again."

Once my voice lowered, she let go. I took that as a chance to speak. "Leave? How can I even crawl when my ankles and wrists are broke?"

"I'll drag you."

Looking her up and down, the little girl was about the size of my old labrador if he stood on his hind legs. When she opened her arms wide, I chuckled and said, "You're kidding, right?"

Her head swayed once more. She hummed in protest. "Don't worry, Mama will fix your boo-boo."

A smile spread across my face slower than maple syrup. "Okay... but what did you say about the candy?"