Chapter 0 - BatIM Fanfic

Joey Drew Studios

(Annie's Perspective)

It was the day after my graduation. During school, I had made some... Bad friends. Not toxic, but bad. One of my friends, a rich and handsome man going for football, drove us to a town. I recognized the name of the town from somewhere... I wasn't sure where, though. Well, we came to an old man's house. I honestly don't know why. Well, I didn't know why, until of course we had gotten there. Everyone in the back pulled out eggs, toilet paper, etc. I knew what must be now happening. I wanted to run away, but I didn't. I was peer pressured... Although I didn't do much. I still did. Many of my friends must have thought that it was not enough, because they dared me to go into his house! Holy heavens, why!?

"I heard," started Bruce, the handsome man that had drove us here started spookily, "That there are wicked things down there! And worst of all... Living cartoons!" Everyone laughed. I did not. "It's not that bad, Ann, there's just an old man in that house!" He told me. Then he squinted his eyes to a slit. "I dare you to go inside. Triple. Dog. Dare."

I gulped. "Might I ask who this man is?" I asked, shivering and sweating nervously.

Bruce laughed. He told me, "Joey Drew, of course!"

My heart sank to the bottom of my feet. Words had left from the backside of my brain. I just stood there, motionless and dreadful. They pushed me to one of the windows. One with dusty curtains hanging over and blocking sight. They crashed it open with a rock, pushing me inside and cheering for me from outside. I gulped and continued. What would my mother think? What would she do?

I explored this man's house. I eventually found a door... It was unlocked, so I opened it. It was the studio! I chuckled. The nervousness that dwelled inside of me had left. I wanted to see the Ink Machine! I had always been a fan of the cartoon show. Bendy was always my favorite character, even after the appearance of Alice Angel. So I closed the door behind me as I stepped inside. I saw ink dripping everywhere, which was just odd. Eventually, I had come to the Ink Machine. I figured that my friends had probably left me by now anyway, so I brushed my hands all over it. I accidentally broke something. I heard the door to the studio open, so I frantically I zipped away and locked myself into a nearby closet.

I heard slow, slowly paced footsteps... Clap, clap, clap... I was shivering in my hiding spot. Who was there? Was it Mr. Drew himself? I could see a shadow of a man through the crack of the door. I hoped he wouldn't open the closet. I thought he was going to call the authorities! But, he left. He didn't come back. I sighed, exhausted from all the vandalism, so I cracked open a can of Bacon Soup and sipped it slowly. It tasted horrible. I soon fell asleep, however.

****

When I awoke, it felt like I had passed out for hours. I took a couple of cans of soup with me in my arms, peering around the edge of the closet. Through a door nearby, I heard talking... It was muffled. I couldn't tell who was speaking, either, so I stayed inside the closet. I sipped a can of Bacon Soup. It still did not taste very good at all. I fell asleep again.

When I awoke once more, I again peered around the edge of the closet. The lights were on. I became scared, closing and locking the closet, shivering in my hiding place again. What if he had found me?

In a few minutes, I heard keys jingling. Then I heard someone inserting the keys to the hole. I became dead silent, holding my mouth and halting my shivering, so that when whoever entered they might not see me. I held in my breath as the door swung open. I heard a grumpy old man. "Ugh! I must have locked the closet," the man muttered, taking a couple cans of Bacon Soup. "Am I... Missing some cans...?" He asked. He shrugged his shoulders, I could hear, closing the door. As he stepped down the hallway I could hear his fading voice mutter, "I must have had something last night..." I decided that I could not safely be here any longer. As soon as he leaves, I decided, I would race out of the studio and outside, no matter if I got caught.

Once I saw the lights flick off, and the door of Joey Studios closed, I knew what I must do. I quickly opened the closet door, taking with me three cans of Bacon Soup. I raced my way down the hall, making it to the exit. What happened however, was that I fell through the planks right in front of the exit! Are you kidding me!? THIS CLOSE!

When I looked up... I saw a grim face peering down at me. It was Joey Drew. His face, as I was falling down, looked like he was saying, "Dang it, I wasn't expecting you here. I wanted someone else!" I landed and passed out.