Save Us

Chapter 8

"-it's on you!" Sound came back first as I began waking up and my sister's shrieking didn't help the ringing still going through my head.

"He'd be dead if not for me!" It took me a moment longer to identify the other voice as Mike before I finally managed to open my eyes and groan at the brightness in the room.

"Ash!" Vee ran into my blurred sight and knelt next to the couch I was on. "Are you alright?"

"He'll be fine. I stitched him up didn't I?" Mike scowled down at her as he walked into view as well.

"Shut up! I don't even know you or how you found this place. For all I know you did that to him." I weakly grabbed my sister's wrist as she leapt back to her feet.

"Stop... stop arguing..." I dropped my hand and shakily used it to help me sit up, which only caused pain to flare up in my other shoulder as it was jostled. "Ah...!"

"You idiot..." Vee stared down at me with concern but helped me move until I could look at them better.

"You're right about that much." Mike agreed. "But in this case moving slightly too slow wasn't really much of a fault on his part. Foxy is a fast creature for all his broken mechanics."

"How did you get me out?" I couldn't remember anything after Foxy ran off but I was aware enough that we still had an hour left on our shift. "...Wait... did you see anyone else?"

Now they both seemed concerned for my health. "We were the only ones there, Paine. If there was someone else we would've seen them on the cameras before you got hooked on the job."

"...No... I swear I- there was someone with a light... at the end of the hallway...?" Was I remembering that right? It was getting fuzzy. "Why else would Foxy have left?"

"Hmm maybe because I shined a flashlight at him? Oddly enough the animatronic doesn't really appreciate that."

"We should take him to a hospital..." Vee spoke up. "You can both explain this later."

"I don't need a hospital." Mike gave an approving look as if I'd taken the words right out of his mouth. "Just get me some pain killers and I'll be fine."

"Fine to do what? Let your 'stitches' get infected and make you get worse? Go back to that death trap and get killed? I will not watch you die on me, Ash!" Her eyes teared slightly at the thought and the grip she still had on my good arm tightened.

"You're overreacting. I know how to stitch someone back together." Mike rolled his eyes. "As long as he cleans it he'll be fine."

I pried her hand off and gave as stern a look as I could muster at the moment. "Violet... I don't need a hospital or anything like that. I'm fine."

"You sound like Mom before-"

"Don't!" I strained myself as she accused me. "Don't ever compare me to her. This isn't even like what happened with Mom."

My sister paled slightly before going quiet. Behind her Mike stood awkwardly, as if he suddenly wished he'd left sooner. Vee finally seemed to have enough with the silence and left the room quickly, though obviously making sure I knew she was still upset with the situation.

"...Your sister sure is something..." Mike's gaze finally came back to mine after Vee was out of sight. "Nearly tried killing me when she saw me walking up carrying your sorry excuse for a corpse."

"I'm not a corpse." Well, I almost was...

"Anyway... I think I'll let myself out... Seems your sister's highlights aren't just red and flashy for show. Temper on her. Yeesh."

"...Watch it." The warning tone in my voice was barely there; I was too tired to really keep the whole conversation thing going.

"Yeah, yeah... overprotective brother. Just keep your shoulder nice and clean so she doesn't hunt me down, alright?"

"Sure."

I closed my eyes and heard him leave the house; the faint sound of a car starting outside. Seemed I'd have to hitch a ride to work next time. "At least it would give me time to get him to explain how he got us both out of that death trap of a building alive."

"Here." I was prodded awake again and blinked to see Vee holding out the painkillers. "...Guess they're better than nothing."

I took them with a nod of thanks before settling back down again. By now dawn light was starting to filter through the crack in the curtain and my shoulder felt stiffer... at least now I could feel something other than pain in it.

"Now will you explain just what goes on at your job?" So, there was another reason she'd woken me up... should've guessed.

I sighed. "I'm still not really sure myself. It's hard to explain other than those robots try killing us? Mike specifically said they'd stuff us in a suit... not sure how or why though..."

"Guess I'll just have to find out myself then won't I?" A sly smirk found its way onto her face.

"Violet... absolutely not. If I see you there tonight-"

"You act like I'm even going to let you go into work." She moved further away from me. "Besides, I like to play with fire not have a suicide job with furry robots. I'll go in the day time."

"He works nightshift." I yawned, feeling the medication starting to take hold. "... Don't... bother..."

"Whatever."

I opened an eye to watch her head back upstairs- probably finally going to bed- before drifting back off to sleep myself. The nightmares of last night's incident merging with the normal flames and screaming as things- people- burned before me. All the while a strange faintly glowing thing, a person? Standing just out of my line of vision. No matter how I turned to watch it, it would always shift once more to the side. I had to find out just what I was seeing...