The silence of Playcare was suffocating. Dust motes drifted through the dim light like tiny ghosts, and the only sound was the low hum of fluorescent lights that had somehow survived the massacre.
Y/n's stomach growled. It had been two days since the Hour of Joy. Two days of hiding, of crawling through vents, of stepping over things they tried very hard not to look at.
Stella
whispering, scanning the hallway There's gotta be something left in the cafeteria. The critters wouldn't have eaten everything.
Rochelle
rubbing her arms I just want to find somewhere safe. Somewhere they can't—y'know.
Stella didn't answer. She just kept walking, her footsteps light and practiced. She'd always been the brave one. The one who went first.
Y/n followed, heart pounding. The hallway stretched on, lined with faded posters of smiling cartoon animals. The Smiling Critters. Everyone's favorites. Except now their painted eyes seemed to follow you, and their grins felt less like comfort and more like a warning.
Then the floor gave way.
A crack, a groan of old plastic and rust, and suddenly Y/n was falling. The world spun—Stella's shout, Rochelle's scream, the rushing dark—and then a hard, jarring stop at the bottom of a slide.
Y/n groaned, pushing up on bruised elbows. A slide. A big, colorful, ridiculously out-of-place slide in the middle of a hallway.
Stella
sliding down after, landing on her feet You okay?
Rochelle
tumbling down last, landing in a heap Ow. Ow. I think my soul left my body.
Before anyone could laugh, a sound cut through the air.
Footsteps. Heavy. Multiple sets. Coming closer.
And then a voice—high, excited, almost trembling with joy.
???
breathless Do you smell that?
another voice, deeper I smell... something sweet.
The three of them froze as a shadow fell over the end of the slide. A massive shape, blocking the light.
???
softly, reverently Oh. Oh, my. Look at what we found.
The creature stepped into the light. A giant, plush-looking cat with a wide, unblinking smile. Behind it, more shapes loomed—a rabbit, a bear, a chicken, a pig, an elephant, a unicorn. All of them staring. All of them grinning.
And all of them looking at Y/n, Stella, and Rochelle like they were the most precious thing in the world.
Bigger Body Bobby Bearhug
voice trembling, almost crying They're alive. They're actually alive.