Novels2Search

3:00 AM

They peeked around Pirates Cove, Matthew opening the curtains to the dismal stage, the moth eaten purple curtains dimmed from decades of being forgotten, left to rot.

Nothing was in it.... Whatever was in it must've been scrapped a long time ago.

Tracy picked up a small piece of wood, which had some faded words written on it with permanent marker... seems like this place hadn't seen action for a long while, which would make the scrapped character make sense. Gary was poking around with Matthew, looking inside the tattered stage, spinning the pirates wheel inside to lighten the mood. It worked, until the wheel fell off.

Tracy just stared as Aaron went off to look around the cove further, exploring the outside. Tracy watched as Aaron looked around inside the cove too, sitting on a derelict wooden pirate ship with its masts torn off.

Matthew and Gary were focused on the purple curtains, peering through the holes.

That was when Aaron looked inside the ship.... and screamed. Instantly, Aaron toppled backward and on the ground, and started crying.

Instantly, Tracy ran over toward him, "Aaron!?"

That was when Tracy looked inside herself.

Inside the boat was a grizzly sight. The body was black and partially decayed, his eyes a blissful white, reflecting some unseen light. Its coat was torn across the middle around his stomach area. Whatever had killed him... well, it made short work, and it seemed that there were several fractures to his ribs.

It didn't take long for them to figure out who this was.

"W......What the hell....? .....What the hell?" Matthew trembled, already several feet back from the body.

"What the FUCK." Gary grimaced, a look of absolute revolt on his face.

Tracy didn't know what to think, she was just staring in utter shock as Aaron hugged her, completely scared out of his wits.

"I'd... say we should go.. But..." Tracy said, patting Aaron's head gently.

The cove was filled with unfathomable, crushing silence. They weren't sure what to do now, death had always seemed... distant and far off, not for them to worry about in the present day. And yet, here it was, staring them dead in the eyes.

Matthew, shivering, shut the cove's curtains, the curtains making a quick and fast swish as it shut. He sighed, and turned around, seemingly trying to calm his nerves, until the sound of a chair being knocked over from outside grabbed his attention, causing him to jump in alarm.

Everyone turned to the outside of the cove, too scared to peer out.

"Yyyyyyarr ha-a-arr, i-i-i-i-it's almost SHOW-T-T-TIME!!!" A pirate-like voice called out, echoing throughout the darkness.

Gary turned back to Tracy, who remained silent. Of course another one had started to roam. They didn't have too much time to grieve for Grant, that thing would most likely be entering the cove within a short timeframe. They listened with bated breath for the thudding of mechanical feet, but were instead met with the sound of metal being dragged against tile, and small sounds of sparking wires.

Tracy stared at Matthew in confusion and fright, wondering what to do, there was no escape and the curtain was the only way through.

They were just about to open the curtains when they saw a hook hand swatting at them, trying to nudge it open the best it could, accompanied by a lovely assortment of strung together curses.

It was then the group got a good look at the completely destroyed fox. Hardly any outer coating to its name, lacking a head and arms, dragging itself against the tiled floor with its arms. Unlike the rabbit and the chicken, the fox looked as if he'd been already defeated. The fox eventually dug its hook into the rotten wood of the cove, and hauled itself inside.

The group just stared in fear, accepting their demise.... But the fox didn't seem to take notice of them.

Tracy had started to form a hypothesis, and everyone could see Tracy's classic eyedart, she was thinking of an idea.

Matthew fished a pen out of his pocket, and Tracy looked at him, motioning him to give her the pen. He handed her the pen, a look of minor confusion on his face.

Tracy would grab the pen, and stare at the wall of the cove where no one stood. She then threw the pen. It connected with the wall with a loud thunk and rolled outside the cove, and the red pirate fox turned its body to the wall, and dragged itself over to the sound.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Yyyyyyarr... is s-s-someone here past c-c-c-closing?!"

Tracy looked at the rest, her hypothesis proven true. She motioned for the cove curtain, making a zipping motion with her lips, trying to tell everyone to remain as quiet as possible.

Tracy walked as quietly as she could, holding Aaron's hand, and then Gary with Matthew quietly attempting a retrieval of his pen before exiting.

They thought they had made it off homefree, only to hear loud footsteps. It was then that they turned and saw the rabbit in the dining area a few tables away from them, staring at the stage.

Tracy looked at Matthew and Gary with a "This doesn't know when to end, does it?" look.

Gary nodded and Matthew kept his eyes on the rabbit. It had been so cute, until it started trying to kill them. The purple (blue?) rabbit didn't seem to notice them, seemingly too caught up in its own world. It then turned to the slumped over brown bear, a look of distaste crossing what they could see of its face.

It made Tracy ponder if the bear was going to wake up..... He felt different compared to the rest. Something about him felt... smarter, more intelligent than the rest, more.... alive.

It then hit her, when she had passed out, she had seen the bear. Even though the memory (Even she wasn't sure what that dream was) wasn't super clear, it gave away the fact that the bear didn't seem to care about its cohorts, treating them more like pawns or leads to meet his own bloody ends.

This thing felt.... evil. Not misunderstood like the rest. Cold, and uncaring, this thing felt genuinely evil. Tracy had a nagging feeling that if it stood up, nothing it did would end well.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Matthew nudged her shoulder. Tracy turned, and gave him a curious look. Matthew pointed to the hallway toward the office. The others had begun walking toward it. Matthew followed, and motioned for Tracy to follow too.

She nodded, and began walking toward the office.... When she looked down at the ground, she noticed a tiny stick.... For some reason, it felt familiar, like she had seen it before.... When she looked up, the whole hall felt familiar. She eventually entered the office again, watching as Matthew fumbled with the lightswitch to get the cameras working, and Aaron stared at the cupcake on the desk, still shivering from the sight of Grant's body. There was no way that poor kid would ever recover from that.

Tracy rubbed Aaron's back, trying to calm him down, unsure of what else to do. The only sound she heard was her breathing and Aaron's whimpering.

However, as she attempted to calm him down.... She started to gain a chill herself. She felt as if something was watching her.... almost observing her. Her head whirled around, trying to find the source.... Her heart started to race, she felt as if everybody could hear it.... Goosebumps surrounded her skin.

It was then she turned toward the window, and saw the grizzly bear staring her down, but it wasn't brown.... rather pitch black. The red pinprick eyes were visible within its translucent skin, staring her dead in the eyes. It's mouth started to curl into a smile, as it stared at her sadistically, and started scratching its long nail on the window. The bear seemed to be just spectating, enjoying the sight. Tracy felt the fear rip into her at once, this.... thing felt familiar for reasons she couldn't explain. The beast then opened its mouth... and spoke.

"Death always wins in the end, no matter how fast or hard or long you RUN!" As he said the last sentence, he suddenly lunged, pressing his hands on the window with a loud thunk. Tracy jumped back as she stared Death right in the eyes.

The bear laughed a wheezy laugh, relishing in the fear. "You can only outrun the inevitable for so long."

Tracy couldn't respond, her heart beating as a jet, sweat beading down her face. Why the hell was nobody else questioning this!?

The black bear chuckled. "Just you and me."

Tracy felt her heart beating.... She didn't know what to do anymore.... It was only when Nightmare started to crack the glass with his nail.... Tracy screamed, and booked it for the office door.

Aaron and Matthew turned, startled. Aaron started to call out for Tracy, but Tracy couldn't hear him anymore. Words became a blur.

She exited the office room, running down the hallway adjacent to the black bear. Matthew and Gary looked worried, what was she running from?

Tracy couldn't hear anything they were saying, although she was certain it was them trying to get her back into the room. She didn't want to be anywhere near that bear, or this place.

"Why do you run, Tracy?" The voice called, echoing from the darkness, "You've seen how running from the final end ends up."

"Get away from me!!" Tracy screamed.

The bear laughed, enjoying the fear of the chase... It's voice was way nearer now, almost behind her.

It was then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Tracy screamed... but she heard yelling.... It was Matthew, trying to snap her out of whatever delirious thing she had fallen into.

"HEY, SETTLE DOWN, THERE'S NOTHING THERE, TRACY!" Matthew yelled, worry and concern in his voice.

Tracy stared up at Matthew, her hair a mess and tears rolling down her face. Matthew wiped the tears off with his hoodie best he could. Tracy felt herself wrap her body around Matthew, and look around...

No sign of the demon she had seen.

Tracy's breaths were shaky, she knew what she saw, and Matthew was trying to calm her down.

Slowly, they walked back to the office. Aaron was just staring at Tracy, shivering himself. Tracy couldn't help but feel a ping of guilt, freaking out her brother like that. But that thing would've killed her had she not, she was sure of that. She snuffled, and sat down on the floor, picking up a foam cup.

She wondered if she truly was going hysterical, but something about that bear seemed too real to just brush off. Something about it felt strangely familiar, the way it moved and used her fear as leverage.

She decided to just try and forget about it. Maybe Matthew was right... But even as she tried, the black bear still kept crossing her mind. In every shadow, she saw the bear smiling back, watching her, gorging itself on her fear, her uncertainty.

Tracy wanted to leave, no question about that. It had been 3 hours, she was getting tired of being hunted by these stupid robots.

....That was when she heard the deep laughter coming from across the building.