Infected

Another Challenge

"Matt! You guys!" You call breathlessly, as you enter the ballroom.

Mark's still running behind you, but he's been slowing down already. The other guys are hiding in their little area behind the curtain. Matt pokes his head out at the mention of his name. You stumble as you reach them.

"Are you alright?" Dan asks.

"I'm fine," you say. "But I have news."

You wait for Mark to join you. When he gets there, the guys pull the curtains closed and sit on the ground. You sit too, and realize you and the boys have formed a circle.

"I know who's computer we're in," you begin.

The guys all start talking at once.

"What?"

"Where are we?"

"How do you know?"

You put your hand up to silence them. "We're in Matt's computer. I know, because when Mark and I were on our way over here, we heard Funtime Freddy's voice. And who's got the most FNAF files on their computer?"

"But we've all played Sister Location," Sean interjects. "We can't go based on who has the most."

"Except that what we heard wasn't from the game. Not even custom night," Mark argues. "And I would know."

You turn to Matt again. "What we heard were the files that you played during your livestream with Kellen Goff."

Matt's eyes widen as it all comes together. "The files were on my computer! And everything else is making sense now!"

You narrow your eyes. What else was there?

"What do you mean, 'everything else'?" Felix voices your question.

"When the viruses forced us to watch Sean merge, I noticed saome writing on the screen," Matt explains. "It was the lyrics from that 'Bendy and the Ink Machine' musical I was in with Random Encounters."

"Oooh," Nate says as if something had just pieced itself together. You look over at him. "Did anybody else notice the writing on the wall?"

The other guys are confused, but you think you understand. Nate gets up and moves one of the curtains, which lets some light in. He then walks over to the walls and points to the same numbers that you had noticed only a short while before.

"Did you guys see these numbers?" He asks again.

Mark, Sean, Dan, and Felix all shake their heads. Matt studies them, as if he's trying to figure out what they are. Only you nod.

"I thought it some sort of code, but I didn't know what it was for," you say.

"Oh, it must some of the many, many, FNAF codes that I tried," Matt theorizes. "Some of the ones that did absolutely nothing."

You try to hide your smirk at the hint of frustration in his voice. You sit back on your knees as the guys try to process.

"So, now that we know where we are...what do we do?" Felix asks.

"I'll tell you what we do," Mark says. You're surprised to hear how determined he is.

"We're going to go get everyone else who's trapped in this nightmare, and we're getting them out of here," Mark continues. He stands. "Amy, Signe, and whoever else is here. Now that we know who's the strongest, we also know who to target."

You scramble to get up. "I like that plan."

"Me too," Matt agrees.

"Get ready for a surprise!"

Before you can react to Funtime Freddy's voice again, you feel the floor give away from beneath your feet. You drop down a tube slide. The lights on the walls flash as you slide down. You try not to panic as you seem to speed up. Suddenly, the tube becomes clear.

For a split second, you can see all the guys going down different tubes in different directions. When the tube goes solid again, you begin to wonder where you're going to end up. Will the guys be with you?

Finally, you drop to the ground. You get up and brush the dirt off of you. Looking upward, you see a single light hanging. In front of you, is a wooden desk with a headset sitting on it. Just above that is a huge screen. It could have been used in a small movie theatre.

Suddenly, the screen flashes to life:

PUT YOUR HEADSET ON

You cautiously look down at the headset. You don't want to follow the instructions. What if it's a trap? But what if it's not? Reluctantly, you put it on and position the microphone so that it's near your mouth. After a minute, you hear a voice through the headphones.

"Hello?"

"Mark?" You call.

"(Y/n)?" He answers.

"(Y/n)? Mark?" Sean's voice rings out.

"Sean?" Felix calls this time.

"Is everyone here?" This one comes from Matt.

"I think so," Dan answers.

"Sounds like it," Nate adds.

"So, wait," Sean says, "if we can talk over a speaker, what was the point of bringing us here, and separating us?"

Words appear on the screen again:

THINGS ARE NOT AS THEY SEEM. I AM IN CONTROL.

"What does that mean?" You ask.

"Well, it can't be good!" Felix says.

"Is that Anti?" Dan asks.

"It's not glitching the way it would if it were him," Sean says.

"Is it Void?" Mark questions.

You don't think so. "She seems too afraid of being in control."

"It's probably Madpat," Matt says. "We just found out that he's the strongest."

"Oh, great," Nate says. "Well, it looks like we're faced with another challenge."

"We're all gamers here," Felix puts in. "How hard can it be?"

The screen flashes, twice this time:

YOU DON'T SEEM TO REALIZE
THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION