The Human Condition

Chapter 8: Sell Your Soul

She could almost see the gears turning in his head as he debated on answering her. Vanessa couldn't exactly blame him for not trusting her; she was a stranger who'd been trying to catch him all night. And he'd been terrorized all night by the other animatronics and possibly the woman in the bunny suit.

So...she got it. She really did.

It would just make things a ton easier if she knew his name and what happened.

Deciding to be patient as the silence stretched on, Vanessa got to work on using the butterfly stitches to semi-close the worst of the scratches. The wound wasn't actively bleeding any longer and by the time she was done, she could say she was sort of proud of herself.

Ripping open a pack of sterile gauze, she waited for the kid to give her permission to start wrapping his arm. It was pretty high up and it was hard to get it secure when the boy refused to remove his shirt part way so she could wrap it around his torso as well.

She did the best she could, and the end result didn't look too bad. At least the wound and bandages were clean. The boy was still silent as he examined his arm and Vanessa decided to just leave it at that point.

Grabbing up the trash the woman tossed it into one of the themed garbage cans and replaced the first aid kit to its proper place. Little sneakers hitting the ground let her know the boy had gotten up and when she turned back to him, she saw him examining her work.

As if feeling her eyes on him, his own snapped up. For a moment they just stared at each other, before the kid scuffed the ground with a sneaker. Looking down, the boy spoke stiltedly, "I..it feels better," Glancing back up, he added, "And cleaner. So, uh, thanks."

Flicking his gaze back down, Vanessa opened her mouth to give some sort of reply. The boy had other plans because he bulldozed on, words tumbling out in a rush, "I'm...Gregory. And the stupid Moon guy took Freddy!"

Glaring at the ground, Gregory took a deep breath, "Freddy just...he focused on me so much that he didn't even fight back! They knocked him out and now I don't know where he's at or what to do!" By this point, the boy's hands had flown up to his hair and started tugging.

Concerned, Vanessa hesitantly crouched down to the child's level. For the first time since she'd found him by the Parts and Service doors, he looked close to tears. Sighing softly, the guard leveled a serious look at him.

"I'm gonna be real with you kid, I can't get into Parts and Service right now. For whatever reason, my badge isn't working. I...don't know where else Moondrop would have taken him." Vanessa thought for a moment before muttering to herself, "Moon wouldn't hurt him. I think."

The tugging hands in Gregory's hair stopped and fell to his sides, twisting the bottom of his shirt instead. Glancing to the side, the boy's voice was soft as he spoke, "Can we get into there another way? Just to check?"

There was so much hope placed into his question and Vanessa felt her heart crack. Grunting, she pushed herself back up to her feet and thought. She may not be able to use her badge, but hers wasn't the only one, was it?

Maybe the only one that had unrestricted access to most areas.

But it wasn't the only badge.

All they needed to do was find one that had a high enough clearance to open those doors.

Nodding to herself, Vanessa smacked her fist in her other hand in a sort of 'ah-ha' moment. Confused, Gregory tilted his head to the side. Gesturing for him to follow her, she led them through one of the rolling doors she'd come through earlier.

"So...I'm pretty sure we can get into Parts and Service by getting another badge with high enough clearance. I know where we can get one, but...it's in an area that doesn't see much use anymore."