Stay with Me

2

word count: 2,104

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Everything was quiet as Dawn opened her eyes. Darkness surrounded her, making her jump and let out a startled squeak. Her hands clenched around something soft as she sat up. A blanket?

She brought it to her face and nuzzled into it. Yep. Definitely a blanket. As she pulled it away from her face she glanced down, squinting in the darkness. There were several other blankets and pillows surrounding her, looking like some kind of makeshift bed.

A small object caught her attention as she continued to glance around. Tilting her head, she picked it up and realized it was a plush toy. A smile fell upon her face.

So cute, she thought to herself. It was sun themed, with little rays and jester-like clothing. The daycare attendant. Dawn looked beside her to find its counterpart. Moon themed, with a star-stitched hat that swayed when she picked it up.

An uneasy feeling filled her stomach as she stared at the stuffed toy. She wasn't sure what was worse- John's advances or his screams when Moondrop had torn into him. They echoed through her mind, high pitched and filled with pain.

Placing the toy down, Dawn rubbed at her aching wrists. It was hard to see in the dark, but she was certain they were covered in bruises. Her entire body felt stiff as the sleep finally began to wash off of her.

Tears filled her eyes and she sniffed as she turned her head to finally take in her surroundings. Her eyes were finally adjusting to the darkness and she could make out the kid themed room she sat in.

Papers littered the walls- covered with colored pictures filled with yellow and blue. There were more yellow than blue, and the smaller group was bunched together on one corner of the wall while the yellow completely filled the rest.

Random metallic objects were thrown across the room as well. Dawn recognized one of them to be a security bot, and she cringed at the sight. Poor thing.

Two bright red orbs caught her attention as she continued to glance around. She froze, fear shooting through her entire being. It continued to stare at her- body perched at the end of the massive makeshift bed and looming over her.

Moondrop. The realization hit her like a train. It felt as if the breath was knocked out of her as those red orbs shifted slightly and his head turned slowly in a circle.

Dawn swallowed and attempted to slowly move backward. A squeaking sound ripped through the silence as her hand pressed down against the moon themed plushy. As she jerked her gaze down at it with wide, fearful eyes she wondered how the company had managed to make a product so wrong. The robot sitting before her was terrifying.

He began to move suddenly. She tried to move again, but he was on her in an instant. One of his large hands reached out quickly, snatching the moon push away from her with a low growl. Dawn released her grip on it with no hesitation.

Moondrop glared down at her before looking at the plushy, taking one sharp finger and moving the end of the cap over its shoulder before gently placing it to the side. Then those red eyes were on her again- practically piercing through her skull.

"I-I'm sorry," she managed to whisper out, hand still outstretched from when he'd snatched the toy. "I didn't mean to."

His gaze traveled from her eyes and down her arm, stopping when he reached her wrist. Those red eyes flashed and glowed brighter. After a few seconds they were normal again and he was suddenly grasping her arm.

The touch was firm but gentle- squeezing just hard enough to keep her in place without actually hurting. Still, Dawn couldn't help but feel panicked and attempted to yank away as panic washed over her.