The Smiling Cat: Experiment 1188

Chapter 14: Caverns

CatNap knelt down, he was in the caverns of the factory, and what stood before him was his hand-made shrine of The Prototype.

In the dimly lit caverns, far removed from the echoing corridors of conflict, CatNap found solace. The shadows flickered in the candlelight as he knelt before a makeshift shrine, fashioned from the dead mangled bodies of deceased experiments and scraps of machinery. At its centre, a small effigy of the Prototype stood, a representation of the mechanical deity that had become the focal point of CatNap's newfound faith.

Alone in the quiet depths of the factory, CatNap recited whispered prayers, his devotion palpable in the hallowed silence. The caverns, once echoing with the sounds of rebellion, now bore witness to the solitary rituals of a guardian enthralled by the machine's perceived divinity.

As CatNap poured his devotion into each prayer, the makeshift shrine took on an eerie beauty. Candles flickered, casting dancing shadows that played upon the walls like ghostly spectres. The plush effigy of the Prototype, adorned with bits of shiny discarded metal, took on an ethereal glow in the dim cavern light.

His fervent prayers echoed in the stillness as he beseeched the machine for guidance and salvation. CatNap thought about the dream of DogDay, and how it predicted the moment he murdered him, he thought about the dream of The Prototype killing him, and wondered if that was a prophecy too.

CatNap's train of thought got disrupted, when a sudden crash from above shattered the sanctity of his solitude. The echo of the noise reverberated through the cavern, sending shivers down his spine. The candles flickered wildly, casting elongated shadows that danced along the walls in a macabre display.

Startled, CatNap rose from his prayerful position, the eerie glow of the shrine reflecting in his eyes.

"The train...?" He thought to himself.