Candy Pop Corpse

5. Ice-cream Incineration

"Whose eyeball?" Mary asked with a tilt of her head. "Lulu's friend?"

Bonnie pulled Mary closer before she could investigate. She collapsed to the ground, bringing Mary down with her. "Dear god, how'd they find us?"

I brought my fingers to my mouth, nibbling on the nails. Savages were here. Bonnie was injured, Mary was defenseless and I...

Turning to them, I noticed Bonnie continually eye the pitchfork, probably wondering how fast she could reach it in her injured state. Meanwhile, Mary hummed a children's song about fire and bridges.

The taste of Freddy and Guno's flesh bubbled to the surface of my thoughts. I-If I ate them, we could―

"No." I shook my head to sweep away the vulgar idea. Once I commited that crime, I couldn't go back.

More cackles bounced through the walls as liquid splashing echoed in my head. It took one whiff to recognize it as gasoline. I shifted my gaze to Bonnie, wide eyed.

"Smells like fireplace. S'mores?" Mary slurred once I caught the sound of a lighter flicking open.

Bonnie covered her while I followed her gaze only to find embers crawling up the walls. Around them, wood darkened to black. Not again, the fire, the fire―

I looked down. My legs struggled to support me, trembling as stitches strained to keep themselves together. That didn't matter. Something had to be done; I refused to abandon them like Jack did to me no matter how terrified I was.

"We need to get out of here." I looked to the window Mary climbed in from, fists tightened. "Over there, before the savages find out!" I whispered.

Mary ran to my side without fuss. On the other hand, Bonnie stared holes into her legs. She covered her mouth with one hand, the other waving smoke away. "I... I don't think I can anymore. My legs are at their limit," she said in a muffled voice.

I pushed Mary in the escape route's direction, then turned back to Bonnie, teeth clenched. "It's not that far!"

With a nod, she walked. Yet each step made her legs tremble. She looked left and right as her skin glistened from sweat.

My eyes were dead set on her. Brows furrowed and mouth scowling, one thought came to mind when I watched the woman wobble to us. Could the reason she was taking her time be because she didn't believe in us? Maybe she thought I'd―

Mary brought me back to reality by tugging on my finger. Her lips trembled as words spewed from them. "We should help. Mama's going to burn."

My mind wandered back to when Bonnie glanced at the pitchfork. Then, a slew of scenarios came rushing in, all of which ended in my second death. I looked to Mary, dread sinking its claws into my skin. "Wh... What if we lea―"

A scream cut through my sentence. We whipped our heads to the source just to find Bonnie sprawled on the floor. She held her swollen legs as agony possessed her features. Eyes shut and breaths heavy, the woman attempted to get up without much success.

Meanwhile, I stood still, frozen by looming suspicions and fear of dying the same way our parents had. It only took a few seconds of seeing my hesitation for Mary to act on her own.

"No, Mama!" the girl cried before ripping herself from my hold. She dodged the rapidly crawling flames until she was in Bonnie's arms. "I'll be good. Help out, okay?"

"I'm sorry, darling," Bonnie whispered as tears slid down her cheeks. "You need to go with Lulu. I'll come for you soon."

What? I pointed to myself, flabberghasted. I could barely take care of myself and she wanted to leave Mary in my care? If it weren't for the smoke and howls reminding me of our dire situation, I would've snorted.