System Failure

Encryption (Part 2)

I began to let my mind wander as I gazed at the handmade rockets nailed to wooden planks, robots on display next to their prospective awards, tools scattered across the sawdust covered tables; and it wasn't before long that I found myself thinking of Jordan. My excitement faded as I looked back over at the bickering group, more than aware that something was missing. 'I should try calling again.' I thought to myself. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and went directly to my contacts finding hers almost immediately. I held my breath and swiped on it before raising it to my ear. As it rang, what I heard next made my blood run cold; a vibration emanating from somewhere in the room. I froze, pinpointing its location from the glowing screen. My feet felt heavy as I trudged over to it.

I crouched down to pick it up and noticed dark drops of a dried substance on and in the area surrounding the phone. 'Blood? What in the world happened here?' I ended the call on my end and stood up. '43 missed calls and over 400 texts?! No wonder why she hasn't answered...' The battery was dangerously low, so I decided to pocket the the phone and look through it later after charging it to see what I could find. I then noticed a box cutter sitting on a table nearby and picked it up gently. I exposed the blade and examined it only to find it spotless. 'Hmm.' 

The gang was still talking amongst themselves near the door and I sighed turning back around to see something I hadn't noticed before. In front of me was some type of upright structure covered with a black tarp. Casting one more glance over my shoulder I reached up and pulled off the tarp in a swift motion and instantly jumped back, startled. What stood before me was a bright white robotic bear with pink and purple accents. Attached to his right hand was a blue rabbit hand puppet with a red bowtie, in his left, a purple microphone and atop his head was a small top hat. On his chest was a black bowtie and speaker and his face was split into multiple quadrants with thick pieces of plastic attached with what looked to be hinges. "What the...?" The talking across the room fell silent and there were quiet footsteps shuffling in my direction before they halted behind me. 

"Whoa..." Sarah whispered in awe. I stared in utter bewilderment before I spun around to face the group. "What is that?" I asked indignantly pointing over my shoulder. I noticed that Katrina had an uncomfortable expression on her face. 'She knows something.' Before I had the chance to ask, she took a step forward. "This is a robot built by a Robotics student a couple of weeks ago..." Michael turned to face her. "Weren't they also a Rocketry student?" Taylor had her arms crossed and stared at the ground, she nodded without looking up. Katrina gave a nod of acknowledgment before continuing her story. "About two weeks ago, they became increasingly eager to finish it. They stayed after everyone left and the following day when the Robotics team came in to turn everything on, it was standing in this corner completed." Christian nodded. "But they weren't at school that day." Taylor looked up ready to join the conversation. "Everyone just assumed that they needed a break, but it's been a week and they haven't been seen since." I looked down before turning back around to face the robot, I frowned in determination. "How does it work?"

There was a collaborative gasp and I could almost feel everyone boring holes into the back of my skull. "Why the heck would you want to see that?!" Sarah asked in disbelief. "Yeah, we're not even sure how and if it works." Michael chimed in. "Hold on you guys," I turned around to see everyone staring at Taylor. "Isn't there a remote around here somewhere? If we find it we might be able to turn it on." We all watched her in shock at her willing cooperation. 'I guess she's just as curious as I am.' There was a silent agreement before before everyone fanned out to search.

We checked under tables, in boxes, on shelves. Nothing. I returned to where I was standing in front of the jolly looking creature, a permanent smile carved into its plastic face. I stared up at it then looked over as Katrina joined my side with a black remote in hand. "Hey, I think I found it." She said quietly. I scanned the room as the rest of the group took notice of her discovery and terminated their searches to assemble behind us. I looked down at the device and selected a switch at random. I held out my arms and flipped the switch up which prompted the animatronic's eyes to glow a striking blue and straighten up, raising both hands equipped with the puppet and microphone. 

We yelped and jumped back slightly in shock. I looked down at the remote and pressed another button. His jaw flapped up and down before he started to speak. "Welllll hello again! Hahahahaha!!! My name is Funtime Freddy and get ready for a surprise!!!!" He screamed in an eccentric, yet crazed and demented voice. I clamped a hand over my mouth and looked to see everyone doing the same. "Hey BOn BoN, something tells me there's a birthday boy or girl here!~ Let's go give them their surprise-prize-prize..." His voiced glitched, his head lowered and our faces changed from astonishment to confusion. "Are you all enjoying the show? I know I am!!" He looked up abruptly, his shining blue eyes now a deep, haunting red. "That's riiiiiiiigggggghhhhhtttttt! I know who you are, and I know why you're here!" 

There were metallic scrapes as he began to take a step forward, causing us all to take steps back. "Turn it off! Turn it off!" Katrina shouted, shaking my arm. "Press the power button, press the power button!!" Christian yelled. "I AM!" I screeched in frustration as Freddy continued cackling in the background. "Now come give Freddy and Bon Bon a big...ol...hug..." Everyone just stared in rigid terror as he continued to advance towards us, meanwhile I continued to try different buttons. Suddenly the remote was yanked from my grasp and I turned to see Taylor pressing a series of buttons. Funtime Freddy stopped instantly and his eyes flickered off.

I gasped for breath and heard everyone else doing the same. I turned around sharply. "What the heck was that!?!" Michael threw his hands up. "I don't know! If I did I wouldn't have agreed to come in here in the first place!"  Sarah now looked dazed as she stared at the mechanical bear still frozen in place. "No idea...I'm sure there were a specific set of recorded lines programmed in." Taylor nodded and pointed aggressively to Funtime Freddy. "And that was definitely not pre-recorded. That..." She waved her hands sporadically. "'Thing' was talking directly to us." Katrina shook her head. "Hold up guys, let's be rational about this. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for what just happened..." Taylor crossed her arms and glared. "Oh yeah? And what's that?" Katrina pursed her lips together. "It could have been operating on pre-taped lines that we just took out of context."I exchanged glances with everyone, no one was buying it. Christian shook his head. "Yeah... but that still doesn't explain the eyes turning from blue to red." Taylor nodded vigorously and tossed her hand up. "Exactly! Explain that." She hissed, staring daggers at Katrina. "Will you chill out?!" She shot back, looking as if she was close to losing her cool if Taylor made any other smart remarks. Instead of responding, she simply rolled her eyes. 

"Either the battery was low or it malfunctioned. Remember the voice did glitch out before it acted up." She reminded. I looked around, everyone was either shrugging or nodding, Sarah was shaking her head. "Whatever you guys, let's just hurry up, my mom's on the way." Taylor nodded in agreement, seeming to have calmed down. "Same." She muttered and Christian shrugged. "We can just finish this tomorrow." He suggested, everyone murmured in acceptance. "Yeah, I think we're all a little tired and this didn't exactly help..." Katrina said with a sigh and I nodded feebly. "Yeah, ok. That's fine." We all turned and headed to the door without another word, Michael taking the lead. Exiting the STEM Center and the short hallway, we sauntered in complete silence down the main hall and I let my thoughts fill my head once more. 'What was that all about? Who built it? Where did they go?'