Andy Smith looks at the heart monitor with mixed feelings; barely a week ago he was looking at it with hope and a touch of love for his grandfather Gabriel Smith lying in that hospital bed, his skin whitened by blood loss and his white hair surrounding his skull except for the top, giving him a fragile appearance despite his face expressing his past mischievousness, surely due to his work in the gift shop.
On the small coffee table rested Andy's most precious possession, an old dark blue cap with the name of the toy company. The object was slightly faded, but he would not part with it for anything in the world, being the only remaining memento of his mother, Sonia Smith, who also worked there, even though Andy did not understand what a doctor was doing in a toy factory at the time.
He still remembers that day, August 8, 1995. He was just twelve years old at the time, and that day he left for school, unaware that it would be the last time his mother would hold him in her arms. On his way home, he simply greeted his grandfather, who was staying home because of a sudden and severe flu that had forced him to stay in bed. The next day, he had the unpleasant surprise of covering a pair of detectives asking his grandfather if he had any news about his mother. Andy felt frightened, but above all, lost. Why would his mother have disappeared? She worked for the most successful company of the 1990s, so how could she just vanish like that?
This question haunted him for ten years. At the beginning of the investigation, everyone thought that something must have happened at the Playtime factory, but due to a lack of resources and leads, everything was abandoned after a few years. Yet Andy never forgot this desire to solve this mystery, which did not only concern him; thousands of people disappeared that day, and yet the investigation was never solved. The closure of the factory was the end of all his hopes of understanding what happened to his mother.
Upon arriving at the high school, Andy began investigating, poring over press articles concerning the case. He then became interested in Playtime, wanting to know if the company's leaders had anything to do with the disappearance of the employees and orphans living at Playcare, the orphanage created by Eliot to bring joy to all children. What he found made him more intrigued as he dug into Playtime's shady dealings: confidentiality contracts stricter than those working in banks, searches for employees who had specifically worked with children or... in prisons?
Newspaper articles spoke of former employees leaving the company after experiencing strange things, strange noises in the ventilation ducts and people swearing they saw a huge spider around a corner, a journalist who came to promote a new toy who thought that Huggy Wuggy's eyes were security cameras, except that after checking no surveillance system was found, the most publicized incident was the recall of the Catnap toy plush toys which instead of smelling like lavender released a gas that gave children nightmares, a blow for the company but having had more or less many successes which ensured its prosperity Playtime made people forget this failure by releasing a new line of toys.
His investigation led him to only one conclusion: Playtime was hiding something. His mother worked there, and it was the last place she went before disappearing with all the other employees. During his high school years, the young man sincerely hesitated to go there to lead an expedition and finally learn the truth, but since he was the only one who could take care of his grandfather, he resigned himself to putting this project on hold.
Years passed and without realizing it, Andy had just turned twenty-two. Despite his obsession with Playtime, he managed to have a more or less normal adolescence, having learned a lot by joining his high school's climbing club. It's a shame he didn't make any real friends; at best, he often had friends who passed through, but no one ever stayed, and Andy doesn't really complain about it, having always had a complicated personality, which he admits.
His life changed completely one morning that he thought was ordinary, then he discovered on his doorstep a package sent to his grandfather who was in the hospital for his kidney problem Andy decided to open it, inside he found a VHS cassette and a letter which was particular in that it was written on the paper of the company which had obsessed his thoughts for the last ten years, all shaken up he just put the cassette in his grandfather's old player, the cassette initially presents Poppy and her qualities as an intelligent toy although honestly Andy doubts that the doll of this time is capable of answering a real question, even if there was a strange moment during the presentation.
"I'm a real little girl...just like you"
He said it was strange, but Smith attributed it to a possible problem with the rather old cassette. Then he was offered a tour of the factory, which reminded him of the times his mother used to take him to work, which was as fun for him as going to Disneyland. His moment of nostalgia was interrupted by an image of... By pausing the video, the young man examined the image. It looked like the inside of a factory, and on the back wall, someone had drawn a huge mural depicting a poppy flower. Lost by this image, he finally read the letter accompanying the cassette.
EVERYONE THINKS THE STAFF DISAPPEARED TEN YEARS AGO.
WE ARE STILL HERE.
FIND THE FLOWER.
There she was, proof that his decade-old speculations finally made sense! At first, he naturally felt nervous, initially thinking it was a joke, but it was far too elaborate and, above all, it made no sense that they would send it to him out of everyone, then it clicked when he remembered that the package was addressed to his grandfather.
But why him? Whether with the police or with him, Gabriel never said anything that could help them understand, and he doubts that he lied for ten years, especially to him. And here he is today, staring impatiently at his grandfather's sleeping face, wanting to wake him up and get the answers he has always sought about what happened to his mother and why it took ten years to finally have a tangible lead. Sighing, he gets up and places an envelope in front of a photo taken years ago of him in his grandfather's arms. Lingering for a moment on one of the last happy memories of his childhood, he breathes deeply and then lets out the words he has been preparing since this morning.
"I'll go get her, Grandpa."
~Play~
He didn't remember the road being so long, rubbing his painfully tired eye the young man continued driving towards the abandoned factory while thinking about what this letter meant.
Could the missing employees all be hiding in the toy factory? He wouldn't be surprised, having already seen Playcare; he suspected the underground facilities were much deeper than the rest. He wouldn't be surprised if there was a nuclear fallout shelter down there. And then there were the children from the orphanage—were they with the adults too? He sincerely hoped so.
Andy grumbles slightly as he sees that he has finally arrived in front of the abandoned factory; old yellow tape put up by the police still encircles the perimeter and the moon shines bright enough to show him the building plunging into darkness. He had hoped to arrive before nightfall, but now that he is here, he might as well get out and start his search in the entrance hall because he doesn't want to spend the night in his car; he still thinks that he looks far too much like that overly reckless teenager in horror movies who dies far too quickly.
"Hey Playtime..." the young man breathed, taking a deep breath to calm the erratic beating of his racing heart, which was racing because of what he was about to do, "...here I am."
Opening the car door, he steps out, his physique illuminated by the full moon. In his early twenties, Andy Smith is quite tall, easily six foot two, with a dynamic physique. Long hours at the gym and climbing with his club have given him a lean and powerful silhouette. He's dressed in blue sneakers with yellow soles, jeans, a white t-shirt hidden under a yellow sweatshirt, and a denim jacket. His lips curl in response to the outside chill, his blue eyes scanning the area, ready to run if a bush moves suspiciously. His blond hair is tied back in a ponytail that struggles to stay in place due to its thickness and unruly texture. To complete his outfit, he proudly wears his Playtime Co cap, which he tilts slightly upwards. On his back is a black backpack containing everything he needs to explore and survive in a mysterious or hostile environment... he hopes he won't fall into the latter category.
Turning on his flashlight, he finally makes his way to the entrance; once inside, Andy has already noticed a detail hidden by the one-way mirrors.
"The electricity is still working?" he said aloud, looking incredulously at the lit lights.
This wasn't normal; besides the fact that the factory is located in a remote area deep in the forest, the place has been closed for ten years, so by Zeus, how is it that the gift shop train keeps running?!
"So there is someone here after all, I'd almost be happy if I had a signal...simply brilliant," sighed Andy, looking at his phone and sniffing ungracefully. "Okay, let's see if I can find something to understand what's going on here."
Scanning the hall, Andy still remembers how happy he was to come here when his mother found the time. As the son of an employee, he often received toys directly from the factory and even board games, which he still keeps as souvenirs. Yet, looking back, he remembers how exhausted and cautious his mother seemed with the rest of the staff, ordering him never to wander off and not to talk to anyone. At the time, he simply listened to her, not wanting to cause her more worry than necessary. Today, he begins to think that she mainly wanted him not to talk to the other employees.
Pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, the blond boy watched a green video cassette, then looked at the TV of the same color, rolling his eyes.
"Subtle..."
Putting the cassette in the player, he crosses his arms while staring at the screen, thinking to himself that this equipment is of good quality to still work today.
"Hello, my name is Leith Pierre and I am the head of innovation here at the Playtime Co. toy factory."
Ah, that's a name he hasn't heard in a long time; if his memory serves him right, it was usually the name that made his mother angry for a reason that still escapes him today.
If you see this, you're breaking the law. Yes, we play this short recording on a loop every time the factory closes. So, intruder, just a heads-up. While we're proud of the quality of our toys and our excellent childcare service, we're also very proud of our security.
Given that the factory closed after everyone disappeared, Andy would say that this system really has nothing to be proud of, yet he wonders why the police found nothing, no break-in or evidence that the factory had been burglarized.
For example, this facility is full of hidden motion detectors that, once activated, trigger the factory's emergency alarms and contact the authorities directly! And that's just one of the most innocuous aspects of our security system. Shh!
Isn't that even weirder? In the investigation, the inspectors explain that they only came following a series of calls concerning missing people, and that all of them were Playtime employees, so the alarm didn't go off that day. Either it didn't work, which would be a real shame given the circumstances, or—and Andy fears this is the case—someone sabotaged the security system.
You have been warned. It's not too late to turn back. I simply hope you are certain that what you are doing is worthwhile.
"Some Pierre is sure not to turn back," the young man joked, removing the cassette and putting it in his bag. "It might come in handy."
Not wanting to remain idle, he began to search the office, but apart from dust, he found nothing. Walking to the security post, he stared with a raised eyebrow in astonishment at the small colored square sign.
"Okay, I know it's a toy factory, but...isn't this level of simplicity dangerous?" he wonders, trying to see if the colors around him are the right answer. Seeing that it's leading him nowhere, he turns around to look for the answer when something catches his attention.
Lying on one of the sofas was one of Playtime's toys, CatBee. He was quite surprised to see that the toy seemed barely aged, proving the quality of the factory's products, except that it was missing an antenna and its hind legs... The young man's eyebrows frowned as he saw that the wear marks on the toy were strange; they looked like stains, but their color suggested... blood?
"...what am I thinking? It's probably grease or something" he finally shook his head, chasing the strange thought from his mind. "Bleeding toys...whatever Andy, come on, let's find the code" he sighed as he walked to the gift shop.
Ah, the place where joy and laughter reigned in the days when his grandfather was in charge. Looking around with a slight smile, he suspects that the few boxes containing a toy could be worth a fortune today. His smile vanishes when he sees a disturbing sight on the counter: a Boogie Bot lying on its side, and just below its head, blackened traces that, up close, once again resemble dried blood. Blinking slowly, Smith gently approaches, ignoring the noise of the train above his head and the deeper pounding of his heart, as he slowly slides the toy a little further away and then turns it onto its back to inspect its head. As he imagined, part of the robot's small head seems to have been crushed against the counter. One might think it's oil or something to make it a little more realistic, and Andy sincerely hopes that's all it is.
"Okay," he inhales deeply, his hands resting on the wood while looking at this trace of...it doesn't matter. "Stay focused, you have to find clues and understand what happened here...and not pay attention to that."
Raising his head, he looked at the train that had amused him greatly as a child, then a metaphorical lightbulb went off inside him. Taking one last look at the mysterious liquid, Andy rushed towards the security room. Once the code was entered, he entered, hoping to see the monitors turning, thus saving him time by allowing him to see other parts of the factory. But to his great frustration, despite the power supply, the screens remained dead. Cursing, he picked up a new cassette which this time presented him with an invention known as the perfect tool when you work in a toy factory.
~Le GrabPack~
A grappling hook capable of moving heavy objects, sensors inside the hands to access areas reserved for employees, and the cable inside is conductive for electricity, in short it's the ideal tool for exploring an abandoned toy factory, oh if we forget the missing hand of course.
Putting on the GrabPack, he tests the device a little, discovering in passing a flashlight included in the handle of the device; the hand that he retracts in a few seconds amuses him greatly, and he is quite surprised by the lightness felt while wearing it, expecting something heavier at first.
"Huh...it's cooler than I thought, okay now let's go"
Advancing more confidently, Andy Smith finds himself facing the first door locked by a security system; using the blue hand, he opens it, not without rolling his eyes at the loading time.
Then the metal shutter slowly rose and the blond man saw something that sent a violent shiver down his spine.
There, in the middle of his little personal scene, stands Huggy Wuggy, the company's figurehead, the best-selling toy, surpassing even Poppy in terms of success. Advancing slowly, the young man tries to convince himself that being afraid of a statue is ridiculous, yet seeing it at night in one of the scariest places he has ever seen, it is difficult not to be intimidated by the giant toy. Sighing to himself, he advances, looking at the sign explaining the toy's history for those who are interested. Looking at the door he must open, he wastes no time in throwing his blue hand at it.
*Pffcchh !*
All this just so the fuse blows, attracting the blond's dark look, now he has to reconsider his opinion on Playtime's installations, moving up to the door with the word Power written above it, he tries to open it normally but Surprise! It's closed, which deeply annoys Smith.
"Great..." he grumbles, running a hand over his face. "And now what do I do?"
*Thing*
The noise naturally attracts his attention, raising his eyes he widens them to see a golden key swinging in Huggy Wuggy's hand, incredulous he stares at the key seriously wondering how it is that he didn't see it when he arrived, rubbing his eyes together he mutters under his breath.
"Did I miss it?" he wondered, genuinely curious to know if he really hadn't noticed the key because of his fear of the blue toy. Using his GrabPack, he grabbed the key, smiling slightly, and repeated the process, tapping the statue's raised hand. "Thank you, Huggy!"
Unlocking the door, he turns on his flashlight, observing the electrical system and also how to restart it.
"Well, now's the time to see if I have a future as an electrician," chuckled the blond.
Using the GrabPack to connect the poles together to restart the current, he jumped a little when he heard a door slam and remained frozen on the spot, straining his ear to hear something suspicious, then he finally attributed it to a draft. While he was doing this, he once again noticed broken toys on the ground, some dismembered with red stains, and yet another broken Boogie Bot leaking a pool of blackened juice.
"I'm just imagining things," he reassured himself, looking away as he finished his task. Turning back, he adjusted his cap. "It's not blood...and why would anyone..."
His feet turned icy cold, his heart pounded particularly hard, and his eyes stared blankly at the small scene now deserted of the blue furry toy that had been there just a few minutes ago. Slowly, he pressed his back against the wall, cold sweat trickling down his neck as his wide eyes looked around, wanting to know why that damn giant toy was no longer in its place!
"...is anyone here?" he said cautiously, placing his hand behind him as he inspected the ground for any signs of having moved the statue. "Hey! If anyone is here, come here!"
His scream echoed through the factory, even making a slight reverberation. Annoyed but more alert than ever, Andy tried to understand how such a huge toy could disappear like that. He reassured himself by saying that the key was in the lock, proving that it was indeed Huggy who gave it to him. Then he looked at the traces of blue fur still stuck to his GrabPack's hand, which proved to him that no, he hadn't imagined the large plush toy.
"Okay...there has to be a logical explanation...someone has to be here," he thought, opening the second door. "But why scare me?...it doesn't make any sense...or maybe Huggy just started walking, hehe."
Laughing at his own joke, he walks down the corridor, then his eyes widen as he sees a fluffy arm crawl along the wall and then disappear behind a door. For a few minutes he tries to deny what he has just seen, but in the end he has to admit that it is indeed Huggy's arm that he has just seen, as if to make him understand that he is there.
"By Zeus..." he murmured, feeling his mouth go dry.
His heart races and his palms become sweaty as he realizes that his quest for truth has just become stranger; anyone else would have turned back, but Andy is someone who doesn't give up even if it's the most logical choice to make.
He cautiously approached the door and paused for a moment because the front exit was blocked by life-size building blocks and the stairwell door was closed. What he noticed immediately was that someone had drawn on the sign with a pencil.
[Towards Hell]
Swallowing hard at the warning, he opened the dreaded door, raising his flashlight to illuminate the corridor. Advancing on tiptoe, he jumped at the hiss of steam escaping from the pipe. Blushing with shame, he continued to a sort of loading bay. The toys he found this time looked more normal than the others, so he didn't linger. Climbing a staircase, he came across a control panel as basic as the rest of the factory's equipment when he caught a glimpse of blue fur behind a panel that vanished when he turned his head. Taking a slow breath, the young man tried to control the fear that was engulfing him, but right now he couldn't understand what was happening. After pinching himself hard enough to make sure he wasn't dreaming, Andy reassured himself, telling himself he was just being stressed. to see things he imagines.
"If I find the one trying to scare me, I promise to punch him in the face," he hissed, staring at the red hand waiting for him at the other end of the room. "Alright, let's deal with that first."
While searching the room for the reels powering the grappling hook, Andy found a new cassette, this time yellow, remembering the player of the same color, he retraced his steps to look.
"Pff, Rich, where do they keep Huggy's boxes?"
"*sneering* I don't know, I couldn't tell you."
"Do you remember the last time maintenance cleaned this area?"
" Non"
"Exactly, nobody in that stupid company knows what they're doing. Oh, I swear, I haven't seen a single box in its place since they started flooding the warehouse with stuff for the orphanage."
"Certainly..."
"I understand, it's a good program and all that, in line with the brand image, but *sigh* It's hard to be happy about it when production is underway. We're worried because we can't find those darn Huggy boxes!"
" Rich..."
*Sigh* You're right, you're right. It's... It's for the orphans... I just wish there were fewer boxes. Anything less would be more bearable... Is that... is that a word you can say? "bearable"?
"It must not have been easy every day here," Andy thought, imagining the employee buried under a mountain of toys out of order. "Still, it's rather strange that the employees' conversations are monitored like that..."
Putting this information aside, he turned the grappling hook back on and retrieved the red hand, finally completing his GrabPack. At first, he wanted to turn back to open the still available door, but strangely, he was afraid of running into Huggy or the person who was lurking and trying to give him a heart attack. So, against his better judgment, he opened the conveyor belt passage. Taking a deep breath, he let himself slide all the way down until he arrived at a succession of corridors and unpowered electrical poles. After turning the power back on, the belt started rolling with him on it.
Along the way, a rather loud ringing pierced his ears and toy parts were dumped at his feet. All along the way, Andy remained on his guard, feeling as if he were being watched, and he did not want to be taken by surprise. Once he arrived at the end, he came upon the place he had been trying to reach.
The Little Factory.
Going down to the ground, Smith looked at the kind of small carousel designed to make toys for children visiting the factory on open days, another idea of Elliot Ludwig, the founder of Playtime. When he was little, his mother always spoke well of him, assuring everyone that he was so kind that he put everyone at ease just with his smile. It was a shame that a man like him died at home, and that, on top of that, the police found the dismembered body of a child in a bag. The case was quickly closed despite the pressure from the press at the time, but Andy never forgot it because that same day his mother came home looking dejected and just sat down on a chair and started to cry, understanding nothing other than the fact that his mother was sad. Andy hugged her as best he could.
"She must have really liked it," said the blond man, who saw that he had to play electrician again to get the factory working and obtain a toy to move forward.
While he was doing this, memories concerning his mother made him quite sad, ten years without knowing why she was no longer there, ten years wondering if she was still alive, ten years of anguish and doubt about what he could do to calm this pain that gnawed at his heart, his grandfather tried to change his mind or take him to see a shrink, all so that in the end he would end up admitting that he was locked in the past and that he was unable to move forward without answers, his little internal therapy was interrupted by his discovery of a new cassette, this time pink.
"I wonder how many there are..." he said to himself.
"So, Stella, what made you want to work at the Playtime Co. factory?"
"Stella?!" exclaimed the blond, suddenly raising his head towards the screen.
How could she forget her mother's best friend? In her memories, Stella was...a little strange, always dressed in a pink turtleneck sweater, her hair in a half-finished bun, glasses on the end of her freckled nose, apple green eyes and a permanent smile on her face. This woman was full of life and possessed an aura that children adored. It was as if Stella was a child trapped in an adult's body, which is very appropriate because of all the Playtime employees, she was the one who spent the most time with the children playing with them or making up songs.
His mother loved him very much and even invited him to their house a few times to have dinner together, but then they stopped seeing each other overnight and Andy now remembers that in the days following his mother seemed genuinely troubled, he sees her walking from right to left with her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed by a mixture of concentration and anger.
"Playing with toys when I was little was magical. I could go directly from my bedroom floor to anywhere in the world. It was an incredible feeling. And… being able to work in a toy factory… a place that gives children the same experience… That's really great too!"
"No doubt it's her..." Smith said to himself with an ironic smile; he could easily see her face and her awkward smile again.
Sometimes, though… I wish I could go back. To my childhood. And it's strange, because… adults are just older children! I don't think you ever really feel like an adult. But the body ages… more and more… and then you die. Poof! *Laughs*
He definitely recognizes the blonde girl's jokes there, honestly it must be one of the rare times when as a child he didn't laugh at a joke.
The human body cannot stay young forever. However, there are exceptions, like certain trees that can live much longer than a human being! In fact, the oldest people who have ever lived are even younger than them! So, I imagine we are all always young compared to something… Don't you think?
"Well, I think we're getting a little off-topic."
"Looking back, I realize that getting older must not have been easy for her," the young man concluded, picking up the cassette. "Actually, she reminds me of Peter Pan, hehe!"
Finishing his task, he went back downstairs to activate the small factory. Andy kept a hand against his ear while operating the levers. The noise of the machine was deafening, just like in his memories. Seeing a small CatBee coming towards him, the blond boy smiled happily as he took it in his hand.
"Hey...it would make a nice souvenir when I get back" he thinks as he places it on the pedestal which scans it, once finished he puts it back in his backpack and faces a new corridor plunged into darkness.
~No-dump!~
Something is wrong.
~No-dump!~
He doesn't know why...but he feels...or rather his whole body sends him a signal, he trembles on the spot, his eyes staring into the darkness and seeing...something move.
~No-dump!~
~No-dump!~
~No-dump!~
He retreats slowly at first, but soon he accelerates his movement as he listens to something resembling viscous drops of water falling to the ground a few meters in front of him; his heart pounds against his chest so hard that he doesn't hear the alarm going off at the worst possible moment!
Emerging from the darkness like a nightmare monster, Huggy Wuggy was no longer friendly; his smiling mouth now displayed a row of sharp teeth resembling those of a piranha. The drops of saliva falling from his hungry mouth were enough to make the human jump back, who at that moment no longer knew what to think of what he saw except that he was facing a creature that looked at him as if he were prey.
"W-wait!" he yells, raising his hand to stop. "St-stay there!"
Seeing that he continues to move forward, Andy repeats his request and he repeats it again, looking for a sign that this creature might not mean him harm.
"Hiiiiiiiuggg!"
The bestial growl was enough to convince Andy to imitate his distant ancestors and run to escape the danger.
"Shit !"
Running with all his might, he rushed into the only open door and hurtled down the conveyor belt. Once inside, Smith started running around frantically, wanting to put as much distance as possible between himself and this monster, which seemed to have found a way to pursue him through the conduits. Around a corner, behind a gate, he saw it crawling, which made Smith accelerate his pace. He screamed in fear as he fell in front of it, rushing down the right-hand side, not looking at the words written on the walls.
~NON!~
~TURN AROUND!~
~DANGER~
"Quick, quick!"
He never turned around despite the sound of metal banging behind him; fear made his body work like never before, helping him move faster, diving into the trapdoor in the floor and using all his techniques to run faster, then his heart almost gave out when a door closed right in front of him, cutting off the only way to escape Huggy.
"Damn it, no! No!" he growls, banging on the door which is starting to open too slowly, turning around he watches the monster slowly approach him and Andy doesn't think twice and slips under the opening.
A fluffy hand tries to grab him but the human is already sliding down a conveyor belt taking him away from the blue monster, at the end the metal door closes behind him, getting up he notices that he is on a high platform but his observations stop there when he hears the sound of metal being struck with all his might.
"Won't you leave me alone?!" yells the blond man, who starts running to the end of the footbridge, but stops when he sees there's nothing there. "No way!"
He doesn't have much time, judging by the dents on the door, Huggy is going to smash it in any moment and then Andy will have no choice but to hope that his Grabpack can do something even though honestly he doubts it.
"Damn it...!" grumbles the blond man as sweat trickles down his temples "it can't end like this!"
Then his blue eyes lifted, an enormous crate placed high up, without even thinking he threw his hands towards it and he started to pull.
The door gives way, the monster is already lunging at him, foaming at the mouth.
The crate falls in his path, the footbridge beneath his feet collapses under the weight.
They both fall one floor below.
"Hurf!" Andy shouts, landing on his stomach and thank goodness not on his family jewels. "Oh shit..."
Raising his head, he stumbled upon a disturbing sight for his brain, still quite shaken by what he had just experienced: Huggy Wuggy hanging from the footbridge, screaming in terror?
Her big eyes look in all directions and her movements release cries that sound far too much like calls for help, her small yellow hands try to grasp the railing but the absence of fingers and the material of her gloves just make her slip a little more.
Seeing that, Andy should have just let that monster go to teach him not to try and eat a Smith, then he met his gaze, what he did next was just instinctive.
Huggy slipped dangerously, falling almost into the void if a pair of human hands hadn't grabbed him at the last moment; his big black eyes watched in disbelief as the human's face twisted under the effort made not to let go, because his weight wasn't cotton, oh no!
"Hang on!"
It was illogical and surely the first sign of madness that he should explain to his shrink when he got home, but Andy didn't care at all. Squeezing the blue monster's wrists between his fingers, he pressed his feet against the railing and pulled sharply upwards, lifting the plush body over his head and throwing it onto the platform. Landing on his back, the human congratulated himself on still having breath after running a marathon and then achieving this feat. Getting up, Andy placed a hand against the railing to support his body, tired from the near-death experience he had just had. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his enemy, who was getting up and staring at him.
"...huf...huf you are...hufff...heavier than I would have thought...harf..." the blond panted, removing his cap to wipe his forehead, then he put it back on and carefully observed the creature in front of him.
Because yes, Andy can state without error that Huggy is not a robot, nor even a toy, because while he was trying to wind him up he managed to detect a pulse through his hand, which means that even if it sends his logical mind into depression, Smith has to recognize it, this giant toy is alive, and now he stares at it with a...suspicious pout? Yeah, he imagines that's it.
"Okay, can we talk now?" Andy asks softly, taking a step forward, but this makes his furry interlocutor growl, showing his teeth like a cat would; understanding the message, he steps back and prepares to speak.
~Brrrrrrrr~
Then he closed his mouth, believing once again that Huggy was angry with him, and then he saw how he seemed to withdraw into himself, raising an eyebrow, thinking back to his mouth dripping with drool a little earlier.
"Are you hungry?" The question made him sit up, staring cautiously at the human before he slowly nodded. "I see...will you answer my questions if I give you food?"
If someone had told him one day that he would be negotiating with a giant living toy, Andy would have had a good laugh.
After further confirmation from the blue Andy sat down and opened his backpack to take out his food, which he placed in front of him. Glancing at the toy's imposing stature, he added a larger portion. Once finished, he slowly slid the food towards him. No sooner had he finished than the furry monster took everything and began to gobble up the food with an eagerness that made the human slightly worried about the possibility of having to give Huggy mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
"Uh...try not to choke, okay?" he said softly, seeing the monster's throat tighten slightly.
Once his meal is finished, Huggy raises his thumb in a sign of thanks, surprising Andy a little, but mostly because he doesn't yet know what to expect. After all, it's normal that a million questions flood into his mind now that the fear has subsided. Huggy is the first real person who can give him answers, so it's normal that he's excited.
"First of all," he said, attracting the monster's attention, emptying a bottle of water and holding it like a baby bottle, "Can you speak?"
At that, his expression became more...frustrated? Then he shook his head negatively.
"Hmm, I see...so this is going to be a yes or no game," mused the blond boy, sitting cross-legged in front of Huggy, who did the same, also demonstrating how flexible he really was compared to a human. "Okay, so...?...did you attack me because you were scared?"
No
Yeah, he kind of suspected that, even with his GrabPack he doubts he can fight Huggy.
"...um...so you attacked me...because I came in?" Seeing her nod, Andy was quite pleased. "So it's because you're guarding the place...but why? Well, I understand, you just want to defend your house m-"
He stops when he sees Huggy's red lips fall while he growls strangely.
"Not a house..." a growl followed by a yes. "But then why are you staying here...wait...are you the only one here or...?"
No
So there are other living toys... huh, that's going to complicate his investigation.
"Good heavens... I thought it would be simple," he sighed, removing his cap to run a hand through his blond hair, revealing his pink fringe. He was quite surprised to feel his interlocutor's fluffy hand briefly caress his dyed locks, making him smile. "Do you like it? It's something I did on a whim, I just picked the color at random," he explained, while Huggy seemed lost in his caresses on his head.
Once more or less rested, Andy gets up and tries to ask the giant toy more questions, but as the questions become more focused on who he is or why he is there, he doesn't really answer anymore and looks elsewhere; his behavior reminds him a lot of cats when they don't want to play.
"So you're standing guard for someone," the human concluded, looking thoughtfully around the place while recalling earlier events. "And it's surely him keeping watch here; even the alarm from earlier was surely him, and if we're going down that road, there's a good chance it's the person who sent me the letter."
"Ghuuui?"
"Huh?" Turning his gaze towards his new friend, he jumped a little before revealing the reason for his visit. "I received this...well, my grandfather received this letter and now I..." He sighed, putting the paper back in his pocket and then took out an old photo from inside his jacket.
On it is the image of a young woman smiling broadly, with curly blond hair falling along her face down to that of the laughing little boy under her arm.
His fingers traced the lines of his mother's face as Huggy leaned closer to look, making a questioning noise while his eyes traveled between him and the photograph.
"That's my mother," he explains in a painful breath. "She worked here." He doesn't notice how the toy's body tenses at this information. "She was a nurse at Playcare." This noticeably relaxes Huggy Wuggy. "Then she disappeared ten years ago...with everyone else...nobody remembers her except me and Grandpa...you know, I...I know there's no chance she's still alive after all this time, but...I have to be sure."
Wiping away the tears that streamed down his chin, the young man tried to calm his sadness, but it was harder when he realized he had come here with little hope of seeing her alive again, of finding a body, or just something that would explain why she was no longer there... Andy just wanted to know because she was his mother, damn it! Why would he need another reason?
He was greatly surprised to feel a fluffy body embrace him, after being hunted and seeing his dark side, Smith should have trembled with fear at being so close to the monster, but for some reason he didn't know he felt his loneliness respond to his own, as if the two could understand each other despite the difference between their species.
"Hmm...thank you Huggy," said the blond boy kindly, returning the hug. "...wow...I think you're the softest and most comfortable thing I've ever met in my life."
The noise that followed this sentence resembled a snicker...or a cat hissing happily.
Once the tears had dried, the duo separated and Andy realized that his new friend was retracing his steps to fulfill his duty.
"Hey!" Huggy turns to the human with a curious look. "When I'm done here, do you want to come with me?"
The question froze the monster in place and his iconic smile wavered.
"It won't be easy, but my grandfather owns a farm far from everything. You'd be happy there, if you want to come, that is." Seeing that this only confused the monster, the blond boy explained, "Listen, I don't know why you're staying here, but living here all alone in the dark isn't what I call a life... Don't you want to go out?" There was no answer, but in his eyes shone something he recognized as hope, though it flickered beneath a sea of doubt. "You'll tell me what you decide when I get back," concluded the human, waving goodbye. "See you later, Huggy."
Turning around, he didn't see the plush monster staring at him, gently raising his hand, he said goodbye and went back up to stand guard...all the while praying that the human would make it out alive.
A little further on, Andy continued walking cautiously, now having every reason to believe that something much darker than he imagined was hidden. First, the complete disappearance of all the employees in a single day; a factory closed for ten years yet still operating; a giant toy standing guard that enjoyed hunting humans. Just thinking about it made him shudder with terror, thanking his lucky stars that Huggy hadn't caught it sooner. Yet its behavior intrigued him even more. Why stand guard here? The factory was abandoned, so there was no reason for it to stay. Besides, if Huggy wasn't doing this for fun, then that would mean someone was running the place, wouldn't it?
"Questions...more and more questions," muttered the blond man, folding the arms of the GrabPack behind his back while gazing into the distance at his final destination, a huge flower painted on the wall making it particularly visible. "Hopefully I'll find an answer there."
On the way he found a new video cassette, and being ever more curious with each discovery, the young man put it in the player and listened to one of the most bizarre...and frightening recordings in the world.
Final journal entry . Related: 1-0-0-6. The prototype.
"Coordination and cooperation are obviously part of its capabilities, as well as those of all other experiences of its kind."
"Although he is still listed as missing, today's events are undoubtedly linked to him."
"His absence was a flaw in the scientific process, which should in no way have been overlooked."
"That's why I'm keeping this journal: so that the same mistake isn't repeated twice."
(Screams and blows in the background)
"All future experiments must be contained and disposed of in a secure location."
"I'm not worried about myself. One breakthrough and I'll be back. We must move forward in the name of science. Whether those below us understand that or not. The end…"
"...experiments..." said the young man in a trembling voice, glancing back as he recalled his last encounter with Huggy. His eyes widened as he grasped the true nature of the blue monster. "So it wasn't even an accident? They...they were doing this here...but why? And who is this Prototype?..."
The mere thought that this place could have been used for experiments worthy of Frankenstein made his stomach churn. Did that mean they created Huggy? But why? Why would anyone want to create a giant, man-eating toy in a factory just to use it as a guard dog? It really made no sense. Yet Andy was going to write it all down in his journal because if the worst were to happen to him, then at least there would be proof of what was going on here.
Logbook, August 8, 2005
I entered the Playtime Co factory after receiving a strange letter and a promotional Poppy cassette. The letter claimed that the missing employee was still in the factory, although I doubt it. As soon as I entered, I immediately noticed signs that something was not normal: the electricity was still on despite the factory having been closed for ten years. I think that the person who sent the letter is also the one who is still running the factory, although I don't know why, nor why they wanted to bring my grandfather here.
Very quickly I was confronted with yet another mystery, toys broken or dismembered in a sordid way and all with traces of blood that seem to come from them, at first I thought it was something else but I am now sure that the toys were killed...which means that the Playtime toys are alive even if it may seem crazy.
This turned out to be true because what I thought was a Huggy Wuggy statue was actually a living creature that chased me through the ventilation ducts; I really thought my last hour had come, but by a stroke of luck I got out.
Along the way, I ended up saving Huggy from a fatal fall because... I don't know why, but something in his eyes twisted my heart and compelled me to save him. As I suspected, Huggy was very much alive and extremely hungry. The rascal devoured what I gave him in seconds. He couldn't speak, but with a little patience, I eventually learned that he was standing guard here, and all for someone. Who? I don't know yet, but my suspicions point to the mysterious person who invited me here.
We parted ways even though I offered to leave here, after all there was no reason to leave him all alone in the dark forever, on my way back I found a video cassette in which a man explains that a certain Prototype or experiment 1066 was the key to their research, I still don't know what he means but there is no doubt in my mind that Playtime created Huggy Wuggy and if the Prototype is number 1006 it means that I am not at the end of my troubles with this place.
Honestly, I'm terrified, and I admit that coming here without a plan or backup must have been a stupid idea, but what can you do? I'm the kind of person who follows my instincts. Yet I move forward with the certainty that I'll regret it if I ever turn back. Anyway, I can't go back without proof, otherwise I'll surely look like a fool, so I'm going to continue even if it's surely dangerous. If you ever find this journal, please return it to Gabriel Smith.
~Andy Smith~
Once finished, he set off again until he reached the place he'd seen in the video. The sight of the hanging, dismembered toys gave him mixed feelings. Were they alive too? Are all the toys at Playtime alive? And who wrote all those warnings on the wall? Thinking about it, those messages written in pencil were the same ones he'd seen during his escape through the vents. Does that mean someone knows and is trying to warn him about the dangers that await him?
"Come on Andy," he said, summoning his courage once he reached the door, "You didn't come this far to give up now!"
Finally opening the door, he discovered once again that the person who built this place really liked to do whatever they wanted, advancing cautiously down a long corridor that reminded him a lot of a house, especially the wooden floor which really has no place in a factory.
"...who makes corridors this long?" wonders the blond man, absentmindedly drinking from his water bottle as he enters a kind of small living room divided in two by a wooden wall. In one corner, he looks at a dollhouse he easily recognizes. "Poppy's house! Wow! I remember! That thing is worth a fortune; kids would fight over them at yard sales."
He was far too young to have known the Poppy wave, although during his childhood he had his own range of Playtime toys given by his mother, what struck him was seeing the products related to their first success, namely Poppy, being targeted by collectors, he particularly remembers a woman who bought a set of little shoes for a hundred dollars because it was a perfectly preserved limited edition and rejoiced as if she had just won the lottery.
Laughing heartily at this memory, Andy resumed his walk while listening to the little tune floating in the air which reminded him of the melody of a music box. Once he arrived in front of the double doors, he took a long breath before cautiously opening them. Glancing inside, the young man was once again surprised by what he discovered.
A really strange room, a toy chest in the corner on the right, a table with a crumpled tablecloth, a red chandelier with a rotating function judging by how the shadows in the room move, and right in the center of it all a display case with one of the most famous toys in the world inside.
Poppy
Finally, it's a life-size version of the toy that must reach her knees; observing it carefully, Andy felt amazed by so much realism and perfection; her little red pigtails and her white doll face coupled with her blue dress make her absolutely adorable; no wonder all the girls in the world are crazy about her.
Scanning the room, Smith finally stared at the locked doll with a more critical eye; after his encounter with a living toy, he was much more inclined to believe he was looking at a locked-up person. That, plus the decapitated toys and warning messages, should discourage him from opening the box.
Except that Andy Smith is much more stubborn than cautious.
"Let's hope I don't unleash a Chucky," he jokes, placing his hand on the wrist and pulling with all his might.
The door finally opened, he barely had time to see the doll's eyes open before the ceiling light went out, then in the dimness he heard a soft voice tell him.
"You opened my box"