#THE KIDS ARE SLEUTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

[randomwriteronline]

THE INK DEMONTH - DAY 10: SHINE

Coming over to the Studios at night to look for clues and secrets had not been their smartest decision, and while Dot didn’t seem to be regretting it, stubborn as she was, Buddy was very much wishing they had stayed at home.

It was one thing sitting in the Studios during the day, with a cascade of people running and chattering about, records being played, music creeping around from under the floorboards, reels turning noisily, pens scratching away at sheets of paper and tapewriters ringing tirelessly.

But when the place was emptied of all life, it was terrifying.

The wood creaked whether you touched it or not, with a kind of ghastly whimpering sound, and the slow flow of the ink in the pipes sometimes caused a rumble not unlike the empty stomach of a beast.

Somewhere far away, a minuscule leak sent chilling a drip... ... drip... ... drip... ...

The little golden ray offered by Dot’s flashlight illuminated only a small circle in the total darkness sorrounding them.

Daniel held onto her hand tight.

“I don’t like this,” he murmured, “I don’t like this at all.”

His friend gritted her teeth: “I know,” she whispered back, “But we’re close to something, I can feel it.”

“Can’t we get close to it tomorrow, when there’s still some light, maybe?”

“Then there would be too many people and it would be easier for it to escape!”

“It would be easier for us to escape, too...”

The metal bindings of a pipe groaned loudly and Dot shivered, squeezing his palm hard by accident. Despite the brief pain and his own fear, her friend squeezed it back comfortingly, putting a hand on her shoulder as if ready to yank her away in the case something emerged from the shadows.

“That is a good point.” she whispered.

Suddenly, their ears caught the weak gneek... gneek... of a bolt being fastened a few corridors down from where they had stopped.

There wasn’t anyone else in the building other then them.

Or was there?

Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back; and the two were now too intrigued to listen fully to their fear pulling at their shirts in a frenzy to get them out of that haunted house ride, and with as soft a step as they could muster they hurried towards the quiet noise which was growing not only louder, but also brighter, as they approached. They hid behind a corner, flashlight turned off to blend with the shadows better as they realized they had no plan whatsoever on what to do next, but it was already too late: the sound stopped, a light appeared pointing right at them, and neither could contain a scream.

Neither could their assailant, apparently, as they flailed and tripped, startled, making their light fall with a horrible rockus similar in part to a vase breaking and yelling out: “Oh, crap!”

Shielding the animator with her body, Dot turned her flashlight back on: hazel eyes shied away from the sudden light as it revealed a man on the floor with a miserable looking potted plant in a mess of dirt sprea across the floor.

“Mr. Franks?” Buddy called out, confused, arms still tight around the writer’s waist to whisk her away should have danger arisen.

The janitor pursed his lips and sunk his head in his shoulders: “... No?” he tried sheepishly, making absolutely no effort to mask his unmistakable voice and accent even in the slightest.

“What are you doing here at this time of night?” Dot asked, puzzled.

Wally babbled a couple confused words before asking back: “What are you two doing here at this time of night?”

The young woman bit her lip: “Pppprivate investigation,” she answered vaguely.

“We’re-” her friend explained as he watched the other man pale, “We’re looking for weird things that might be happening here.”

“Ah!” the janitor seemed relieved. He turned to estimate the damage and dirt covering the floorboards: “Well, I- I was just making sure the pipe didn’t burst, and that’s... I mean, that’s normal, no?”

“In the middle of the night?” Dot argued, Daniel adding: “With a potted plant?”

“It’s- The plant is, it’s for my flat!”

“And you brought it here?”

“Or are you stealing it from the Studios?”

Wally fidgeted with his hands nervously.

“Alright, listen- Listen, you’re, you should not be here at this time, ok? Drew could get real mad. But I’m not saying anything, ‘cos you’re nice kids, ok? But you don’t say anything about me either, alright?”

The slightly younger two nodded quietly, and he exhaled with a defeated grimace: “I live here,” he explained, “Mr. Polk helped me out a bit, and I live here. Got myself a little place a bit down in the levels from here, and I live there. You can’t tell anybody, ok? Or I’ll be in big trouble ‘cos I don’t think this is, you know... Legal and all? And I can’t really - you understand? - go somewhere else.”

“I don’t think anybody would believe us anyways,” Buddy assured him. Dot nodded: “If it was... You know... Then it would sound plausible, but, yeah, since it’s you it sounds like a tall tale.”

The janitor sighed in relief and stood up, salvaged plant in one hand and flashlight in the other: “Thank you, seriously. ... Now get outta here!” he said with a silly voice reminiscent of an old hillbilly: “Yer on my lawn!”

The two laughed as they bid him goodnight and left quickly, climbing back out of the window Dot had purposefully left open that evening.

“Well, we did find something,” she concluded, satisfied.

“And it didn’t kill us!” Daniel pointed out, eliciting a laugh from her.

“Yes, that’s definitely a plus!”

#Bendy and the Ink Machine #the ink demonth #daniel lewek #buddy #dot #wally franks #random draws #random writing #THE KIDS ARE SLEUTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG