The Ink Demonth 15
Today's theme is Sacrifice.
Against the Clock time again!
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Sometimes I had nightmares about being sacrificed.
Okay, it was more than sometimes. I had nightmares about being sacrificed a lot. At first I'd just assumed that they were the result of my almost permanent anxiety about what might happen if I didn't manage to keep Joey on the straight and narrow. But given how frequently i had them, I was beginning to wonder if maybe there was something more to it than that.
My most frequent nightmare went as follows.
I "woke up" on the same sort of metal table that the Boris in chapter 1 was found on, bound by my wrists and ankles, with my hands over my head.
"What... What's going on?" I asked, my voice quavering as I began to struggle against my restraints.
I was in the ink machine room, which only made me even more scared. There was a cart with surgical instruments to the side, as well as a syringe with what had to be ink. The syringe of ink just made me struggle harder, but the restraints were too strong.
"You've been a very bad girl, haven't you, Faye?" Joey's voice came from the doorway.
My attention immediately snapped in that direction and my breathing sped up.
Joey stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He wore what looked like a butcher's apron and rubber gloves that went up to his elbows. Not a good sign. Definitely not a good sign.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," I tried to insist.
Joey clicked his tongue in what seemed to be disapproval, crossing the room to put a finger on my lips.
"Don't lie to me now," he said. "I know you've been snooping around, sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." He leaned in close, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "You know, I really liked you, Faye. You were a good secretary. It's a shame I have to do this."
Then he pulled away, turning his attention to the surgical instruments.
"You don't have to do this!" I started struggling again, practically hyperventilating. "I won't tell anyone, I promise!"
"I'm afraid I can't take that risk," Joey said as he picked up the syringe. "But look on the bright side! You'll be able to spend more time with that abomination!"
So this was about the Ink Demon. Of course it was. A part of me couldn't help but wonder how he'd figured it out, but it didn't really matter. What mattered was that Joey had found out and now... I was going to end up an ink creature.
"I already have an Alice," Joey continued, approaching with the syringe. "But I could always use another one. And who knows? Maybe you'll turn out differently!"
"Please, Joey," I begged, tears beginning to well up in my eyes. "You don't have to do this. I don't want to die."
"You won't die," Joey assured me before adding, "Probably. You seem strong. I'm sure you'll survive it." He smiled gently, cradling my face with his free hand. "This is the kinder option, Faye. It's a gift. I'm going to make you something wonderful."
Before I could argue further, he was pressing the needle into my neck. And my whole body erupted in white hot agony. I was vaguely aware that Joey was saying something, but I couldn't hear him over my screaming. My vision went black, and the next thing I knew... I was being dropped into liquid. But strangely... I could breathe.
Suddenly, I was seeing the same thing I saw in the game when Henry died. That tunnel of swirling ink and the voices all around me, muffled and distorted. I knew I needed to get to the end of that tunnel. So, I started moving forward. I wasn't sure how I was moving, but I didn't question it. I just needed to get to the end of the tunnel.
When my vision returned, I was laying on the floor, staring up at Joey's face.
"Interesting," Joey murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I wasn't expecting that."
"What... What did you do to me? What happened?" I whimpered. My voice sounded, strange. Not like my own.
My body didn't feel right. It felt too... loose.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" Joey held up a hand mirror, revealing...
The face of a cartoon. Pie cut eyes, a round face, and a noodle-like limbs. My breathing began to speed up again. I started to pull at my skin, at my limbs. It stretched cartoonishly before bouncing back. It didn't even hurt. Everything felt wrong. It didn't feel like me anymore.
I started screaming again.
"Don't worry," Joey assured me with a smile. "You turned out much better than that copy of Bendy. I'll take good care of you."
That was always when I woke up.
It was the most frequent nightmare I had, and part of me was starting to wonder if it was some kind of premonition of what was to come. Joey hadn't created the Ink Demon yet, but... maybe he still would. After all, I'd failed to keep Henry from staying at the studio. Henry had still left. Maybe the Ink Demon would still come to pass.
It certainly wasn't helping with my anxiety, that was for sure.
I was trying not to act any differently around Joey, but I was getting a little jumpy and he'd noticed.
"Are you alright, Faye?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned.
I hesitated, weighing the possibility of lying. Probably better to tell a half truth. I didn't think I could handle a big lie at this point.
"I've just been having a lot of nightmares lately," I admitted after a moment.
Joey gave me a sympathetic smile. "Me too," he said, reaching over to pat my hand.
"You too?" I raised an eyebrow.
Joey laughed. "What? Do I not seem the sort to have nightmares?"
"Not exactly," I said.
"Well, I do," Joey replied. "On the bright side, I think they've given me the idea for a new character!"
"Silver linings, i guess," I laughed as well. "Can I see it?"
"Of course!" Joey grinned, before producing a folded up piece of paper.
As he unfolded it, my blood ran cold. There, on the paper, was a perfect recreation of the cartoon I saw in my nightmares. That was me. That was my cartoon version from my nightmare.
"What do you think?" Joey asked. "She reminds me of you, in a way. Maybe you could even voice her!"
"That sounds great." I smiled nervously. "How thoughtful of you."
"Maybe you and Susie could even sing together!" Joey continued. "I'll have to ask Sammy to spend some time with you to see what works best with your voice."
As he kept talking, I tried to keep my internal panic from leaking out. This couldn't be happening. He'd seen my cartoon version from my nightmare somehow. That shouldn't be possible. But he'd seen it. And he wanted to include it in the show.
...I needed to ask Dominic about this when I got home.
This had to mean something.
And I didn't like what it might be.





















