At night, a young female teen wearing a black tank top, blue jeans, a bracelet on her right wrist, and tennis shoes with a backpack was sprinting on the sidewalk, tears pricking her eyes. "I can't go back to that place... I can't..." she said, lowly.
(Flashback Begins)
At an orphanage, the teen was walking toward the bathroom in her pajamas. Before she entered, she heard a voice. "So what do we do about Michelle Mercia?" she froze a bit.
Michelle turned her head to the living room. The caretakers are talking about me, she thought before sneaking toward it. Michelle leaned against the wall. "I mean... she'll be eighteen in six months," the male caretaker said. "What can we do in this situation?"
The female caretaker sighed. "Unfortunately, we have to follow protocol once an orphan turns eighteen," she said. "When she ages out, she has to leave the orphanage and defend herself."
The male caretaker nodded. "I'm well aware, but... is there really nothing we could do?" he asked. The female caretaker shook her head. "Unfortunately, no... once she turns eighteen, she's legally an adult. We have to send her on the streets," she said. Michelle was devastated. How could they... she thought before sneaking away.
(Flashback Ends)
Michelle shook her head. "No matter where I go... something bad always happens," she said. Soon after, Michelle stopped running and tried catching her breath before looking at her bracelet.
It was made of purple beads that said 'BFF K&K'. "Kevin... Katelynn... I wish you were here with me..." Michelle said as she cried. A raindrop landed on Michelle's shoulder, which made her look at it. "I'll need to find some shelter soon," she said.
As Michelle looked around, she was shocked to see the Playtime Co. Toy Factory in the distance. Michelle stared at the factory. "To think I would see this again," she said before running toward it.
Soon after, Michelle entered the factory and closed the door behind her. As Michelle tried to catch her breath, she looked forward and saw the lobby. Michelle walked forward. "I haven't been in this place for so long..." she said. "What happened to it?"
When Michelle reached the desk, she spotted a green VHS tape. Michelle picked up the tape and examined it. "Where did this come from?" she asked herself. As Michelle looked around the area, she spotted a green VHS player in the corner of the room.
Michelle approached the VHS player and put the tape inside it. Soon after, the screen above Michelle turned on, and she looked at it. "Hi, my name is Leith Pierre," the voice on the TV said.
Michelle turned her head away as the tape continued. "Leith Pierre... if I remember correctly, he's head of innovations after Elliot Ludwig passed away," she said.
"If you're seeing this, then you're trespassing," Leith said, which made Michelle flinch and look at the TV. "Yeah, we play this little tape on a loop whenever we close the factory for the day."
Michelle panicked a bit. "So, trespasser, just to make you aware... while we pride ourselves primarily on our high-quality toys and excellent childcare, we also pride ourselves on our security," Leith continued.
Michelle looked around. "For example, this facility is full of hidden motion triggers which, once set off, will turn on the factory's emergency alarms and directly contact the authorities," Leith said. "And... that's one of the more tame aspects of our security system; no spoilers!"
Michelle backed away a bit. "So, you've got my warning," Leith said. "It's not too late to turn around. I just hope that you're certain whatever you're doing is worth it."
When the TV screen turned off, Michelle was scared. "All I wanted was shelter... not this," she said before turning away and running toward the front. When Michelle reached for the door, she stopped momentarily. "Hang on..." she said, lowly.
Michelle turned away from the door. "I remember from a news article that the factory suddenly shut down in August 1995," she continued. Michelle looked around. "About two and a half years have passed, and it looks like it's abandoned..." she said.
Michelle looked at her bracelet and placed her hand over it. "Maybe... maybe they're still inside the factory," she continued. Michelle clenched her fists, determined. "If that's the case, I'm going to find them and get them out of here," she said.
Michelle walked toward the security room. "I'll need to see if I can find anything useful in the security room," she continued. When Michelle reached the door, she noticed a colorful keypad code. "Damn, I need a code," she said.
As Michelle walked away from the door, she crossed her arms. "Let's see... if I were an employee of this company, how could I obscure the code to the security door?" she asked herself.
Michelle looked at the gift shop. "I would probably hide it in the gift shop," she said before walking toward the room. As Michelle entered the gift shop, she looked around the area. "Nothing so far..." she said, lowly.
Michelle heard a train whistle, which made her look up. Michelle spots a train suspended in midair spinning around the room. "This place looks abandoned, and yet you still work," she said.
As Michelle examined the train, she noticed the colors on each piece and the arrows pointing left on the carts. Michelle realized something. "Red, yellow, pink, green... that's the code for the door," she said before leaving the gift shop.
When Michelle reached the security door, she pressed the colors on the keypad in order, unlocking the door. Michelle pumped her fist in the air. "Let's fuckin' go!" she shouted before flinching and covering her mouth. "Still forgot about the security stuff..."
Michelle entered the room and looked around. "There's got to be something useful in here," she said. When Michelle looked forward, she saw a TV with a blue VHS player and a device encased in the wall.
Michelle looked at the device. "If that's what I think it is, that's going to be useful," she said before walking forward. Next to the computer, Michelle spotted a blue VHS tape, which made her take it and put it in the VHS player.
Soon after, the TV turned on and played an instructions video for the device in the case, a GrabPack. Michelle looked at the GrabPack. "It's been a while since I've used one of these things; hopefully, I'm not too rusty," she said before looking at the video.
After the video finished playing, the GrabPack case opened, prompting Michelle to grab it. Michelle took her backpack off. "I can't have both of these on my back," she said before putting the GrabPack on.
After Michelle had made adjustments, she noticed the GrabPack only had a blue hand, which slightly annoyed her. "Well, that's just great; how am I supposed to do things without the red hand?" she asked rhetorically.
Michelle sighed. "Whatever..." she said before grabbing her backpack and walking toward the door. "Let's just find my friends." After leaving the security room, Michelle jumped over the turnstiles and looked at the door.
When Michelle looked up, she spotted a blue hand scanner. Michelle looked at the blue hand on her GrabPack before aiming it at the scanner. "Let's see if this works," she said before pulling the trigger.
Soon after, the blue hand shot toward the scanner, which made Michelle smile. "Sweet," she said. After the scanner finished scanning the blue hand, the shutters opened.
Michelle retracted the blue hand back. "Looks like you're gonna be very useful," she said before walking forward.
When Michelle entered the lobby, she was shocked to see an 18-foot-tall statue of a creature with blue fur, cartoonish bright red lips, and large black dilated eyes wearing a thin blue bowtie.
Michelle approached the statue. "To think I would get to see Huggy Wuggy again..." she said. "He looks just like how I remembered him all those years ago." Michelle smiled. "I used to say hi to the statue all the time, and—" she remembered something. "Oh, that's right!"
Michelle unzipped her backpack and pulled out her Huggy Wuggy plush. "I still have your plush," she continued.
Michelle also pulled out a pink plush similar to Huggy Wuggy. "I even have a Kissy Missy plush as well," she said before looking at the plushies. "Even though Doey is my favorite out of all of the toys, you guys are my second favorite..."
As Michelle looked at the statue, she sighed. "It's not like I'm gonna get a response out of an inanimate object," she said before putting the plushies back in her bag and zipping it. "I just need to find my friends again."
After Michelle picked her bag up, she looked at the statue's hand before grinning a bit and pulling the trigger. The blue hand gave the statue a high five, which made Michelle giggle. "I always wanted to do that when I was little," she continued.
As Michelle looked around the room, she spotted a door with a blue hand scanner and a red hand scanner, which made her groan. "I guess I'm not going there for a while," she said.
Michelle turned to the left and spotted a blue hand scanner, which made her smile. "But I can go through there," she continued before pulling the trigger.
As the blue hand touched the scanner, it short-circuited. "Or not..." Michelle said before sighing. "Well, that's just great; what now?"
Michelle spotted a power room. "Maybe I can rewrite the power," she said before walking toward it. Michelle tried opening the door, but it was locked. "Damn, I need a key," she said.
Michelle heard a key jingle, which surprised her and made her turn to the back. Michelle looked at the statue and spotted the key in its hand.
Michelle pulled the trigger, launching the blue hand toward it and grabbing the key. "I'll, uh, be taking that, Mr. Huggy," she said before pulling the trigger again, retracting it back.
Michelle grabbed the key from the blue hand before putting it in the lock and twisting it, which unlocked the door. When Michelle entered the power room, she looked around. "Now, how to get you back on?" she asked herself.
Michelle spotted an electric pole near the door. "Something tells me I need to wrap the cables around these electric poles," she said before walking forward.
When Michelle circled the room, she spotted an electric output unit covered by a door. "That must be the power source," she said before pulling the trigger.
The blue hand grabbed the handle and pulled on it, which tore the door off its hinges. "Hopefully, I won't get charged with property damage," Michelle said.
Michelle pulled the trigger, launching the blue hand and touching the outlet, which lit the cable. "Now, wrap this around the electric poles," she continued before backing away.
After Michelle wrapped the cable around two electric poles, the power went back on, which made her smile. "Sweet!" she shouted before walking toward the door. "Let's get to that scanner."
When Michelle left the power room and looked forward, she was shocked to see that the statue had disappeared.
Michelle rubbed her eyes and looked at the podium again, but the statue was still gone. "Did I imagine the statue being there?" she asked herself before placing her hand against her head. "It could also be that I'm sleep-deprived..."
Michelle shook her head before walking toward the enclosed door with the blue scanner. "It doesn't matter; I still have friends to find," she said before pulling the trigger.
The blue hand shot toward the scanner, which made the machine scan it. Soon after, the scan finished, and the shutters opened.
Michelle looked at the sign reading 'Make-A-Friend' as the blue hand retracted. "That sounds like a cute name," she said before walking forward.
Halfway through the hallway, Michelle's blood ran cold when she saw a long blue arm pull itself into a room before the farthest door closed.