Uncaged

Escape

"Un, deux, TROIS!"
Quick as a shot, the blade sliced through the chamber.
BANG!
The chamber shook with shrilly laughter.
Millie opened her eyes, trembling. Her breath was shaking, her vision blurry, as adrenaline pumped through her veins.

I'm...I'm alive?

She froze. She couldn't move. She could only shiver, hyperventilating. Panic and relief battled for dominance in her mind. She shifted her gaze up above her, to the pair of eyes, which were still looking away from her.

The laughter continued, piercing her ears with inescapable chaos. A whimper escaped her lips, but it was lost in the sound of the bear's cackling.

She shut her eyes tightly, covering her ears with her fists. Finally, the pair of bright, blue eyes rolled back to look at her again.
The laughter stopped.
"Well, I didn't expect you to be in one piece when I looked back at ya!" The voice seemed a bit deeper, and somewhat more menacing.
Millie's heart dropped.
"You're a bright girl, aren't you? Well, no matter! We can call that our little test run. Sorry if I disappointed you, cupcake."
Millie gasped for air, and she realized just how much she was crying. Her sleeves were stained with tears in the area's she'd covered her eyes with, and her face was wet.
"We can always try again!"

Suddenly, an idea popped in her mind.

"Wait, wait!" Her small, shaky voice cracked.

"Yes, my dear?" The bear sounded impatient now. Millie noticed one of its eyes twitch.

"Grandpa will come in here eventually, you know. If...if you kill me, he'll definitely notice the...the mess..." she gulped, trying to shake the imagery out of her mind. "And...he'll get rid of you. Or worse!" She tried to speak as loud as she could, but her fear seemed to quiet her words.

The animatronic squinted its eyes for a moment, seemingly in thought.
"Hmm...you sure are thoughtful. Although that may be true, in the hypothetical situation that I did let you go, you'd surely run off and tell that grandpa of yours. We can't have you doing that, now. To kill you would be more beneficial, as it would have the same outcome, but your greatest wish will be fulfilled!" The voice paused to chuckle. "You and I both would be much more satisfied."

Millie noticed that the voice seemed a bit nervous now. Just slightly so. She was sure now that it was capable of human thought and intelligence....was it, perhaps, sentient, too? She couldn't tell. Whatever it was, her instinct told her it lacked any sort of empathy.

"Please," she needed to find a way to convince her captor, but she wasn't sure how. "I...I promise I won't tell. I don't want to die. You don't want to go back, or be dumped out or whatever...please, I want to live." Another wave of tears rushed down Millie's face as she begged for her release. She wished she could find the right words to reason with the voice surrounding her. She wanted to get better. She wanted to live. She wanted to be a better person.

She looked back up, and the pair of eyes was staring at her, piercing the darkness with pale blue light. The animatronic seemed like it was contemplating her offer. Maybe, somehow she had hit a weak spot. Millie remembered how the bear had told her that it had sat in that scrapyard, alone, collecting dust...maybe it really, really didn't want to go back there.

She heard a rumble and a gust of air, and realized it had released a puff of steam—its way of sighing?

"I...I know you said you've been bored out of your...nonexistent...skull. I know you can find a better hobby than...than killing people," Millie felt a twinge of hope in her chest as the animatronic squinted at her. "I mean, that's a pretty risky hobby isn't it? You'd be found out eventually, wouldn't you?"

The bear rolled its eyes, and the chamber rumbled around her slightly. With the bud of hope blossoming in her mind, her tears came to a stop. Her hands trembled as she sat up, pulling her knees to her chest.

Waiting in silence for a response, Millie thought of her grandpa, and wondered if she'd live to see him again. She wondered how he felt now. He'd always cared so deeply for her, why ever had she disrespected him? She didn't know. She thought of her parents in Saudi Arabia. She knew they loved her. They did their best to take care of her, even if they were embarrassing. She didn't want to die for her mistakes, she wanted to live to make up for them.

The silence between the two buzzed in Millie's ears with anticipation.

"You're quite the ungrateful girl, aren't you?" The voice hissed. Did she finally hit a nerve with it? "You're finally getting what you want and it's not good enough for you."

Millie ignored the insult—or rather, the criticism—and tried again.
"You know you don't want to go back there. You know they might even disassemble or crush you. You don't want that. Please..." her voice cracked.

The chamber rumbled, and a grunt-like sound came from the bear. Millie's heart raced in her chest, pounding against her ribcage, like a little bird trapped in confinement solely for the entertainment of a stronger being; how she felt in here now.

"You know what? I'll let you go," it mumbled, "but don't make me regret it. You know perfectly well what I can do if you get me in trouble, lamb chop."

She lifted her head up. She couldn't believe it. Was she hearing this right? Was that really all it took to convince the animatronic to let her go?

So, it did have some sort of sentience. She noted that down in her mind.

But just what was this thing? It had intelligence, and more likely than not, sentience. Was it artificial? Was it real? Was that even possible?

Silence. The eyes rolled back out of the chamber, and Millie heard a click. She tried the door with her feet again, and it budged slightly, allowing a ray of dim light to shine through the darkness. She gasped. The hinges were rusted, which caused some resistance, but she battled against the hinges with all of the strength she had in her thin, numb legs.

Millie finally kicked the door open, and light poured into the chamber, illuminating the mechanic parts surrounding her. She scrambled, throwing herself out of her cage. Suddenly, her vision blurred, and she met the cold concrete with a smack. The last thing she heard before her vision faded to pitch black was a shrilly, metallic chuckle sounding from behind her.