Uncaged

Good Morning!

Millie awoke to the sound of mechanic whirring, a low buzz standing out against the silence in the room and the sound of wind outside—a hum? Disoriented, she rolled onto her back, grunting. The humming stopped.

"Good morning, Silly Millie! Forget how to walk? You took quite the tumble there."

Millie decided to ignore the comment and sat up, looking to where the voice came from. As soon as she saw the dingy animatronic bear, memories from earlier events flooded her conscious. She noticed just how dry her mouth felt now...how long had she been out?

"You...were you...humming?" Millie rubbed the fatigue from her eyes, her mind foggy. "I didn't know you could do that."

The bear's smile faltered slightly. Its eyes seemed to pierce into her soul for a few moments, something  taking over its expression...Longing? It seemed to be remembering something from deep in the past...the bear seemed to notice her staring, though, and quickly went back to its prior expression, a toothy grin plastered onto its face.

"Of course. Who can't? Anyhow," she noticed how it switched the subject. Weird, she thought. "I was wondering when you'd finally awake. I thought for a second you'd knocked yourself out!" It stopped to chuckle. "That would be quite a sight, wouldn't it? After all of that prior struggling and begging..."

"I'm fine, I just fainted is all...I think." Millie mumbled, rubbing her head where she'd hit it when she fell. She felt a slight bump on the sore spot, the same kind of ache that pulsated through her arms and legs where she'd landed. "Uh....do you know the time?" She asked, standing up and brushing herself off, as she looked around for a clock.

"I don't have a clue what the time is, silly. It's still night, I believe."

Millie stared at the door, and she was hit with a wave of thoughts about her family. Grandpa must've been worried sick at this point. Just how long had she been away? Sure, she had wanted to get away from her family, but she didn't want them to feel worried. Guilt invaded her mind, a weight on her chest that grew heavier the more she thought about it.

"Don't be so worried. You know, your family can't file a missing person report until 24 hours have passed since your disappearance," the animatronic pointed out, "you have some time."

Millie stopped to turn back to the bear, thinking. Does this thing...want me to stay? It was just talking about killing me, that I deserve to die...why would it want me here, anyway?

She sighed. "I don't know. I should get back." Grandpa must be worried.

"Aw, Really? You're leaving so soon? Well, just remember not to go snitching on me, cupcake. Although, I wonder if they'd believe you...surely, a friendly animatronic such as myself wouldn't impose danger upon someone such as yourself, would I?" It tilted its head, chuckling.

"As far as my family's aware, no." Millie responded to the rhetorical question, before turning herself away from the animatronic, making her way around grandpa's scattered junk, towards the door.

"Alright then. Seeya later, cupcake."

Hesitantly, Millie placed her hand on the doorknob. She could just...go, now? She needed to get back to her family. She needed to apologize and change her ways. She turned the doorknob, and was greeted with a gust of wind when she opened the door. Great. She stepped out into the cold, goosebumps covering her arms, shutting the door behind her.

She didn't hesitate to start back towards the house, leaving the insane animatronic clown bear behind. She knew now that making up for her misdeeds was more important than processing everything that had just happened.

Sprinkles of water stained her clothes, adding more misery onto her already cold, guilty state. As she approached grandpa's house, she could see that warm light shined through the windows, illuminating the lawn. How late is it? Are they awake? Millie wondered as she approached the steps up to the porch of the quaint, dull blue house. Her hands shook as she dragged herself up the short steps, placing a hand on the doorknob. Are they upset? Is grandpa okay? Did I worry them too much?

She figured that all of her questions would be answered when she opened the door.