#clear sinuses

[midnight-mourning]

DCA Promptober Day 18: Phobia

Oof, yeah, this one got a little dark. I've said it many times before, my brain cooks at midnight, I just leave the stove on for her. But yeah, read the content warning.

Content warning: non-graphic mentions/implications of blood and death, reader discresion is advised.

Word count: 1389

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Just get in, and get out. Don't look at him, don't acknowledge. You just have to drop off these supplies and then you can be on your way.

You walk into the daycare, head down. You deposit the supplies on an open craft table, nod briefly to the helper who thanks you, and spin on your heel to head back out again. 

Your face bumps into a metal chassis, instead. 

"Oh! So sorry, friend! Are you alright?"

You freeze, then mumble a quiet 'fine' as you try to get by him. You can't even meet his gaze.

"Wait, wait, wait! You didn't even say hello!" His voice sounds closer, he must've bent down to your level. 

You keep your eyes trained on the ground, "H-hello."

"Oh, come on friend!" Now a bit softer, almost concerned, "Surely you can do better than that."

You open your mouth, then shake your head, "S-sorry. I really have to go now."

With that, you manage to sidestep the bot and dart out the main doors. Leaving behind a confused Daycare Attendant and some mildly interested helpers. 

This isn't the first time; it certainly won't be the last. Of the greatest concern to you, however, was how much effort the Attendant now seemed to be putting in to talk to you. Greeting you as you came in to drop things off, making sure to say goodbye, even waving if they saw you passing by the windows. All of which would be, fine, if it wasn't for the fact that it didn't stop there.

It was the attempts at conversation, the jokes, the gifts. Just little things, but they still held meaning. A favorite drawing, a couple of moondrops-since you seemed so stressed- a bracelet, one time, even a small bundle of flowers.

The helpers would tease you in the staff room all about it, saying they've never seen the two AI try so hard to get to know someone. One even slipped up and said they might have a crush on you which internally caused a breakdown. On the outside, you just gave a polite smile and simply stated the same thing you always did; you were just a bit shy, and very busy. Constantly running errands and the likes, you know how it is.

You just hoped no one ever looked up your social media history and saw how, active, you were in your local community. Or caught you taking naps in one of the third floor longues because you were bored out of your mind. 

It all finally came to a head one day when the Attendant, the sunny one, managed to corner you for good this time. To be fair, you hadn't accounted for his helpers, well, helping him with that.

So, there you were, in a side hallway by the Daycare, face to face with the bot you'd been doing your damndest to avoid for so long.

It's not his cheery demeanor that gives you pause however, it's what he has to say, and the pieces all finally click into place.

"You have robophobia!"

You stare up at the bot, eyes wide.

"Robo, robophobia?" You ask.

Sun rolls on the balls of his feet, "Mmmhmm. I couldn't figure it out for the longest time, but now it makes so much sense!"

This is the first time in a long time that you've felt confident enough to look up at him, to see where he's going with this.

"Your acute stutter, elevated heart rate, avoidant but otherwise kind personality, I can't believe I didn't notice it sooner," He tsks, shaking his head, "I mean, why else would you be acting in such a way?"

You can't stop the images that come forth. Of that night. Of the several others you'd witnessed. 

You'd just been passing by, you hadn't meant to listen in, to see what you saw. You'd just wanted to grab your lunchbox before you went home for the night. Sure, was it weird there was someone in the Daycare with Sun that late? Yeah, maybe. But it wasn't your business. 

You just wanted to see what they were doing, that was all. Just not to the extent that you had. 

The joint giggling had drawn you in, as you peeked into one of the windows, the big doors obscuring you from view.

Inside was one of the Daycare helpers, and of course, Sun. 

They were doodling at one of the tables, both looking quite comical as they sat there, drawing and chatting. 

"This was such a good idea, Sunny!" The helper says, hard at work on her art, "Never realized how fun being on this side of things could be, thank you for inviting me."

The bot's rays spin, "Of course, Sunbeam! I simply noticed your recent stress levels and realized I must do something about it! After all, we're friends aren't we?"

"Yeah!"

You're about to head on your way, not interested in eavesdropping further, when you realize the Attendant has stopped coloring.

The helper, you think her name is Hailey, also notices.

"Is everything okay, Sun?"

You have to strain to hear what he says next. 

"Do you mean it?" He turns to face her, sharply. 

She seems, nervous. You don't blame her, "O-of course, I do. Why wouldn't I?"

"You hesitated."

"I, hesitated-Sunny are you sure everything is alright?" She puts her hand over his, "You know I wouldn't lie to you, right?"

You hold your breath as the bot just stares down at her, rays rotating every couple of moments. 

Then, he suddenly bursts back to life, "That's right! You would never do such a thing! Silly me!"

You feel yourself relax; Hailey laughs awkwardly. 

Sun joins in, putting a hand to his chest, "I apologize if I upset you, Sunshine!"

"No, no you're good, haha," It's hard to tell from here but you think she's adverting her gaze. 

The hand on his chest goes to her back, patting it a few times, "Let me make it up to you! I'll help you with your drawing!"

"O-oh, you will?"

"Mmmhmm," Sun hums, "In fact, I know just exactly what it needs!"

Hailey perks up a little bit, "What's that?"

"Just," You feel your eyes widen as his hand snakes up and grips the back of her hair, "A little bit," You know exactly what's about to happen and you can do nothing to stop it, "Of red!"

You slam your eyes shut, crouching down and hands covering your ears in a panic. It does nothing to block out the Bang! Bang! Bang! you hear, over and over. 

Your breathing is as shaky as the rest of you as you remove your hands, nothing but the sound of the Daycare's theme in the air now. You remain on the ground as Sun speaks once more, too afraid to move an inch.

"Whoops! What a troublemaker you are, Hailey! Clean up, clean up!"

And then he laughed. Harsh. Cold. Unfeeling. It sunk straight into your core and didn't leave you for weeks. Even now, months later, it rings in your head. Just the idea of it, of all it, it was insane.

The attendant, both of them, luring previous daycare workers in with kindness and generosity. Compassion, the promise of friendship, or something more. Only to brutally take it all away without a second thought.

You wished it had just been that one time. But multiple times you'd stumbled upon those gruesome scenes. You don't know how they kept getting by with it. Surely someone would have seen and done something by now, right? Or had you just been lucky so far in that you were the only one to survive to tell the tale? All the others having been caught and, dealt with.

You realize you're still staring up at him.

"S-sure. That's it."

Sun's hands go to his hips, "Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we? Not to worry, Sunshine! You're in good hands. We'll be best friends before you know it!"

You give an awkward, slightly terrified, smile, "C-can't wait."

Little did you know they'd taken your fear as a challenge, not as a suspicious sign. A challenge, which they were so invested in that you'd gone from being one kind of target, to another entirely. 

Oh, lucky you. Lucky, lucky you.

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I am ALMOST caught up with promptober. This is such a great thing for us. Or well, for me anyway, but hopefully for you too! Masterlist is located here, thank you for reading!

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