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Screech stopped in their tracks. The human had stopped walking. This human, who had gotten lost in the hotel, had been tricking them all expertly. They knew how to use the candles and lighters against Screech, exactly how to hide when Rush came through, when to look away from Eyes, how to rush away from Hide and it’d been a long time since Ambush caught them, as they kept track of the door’s number with that damned clicker of theirs. They had even managed to outrun Seek, albeit if only by mere inches.They’d been doing this for what felt like weeks, opening door after door, somehow always finding the key, and the creatures wanted the human out. This was their home, after all, and they didn’t want no pesky human rummaging through their stuff. It felt like a decent request.What they didn’t know was that the human themselves were scared and only looking for a way out, trapped in those walls with them, desperate to find the last door that every second was starting to sound more like a dream than a reality. They were lost and alone and didn’t know how they got there. It had been days since they last ate or took their meds and it was taking a tool on their mental health. It didn’t help either that the only sensory tool they brought along as their headphones, not even their phone had been left with them.Now they had stopped in the middle of the way, unmoving. It was their time to shine, thought Screech, waiting for the lighter fluid to run pout so they could catch the human. They signaled to the person with their normal “psst” as they always do, but there was no response. Weird, they thought, but no sign for alarm. They assumed the large headphones where the reason they weren’t heard, even if the human had heard them many times before.What alarmed them somewhat was the lack of response even after their lighter went out. They were still stuck in place, akin a statue, eyes open but no reaction. The scarce clarity from the lightning was barely enough to see their resting face, as if focused on a reality elsewhere.Screech decided to wait, see what they’d do, focusing on the large clock. 2 minutes passed without the human moving. 4 minutes passed and they were starting to find this quite odd. Once 10 minutes elapsed, they were too impatient to wait on the human.It would have been very easy to catch this human, but it felt wrong to Screech to do so. Something told them the human was struggling and they were not evil in their core. They placed themselves right in front of the human’s face, not attacking them, but to no avail. Their red eyes were open, but there was no sign they saw Screech.Knowing they alone couldn’t figure this out, they opened the closet to reach out to Hide. Their companion shied away from the opening doors, but relaxed seeing it was Screech, and not the human.“It has been a while since your last visit, my friend.” Hide’s voice was very frail and quiet, like the creature was talking to only be heard inside itself. “I do wish to visit more, Hide, but there is an issue. It’s the human.”Hide’s thin as bone hands creepily caressed its friend’s face. “Has the human blinded you again? I know they sometimes burn your face with their flames.” The other pulled away softly. “I’m alright Hide. The human isn’t though. Something is wrong. They aren’t moving.”The laugh that came along belonged to none of them and, as the lights flickered, Rush came through, absolutely destroying everything in their path. “If the human isn’t moving, you can finally hit them!”But as Rush prepared to attack as well, they stopped too. The human was no older than 18, short black hair contrasting with their pale skin and red eyes. Contact lenses, the creature assumed. They wore a comfortable black sweater and black gabby trip pants, round glasses and headphones. Their arms, folded up with limp wrists against their body, seemed mindless in their finger tapping and soft brushing of the digits on their palms. Their gaze was empty and devoid of life. “That is... odd. This is not normal for a human.” Rush spoke up. “It’s like they are asleep” Screech commented.Fortunately, Hide recognized these signs and, from under the bed, it reached its long slender arms around the mattress and laid the human down, removing their clogs and glasses to set them aside, reaching the covers over the human. The finally blinked, worryingly comforted by Hide’s gesture, hiding under the blankets and burying their face in the pillow.Once the human was settled, Hide explained to its friends. “This human was disassociating too much to continue on. They seem to be as scared of us as we are of them. They need some rest before they move on.”They human was terrified from under the covers, shaking and trembling, having almost fully snapped out of it but still bearing a massive headache. Hearing the creatures outside the covers discussing their fate was too much. They did not want to die, not like this. Stupid CPTSD, stupid autism, stupid brain that doesn’t work right...But instead, they felt the creepy embrace of hide hold them. It sent shivers down their spine. “They have left, child. They will be back later when you are prepared to continue. I’ve had them agree to help you find your way out instead of harming you. We all want the same, after all. Now rest, child.”And, feeling like life was a fever dream, the human closed their eyes and rested their mind, feeling safe for the first time since they woke up in that hotel elevator.