I limped my way up the stairs as quickly as I could without tripping myself. The stairs felt never-ending. Eventually, I made it to the top of the basement, remembering the familiar backstage room. Without hesitation, I made my way towards the door. Only one thing occupied my mind--Escape.
I entered the dining room and immediately found myself cornered. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica were blocking all paths of escape.
ha ha ha... ah ha ha...
Freddy's laugh sounded scarier when heard up close than from a distance. The trio walked forward—their eyebrows furrowed and eyelids lowered. The aura of the room suddenly felt murderous.
I had to think quickly because going back was not an option. The tables! I crawl from under the tables!
I dashed to the party tables and dropped to my knees immediately. As I snaked past the colorful polka-dot sheets, I felt their brush against me. I could only see the animatronics' feet move as they tried to guess where I'd come out. Fortunately, I was able to crawl out of there in time before they had the table surrounded.
I went through countless tables until eventually I reached what looked like the path to the bathrooms. I was near the exit. I hastily slid out of the table and stood up. The animatronics watched me and pursued me. However, they were too slow to reach me, as they were walking rather than running—probably because of their slow, outdated mechanical joints.
Without a single thought, I headed to the prize corner, where the exit was located.
Suddenly, Foxy appeared in front of me, scraping his metal hook on the tile floor to slow himself. His head twisted violently, as if he was malfunctioning. Foxy lifted his head, showing his single, piercing white eye. I could tell by his eye that he wanted to kill me too.
I couldn't really do anything in this situation. Freddy was behind me, Chica was to my left blocking the middle path of the dining area, and Bonnie was blocking the top path near the stage area. Foxy is too fast to dodge and can easily clear the distance between me and him.
What could I do?
Well, the answer was clear.
Nothing.
Just when I thought I escaped, death found me. I have the shittiest luck known to mankind.
Foxy raised his hook and opened his eye patch, revealing the white eye behind it. His jaw hung low, itching to bite. A static emitted from Foxy, then it turned into a voice.
"D-dead men do indeed t-tell no tales, ha har!" he said.
Foxy was right. I was a dead man.
Foxy suddenly sprinted towards me. Freddy closed in from behind me. Chica approached from the left, while Bonnie followed closely behind Foxy.
Snap! BZZZZZZZZT!
Foxy jerked to a halt, convulsing violently. Electrical sparks exploded from his body. In an instant, Foxy fell to the floor and shut down. Behind Foxy was a man in a dark, navy blue blazer, holding a taser gun. Two officers stood on both sides of him, with their tasers ready.
"Get over here! Now!" The man shouted. I followed his orders and stepped over Foxy. Bonnie, who was behind Foxy, reached forward in an attempt to grasp me. He failed quickly as one of the officers shot him with their taser.
"Go outside to the police cars—we'll handle it from here," the man instructed.
"You have to save Henry. He's in danger! Afton, h-he. he has a knife, and he's going to kill him!" I stuttered. "They're both in the backstage basement. You gotta go before it's too late!"
The man looked at the other officers.
"You guys got this part right?" he asked.
"We can handle them here, boss!" One officer nodded.
"Do what you gotta do, Pat!" The other officer said confidently. Pat turned to me.
"Don't worry, I'll save him." Pat reassured. He dashed to the right, stepping over Bonnie, who was deactivated. "Do me a favor and get outside!" Pat yelled before he entered the backstage area.
***
A few minutes have passed...
It felt like an eternity, waiting for Pat and Henry to walk out of the restaurant doors. The paramedics checked me for injuries, finding nothing but a couple of bruises on my back and ribs. They said it'll heal within a few days. I hope they managed to save Henry in time.
The doors to the restaurant opened, and out came Henry and Pat. They were talking as they walked to an ambulance that was closer to the entrance. Blood, most likely from the floor, covered Henry in numerous spots. I quickly got up from sitting on the ambulance bumper and made my way towards him. Pat nodded his head, ending the conversation between him and Henry--He turned to go back inside the restaurant. As paramedics checked Henry for serious injuries in the ambulance, I approached him.
"I'm glad you made it out of there!" I said with relief. Henry's eyes had almost no life in them. He didn't even respond. I couldn't think of anything else to say. We did come out of a pretty traumatizing experience. I mean, Henry risked his life to save mine.
The restaurant doors opened. Afton was escorted from behind by two officers in handcuffs. Blood splattered on Afton, but it was unclear if it was his own or someone else's. Afton twisted and turned, but the officers kept a firm grip to prevent him from escaping them. As the officers dragged him away, Afton caught my gaze. His sharp, piercing blue eyes met mine.
"This is all your fault, you piece of shit!" Afton shouted. "You should've joined me! We could've done amazing things together! You inconsiderate, spoiled--"
SLAM
The officer shut the cruiser's door, silencing Afton's rants.
The words of Afton lingered in my head.
"I thought you were different this time."
"You're still the same person you were years ago."
"Michael Afton—the son of William Afton—still wants to defy his father!"
"I don't think you and your brother could live in the same world."
The thought of being his son makes me sick. How could a person like him ever be a loving father? He wanted to kill me, for God's sake! Why is my brother more valuable to him? Was I just a reminder? More importantly, what did I do to him? All of these questions linger in my mind, but nobody answers them. I ask, what am I doing here? but the world remains quiet. I ask what I've done, but the shadows keep their secrets.
The silence feels intentional...just like everything else.
I felt a hand touch my shoulder, which caused me to react immediately. However, it was just Henry.
"Hey, everything is fine now," Henry said. "This time, he will be gone for good."
"Gone for good? He escaped jail before?" I asked.
"No. There wasn't enough evidence for him to be jailed. However, the truth has come to light. Afton won't get away—not this time."
"What if he does come back?"
"I assure you he won't be coming back." Pat interrupted. I turned to find Pat behind me, peeling off his blue medical gloves. "With this type of evidence against him, I wouldn't be surprised if he got life in prison. Hell, maybe they'll reopen alcatraz just for the bastard."
"I hope he rots in hell. What he has done is truly sickening. There's no worse human than him," I said coldly.
"Well, it'll take some time before he gets there." Henry replied. Henry lifted his head and faced me. "I'm just glad you aren't like him."
"I could never be like him. I'm disgusted even being his son." Henry gazed at the ground.
"Your father wasn't always like this," he said. "He used to be happy. He was full of life and passionate about the projects he created. That was until he lost his younger son—your brother. That day, something died inside him. He wasn't the same man I knew previously." Henry paused for a moment.
"He never explained how your brother died--He kept saying it was all his fault. Then his daughter died, and you disappeared randomly. I watched as Afton slowly became deranged. I was aware of what he was doing, but I just didn't have the strength and courage to defy him. Afton knew what I valued, and he was willing to take it away from me if things didn't go his way." Henry looked at me straight in the eyes.
"But this time, I won't back down. I will do what's right. Like what I did today." Henry smiled at me. His eyes now filled with glint. A glint of hope.
Snapping out of the deep conversation, night began to turn into day as the moon settled and the sun rose. The sun peered out, shining past the trees that blocked it. It was no longer nighttime—it was daytime. It was 6 AM.
***
I threw myself on my bed, exhausted from the chaotic and traumatizing events today. The drive back home helped calm me down, but the questions still echoed with no clear end. The door of the dorm opened.
"Robin?" I called out.
"Yeah! What's up?" Robin replied.
"Oh, nothing, just verifying," I said. Robin entered my room and leaned on the doorframe. He crossed his arms.
"So, how's it going with the job?" he asked, raising his left eyebrow. I stared intently at the ceiling. What do I say? Would he even believe me? Probably not.
"Well, it turns out the rumors were correct—that place is haunted," I answered. "It went as far as the police getting involved."
"See! I told you! You should've quit when I told you!"
"Well, I don't have Daddy's money, so I have to pay the bills somehow."
"Oh, come on, that sounds heavily targeted."
"Gee, I wonder who?" I chuckled lightly. When was the last time I laughed? Or had a good memory in general? Robin looked at me, waiting for me to say something.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked.
"I was waiting for the rest of the story! You can't just drop one of the biggest lore pieces in front of me and expect me to know everything!" Robin said. He grabbed a nearby chair and sat near my bed.
"Come on, give me some details, what happened?" Robin asked. Remembering what happened to me the past few nights--Reliving the trauma, the fear, the feeling of death, and almost dying? And explaining all of it?
"It's a long story. Are you sure?" I asked.
"I've got time!" Robin replied excitedly. He won't be this excited by the time I finish the story. Robin might've been horrified or intrigued. Who knew? Maybe he could've handled it better than me.
"Alright then. Let's start from the beginning." The beginning of a nightmare.