It is difficult to wake up dead. It's not so much 'waking up' as it is jolting suddenly out of your body, like when you jolt out of drifting to sleep. It's sudden and scary with the added sensation of falling.
All I could do was get out of the sack of meat that was my body. My Golden Freddy plush was on the side table next to my hospital bed, a vase of flowers sitting next to the yellow bear. It's eyes were watching me like it was some sort of predator, carefully inspecting me. It was watching me, not my body.
I looked to my hands, just as small and pale and delicate as they always were. The most prominent difference, however, was their translucent quality. I remember screaming, feeling tears welling up, and falling onto my backside like I would in any situation where I was scared.
A young boy, just my age it seemed, came to me then. I heard his footsteps, but didn't see him approach. He had a purple hat on his head of kinky black hair. His eyes were pretty and blue, and it contrasted sharply with his dark skin. I hadn't ever seen a black boy with blue eyes before, and I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight. He held out a hand, and I shook my head. I wasn't going to trust him. I wasn't ready to.
"If you don't get up, you'll get stuck here. No one wants to haunt a hospital. The people here are stinky."
I looked at him in surprise. There was no booming voice that I had expected of a ghost or an angel, and he sounded just like my Golden Freddy. I swallowed and took his hand. He pulled me up easily, even though I was taller than him. I practically floated onto my feet. He cupped my cheeks, keeping my dark eyes on his clear blue ones. He spoke slowly and with purpose, making sure I listened closely.
"We have to go back. You have to go to Freddy's."
I nearly choked on my words. I began to bawl harder, wiping my face and hiccuping.
"No! No, I died there! Why would I go back? Are you trying to get me killed?"
He leaned his forehead to mine with a deep frown.
"That's the only place where you can be safe. It's the only place I can do stuff and it's the only place you'll be able to do stuff. Your tragedy happened there, so you can haunt there with me. I can fix you there. Do you get it?"
"No!"
He sighs, deciding to pull me out of the hospital room as the nurses tried to revive my cold and grey corpse.
"Trust me, when I died there, I could do things with my death. If you stay here, you can't stop what happened to me. To us. To them."
I didn't seem to have a choice in the matter. He seemed to know what was best for me. He had an informed opinion, and momma always said that was important. I hadn't ever been dead, but had been for long enough to understand.
Understanding that I was dead by itself was difficult.
I kept quiet as he took me, bringing me back to that hellish building. It was odd however, as things looked different. The animatronics weren't moving. Their shadows weren't thrown onto the wall. It was empty and silent. I was confused. This building couldn't be the same place.
He hopped into the Fredbear suit, his blue eyes disappearing into the mouth. I was worried, remembering being in those jaws. He lifted a mechanical hand and waved at me and I giggled at the show of control. This wasn't so scary, really, when he was guaranteed to keep me safe. It was unnerving to see the jaws that squeezed the life out of me, however.
The Fredbear left the stage with heavy steps, moving over to the box of masks that were kept for birthday parties. He dug one out with a laugh before handing over one of a mime, or something like that. I looked at it before looking up at the intimidating frame of Fredbear. He didn't have the sharp edges I remembered. He was round, like a teddy. Like my teddy!
I put on the mask and smiled at Fredbear, as well as the boy inside. The animatronic nods, offering its hand to me. The sharpened claws in my nightmares were nothing but round, golden fingers. I let him lead me to my new home - an animatronic that matched my mask. It was limp and black and thin, and yet reminded me of a tree. Tall, with skinny limbs and stretching roots.
I stepped into the puppet and made it my home. It's face - my face - lifted to look at the other boy. It was odd seeing Fredbear and him at the same time.
I reached for him and my hand hit his stomach, keeping me from touching him directly. He smiled and pulled my outstretched hand into his own. I felt like there was a string tying me to the Earth, and if it wasn't there I would float away.
He left Fredbear to show me how my box worked. There was a spring for me to sit on, allowing me to spring out and scare the kids. Hearing that, I sunk into the box.
"I don't want to scare other kids. What if I hurt them?"
He laughed, and our hands were intertwined.
"They'll love you. Just let the puppet take over and I'm sure you'll be great. The kids love being scared."
I laugh. He looks at me questioning, staring into the pits of my mask with those very pretty eyes.
"You're a kid too."