Dull Beginnings
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Kaylee adjusted her weight so her motorcycle would enter the neighborhood of Shining Gates, her personal sanctuary was located towards the back of the development, during the day it would be full of laughter and kids at play with the occasional car roaming the circle before her place. She pulled into the driveway and removed her helmet, before walking up the steps to the porch that was made up of stone and brick masonry against the light mahogany vinyl wood of the realm she called home.
She opened the front door, greeted by the scent of vanilla and the robotic feline purring and weaving between her legs that Mike made for her birthday last year as a gift. "Hey Prota," Kaylee said, reaching down to stroke her head before setting her helmet down on the table between two hibiscus flowers by the door. She walked through the connecting hallway with her companion at her heels, passing by the pictures of assorted memories from her life.
Ceasing in her steps, Kaylee paused before the picture of her and her parents when she was graduating from college, she saw the smiles and tears from that day that soon cascaded a few weeks later after losing her mother to cancer and her father to the war overseas two years following… Why did you have to go?
Kaylee took in a deep breath, gently gliding her fingers over the picture as she tried to keep her emotions in check. You always knew what to do when things took wild turns. She contemplated briefly, before walking over to the couch-like bean bag chair in the living room and laying down on it, finally allowing her inner-struggle to flow as she cried. Her eyes held the ceiling as Prota jumped onto her stomach, making her owner jump and pick her up, holding her towards the ceiling. "Prota, if only you could speak, maybe you could help me out… These last few hours have been nuts. Saturday morning was going well, but then we found this guy trapped in an animatronic suit and got him to the hospital… Poor guy is a broken mess, from what I saw yesterday, the guy has been through some rough waters and needs help… I wish that what I was doing was helping him, but…" She lowered Prota to her stomach, watching her limbs adjust. "I don't know if what I'm doing or will do… will help in the long-run." She yawned softly as she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.
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When the sunlight broke through the windows, Kaylee opened her eyes to the feeling of her phone vibrating in her pocket and removed it to avoid the weird feelings it gave her. She glanced at the screen…
Sunday: June 8, 2017
Time: 2:30pm
Call: Mike Valentine
She breathed and tapped the button to answer the call.
"Mikey?"
"Hey Kay, everything okay?"
"I-I guess, I just woke up…"
"Cool, I was wondering if you could stop by my place… I need an extra hand with something?"
"Uh, sure… just, give me a few minutes."
"Awesome, thanks Kay." He said, before ending the conversation and hanging up. Kaylee sat up on her bean bag couch, gazing at Prota who was sitting at her feet swinging her tail in a rhythmic pattern.
"Do you want to come with me?"
Prota had jumped up from the question and bolted up the stairs leading to Kaylee's room. She smiled as he followed the trail of smoke up the stairs and got herself ready before making her way over to Mike's house.
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Mike was in the neighborhood of Rainy Sky that was not too far from her. When she pulled into the driveway leading up to his house, she caught him sitting on the porch as the sunlight made his hair glow and make his blue streaks appear transparent against the silver base of his hair.
He stood up when his amber eyes fell onto the girl walking up to the porch, though the robotic feline he created reached him first. He crouched a bit to reach down and glide his hand over the comforting plating of Prota's back. "Hey Prota, still in working condition I see." Mike breathed, straightening up as Kaylee joined his side as the feline weaved between their legs.
"What did you need me for?" Kaylee asked, as she lifted Prota up to hold her as Mike opened the door for them to walk into his home.
As they walked into the house, Mike tucked silver hair behind his ears. "I need help with reassembling Spring-Trap and cleaning up the Marionette,"
"Did you call – "
"Yeah… I called Seth, but he said he would be watching his nephew today."
"Oh okay,"
With the conversation done, they strolled through the hall containing the assorted memories of Mike and his family, Kaylee paused for a moment as one picture caught her eyes. It was of Mike as a little kid with one of his family members standing in front of Freddy's Pizzeria. Kaylee brushed her fingers over the frame, instantly getting Mike's attention. He walked over to her, "Who's in the picture with you?" she asked once he was beside her.
"That's Mike Schmidt, one of my cousins, he worked at Freddy's for a bit before it closed in 1993." He began to say, before making his way over to the kitchen and stopping at the corridor leading down to the basement.
"Wow, so I guess working there is like a family thing for you?" Kaylee breathed, following his lead.
"Nah, Mike told me about his experience at Freddy's and then he informed me about Fazbear Frights looking for a night guard, I applied for the position and got it."
"That was nice of him," Kaylee said, as they walked down the stairs leading to the basement.
Mike sighed as he fixed the button on his polo shirt. "He never said anything about the animatronics walking around at night trying to kill you, but yeah… It was nice of him." He realized that what he was saying was lost on his friend since she was lost in thought.
Once he flipped the switch to bring some light to the situation, he saw her return from her thoughts to take in her surroundings. The basement was his place of work… tools, robot parts, and schematics for several projects lined the walls and tables. The table in one of the corners of the room held the box of clean animatronic parts and the neglected Marionette covered in the ash it was found in… yet in the other corner, sat the headless body of Spring-Trap with his head sitting on the stool beside him.
"I need to fix Springs' head a bit, if you could clean the Puppet up that would be awesome." Mike said calmly before going back to the golden beast to finish his work.
Kaylee nodded her head in response before walking over to the table to retrieve the Marionette and head over to the bathroom at the bottom of the stairs. Once in, she picked up a wash cloth and turned on the sink, holding it beneath the water before squeezing out the water and using the cloth to wipe away the dirt and dust from the mysterious Puppet in her arms. She saw bits of red on the claw-like hands it possessed, seeing it flow down the drain like a river of… It could be pizza sauce from the kids grabbing him? She told herself, continuing to wash away the past… and once finished she stared at the being in her arms, and her mind wandered back to Vincent.
She remembered the fear in his eyes when the Puppet was mentioned, how his body was in a state of panic as he yelled at something in the nothingness of the room to leave since he paid the price… She tore away from her inner-thoughts to look down at the Marionette. The violet tears and smile gave her separate stories of happiness and loss, she threw the cloth into the hamper and sat on the floor…cradling the Puppet in her arms like a child in need of consolation. What happened that has made Vince so afraid of you…? She wondered, gliding her fingers around the rosy painted cheeks as Prota slipped through the crack in the door. The creature saw the thing in her owner's arms and arched her back as an electronic hiss broke through the speakers in her ears.
"Prota, what's wrong?"
"Kaylee, can you come here?"
"Coming Mike!"
Kaylee left the bathroom and made her way back over to Mike with Prota at her heels. She placed the Marionette on the table as Prota jumped up to sit beside it, waiting till her owner was far enough away for her to glare at it and hit it with her metallic paws.
Kaylee and Mike were standing over the animatronic, "Pass me his head." Mike said, watching as his friend gently picked up the head and gave it to him, waiting for her next task. Mike bit his lip as he carefully and systematically placed the head over the latches that connected it to the body, being mindful of the spring-locks in the shoulders. Once he placed it, he looked to Kaylee, "Can you hold it in place as I make the final adjustments?"
She did as she was told, and Mike inhaled deeply before using his tools to tighten the bolts and latches. Through it all Kaylee's eyes went back to the Puppet, watching as her cat hissed at it. What is making you hiss at it Prota, it's not like you… She thought, before shaking her head to clear her mind of the dark thoughts invading it. When she heard Mike say "Done," in response to tightening the last bolt, she slowly removed her hands.
The two stepped back to appreciate the work before them that they rebuilt after breaking apart. Spring-Trap looked as menacing and adorable like he always did, even though he was a decaying piece of wandering history that only a choice few remembered, he probably was from the diner. Mike recalled his cousin saying to him at one of their family reunions.
Kaylee breathed, bringing him back to the present. "I was thinking about visiting Vincent later tonight, did you want to come with me?"
"Its 4:30 right now, do you want to go after we grab dinner?"
"Sure,"
With everything planned out, they headed back to Kaylee's house to drop off Prota and her motorcycle, before taking off together in Mike's car to get some food and go to the hospital. They stopped at a little Italian restaurant and ordered their food to go, the hostess handed them the bag containing their dinner before they left to make the long drive to the hospital.
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Kaylee was carrying the take-out bag as they walked through the doors of the healing sanctuary. The nurse who had helped them yesterday was at the counter working away on the computer as they approached the counter. She deviated from her work to speak with them. "Here to visit Vincent Dallen, you two?"
Kaylee smiled, "Yeah…"
"And to possibly share a meal with him, if we are allowed to?" Mike added, watching as the nurse's eyes went to the bag in Kaylee's hands.
"We usually don't allow outside food, but I can let it slide… just this once. Room 16 is where you'll find him,"
"Awesome, thank you." The two said simultaneously before heading down the hall leading to his room. She smiled, watching them vanish deeper into the hallway before entering the room holding their friend.
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The room was filled with the smells of spring from the flowers left on the table by one of the nurses. Kaylee could see her iPod laying on the table with the wires to her headphones traveling to the bed where Vincent laid. He was asleep… his violet hair disheveled as the ear-pieces to the headphones went to either side of his head, the screen from the device flashed to indicate a change in melody… there were also a few more wishes of recovery on the cast for his arm.
Get well soon Vince ~Nurse Casey
Your friends are sweet and will bring you closer to full recovery ~Nurse Emily
Try not to hurt yourself anymore, I hate to see you in here on more than one occasion ~Dr. Gideon Sycamore
She read every single one before her eyes went back to what she wrote, she read it along with the others. She blinked, before catching Mike staring at his tranquil form.
"He looks so peaceful," Mike breathed as he stood by the bed, while Kaylee went to the other side to brush the violet streams out of Vincent's face, seeing the annoyed expression return as he shifted positions in his sleep.
"You should've seen him flipping out, it wasn't peaceful."
"I heard him flipping out, he sounded like he was in pain."
"Yeah…" Kaylee breathed in response before lifting her iPod off of the table to see what he was listening to.
"Our Little Horror Story by Aviators…, that's odd…"
"What?"
"I was listening to this when I found him, well Spring-Trap containing him, back at Fazbear Frights. I don't know why it's playing again when I have it set to shuffle through." Kaylee explained as she checked her iPod.
"How many songs are on there?"
"1,693… The list didn't restart and there are no duplicates of the song. It was number 72 before and now its number 87."
"That's weird,"
"Very…" Was all she could say before the room went silent, they didn't say anything for a while… until Mike's growling stomach broke the silence.
A pink tint dusted his cheeks, "Can we eat and give him his food when he's awake?"
Kaylee smiled, laughing quietly to herself as she took their food out of the bag and placed Vincent's box down on the table before handing Mike his box of food and a fork. "Alright," She breathed, setting her box in her lap before opening it and eating her ravioli while Mike ate his shrimp and scallop pasta creation.
When they had finished their food, placed the containers into the bag, and cleaned up their mess… Vincent was slowly beginning to wake up. He had been drifting between dream and reality when the smell of fresh home-made pasta enveloped his senses, causing his eyes to open and take in his surroundings when his vision became clear… slowly realizing that he had visitors. He sat up as best as he could and yawned, he was still tired, laying back against the pillows behind him before taking the wire between his pale fingers to remove the ear-pieces and music.
He ran his fingers through his hair, while his eyes wandered to the girl at his bedside. "Kaylee?" He breathed, voice light and deep, not as hoarse as it was yesterday… which was good, a sign of progress made in his recuperation. He could feel her hand holding his once it was on the bed, although he met her gaze and saw her smile… he pulled his hand away after a few seconds passed.
"Hey Vince, Mike and I brought you some spaghetti if you're up for eating something?" Kaylee said, before picking up the box on the table and gently placing it on his lap. Once she fell back to lean against the wall by the window, he sat up a bit and opened the lid to the box… seeing the pile of angel hair pasta covered in alfredo sauce… his stomach growled at the sight. He hadn't eaten anything since he arrived at the hospital, the pain in his body rendering him at times immobile and empty. Though he was able to hide his suffering normally, the worried gazes from the nurses, Kaylee, and now Mike were showing him how weak he was. You need to fix that, He told himself, before taking the fork Mike was holding out to him and then started eating the food before him. This was really nice of them…
It was silent in the room, Mike was leaning against the wall while Kaylee kept to the side and assisted Vincent when he needed help. When he was finished, Kaylee took the box and placed it into the bag before giving him some napkins to clean up… he threw them into the bag after using them and leaned back against the pillows behind him, sighing contently. "Thank you, I really appreciate it…"
"Don't mention it… just thought you should get some food in you before heading back home tomorrow." Mike began, crossing his arms over his chest, trying to stay awake.
"What?" Vincent asked, rather surprised.
"Monday afternoon, the nurse said you would be able to head home." Kaylee said, laying her hand on his wrist.
Home…
That word lingered in his mind. Vincent breathed, the place he was staying at was probably given to someone else by now… The owner was impatient if someone wasn't in the apartment for a few days up to a week, there was a possibility that his stuff was still there, unless…
The nurse from before entered the room, bringing him back to reality. "Emily,"
"How is everything?" She asked, tucking her hair behind her ears so both of her emerald eyes could be seen.
He blinked, trying to recollect his thoughts. "Good, uh… Have you heard anything from the guy who owns the apartment complex I live in?"
"Other than that you need to pick up your things and leave…, I'm sorry sweetheart…"
Vincent inhaled sharply before breathing out "Fuck," as he jerked his head back to hit the pillows behind him, though he winced as the pain from doing that shot through his neck. Emily walked over at that time to take an ice-pack out of the small fridge by his bed and place it on the back of his neck, watching him shiver in response as she took a step back to allow the two friends to comfort him.
Emily continued, "I'm sure one of your friends here could take you in…" Her eyes gazed at Kaylee, soon meeting her sapphire eyes in response. Would you be willing to sweetie?
Kaylee sighed and placed her hand on his neck, keeping the ice-pack stationary. "You can stay with me, Vince."
"We can grab your things tomorrow," Mike added, resting his hand on his shoulder.
Vincent's silver gaze moved between them, you're not just saying that… are you? He briefly met both the sapphire and amber eyes of the two, they're serious… He breathed, "Thank you…"
Emily was making her way out of the room when she said, "You two should head out soon, it's almost 9pm and Vincent needs to rest a bit more," before leaving to return to her work.
Mike and Kaylee exchanged glances with each other before sighing sadly together, and gathered up their belongings before heading out of the room… but before they closed the door, Kaylee glanced back to see Vincent staring at her, holding her iPod in his hand.
She smiled, "You can keep it..., we'll see you tomorrow. Night Vince," she said, watching as a small smile graced his lips as he put the ear-pieces back in to listen to the soothing melodies, before closing the door and walking out of the building with Mike by her side as they began to make their way back home.
