DISCLAIMER: I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or any of its characters.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE
Chapter 24-A Close Call
Hauling Mike back to his place, Jeremy helped his friend collapse on his couch, where the former instantly fell asleep, completely exhausted from essentially having to fight for his life for the past however many hours. Jeremy slipped away in to his bedroom and called Diana to assure her that her son was alive and well. Okay, alive, as "well" was probably not the truth at the moment, given his present state.
"Thank you, Jeremy," Diana's relief was audible. "Is he all right? What happened? Does he need anything? What-"
"Hold on, Ms. Schmidt," Jeremy interjected before the frantic mother could overwhelm him with too many questions.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Jeremy. I hope I didn't-"
"No, no, you're fine. So, Mike was saying that he...had to stay late at work. They were short staffed or something, I think he said. So, I brought Mike to my place and he's gonna crash on the couch for now, so don't worry."
"Thanks for being such a great friend, Jeremy," Diana said sincerely. "I really appreciate it. I'll drop off some fresh clothes for Mike and some money for dinner for the two of you. Thanks again."
"No problem,"
Mike was out for quite a while, waking up as the evening news was beginning its run on television. He yawned and stretched, rubbing his weary eyes. Blinking, Mike looked around and found Jeremy on the armchair across the way, watching TV.
"How long was I out?" he questioned Jeremy.
Jeremy looked over his shoulder at his friend. He chuckled lightly at his disheveled state.
"About ten hours," he replied. "Your mom dropped off some fresh clothes for you and some money for dinner. I already ordered pizza because, hey, can't go wrong there."
Mike looked down at his uniform. It was a mess. Thank goodness for his mother. Speaking of which...
"What did you tell my mom about what happened?" he asked as he stood from the couch, snagging the bag of clothes Diana had dropped off that Jeremy had left by the couch for him.
"I told her the truth, just without the gory details," Jeremy explained. "You technically were short staffed, so I wasn't lying."
"Did she buy it?"
"Probably not, but I think she was too relieved that you were all right to really interrogate me on it,"
"Good. I can't tell her what really happened. She'd put me back in the psych ward," Mike shivered. "I am never going back there again. Never."
Jeremy gave his friend a single nod of understanding. Having been through his own medical traumas, he completely understood Mike's sentiment.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Jeremy questioned instead.
Mike, who was en route to the bathroom to change, stopped mid-step. Hand on the door frame, he turned his attention back to Jeremy.
"I have a job to do, Jer. I have to continue what I started," he said simply.
Jeremy frowned. He turned back to the television as Mike stepped into the bathroom to change.
"That's what I was afraid you'd say," he mumbled to himself.
When Mike emerged from the bathroom, Jeremy was in the kitchen serving the pizza, which had arrived a few minutes ago. Both grabbed a slice and then retired back to the living room to eat. Jeremy flipped the television from the news to another program, one which Mike was surprised to find his friend wanting to watch.
"Immortal and the Restless?" he asked with a laugh. "Since when do you watch soap operas?"
Jeremy laughed as well.
"When they're so bad they're good, I watch them," he replied. "Don't judge me."
"Hey, no arguments here. I'm always good with mind numbing TV," Mike stated.
The two friends enjoyed the distraction the television program provided, taking advantage of not having to think about Freddy's or Circus Baby's for at least a half an hour. Of course, once the program was over, there was little else they could do to delay the inevitable discussion.
"So, about Circus Baby's..." Jeremy began to say.
Mike stared down at his half-eaten slice of pizza, his appetite suddenly vanishing.
"What happened yesterday was pretty shitty, I get it. Believe me when I say that it was one of the scariest things that ever happened to me," he started to explain. "But, I don't think that it was with the intention to hurt me."
"Dude, they stuffed you in a spring lock suit. You know how deadly those things are."
"I know, I know. But, Baby...she spoke to me."
"She what?! She spoke to you?" Jeremy was genuinely surprised.
Mike nodded.
"Yeah. She's spoken to me quite a few times, actually," he informed his friend. "I...I got the whole story on what happened to Elyse. I was going to tell you after my shift yesterday but, you know, I got stuffed into a spring lock suit, which kind of put a damper on my plans,"
"Yeah, I guess a near death experience is kind of a bummer," Jeremy said sarcastically.
Mike gave his friend a wry smile.
"Anyway, Baby said she only wanted to keep me for a little while and that she wasn't going to hurt me. She said she only stuffed me in the suit because it would keep me hidden from the cameras so they wouldn't kick me out after my scheduled shift was over."
"Why did Baby want to keep you? Did she say why?"
Mike thought back to what the animatronic had told him the night before, concentrating carefully to sift through his hazy memories.
"She said something about playing make believe and pretending. Something about knowing how to play pretend; Ballora didn't know how, but she did."
"Make believe? Pretend?" Jeremy repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Mike shrugged.
"I don't know," he said. "Maybe I can find out when I go back-"
"Go back? Mike, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. I mean, how many close calls have you had already? You're really pushing your luck, dude. I mean, who knows what would have happened if I hadn't found you when I did? Would those technicians who were supposed to come in the next morning and 'rescue' you know about the spring lock suits and how they operate? Since those suits were discontinued years ago, probably not and you know what that would have meant," Jeremy knew he needed to be honest with Mike. "I really don't think you should go back. I...I have a really bad feeling about you going back to Circus Baby's..."
Ever fiber in his being told Mike to listen to Jeremy. The man nearly died from Freddy and the other animatronics, not to mention Mike himself nearly died a few times over the past few weeks too. Plus, there was Lukas. And Elyse. They paid the ultimate price from a simple trip to Freddy's.
But, at the same time, Mike felt that he was really making a connection with Baby and the other animatronics. If he could make it one more night, he might be able to find a way to save Elyse and any other child that might be trapped in that hellish place as a result of his father's actions. Close call or not, he had to finish what he started.
