Henry was silent as Charlie's wounds were cleaned and redressed.
"Dad." She reached for his hand but he crossed his arms, staring straight ahead. She choked back tears.
"Alright, Miss Emily. We're just going to give you a tetanus booster and then you can be on your way." Dr. Kessler said, taping the bandage into place.
"O-okay." She choked. Her father let out a long sigh. Dr. Kessler seemed to sense the animosity in the room, hurrying out. The silence that ensued was unbearable to Charlie and she let out a sigh of her own. Her father hadn't gone into specifics with the medical staff, simply saying that she'd caught her leg in a "type of iron vice" he worked with.
"Dad." Charlie tried again. He turned her way at last, his expression unreadable. She lost her nerve and stared down at her hands.
"Charlotte Marie…" His tone scared her- it was very similar to the one he used when disciplining one of his staff. He appeared to lose his gumption as well, choosing to stare at the blank TV on the wall. Ping! Her phone chimed in her pocket. She reached for it slowly, half expecting him to yank it out of her hand. Much to her surprise he continued to stare at the TV.
Where are we meeting this weekend? John had typed. Charlie glanced at her father one more time before typing back.
I don't know. I'm pretty sure I'm even more grounded than I was before. She sighed and stared at the TV as well. Ping!
Charlie, what did you do now?
Something really, really dumb. You're going to hate me, too. A few minutes passed with no response. A nurse entered the room, bearing discharge papers and a large needle. Somehow the needle hurt just as much as her leg, but her father still refused to hold her hand. Much to her surprise, he held her close as they walked out to the car a few minutes later. She'd expected him to leave her limping behind him at a snail's pace. The ride home seemed a million times longer than usual- but she soon realized that they weren't going home. Henry pulled into a gas station parking lot and turned to look at her, his gaze still fiery.
"Which location was it?"
"What?"
"The animatronic, Charlotte. Where is it?" He yelled. Figure it out yourself! She wanted to yell back, YOU probably put it there!
"Fr-Freddy and Friends'." She said instead. Henry gunned it out of the parking lot, nearly colliding with another car. Please don't let him find out about Michael. Charlie thought, staring out the window as the world rushed by. The parking lot at Freddy and Friends' was nearly empty when they arrived 10 minutes later. She started to unbuckle her seatbelt but her father snatched her wrist.
"You stay right here."
She nodded, biting her lower lip to keep from crying again. She watched him disappear into the pizzeria, a renewed sense of dread filling her chest. Ping!
You went back, didn't you? John wrote.
Ping!
Are you doing okay? Michael wrote. She replied to Michael first.
No. Dad knows. We're at Freddy and Friends' right now- he's looking for Spring Bonnie. She went back to John's message.
I'm not going to lie to you. I did. But you HAVE to let me explain everything. I'll let you know where we're meeting soon. I love you.
Ping! Michael.
Remember what I said.
Ping! John.
...Fine.
Several minutes passed, then a half-hour. When Henry finally emerged, he was red in the face. He got back into the driver's seat and slammed the door, speeding out of the parking lot once again. He didn't say a word to her, his eyes narrow and focused on the road in front of him. When they got home Aunt Jen opened the front door, holding a mug of coffee. Charlie limped past her and towards the stairs.
"Charlotte Marie, where do you think you're going?" Her father snapped.
"I just want to sleep." Charlie pleaded.
"Not yet." He pointed to a cushion on the living room couch. She sighed dejectedly and sat down. Aunt Jen sat next to her and her father sat on the nearby armchair.
"So, young lady, how did you end up in that suit?"
Aunt Jen's hand flew to her mouth.
"You don't mean-"
"Jen, please." Henry leaned forward in the chair, his hands clasped together.
"Toy Bonnie got me." She whimpered.
"Got you?"
Charlie wiped her eyes.
"He came into the office, knocked me down, and dragged me to the-"
"What were you doing in the office in the first place?" Henry's voice rose. "I told you never to go back. There's absolutely no reason to."
Charlie stared into the nearby fireplace, watching the flames lick the logs.
"Charlotte, are you listening to me?"
"The children. That's the reason." She said calmly after several seconds. Her father looked as though she'd slapped him in the face.
"What?"
"The children William murdered. They're haunting the robots."
Aunt Jen gasped.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Henry stood up and stared daggers into her. Charlie let out a shuddering breath.
"William Afton. Your old business partner? The man who tried to beat me to death?" The silence that filled the room was heavy.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"I remember him, dad." She stood up. "I also remember the first group of missing children- my classmates. I remember Cassidy. I remember-"
"Charlie, that's enough." Aunt Jen said shakily.
"No." Charlie clenched her fists. "Dad, I remember how you were so damn desperate to get away from what you did-"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Henry repeated, turning towards the crackling fireplace.
"William murdered those kids, and you cleaned up after him. Each and every time. And everytime you did, you would try to start over with a new location and new animatronics."
"Charlie, you stop this right now!" Aunt Jen cried.
"Stop what? Telling the truth?"
"Charlotte, I don't know who put these ridiculous ideas in your head-" Henry began, still staring into the fireplace.
"I'll tell you who put these "ridiculous" ideas in my head. Someone I can trust a lot more than you."
"Charlotte, listen to me. You need to leave this alone."
"Tell you what. I'll leave this alone once you tell me what that little invention of yours does. The one with the… "remnant injector"?"
WHAM! Henry punched the wall above the fireplace, leaving a spider web-like pattern.
"What is remnant?"
"CHARLOTTE MARIE EMILY-!" Henry whirled around, thrusting a finger at her. His face was the reddest she'd ever seen it. She was getting scared, but she refused to cry. "IF YOU SAY ANOTHER WORD ABOUT THIS TO ME AGAIN, I'LL-I'LL-"
"KILL ME? WHY NOT? WHAT'S ONE MORE DEAD BODY?" She shouted.
"CHARLIE!" Aunt Jen shrieked.
SLAP! Charlie stumbled backwards, a hand pressed to her cheek. Her father towered over her, breathing hard through gritted teeth. It took a moment for her to comprehend what had just occurred, and when her mind caught up, she snatched his car keys off of the coffee table and ran to the front door, ignoring the searing pain in her leg.
"Charlotte? CHARLOTTE!" He darted after her but she managed to stay ahead of him, throwing herself into the driver's seat of his car. She tore away from the house without buckling her seatbelt, giving herself a bit of whiplash. Several disgruntled drivers blared their horns as she sped through a four-way intersection without stopping. She breezed her way through the sleepy town of Hurricane, sobbing the whole time. Once on the outskirts, she relaxed. It took her awhile to find the disheveled country road the bus had stopped at a few nights before, and when she did she cried tears of relief.
She let herself cry out in pain upon arriving at the red house situated in the middle of nowhere- she'd have to find some kind of pain relief soon. She'd barely gotten out of the car when the front door to the house swung open, revealing a dazed Michael.
"Charlotte?" He shielded his eyes against the sunlight. She threw herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Hey… hey… shhh..." He embraced her tightly until she pulled away, her eyes red and swollen.
"What happened?"
"My dad… he-he…" She couldn't bear to say it.
"Hey, come in. Come in and sit." Michael ushered her inside hurriedly. The living room was different from the last time she'd been there- a majority of the candles were gone and the old TV had flickered to life.
"You… you have electricity now?"
"Yeah, just got it and the plumbing turned back on. The hospital referred me to this program for low-income households. Good to have my soaps back."
Charlie plopped down on the couch and glanced at the TV- a distressed-looking blonde woman was yelling at a tall man in a black coat. Closer inspection revealed that the coat was a cloak and the man had fangs.
"I've seen this before. Don't they have a baby or something?"
"Yeah. It's good stuff." Michael switched off the TV. "But you need to tell me what happened."
He sat down next to her, picking a half-finished cigarette out of a nearby ashtray.
"Like I said, my dad knows. He saw the wound and… he made me tell him where Spring Bonnie was."
"Okay… then what?"
Charlie sighed and tucked several strands of brown hair behind one ear.
"We started fighting and I… I told him everything I knew."
"Charlotte…" Michael pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I know, I know. But I was just so mad, and so fed up with his bullshit and lies. After I asked him about that machine, he got really mad and…" She buried her face in her hands.
"And what?" Michael put a hand on her shoulder. She broke yet again. She could still see her father's face in her mind- angry, unthinking… the face of a monster.
"Charlotte, did he… hurt you?"
She nodded and Michael took in a sharp breath.
"Goddammit."
"I'm not going back." She said pointedly. "I can't." Much to her surprise, her companion nodded.
"Absolutely not. Not now." He snuffed out his cigarette and lit another one.
"But knowing him… he'll call Chief Clay and have him find me."
"Chief Clay… is that the guy who picked you up this morning?"
Charlie nodded and Michael sighed.
"He doesn't like the looks of me, I can tell."
"What do you mean?"
"Literally, he doesn't like the looks of me. My mother always said the resemblance was striking, the one between me and my father. He remembers, Charlotte. I'm more than certain that he worked on the Freddy's cases."
She nodded again.
"Yeah, he did." She took a long look at him. The intense blue eyes, the angled jawline, the brown hair… he did resemble William.
"Looks like we have to run."
"What?"
"I have to run away from my dad, we both have to run away from your dad and Elizabeth… we have to get out of here."
"Bloody hell, Charlotte. You can't be serious."
"I am. If we stay here… who knows what'll happen."
Michael took another long drag off his cigarette, clearly lost in thought.
"But where will we go?"
"... I don't know. Seattle, maybe? My dad took me on roadtrips there all the time when I was a kid. It's a big city- they'll never find us there."
Michael turned to her, a smile stretching across his face. It was the first time she'd really seen him smile and she melted a little.
"You're out of your mind."
"I know. I'm kind of scaring myself right now." She admitted. Michael looked thoughtful.
"But you're right. You heard my father. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. When he catches up to us… well… I don't even want to think about it." They gazed into each other's eyes and she could clearly see his fear and apprehension. There was something else, too- something she couldn't put her finger on. She looked away and he put his hand on top of hers.
"Do you trust me?" He whispered.
"I do. More than anybody else right now." She whispered back.
"Good." He squeezed her hand and stood up. "We'll go, but first I want you to sleep."
Charlie nodded, a knot forming in her stomach. Her phone rang. Dad, the caller ID read. She flipped it open and her thumb lingered over the green answer button.
"Who is it?" Michael asked uneasily.
Charlie took a deep breath and hit the red decline button.
"Him."
"Right." Michael bit his lip and turned the TV back on. "I'll be out here- you go sleep."
"Actually… I'd rather stay out here." She hugged herself. She couldn't be alone- the nightmares would start the second she closed her eyes. Michael looked ready to object but nodded a second later.
"At least let me get you a blanket." He disappeared into the hallway and Charlie laid down on the sunken couch, her heavy eyes closing instantly. A warm weight covered her body a minute later and she curled up into a fetal position. The couch sunk down again as Michael sat down on the other end with another sigh. She could feel his gaze, but it didn't bother her in the slightest. He was watching over her, protecting her. Her father had done the same when she was a kid, sometimes sitting on the edge of the bed and stroking her hair until she fell asleep.
Her phone kept vibrating and ringing in her pocket, but she was far too tired to even turn it off. She drifted off at last.
"This time I'm choosing you." She was lying face down on a cold concrete floor, coughing up blood. William looked down on her, a menacing grin plastered on his face.
"Where's your daddy now?" He sneered.
"MICHAEL!" She called between coughing fits. "MICHAEL, HELP ME!"
"He's not here either. Believe me, I already dealt with him. Now there's just you."
Spring Bonnie was behind William, slumped against a concrete wall. Something clicked in her subconscious, but she couldn't make it out. All she saw was gold, and then Sammy. She screamed in pain as William kicked her onto her side and knelt next to her. He drew his bloodied knife across her throat in one swift motion, then everything faded to white except for his leering face.
"Charlotte!"
She screamed. William turned into Michael, who was kneeling by her side. He was holding her hand again, looking frightened.
"It's me. You're okay." He said urgently. Charlie covered her eyes and let out a shuddering breath.
"I saw him." She rasped.
"Shh. It was just a dream." Michael massaged her hand.
"We have to get out of here." She whimpered.
"I know, love. We will."
She sat up. The winter sun was just starting to go down, projecting shadows onto the living room carpet. Her phone was still buzzing incessantly and she yanked it out of her pocket angrily. John.
"Okay, I have to take this one." She threw her blanket off and hit the answer button. Michael looked perplexed but stood up. He went back to watching TV after giving her a wary look.
"...Hey."
"Charlie, where are you? Your dad called me."
"I'm… I'm… somewhere safe. Don't worry."
"Don't worry?! Charlie, you scared the hell out of us. Where. Are. You?"
"Do you remember the old ice skating rink? I'm out there."
John sighed loudly.
"I need an exact address."
"Umm…" She put her hand over the receiver. "What's the address of this place?"
"Who's asking?" Michael raised an eyebrow.
"My boyfriend. I need to bring him here."
Michael leaned back, his forehead scrunching up. She sighed.
"We can trust him. I just need to see him and explain what's been going on."
"...3584 Magnolia Lane." He sighed.
"Charlie? Hello?"
"3584 Magnolia Lane. It's pretty far out of town, but you should be able to find the area on a map. Once you're out of town, there's this old country road. Take a right and follow it all the way down- there will be a creek and then the house is around there. It's red."
"...Okay. I should be there in 45 minutes or so- I already drove back to Hurricane."
"John?"
"Yeah?"
"You can't tell my dad, or anyone, where I am. Please." There was a long silence.
"Okay. But you have to promise me that you're safe."
"I promise. There's someone here with me-"
"The night guard?" John sighed again.
"Yes. I didn't have anywhere else to go!"
"Okay, okay. I'll be there soon."
"I love-" Click. Charlie sighed and buried her face in her hands. Michael remained focused on the TV, looking plainative.
"So… your boyfriend, huh? Is that the guy with the red hair?"
A laugh escaped her.
"No, not Carlton. The guy with brown hair. His name's John. I've known him since I was a kid, but we've been together for about three years now."
"Ah." Michael said, lighting another cigarette.
"Hey… you wouldn't happen to have a washing machine, would you? I need to wash my sweatshirt, at least."
"It doesn't work. But I might have something else for you to wear if you want to get out of those clothes."
She gave him a look but nodded slowly.
"Right. Be right back." Michael disappeared into the hallway again and reemerged with a small pile of shirts. "I know this is weird...but my mom's clothes are still here. I think they'd fit you."
"Hey, I'll take it." She was desperate to get out of her stinky, sweaty clothes. She took the pile of shirts into Michael's bedroom and threw off her sweatshirt and t-shirt. A lot of the shirts he'd given her were too frilly for her liking, but she settled on a white t-shirt printed with daisies. When she put it on, she discovered that she and Mrs. Afton were built very differently. Charlie had wide hips and the shirt exposed her stomach whenever she moved. She walked over to Michael's closet and found a purple dress shirt. He had others like it, obviously for his Freddy's uniform.
She put it on and did up only the bottom buttons, covering her exposed midriff. Michael did a double take when she walked back into the living room.
"The shirt was a little small. I… had to borrow this to cover up a little. I hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all. I have plenty." He smiled and relief washed over her. She joined him on the couch again and tried to get into The Immortal and the Restless, but there were many plot points she didn't get due to not watching it from the beginning. Michael gladly explained them, though.
"Wait, who's the guy in the blue again?"
"That's Stanley Black. He's a vampire hunter. Oh, and he's also in love with Clara."
There was a knock on the front door and they exchanged nervous glances.
"I'll get it." Charlie stood up and looked through the peephole to ensure it was John and that he was alone. "John!" She swung the door open and threw her arms around him. He embraced her back, much to her surprise.
"Thank God you're okay. Charlie, I was so worried." He pulled away and his eyes immediately trailed down to the bandage on her leg. "What happened there?"
"Just come in." She took his hand and pulled him into the house. Michael was standing up, looking plaintive again.
"John, this is Michael. Michael, this is John."
"I thought his name was Fritz." John raised an eyebrow.
"It's a long story." Michael said meekly, extending his hand. John shook it slowly, his expression highly skeptical. The men looked at each other until Charlie cleared her throat.
"Well… I have a lot of explaining to do. We have a lot of explaining to do."