Henry started absently humming along to the tune on the monitor as a finger wandered up the bridge of his nose to adjust his slipping wire-frames. He stretched, yawned and briefly considered joining his boyfriend in bed.
That had been such a weird dream after all, maybe a nap would be a good idea.
Henry decided that this lullabye, this March of a Marionette, was getting annoying and absently reached for the remote.
He turned around and stared, startled at seeing someone on the screen.
Henry glanced over his shoulder at the animatronic he was finishing up and compared.
How could it be?
How could the Doll-Bot be here and in the horror attraction?
At the same time?
Henry mumbled to himself then watched the screen flash, moving the mechanical doll reappear in the middle of the room, and in a blinding fog of static, change position again to stare into the camera with droopy eyes and a molded smile on her vinyl face.
Henry smashed a random button on his remote, playing loud laughter. A burst of static clumsily hid all movement as heavy footsteps quickly stomped and faded away with the visual assault leaving behind only the empty room.
...The hell?
Henry looked up at the shuddering, clanking Baby prototype that had suddenly spring to life.
"Hey hey hey hey!" Henry sidestepped his teevee and started shushing Willim's last creation.
He glanced up at the ceiling, putting a hand on the red shoulders of the circus clown used only once.
A plate recoiled and snapped back in place, making him jump, forgetting about his sleeping partner in crime.
Sometimes, this robot would turn on, snapping and shuddering with burning silver eyes.
Henry couldn't sleep with it in his house, hence the fact it was in Roger's. Henry hoped Charlie wouldn't ever have to deal with this thing.
Henry tried to look her over, trying to figure out what had turned her on. He inspected the lights in her opened chest cavity, the twinklers repurposed from Christmas decor in her red dress, the ones in her tiara forever cocked, and her spazzing white hands.
"What's wrong?" Henry nearly yelled, turning it into a whisper for safety's sake.
Knowing his boyfriend was also a bit of a techie and had put together a few 'bots, including the Candyman and the ever terrifying Musicman, Henry tried to find any of Roger's trademarks. Finding none when he considered how terrified of the toy Roger was, Henry tried to figure out if there had been any accidental triggers.
William had been a genius in his own right, and had figured out how to use audio to activate animatronics instead of showtapes.
That was one of several reasons this had stayed a beloved prototype instead of a usable character.
Vinnie had also been a genius, always helpful in the workshop. He'd been the one who'd figured out how the prevent springlock jams and the plate system, making repairs easier than ever.
Where was that kid?
LA, right?
Henry started stomping on Baby's roller-skated boot, trying to turn it off with the emergency switch.
But all he heard was the dreadful clicking of a malfunctioning button.
With a loud scream from boy the toy and the maker, a giant claw was released from deep inside the body cavity and scooped up Henry. He felt needles sink into his body the more he struggled and watched himself be ripped in pieces, blood on the cement floor.
Followed by a shower of stinking gold.
Then nothing.
The smiling face of the clown looked remorseful as it looked down upon spilled guts, picking up an intestine and gnawing on it with hidden teeth, face snapping, and thoughtfully said to herself, "You had every chance to stop it. You had every chance to stop Daddy. You didn't stop him when he hurt me and Mommy and Zach and big brother Zorro. And you didn't stop Daddy when he hurt Penny and Luke and Bailey and Izabelle." She said, leaning forward and spitting out the mush of meat like a bloody smoothie, "And you didn't stop Daddy from hurting those pretty girls either."
The Baby picked up random limbs, dropped them, then started wrapping the longer organs around her like scarves and boas, fluffing them out, feeling like a princess in her plastic crown and pretty makeup.
She decided she felt really pretty when she saw her reflection in a metal sheet.
She marvelled at her new found beauty, thinking the red looked good next to her piggytails of matted synthetic hair picked up from a Spirit Halloween in '85.
Eyes glowing green, she finished her thought, auxiliary arm wagging through general force of motion, "You could've done something, I guess. But I dunno. I'm gonna go sleep now!"
And in a flourish of petals sweeping over the puddles of blood and piss and other gross body fluids that she couldn't smell.
Petals of simple white daisies, one landing in her hair...
...It had been a day in late '86 when the robot was finished.
"Daddy, why won't you let me see her?" Elizabeth had asked so innocently.
"Not for you, not yet." William said gruffly, exiting the closed garage, "And can you tell your damn brother to stop parkin' his car in my workshop?'
"I'll try?" Elizabeth piped, following him into the living room. She distinctly remembered him saying last year that it would be a playmate just for her.
When had that changed?
"Daddy, I wanna play with her," Elizabeth said again, "I did good in school, Mrs. McKee says I'm doing really, really good."
"I know," he moaned loudly, plopping onto an easy chair, "But she's not ready for you yet."
"Why not?!" Whined Elizabeth, wishing Daddy liked her more than Charlie the gross toddler that waddle around in smelly diapers and dribbled on the floor.
"Because!" William snapped at her, "Because I need time with her! With Baby all by myself so she can be perfect."
"Oh…"
"For you, of course." Willaim assured, sitting up and holding his exotic daughter's hand.
Elizabeth, in kindergarten, and Zachary, in third grade, were better children than Vinnie ever would be.
For starts, Vinnie had been dropped on him out of the blue, and William had thought that the woman he married was mostly perfect and unsoiled.
Nope.
He put up with Vinnie and the random relatives that would follow and eat their food. He was always happy when Vinnie was sent away for extended periods away in Mexico during breaks.
The car had been about it for William though.
William sighed, "Ve a jugar en tu habitación, cariño."
Elizabeth nodded, cheering up at the softening tones and forgetting about the new toys Daddy would buy Charlie whenever he saw her.
Elizabeth skipped upstairs, not before taking a pit-stop in her parent's room to steal some lipstick from Mommy's purse. She snuck from the darkened room, past her snoozing mother, and scurried to her room in the big house.
She sat at her pink plastic Barbie boudoir and started smearing red circles on her cheeks like her promised playmate's, then tried on her lips.
Like smeared red lines were her mouth was.
But she felt pretty.
Elizabeth walked downstairs with her ponies and Barbies and other toys from last Christmas to play with in the living room next to Zach.
"Ellie?" Willaim said, sitting up and sleepy, "What's on your face?"
Before she could answer, Willaim had woken up and grabbed her by her arm. She started screaming, which scared Zach away.
"Ellie!" William shouted, making her pee her pants a little, "What did I tell you about seeing her?"
Elizabeth cowered, then ran upstairs and into Zach's room, quickly being chased by a living terror.
Elizabeth tripped over one of Zach's older toys once she'd slammed the door shut and barely noticed her older brother hiding under the bed with other toys and the drape of the quilts.
She could hear her daddy thundering up the stairs.
The only good thing about this is the new toy that he would give her. If she was lucky, would it be the big one in the basement?
Elizabeth jumped into the closet.
Maybe he'd think she'd disappeared if he couldn't find her?
She hooked her fingers around the little slats on Zach's closet doors in an effort to lock it. She peered out into the world of toys and silence that was soon disrupted by and angry man.
"Ellie, where are you?" He roared, then dropped to his knees. He said, much quieter, "I'm sorry I got angry at you."
Elizabeth cowered in the closet.
"Ellie," William said, "I'll take you to Toys R Us later, and you can get any marvelous doll you want."
Elizabeth thought about leaving the closet. He'd done this before. That was how she got the boudoir set last year. Thinking, thinking, thinking…
"Look, I'll just leave," William said, standing up with a groan like any overweight middle aged man with kids would, "And you can come down when you're ready."
Elizabeth held her breath.
She watched his shadow move across the room and the door creak open, then slam shut.
Elizabeth let go, surprised he didn't chase her down like usual.
She sat there, Zach under the bed waiting together.
It felt like forever before the smell of beer dissipated.
It was forever and a day when she heard a car pull up in the driveway so far below.
It felt like even longer before the doorknob softly clicked and silently opened.
And Vinnie quietly padded in, still in his cleats.
Elizabeth winced as he closed the door, knowing Mommy would be 'pissed' at the muddy footprints on the wall to wall carpeting.
Vinnie stood in the middle of the room, saying something very quietly in Spanish that drew the children out of their hiding.
He knelt, falling level with his half siblings. His dark eyes noted a dark splotch around his eye socket just forming and swelling, then handed a wet wipe to Elizabeth. She scrubbed her chubby cheeks, red smudging onto white, stains on her skin.
Vinnie watched the door as she did, then stood to open it and look down the hall towards the stairs.
He looked at the arcade toy on the bed, the one of a golden bear, and Zachary defensively grabbed it. Vinnie waved to follow him.
Once outside in the breathable air, Vinnie picked Elizabeth up and tried to flag someone down, anyone.
But it was after five, and everyone in the suburb was home.
Maybe police would come slinking along?
The car wouldn't work. Vinnie wanted to get to it so bad, but William was locked in the garage with it, and the family van was getting repaired.
And then Henry drove by, very slowly.
Vinnie waved, trying to get his attention on the sidewalk.
Henry stopped his blue '81 Lincoln Continental and locked light eyes with Vinnie's dark ones. He looked at the family, Charlie and Sammy in the back, sleeping the day at pre-k off, and moved along.
Without emotion, Elizabeth, Zachary, and Vincinté de la Rosa Afton was left on the sidewalk, the day before the party.
The day before little Zach's birthday party at Fredbear's Family Diner.
And the day before Sammy Emily was taken very, very far away...
...Charlie sat up in bed and giggled.
The shadow rabbit was back!
She jumped off the bed and waddled over with her hands open and outstretched.
"Happy Birthday."
She was scooped up in it's paws, and handed over another present.
A golden rabbit. She giggled and hugged his neck.
"Charlie, would you follow me?"
"'Kay!" She said dismissively, hugging the new toy covered in red scabs and ignoring the increasing smells and buzzing flies.
"I want you Charlie."
"Mm-hmm!" Charlie said, squeezing the doll. It was better than the robot frog with glasses Dada made. It scared her soooooo much!
The Shadow looked at the door, then the clock. Four am.
"We need to be very very quiet!" He said.
"'Kay!" Charlie said, "Wanna know what I did today?"
"Always." He said, half listening to her tell about two idiot twin boys who weren't as perfect as Charlie ate shit and other stupid things chilren under eight did.
He wanted more than anything to caress her red hair, so much like her slutty mother's.
The mother had left after Sammy died.
The Shadow didn't care much for Sammy.
He wasn't a shining star like Charlotte.
But Charlie was perfect, and one after another, his toy soldiers were falling.
Now standing in the living room of a small house in Elmore, the Rabbit thought that tonight was right.
He lay her down tenderly on the fold-out and patted her hair in place. Charlie looked up at his leer and asked so tenderly, "What are you doin' Mr. Bunny-Man?"
"Leading you."
"Where are we goin'?"
"Somewhere." he assured, "just follow me. It's a surprise."
"Why?" she asked, ever so innocently. She glanced over at her bucket of candy, scored earlier in the night with her babysitters.
"Because if I can't have you, nobody can."