Henry had taken Michael to the workshop at exactly 12:09. Charlie knew this because she'd glanced at the digital clock on the stove as they'd walked out the back door. It was 6:15 now, and no news was good news. At least, that was what she told herself. She picked at the TV dinner in front of her, pondering what could possibly be done. Her phone chimed. John.
I heard a rumor that you were back.
She sighed as she typed.
Yeah. I'm home.
Can I see you? I'm home for the weekend.
Charlie was taken aback.
You want to see me?
Yeah. I've been really worried.
She stood up and glanced out the kitchen window- the light was still on in the workshop, meaning that her father was still hard at work.
Yeah, you can come over.
Great. See you in 10.
She sighed and threw her uneaten dinner in the trash. Aunt Jen walked in and shook her head disapprovingly.
"Charlotte Marie, you've got to eat something."
"I'm not hungry. Besides, John's coming over."
Her aunt looked just as startled as she'd been upon reading the text.
"Really?"
"Yeah, but..." She'd talked to her aunt earlier in the afternoon, filling her in on everything that had happened since she'd run away. "I'm scared to see him."
Aunt Jen nodded slowly.
"What about Marla and Jessica?"
"I don't think they want anything to do with me anymore." Charlie said miserably, turning around and walking into the living room. She turned the TV on, wanting to numb her anxiety. There was a commercial for Freddy Fazbear's that featured a cartoon Freddy dancing around the screen. She smiled a little, wondering how the older location was doing. Those animatronics were essentially updated versions of the diner models that sat in the backroom of Freddy and Friends'. She had a feeling that she'd see Freddy Fazbear's again quite soon, but it wasn't necessarily a good feeling.
The doorbell rang just as some kid's show came on. Charlie jumped up and ran to the door. Her enthusiasm tanked when she opened it, however. John sulked, his hands buried deep in his coat pockets.
"...Hey."
"Hey."
They just stared at each other. Charlie tried a smile but it wasn't returned.
"...Come in." She said finally, stepping aside. John didn't take his coat off before sitting on the couch, indicating a short visit. Charlie sat next to him and stared at the TV.
"Didn't know you were a Squirrel Tales Fan." She got a small smile out of John at last.
"It was just on and I was bored." She turned the TV off and both shifted uncomfortably.
"So…"
"So…" She repeated. Aunt Jen was pretending to clean the kitchen- Charlie knew that she was actually listening in on her conversation.
"Is it really over?" Damn. She picked at a loose thread on the couch.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
She looked away, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes. Yes, it's over. I love him. That was all she needed to say to be done with the whole debacle, but she couldn't.
"Do you love him?"
The back door creaked open and Charlie's breath hitched in her throat.
"Be honest." The pain in John's voice stung her to the core.
"I-I..." There were footsteps in the kitchen and she glanced over to see a dazed Michael. Aunt Jen whispered something and he sat down in a chair. She heard her father do the same.
"Charlie, it's okay." He took her hands.
"No it's not." She choked. "I… I'm hurting you and… three years..."
"Are you happy with him?"
"John-"
"I just want you to be happy, Charlie."
"I still need you. I never stopped needing you." She sobbed. "But I just, I do love him, and-"
"Hey." John squeezed her hands tightly. "Look at me."
She tore her gaze away from the floor.
"I promise that I'm still here for you. Marla, Jessica, Lamar, and Carlton are too."
"Marla and Jessica hate me."
"That's not what they told me. I met up with everyone earlier and we all agreed that we want to be here for you. We want you to be okay and happy."
Charlie threw her arms around him.
"I'm sorry for everything."
John gently rubbed her back.
"It's okay, Charlie. We all still love you."
They held each other for a few minutes. It was her that broke away, looking to the kitchen.
"I should… I have to…"
John nodded and stood up. He made his way to the door and gave her a sad smile before heading into the blustery winter evening. Charlie stood up and watched him drive away, allowing her tears to flow at last. She plopped back down on the couch and buried her face in her hands once the gray Toyota was gone. The cushion beside her sunk down a second later and there was a hand on her back. She looked over to see Michael. His skin was no longer sullen and his previously empty eyes were vibrant. They still had that odd iridescence, but it wasn't off putting like before.
"How did-"
"I don't know. I don't remember anything." Michael's voice was no longer raspy and strained. Henry walked into the room, wiping his hands on a dishtowel.
"Good. It wasn't a pleasant process by any means."
"So he's like me?" Charlie inquired, unable to take her eyes off him.
"Yes and no. At the risk of being graphic, you still have the majority of your organs. He had next to nothing, save for his brain. That's very fortunate- he'd have the mind of an animatronic otherwise. I'd have to program him to function."
"The remnant helps too, right?"
"Yes, the remnant helps." Henry chuckled. Michael took Charlie's head in his hands, stroking her wet cheekbone with his thumb.
"Thanks, dad." She whispered, still focused on her companion.
"Now… I have a little more planning to do. We'll talk tomorrow morning and get things rolling."
"Okay." Charlie turned to her father at last and they exchanged sad smiles before he turned away and headed back into the kitchen. She waited until the back door closed to give Michael a tender kiss. This time his lips were warm.
"I don't know how, but I'm freaking exhausted." He sighed when they parted.
"Me too." Charlie agreed. "Do you… want to go upstairs?"
Michael gave her a tired smile. She took his hand and led him up the stairs to her bedroom.
"Where are you going to sleep?" He inquired.
"Oh! Um...I mean, I kind of thought…" She stammered. You idiot.
"I don't want to sleep alone either." He said softly. She turned to face him, resting a hand on his chest. She could feel stitches through the thin fabric of his purple dress shirt.
They had a long road ahead of them, and that visceral feeling of dread was looming over Charlie once again.
"Charlotte!"
Charlie woke up to Michael hissing her name. She opened her eyes just as the bedroom door slammed shut. Michael was shaking violently- so much so that Charlie could feel the mattress trembling.
"What did you see?" She whispered, grabbing his shoulders.
"That… that bear. The black one. He was right. In front. Of. The bed." There was a loud crash somewhere in the house followed by Henry yelling.
"Oh my God, dad!" Charlie jumped off the bed.
"Wait! That.. that thing's out there!" Michael grabbed her shoulder. There was another crash.
"I have to find my dad!" She broke away and fumbled for the flashlight she kept in her bedside table drawer. It was small, but it would have to do. She opened the bedroom door as discreetly as she could- it still creaked angrily, no matter how slow she went. The frightful bear was nowhere to be seen in the dark hallway. Michael tried the hallway lightswitch by the door and sighed.
"Of course the power's out."
"It hates light, remember?" Charlie hissed, running to the stairs. She paused on the top landing. It was quiet downstairs- eerily quiet.
"It's gone for now." She stepped down.
"Charlotte!" Michael grabbed her. "I don't like this. It's messing with us."
"Charlie?" Her father gasped from the bottom of the stairs.
"Dad!" Charlie broke away from Michael and darted downstairs to find her father facedown on the floor.
"Charlie, you have to get out of here." He weakly craned his neck to look at her. There was blood coming from his mouth. "They're… William…it doesn't work..."
"What doesn't work?"
Henry coughed and reached for the small device a few feet away from him.
"The… shock d-device. It's… it… you have to get out of here."
"I'm not leaving you. Michael, help me-"
Deep laughter filled the house.
"No." Charlie breathed. The deep laughter sounded again, much closer this time. Charlie was hit with a sudden wave of nausea and collapsed. It felt as though there were several weights attached to her limbs. The large black bear she'd become all too familiar with emerged from the darkness. It lumbered towards Henry and Charlie screamed.
"Charlotte… I love you, Charlotte." Henry gasped as the creature bent down and took his head in its diabolical claws. Charlie was now struggling to raise her head, which was also pinned to the floor by an unseen force. Michael ran to her and tried to help her up, but even he couldn't lift her. "THE FLASHLIGHT! GET THE FLASHLIGHT!"
"Charlotte, l-lis-listen to m-me, Ch-charlotte. You have to… burn it. Burn them…free them..." Henry managed to rasp before the nightmare bear picked him up and wrapped its paws around his neck.
"NO!"
The bear let out a roar as Michael shined the flashlight directly into its red eyes. It threw Henry down and retreated to the kitchen, where it was pursued by him. The weights disappeared and Charlie crawled to her gasping father. His lips were moving but he wasn't speaking.
"Dad…"
His breathing grew shallow and frantic after a few seconds and he stopped trying to speak.
"You'll be okay." Charlie sobbed, taking one of his bloodied hands in hers. He reached up with his free hand and touched her face, his lips weakly curling into a small smile. She couldn't be certain, but she thought she heard him utter her name again.
"You'll be okay!" She repeated, pain and desperation lacing her voice. His hand dropped and he closed his eyes. "Dad? DAD!"
Michael lingered in the nearby doorway, panting and watching the morbid scene unfold. Charlie broke into hysterical sobs and collapsed, hugging her father's lifeless body.
"Charlotte, we have to get out of here. It's gone for now, but-"
"NO!" She yelled. She willed the bear to come back- the pain she was feeling ransacked her mind and body. Without her father, without his guidance, without his secrets, she was lost. William had won.
-The End-
Author's Note: Yes, this is the end of "Autophobia". However, it is not the end of the storyline. There's a sequel in the works, and I'm hoping for your continued support. I'm including a little snippet/summary of the next fic because I appreciate you guys and your feedback so much. :)
Without her father, without his guidance, without his secrets, she's lost.
Charlie clearly remembers her father's disjointed last words: Burn them. Free them. As she and Michael scramble to piece together his carefully laid out plan, a new series of murders rocks Hurricane- and this time they're at Junior's Pizzeria. Charlie reluctantly calls on her friends and Vanessa to further unravel the secrets of Freddy's, but she soon realizes that they're not just revealing secrets, they're playing a dangerous game- a game with deadly repercussions.