"Victoria," Sheriff Lund started, chuckling under her breath, "I don't know how you managed to do it,"

"The place is clean," I shrugged, trying to let my eyes adjust to the light from outside.

"Vic!" Jed called, embracing me in a hug. I hugged him back, his musty shirt smelling like gasoline.

"Oh my, what happened to your arm?" Tex asked, pointing to my arm. In the daylight, it had swollen to a deep purple color. Not pretty.

"Uh-"

"C'mere, we need to talk," Sheriff Lund grunted, grabbing my right arm and pulling me back into the restaurant. Tex and Jed followed as she shut the door behind us. We stood in front of the stage.

"I know Jerry ain't gonna kill none of us with you in here, so do tell, how did you pull it off?" Tex asked.

"What?" I asked. My sleepy daze was making it hard to focus.

"You're alive, aren't 'ya?" Lund asked, snapping in my face. I nodded. "What did you end up doin' with Willy, huh?"

"Wait, wha-"

"Don't even try to put it off, your little buddy Chris managed to somehow get photos of the two of you," Lund interrupted. Luke was going to pay for that.

"I don't even know what you're talking about," I shrugged, trying to play the dumb card. None of them were buying it.

"I'm just glad she's okay," Jed put in, nudging Tex and Lund. None of them smiled back.

"Vic, what exactly went on last night that kept you alive?" Tex asked.

"I wanted my car back, and I made them an offer-"

"If that's what you wanna call making an offer," Lund snorted. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"You know Jerry isn't here anymore, right? I proved my point," I stated, crossing my arms.

"You're delusional Vic," Lund retorted. I opened my mouth to respond, but Tex beat me to it.

"It would've been nice to keep your little, um, thing with Jerry-er-I mean Willy a secret," He spoke, adjusting his shirt.

"I don't know where you guys are getting this info-" I started to reply. Before I could finish my sentence, Sheriff Lund held out her cracked phone in front of me. On the front of the Hayesville Facebook page sat a blurry photo of Willy and I from the Super Happy Fun room. I was stable enough to recall that photo was taken at the moment Luke barged in. Well, it's not like you didn't get what was comin' to you.

"Care to explain?" Lund asked, pulling her phone away from me. I didn't have the energy to come up with a rude response, so I just stood there awkwardly.

"Um, I was apologizing," I replied, my answer coming out like more of a question.

"You do realize that's Hayesville's most infamous killer, right?" Lund asked, her unblinking stare making me very uncomfortable. I shrugged. She sighed loudly. Right at that moment, the door swung open, hitting the wall with a bang. Dad stood in the doorway, looking just as mad as ever. He had a duffle bag with him, that was packed to the brim with a variety of things.

"Vic," He growled, walking towards me.

"Who invited this loser," I asked.

"Care to explain this?" He shouted, shoving his phone into my face. I had scarcely any time to register that it was the same photo from Lund's phone, before he smacked me across the face with it.

"No daughter of mine is gonna be gettin' all up in the business of a murderer, let alone, a freaking robot!" He shouted. I could see the crowd from outside visibly now, and Chris was there. Of course.

"I-"

"Hank, we should probably be the ones to take care of this," Tex started, holding his arm in front of me as if to protect me. I doubt it would do any good.

"This is my daughter, Macadoo, and I need to be the one to get it through her thick skull that it's not normal to be makin' relationships with murderous robots," Dad shouted, his breath laced with alcohol.

"Well, maybe if y'all didn't leave me here, I wouldn't have gotten handsy with the weasel," I sneered, enjoying making them irritated.

"Victoria!" Dad screamed, stomping his foot on the ground. Lund placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"Hank," Lund hissed, grabbing Dad's forearm, "Might I remind you where we are right now? This is Willy's territory, not ours,"

Dad swiftly pulled his arm away, ignoring Lund's warning.

"And when are you gonna get it through your thick skull that Jerry isn't here?" I continued. Dad erupted into a shouting fit, needing to be restrained by both Jed and Lund.

"If you like these damn things so much, how about you stay with 'em? Huh? How would you like that? Then maybe Jerry will finish the job and make you-"

Dad's sentence was cut short by one of the various microphone stands on the stage falling and hitting him on the head. He cursed loudly. Rubbing his head as the metal bar fell to the floor. I had to refrain from laughing.

"That does it," He screamed, throwing the duffle bag at me. I stumbled back, catching myself on the stage. "I'm disowning you right here and right now. If you come within' a five foot radius of my house I swear I'll-"

"HANK," Sheriff Lund shouted over him. I stood in place awkwardly. Opening the duffle bag, I saw all my clothes and belongings stuffed haphazardly into the bag.

"I hate you," I hissed towards Dad. He let out a string of several curses aimed at me, as Lund spoke rapidly into her intercom.

"Um, Vic, let's get you out of here," Tex spoke, ushering me out of the building. The sun outside was clouded over, which was nice. It gave my eyes some time to adjust from the dim blacklights in Willy's Wonderland. I watched as Deputy Evan rushed into the restaurant to help Jed and Sheriff Lund.

"I'm taking Luke, by the way," I spoke, kicking a rock on the floor. I didn't dare meet the stares of the crowds surrounding us, as I knew without a doubt the only reason they were here was because of that stupid photo.

"We'll see how-" Tex began to reply.

"Vic?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I glanced towards the noise, to see Aaron running towards me.

"Aaron?" I asked, "Why are you here,"

"The same reason the rest of us are," He replied. Chris, Dan, and Kathy joined him, breathing heavily.

"You're alive?" Chris asked. I rolled my eyes.

"I guess,"

"You have no idea how much of a stir you've caused," Aaron laughed.

"Leave her alone, she needs to get some rest," Tex spoke, shooing them away from me.

"Chris, you and I are gonna have a little talk later," I spoke, staring at Chris. He forced a smile as Tex continued to usher me away from the crowds. I could usually pick out conversations of gawking whisperers, but I was too tired to understand what anyone was saying.

"We're gonna get you back to the holding rooms till your Dad calms down, and hopefully he'll have it in himself to-"

"I'm not going back to live with him," I spoke.

"Aren't you still seventeen?"

"I turned nineteen today," I scoffed, "Out of everyone to remember, I didn't think Willy would be the only one,"

"So how did you make it out of there?" Tex asked, leading me to Sheriff Lund's police car,

"I made a deal with them. I played along with them. I understood that Jerry doesn't possess them," I started, "And with all do respect, sir, I'd like to take my car. I'm no longer under service to you,"

"Well, we'll see what the Sheriff says when she gets done in there," Tex replied, adjusting his cowboy hat. I could hear the increasingly annoying sound of the scuffle from inside being brought back out. Dad was not calming down. I crossed my arms, watching the scene unfold. It wasn't like the whole town didn't know about Dad's infamous temper, but it was still completely embarrassing to have him acting like this. Making a scene is my job.

"So you made a deal, you said?" Tex asked. I looked towards him, not wanting to talk.

"Yeah. I held up my end of the bargain. I gave them the respect they deserved and they gave me the respect I deserved," I replied, watching Lund and Evan pull Dad from the building.

"I know it ain't none of my business, but-"

"What's the deal with you gettin' yourself in these situations?" Dad screamed at me from across the parking lot. They were trying to get him back to the Mustang, which meant I wasn't going to be allowed to touch it. Drat. "I leave you alone for the night with one job, and you go ahead and dance around it like you don't even care-"

"It's not like I didn't clean," I argued back. The small crowd's presence was becoming almost annoying as Dad's screaming.

"He's a weasel, Vic," Dad cried, "An animatronic weasel possessed by a murderer who went after you, and what do you go and do with it?"

I decided not to listen to what Dad said next.

"So what's with the paparazzis?" I asked Tex, eyeing the brand new tires on the Mustang.

"We tried to shoe 'em away, but most of 'em are just harmless onlookers who just want to know if you're alive. And," Tex paused. I motioned for him to continue. "And to see if the Facebook post checked out,"

"So you mean to tell me that photo is all over Facebook?" I asked, feeling my face flush.

"More or less, it's gotten several thousand shares, and that's more people than are livin' in Hayesville," Tex replied. Lund and Evan had finally gotten Dad to calm down in the Mustang. Most of the people had their phones out, and were recording the entire situation. Jed was relocking Willy's Wonderland, and seemed to be struggling with some of the locks.

"They're all here for me, huh?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"More or less," Tex nodded.

"Vic," Aaron called to me. I gave him a rude gesture, which was quickly swatted out of the air by Tex.

"We'll get you out of here soon, then you'll be off on your own," Tex spoke.

"I'm not leaving Hayesville just yet. There's some things I need to take care of," I replied.

"That door stays locked, Vic," Sheriff Lund spoke, approaching me.

"That door stays locked," I mocked.

"Just because you got out of there alive, and just because Willy somehow decided not to eat you, doesn't mean you get to just sneak back in there," She ordered. I pursed my lips.

"Of course, ma'am," I replied, smiling.

"Now. We're gonna let you stay in a holding cell until you find housing of your own," Lund said, opening the door of her police cruiser for me.

"What if I want to leave Hayesville," I asked.

"I doubt you have any money, and you definitely just lost your car, so I'd say staying with us isn't looking too bad right now," Deputy Evan replied. He had a point.

"Whatever, I'll be out of here soon enough," I shrugged, entering her car.

"First, we're gonna get that nasty arm fixed up. What happened?" Sheriff Lund asked, entering the driver's side.

"I fell off a table," I replied, holding the swollen gash close to my stomach.

"Why on earth were you on a table?" Lund asked again as she started her car. I watched the crowd slowly beginning to dissipate as Deputy Evan cleared them out.

"I was trying to get some cell service," I smiled, remembering I had to go pick up a new phone. With any luck, I'd be able to get a discount from Cason at Walmart.

"There ain't no service in there, the last thing we need is Jerry gettin' ahold of a phone. You didn't leave your phone, did you?"

"Willy smashed it,"

"Well that's awfully convenient, at least you can't spread nasty messages about the people sharing your little rendezvous,"

"Y'all better hope it stays like that,"

Sheriff Lund pulled out of the parking lot. I watched Dad continue to sit in the Mustang. Jed was talking to him, and hopefully making that situation a little better. I didn't care Dad had completely disowned me. Just another reason to leave Hayesville.

"Where's Luke?"

"He's at the police station. I told him to wait there for you," Sheriff Lund explained, her cruiser bouncing back onto the highway, "I didn't want him seeing his sister's dead body. Fortunately, you made it out,"

"Is he okay?"

"He's just fine. A little sleep deprived,"

The cool air circulating through the car was a nice alternative to what I smelt inside Willy's Wonderland.

"Has he complained at all?" I asked, perching my elbow on the door frame.

"Complained?" Sheriff Lund responded, putting on her Aviators.

"Has he been hearing voices?"

Sheriff Lund glanced at me, "Are you okay, Vic?"

"I need to talk with Luke about something,"

"You need food. And water. It's a miracle you made it out of there alive,"

"Yeah, I guess,"

"I'm serious, Vic,"

"There's three other dead kids in there right now,"

"I don't doubt it, there was a complaint last night from some parents, I could only assume they ended up at Willy's,"

"Why didn't you come over to get them?"

"You know why. It's us or them,"

"The animatronics only need souls to keep them alive,"

"That's what I've been-"

"No, no, Jerry doesn't want souls, the animatronics are sentient,"

"Vic, I think you're going insane,"

I sighed loudly, realizing it wasn't going to be worth it to discuss the matter any further. "We need to get you some mental help, love,"

"I don't need mental help," I replied, not quite believing what I was saying. Robbie hadn't bothered me since leaving the restaurant, so maybe his whole get-up was some sort of illusion.

Pulling into the police station, Luke ran from the doors towards me.

"Vic," He called, his arms open. I embraced him, trying to move my wounded arm out from under him, "You're alive!"

"What did I tell you about me comin' out of there alive," I smiled, hugging Luke with my good arm.

"Oh my gosh, I was so worried, and then-"

"Care to explain what's got Hayesville so ticked?" I interrupted, crossing my arms. Luke blinked, trying to register what I said.

"What?" He replied. I rolled my eyes.

"The Facebook post?"

"Facebook? I don't even have a Facebook account, that's for old people,"

I stared at Luke, trying to decide if he was lying or not. Sheriff Lund slammed her car door shut, walking over to us.

"Why do you have a duffle bag with you?" Luke asked.

"I'm not living at home anymore, Luke, Dad is not very happy with me," I replied.

"What? You can't just leave me, can I come too?" Luke begged, grabbing my arm.

"I promise I'm gonna do everything I can to get you to come with me, okay?" I offered. Luke nodded.

"Why is Dad mad?" He then asked.

"He found the Facebook photo before I had a chance to,"

"Can I at least see the photo? I swear I don't ever post anything on there,"

"I lost my phone, you're gonna have to ask someone else,"

Lund, overhearing our conversation, sighed and pulled out her phone. After a bit of tapping, she handed her phone to Luke.

"Oh. That,"

"Yeah, that. Care to explain?"

"I didn't know what to do, Chris wanted proof you were still alive so he sent me in there, and I guess he got screenshots or whatever but I promise-"

"This is Chris's doing?" I interrupted. Great.

"You really think I'd blackmail you like that?" Luke replied, handing the Sheriff back her phone.

"I don't know, you were the one who barged in with a phone,"

"I can't believe my own sister would think so cruelly of me," Luke spoke, fanning himself. I rolled my eyes again. "Maybe you should've picked a guy more up to Dad's standards,"

"First of all-"

"Alright, Vic, let's get you settled in," Sheriff Lund interrupted, "I can legally only keep you here for about five days, so we're gonna need to find you somewhere to stay after. Unless you want to try and return to your-"

"I'm not going back home," I interrupted, entering the police station. Luke followed me.

"We need to get you some attention on that arm," Sheriff Lund spoke. I watched her fiddling with the phone on her desk.

"Hello?" She started, placing the phone to her ear. Luke sulked behind me. "Yeah, I've got Victoria Halifax down here, she's in need of, hm, I'd have to say some stitches, but you better check her out, she's got cuts and bruises all over," She continued. I couldn't make out the voice over the phone. "Alright, I'll have her down there in five,"

"Who is that?" I asked.

"The ER," Lund replied, wiping her forehead. "Let me take that, Vic," She grabbed my duffle bag, tossing into the second holding cell. My favorite holding cell.

"I don't think-"

"Your arm is destroyed, and I have a hard time believing it's from falling off a table,"

I opened my mouth to protest. "How'd your shirt get so ripped up anyways? Was Willy gettin' rough-"

"No," I spoke, pursing my lips. Luke snickered behind me.

"Well, whatever the case, it's a miracle Jerry let you out of there alive. It's a miracle you're even alive, just look at you," Lund spoke, throwing her arm towards me. I glanced at my body quickly. "Here," She tossed me a bottle of water, which I quickly accepted. With any luck, I'd finally be able to focus on the problem at hand.

"Vic, are you finally gonna tell me what happened last night?" Luke asked, tugging on the remaining half of my shirt. I breathed heavily, swallowing the last of the water.

"I'll tell you later,"

"That's what you said last night," Luke whined.

"We need to get your sister to the ER, Deputy Evan will escort you back to your neighborhood for the time being," Lund spoke, leading me back out to her car. Deputy Evan's police cruiser had pulled up to the front of the station. He waved to me. I didn't wave back. Sheriff Lund opened the door for me as I got in. She pulled away from the station, making sure Deputy Evan was able to get Luke safely into his car. I didn't expect Sheriff Lund to talk with me as much as she did, but she seemed to have an interest in my wellbeing. For once.

"Vic, you know we care about you here, right?" She asked.

"Who is 'we'," I replied, staring out the window. Sheriff Lund had to think for a moment, which I found funny.

"Everyone here. This town has been your home for your entire life. Don't let this little situation mess it up,"

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I've already made up my mind I'm leaving Hayesville,"

"Where do you think you're gonna go to?"

"Anywhere but here,"

"Did Jerry convince you to leave?"

"Jerry never convinced me of anything, and never will,"

Sheriff Lund was quiet. This was the first time I had ever had a respectful conversation with her. The rest of the ride to the emergency room was quiet.

Luke's POV:

Dad said Vic would be dead by morning. I hadn't believed him, and neither did Vic's friends. How they got my number is a complete mystery, but after Chris reached out, I wanted to help. I never understood why everyone hated Vic. Especially Dad. She's always been like a mom to me, even if she gets on my nerves sometimes. Her friends seem to hate her too. I wish they'd be a little more respectful. With any luck, Robbie's promises would hold up. After Vic kicked me out of the restaurant for the rest of the night, Robbie told me that she was becoming psychotic. There's no humanly possible way for a robot and human to form any emotional attachment to each other. At least, that's what I'm told.

"You did the right thing," Robbie spoke, as I stood on the roof of Willy's Wonderland.

"I tried, I really did, she just wouldn't leave," I replied.

"We just need to be a little patient. Once she gets out, you'll only have so long before she tries to go back. We need to convince her of the obvious," Robbie continued.

"What is she doesn't listen?"

"Then you need to try harder. You want to save Vic, don't you?"

"Yeah,"

"And you want to save Hayesville, right?"

"I do,"

"Then we need to convince Vic that Jerry and his crew are still possessing the animatronics,"

"Vic doesn't like to be told what to do,"

Robbie seemed to be getting annoyed with me, which kind of hurt.

"Well, maybe you just need to prove yourself,"

"How am I supposed to do that? I can't even go inside the restaurant without those things trying to kill me,"

"There's a certain, um, task, that I need you to complete,"

"A task?"

"Yes, a task. It involves a little bit of," Robbie paused, "Magic,"

"Magic is fake,"

"Not this kind. It worked to get Jerry's soul into Willy, and it'll work to get it out,"

"I don't think that's safe-"

"The town will think you're such a hero for saving them. Just think of all the lives that will be spared,"

I paused.

"Think of how happy your father will be once he realizes you've saved Vic. She's in danger. If she dies, do you know who that falls on?"

"Me," I whispered.

"Now you're getting the picture!" Robbie cheered. A cold wind rustled the trees, sending a chill down my spine. No matter how hard I tried to believe Robbie, something didn't seem right. He said he was my friend, though, and friends should be able to trust friends.

"Now, let's get started,"

Jerry's POV

I didn't think the people of Hayesville could be so stupid. It's almost funny, really. I had to really look through the dumpster to find the trashiest of the trashiest: the Halifax family. They're practically falling apart at the seams. What makes it even better; their pesky sheriff sent the daughter in to Willy's for the night. They've sent my plan into action, and I've had to do practically nothing. I've waited far too long for another chance at redemption. Ever since that stupid ritual failed, we've been left with no choice but to wander around that hell-hole of a restaurant as spirits. In the earlier years, no one believed my little 'Robbie' getup. The whole mental game I play didn't faze most of the early janitors, and even if it did, those stupid animatronics would get to them first. It wasn't until Vic came into the picture that things started to take a turn. I watched her every move from the moment she entered the restaurant, to the moment she left. Mocking her every move, more like. The pathetic excuse for a human took a strangely, very very uncomfortable, liking to Willy the Weasel. Unfortunately, he seems to like her back. I guess it could play out in my favor like that, as long as I manage to convince her she'll be with her long-lost-lover forever if she follows my instructions. Convincing Vic has been a challenge, though. She's set on the truth. I like a little challenge, though. As long as the town hates her for her little rendezvous, I can move forward with the next phase of the plan. I'm practically turning the siblings against each other. I'm doing what should've been done a long, long time ago. And this time, my plan is foolproof. I'm going to destroy this town in the form I so badly craved. It's going to be fun.