Gregory

I didn't really know what to expect when I woke up. Maybe everything that had happened would be some stupid nightmare, and I would be back in the alleyways, sleeping in my box in some dark corner of the city. Maybe I'd only dreamt of escaping, and when I opened my eyes I'd be back inside the PizzaPlex, trapped and hunted.

A blanket fell to the floor when I sat upright, but something soft still remained wrapped around me. The room was dark, but I could just barely make out the fuzzy blue face of some sort of toy just inches from my own.

Kinda creepy... I thought, but it was my only comfort in this unfamiliar place, so I continued to hold it close as I peered around at my surroundings. There was another couch across from me and a coffee table in between. A half empty cup of tea sat cold on its surface.

"Freddy?" I called, though it was more of a whisper. There was no response. I tried to call him on my Faz-Watch, but an error kept popping up on the screen. Maybe it only worked when inside the mall? It was still able to tell me the time though, which was six forty-three. I'd been out for a long time.

There was only a little bit of light entering the room, coming from under a door to my right. Curiosity got the better of me and cautiously I approached. It wasn't all the way closed, just enough to keep the light out of the living room. So slowly I pushed it open and peeked my head in.

The same lady from before was sitting at a table with a laptop. She had headphones in, and glasses on. Whatever she was doing, she looked pretty focused.

I tried to back out of the entrance without bothering her, but the door creaked, startling her pretty badly. She jumped, and looked in my direction.

"Uh...sorry." I mumbled, stepping fully past the doorframe.

"No no don't worry about it." She replied, closing her laptop and removing her glasses. "It's really easy to spook me when I'm working, I just get so zoned in..."

She stood up from her chair, approaching me. "I see you've found Huggy." She said, plucking the doll from my arms. "Actually, he probably found you. He has a mind of his own like that." As soon as it had been unraveled from my neck, the toy moved to embrace her, wide eyed and smiling. "I bet it's nothing like the stuff you've seen tonight though huh?"

Both of us stayed in place, awkwardly quiet for a moment, before she suddenly clapped her hands.

"Oh right! I got some food for you!" She exclaimed. "You slept for a while, so it's cold now, but you can use the microwave." She made her way over to the fridge and opened it, retrieving a stack of foam boxes. "I got a few different things, I wasn't sure what you'd like." She continued, setting the boxes on the counter. "You can pick whichever one you want."

As if on cue, my stomach growled loudly, and a cold wave of humiliation crept up the back of my neck. "I...uh..." She looked at me expectantly, but I shook my head. "I wanna see Freddy first." I finally managed to say.

She seemed pretty uncomfortable with this request, but she smiled regardless. "Of course you do." She mumbled. "I put him back in the basement." And with that she made her way to another door I didn't notice before. When she opened it, there were stairs leading down into a dimly lit space.

"Freddy?" I called again, peering warily down the staircase. "Are you really down there?"

"Gregory!?" Came his voice from somewhere in that room. Then he stomped into view, waving as he saw me. "You're awake! I am glad. Did you sleep well?" It was when he began to walk up that a loud snapping sound came from behind me, making him stop, and me jump.

"No! No. You stay down there." Said the woman, holding onto the back of my shirt. "I don't know if I can trust you yet."

I slapped her hand away, annoyed. "Screw you lady." Then I rushed down the stairs, being greeted with tight hug.

"That wasn't very nice of you, Gregory." Freddy scolded, setting me down on the concrete floor. "You should apologize."

I was about to say something in protest, but the lady spoke up first.

"It's okay, I guess I am being a bit strange." She admitted, stepping down onto our level. "When I worked with Baby she was pretty manipulative, so I'm having trouble believing this isn't some kind of act."

"Baby is an animatronic from our sister location." Freddy explained. "You remember Grace saying she worked there in the past don't you?"

"Yeah..." I answered. "But, Freddy's different. He wouldn't hurt you or me or anybody!"

That's when he put a hand on top of my head, stopping me. "It's alright, Gregory. This is an unusual situation, it's best that we give her time to adjust." He crouched down beside me now, eyes scanning like when we'd first met. "Onto more pressing matters. You're not injured, that's good, but you're absolutely filthy." He stated. "You should have a bath. Also, have you eaten yet?"

I pouted, embarrassed with his level of concern. "No, I had to make sure you were okay first!"

"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine." He assured. "So please, go eat something, and clean yourself up."

"C'mon Gregory." Grace insisted. "He'll still be here when you're done, I promise."

I looked between the two of them uneasily, Grace gesturing for me to go with her, and Freddy encouraging me to leave. I sighed, defeated, and trudged my way back up the staircase.