November 10, 1993

"So, I guess you made it through the rest of the night," Joanne said as they ate lunch.

Mike had decided not to tell her about the last hour and a half of his shift with the doors stuck open, waiting to fight for his life. He did not want her to worry too much. "Yeah," he answered. "After everything, I figured out that these animatronics came from a place called Afton Robotics. Have you ever heard of them?"

She shook her head. "Can't say that I have. But this friend of my brother's, he's some sort of computer engineering major. He might know something about them. We'll meet him after school."

"I don't know," he answered. "Look, between night shift, school, and dealing with all of this, I really am having trouble getting any sleep."

Mike had figured that after all the things he was dealing with over at Freddy's he would have terrible nightmares that would keep him up. Instead, the crash from the adrenaline rush made him sleep like a rock. It was the only place he was safe. It was just getting the time away from this to get any sleep that was the problem.

"Look, I get it," Joanne said, interrupting his thoughts. "But if you have any hope of getting answers, then you need to tell him what's going on. We need some clues to go off of."

"Yeah, I guess, that makes sense." He sighed, dreading how the lack of sleep would prepare him for tonight. "You're right. It's just, ugh, why did I sign up for this job?"

"Well, I have been curious as to why you would stay with it after all of this. I know you said you feel as though you have to solve this. But surely your own life matters more than trying to solve some mystery like in the cartoons."

"I know it sounds stupid. It is stupid," he corrected himself, "but it's just not normal, right? Robots don't just up and kill people like a sci-fi movie. So why?"

"But why do you have to be the person to solve it? Why not just leave? You survived. Call that a win and get the hell outta there."

He had been wondering that himself. Not that Mike liked to play things safe. If anything, he was that stupid kid in school who never said no to a dare. But he also knew the difference between schoolyard shenanigans and a life or death situation. He was foolhardy, but not stupid.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "It's like a feeling I have about it. Like it's something I have to figure out. I don't know why, though."
Joanne shook her head and sighed. "All we can do, then, is talk to this guy."

"So, you're starting to believe me?"

"I don't think you would do something like that just to torture yourself," she answered. "And if we can figure this out, then yes, I want to believe it. I want to help you."

He reached out for her hand. "That's all I need to hear."


Joanne's brother went to the local college, meaning it was not too far to go meet this friend outside on the campus lawn. Todd was clearly living up to the stereotype of a college nerd. He was tall and lanky, wearing rumpled, baggy clothes with a hooded jacket, his glasses looking a little foggy from the mist in the air. He also did not leave a good impression on Mike. He was leaning against a lamppost near the student union, purposefully looking like he was hiding in the shadows and trying to be cooler than he actually was. Did he actually think he was the tech genius in some action movie?

"So, Alex told me his little sister had a favor to ask me," he said, coming up to greet them. He seemed to be trying too hard to drop his voice several octaves, making the attempt to sound manly and more dominant.

Mike was tempted to give him back a biting comment. After all, he wanted to slap the smug grin off his face. He was giving a look to Joanne he did not like. However, she was quicker and far wittier.

"Cool it, Todd. Alex warned me you were a total jackass, but that you were the only one of his friends who was good with computer stuff."

His face became significantly less confident, and he seemed to deflate a little. "That sounds like your brother, alright," he mumbled. "So...computer stuff then?"

"What, were you hoping for a date?"

He shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying, right? Thought you couldn't get a date for homecoming or something."

"Good try." She tugged at Mike's arm a little more. "Anyway, this is my boyfriend, Mike. He's the one who has the favor to ask."

He wilted even more at that. "Oh...okay, so what's up?"

Mike did his best to try and explain the situation, all the while hoping he did not sound crazy. He told him everything he could. He knew he could not remember everything from the messages on the phone, but he tried to piece together the bits of information. He really got into detail the more he explained about actually working there. He told Todd more details than he had ever given Joanne, and he saw in her eyes that she was really into it now. He could not possibly make any of these details up.

"I don't know," Todd said when he had finally finished. "Sounds like some silly urban legend. I'm not saying you're lying. I don't know that yet, but it doesn't make sense. Look, I'm mostly into computer engineering, building programs, and putting together computers. I'm not really into the robotics thing, but I have taken a few classes. The kinds of animatronics you're describing can't actually walk around freely. The endoskeleton, all the body, joints, and stuff; that's in the body of these things, but that's all it is. It's just the pieces that actually do the moving. The actual computer parts that control them are outside of the robot.

"Usually, what happens is you build a track underneath them to move the computer parts and the body at the same time. Theme parks cover that up with set pieces so that it looks like they're walking on the ground. But, it's just a track. They can't go anywhere else other than the track."

"Yeah, I know, and it sounds really weird, but that's what I saw, and that's what the guy on the phone told me about them. It was something like they could walk around in the day hours until someone got hurt in '87. Then they made them only do this during the night."

Todd scratched the scruff of beard on his chin. "That may be something I can work off of. But, if you are right that this company covers up their accidents, I likely won't find anything on an incident in 1987. Anything else you can give me?"

Mike shrugged. "The only other thing I've got is that they were built by someplace called Afton Robotics."

"That's a little more concrete. I can see if I find anything on them. So, you aren't joking. Killer robots, huh?"

Mike only gave him a look. "Would I be here talking to a smartass like you if it was a joke?"

Todd chuckled. "Seems like the kind of nonsense Alex would do. But I suppose it is a stretch for him to pull his sister and her boyfriend into it. I'll see what I can dig up. In the meantime, try not to get killed tonight."

The guy seemed to say that in half-jest. Mike responded to him very seriously. "That's the idea."


"I don't like that guy," Mike muttered as they left.

"I don't either," Joanne said, zipping up her jacket as the breeze got cooler. "Alex never had the best choices of friends, but if this guy does know anything about what he says, then there is a chance he might find something."

"I guess." He shoved his hands in his pockets. He was still tired from the night before, so he was willing to chalk it up to general grumpiness. But he also just had a bad feeling. "Guy seems like a total creep."

"He is, but he's the only resource we're going to get."

"Yeah, hey listen, if something ever happens to me…"

She could not look him in the eye as he said that. Instead, she only snapped back. "We're not going to talk like that. We're going to figure this out and put a stop to it."

Easier said than done, he thought. They still knew about as much as when they started, and Mike did not exactly have a lot of faith in Todd. But if she wanted to stay hopeful, he would try.

"Fine. All I'm saying is give 'em hell if something bad happens."

She nodded. "Wouldn't have it any other way.