As Jessica drove through downtown Hurricane, Sam couldn't help but take note of how small the town really was compared to Chicago. He gave a small scoff. Jessica glanced over at him.

"What?"

"I was just thinking...this is everybody. I'm used to city life, ya know?"

"Oh, trust me. I know exactly what you're talking about."

"How's life in New York?"

She shook her head. "Honestly, it's not all cracked up to be. I have friends there, don't get me wrong, but there's something about being in a smaller, quieter town that feels right. I like being with my old friends from back then, you know? Besides, who needs to live the high life? This is where all the action is!" She laughed a nervous laugh, and he mimicked it, unsure of how to respond.

They drove in silence for a few moments. Jessica kept her eyes on the road, sparing only quick glances at Sammy every once in a while. Much like his sister, his silence gave off a sense of concentration, like he was trying to figure something out. She watched as his the corner of his mouth twitched and his eyebrows lowered, clearly lost in thought. He became mildly aware of this and turned slightly. Jessica took the hint and looked back to the road. Sam took this opportunity to get a good look at Jessica. She looked very similar to his sister, at least from what he'd seen in the photos, and her welcoming of his arrival last night and her hospitality to him now was heartwarming. He smiled. The anxiety he had felt about coming here were fading away with each passing moment. Although he was still happy that Kyle agreed to tag along, he'd begun to feel more comfortable in the presence of these new people in his life, Charlie's friends. He and Jessica had shared a humorous few more stories since they started their travels. Jessica talked about Charlie's messiness and her crush on John. Sam talked about the time in high school when Kyle was so busy telling a joke about their algebra teacher that he almost walked into the girl's restroom by mistake, and later tried to cover it up by claiming he wanted to check the gossip stall for any reports of who might be interested in him. They both agreed that it was hard sometimes being friends with such interesting people, but that was what made life interesting.

"So where are we going, exactly?" Sam asked when he noticed that they were heading away from town into the woods.

"Somewhere important," she said, her eyes suddenly turning remorseful with a glimmer of fear.

After five minutes, they turned onto a driveway. The remains of a police tape barricade with the words DO NOT CROSS were fluttering in the wind on a tree. Ahead of them was an empty lot.

"What is this?" Sam asked.

Jessica sighed. "This is where Charlie and your father used to live."

They exited the car and walked slowly to the center of the lot where it was obvious that something had previously been there before it was wrecked and a construction crew began clearing it out.

"What happened?"

Jessica clenched her eyes. When she opened them again, they were misty.

"Did Clay tell you about what happened here?"

"Yeah," said Sam. He thought back to the previous night's explanation. What was it that he said about this place? He tried desperately to remember, but since all he had to go on was a story told by someone he'd only known for a few days, the story still had many holes in his mind. He remembered him saying something about the entrance to an underground pizzeria. "So…where was it?"

She led him around to where the back of the house used to be. "It was here," she told him, pointing at were an opening had been sealed off months before by the police.

"So, the pizzeria was actually underground?" Sam asked, amazed. "And it belonged to that guy Afton? How did my father never notice it?"

Jessica shook her head. "I don't know. No one knew about it."

Sam put a hand to his head in confusion. An entire pizzeria, never been actually used, hidden below his father and sister's old house for years, and it was owned by none other than William Afton, the man who had once been his father's partner and would go on to terrorize the town with kidnappings. It was a lot to take in, and he suddenly felt overwhelmed as the new information and revelations continued flooding in.

"I still think about that day," Jessica said with a sniff, quickly wiping a tear from her eye.

"What's that?" Sam asked, unsure of whether or not to look at her while she began to cry, but she didn't seem to care.

"That night when we followed Charlie and those nightmare animatronics into that stupid pizzeria, when we thought we lost her. We fought that demonic machine to get her out as best we could, but…" She shook her head, trying to fight the rising emotions. "It doesn't matter. I keep having to remind myself that she didn't die that night, or at least I don't think she did."

"And that was when this other version of her appeared?" said Sam, still trying to piece the story together from multiple perspectives.

"Yes. We all believed it was really her, that she somehow survived, and apparently developed herself and her wardrobe a bit. We were all fooled, except for John."

"Where is John?" Sam asked. It hadn't really hit him until now that that name was still without a face to him.

Jessica shook her head. "We don't know. Nobody's seen or talked to him since the day we first visited Carlton in the hospital. He just disappeared. That's probably what concerns me the most. He told Clay that we wouldn't ever find Charlie. I don't understand. He and Charlie were very close, almost dating at one point." She smirked, remembering when they first met again at St. George's, and reluctant Charlie had been to talk with her about it.* "They probably knew about each other than any of us did." She shook her head again, more tears rising in her eyes. "Why would he leave us like that?" she cried, her voice growing shriller with every word. "Especially with no goodbye? He just tells us we won't find Charlie, our childhood friend too, and then leaves? What does he know that we don't?!"

Sam fought the urge to back away while Jessica unleashed her frustration. Instead, he stepped forward and put an arm around her. Feeling suddenly relaxed by a strange sense of comfort, she turned and hugged him. It was tight, even more than her greeting last night.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sniffle. "Things haven't been the same since this all happened. School's getting busier, too. Maybe I'm too stressed right now."

"It's alright," said Sam, patting her on the back.

They pulled apart and she wiped her nose. "Well, there's not much else to see here. Let's keep moving."

They turned to walk away when something caught Sam's eye.

"What's that?"

Over by the woods was a smaller patch of dirt indicating that a small structure once stood there, but the only remains of it were a few boards lying uselessly along the perimeter. He walked over to it.

"That was your dad's workshop," said Jessica, not following him.

Sam stood silently as he gazed upon the clearing, trying to imagine the small shed that once stood there. In his mind, he could see a building, paint coming off, tools scattered everywhere in different cups and containers, and a workbench that held something on it, whatever his father was working on. "Is this were my dad, you know, made…?"

"Made them? I guess so."

Sam stared at the empty lot for a few more moments. It seemed weird. He always viewed his father's workshop as something to be admired as a kid. After all, it was where the magic happened, where whatever new invention his dad came up with was made. It was like a portal to another world, his dad's world of creativity. But now, looking at the remains of his father's newer workshop, it seemed much less magical. Even if the structure still stood, Sam couldn't help but feel that it would've been an empty shell of that magic it may have once had. The memories of his childhood excitement becoming clearer, he sighed and turned to walk with Jessica back to the car.

He continued looking through papers, desperate to find something that could give him an answer to satisfy the longing within. What was he looking for? He'd already seen nearly everything of interest in the house. Tax information, pictures, the letter he'd heard her read aloud in their final hours together. It didn't make sense. There was a reason he never wanted to come back here, and yet something was telling him that he needed to be here, that an answer would come. He shook his head in frustration and kept looking through a pile. As he turned over more papers and artifacts from that same box they'd found before, something at the bottom caught his eye. Was it that letter she read to him? He bent down to pick it up and began reading it. No, it wasn't. It was a different letter, though the handwriting was the same, as was the name at the bottom. But the recipient was different.

Someday, he thought, I'll find you and give this to you.

He stuffed the letter carefully into his back pocket. As he turned back to the mountain of papers, his hopes sank and he continued his search for other evidence, anything he could find to give him the hope that he craved, the spark to give him a renewed sense of encouragement, but as more minutes ticked by yielding no results, his hopes were quickly diminished and the letter in his pocket was forgotten.

When Jessica pulled into the mall parking lot, they noticed another car parked nearby.

"What?" she exclaimed in surprise. "That's Carlton's car! But who-?"

"Kyle," said Sam with a sigh. "They've been hanging around together all day. Carlton may have talked him into coming down here."

"He shouldn't be out like this," said Jessica, parking next to the car. "He's still healing!"

Sam scoffed silently. Sounds like something my mother would say.

They got out and peeked inside. Sure enough, Kyle's jacket was in the driver's seat.

"Well," said Sam, glancing up at the empty, destroyed mall. "Looks like we have another good reason for coming here."

Jessica groaned her face in her hands.

"If Clay finds out Carlton left the house, he'll kill him...and Kyle, too!"

"How much longer is Carlton supposed to be resting?" Sam asked.

"Last I heard, another month...at least!" Jessica said, frustration oozing through her tone like steam. "I should've known he'd take advantage of the opportunity to come back here."

"Why?" Sam asked. She looked at him, confused. "I mean, why here? This place doesn't look like it'd be fun to come to anymore with the way it is, not to mention what's happened here."

Jessica nodded, understanding his point. "It's not that. Despite everything that's happened here, it still has a special place in our hearts, the place that gave us joy as kids. It was also where...well, I'm sure you heard about Michael."

Sam nodded.

"We were all good friends with Michael, but Carlton was his closest friend. I think Carlton still feels a connection to him there."

"A connection to Michael? But I thought he said Michael moved on?"

"Yeah, I know, but this is where Michael was last seen alive, and where we had our first night of terror a few years ago. I think he still feels this place more than any other can remind him of Michael."

Sam looked up at the building, looking older and more decrepit with every passing second.

"Really? I don't see why returning to a place like this would bring back any memories, at least not in this state."

Jessica turned to him. "You'd be surprised how much emotions can get to you when you're reminded of someone you knew. No offense, but you don't understand. You've never lost anyone like we have."

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said, although as the words left his mouth, he thought back to his deceased father. Why am I feeling nothing about him? Has it really been that long? He still vaguely remember his face, his kind loving eyes, his gentle yet firm voice. Obviously, Charlie was devastated by his death, according to what he heard from her friends, so why was it leaving such a little impact on him? Perhaps time had dulled his memories much more than he thought.

"Come on, let's go," said Jessica leading him into the building the same way she had several times before.

"I feel guilty," said Sam as he climbed through the window. "I know the building's abandoned and all, but I still feel like we're breaking and entering, and a guard's gonna come out and catch us."

Jessica visibly shuddered. "Don't remind me," she said, remembering their first meeting with William Afton disguised as a somewhat ordinary night guard the night he later kidnapped Carlton and began the chain of events that led to everything else that happened. She shook in disgust and continued.

Somehow, the mall looked even more empty than it did when she and Charlie came back seven months earlier. As far as she could tell, nothing had changed since then, but it still seemed like there was something different about the place, almost as if it were more unwelcoming than ever. Those mysterious yet friendly feelings of nostalgia she, Charlie, John, and Carlton had felt their first visit back were long gone. With each return trip, the place became more unfamiliar and even hostile. Now, with every step she took, she felt increasingly overwhelmed by a feeling that they weren't wanted there...ever.

"Here," she said, leading Sam to what remained of the entrance. After only a few moments, they stepped into the remains of the man dining room. She turned to him. "Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza."

Sam gazed around in amazement. Despite the fact that the building was in ruins, he still marveled at how large the place was compared to what he remembered from the much smaller Fredbear's Family Diner.

Looks like Dad decided to upgrade, he thought, gazing up and all around, doing his best to visualize the lively environment the restaurant once had.

"They've removed everything," Jessica explained, "and that was before the storm destroyed it. This is all that's left."

"Why didn't they just get rid of the building?"

"No one knows for sure, except that some people don't feel right disturbing this place."

Sam let out a hmm and began walking around. The middle of the ground contained a large circle indicating that something big had once been there...like a merry-go-round.

"I used to love this," said Jessica, walking over to him. "I never wanted to get off. My parents told me I laughed and screeched all the time while I was on it, but I don't remember that. I rode it every time until Marla puked all over it one time."**

Sam put up his hands and took a step back as if the contents of little Marla's lunch were still there. Jessica laughed.

"Yeah, I still feel that way about it, too."

Sam chuckled and looked around more. He always wanted to come to a place like this for a birthday party, but his mother never allowed him. He never understood why, but then again, he never understood why the two of them left his father and sister. He knew his mother didn't have that much money and did her best to get by, even buying him something nice every birthday and holiday, but he missed the atmosphere he remembered from his past. Granted, it would not have mattered much given Kyle's fear of animatronics. He'd asked him why one day and the only response he got was, "They look so creepy and alive."

"Oh, look!" Jessica said, bringing Sam back to the present. "I never noticed this before! Some of the drawings are still here!"

On the floor near where the stage used to be were a few papers. Jessica walked over and picked them up. She handed one to Sam and he looked at it. It was a hand-drawn picture of three children standing together smiling, and next to them was a yellow rabbit, smiling over at them with an arm outstretched toward them...a large, matted, furred arm. Maybe it was only his eyes, but with each passing seconds, the rabbit got closer and closer to one of them: a girl, based on the long brown hair.

He stood over her, a smile on his face, and in a flash, he had her in his grasp. She gave one frantic look around for a sense of comfort but was given none. And then the two of them were gone.

"NO!"

His sudden shout startled Jessica, who had been glancing through some of the other drawings. She dropped one, and her audible gasp made Sam turn to her.

"Sorry. Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" she said, looking flustered as she reached down to pick up the paper that had fallen. "I think I should be the one asking you! What's wrong?"

"This rabbit!" he exclaimed, pointing frantically at the paper. He-"

He looked back at the paper to discover that it was still as it had been when he first looked at it. He thrust the paper back at Jessica and walked over to the center of the stage, leaping up and sitting on the edge, his face in his hands. Jessica set the drawings down and joined him.

"Do you know who that was?" she asked him. "The rabbit in the picture?"

Sam looked at her, embarrassment written all over his face.

"You mean, William Afton?"

Jessica's nostrils flared. "Yeah, that was Afton, although he once went by the name Springtrap, too."

"Springtrap?"

"That suit he wore, the same one he always wore, was old and gross, and it looked like it would malfunction at any given time. We saw him die once in it right here in this room...or so we thought. Your sister did it."

Sam's eyes drifted upward to the ceiling in thought.

Springtrap? he thought. As in the spring locks in the suit? The ones Dad showed us one time?

He thought back to the memory of his father showing off one in his hand, and it hit him.

Of course! Dad said those things were dangerous! Obviously, Afton didn't heed the warning or didn't think that he was in danger.

But what about Afton? If he was the one always in that particular suit, the same one he'd been dreaming about...was he in his dreams, too?

He looked over at Jessica, who was watching him intently. With Charlie, she'd usually interrupted her train of thought with a joke of some kind to tease her, but Sam's sense of humor was still a bit of a mystery, not to mention now wasn't the time.

"Jessica, did you actually see Afton...you know...die?"

She shook her head. "No, I didn't Carlton said he did, while he was still under the effects of whatever Afton did to him. I didn't, though."

"Could he still be alive, do you think?"

She shuddered again. "I hope not, but I can't say for certain. He'd better not be, though. This town is done with him and his crimes. Why do you ask?"

Sam sighed, looking down at his hands in his lap. "I think I remember him...from my childhood."

Jessica's eyebrows raised. "You mean...from when you were here? In Utah?"

"Yeah."

"When did you move, exactly?"

"When I was about three." He remembered celebrating his fourth birthday in Chicago, so he knew it had to have been before that. He'd also learned in psychology that the child's mind usually starts remembering details around that age.

"Did you meet him?" she asked. "When you and Charlie were kids?"

"I don't remember. We might have, but then again, we were both a bit shy." He scoffed slightly as he remembered both of them hiding behind their parents' legs in the presence of newcomers.

"Did you go anywhere like this?"

"Like...this?" He gestured to the building, and she nodded. "No, not since I lived here. We have lots of other fun stuff in Chicago, but nothing like this. I haven't been anywhere with animatronics since before we moved. My dad used to own a small diner with animatronics that he built. Fredbear's Family Diner."

Jessica's mouth dropped slightly. There was another restaurant? Why didn't Charlie ever tell her?

"Where was it?"

"I don't know. It's been so long."

"What was it like?"

"Like this, but much smaller. My dad really didn't have much money back then. It's amazing he was able to do all this after Mom and I left. It was only one main dining room and a stage with two animatronics, a bear and a rabbit."

"What color?" asked Jessica.

"Yellow. They both were."

Something flashed within Jessica's mind. Two summers ago, the night she, Charlie, John, and Carlton met in the diner for the first time in years, Charlie had mentioned Freddy being yellow. Jessica usually didn't pay too much attention to minor memory fragments like that, but Charlie had always proven herself to be more observant than that, and it made her curious as to why she would make such an error.***

"But that wasn't all," Sam continued, oblivious to Jessica's mental tangent. "The suits were hybrids, meaning they could be worn by people or be animatronics, but if you wear them, you had to be very careful of the spring locks so they didn't go off and kill you."

"Like Afton," said Jessica. It was all making sense now, but why did Charlie never tell her any of this? Did she not remember it clearly enough, or was she that desperate to keep it to herself? If she knew Charlie, which she certainly did, Charlie knew how to open up to her best friends, unless it was very personal. Did something happen that she didn't tell anybody about?

"Did anything happen? At the diner?" she asked.

"I can't remember," Sam said again. "I'm sorry, but right now, most of that is still a blur. Maybe if I actually saw it again…"

"Well," she said, placing a hand upon his, "we can always try researching it."

Sam shrugged. "Maybe. So, if you don't mind me asking, what was Clay's plan, anyway? With finding my sister. It sounds like he's beating a dead horse, according to a lot of people he works with."

Jessica shook her head. "I don't know. It's been a month since any of us last saw her. It's tough, but we're fighting, trying our best to hold onto whatever hope we can that she's still out there somewhere, and we can find her and bring her home."

"Yeah," said Sam. "The only reason I'm here is because of this investigation. I'm still not sure how, exactly, I can help. If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly up-to-date with my memories."

"That's alright," she said with a smile. "It's good to have you here, anyway."

"Glad I can provide good company," said Sam in a half-sarcastic half-genuine tone while returning the smile. "It just sucks that it has to be under these circumstances, looking for my sister, my dad being gone for a long time, sitting here in this abandoned pizzeria where I feel like any second something's gonna-"

A hand suddenly planted itself firmly on his shoulder. Jessica screamed and Sam rushed it off, ready to fight the intruder, only to be met with Kyle's smug face.

"Excuse me, but this place is off-limits!" he said with a laugh.

Jessica heaved while Sam got to his feet on stage and gave his friend a shove.

"You idiot! You scared the hell outta me!"

"Wasn't trying to," said Kyle. "I figured you knew we were here, but I wanted to see how you'd react. I don't think I've seen you panic that much since that one Halloween that fake spider dropped on your head."

Sam groaned in seething frustration. "Yeah, well, that's what happens when you sneak up on people. Where did you come from anyway?" he asked, looking behind him.

"Over in the old arcade room. Carlton was telling me about the old ancient games they used to have back there!"

"Carlton!" Jessica shrieked in a voice so loud it startled Sam and Kyle.

From the dark hallway Kyle had gestured to came Carlton, slowly inching his way to the stage, trying his hardest not to keel over laughing.

"That was great!" he said in between breaths.

Sam threw up his arms in surrender and humiliation. Jessica's eyes burned in anger.

"What are you even doing here?! You're supposed to be at home resting!"

"What are you, my mom now?" he said, wincing slightly as her glare worsened. "Come on, it's been so long since I got to leave the house! Besides, it's been a long time since I visited Freddy's. I need to say goodbye, too!"

Despite the humor still showing on his face, his eyes looked serious, and Jessica relented slightly with a heavy sigh. Well, she reminded herself, this is where he lost Michael. We all did. Maybe it is fair, after all.

"So where have you two been?" Kyle asked as they hopped down off the stage.

"We stopped by my dad's house," said Sam.

"What was it like?"

"There's nothing there. It was destroyed in a storm last summer and the debris was taken away."

"Shame I never got to see it myself," said Carlton.

"It wasn't that spectacular," said Jessica. "Just a house, really."

"Except for the whole underground pizzeria," said Carlton.

"Yeah, except for that."

"Where are you heading now?" Kyle asked.

Sam glanced at Jessica. "What did you have in mind?"

Jessica hesitated for a moment, lost in thought. Sam looked at Kyle and Carlton, both of whom looked as confused as he did. Then she spoke.

"Well, I wasn't sure about this at first, but…"

She broke off, still unsure as to whether or not her mind was truly made up.

"But?" Carlton asked.

She sighed. "Did you want to see where we found Charlie?"

Sam thought about it, still confused.

"You mean-?"

"The place where we found Charlie in the chest, where your Aunt Jen…"

"Ah." Sam understood why she hesitated. From what was described to him, that house saw too much gruesome action in such a short period of time, so it made sense why she was so nervous about going back. "Sure. We might as well."

"Can we come?" Carlton asked hopefully.

She shot him a concerned look.

"Come on, I want to come! Charlie's my friend, too, you know. If we find anything, I wanna help!"

She almost laughed at how childlike he sounded. She still wasn't completely on board with the idea, but perhaps a quick visit wouldn't hurt.

"Alright, but we're not staying long. We need to get you home, young man!" she teased.

"Yes, Mom," said Carlton with a laugh as they headed for the door.

Clay's heart sank when he saw his son's car gone from the house. When he noticed no one home, his thoughts began wandering.

That boy doesn't know how to listen, does he? he thought furiously as he walked back out to his car. He got in and began driving to an old familiar location.

"Where are we going now?" the woman from the police station asked.

"To find some troublemakers," Clay mumbled, to which she huffed in response.

They pulled up to the bottom of the hill. Kyle stepped out of Carlton's car and gazed up at the house in amazement.

"You weren't kidding. This place looks creepy enough from down here!"

"Come on," said Jessica as the four of them began their journey up the hill, Carlton moving slower than the rest but doing his best to keep pace.

When the four of them got to the door, they noticed it was cracked open.

"Uh…" said Kyle nervously.

"Is there anyone else here that you know of?" Sam asked Jessica.

"Like who?"

"I don't know. Policemen or workmen doing something?"

She shook her head. "Not as far as I know. We didn't pass any cars or trucks."

"Then why would…?"

They all turned back to the door as the wind blew it closed slightly.

"Yeah, I'm not sure about this," said Kyle, turning to Carlton. "It's just like in the movies, right?"

"Shh!" said Sam, holding up a finger and inching his way to the door. He put his hand on it and gave it a small shove. Kyle winced, fully expecting something to jump out, but nothing did.

The door creaked open to reveal an empty hallway, completely quiet with nothing of interest. Sam stepped slowly inside, the others following cautiously behind him. They walked by the living room, which looked no different than the last time Jessica had seen it, only it was dustier.

"Check the back rooms," Jessica whispered, fear evident in her voice.

Sam walked softly and slowly down the hall, giving a quick look around in all directions with every step.

"This one," Jessica whispered, pointing at the door that lead to the room she and John had hidden in from Charlie's doppelganger when it attacked and brutally murdered her Aunt Jen.

The door was wide open. Sam glanced back at Kyle, who only shook his head, meaning: Your call, but be careful.

Sam stepped carefully over the threshold of the room. It was a cluttered room full of boxes and chests. Artifacts were spilled all over the floor, as though someone had been looking for something. Sam took another step forward, eyes taking in everything he was seeing, looking for something of interest, when a large blow struck him on the back of the head. He gave a loud grunt and fell to the ground.

"Sam!" Kyle cried, attempting to rush in, but the culprit stepped out from behind the door, shutting it behind him. Sam recovered enough wits to turn and face his attacker before the next blow, but it didn't come. Instead, the man standing over him, who looked to be his age, was looking down at him in bewilderment.

Behind him, the door burst open.

"Hey!" Jessica cried, rushing in. "Leave him alone! This isn't your house, you-!"

But her anger turned instantly to shock when she saw his face.

"John?"

John didn't move a muscle to acknowledge her presence. His eyes were glued on the familiar yet different face below him. After what seemed like an hour, he spoke.

"Sammy?"

REFERENCES

*The Twisted Ones, p. 63

**The Silver Eyes, p. 26

***The Silver Eyes, p. 29