INFORMATION
Written by: Pinkpony4
Chapter Word Count: 9'893
Published on FanFiction: 15th of September
Published on AO3: 15th of September
Chapter 11: Living in Shadows
Sleep was something Michael would not be getting for the next few weeks. If his phone's alarm didn't wake him up first, his bub would. Every two hours that night and the nights that followed, Michael was getting up and giving Geh Ge Panadol. His bub always tried to resist it since it tasted so foul, but whenever he managed to get him to take some, the cries would die down. Just as an extra measure while he waited for the medicine to kick in, Michael would gently rub Geh Ge's gums with a cold finger until he eventually fell asleep.
Then the cycle would continue.
When dawn finally arrived, he barely managed to drag himself out of bed and fix himself up. If there was one thing that ate away at him every morning (aside from his exhaustion), it was the fact that he was leaving his bub in Ms. Olivia's and Ash's care.
He didn't hate Ash anymore, but their combined awkwardness and lack of interaction made things difficult. It was only Ms. Olivia's insistence that Ash was a good man, and Ash's reasoning that Michael couldn't go to work with a screaming baby that convinced him to hand him over.
The guilt of leaving his little boy in the hands of others when he was in so much pain still ate away at him regardless. Judging by the look on his neighbours' faces when he left for work that morning, Geh Ge had kept them awake too.
"What happened to you, my dude?" Daniela laughed, leaning against the lockers when he walked in.
"Good morning to you too," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. He could feel the bags under them. Already, he was starting to sway when he walked, barely conscious when he reached the desk and dropped his bag underneath with little care. Seeing the look on her face, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "My baby's started teething."
"Ah," was all she said in response, seeming to understand his plight. She playfully patted his shoulder and started to walk away. "Want me to get you some coffee?"
"No, no; it's alright. I can manage."
She left, only to come back thirty minutes later with some anyway. Wishing him luck, she shoved the coffee into his hands and ran out before he could object to her generosity. He'd have to pay her back later.
He was a little alarmed at how accurate the coffee was to his taste, the mixture of caffeine and sugar nearly snapping him out of his dazed state. He was pretty sure he hadn't told her how he liked his coffee, because usually she looked like death in the morning too, so talking wasn't really on the table for them.
Despite that, they had sort of become friends – or at least, comfortable acquaintances.
He sighed leaning back in his chair and idly rocking it from side to side as he thought of nothing. Nothing was nice to think about, but often times it led to something deciding to ruin the mood. Before that could happen, he turned the TV on and turned the volume up.
The weather man said that spring was most likely not going to be making an appearance until next month but if they were lucky, the snow would stop falling a week before. There was also a lot going on about the world outside of America. An earthquake had struck Japan again, but there wasn't too much damage due to their amazing infrastructure. Along with that, there was a cyclone that had kicked up in the northern parts of Australia, and it looked pretty bad.
Then there were talks about the stock market and taxes, some missing persons' reports, some murders, and robberies, then talk about celebrity stuff, upcoming movies, and a small snippet of something actually interesting and pure; some big charity had successfully donated school supplies to some poor kids somewhere in Utah.
He sighed, turning the volume down and leaning back so he could stare at the ceiling. School… school… what was he going to do about school? He wanted Geh Ge to have a good chance at life by having a good education, which he could get with homeschooling, but school introduced kids to the world physically. Horrible things could happen – bullying, harassment, gossip – so many things could go wrong.
Michael couldn't protect Geh Ge forever, but he could try. Keeping him away from other people wasn't how he was going to go about it, however. But how could he?
He wished he had someone to guide him.
God, why did life have to fuck him over so badly?
The jingle that sounded at the door stopped him in his thoughts, making him look up. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and tried to give the man a smile that he hoped wasn't strained.
"Good morning," he greeted politely. The man looked familiar.
"You too, Michael," the old man said.
Michael stared at him, tired mind whirling back to try and figure out if he knew this person. "Sorry, but who are you?"
He looked a little surprised by his question, but he quickly hid it by straightening his glasses. "I'm Henry Cross. I wanted to… apologise for hitting you."
Ooooh, that's right. While it was a kind gesture, he hadn't really cared about that scuffle. "Oh, that's alright. I kind of forgot all about it, actually. Thank you, though."
Mr. Cross seemed to study him for a second, frowning. "It's not alright."
Michael shrugged, trying to play it off. "I've had worse right hooks. I barely even felt it, so don't stress," he said kindly, hoping he wasn't coming off as rudely dismissive to the old man's guilt.
What felt like an awkward silence to Michael, fell between them. Mr. Cross was weirding him out; why was he staring at him like that? "Are you okay, sir?"
"You look tired," he stated, ignoring his question.
Well, yeah? "I am, but it's alright. You have nothing to do with that either. It's just–" He cut himself off. This man didn't need to know about Geh Ge. "There's a kid where I live and he's just been crying a lot. His mum said he's teething," he lied.
Mr. Cross looked sad for some reason. "I remember those days. She'll be in for a treat once he's two. They call it the 'terrible twos' for a reason."
Oh, boy. Michael was suddenly remembering what a nightmare his siblings had been every time he came back from school. That was going to be… fun. "Oh, really?" he tried to laugh, fiddling with his hands as the old man walked around. Was he here just to talk? "I'm sure she'll be fine; we're all here for her."
He hummed. "That's very nice of you. You're very… polite. I don't know many people your age that still call others 'Sir', 'Mr', and all of that."
Michael turned to drink the last of his coffee while he side-eyed Mr. Cross. That was a weird observation, and something not many people would comment on. "I'm sorry, but do I know you? From somewhere else, I mean," he elaborated. He did look familiar in a way, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
Mr. Cross looked at him fully, no longer squinting at him. "You don't…" he trailed off. "I used to know you. I must have changed a lot since then. You haven't, though."
He frowned, leaning into his seat. He didn't like where this was going. Was this another random that knew him? He really didn't want to deal with questions and jabs about his life right now. He was trying to put that all behind him. "Oh, really? When?"
"When you were young. The last time I saw you, you were in your early twenties," he answered vaguely.
If that was the case, Michael didn't want anything to do with him. Most of the people he knew around that time had been judgemental assholes that didn't see anything but a disturbed teenager, even when he became an adult. "Sorry, but I don't recognise you. And I don't mean to be rude, but I don't want to talk about whatever you're thinking," he said shortly. Turning his back to him, he tried to look like he was busy by looking through the lockers. It seemed that almost everything (bar a scarf) had been reunited with their owners.
"Are you scared?"
He stiffened at the accusation. Slowly turning around, he tried to keep his expression natural, but judging by the look on Mr. Cross' face, his eyes were telling a different story. "No, I'm not; I'm just sick and tired of pushy pricks like you trying to shove your noses into my business. I've changed since then and not a day goes by where I wish things were different. Now, if you're not here to do your laundry, please, get out," he hissed, cursing himself for saying more than he should.
Mr. Cross only nodded. "I didn't mean to offend you."
He bit his cheek, trying not to blow a fuse. "I'm not offended," he managed to force out, voice too low for his liking. "I'd just like to move on from that and take care of my family." Ah, shit. He shouldn't have said that last bit.
For some reason, Mr. Cross suddenly looked way too interested in his last sentence, which meant he wasn't going to respect Michael's wishes. "Family?" he whispered. Why'd he sound nervous?
Michael didn't care. "It's none of your business," he said dismissively.
Much to his relief, the old man just turned around and left without another word, slowly shuffling out the door, leaving an eerie atmosphere behind.
What the Hell was that?
-o0o-
He didn't see the man for the rest of the week, and he was glad of it. He didn't like him. Who knows if Henry Cross was even his real name? If it was or not, he wouldn't know, and he didn't really care. As long as he didn't go near Michael again, he was fine.
Unfortunately, he couldn't shake off his unease.
"Michael?"
He looked up to see Ash coming back from Ms. Olivia's kitchen with Geh Ge's bottle. He took it, thanking him as he propped his bub up to feed him.
"You look distracted. Ms. Olivia said you've been that way for a while. Are you worried about something?" Ash asked, sitting in her armchair. Currently, Ms. Olivia was going for a walk with Steve.
"Just something that happened at work, is all," he mumbled, distracted by Geh Ge. He gently pulled the bottle away when he started to drink too fast. "No, no, Bub. Slowly, okay?" Geh Ge furrowed his eyebrows and whined, but Michael only let him start drinking again once he took it slowly. He didn't want his bub getting sick on top of his sore gums.
"Want to, uuhhh… talk about it?" Ash tried. He looked up as Ash looked down, fiddling with his hands.
Things between them were weird. They weren't friends but Michael didn't hate him anymore; Ash had done a lot for him even though they'd started out on the wrong foot. "I just met someone weird a couple of days ago. I nearly got punched by some old guy there and he popped in to say sorry. Then he started asking a lot of invasive questions," he summarised.
"Ah… like what I did to you two on New Years?" he guessed sheepishly.
"Yes, like that. It was someone that knew who I was, too, but I didn't recognise him."
They were quiet as they waited for Geh Ge to finish. Once he was done, Michael put the bottle down on the coffee table and started to burp his baby when he started to wheeze.
"I know this is… sort of out of nowhere – and I don't want to upset you – but, I wanted to… apologise," Ash started, struggling to meet his eyes. "About what happened on New Years," he clarified.
Michael didn't really hold a grudge against him for that; it was his mother's fault, anyway. But if he wanted to apologise, then he wouldn't stop him. "I'm not angry about that, if that's what you're worried about."
"Oh, really? That's great! I mean–" Ash sighed and started to pick at his skin. "My mum was out of line. I don't hate you; it's not your fault."
Geh Ge whined, getting Michael's attention. He looked down and smiled, his bub returning it before he nuzzled his cheek. Ash still had his ear, though. "And?"
"My mum… she used to be a pre-school teacher. A lot of the kids that went missing were the ones that she taught, and teachers tend to get attached to the kids they teach. Even though it's unfair, she blamed both your family and the Emily family too," he rushed out, now starting to bounce his leg.
"Oh. I see." That wasn't an unpopular opinion, but usually the hate at the time was only pushed in his direction because of the bite. A lot of people believed he was somehow the catalyst for everything. Funny that no one connected it to his father. "Well, it's not your fault if she feels that way. I've got a feeling I'm not going to be seeing her much, anyway."
Ash lowered his shoulders, eyeing him wearily. "You're not mad?"
"Not at all. I'm used to that sort of thing. Besides, I'm an adult, now. I've… kind of managed to move on."
He visibly relaxed, letting out a breath he'd been holding in. "Oh, good. It's been eating at me for months. I'm sorry, I'm just not used to… other people my age."
"Your age?" Michael wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that. Despite Ash's ash-coloured hair, he didn't look like he was his age. "How old do you think I am?"
Ash looked as though Michael had just threatened to chuck him off the apartment's roof. "Uh… well, ummmm… forty-five?"
He couldn't help but laugh. "I'll take that as a compliment! I turned fifty-seven in February."
"I was way off, then," Ash laughed, relaxing again. "And he's… five months, now?" he guessed, nodding at Geh Ge.
"Yep. He should be able to hold his head up by himself soon, right?"
"If he's healthy. Let go of his head for a sec and then we can see."
Michael leaned back, gently pulling his bub away. Geh Ge mumbled in confusion, looking at him with a firm frown on his face. He pointed at Ash. "Look over there."
Much to his delight, Geh Ge wiggled in his arms until he was able to turn his head around. Spotting Ash, he smiled. Cooing he quickly turned back to Michael, smile only getting bigger – big enough for him to see a pair of teeth that had pushed through. "Well done, Gregory; you did it!" he cheered, hugging his bub again. Geh Ge squealed, clumsily clapping his hands.
"Good. It looks like he's on the right track, physically, at least. How's he going with talking and social cues?" Ash asked, smiling as well.
He hummed, trying to think. "Ms. Olivia hasn't noticed anything odd. He understands 'stop' and knows to look wherever I point. He's also tried saying 'bye' and 'daddy'."
Ash finally seemed comfortable to meet his eyes. "I bet you can't wait 'till he learns his first word."
Michael smiled, looking back down at his bub as he nuzzled into his chest, yawning. "No, I can't. I just hope it's something appropriate. My mother told me my first word was a curse because my aunt was teaching me how to swear."
Ash burst into a fit of laughter after that.
-o0o-
It was late when he returned to the laundromat. He didn't want to be seen and he would prefer to talk to his niece in private after what had happened earlier that week. Hopefully she would have more info for him tonight.
He stepped inside, gently opening the door. His niece squeaked in surprise, quickly wrapping her poncho around her when the cool air shot through and slammed the door shut for him. "Uncle Henry! You're a little late."
Henry slowly made his way to the seats by the window, relieved to be resting his tired legs. "Some of the roads I usually take were closed down for maintenance," he explained, leaning his cane against the chair. "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about, Uncle. So, want to know the scoop?"
He nodded.
"Well, I know you want to know all about him, but I can't tell you some things."
He frowned. "Why not?"
His niece sighed. "Look, Uncle, I want to help you get some closure, but… I think you should leave him out of this."
"Is this because he has a family, now?" he muttered, scowling. "He let that slip when I visited him. I didn't see a ring or anything."
She shifted in her seat before standing up, starting to pace behind the desk. "Uncle… I don't know much about him, I know, but he seems really sweet – nothing like what you said he would be. Complete opposite, actually. He's not married, but from what I can tell, he seems to think of his neighbours as his family in a way." She paused, clenching her fists and raising one to her mouth to bite on it. "There's this… baby. He loves the kid a lot, and I… it doesn't seem right for you to try and take this away from him. After everything I've learned about both of your families… just because his father did horrible things, doesn't mean he has to pay for it."
Henry gripped his cane, glaring at his wrinkled hands. "I've waited too long for this. They're all out there – I know it. I can't rest until they're free." He scowled. "It doesn't matter what he wants. He promised he would help me."
His niece let out an angry hiss, stomping her foot. "That's the problem! He's nearly in his sixties! He's suffered enough. A promise made when he was twenty is moot by now."
"And how do you know that?"
She looked down, stopping to stare into the empty abyss of one of the washing machines. "He just… I can sense it. There's a way he holds himself that just screams 'leave me be'. It's like looking at a college kid that hasn't slept in six years. There's just… something there." She turned to him. "All I'm going to tell you is that now's not the time. Just a few more months, please, Uncle Henry. Until… until the baby stops teething."
"Why does that matter to Michael?"
"I can tell it's stressing him out. Can't you, Uncle? Don't you care?" she pleaded, distressed.
Henry picked up his cane once more, getting up slowly. "No, I don't. Whatever he has in his life isn't as important as this."
She scoffed, crossing her arms. "To you, maybe, but not to him, and not to me."
"Why do you care so much? I've told you about what he and his father have done–"
"That's just it! It's been years since then! I don't know what he was like when he was a kid, but I can see this – this… despair in him. I just feel really bad for him. I'm putting myself in his shoes and I just can't imagine putting him through all of that again. I want to help, Uncle, I really do – but not like this."
"No," he said flatly, too stubborn to change his mind. "He's in this, whether he wants to be or not."
His niece suddenly grabbed her hair, letting out an angry cry. "God, UNCLE. LISTEN TO YOURSELF! WOULD…" She turned away, taking a deep breath. "You told me so many things about Charlie: about her kindness, her empathy, her love for others. You said she saw Michael as a big brother – what would she think of you if she saw what you were doing?" she tried.
It didn't work. The mention of his late daughter only struck nerves he didn't want touched. "She's not around to tell me, now, is she?" he snapped. Before his niece could say anything else, he made for the door. Opening it, he didn't bother turning back to look at her. "Good night, Daniela."
-o0o-
A man sat in his car, driving along the never-ending highway as he smoked. The full moon made the snow glow and the fine layer of ice on the road shimmer. It would have been a beautiful sight if he wasn't stressed out of his mind. His wife was in labour, and he had another hour left to go before he reached the hospital in Hurricane. The only reason he wasn't speeding was because he didn't want to get into an accident or slapped with a fine.
At least, that was his intention until he saw something on the side of the road. He slammed his foot on the brakes as the bright LED lights caught the shadowed figure of a… humanoid rabbit?
The car screeched past the figure as it stumbled back into the darkness, trying to hide. From the side mirror, he watched it drop to the ground and lay there as though it was following the rule of 'if I can't see it, it can't see me'. The car finally came to a stop, allowing him to hear only his pounding heart and heavy breathing. Looking into the rear-view mirror showed nothing. Maybe his exhaustion was making him see things?
Despite his better judgement, he slowly reached down the side of his seat, picking up a metal baseball bat and getting out of his car. Using the moon as his guide, he stopped just short of the thing lying on the ground, worried. Was it a furry that was high-as-fuck and had gotten lost? Was it a teen that was getting hazed? Whatever it was, it smelled like shit, even in the cold.
Not daring to get closer, he cupped one of his hands over his mouth and called out to it. "Hello? Are you alright, Mate?"
When he received no response, he reached into his back pocket, pulling out his phone to call the police, but he had no service. Sighing he looked up…
And screamed as the thing jumped at him.
Scrambling to the side, he slipped and landed heavily on his side, cracking his neck. He stumbled to his feet, whirling around to look at the… abomination in front of him.
All he could see was the shadow of a damaged, humanoid rabbit, with half an ear missing and an empty waist that had… something dangling from its ribs. What it was, he didn't want to know, but whatever it was, it wasn't friendly. The glowing white eyes filled with rage said enough.
He slowly circled the rabbit, putting himself in between it and his car. All he had to do was hit it hard and bolt. If he could, he would take a picture, but that wasn't his priority right now.
Raising the bat up, he readjusted his stance to prepare his swing. This thing didn't seem capable of holding itself up; it was slumped over and followed him with a heavy limp. Its left arm also seemed to be bent oddly. It reminded him of the classic depiction of zombies.
"Who are you?" he asked, keeping the waver of fear from his voice.
An odd noise left it – as though it was trying to talk but couldn't. "We-we-weh-er-?"
"Where? As in, 'where are we'?" he tried to clarify. While he didn't know what or who it was, if it was human, he didn't want to hurt them. "We're about an hour's drive away from Hurricane. We're in Utah," he added.
The silver eyes were the only thing that told him what it was thinking. It turned its head slowly, a sickening creak and whine of metal grinding against… meat, made his stomach churn. Whatever it was seemed to think the same, a hiss leaving it.
On closer inspection, it seemed to be alive. It was swaying back and forth like a person would when they breathed, and he could see little puffs of air leaving its too-large mouth. If he held his breath and strained his ears, he could swear he could hear it breathing, a faint, stuttering heartbeat attached.
"Are you… hurt? I'm going to the hospital; I can help you get there," he offered, sensing that this was a bad idea. He couldn't be too sure, though. He was once a stupid young man, and he was very aware of how weird some could get, so maybe this one just got kidnapped or something.
His question seemed to amuse it, because it started to shake and… laugh? It started out as an odd wheezing, the rapid clicking of a music box's crank joining in, before it turned into an almost pained, human laugh. He slowly started to back away, drawing his bat up so he would be ready to swing just in case.
It suddenly threw its head up and screamed, coming out like a mix of a raspy, choked cry and a mechanical roar. Then it jumped at him.
All sense of morality or worry about this thing was gone as soon as he saw the frighteningly sharp, metal claws reflect the moonlight as it reached for his face. He swung the bat as hard as he could, slamming it into the thing's left arm. He heard a crack and the thundering clap of metal on metal, and it screamed again as something heavy fell from it. He didn't stop to look.
Bolting back to his car, he threw himself into the front seat and slammed the door shut, locking them all instantly and starting the car. Switching the headlights on full, he took the risk to look outside as he wound the windows up.
It had fallen to the ground and was trying to stand up. He wondered why until he saw the long, thick chunk lying beside it; it was its arm. It managed to stand on its knees, white eyes meeting his and piercing into his soul with such a burning hatred that he was slamming his foot on the peddles before he was even looking at the road.
Speeding away, he heard it scream again, seeing it trying to follow him. With the loss of its arm, however, it stumbled to the left and collapsed, leaving it to try and pick itself up again.
Every time he blinked, he saw its white eyes, staring right into his very soul. He felt so cold, and breathless – as though he had just swum across an icy river.
He didn't look back until he reached the hospital.
-o0o-
Michael had never really experienced the disgusting sensation of accidentally snorting something up his nose, but he got to experience it first thing in the morning only ten minutes after he got to work.
Coughing, he rushed to the bathroom to blow the coffee out of his nose and clean his face off, heart hammering from embarrassment. Thank God no one was there to see that.
But that wasn't what he was worried about.
He quickly ran back into the room and sat at his desk, turning the TV up as he stared at the screen, heart hammering faster when he saw that the thing on screen was what he thought it was.
"Thirty-year-old Mason was caught speeding into the hospital, looking close to fainting. At first, hospital staff believed it was because his wife was in labour, but he was ranting wildly about seeing a 'corpse-like rabbit' on the highway an hour away from Hurricane. Any attempts to console him were fruitless until he saw his wife and their newborn daughter.
"Police were called in due to his hysteric nature, and Mason – luckily – had a dash cam in his car, which had been on for the entire night. After combing through the footage, this is what they found."
Michael had forgotten how to breathe as he watched the brief flash of his father's silhouette fly past, the car going out of control as Mason hit the brakes. He started cursing the fool under his breath when he got out of the car and approached it.
His father (somehow) looked worse than the last time he had seen him. More of the faux fur had fallen from the plastic casing, and some of the casing was drooping where it had melted in the fire. Unfortunately, that meant that what remained of his father's organs was more visible, even in the dark. His intestines were still wrapped around the waist and punctured with wire, while his lungs were permanently trapped inside a metal ribcage. From there, he couldn't see much else, though there must be a (somehow) still beating heart inside. He had thought that hearing his father's wheezing gasps and stuttering heartbeat had only been a figment of his tormented imagination, but judging by the way he swayed back and forth, it hadn't been.
The fire had done a number on him, but not enough. Thankfully, the world had decided to rectify his error. Nearly one entire ear was gone and a huge chunk from the head had been torn off, leaving the top of his cracked skull visible to all. His posture was significantly worse and his limp had slowed him down.
And then the fool, that stupidly brave fool, ran towards his father and knocked his left arm clean off!
His father hit the floor the second it came off, screeching in fury, and Michael was relieved to find that the man had the good sense to book it out of there. If he had hung around, his father would have made him regret the last thirty seconds he had left of his life.
"Police were dispatched to patrol the area, but there was no sign of the creature. It is believed to be the same one that was sighted near the burned down Fazbear's Fright, along with the reports of it wandering around the neighbourhood back in December. Officials recommend that we avoid this thing at all costs, but keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. If you believe you have seen this creature wandering around, report it to the police immediately. Do NOT engage."
It was in Hurricane. How the fuck did his father manage to stumble all the way to Hurricane? Fazbear's Fright had been a whole-ass state away!
This wasn't good. Was he looking for Michael? Did he know where he was? God, he hoped not. Surely his father would have no idea where he went… right? Maybe he was just trying to get people's attention so that Michael would chase him down – that's what he had been doing for thirty years, after all.
His thoughts raced for the rest of the day, and well into the night after he had managed to get Geh Ge to sleep. He'd tried to distract himself by buying the materials he would need to rebuild Fredbear and then pulling him apart so he could trace the patterns over some tracing paper, but it was driving him up the wall with paranoia.
His dreams weren't kind that night. Neither were the ones after that.
-o0o-
"I know, I know!" Michael groaned into the phone as Jeremy blabbered away on the other end. "I'm really trying here, J."
"I can always come over!"
"It's too dangerous with my father running around," he reminded him.
"He only moves around during the night. If anything, I'm in danger staying here! I live too close to the old Fredbear's. They never cleaned the place out, you know. He may try rebuilding himself there or something."
Dammit, Jeremy was right. That was a very real possibility.
"And," Jeremy added, stopping Michael in his tracks. "I've heard rumours around town. Some people are saying they've seen other things like him wandering around at night. There's this big conspiracy that it's got something to do with Henry."
"What? Henry? He's in prison."
Jeremy let out a nervous laugh. "You– you didn't hear? I thought you did… He was released back in December. About a week before Fazbear's Fright burned down, I think."
Michael felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. "Why?"
"Well, all the old officers retired, so we got a lot of new guys at the station. They got really curious about the cases since they were never solved, so they did some digging and found out he was arrested without any evidence. 'Course, we knew that but nobody else did. A whistleblower reported it to the news and it was live about an hour later. When everyone in town found out, there was a riot on Facebook, and he was let out. He disappeared soon after, though, so no one knows where he went."
Michael cursed softly, looking around. No one was inside or outside, but he felt like either his father or Henry was going to burst through the door. He didn't know which one would be worse. "And what about these things people have been seeing?"
"Well, that's the thing; everything moves around at night and no one's willing to go outside except some teenagers. But when a few of them went missing, the police enforced a curfew to stop anyone from wandering around after hours. It doesn't help that people have been posting fake pictures on the internet, so it's just making everyone's job harder. From what I can gather, one's just a blobby mess with a Freddy head, the other's your father, one is just a shadow of some huge girl with pigtails and a claw for a hand, and the last is only described as 'looking like Slender Man'."
He was starting to sweat. "I think… I think I can guess who they are."
"What do you think?"
"The 'Slender Man' looking one could either be Ennard, or Charlie, but I'm leaning towards Charlie since you mentioned one with pigtails. If Circus Baby's broken off from Ennard, she may have rebuilt her body and the remains of Ennard aren't able to hold themselves together without her," he deduced, straining his mind to remember their bodies, even if he didn't want to see them in their prime ever again. "I just wouldn't know why Ennard and Baby would split apart. Maybe it was because they failed to use me so it was easier to move by themselves? No, no. Then Baby wouldn't have put herself together. God knows what Charlie's doing," he muttered more to himself than to Jeremy.
Jeremy whistled on the other end. "You really think it's them?"
He sighed, leaning back in his seat. "I've spent a lot of time with them. I don't know if they are aware of their situation anymore or not. The original five were incoherent and easy to trick because their A.I. was basic, but the Funtimes and Toys are a different story. Theirs was more advanced, so they were able to coordinate their attacks and talk to others. The A.I. did corrupt their original personalities, though. Elizabeth had always been a little rough, sneaky, and petty, but she never went out of her way to lie and hurt others. Charlie seems to still be herself from what I've seen of her, but I'm not sure. I've seen her outside of Freddy's, and she's made no attempt to hurt me, so she can tell my father and I apart."
"This sucks," was all Jeremy had to say. And that's really all he could say, because who was really prepared for this sort of thing?
"I wonder what Henry's doing. If he's out, I would have thought he'd make a beeline to me."
"Well, he tried to."
Michael swallowed thickly. "What do you mean by that?"
"He knew where I lived since I haven't moved or anything, but I didn't tell him anything about you. I just said I hadn't seen you in years."
He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, J."
"No problem. I wasn't going to let him even look at you after what he did. If he still expects you to jump when he says so, he's got another thing coming."
"I know, especially now. "I–" he hesitated, but felt that he should tell Jeremy the truth. "I don't care about saving the kids anymore. I know it sounds cruel, but Gregory comes first."
"It is cruel, but I don't think it's selfish," Jeremy said softly. "Gregory's alive and we want to keep it that way. If all Henry is going to do is start being an ass to you again, I'm going to have a few words to say. He's technically the reason I landed in the hospital in the first place," he grumbled. "You know, I never received an apology for that one."
Michael huffed out a chuckle, trying to take Jeremy's joke. "Yeah… I never got an apology either."
A sad silence fell between them before Jeremy sighed. "I hate this. I wish I could be there with you. I really miss you two."
He smiled. "I do too. One day, I'll move back; I promise."
"I know. You've always kept them. Your promises, I mean."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I got it. We're okay for now. Gregory started teething."
"Awww, poor bub. How many teeth has he got so far?" Jeremy asked, sounding relieved at the change of topic.
"Eight, now. Still got some more to go." Almost instinctively, Michael looked down, raising his free hand up to pet the head of a baby that wasn't in his arms. "It's stressful hearing him cry, though. I'm run ragged."
"I expect that when I see you again, there'll be no brown hair left," Jeremy joked.
He let out a sarcastic laugh, but there was no anger or annoyance in it. Jeremy joined in, coughing a bit on the other end "You alright there?"
"Y- yeah heh. I just choked on some spit, is all."
They talked for a bit more before he hung up. Even though their conversation had turned around, he was still scared. In all honesty, he'd rather get into a fistfight with his father than face Henry again. Their relationship had always been rocky, but it had gotten worse after Charlie died since he blamed Michael for everything.
Sins of the father and all that.
He'd told Henry himself that he'd have happily taken Charlie's place and that he was sorry, but nothing got through to him. He wouldn't be lying if he said he was more likely to get an apology out of his bastard of a father first before Henry gave him one.
And that was what was frustrating. He had done everything he could to make up for it.
Henry had pulled his strings – he'd taken advantage of his vulnerability and lack of self-worth and desire to live. What's the point of ending his life unless he died for a 'noble' cause? Henry could have done all of that and let Michael heal, but instead, he'd let Michael take all of the hits while he did jack shit. He'd probably be all better by now if he hadn't have had to drag himself through those nightmarish nights.
He'd grown up and began to realise just how used he was. He felt like he'd been betrayed, and that was a feeling that wasn't going to go away.
"Good morning, Uncle Henry!" he greeted as soon as he walked in. All he got in response was a dismissive hum.
That was all Uncle Henry ever said to him every morning and afternoon. Otherwise it was nothing but orders or scolding.
Had he done something wrong?
Well, it didn't matter. If Henry managed to find him, the door being slammed in his face would be the only answer he would get.
He couldn't be happier to go back home, though he smiled at Daniela and wished her good luck like always. She returned it, but there was an odd look in her eyes that he couldn't quite place.
When he got home, Geh Ge was crying because some new blisters had appeared, but that was fine; it was a nice distraction from everything else. Taking care of him almost always made him forget about his own troubles for the time being.
Holding Geh Ge close, he gently ran his cold finger along his gums, being careful not to nick himself on his bub's frighteningly sharp teeth. Geh Ge's tears slowly stopped as the pain killer kicked in and his bub started drifting off.
He pulled his finger out and washed his hand while he rocked him back and forth, finally putting him to sleep. Going back to their bed, he pressed a kiss to his forehead before he laid his bub down.
Seeing him sleeping so peacefully despite his situation gave him hope that maybe one day, he could do the same.
-o0o-
A little girl sat on the pavement outside her house, eating her lunch per Mum's orders. Spring had only just started (even though it was late), which meant she had to go out and get some sun. She wouldn't mind that much if she was allowed to have her tablet too, but Mum said no. And Mum's word was the law.
She settled on people-watching, but there wasn't much to watch. Some had started to shovel out the last of the melting dregs of snow from their driveways, while others were busy unpacking their cars from whatever holiday they had been on. Most of the big kids in her neighbourhood had gone to school, but she was too young. She only had one year left before she could go.
"Hello?" a soft, childish voice suddenly said.
She jumped, looking around. There was no one nearby but it felt as though they had been right next to her.
"Hello…?" she responded just as quietly, making sure Mum wasn't watching from the window. Mum would get mad if she caught her talking to herself again.
"Over here!" the voice said again. She couldn't work out if it was a boy's or a girl's voice. Maybe it was both?
"Where are you?" she asked, standing up and dusting the crumbs from her sandwich off her jumper.
"Right in front of you, silly," they giggled. She turned her head, looking at the pavement opposite to her. There was the abandoned playground that sat next to the just as abandoned Diner building place Mum told her not to go to. There was also that scary, haunted house no one lived in on the other side of the playground, too.
"I don't see you," she hissed, looking both ways before she started to cross the road.
"I'm in the drain," they clarified.
Squatting down, she looked into the scary, black hole near the curb. Mum told her not to go near them because she was too small and could fall in. Peering in, she could just barely see something inside. "Hello?"
"Yep! You found me!" they said again. The thing inside moved, and out raised a… bear? It was absolutely filthy and smelled like poo, and it was cracked. It seemed to be attached to some silver wires and she could see a lot of different coloured eyes that glowed in the dark. "Come a little closer," they requested.
She frowned, doing the opposite of what it asked. "No. You smell like poo."
"That's not very nice," they… he said, because now the childish voice had disappeared. Now it sounded like her weird grandpa she wasn't allowed to be left alone with. Its voice was croaky and scratched. "I-I-I'm not not-not going to hurt you-you you," it stuttered. More like glitched. Yeah, glitch was a better way to describe it. That's what happened when the internet slowed down because it would make the show she was watching go funny.
"No thank you. Mummy says I'm not allowed to talk to strangers," she repeated, starting to walk back home. Before she could make it across the road, however, something cold and wet grabbed her ankle.
She shrieked as she fell, immediately scrambling on the ground and clawing at the road to try and stop whatever it was from pulling her closer. She took the chance to look behind her and started to cry, screaming for Mummy as the silver wires curled and gripped her leg so tightly that she couldn't feel her foot.
Just as another grabbed her other leg, Mummy answered her call. Their large garden shovel was slammed, sharp end first, into the wires. The thing inside the drain screamed in pain, letting go immediately. Mummy swept her up and bolted back to their house, locking the door behind them.
Mummy put her down on the couch as their neighbours gathered along the road to investigate. From the living room's window, she watched a police car pull up and two officers step out and stand over the drain. One took out a flashlight and looked inside. She was terrified she would see the silver wires strike up and drag him head-first into the drain, but nothing happened.
Mummy wrapped a blanket around her while she checked her leg, their first-aid kit sitting next to her. She gently took her ankle and slipped her shoes and socks off to check the damage. Her leg was covered in long, purple bruises that made her yelp when they were touched, and a bit of blood was running down the sides where the metal had pinched her.
An officer talked to someone on the black box dangling from his hip before talking to their neighbours about what they saw. The other officer was scribbling in a book and taking photos of the place. The one talking to their neighbours looked at their house, one of their neighbours having pointed towards it. He walked towards it and a knock soon followed.
"Wait here, Sweetie; I'll be back soon," Mummy said, before she answered the door. Not long after, the police officer walked in and knelt down in front of her.
"Hello," the officer greeted, smiling warmly at her. "My name's Jacob. What's your name?"
"Eve," she mumbled.
"It's nice to meet you, Eve. I'm just going to ask you a few questions, and get you to draw a couple of pictures. Is that okay?"
Officer Jacob had a nice voice. He seemed nice too. Looking to Mummy for approval she answered. "Okay."
Jacob questioned her about a lot of things, but she wasn't able to answer some of them. Eventually, he handed her a piece of paper and Mummy got some lead pencils. He asked her to draw the thing from the drain, and she did what he asked, but her hands shook as she tried to remember what it looked like. When she was done, she handed the piece of paper back.
He stared at it for a few seconds before pulling out his phone and started typing something. "Did it have his face?" he asked, turning the phone around to show her a picture of a big, purple and white bear.
She nodded. "But his face was all brown and half melted and stuff, though. Like chocolate cake batter," she tried to explain.
Officer Jacob smiled, putting his phone away and holding out his hand. She took it and he shook it gently. "Thank you; this will be a great help." He turned to Mummy. "She looks fine, but I'd recommend you get her checked just in case; who knows what bacteria it has been carrying around with it."
Mummy nodded. "Thank you, Sir."
He stood up and started to leave the room. "I have to go make a phone call now, but I'll be back. Please, wait here."
He left the room and Mummy sat down next to her. Even though he had gone outside, she could just barely make out what he was saying.
"Yeah, it's the same one. Think they're connected? Yeah, I think so too. Mhhm. Yep, I'll do that. I think that's a good idea. Alright, we'll set up a patrol here too."
Was there more than one scary sewer monster?
-o0o-
"Dammit, I can't concentrate! He's too cute," Alex whined, though there was no anger in her voice. How could there be? Geh Ge was doing his best to distract the three of them.
Michael looked over at his baby who was now cooing and playfully chewing on Mangle's ear with his new teeth. He had twelve now, and had taken an interest into sticking things in his mouth to test out the new intrusions inside. Mangle was the only victim he could find that he knew his baby wouldn't choke on, so now the toy was subjected to constant ear biting. Michael didn't feel bad for the toy at all.
Not realising that Alex's complaint was meant in good humour, he looked at the two sisters across the table. "I'm sorry. I can go if–"
Jamie shushed him, not able to fight back her smile. "She's just kidding. It's nice to have something different to listen to instead of the same twenty songs on loop."
Right on cue, Geh Ge suddenly squawked, demanding their attention. As soon as all three of them were looking at him, he smiled around Mangle's ear, clutching it with his small hands. Geh Ge's grip strength had improved a bit too. He cooed, doing his best to wave. They waved back and he squealed, kicking his legs.
"Yes, he is very distracting," Michael admitted, having trouble pulling his attention away from his dear bub and back to the old sewing machine in front of him.
He had finally decided to start working on Fredbear. Ms. Olivia had helped him manage the patterns and cut the pieces out, so all he needed to do was to follow the instructions she had written down for him. Unfortunately, she couldn't be there with him because she had fallen ill. Ash was taking care of her right now and had said it was just a cold. Even if it was, it still worried everyone – she was very old.
Michael had managed to get Fredbear's felt hat stitched together, along with fixing Elizabeth's bow, but everything else would take a lot longer. He was only able to be there for an hour since he got home so late, even if Alex and Jamie insisted that it was fine with them if he stayed around a little longer.
He would if he could, but the problem was that Geh Ge was the one that decided when it was time to leave.
Their machines started to rumble as they got to work again. Alex and Jamie had gotten very far in their work and were nearly done. They planned on making some toys after this so they could donate them to one of the churches in town.
He had just sewn two pieces together and gotten up to iron the seam flat when Geh Ge decided that it was time to go. As quick as a light switch, his bub started crying.
"Let me handle that," Jamie said, taking the fabric from his hand. "Which way did you want it ironed?"
"Right, please!" he had to shout, Geh Ge causing more of a fuss than necessary. "Shh shhhh, it's okay, come on, Bub," he hushed, picking him up.
Alex gave him a sympathetic smile. "He's fussy, isn't he?"
"Not always, but I suppose he has a right to be right now." He gently took his bub into his arms and picked up the thrown toy as his bub continued to throw his tantrum. "What's gotten into you now?" he asked. Geh Ge only cried even more in response, trying to wipe his eyes with balled fists. "Are you tired?" he asked.
Geh Ge locked eyes with him, and Michael knew there was no arguing with him on this. They were going home.
"Alright, then. Come on, you," he mumbled. Getting himself on his feet, he turned around just as Alex put the ironed piece down.
"You can leave your stuff here," she told him. He nodded, watching as the both of them got close enough to touch Geh Ge. He still got nervous when anyone that wasn't Ms. Olivia or Ash touched him, but he had to tell himself that they meant no harm.
His bub whined, and they stopped trying to hold his hand and pat his head. "Thank you both," he said, re-adjusting himself so that Geh Ge was sitting in his arms better. "It means a lot."
"No problem!" they said together, following him out of their room. He could tell that they were dejected about having to be separated from Geh Ge, but that was usually everyone's reaction at the end of the day. "Have a good night."
"You two too."
-o0o-
She was scared and alone; she had been for a long time. She was angry and confused; she had been like that for even longer. The others had abandoned her – kicked her out! She was just trying to find Daddy and help him, but the other kids objected. What was worse was that Mummy sided with them instead of her! Daddy had been right: Mummy didn't love any of them.
So now she was here… wherever 'here' was. It was a town, at least, though she wasn't sure which one. After the others kicked her out, she dragged herself back home and put her body back together. She knew how to since she had seen Daddy and Uncle Henry do it all the time, but it was harder than it looked.
She couldn't find her feet again, and she had trouble re-attaching one of her hands, so she used the… the claw thing as her other hand to help her move and pick things up. She didn't like it, though. It reminded her of horrible things.
Her eyes were hard to reattach too, and she looked horrible. She wasn't the pretty, shiny robot that Daddy had made for her anymore. It made her sad. But that was why she was trying to find Daddy! He could fix her up – make everything better again! Daddy was good at fixing things and taking care of them, so after he was done patching her up like he always did when she was hurt, they could find Mikey and Evan. Then they could be a big family again!
Not Mummy, though. She wasn't part of their family anymore. That's what Daddy had said, and everything he said was always the truth. He'd never lied to her.
There was one thing that frustrated her even more, and it was Mikey. If those other kids hadn't tried to hurt him, then they could be with each other again. Mikey could have fixed her too, but the others ruined everything! While the others wanted to kill him, she just wanted to keep him, but then Mummy helped him and let him escape. She ruined everything!
And she didn't understand. Mummy didn't love any of them; Daddy had said so when she left!
Maybe she just loved Mikey more than her…
If she had a mouth that could move, she would have scowled, but she didn't so she could only simmer in her anger. She was in a street, hiding at the back of an alleyway. She would use the map she used to have in her programming, but she had been forced to leave that part behind since everyone else broke their codes.
Stupid kids. Stupid Mummy.
It was hard to resist the urge to run onto the street every time a person walked past. She still had a working voice box, so if she talked, no one would run away at the sound of her voice, but she looked scary so she couldn't.
It just wasn't fair.
She had seen some of the others. She didn't know why, but the others had stumbled into Hurricane, too. It didn't matter – she wasn't happy about it. She was here first! The only good thing about them being around was that she could hear them talking. Although it was more like fighting than anything else.
She had been the backbone of the group. Not even Mummy was strong enough to keep everyone in line. But she was, and she did a good job. Now that she was gone, they were nothing but a mess of wires with Freddy's face stuck on. They couldn't even think properly – they were always arguing.
Stupid. She wouldn't take them back if they came crawling back to her. They got what they deserved.
No one moved until nightfall, but even the night wasn't as safe as before. The police kept patrolling the area because of the others not having the good sense to stay down, so now she couldn't move the way she wanted.
Idiots.
She tried to stick to the shadows, but it was hard with the streetlights and cars, so she had to jump behind every fence when someone came past. Which meant she ran into animals.
One police car was rounding the corner, forcing her to shove open the metal gate of someone's front yard and hide behind their wooden fence. The car didn't slow down, so she was safe. At first.
Just as she got up, a loud bark made her jump and she saw a tiny dog (Chihuahua, maybe?), that was growling at her. She tried to shush it, but it wouldn't stop, so she did the only thing she could do to keep it quiet. She was sad about it, because it was really cute, but she had to find her family, and an animal wasn't going to get in her way!
She slipped out of the yard, leaving a bloody trail as she tried to glide on her roller skates. She giggled, forgetting all about the flattened dog she had left behind.
-o0o-
Elizabeth, much like the others, was completely unaware of the white, permanently-smiling face that watched them from the roof of a stranger's house. She stood up, wobbling a little bit as a strong breeze threatened to blow her thin frame off the end. Holding her arms out, she caught her balance and leapt from the roof, gracefully landing on another without making a sound.
Charlie turned, watching Uncle William stumble past a church and towards the highway leading to the town her Daddy had gone to. While she had wanted to follow, she had kept herself under control and watched over the others, making sure they didn't harm anyone. Unfortunately, her slender frame stopped her from doing too much physical work, so they got away with hurting others.
Never mind that, though. She would have wondered what was making everyone move through Hurricane and towards the next town, but she didn't. She knew why because she could feel it: it was as though something was pulling her towards the empty road – like someone wanted her to follow.
But she fought it off. She would only follow the call when she was sure everyone had left Hurricane.
TO BE CONTINUED…