'Chk'
Carlton sat in his room, surrounded by the darkness of the night and accompanied by the gentle flickers of flame as he repeatedly flicked a lighter open before just as quickly shut it off. He knew it was a waste of the fluid, but it was all he could think to do right then. He felt a little sick but most of all.
'Chk'
He felt very guilty. The lighter had been paid for in cash and in secret where he'd been put shopping with his aunt. It was needed for what he was going to do once he returned to Hurricane. To act upon what Michael had warned him about the other night.
Helping his friend was something he was more than willing to do. But the guilt came from how he'd was going about the plan. Despite how easy it was, lying to both his mother and aunt felt more wrong then it normally had in the past
Of course the lies he'd told had never been this big before. Just little ones to either get out of trouble or to service his pranks. But this felt like both the wrong and yet the right thing to do.
"Chk'
At Clay's insistence, Betty had invited both Cynthia and Carlton to her birthday back in Hurricane. Despite the red flags about his father's sudden desire for him to come back, Carlton had accepted. The problem was though; it was a lie for him to get closer to his goal. Well, Michael's goal at least. But what he'd told Carlton rattled the young man to his very center.
'Chk'
It was a lot to ask of him, and if Carlton was being honest he felt like it shouldn't be his problem. Freddy's had not even been in his family, nor had he anything to do with it aside from playing there when they'd all been kids. Spending as much time as possible was easy when one of their best friends had been the owner's daughter.
After Michael had been taken, Carlton had thought about him every single day afterward. Always hoping and praying in vain that he would return long after the adults gave up, and he finally had.
Just not in the form he expected.
'Chk'
Nor did he expect Michael to ask for something so drastic. As he flicked the lighter on-again, flame gave a little extra light to the room which allowed him to see Michael in the corner of his eye once again..
The faded yellow fur almost blended into the shadows around it and gave the impression that the bear was indeed made from them. All that stood out only were the now-familiar pinpricks of light that started from the empty eye holes.
It was then Carlton also began hearing Michaels's voice again, it was very faint but reassuring all the same. He closed the lighter again and stared at the white lights, attempting to look brave despite the weight of the task before him.
"Gotta say Michael you've got more confidence in me than my own family." He whispered into the darkness with the only reply being more of the whispers. After Michael had finished speaking, Carlton let out a half-hearted chuckle.
"Well at least someone besides my aunt and mom trusts me." He sighed and flicked the lighter open once more.
'Chk'
But this time when the flame showed it's light, there was no trace of the yellow bear to be found. Carlton didn't even bother looking for it this time as he flicked the lighter shut and set it down onto his nightstand.
"Goodnight Michael." He called out to the room, before laying back down and rolling over. But his hopes for a decent night's rest were flashed as his mind was swimming with the responsibilities that lay ahead. But even through all the doubts and worries, he kept focusing on one thing. That with his actions he might finally release Michael from his suit, and then his friend would finally be at peace.
'Blah, now I know why Mr. Fitzgerald's so addicted to coffee.' Charlie thought as she partially stuck out her tongue while pulling away a few loose bangs from her eyes.
After she'd come back from the weekend Jeremy and Rebecca had informed her that Kevin had taken sick, and asked if she'd be able to cover his early morning shift for him. It was a simple enough job she supposed and there was the added plus that she'd get to go home early.
However, the big downside to taking it had been waking so early in the morning. Kevin was always one of the first people at the store alongside Jeremy and Rebecca; who both normally got up and were unlocking the doors at 5 AM every day.
'At least there aren't a lot of people around to bother me.' She pushed her cart around the aisles, looking for things that needed to be stocked up. It was Kevin's primary job to go around and make sure that Saver Saviors' was fully stocked and ready for the customers.
Perhaps it was because he was always so early that Charlie had never really seen Kevin himself for very long. Though given how tired she was already from being on the job for one day, Kevin probably always itched to get done and go home just like she was.
Charlie let out another yawn while rubbed one hand at her eyes as the other reached for some cereal boxes. At least John had managed to talk one of his classmates into giving him a ride to class, so Charlie was able to use the car instead of walking to work in the dark.
Of course, driving home while dead tired probably wasn't a good option either. Which was also why she was considering seeing if the break room coffee was worth the price Jeremy paid for it. But her caffeine-related thoughts were rudely interrupted as a cheerful voice came from around the shelves.
"Good morning Charlotte." Arty sang as he came into view. Charlie hoped that he didn't see her face drop as she stood up and tried to address him professionally.
"Good morning to you too Arthur." Charlie suppressed yet another yawn as she put the cereal on the shelf. Ignoring how Arty's face scrunched up when she said his full name.
"Hey, you know you can call me Arty right?"
"Yeah, and you can call me Charlie. Now can I help you with something?" She tried not to let her irritation show and just barely succeeded.
Arty forced away from a look of surprise with a nonchalant shrug. "Well, I heard that you were covering Kevin's work and I just wanted to see if I could be of any help." He leaned up against the stocking cart and peered into it. "It seems like a lot of work for just one person to do."
"I'm getting along just fine, but thank you." Charlie reached down for another item for and jostled the cart, causing Arty back away and stick his hands into his pockets.
"Oh well, if you change your mind you can always come to me for help with anything." He smiled and made a little gracious gesture towards himself.
"Thanks again, but I'm handling it just fine by myself." Charlie hoped that he would either lose interest or go back to what he was supposed to be doing. But instead, Arty clasped his hands and rocked back and forth on his heels.
"So did you and John have a good weekend together?"
Charlie's eyebrows furrowed together and she turned to face Arty, placing a hand on her side. "Um, we had a pretty nice weekend together, thanks for asking." Finishing up the shelf, she grabbed hold of her cart and began walking away from Arty. But this did not deter him and he began to follow behind her like a duckling.
"So what's John like? You don't talk about him much despite him being your boyfriend and all."
"He's… a very nice person, who enjoys writing." Charlie walked just a little brisker as she moved towards the front of the store, checking her stock list to see where she needed to head next.
"Oh, I bet he's very talented then. Has he published any books?"
"No, but he's made a few stories here and there."
Arty smiled and gave Charlie a meaningfully curious nod. "Oh, that's cool at least. What are his stories about?"
Before Charlie could think of a way to politely end the conversation, the store's intercom crackled to life as Jeremy's tired voice echoing down from above.
"Arty, your shift just started and your break isn't till 12. Please come back and finish your task, thank you." The intercom crackled once more before falling silent and Arty turned to sprint to the back of the store.
"Okay, I'd better get going before I actually make him mad." He waved as he jogged away from Charlie, who only watched on in tired confusion.
'What the hell was that about?' She turned back to her cart again and began pushing it towards the registers. While the questions had been innocent enough, the sudden interest in her life outside of work was more than a bit unnerving. Mentally she told herself to try and make sure as few details of her personal life got out as possible. Not wanting to become the subject of workplace gossip any more than she had to be the center of high school gossip.
As she reached the front of the store, she saw Millie unfurling a rolled-up tube. Curiosity came over Charlie as she walked up to the counter. Hoping that talking with Millie might alleviate and distract from her previous interaction with Arty.
"Hey Millie, what do you have there?" Millie gave a slightly annoyed looking glance in Charlie's direction then addressed her.
"Some guy asked Mr. Fitzgerald if he could put up this silly looking poster for their business on the front window." Millie turned the poster around so Charlie could see it. "Looks like some kiddy themed place; that my cousins will probably force my family to go too," Millie straightened the poster and looked back to Charlie, only to become very concerned seeing Charlie's "Um, are you okay?"
Charlie's entire face had turned a ghostly white. Her once-tired eyes now wide awake as they locked onto the poster. To Millie, it looked like Charlie had seen a vengeful ghost rise from the grave.
"Charlie?" Millie called again, the concern now entering her voice. Millie reached out and grabbed one of Charlie's shoulders, which brought Charlie out of her stupor. Stumbling back, Charlie threw her hands onto the cart for support and squeezed it tight.
"S-sorry." She muttered, though still trembling.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah just… I-I'm not feeling good all of a sudden…" Charlie trembled again and closed her eyes.
"Okay, well, you shouldn't be working restock if you're not feeling well."
"Don't worry… I'll be fine... I think." Charlie didn't listen to anything else Millie had to say. She gripped her cart's handle so tightly her knuckles turned white, and then almost jogged away from the counter with her head hung low.
Once she was out of sight of Millie and anyone else she relaxed her grip on the cart. Taking deep yet rushed breaths as she tried to calm down. But the image of the poster had been burned into her memory.
'No, no… that's… no… there's no way someone would do that.' Charlie shook and held herself, in a vain effort to stop trembling. 'It can't be real, it has to be fake.' She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that she could convince herself otherwise. But the image returned to the forefront of her mind.
It was the truth, it was real and she knew it. No matter how much she'd tried to deny it, there on the poster had been the face of her nightmares for over a year. The face of the restaurant which had led to her father's downfall and demise and while his appearance may have been considerably altered, there was no mistaking that the smiling bear on the poster as anyone else besides Freddy Fazbear.