Author's Notes:

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Oh, and just a reminder, this story doesn't follow the canon of the games. It was planned before that was all figured out so some things aren't the same. Just been seeing a few comments on it and don't want any confusion.

Chapter 104

FNAF 4 Night 2

Hedy missed some of her important classes that day. She woke up around noon after not enough sleep to several missed calls, some from professors that liked her, some from friends, and several too many from a number she wished she didn't recognize.

She ignored the Manager's calls for the moment as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes in her dark bedroom, mildly shocked that she had gotten any sleep at all.

Sarah and Rena must have already left for the day but they'd apparently noticed that she was missing too.

She called the first friend's number she saw and let it ring.

"Hey Hedy! You all right? You weren't in class today."

Hedy blinked and looked between her fingers at the phone screen as she rubbed her face. "Oh hi, Alex. Sorry, I meant to call Sarah. Aren't you in class right now?"

"You mean the one you're supposed to be in too?" one of her study partners, Alex, replied.

Hedy sighed in irritation with herself.

"I had a...rough night..."

"Oooh. What's his name? Or hers?"

Hedy could practically hear the insufferable eyebrow waggle.

"Not like that," Hedy said, maybe a little more snappy than she meant. "I just slept in."

"...Hedy, you don't sleep in," Alex said after a pause. "Is that job taking it out of you that much? I told you the internship was more your speed..."

She did not need this right now. She just...really didn't. She knew her friend meant well but she was beyond stressed currently.

"I don't want to have this conversation again, Alex," Hedy said sternly, fighting a headache already. "Yes, I turned down working on spacecraft. No, I still don't regret it. This is where I need to be. Things are just a little stressful without my coworker. I'm worried about her."

"Oh right, the kid?"

"Yes."

"What's even the issue with her?"

Hedy sighed. "I don't know. We're just calling it a coma for now." Hedy shook her head before she could think too long about what happened when she went back to the hospital. Her hand still bore a ghosting of pain that made her clench it every time she remembered the concerning event." Look, please just...tell Dr. Morrow that I'm having a tough time right now. I know it's not an excused absence, but I'll deal with it somehow."

Alex was quiet for a moment before sighing. "Okay Hedy. But you need to remember to keep yourself in mind. Don't overwork yourself."

I probably won't be able to afford not to, Hedy thought.

"Thanks, Alex," she said instead. "I'll try. Now get back to class."

Alex grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'yes mom' before hanging up.

Hedy leaned back in her bed for a minute until the stress in her lungs built up and forced her out of bed. She did have to eventually address the Manager.

She hadn't been able to get all the bots in perfect shape before they made her stop and she had to force herself to leave. It wasn't too bad, but someone would notice Freddy's dent.

Bonnie's hand.

Foxy's leg.

Probably even Mangle's leg.

She could handle the manager.

Couldn't she?

The day shift didn't see any confrontation between Hedy and the Manager that day, but they did notice Hedy leaving quickly after only being there less than an hour. They tried to stop her to ask about Ruby and the bots, but she wasn't paying attention to any attempts to wave her down and it was busy.
Olivia at least wanted to inform her she brought some cat food and left it hidden in a cabinet.

But Hedy left and they were forced to deal with a tension they didn't understand for the rest of the day.

Of course, the day shift noticed something was up.

The bots were acting weird.

Well, weirder than usual.

The Toys were skittish. They glanced around oddly and acted a bit high-strung about keeping kids in sight. There was a tension between them and the Originals that no one could explain. Recently the behavior between the two groups of animatronics was more of professional competitiveness than hatred. This was different. The Toys watched the Originals closely and no one could tell if it was in concern or fear or even why they had that attitude.

Did the Originals even see the behavior? They seemed preoccupied, whispering to each other and to the Toys at times.

Izzy was bringing around forms the cooks had to sign and caught Chica and Chi quietly talking in a corner hall away from the children.

Chica looked stiff but her voice was low and soothing, while Chi's was sharp and wavering. She was speaking quickly, obviously anxious about something but they both shut up when they noticed Izzy.

The Originals smiled like they always did but whenever a kid wasn't looking the employees could sometimes catch a look of fear and pain. It was bizarre.

Foxy's patience with the staff seemed to have waned. He snapped at some employees, always looking apologetic after the fright but never actually apologising. It really worried Jerry, who vaguely remembered Chica telling him as a half-joke that Foxy was the type to push others away and shut down if he was upset.

"He doesn't like to be cared for. He's always got to be the big brother," the chicken laughed when Jerry observed him doting on Ruby one day and getting snappy when she poked at his broken ear.

Whatever was going on was hitting Bonnie the worst.

He barely talked, even to the kids. He just smiled and nodded and played his songs when needed. Every question someone asked him was met with an odd-sounding yes or no.

Puppet hadn't even come out of his box all day and no one dared mess with him.

The new bot in the horror attraction hadn't been seen at all. Parts and Services was locked shut and only Hedy had the key to that room.

When Izzy called Hedy to ask about the bots, the mechanic was short with her answers and just told everyone to leave Spring alone. When someone asked about Ruby's state, she just said, "No change."

The staff unanimously concluded that the bots and Hedy were upset about Ruby.

Obviously.

But it was going to affect the restaurant if someone didn't do something.

Which was why Hedy showed up a while after closing and was very surprised to find a small crowd of employees (sans-Manager) in the foyer.

"Big party today?" she asked, assuming cleanup was the reason they were all still here so late.

They glanced among themselves.

It was an odd sight. A few dozen employees standing across from Hedy. It was quiet.

If the bots were awake, they weren't milling about.

Hedy doubted they were able to rest though.

Surprisingly, Izzy, poor girl, got the courage to speak first. She stammered as Hedy looked at her.

"W-we were just worried."

Hedy blinked and her eyes shifted away. She gave a short nod anyway. "I understand. The bots were weird today weren't they?"

Henry snorted derisively and immediately was glared at by everyone.

"You said you'd be quiet," Jerry snapped.

"I didn't say anything!"

Hedy ignored him but her expression hardened. "Thank you for your concern. But we're fine. Ruby's the one in the hospital."

"Any news?" Samuel blurted, his voice muffled by his scarf.

Hedy just shook her head ever so slightly. "You guys need to go home. I have to get ready for tonight."

"What do you possibly need to do?!" Henry demanded, resolutely ignoring everyone's glares. "Don't you just babysit the animatronics and watch movies and shit?" He laughed, clearly annoyed to be made to wait after hours for a pointless conversation (Jerry was his ride). "Hell, what's it matter if we all fucking stay all night!" he complained dramatically.

There was a flash of panic in Hedy's eyes.

"That might not be a bad idea..." Izzy whispered as Hedy's sharp gaze went to her.

"What..." Henry deadpanned.

"I don't have anything to do tonight or tomorrow. I could stay the night. You know, keep you and the bots company," Izzy suggested hopefully.

Hedy felt her mouth dry. "No, that's..."

"Me too," Jerry said with a shrug. "Sounds like fun."

Marion frowned while Jess shot Hedy a grin. "It'd be fun to see what you weirdos get up to at night."

"You guys are nuts..." Andrew murmured, the urban legends still fresh in his mind with how short a time he'd been there, even if he saw that the bots weren't like that.

"My kids are staying at my mom's...

"I don't have class..."

"Like I didn't need sleep anyway...

"Six hours. No big deal."

"It won't be the same without Ruby, but I don't mind helping you cheer up Bonnie tonight. Poor guy was..."

The voices were starting to overlap and grow louder as her coworkers tried to talk over one another.

"No."

The soft word was so out of place that it cut through the chatter like a knife.

Hedy's eyes weren't lit with amusement at the idea like they expected, even if she denied it and laughed them out of the door and to their homes.

Her eyes were frightened. Horror twisted in her expression as her panicked gaze flicked over all of them.

She was normally icy when upset. She seethed with quiet anger and most of them guessed she was the type to hold in tears until she couldn't. It was jarring to see her expressions and several of them couldn't speak for a moment.

Most assumed their shock was because they didn't know her very well. She didn't come and interact with everyone like Ruby did and she was so awkward with strange children it was almost painful to watch.

"No," she repeated. "You need to leave."

"Hedy..." Izzy said sweetly. "It was just a suggestio-"

"Get out," Hedy said.

Izzy jerked like she'd been slapped and they saw the regret flash through Hedy's eyes but the fear didn't leave.

She moved to the side of the door. "Get out."

"Hedy..." Frank started in an attempt to get an explanation out of her.

"NOW!"

Hedy only yelled when she was irritated at a bot. They hadn't heard this tone before, especially not directed at them. At most, she regarded the worst of the employees with amused ambiguity and nothing more. She genuinely respected a number of them, unlike Ruby.

Immediately, the small group began filing outside, snatching up their bags and purses as they went. They looked at Hedy in confusion and a few with a bit of fear.

Frank paused at the door. "Hedy..."

She looked up at the older man from where she was holding open the door.

She was eerily quiet and the man felt a shiver go down his spine. Hedy glanced at something behind him and her jaw set in a thin line.

There was nothing there when he looked.

"Go home, Frank. Kiss your kids. Enjoy dinner," the young woman said firmly.

"Hedy," he said. She wasn't a child but he needed her to listen. They trusted Hedy and Ruby but he and others were getting tired of blindly trusting the girls with whatever happened in this place, without ever learning the truth. They weren't idiots. They knew something was wrong.

"It's not safe here without Ruby," Hedy said, looking him dead in the eye. "I'm not going to have all you stay here, good-intentioned or otherwise, because at least one person would wind up dead."

"But Ruby stopped the animatronics."

"It was never the animatronics responsible for the deaths. They're in danger too. Always have been." She shook her head, knowing she told him too much. "Go home, Frank."

"Whoa. Whoa!" Frank exclaimed as Jess came up beside him when she noticed Hedy literally trying to push him out the door."You can't just leave it at that! What are you even saying?"

"I'm saying that I could die tonight," Hedy said coldly through the glass, even as she locked it. "So fucking go home so I can focus on not doing that!"

Hedy left the door and ignored the banging on the glass that she knew wouldn't break or the fact that she just gave far too much information to her co-workers. She resolved to apologise to Frank in the morning.

Hedy let out a shuddering breath and leaned her head against the wall behind her, tilting her face toward the ceiling as she listened to the blood pounding in her ears. She was about to get choked up just speaking to the other employees. Where were the rules saying she couldn't explain what was going on? It was a privacy thing, partly. It wasn't like they could help and it would only cause harm if they started looking at the Night Shift differently.

If they looked at us like freaks. She thought. Like monsters. Either that or victims. Neither is appealing. And it wouldn't be right for Ruby to come back to that.

"Isn't this exciting, Wiggy?" Micheal's voice said, right next to her. He smirked down at her as he leaned against the wall beside her. "What's your plan hmm? That kid hasn't come back, so I wonder what the brats are planning. I wonder if they'll go after you too. Wouldn't that be fun? I'm sure they'd love having you all to themselves."

Hedy didn't open her eyes. She was pretty good about not being startled by him anymore.

She always had a feeling when he was around now...

"I wonder, when you die are you still going to be a cripple, wheelchair included, or just a floating upper half because that would be fucking hilarious."

"Is that your whole game then? Killing me?" Hedy asked, cracking open her eyes to stare at Michael with a frown.

"You first, then more going from there. I'll be careful this time around," he assured a glint in his eye. "Not like I can be arrested, obviously."

"Obviously."

"But getting the place closed prematurely cuts the fun off you know?" He leaned down closer and would have put a hand on her armrest and wrist if he could.

Hedy hadn't really cared to notice before, but they looked near the same age. It was a weird realization. Somewhere in her mind's eye he always seemed so much older, which he was, but still.

"I've got my eye on a few of the kids Ruby brings in the afternoons...sorry brought in with her. Who's going to miss a few orphans? No one, if I time it right."

"Like the bots would let you."

"Thinking post-mortem already? I hope you give me a little sport, Wiggy!" he laughed and reached out to ruffle her hair, his icy fingers tracing through her skull and tingling her spine as she snarled wordlessly at him. "Oh I'll make sure the Toys are scrapped of course. Won't be too hard. Unless...well Spring's wearing out a bit. Maybe I need a new body? Oh here's a thought. When you're dead, you think any of your sweet Toys will let you use them? I'm sure Mangle wouldn't mind, though using her own hands to repair her might be difficult. Hell, if I kill you, we can share Spring. How's that? I'll make sure to give him a break from listening to your screaming every night or so."

Hedy just stared at him, but there was a thread of revulsion that passed across the emotional barrier between the ghost and a half. "You're sick."

Micheal just chuckled.

"If it came to that, which it won't, she can use me," another voice interrupted.

Hedy startled at Puppet's voice and she dragged her eyes away from Micheal to see most of the bots listening from a nearby doorway.

Spring wasn't there, thankfully. But Goldy was and despite the trauma and fear in her eyes she still managed to look so unbelievably angry.

"Puppet..." Mangle said softly. Her eyes were wide and understandably freaked out.

Teddy turned back to go into the room, looking like he wanted to throw up, even if it wasn't possible.

"Mar-" Hedy started but he interrupted.

"Just in case, because Hedy appreciates 'just in case' things," Puppet said. His voice was cold and calm, calmer than he felt, as he walked up to the two adults without breaking eye contact with Michael. "If Hedy accidentally dies, which she won't, she is not going anywhere near you. She's coming to me. She's possessing me, if she has to, and that's final. No Toy, no stuck in a single head with another ghost. I'll hold her." He glanced at Hedy at the end.

Hedy and Pupper stared at each other for a minute.

Hedy tilted her head in a small nod and she felt the building listen. That almost frightened her more than Puppet's promise.

Promises are just words unless the building's involved.

Toby let out a weak sound that sounded like he was trying not to cry while Chi whimpered and Chica grabbed her hand. "Shut up," Toby stammered, "You all...just stop it. Stop talking."

Michael grinned viciously. "What are you whining about?"

"Y-you need to go away."

"Oh do I now?

"Quit it," Hedy said.

"Or what?"

Hedy didn't answer though her eyes narrowed.

Micheal chuckled and disappeared, though she could still sense him close by.

Hedy rolled through the spot where he was a moment ago and passed the others. She shot Spring a smile when she saw him sitting on a table in the main room.

He flinched and seemed to curl in on himself, looking away as he closed his eyes. His hands and ears were trembling in sick anxiety as the next two hours counted down. He twitched at the slightest thing.

"Hedy you...you really shouldn't be here," Chica said, about to start crying again.

"I'll be fine. We'll be fine," Hedy said, hefting her bag onto the table next to Spring like normal.

"What did the employees want?" Freddy asked, clearly not convinced by Hedy's assurances. But at the same time, it wasn't like they could force her to leave if she wanted to be there.

"They're worried. They noticed you guys acting off today, that's all."

Freddy frowned and nodded slightly.

Hedy returned his frown. She was very quiet, glancing at the clock despite the watch she was wearing. She shivered and her eyes shifted over each bot, lingering for a few seconds.

They just stood quietly. Waiting. They weren't sure what else to do. Did Hedy have a plan?

The tense silence built for longer than anyone felt comfortable but just before Foxy was about to snap at her Hedy spoke. "Have the kids come out?"

There was more silence for a minute.

"No," Bonnie mumbled.

Hedy didn't react either way to that. She just hummed and glared at a random wall.

"Cowards."

A few jumped at the venom in her voice.

"Hedy...you do have a plan don't you?" Freddy asked, cautiously.

Hedy didn't look him in the eye. She fiddled around in her bag for a moment. "No."

Goldy made a weak noise that broke Hedy's heart and she flinched.

"No, I just...I just don't know enough. We'll..." she gestured between the Toys and her, "Use the basics tonight. Salt. Ruby's leftover stuff. Michael...I don't know. But I need to talk to the ghosts, which will probably be easier without that new guy here."

"Um. About that..." Mangle interrupted before Freddy could lecture the mechanic on how dangerous it was.

Hedy squinted. "What?"

Mangle wordlessly pointed at a nearby camera, steadily blinking red.

Hedy promptly cursed and most of the bots mumbled 'language' as she pushed her bag onto the floor and went towards the guard office.

Moments later they heard yelling, the man yelp, and the sounds of one of the doors.

"You did not just slam the door on me," they could hear Hedy say despite the distance.

A moment later the young man from the previous night was herded into the main room.

He halted at the sight of the bots for a moment but yelped as Hedy ran over his foot.

"H-hey!"

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Hedy demanded.

"I..." Mike rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't technically agree to not come back?"

Mike winced at her glare.

"Dude," Toby deadpanned. "You're going to die."

Bonnie flinched.

"You better have a really good reason for coming back because I'm about to ask Foxy to physically throw you outside," Hedy said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"She's not joking, lad," Foxy said. "And I'll do it."

Mike put his hands up. "Please. I'm just...I just want to help." How was he going to convince them? Why did he even want to? He could just leave right now! No, you can't just leave them, Mike. Something is really wrong. You don't know why or how but maybe you can help.

They stared at this guy who was practically a stranger. Even Hedy was caught off guard.

"What?" she eventually asked, completely perplexed.

"Why?" Freddy asked after a moment, deciding to satisfy his curiosity instead of immediately kicking the guy out. He glanced at the clock. They had just over an hour...

Mike stuttered a bit. "I-I mean...I've done this before. Sort of," he winced apologetically. "A-and I'm fast and..." he trailed off and shook his head. "Look, I did try to quit like you said! But..." he started to pace a bit. "I thought about the manager getting someone else who might not know what's going on-"

"You don't know what's going on," Hedy pointed out.

"I know a little! I can't just leave, a-and if a ghost is trying to kill you..." he vaguely gestured at Hedy. Specifically her chair.

That was a mistake as her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Foxy."

"Wait! I'm sorry. I was trying to ACK!" He choked a bit as Foxy snatched him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him toward the entrance. He stumbled to stay on his feet as the first hints of panic hit.

He wasn't dragged to the backroom to get stuffed into a suit though.

The chilly air bit his face moments before Foxy shoved him outside and he basically face-planted into the asphalt. He heard Foxy lock the door and groaned.

Well, that didn't work.

Everyone heard the click of the lock as it unlocked again though and Foxy looked back at the door in surprise as it opened on it's own, showing an equally surprised would-be night guard. Puppet's gaze flicked up at the ceiling suspiciously.

"No," Hedy snapped. She pointed and glared up, "You watch it! I'm not risking someone else's life because you feel sorry about upholding these damn deals!"

The building rumbled a bit and Mike looked around, freaked out by the mini earthquake.

"No!" Hedy snapped, rolling past Foxy to reach outside and yank the door closed herself. She ignored the new guy on the other side looking somewhat like a really confused and freaked out puppy, and took the front door key off her keyring, locking the door and leaving the key there.

It was barely in there for a second before flying out and smacking her in the face.

Mangle couldn't help the surprised snort.

The door opened sharply, almost banging against the wall.

Hedy glared at Mangle. Her glare slid to Mike and he blanched.

"You."

"Me?" Mike squeaked.

"You stay out," she ordered. "Try something like that again and I'll taze you somewhere that'll ensure you never have kids."

Mike didn't get a chance to respond as Hedy closed the door again and locked it. This time it stayed closed.

The building was clearly unhappy with Hedy.

Everyone was staring at her.

"It's still weird seeing you talk to the building like that," Freddy muttered.

Having a moment of pettiness that it undoubtedly learned from Ruby, the building turned off the lights.

There was silence for a moment.

"You had to upset the building didn't you?" Foxy asked.

Hedy muttered under her breath and took out her flashlight, careful not to point it at anyone.

"Come on," she hissed, going back to the main room and the table. "I want to finish fixing Bonnie and Spring's hands before midnight."

Spring stepped back from her, his frightened eyes glowing brighter in the dark. "N-no. No Hedy. Let me stay broken. Maybe it will slow me-h-him down."

"Or he'll make it worse and cause something permanent I won't be able to fix later," Hedy countered gently.

The mood plummeted as they were reminded of what was going to be happening in just over an hour.

"Are you sure you should stay?" Freddy asked after a moment. "Even Ruby didn't go up against both the kids and Michael."

"I'm not entirely convinced the kids are coming after me," Hedy said dryly. "And Michael's an overconfident dumbass. And Ruby insisted on facing them alone, which she needed to admittedly. As much as I don't like it, I'm not in a position to say the Toys aren't allowed to be involved. I do need help, just not a stranger's." She jabbed her thumb towards the door, where Ruby's "replacement" was probably still standing in the parking lot.

He'd leave eventually.

Mangle let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were about to tell us to stay out of it," she said.

"I was about to riot," Toby muttered.

"I'm still considering locking her outside," Puppet deadpanned.

The building grumbled. Still obviously unhappy about the new guy being kicked out. But the lights came back on at least.

"The kids aren't known for being level-headed," Chica murmured softly.

Hedy clenched her jaw and gestured for Spring to sit down.

But he just shook his head, the broken ear swinging. "I'm...going to go lock myself in the broom closet in Fright."

"Spring..." Hedy said.

"N-No, stay back," he stepped back again, toward the door. "Puppet, I-I need you to lock me in, please."

Puppet stared for a moment before approaching Hedy. "Hedy, give me the key."

Hedy looked heartbroken but conceded, taking the one he needed off her chain. She already had them out after putting the door key back on. The set as a whole wasn't leaving her pocket.

The Originals also didn't look keen on their small damages being repaired. Bonnie looked like he was on the verge of fleeing the room.

The Toys didn't know what to do. Seeing the Originals so twitchy and depressed was...wrong.

"Maybe Hedy should..." Mangle tried, guilty that she privately agreed with the sentiment that Hedy shouldn't be making it any easier on the ghosts by fixing the Originals.

"Be careful, lass," Foxy interrupted her. "All of you. They're not going to be happy you interfered."

"Don't let us hurt you," Chica said seriously.

"Please be careful," Goldy added, heading toward the kitchen whispering to herself . "I..I need salt."

Hedy heard her and flinched.

The Originals all scattered, heading to different parts of the building so they'd be far away from Hedy and the Toys.

Hedy watched them go then took a breath.

"Toby, how many of those paint balloons are left?"

"I made more today," he admitted, ducking his head a bit and looking away as if the Originals were still in earshot. "I found...Ruby's funnel she uses to fill them. Chi helped me mix in salt too..."

"Okay," Hedy said thoughtfully, rolling her flashlight between her palms. "Teddy, Ruby hides the explosives for her bombs in the cabinet above the oven behind where they store the flour. There's a tripwire running behind the last bag of flour so make sure to disconnect that or it's going to set them all off. Go get all of them. They're in a bunch of little wax paper wrapped packages."

The Toys stared at her.

"How the heck do you know that?" Teddy asked, baffled.

Hedy managed a little smirk. "The bombs specifically she asked me to help package a couple of weeks ago. I've made it a mission to know exactly where Ruby puts all her stuff." She frowned. "Most. I still don't know where some are. She caught on to me." She pointed at a ceiling panel not too far from them. "There's one carton of glitter up there and most of the rest is in the office."

They stared at her.

"What's to bet she went and hid stuff elsewhere just to annoy Hedy?" Toby muttered to Chi.

"Probably," she replied as Hedy kept telling them where to find things and the minutes ticked down.

Outside, Mike was staring at the loading door that led to the kitchen. Should he even risk it?

"Just walk away, Mike," he said to himself. "...Hedy...uh..she s-seemed to know what she was doing. Yeah. She doesn't need you." Mike nodded firmly and turned on his heel, fishing for his car keys. He stopped. "Ugh! I can't just...What are you doing you idiot?" He frustratedly kicked the dumpster from his perch on the steps as his stupid conscience ate at him. The dumpster rattled his bones up from his foot and he dropped his keys. They clattered off the loading dock steps and under the dumpster.

He cursed and climbed down, looking underneath. Yep, there were his keys. He sat up and cringed as he reached under the dumpster, half expecting a rat to bite him.

"What the..." he bent over to look again when he didn't feel anything. They were gone.

Mike just stared. He literally just saw them.

Behind him he heard a creak and when he looked he saw that the loading door was opening.

No one was around though.

Screw that shit.

He turned to walk away toward his car (ignoring his keys).

He then probably looked like an insane person as he immediately spun back around and bolted through the door, ducking under it before he could change his mind.

It took him a moment to recover from his own stupidity.

"Who's there?" he called softly into the darkened kitchen after he caught his breath.

He crept further in, skin crawling and his lungs protesting his poor decisions. His spine tingled at the sound of the door closing quietly, lowering to the floor and locking him in. He stopped, taking a deep breath, but every muscle was tense and ready to move.

There was no one in the kitchen but he could distantly hear Hedy and the new group of bots speaking in a nearby room.

He stepped on something and nearly jumped.

Salt?

Mike stepped back to see what he stepped on.

There was a circle of salt in a corner of the kitchen, out of the way of any path to the doors.

Mike's face scrunched in confusion as he picked up the large piece of paper in the middle, noticing the left-behind can of salt beside his foot as he did.

It was the poster of the Golden Freddy.

The...ghost bear. The recording said something about looking at it summoning her.

Mike averted his eyes and set it back in the circle, face down just as it was before.

He checked his watch and bit back a curse, breaking into a run as quietly as possible.

He made it to the guard room with barely a minute before midnight, practically diving into the chair and setting himself in his usual spot where he had the best view just as the phone rang.