I'm sorry. Really, I am. It's about to get sad again.
"Timmy! Nate! Do you remember what day it is?" Katie jumped up and down.
The older of the two ghosts pretended to ponder for a moment. "Hmm… Is it National Tickle Day?" Katie burst into a fit of giggles and covered her tummy from the playful assault she could not feel. A few parents gave curious stares.
"Happy birthday, little sis," smiled her brother. Even without her reminding them every day for the past month, Timothy and Nathaniel would have remembered that the only person they could talk to was turning six.
"I'm a birthday girl! I'm a birthday girl!" she announced to the whole pizzeria. A few parents smiled, but most people were too busy to notice. Katie didn't care. She continued to jump up and down in excitement. Then she twirled around until she was too dizzy to stand. She hit the ground, breathless and laughing, Vixie toy in hand. "I'm six now and next year I'll be seven and then I'll be eight and then I'll be your age, Timmy!" she giggled.
Nathaniel didn't find himself smiling. Katie was growing, but he and Timothy weren't. She was little now, but it wouldn't be too long before she passed her brother as well as Nathaniel in age. Then what would happen? She would be the only adult who could see the two invisible children, and that was assuming that she wouldn't outgrow her ability to see them. And eventually she would get old and die, and then what would happen to her and them?
He frowned as he watched her get tickled by her brother. How could he have thought that everything was going to be alright now that they could be seen by one person? Now she was growing up and Nathaniel couldn't imagine her as a little girl anymore. He couldn't watch them anymore. It was making him feel sick. He had to get away from this room, this girl, this truth. "You guys have fun. I just need to go for a little while," he excused himself. Once out of their sight, he broke into a run. He didn't stop until he was outside Freddy's.
"So, Miss Birthday girl, what do you want to do now?" asked her brother.
She shrugged, smiling. Neither child noticed the yellow rabbit until he spoke.
"So you're the birthday girl?" the man in the costume asked, bending down so his mask's eyes were staring directly at her. She nodded excitedly. "Well then, little princess, I happened to hear that there's a surprise waiting for you."
She jumped up and down. "Can I bring my friend with me? Can I?" She smiled at her brother. Nothing was better than sharing a birthday surprise with him.
If the man's expression changed, neither Katie nor Timothy could see it through the smiling mask. "Of course you can, little princess. You can bring a few friends if you like," he replied.
Katie skipped off. "Who should we invite?" her brother glanced over the crowd. Henry was off with his friends and Katie didn't talk to the other kids her age as much as she talked to her invisible friends.
"We need to take Vixie," decided the little girl. She made her way through the crowd, picking out the few people she knew by name. Five minutes later, a little group was following the yellow rabbit. Katie and Timothy were side by side, and behind them trailed a girl named Lucy, who had invited her over for a playdate once. Behind her was a boy from school, Brian, and a little boy, Joey, who had shared a slice of pizza with her one time. Last in line was a shy girl named Suzy who was hugging a doll.
"I haven't been back here before," whispered Katie as the group entered one of the back rooms. She squeezed her brother's hand, though it went right through her.
"That's probably just part of the surprise," Timothy assured her. What cause did he have to worry?
The man in the costume closed the door behind them. Lucy and Joey were talking to each other, Brian was inspecting an empty costume, and Suzy was wandering around aimlessly. "Timmy, why did the rabbit person close the door?" asked Katie.
"He's just getting your surprise ready," answered her brother. He glanced over at the man, who was wordlessly standing by the door, staring at the children, the perpetual smile of his mask hiding whatever expression he wore. Something about that blank smile unnerved Timothy. But why should it? This was just a happy birthday party.
The man took off one of his gloves. He took a key out of some pocket. Still not saying a word, he locked the door.
Katie nervously tugged on the man's arm. "Mr. Rabbit? Why are you locking the door?" she asked. The man turned his head toward her. She took a step backwards. The costume's blank eyes stared at her. "Mr. Rabbit?" she asked again. She reached out for her brother. "Timmy, I'm scared. What's going on? Why won't that man answer me?"
The man reached up and removed his mask. Carefully, he removed the rest of his costume. Underneath, he was just a normal man with a normal face wearing normal clothes. He smiled at her and then, with no precedent, he kicked one of the empty costumes on the ground. With lightning speed, he reached down and picked up the object that was waiting under the costume. Triumphantly, he held it up for all the children to see. Suzy gave a strangled yelp. The thing in the man's hand wasn't something anybody expected to find in a pizza place. That just isn't a place a person would expect to see a knife.
He grinned and advanced forward one step. Katie squeezed her brother's hand, unable to find the will to scream. "Happy birthday, princess," the man mocked. Then the knife came down.
Well, I have just made everyone sad and my little brother screamed at me, demanding that I write more so as not to be left on a depressing note. I will definitely try to finish the next chapter as soon as I can. Really, I am sorry for being such a dark author to these kids. I know that they are not my characters - all credit for the making of this game goes to Mr. Cawthon - but writing about them makes me care about them and want to make them happy, so hopefully the next chapter will be done soon.