In the hours after the pizzeria had closed and before the night shift started, Afton returned to the backroom he had carefully locked the night before. He was a technician, an entrepreneur. No one had even been remotely suspicious that he had the key to the room, and no one would have gone inside- he was the one who repaired their animatronics when something happened to them, anyway.
The keys seemed to echo through the pizzeria as they hit the floor, slipping out of Afton's hand. There was a pool of red, just visible in the dim light, but no bodies. A million thoughts ran through his mind. Who had found them? Were the police alerted? Just how well had he covered his tracks? If anything happened to him, who was going to take care of his own kids?
Running back through the pizzeria, the walls that he had mocked the night before seemed to taunt him. The animatronics seemed to be watching him closely, whispering amongst themselves of who had witnessed Afton's crime. No, no one had seen him. It wouldn't be on his head. Perhaps, if he cleaned up the mess, whoever found the bodies would become the prime suspect. After all, he hadn't seen police cars outside, or had to cross over their tape. If the crime hadn't been reported yet, he still had time.
Starting to feel as though he was in control again, Afton set to cleaning up everything he had had to leave the night before. Time itself seemed to fight against him, racing to meet the night shift before he could dispose of the evidence. Growing frantic, Afton glanced around the room, trying to remember if there was anything else that could point to him. It didn't matter. He was out of time. There were only minutes until the security guard was supposed to arrive, and the babysitter wouldn't appreciate having to watch the kids past midnight. It had been hard enough to find one that was willing to work that late to begin with, and taking the children with him certainly wasn't an option.
With trembling hands, Afton walked out to his car, carrying the remaining evidence with him. The sign above the doors seemed to be watching him, daring him to escape this one alive.