"Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them." ~ George Eliot
Morning felt strange. I watched the children - the alive children, I should add - play, but I had this unexplainable anger toward them. How could they play and laugh at a time like this! Mike was in for the fight of his life. A day guard was dead somewhere on the premise. To top it all off, Ben had returned with his usual evil doing and children massacring of children. I could hardly stand any of this and yet I sat at my normal table, watching them be completely oblivious to what was really happening around them. I envied their smiles. I envied their oblivious world, and based on the expressions of the ghost children today, they envied the others as well.
"Don't they know," whispered Stephanie. "Don't they know we're here…"
"That we used to come here," mumbled Michael and Gavin.
"That we used to play that game…" added Jack.
"That we died here," Conner finished.
"What gives them the right to laugh as if nothing happened?" snarled Stephanie. "We died here…don't they care!"
"That was a long time ago," I offered.
"Don't you want to be remembered," pleaded Gavin.
"I'm not sure I'm worth remembering," I yawned, looking away.
"If you could have anything, what would you have?" Jack questioned.
"I'd have a scotch…" I grumbled. "Or a good cheeseburger."
"I'd hug my mommy," Stephanie sniffled.
"I'd hug my dogs," whimpered Jack.
"I'd play with my friends," Michael and Gavin hummed together.
"I'd tell my story…" sighed Conner.
The day shifted slowly to evening. Mike came in slightly late. Night 4. This was our only time to preparing for whatever Ben was going to do tomorrow. Based on his grin, Mike had found something out. It didn't help me from worrying though. I was terrified that was no way to stop Ben from murdering Mike in cold blood and hiding him in these horrid halls, cursed to haunt this establishment with the rest of us. I couldn't stop thinking about it. It hurt.
"Looking some of this stuff us if weird," grinned Mike, locking the door behind him. "But most of them said the same thing."
"Which is?" I remarked, crossing my arms.
"Either find the body and deal with it or figure out what the ghost wants and give it to him," shrugged Mike. "I wonder if that would work with you guys."
"My body's buried," I commented, slightly afraid about how casual I said it. "As the for the kids, their bodies were never found. No doubt they're wherever Freddy put that guard from the yesterday."
"So Freddy knows," Mike perked. "Let's ask."
"That…is actually a really good idea that I probably should've come up with several years ago," I groaned, relaxing.
"You must be that whole 'look for what the ghost wants', thing," shrugged Mike, spinning his keys on his finger. "What do you want?"
"To sleep," I grumbled, rubbing my eyes. "Anyway, let's get to work, huh? Obviously Ben is buried on site so we need to figure out what he wants, right?"
"Right, which seems easier said than done," sighed Mike. "Maybe I should call in sick tomorrow."
"Or just quit," I snapped.
"I need the money."
"This isn't worth it! No ring, no girl, is worth this!" I shouted.
"Doll is," Mike assured, shoving his hands into his pockets. "So, you knew Ben, what would he want that he'd willingly haunt this place for."
"I thought I knew Ben, turned out I didn't," I hissed. "All he probably wants is to watch as many people die as possible, knowing his deranged personality."
"It's gotta be something else," Mike offered.
"I'm so sick of this," I growled. "I'm sick of this game, like someone's toying with my life for their own amusement! I just wanna die! I never wanted this!"
The lights flickered and the tables rumbled. My emotions were getting the better of me. I took a deep breath, listening to the rumble and clicking of the lights slow and stop. Mike waited patiently. I shook my head, turning toward the main stage.
"Right now, I wanna focus on the kids. If we can put them to rest, I'd be happy," I sighed.
"You think they'll know?" Mike mumbled.
"Someone got rid of their bodies…and all the humans were dead," I remarked. "One of them did something…"
We marched up to the stage. The children sat on the stage, kicking their feet and watching us. they had such placid expressions, almost completely emotionless. I could hear Foxy rummaging through his curtains and leaping down. His feet clicked on the tiled floor. The three main animatronics slowly slicked out of their lifeless forms, looking down at Mike and me. Bonnie and Chica grinned, sitting down with the children. Freddy stood tall, almost glaring at me.
"I'm not sure I appreciate all these accusations, sir," Freddy hummed.
"No accusations. I'm basing this on what I know…" I replied. "I know no man moved the bodies so what happened to them?"
"Are they still on the site?" perked Mike. "Help us out here."
"Removing the children from the equation won't help your chances against him," snarled Freddy.
"Freddy," purred Bonnie, voice metallic and sounding more like a computer than last I heard her. "We're here for the children. If we know anything, we should help."
Freddy glanced over at her, glaring until she turned away. He returned his glare to me.
"You know, don't you…you took them away," I snarled.
"Part of the clean up protocol you installed," grinned Freddy. "Clean up all the messes."
"This wasn't a mess. This was an injustice. Tell me where they are!" I ordered.
"You no longer have control over me," Freddy replied. "I'm not afraid of ghosts."
"But you should be afraid of me."
We spun around, watching as Foxy leaned over and snarled. His metal teeth glistened in the stage lights, rusted with age and blood. His hands twitched, claws sharp and pointed toward Freddy. The bear seemed barely fazed but I saw his eyes relax.
"It all makes a little more sense now," added Chica, leaping off the stage. She joined Foxy's side. "We never wanted to hurt anyway after all."
"But you never stopped Foxy," Bonnie added, joining the group. "Before the children had their hands with us, you allowed Foxy to be haunted by nightmares."
"You ordered us around!" shouted Chica. "We were nothing more than puppets!"
"They betrayed us first!" howled Freddy. "They deserve everything they get from us!"
"Not them!" I screamed. "Not the children! They did nothing but love you and look up to you and you're ruining that one good memory they have left!"
Freddy's eyes lowered slowly, watching each children jump off the edge of the stage and hide behind Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. After a moment, his eyes widened, deep in sorrow. I heard the gears grind, whirling and thinking. He sighed, shutting his eyes and lowering his head. He nodded, stepping toward the edge of the stage.
"I know where their bodies are…" he whispered. "I owe you no favors, Tyler, but I them the world…"
"I know," I nodded. I turned to Mike. "At least this will brought to justice."
"What about Ben though?" he perked. "We still don't have a way of stopping him!"
"Just leave it to me, Mike," I sighed. "Don't come in tomorrow. Call in sick or quit or something, just don't come."
"And you?"
"I'm gonna take Ben out…even if it kills me again."