The Howards' - Saturday, January 15th, 1994
Anthony walked to the front hall closet, thankful to be well enough to use a cane in place of his crutches. The fact he could stand on his own two feet again was freeing. He swung the door open and began to look for the right pair of dress shoes for the occasion.
"Anthony?"
His heart nearly leapt out of his chest. Anthony spun around sharply, seeing his wife waiting behind him.
"Dianne! O-Oh, uh, hello hello!"
She eyed him from head to toe. "Where are you off to dressed like that?" Anthony was clothed in a black suit with a purple dress shirt under his jacket, paired with a darker purple tie with a matching flower pinned to his lapel.
"I have a party tonight."
Dianne raised an eyebrow at him. "What kind of party? A wedding?"
"Yeah." Anthony flashed her a bright smile.
She appeared surprised. "That sounds lovely. Who's getting married?"
"Uh…" He frantically racked his mind for an answer, but nothing was coming readily.
Dianne sighed. "You're lying to me."
"W-What? No, of course not! Honey, I'd never lie to you!"
"You just did! Wherever you're going isn't a wedding and we both know it!" Her hands tightened into fists as she shot him a look.
Anthony let out a nervous laugh, fiddling with his shirt collar.
"Where are you really going?"
All traces of a smile fled from his face. "I can't tell you. I'm sorry."
"Don't give me that." She kept her eyes locked on his. "What are you trying to hide from me?"
He darted his gaze away. "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone, and I mean anyone."
"Alright, fine." Dianne crossed her arms.
Anthony looked back up at her, ensuring he met her eyes as he spoke. "I'm going to Porfirio's funeral."
"What?" she exclaimed. "When did he die? Why didn't you say anything about it?"
"Because I can't, okay?" He took a deep breath. "I've already said too much. I wasn't even supposed to tell you that he died. Look, Thomas needs me to help set up, so I need to go."
"You're not going anywhere until you explain this to me."
"What else do you want from me, Dianne?" he asked shortly.
"Some answers! Why is this a secret? What happened to him?"
Anthony gripped his cane tightly. "Do you want me to lose my job or something?"
"Why would your job be at risk?"
"Because it is!" he answered vaguely.
"Anthony Howard, what happened?" she snapped.
He cringed. "There was an accident at work. I-I don't know why, but Porfirio put on one of the old springlock suits in the back room. Those things are dangerous; company policy deemed them unfit for use at any time. It… snapped shut on him. He died."
Dianne's eyes widened in astonishment. "You're kidding, right?"
"I'm not… I'm sorry. I-I'm not supposed to be telling you this. If word gets out about this, Fazbear Entertainment is done. Thomas will lose everything, and so will the rest of us." He took a shaky breath. "Sweetheart, I could end up in jail if someone finds out. You can't tell anyone about this."
Shock and disgust hung over her like a dark cloud. "W-What have you done, Anthony?"
"I haven't told you about it to protect you. I love you, and I don't want you to get dragged into this."
"Tell me, please…"
Anthony gestured for her to follow him to the living room. The two of them sat down together on the couch. He folded his hands, propping his elbows on his knees and setting his chin atop his hands. "Do you remember Fredbear's Family Diner?"
She nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"Thomas' brother owned the company at the time. A little boy went missing. He was never found. T-The place went out of business after that, and Thomas took control of the company. He rebooted the business under the name of 'Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.' 1987 was an awful year for the company, y-you know?"
Dianne frowned. "That was the year those five kids went missing, right? If I remember correctly, it was all over the newspapers."
"Yeah… I-It was also the year Jeremy had his accident… Anyway, I, uh… know what happened. To them, I mean." Anthony cleared his throat and continued, now holding onto his knees. "You see, the kids were never found because all of them… died. They were murdered, actually."
Her eyes widened. "How do you know that?"
He looked over at her. "I've talked to them. Dianne, they're still there. Their souls cling to the animatronic suits, giving them a body of sorts."
"Oh my God… You can't be serious."
"I am," he said gravely. "E-Each one of them was covered up. Bodies were disposed of, presses paid off…"
"You don't mean-"
"I do. Who else would Thomas ask to deal with that? His own kids were among them; it would have been too much for him."
Dianne's jaw dropped. "So that's what happened to those two…"
"And others. I-I'm sorry. I didn't want you to get dragged into this. It's not fair to you."
"You're a murderer?" she questioned, looking as pale as a sheet of paper.
"What? No! I mean, I hid the evidence, but I wasn't involved in the murders. I-It wasn't me; that's all I'll say."
Dianne took his hand in hers. "You've already said a lot. There's no point in keeping the rest from me. You know who killed them, don't you?"
He nodded, squeezing her hand tightly and darting his gaze away from her.
"Who?"
Anthony hesitated. "Porfirio…"
She didn't say anything.
"I didn't know that until after my injury. He was going by a different name; claimed I'd turned him in, s-so he attacked me."
"Did you?"
Anthony shook his head. "I had no idea who he was, not until he told me he was Porfirio."
"What, so you just went back to being friends, like nothing happened?"
"No, not at all! I haven't spoken to him since."
Dianne marveled, "To think we were going to have that man in our house for a party."
"That's why he wasn't coming, not because he couldn't make it from out of town," he confessed.
"I see…" she mumbled. "So, what about this funeral? Why is that being hidden?"
"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza would be shut down if yet another death went public. If it closes, the suits get thrown out and we all lose our jobs. Thomas loses his sons, too. I'm sure you remember they were part of the group that went missing. Uh, I'm surprised it's held on with how many there already have been. That's why Thomas is holding it at work. No one outside of the staff will know what happened. It's cheaper, too. All the money that could have been used on a funeral was used to repair the animatronics after Porfirio hacked them apart."
She sighed. "This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"
"Oh, for sure… Fritz and I have been working all week to fix them. Mike's been around too, mainly grabbing supplies and making food for us."
"That explains the long hours." Dianne draped an arm over his shoulders. "I hate to say it, but I'm impressed with how well you've hidden this."
"Thanks," he said with a slight smile. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be caught up in this."
"I'm glad you told me, but don't think you're off the hook for lying to me like that." She kissed his cheek and stood. "Get your shoes on; I'll be ready soon."
"Y-You're not actually coming, are you?"
"Why not? I knew him, so I may as well go."
Anthony sighed. "Wear purple; it was his favourite."
Freddy Fazbear's Pizza - Saturday, January 15th, 1994
A few days after Porfirio's death, Anthony approached his boss with a phone number belonging to Porfirio's girlfriend, Haruka. Thomas called the number shortly after receiving. He couldn't think of a reason why Porfirio would have wanted to hide a year-long relationship, but didn't spend much time contemplating the answer. By this point, the reason was irrelevant. Porfirio Violet was dead, and that was that.
Thomas did his best to give her the answers she needed, whilst making an effort to not weigh her down with unnecessary dark information, such as the Bite of '87. Over the phone, he explained how Porfirio died, his relationship to him, and the plans for the funeral. She didn't take the news of his death well, which was to be expected. He stressed the need for secrecy: she was to tell no one. He could tell by her answer that Haruka clearly didn't understand why he was asking that of her, but she did not ask for an explanation.
Haruka came early, working with Thomas to arrange a memorial table by the stage. It was decorated with two vases of violets, a picture of Porfirio between them. The photograph showed him sitting on his couch, snuggling Kowalski and smiling up at the camera. They also set up a small line of chairs in front of it, enough to seat the tiny gathering invited to attend.
The two of them sat after they finished setting up. Haruka was silent for a few moments before saying, "He deserves better than this." Her lip trembled. "Porfirio is, or w-was, a good man. He should have a proper funeral, his family should be told… Something in the paper would have been nice. But instead, all he's gotten was a lame meet-up at his workplace with the staff."
"His friends are here," Thomas argued. "You're here. Isn't that what matters?"
"How are you missing this?" she exclaimed. "If it was the money you were worried about, I would have helped!"
He sighed. "The cost was a factor, but there was more to it than that. This can't be made public."
"Why not?" Haruka wrapped her arms around herself. "W-Why do you want to act like he wasn't important…? I thought he worked here for many years."
He frowned. "He did. My dear, it's not about not wanting to honour him-"
"What, then?"
"I can't. It's… complicated. You see, Fazbear Entertainment has run into some trouble in the past. Have you heard anything about it?"
She shook her head. "I came to Canada a few years ago."
Thomas hesitantly explained the timeline of tragedies that had occurred over the years, such as the missing children and the Bite of '87. He even elected to tell her what had happened to the souls of the deceased children.
After he finished speaking, she said, "Do you think… Could Porfirio still be here?" She eyed the animatronics on the stage, as if considering which one Porfirio might have been in.
"I wouldn't know. I don't know what keeps them here in the first place. But, Haruka, that's why I need you to keep this secret. If someone were to launch a lawsuit against us about Porfirio's tragic accident, we'd go bankrupt. And that's assuming we'd still have customers. I-If you talk to someone about this, I'll lose my business and my children, and everyone else employed here would be out of work."
"Like Anthony, Mike, and Fritz?"
"Them and others."
She opened her mouth to protest, but immediately snapped it shut again.
"I know this is a lot to ask of you, but please, do me this one favour," Thomas requested. "My business is all I have left. My sons wouldn't be here otherwise." He began to lose his composure as he said, "Please let me keep my restaurant. I'm so sorry for what's happened to Porfirio, b-but please don't take my family from me."
"I…" Haruka hesitated. "I won't say anything."
He smiled faintly. "Thank you."
She nodded and fell silent. Neither of them spoke for an uncomfortably long period of time.
From the stage, Freddy flickered to life, causing Haruka to jump. Freddy apologized then looked to his father and asked, "Is it okay if I come down for a bit?"
Thomas thought for a moment before granting him permission.
He smiled and stepped off the stage, going to Haruka with a friendly smile. "I hope I didn't scare you too much. I'm Freddy, it's nice to meet you." He offered his hand to her.
Hesitantly, she shook it. "Haruka…" she replied uncomfortably.
"I know it's pretty weird to talk to one of the mascots at a kids restaurant, but thank you for giving me a chance."
"Um, you're welcome…?"
Freddy knelt in front of her to meet her eyes properly as he spoke. "I understand if you'd rather not talk about it, but, I was with Porfirio in his last moments."
Haruka's eyes widened. "Y-You were…?"
He nodded. "I'm so sorry. I… I tried to stop him, but it was too late. He asked me to tell you that he loved you. It was one of the last things he said before… Well, that."
She covered her mouth to suppress a gasp, her eyes welling with tears.
"He didn't want to die," Freddy explained. "He must have forgotten about how dangerous the suits are. No matter what we said, he wouldn't listen."
Haruka cried softly.
"I'm so sorry," he repeated. "I won't keep talking."
"Thank you for being with him," she managed to say.
Freddy simply nodded, looking away from her. Memories of Porfirio's atrocities against him and his friends and family, both recent and distant, flooded his mind. He held it together for Haruka's sake, knowing from her reactions that she was unaware of everything he had done. In light of the pain she was already facing she didn't need to be weighed down by betrayal as well.
The animatronic excused himself to the stage, giving Haruka and Thomas the space they needed to prepare for the funeral.
Before long, Anthony arrived, coming in the front door along with his wife, sending Thomas into a panicked frenzy. His employee held the door for Dianne and offered a pleasant smile. "Hello, hello," he greeted.
Thomas stood abruptly and charged to the door with a strained smile. "Mr and Mrs Howard, lovely to see both of you," he said with false delight. "If I'm not mistaken, I thought this was a staff event."
His welcoming expression faded immediately. "I'm sorry, Thomas, I did my best to keep this quiet," he explained in a hushed voice. "She caught me on my way out the door."
"It's not a problem that I'm here, is it sir?" Dianne asked with a slight edge to her voice.
"Yes, actually," he replied bluntly. "I requested Anthony to come alone."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes, and that's important because…?"
Thomas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I-I, uh, filled her in on it," Anthony began uneasily. His boss shot his gaze up, glaring at him.
"What did you tell her?"
"Excuse me?"
"How much did you say?" Thomas pressed.
"Uh, I told her about what happened to Porfirio, the status of the children, and, uh… that's it," he lied. "Really, it was about Porfirio."
Dianne piped in with, "I understand why this needs to be kept secret. Thomas, I won't go around telling people. I'd never want to cause you any trouble."
He nodded.
"Anthony, please don't keep things from me," she said to her husband.
Rather than responding, he looked to his boss for an answer, considering it was his secrets to keep and disclose as he saw fit.
"You may," Thomas said for him.
Anthony grinned. "Thank you. I won't, uh, let you down."
He nodded sternly, unlike his usual pleasant temperament. It was no wonder where Freddy had gotten his explosive temper from. Anthony was silently thankful that it wasn't worse. He figured having Haruka there encouraged him to keep himself controlled.
The three of them sat with Haruka, waiting in awkward silence as they anticipated the arrival of the remaining two guests.
Fritz parked the car outside of the restaurant, glancing over at his boyfriend before leaving the vehicle. He stopped when he saw the concerned expression on Mike's face, reflected in the side mirror as he looked out the window.
"Mikey, are ya alright?" he asked.
"Hm?" He turned to look at Fritz, regarding him with mild confusion. "Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought. What did you say?"
"Are ya alright?" he repeated.
"Uh, yeah, I-I'm okay."
Fritz frowned. "Come on, what's botherin' ya?"
He sighed. "This feels wrong," he admitted.
"What do ya mean?"
"We knew he wasn't okay, Fritz, b-but we didn't say anything! I-I know you said it isn't our fault, but I can't shake the guilt."
He wrapped an arm around Mike and said, "I know what you're feelin', but ya didn't do anythin' wrong."
Mike nodded but didn't meet Fritz's eyes.
"Come on, we've got to get inside."
The two men left the car promptly and headed inside to the make-shift funeral.
"This place normally freaks me out, but it just feels… worse now," Mike muttered.
"I know. It's to be expected after what's happened," he said quietly.
"Hello, hello!" Anthony welcomed, somehow with a smile.
Mike jumped a little. "Oh, uh, hey Anthony! H-How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you."
He nodded to him before he and Fritz quietly took their seats and waited for the funeral to begin. Mike observed that everyone had followed the dress code for the event. Even the silver heart locket dangling from Haruka's neck was encrusted with amethysts.
Thomas did most of the speaking, trading places with Anthony on occasion. The room was silent, apart from the person speaking at the front. The near-silence was only broken when Haruka dissolved into a bout of tears.
About halfway through, Fritz saw that Mike had his arms wrapped around himself, his head down.
"Ya feelin' alright?" he whispered.
"No."
"Hey, I'm upset too. Ya don't need to try an' act tough."
Mike mumbled, "It's not that. I…" With that, he covered his mouth and bolted from his spot, making a beeline for the men's room.
The entire room froze to watch the unexpected disturbance. Once the door had creaked shut behind him, they shifted their attention to Fritz. He appeared to be as confused as the other guests in the room were. He sighed and said, "I'll go check on him."
When he came in, one of the stall doors was shut. From inside, he could hear gagging. He frowned, coming over to it and lightly tapping on it. " Are ya okay in there?"
"Not really…" he said. Mike coughed again, followed by the distinct wet sound of someone being sick.
"Aw, Mikey…" he said softly. He paced back and forth with his hands folded behind his back until he heard the toilet flush.
Soon after Mike emerged, still looking green around the gills.
Fritz wrapped his arms around his waist. "I'm sorry…"
He nestled into his embrace. "I-It's all my fault. He wouldn't have died if I'd just said something!" His voice wavered as he said, "We're bad people, a-aren't we?"
"No. That's not true and ya know it. I trusted him to be able to help himself, but I was wrong." Fritz hung his head. "God, I should've known better."
He looked up when he heard the door to the washroom squeak open, revealing Anthony poking his head into the room. "Hello, hello. Uh, how are you feeling?" When neither of them spoke, he added, "Um... would you rather me leave?"
Fritz shook his head. Mike dissolved into tears, attempting to hide in his boyfriend's shoulder. Fritz responded by gently rubbing his back.
"You seem to be taking this really hard," Anthony commented, stepping into the room.
"It's my fault Porfirio's dead!" Mike blurted out.
He stared at him. "What on earth are you talking about?"
Fritz grimaced. "Mike, stop blamin' yourself," he said firmly. He looked to Anthony and said, "He's feelin' responsible for what happened to Porfirio. Ya see, he and I visited him an' Haruka last weekend, and Porfirio started actin' funny, so he left the house. He said he was goin' to take a smoke, but I thought he was goin' to leave, so I followed him outside. As I was talkin' to him, he… said some weird stuff. He said somethin' about his 'friends' tellin' him to stay away from Haruka. I don't get why, but he seemed like he was actually afraid she was plannin' on hurtin' him. I don't know. He didn't tell her anythin' about his 'friends' because he thought she'd treat him like he was crazy. I agreed to not say anythin' as long as he would try to help himself."
"And now he's dead," Anthony mumbled.
Mike choked out, "I was only d-doing as I was told!"
"Ya did the right thing," Fritz assured him. "We have our jobs and Thomas still has his family because ya kept the secret."
"But Porfirio died!"
Fritz furrowed his brow. "There's nothin' we can do about it now, okay? Bein' upset isn't gonna fix it!" he hollered. Mike shrunk back, putting a bit of distance between them. Seeing how he'd hurt his boyfriend, he took a deep breath and softly said to him, "I'm sorry. I… didn't mean to yell at ya. I'm the one who messed up. Ya just… can't keep blamin' yourself for what I did."
Anthony uncomfortably cleared his throat. "It was very unfortunate, but Fritz is right: it's done now. We, uh, need to focus on moving on."
Mike nodded to this but didn't comment on it. He didn't look at either of them.
"A-Anyway, uh, I should get back out there. I still have to read a thing I wrote. I hope you two will be out soon." He departed from the room, leaving Mike and Fritz on their own once more.
Fritz quietly came to Mike, gently taking his hand. He flinched when touched, but didn't move away. "I'm sorry. Really, I am."
"I can't believe y-you yelled at me…" His voice was flat, devoid of of any emotion other than disappointment.
"I never wanted to hurt ya." He was losing control of his emotions as he said, "You're so kind; ya have a smile for everyone and a good heart. Hell, ya gave all of us a chance when ya could've just left and acted like it was all a bad dream." He took a shaky breath and added, "And all I've done is hurt ya. Ya wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for me."
Mike's eyes widened. "Fritz…"
He wiped the tears that were now rolling down his cheeks. "I haven't been a good boyfriend; not good enough. I'm supposed to love ya, make ya happy, an' support ya through everythin', not make ya feel responsible for someone's death. I'm sorry for lettin' ya down. Please, Mike… give me another chance."
"Y-You thought I was going to leave?" he asked, horrified. "Of course not! I wouldn't dream of it."
A faint smile danced across Fritz's lips. "Thanks…"
"I love you, even after what's happened. And you didn't let me down," he continued. "I-I mean, sure, a lot's happened, but that's not your fault. We're in this mess because someone killed those kids, a-and now we have to keep it a secret. W-We could have gotten him help if it was safe to."
"That's true."
"Exactly. A-As Anthony said, we need to move on," Mike said.
Fritz chuckled softly. "That goes for both of us, doesn't it?"
"Yeah… Um, that means knowing I'm staying with you, too. I-I know you've had your family fall apart b-before, and-"
"I'm scared of losin' ya," he finished for him. "Ya nailed it. I'm afraid of pushin' ya away, like what happened with Charlene. I'm worried about losin' my kids, too. All I wanted to do is make ya happy, and I've failed. I let ya get hurt."
Mike smiled at him. "I'm happy when I'm with you. Things will get better, I know it. T-Tell you what, we'll both stop blaming ourselves. I promise you, I'm here for better or worse." He laughed and added, "If it could get worse than this, anyway."
Fritz snorted a laugh, drying the last of his tears from his face. "I doubt it could."
"Considering what we've been through together, I think we're doing well."
"Ya think?" Fritz grinned. "Anyway, are ya feelin' better now?"
"I am."
"Alright, let's get back out there, then."
Mike nodded and left the washroom with Fritz. They quietly took their seats and waited for Anthony to speak.
Anthony shuffled the papers in his hands, doing his best to suppress the slight shake they had developed. After hearing what Fritz had told him, Porfirio's odd behaviour made sense. Unexplained 'friends', the paranoia, the distrust; it explained everything. It explained his sudden outbursts, his recent attack against him, the murders, and even his death. Anthony considered that extreme fear would have been enough to cause anyone to ignore the protocol regarding the use of the springlock suits.
He realized he was the only one that had the complete picture of what happened. Fritz, Mike, and now him, knew of his illness; all except for Haruka knew that Porfirio destroyed the animatronics and tried to kill him, although none of them understood why; and he, his wife, as well as the animatronics were the only ones who had any knowledge of his killing spree. The truth of it was, he was the only living person that knew everything. It would stay that way. Anthony mentally vowed to take his secrets to the grave. At one point, Porfirio had been his friend; dragging his name through the mud wouldn't make anyone feel better. It would only serve to upset the people that still thought well of Porfirio to tell them he was a murderer on top of the other things he had done.
If he was honest with himself, he felt sympathetic rather than angry. It was hard to continue to feel hostile toward his ex-friend with his new context. It was impressive how well Porfirio managed to hide his illness, even when he slipped up on occasion. He'd even escaped from prison, some how. Although it didn't make stomaching his offenses easier, the background behind it helped Anthony to see that Porfirio didn't have wicked intent behind his actions. That knowledge helped in its own bizarre way.
He didn't think on it for too long, as he was expected to read the eulogy he wrote. Anthony came to the front with a bright smile. He could only hope it didn't look as strained as it felt.
"Hello, hello," he began. "Uh, as you all know, I'm Anthony Howard; a good friend and coworker of Porfirio." He cleared his throat and started to use his written work as reference. "I'd like to thank everyone for coming today on such short notice to honour his life. If he could be have been here, I'm sure he would have been flattered. He was such an interesting person, you know? Porfirio always had a soft spot for toast and his cat, Kowalski. He may not have looked like a cat lover, but trust me: he was. Now, Porfirio and I went way back to the days of Fredbear's Family Diner, back when Everett owned the company. We met at work, and were friends ever since."
His smile became more genuine as he chuckled. "There was this one night when we went to grab a drink after work, then we went back to his apartment to hang out for a bit. He, uh, put on this one movie about vampires or something, I forget exactly what it was called. Anyway, in the middle of this one tense scene, he suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders and shouted to startle me. Believe me when I say, it worked, and it worked well." Anthony laughed heartily, seemingly forgetting that he was reflecting on his friend's death rather than sharing a fond memory. It didn't last long, as his jovial mood faded away. "I'm going to miss our horror movie marathons. I can't say I knew what he wanted to do in life, but it probably had something to do with horror movies. Porfirio always liked to take things as they came, you know?" He paled, pausing momentarily before saying, "I-In closing, I'd like to thank everyone for coming. Although Porfirio may no longer be with us in life, he will always be with us in our hearts. There are refreshments near the kitchen for those who are interested. A-Anyway, uh, have a good afternoon." Anthony hastily retreated back to his seat after his speech.
Tension hung in the room afterward. A solid minute passed before anyone went to grab refreshments, consisting of sandwiches and fountain pop from the nearby machine. It was nothing special, but it would do.
Anthony stopped at the table with Haruka, grabbing a sandwich quickly. "Hello, hello. Uh, Haruka, how've you been? I know a lot has happened lately, so I thought I'd check how you're managing this."
"It's been hard," she admitted. "I really don't know what I'll do without him, but I guess I have to figure that out, huh?"
"Y-Yeah…" He cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot. "It's wonderful to meet you. It would have been nice to hear how Porfirio would have introduced you to me, you know?"
She nodded, a new wave of grief visibly coming over her.
"A-Anyway, I won't keep you. Uh, see you on the flipside." With that, Anthony retreated to a farther corner of the Dining Area.
Not long after he had moved away from the majority of the group, Dianne strode over to him.
"Thanks for bringing me," she said. "And thank you for telling me what was really going on."
"That? Oh, yeah, of course."
Thomas approached Anthony and Dianne, a grave expression on his face. "You spoke well; very kind words."
"Oh, uh, thank you." Anthony picked up his plate, clearly disinterested in continuing the conversation.
Although he noticed this, Thomas continued on. "Listen, I need you to do a few more things for me before we open up on Monday morning."
"Okay, uh, what can I do for you?" He took a bite of his sandwich, seemingly more focused on his food than the conversation.
"There's not exactly a nice way to put this, so I'll be blunt about it; no sense in beating around the bush. I need you to do me a favour and clean out that suit for me."
Anthony gagged, coming close to spitting out his food. He managed to swallow instead. "E-Excuse me?"
"You can't be serious," Dianne gasped.
"I know it's a lot to ask but please, Anthony, I need your help. I'll reimburse you for the supplies."
"That's hardly what I'm worried about!" he shrieked.
Dianne shook her head. "No way. Not happening."
Thomas sighed. "We can't reopen like this," he urged in a panicked tone. "You remember how bad it was in '87."
No longer interested in eating, he set the sandwich aside. "I do, and my nose still hasn't recovered from that smell."
His wife frowned. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him an apologetic look.
"You've done it before, so you'd be the best person for the job," Thomas continued.
"Yeah, to clean up the body of my best friend!" Anthony retorted, shooting his boss a dirty look. He stopped himself and let his energy subside, reminding himself of his dedication to his job; how much it meant to him to please his boss. He glanced down at the floor and calmly said, "I'm sorry. I'll… I'll deal with it tomorrow."
"Anthony!" she exclaimed with shock. "What are you saying? Of course you're not coming in to do that!"
"Who else is going to do it?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm the assistant manager, so it falls to me. I've cleaned up bodies before, so I know what I'm doing." Anthony winced and added, "It'll be ugly, but it has to be done."
Realizing all other protests would be ignored, Dianne stopped talking.
"Thank you," Thomas said. "You know what you'll need?"
"Yes. U-Uh, think about what you'll do to get rid of the garbage bags, and we should be fine."
Thomas gave him a sad smile. "I'm glad I can always count on you."
Anthony excused himself, doing as Mike had done earlier. Understandably, Dianne respected his need for space in light of the recent request. He splashed water on his face over the sink, then stayed in the washroom for a while longer as he came to terms with his coming task. The dreadful deed needed to be done, and he knew he couldn't delegate the task to another staff member. He hated to admit it, yet Anthony knew his boss was right; he was the most suitable candidate for the job. He eventually dragged himself back to the memorial party, figuring Dianne would be looking for him.
As he passed the Safe Room, near the bathroom, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. Although it felt as though someone was watching him, he brushed it off as his nerves getting the best of him. No one was there; just the security cameras slowly panning across the hall.