In the morning, Lea was not pleased when her sister's voice broke through her slumber. She groaned and tried to cover her head with her blanket, only for it to be yanked away from her.

"Lea!" Alex snapped. "It was your idea to leave! Get! Up!"

Alex yanked the rest of the blanket away like a magician yanking the tablecloth out from under a bunch of dishes. It had been wrapped around Lea like a cocoon, so the force of it being pulled away caused her to fall off the bed with a shout.

"Oh dear," Bonnie said from the doorway.

"Alex! What the heck!?" Lea was wide awake now.

"I told you to go to bed early because we were going to leave early! Were you up all night?"

"No!" Lea pushed herself up from the floor and struggled with the blanket still tangled around her legs. "I couldn't sleep. It's not my fault."

Alex huffed. "Well, you can sleep in the van. Come on. Help me double check our stuff and pack it in the van. We can tie the bigger suitcases to the roof."

"Okay…" Lea rubbed her eyes as she followed after her sister.

"Er, g-good morning, Lea," Bonnie stammered.

She smiled up at him. "Morning."

…

After satiating Chica's bewildering appetite, Lea and Alex made one last scan through the house to make sure that they had gathered up everything they would need or wanted to bring. Nothing seemed to be missing from what they had gathered, so the sisters began to load up Ms. Westin's van. The larger luggage that held their clothes and extra food and water was placed on the vehicle's roof to be tied down with cords. Ms. Westin herself had even come over to assist. Smaller bags with more immediate necessities and things for entertainment were placed inside of the van.

Lea had collected all of her plush toys and piled them into a corner behind the driver's seat. She did not want to leave them behind, but she also figured that Puppet might like to use the mound as a hiding place. She had also gathered a few pillows and blankets to bring along as well and placed them around the back.

After making sure they had everything and that the luggage on top was secure, it was time to load up the animatronics. It was so early, that it was still dark out, but they were still cautious to make sure no one was around.

The first one to be brought to the van was actually Puppet. Hesitant at first, they had decided to trust Lea and go first. Just as Lea thought, they had quickly buried themselves into the pile of plushies and pillows. The other four followed soon after, Chica and Foxy being the most enthusiastic about entering the vehicle, while Freddy and Bonnie were a lot calmer and careful not to bounce the van. With five animatronics, each six to seven feet tall, sitting in the back, the van looked rather cramped.

Ms. Westin hummed as she surveyed them, then turned to the sisters. "Hm… Everyone fits, but it's a bit claustrophobic, isn't it? I thought as much. Dearies, the next town is about an hour away. When you get there, go to this location." She placed a piece of notepad paper in Alex's hand. "I have an RV stored there. It hasn't been used in a long time, so you'll have to use my card to go buy a new battery. Make sure you check the engine and tires too. Here." She reached into her pocket and handed Alex two keys. One was clearly an ignition key.

"This is too much," Alex said.

"Oh, don't worry." The old woman smiled sweetly. "I have no children or grandchildren of my own, so I don't have anyone else to spend my retirement money on." She laughed.

"But –"

Ms. Westin placed her thin hands on Alex's shoulders. "Really, dear, don't worry. Now, be careful and take care of your sister."

Alex suddenly felt a surge of emotion. She had always thought Ms. Westin was weird and maybe a bit crazy in her old age, but she still loved the woman. She was like a real member of their family. Like the grandmother they never knew.

"I will," Alex said.

Ms. Westin nodded then went over to Lea. "And Lea. You try not to worry your sister too much. And look after those kids."

Lea smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Westin."

She hugged them tightly. "I will miss the two of you. Be careful. And give me a call sometime."

"We will. I promise!" Lea waved as she went to enter the van's passenger seat.

Alex closed the back doors of the van, locked the door to their house, then said a last goodbye to Ms. Westin before climbing into the driver's side. "Everyone ready?"

Bonnie and Freddy nodded while Chica and Foxy both replied with an excited "Yes!". Puppet remained silent but showed no signs of protest.

"Okay," Alex said as she started up the van. She took a deep breath through her nostrils then let out a short sigh, preparing herself for the journey ahead. "Let's go."

Lea was tired but too awake now to let herself fall asleep. Instead, she stared solemnly out the passenger side window, taking in the sights of her childhood home. She was excited, for she loved adventure and exploration, but she was also sad to leave. Maybe she would return one day in the future, whenever that would be. Until then, she took in all the sights and burned them into her memory.

"Keep going east," Lea muttered.

"I know," Alex replied quietly.

Lea was a bit surprised. She had not actually meant to say that out loud. Ms. Westin's words echoed through her mind. East… Farmhouse… Factory… The end… What did all of that mean? Ms. Westin was a strange old woman. But she was trustworthy. She always had been. So, they would travel east. And they would keep going east until they reached a factory near an old farmhouse. And there would be the end.

…

"Would ya stop kickin' me?!" Foxy's voice startled Lea awake. It was daytime now.

"Move over," Chica whined. She stretched her legs out more, and her large orange feet pushed him against the wall of the van.

"Agh! Stop it! Get off of me!" He struggled.

"Would you two knock it off!" Alex snapped then let out a startled yelp as Foxy's hook swiped past her head. Luckily, it had missed. Startled, Alex had accidentally jerked the van to the side but managed to quickly correct it without consequence. "Stop swinging that hook around! I'll make Lea take that thing from you!"

"It was an accident! And tell her to leave me alone!"

Lea was pleased that Foxy's grammar lessons seemed to be paying off. She glanced at the time and looked around at the scenery outside. They were in the next town. "All right you guys," Lea said as she turned in her seat to look at them. "We're almost there. The RV will have plenty of room for everyone to sit without kicking each other. Chica, feet to yourself, please."

She groaned but obeyed. Foxy sat up straight and sent her a leer. Puppet was still hidden from view in the mound of toys and pillows, while Bonnie and Freddy sighed with relief that the other two had finally stopped.

"This should be it," Alex said aloud as she pulled the van into a block lined with storage units. She slowed the van so she could read the unit numbers until she found Ms. Westin's unit in the second row. After parking beside it and unbuckling her seatbelt, Alex told them, "Okay, you guys all stay in here."

They gathered up to the front to watch as Alex exited the van and went over to the storage unit. She fiddled with a lock at the bottom of the door, then began to lift it open. It was dark and the only thing inside was the old RV.

Alex unlocked the RV and climbed into the driver's side, placing and turning the ignition key. As Ms. Westin suspected, the battery was dead. Alex hopped out and made her way around the vehicle, stopping to check each tire carefully before making her way back out to the van.

"Dead?" Lea asked when Alex re-entered the van.

"Yeah. The tires are pretty flat and rotted, too. On the bright side, the interior is pretty nice. And yes, it has plenty of room inside."

"Okay, so we just need to go get a battery and tires. How do you want to do this?"

Alex looked at her.

"I mean," Lea said, "we should leave these guys here for now, right? Otherwise, we won't have any room for all that stuff."

"True, but we can't leave them alone here."

"Um, yes, I agree," Bonnie chimed in. "Please don't leave us alone here."

"Alex," Lea said. "Do you think they'll try to ID you for that stuff? You're not even old enough to actually drive."

"I'll be careful about it. You guys all stay here while I go."

Lea got out of the van, looked around for any people, then opened the van door to poke her head in. "There are security cameras. Back the van up into the unit as best you can so I can let them out."

After Alex had done so, Lea opened the back doors of the van and gestured for the animatronics to come out. Foxy was the first to exit, scrambling over the others so that he could get away from Chica; Freddy looked rather annoyed at being stepped on.

"Chill out, Foxy," Lea scolded.

Once they had all exited the van, Puppet slowly pulled themself out from the mound and slunk into the shadows of the storage unit.

"Okay Alex," Lea said as she went to close the backdoors, "everyone's out. You remember the kind of battery and tires we need?"

"I just finished writing it down," she replied. "I'm hoping not to take more than an hour."

"We'll be here." And with that, Lea shut the van doors. After, she flicked a light switch that lit up the interior of the unit, then she carefully released the pull chain so that the unit door fell closed. Outside, the fall air was crisp and chilly, with an icy breeze, but inside wasn't too bad.

"Ooh, look at it," Chica said as she looked at the RV. "Let's name it."

"Name it?" Bonnie looked at her.

"Yeah! Oh, I know! We'll call it Rusty!"

He crossed his arms and tilted his head as he studied the RV. "I don't know… It doesn't look very rusty."

"Why do you get to pick?!" Foxy piped up. "I wanna call it FreeRunner."

"That's a dumb name," Chica told him.

"You're a dumb name!"

"Pfft! Okay, Foxy."

"What? Why'd you say it like that?!"

"Oh dear," Bonnie said. "Guys…"

Lea rolled her eyes. They really were children. "Stop it, you two. You're both being bad."

"She started it," Foxy grumbled.

"No I didn't!"

"Yes, you did! In the van!"

"Stop!" Lea raised her voice and they both silenced themselves. "If you two don't stop arguing, I'm going to put you both in a time-out! Got it?"

"…Yes ma'am," Chica said.

"Aye…" Foxy said.

Freddy's ears twitched as he watched them, and Lea got the feeling that he was amused.

While waiting for Alex to return, Chica busied herself by playing with her toy cat. Foxy and Freddy had begun playing some kind of game where, from what Lea could see, it appeared that Foxy was pretending to be the captain of a ship and the ship was the top of the RV. Somehow, Foxy had ended up getting Freddy involved in his game by pretending that the bear was a "kraken". Meanwhile, Lea and Bonnie sat off to the side, chatting while they observed the others. Lea was rather surprised when the Puppet wandered over and sat nearby.

"Lea," Bonnie said after a while. He looked worried, as if afraid to continue.

"Yes?" she asked after he did not.

"Um, last night… What had happened to you?"

"Last night?" she echoed.

He looked at her. "You said something about it just being a headache, but…but when I found you, you were huddled up on the floor and yelling. You were even holding your ears, as if something was too loud."

"Oh, that…" She was still watching Foxy but she could feel the stares of both Bonnie and Puppet on her. "I don't know. I thought I saw something in the laundry room. There was this loud ringing sound, and it really hurt my ears. But then, there wasn't even anything there. I think, maybe, I was just so tired and all that I imagined it." Her response was completely genuine.

"Oh," Bonnie said and looked away. "…I've…been having bad dreams lately."

"What about?" She looked at him now.

"They're scary… In my dreams, I feel like I'm being followed or chased. I'm in the pizzeria, but it's too dark to see well. Then, I hear someone screaming and crying for help. They're voice sounds so familiar, but I don't know who it is. I'm afraid, but I also want to help them. I feel like I have to help them, because I know them. But…I don't know them. …I think."

Lea listened very carefully to his story. "Then what?" she asked after a minute.

"Then, I go to find them. I find something in the dark. It's brown and taller than me. There's blood dripping from it onto the floor… Inside…I hear someone crying…gasping… Then, I start crying. I can't figure out how to get my brother out of there."

Brother? Lea held her breath, not wanting to interrupt and hoping she could get more information. It seemed that Bonnie, or rather, the child trapped within him, was reliving things in his dreams. These were not just nightmares, it seemed.

Bonnie was silent for another minute as he stared at the floor with a hint of fear in his eyes. "Then… Then… Someone catches me. Then… I'm being pushed into this tight space…but there's no room. There are loud snapping sounds, like something was breaking over and over, and my body hurts all over. It gets too hard to breathe, and I can't move anymore. It gets dark again…and then I wake up."

Lea, without really meaning to, turned to look at Puppet, who moved their head very slightly so that they could look at her. She looked back at Bonnie, finding him shaking. She had no idea what to do or say. Was there anything she could do or say right now? She had no idea, so she just hugged him. "It's…It'll be okay, Bonnie." What was she supposed to say?

To be continued…