Welcome to my Five Nights at Freddy's fanfiction! This is my first time posting a story on FFN. Any and all constructive criticism is appreciated! I wish you all a pleasant reading experience!

Act I - First Steps

Is this where you want to be?

He didn't know what had woken him up. Whether it was the cold asphalt he had been laying on, or the rain soaking his clothes, or the occasional thunder that would overcome the sound of the storm, he was now awake, standing in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the night's darkness. It was so dark in fact that he could barely see five feet in front of him. His eyes had yet to adjust to the low visibility. Lightning strikes lit up the sky, allowing him to make out a mountain range in the distance, although that didn't tell him much about where he was. He had nothing with him. The phone that was ever-present in his pocket was nowhere to be found. The only thing shielding him from the rain was a red t-shirt and some blue shorts. They provided zero comfort however as they were drenched in water and hugged his body too tightly for his taste. The shoes he was wearing looked old. Not old in the sense that they were ripped or dirty, no, they looked like something a kid from the 80' would wear. They were black in color and did not have any "modern" design on them. They were pretty plain and definitely weren't his own. None of his clothes were.

His teeth chattered against each other. He hugged himself to try and preserve some of his body temperature, but it was quickly becoming clear that wouldn't do him much good as he was already shivering from the cold. If hypothermia didn't kill him, he'd probably get eaten by some wild animal and frankly, he wasn't keen on either scenario.

A thousand thoughts plagued his mind. He remembered waking up and going through his usual morning routine, but after that there was a gap in his memory. He felt like he had forgotten something important and it was right on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't quite name it. It frustrated him. Whatever it was, it had to do with why was here in the middle of nowhere. That he was sure of. Had he been kidnapped and just left here? Why would his kidnapers go through the trouble of changing his clothes? Did his mind block out the memory of the event because it was traumatic? He definitely knew of such things being possible but he didn't feel like he went through anything scarring, he just couldn't recall what led up to this. At least he wasn't hurt. If it wasn't for the cold he'd be just fine. Speaking of, he had to find shelter as soon as possible if he didn't want to freeze to death.

A lesser person might have panicked by now, but panic wouldn't do him any good. He had to stay calm and try to make it out of the predicament he was in. He began walking along the paved road in hopes of reaching civilization. With some luck a car might pass by. As he walked, only now did he notice there was something wrong with his body. He was smaller. His hands were tiny and his legs lacked the muscle he had built over the years as a soccer player. He let out a shaky chuckle at the absurdity of the situation and noticed his voice was a little different too. Yeah, he'd been kidnaped and stranded on the side of the road in a younger body. That was normal.

His mind tried to rationalize everything by saying it was all a dream, but you couldn't feel cold in a dream, or the uncomfortable sensation of wet clothes hugging your body. A look at a puddle on the ground only confirmed that he was, in fact, in a younger version of his own body. A baby face stared back at him. What was his own face only about eight years ago. If he had to guess he'd say he looked to be around six or seven. Splendid.

Most people would've been freaking out if they were in his place but he was the type of person to believe in aliens if he had concrete, undeniable evidence. And there it was. Proof that he had undergone some kind of time travel, at least on a physical level. Maybe some aliens were bored and just thought it'd be funny to take him and de-age his body then leave him on the side of a road. He could believe that, but did the fact that he was not freaking out about any of this speak to some kind of crazy emotional control he had over himself or was he just incredibly apathetic to what was going on? He wasn't sure. How would he even explain this to his parents, provided he made it out alive, of course. They were probably worried sick for him. Would they even believe that he was their child? Or would they think someone was impersonating him?

Well, he'd cross that bridge when he got there. Right now, he had other things to worry about. Like the car that was heading in his direction. He raised his head and looked straight into the headlights, blinding himself for a few moments. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes and when he opened them the car had stopped in front of him. He focused his attention on the rest of the car to avoid getting blinded again. It was yellow in color, and while he was no car enthusiast like his father, he knew it was an old model because of its weird sleek shape and old-school tires. He was pretty sure it was a 1976 Chevrolet Impala. His dad would definitely scold him if he got it wrong, but he wasn't here so he couldn't complain about his son not recognizing a classic.

The driver got out of the car and looked at him, his face full of concern.

"Hey there, kid. What are you doing out here in the rain all by yourself?" he said in a soft tone. The man wore a green flannel shirt. His brown hair was nicely combed back on the sides while on the top it was more ruffled. You didn't see anybody having this kind of hairstyle in 2022. He also wore a pair of glasses.

The man's face was strange to him. His features did not match those of people born after the late 80s – early 2000s. If someone showed you two pictures, one of a man born in the 2000s and one of a man born in the 60s, you would be able to tell which man was born in which time, because people that were born in the 60s had very distinct facial features that do not correspond with those of the average Joe today. It was uncanny, for lack of a better word. That was the feeling he was getting as he stared at the man.

"Kid?" he asked again.

"Oh- uh, yeah- I'm uh- I a-actually don't know what I'm doing here, I just woke up… on the side of the road." the man seemed disturbed by that comment.

"You just woke up… Never mind that, here- let's just" he went over and opened the backseat door. "-get you inside." He ushered him in. "You'll get a cold if you stand in the rain any longer."

He mumbled a thank you in response and got in, not really caring if he was getting in a stranger's car. He was already in danger anyway and he wasn't getting any bad feelings about his rescuer. The man genuinely seemed to care for his well-being, or at least that was the vibe he was getting.

The man got in as well and adjusted his rearview mirror to be able to see him.

"My name's Henry, what's yours, kid?" that name was familiar.

"Matthew."

"Nice to meet you, Matthew. How do you feel? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. Just a little cold. Don't know for how long I've been asleep." Henry reached inside the glove compartment and pulled out a towel.

"Here, take this." Matt took it and wrapped it around himself. Some of the water in his clothes was starting to leak out.

"Sorry for soaking your backseat…" Henry simply chuckled in response.

"Don't you worry about that. You just make yourself comfortable, ok?" Matt gave a small nod. "So, you said you woke up in the rain?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what happened. I think I might have been kidnaped, but my memory's kind of fuzzy." Henry frowned.

"Whatever it was, I'm sorry you had to go through it. But I promise you're going to be alright. Everything's going to be fine." he assured softly.

"Ok... So, where are we, anyway?"

"We're in Hurricane, Utah, kiddo." Matt froze. He stared silently at Henry. The man noticed and offered him an understanding smile.

"I take it you're not from around here, huh?"

"Y- yeah, that's…" a long way from home. How long had he been out to get sent so far across the country. He took a moment to compose himself. "Okay, uh, could I borrow your phone? I need to call my parents." Henry looked at him a little puzzled.

"My telephone? I don't have one on me, kiddo. I do have one at home, though. We can use that to call your parents and let them know you're alright."

That was weird. If this man could afford a retro car, then he must've been able to afford a phone. Not only did this man, Henry, look old-school, he also drove around in a retro car, so was he actually implying he lived that way too? Without modern technology? Damn. Well, it could've been worse. At least he wasn't completely isolated from civilization. Matt was thankful he had been found by someone relatively quickly, even if that someone was a complete weirdo.

"Sure." Matt agreed simply. Henry started driving and the two spent the next couple of minutes in silence. The man was pondering something and Matt didn't dare interrupt him.

"I imagine being out there all alone in the dark must've been pretty scary. It's okay if you don't want to talk about it." he said all of a sudden.

"No, it's fine. To be honest, I was mostly confused, you know. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me."

"It shouldn't have happened at all." Henry grimaced. "Kids your age should only worry about playing and making friends. How old even are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm" 14, Matt wanted to say, but he realized he wasn't going to be believed, so he opted to go with what he looked like. "-seven, sir."

"I'm sure your parents would be proud if they knew how brave you were." Henry smiled. Those words would've probably come across as condescending from anybody else's mouth, but Henry only meant them as a form of reassurance and comfort to what was otherwise a small boy.

"Thank you, sir."

"Oh, you don't have to be so formal with me, kid. You can call me Henry. But anyway, you know, I have a daughter that's your age too. Her name's Charlotte."

"R- really?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately, you won't meet her tonight because she's over at her friend's house. They're having a sleepover. I'm sure you two would've liked each other, though."

"Y- yeah…" Seeing how Matt had started stuttering, Henry nodded and focused on driving from that point onward, thinking the small talk was only going to make things more awkward than they already were.

When Henry said the name Charlotte, Matt couldn't stop the lump in his throat from forming. His heart had skipped a beat and was now definitely beating faster. All sorts of red flags were suddenly raised in his mind. Matt was the type of person to believe a lot of things if given the evidence, but what that statement suggested was absolutely insane. It was insane because he knew of a Charlotte that lived in Hurricane and had a father named Henry. He wasn't the type to deny the truth when it was right in front of him, but this couldn't be true. This had to be the biggest coincidence that anyone had ever experienced and nothing more. He could accept something unnatural happening that turned his body into that of a little boy and left him on the other side of the country but not this. No.

A sense of dread settled in his chest. It was getting hard to breathe. He swallowed and kept quiet, remaining relatively calm, trying to think of literally anything else in the meantime until they got to Henry's home. Henry, for his part, didn't seem to notice anything was wrong.

o0o

Street lights lit up the neighborhood, revealing many suburban houses, none looking identical to each other. By now the rain had stopped and the quiet helped to create a welcoming atmosphere. It seemed like a great place to live in. A much nicer environment than the bustling streets of big cities.

Henry parked the car at the end of the road and Matt looked out to see what he assumed was Henry's house. It was a two-story house that had a garage and chimney on its right side. The house's rooftop, balustrade, window and door frames as well as its corners were all painted green while the walls were white. A big tree sat near the garage door. He had seen it before. Not up close but on a page and that fact served to increase his dread.

They got out of the car, Matt with the towel still wrapped around himself, and approached the front door. Matt couldn't help but feel almost reluctant to enter the house as Henry searched his pockets for his keys. It was as if a monster was waiting for him on the other side of that door. He knew nothing wrong was going to happen but that sense of nervousness only rose as Henry finally found the keys and unlocked the door. He held it open for Matt and gave him a pat on the back as he entered. He was unable to get a good look at the interior of the house as Henry guided him into the living room.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'll go bring you some fresh clothes." Henry then pointed towards the telephone that sat neatly on a small table near the TV. "You know how to use it?" Matt nodded in confirmation. "Alright, I'll be right back." he smiled then went upstairs.

As he saw Henry leave, he turned his attention to the blocky TV. The casing was made out of polished wood. Two antennas sat atop in the middle of the TV, forming a V shape. The screen was curved and on its left side there were two black dials. Bellow the dials there was what looked to be the speaker and bellow that there were three buttons labeled as brightness, contrast and volume respectively. Matt's mouth formed into a thin line as he stared at the antique before him for a few seconds. He averted his gaze and moved on to the small, red, rotary telephone. He had been interested in technology in the past and new how to use the primitive phone despite never actually touching one.

His hands tightened around the towel as he contemplated his next action. Finally, he reached out and picked up the receiver then put his finger in the dial and prepared to twist it…

What was he actually expecting to happen? That he'd just call his parents and they'd pick up. This wasn't a big coincidence. It couldn't be. And he couldn't ignore it no matter how much he wanted to. No one was going to answer because everyone he knew was out of reach, someplace else. Somewhere he couldn't go. He would never see them again. Matt wondered briefly how they must feel having their son just disappear one day as if he had never existed. They'd be heartbroken and he didn't want to think how they'd cope with his disappearance. If they would ever be able to move on or not. He was going to miss them.

Matt closed his eyes and put the receiver back down. He didn't even notice Henry had returned with a fresh pair of clothes and had set them down on the couch. The man was standing a few feet behind him.

"Hey, uh, is everything ok? Did you forget the number?" he spoke softly and Matt could hear the concern in the man's voice.

"No… it's just… I- I realized… t- that I'm never going to see them again. They're gone. Everybody's gone…" he turned around and opened his eyes but didn't meet Henry's. Tears were threatening to roll down his cheeks. "And I don't…" understand why I'm here, he wished to say.

The emotions kept piling up until he could no longer keep them inside and he started crying. Henry hesitated for a moment before knelling down and wrapping his arms around Matt in an attempt to comfort him. For a while Matt didn't hug back and just stood there in the embrace letting the emotions flow out. Henry moved him to sit on the couch.

Matt tried to stop himself from crying but couldn't. He leaned in and slowly hugged Henry back. After a while his weeping turned into sobs and then into ragged breathing. Henry did not say anything and simply rubbed his back, unsure of what to say. Sympathy from strangers did not mean much, in his experience. Still, he finally decided, he did not have anything to lose from it and the kid in his arms needed it. If he could help, even a little bit, he'd do so.

"I can't imagine what you're going through, kid, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. You're not alone. I know right now is bad, but it will get better. Not tomorrow, or the day after, but it will. I promise." Matt did not respond, instead, he buried his head further in Henry's chest, hugging him a little tighter. Henry wasn't going to pry, but from what Matt had said, it seemed like every person the boy cared about had died. No kid should have to go through that. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost Charlotte and he was an adult. No, this kid had just lost everything, and Henry would be damned if he ever dreamed of abandoning him. In that moment, Henry made up his mind. He was going to give this kid the best life he possibly could.

Matt pulled back, whipping his eyes, ending the hug. A damp spot was left on Henry's shirt. The man didn't care.

"Thank you." the boy muttered. "I'm going to go change." Henry nodded and handed him the clothes.

"The bathroom is on the left side of the stairs. Sorry if you don't like them, I took them from my daughter's because only she had clothes that would fit you." Henry informed. Matt shook his head and gave a small thumbs up then left. Henry didn't have to apologize, Matt thought. He didn't care if he was wearing girl's clothing. At this point, he'd be fine with wearing full pink. The clothes consisted of a grey sweater, an undershirt, dark green pants and a pair of navy-blue socks.

He washed his face first to get rid of the tear marks. After he was done changing, he set his old clothes on the radiator along with the towel Henry had given him and left the bathroom. He saw the man coming out of what he assumed was the kitchen.

"Hey, so uh, are you hungry? I have some pizza if you want any." Matt pondered the question for a moment.

"Nah, I'm good, just a little" he yawned. "-tired. Thank you, anyway." Henry nodded.

"Well, it is pretty late and… you've had a rough day." he paused, contemplating his next words. "Listen, I uh, I want to let you know that you can stay here with me and my daughter. We'd be happy to have you. I know this must be strange for you, I mean, a stranger that you met half an hour ago offers you to live with him, but I can't just send you out there knowing… So, you're welcome to stay with us."

"I… thank you… I don't really have anywhere else to go…" Matt took a hesitant step towards Henry. The man knelt down and the boy took another step, reaching for Henry who then pulled him into a hug. Right now, Matt would take any comfort he could. He struggled a little not to cry again.

"I promise everything will be fine. I'll do my best to help you get through this, okay?"

"Okay." he let go.

"Come on, let me show you to your room." Henry said as he got up. Matt nodded and followed Henry up the stairs.

The hallway he was met with led to four rooms. A red carpet covered the floor. There was a door at the end of the hallway, to his right, one on the other end, to his left, and two doors in front of him. Henry opened the left front door for him.

"This was the guest bedroom, but now it's yours." Henry explained.

In the far-left corner of the room there was a bed with a nightstand near it. On it was a lamp and a clock. A few feet away from the nightstand there was a desk that had a closet to its right. Above the desk was a window. To the left, right in front of the bed was the closet. The far-right corner had a bookshelf. Near it there were two drawers. The ceiling was white and walls were a deep blue while the furniture was a sleek, unpainted brown. The floor was covered by a gray carpet.

"Do you sleep with the light on?" Matt shook his head. He had outgrown that habit 7 years ago.

"Well, have a goodnight, then. The bathroom is on the right end as you come out, or you could just go downstairs. My room's the one next to yours. If you need anything, feel free to come wake me up."

"Alright, goodnight."

"I'll see you in the morning." Henry waved him goodbye then left.

Matt signed. He didn't have the energy to think about all that had happened. Sleeping seemed like the best thing to do now. He looked towards his bed and saw a pair of pj's folded neatly atop. He had already changed less than 3 minutes ago, no point in doing it again. He went to shut off the light then got into ben, pulling the covers halfway over him. His body seemed to sink into the mattress as he sat there, gazing at the ceiling. He was exhausted. Matt closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him. He briefly though about how lucky he was to have met Henry and what would have happened if he didn't. He'd make sure to properly thank the man in the morning for everything he had done. Tomorrow he'd have time to process. Yeah…

Tomorrow was another day.

Note: You can also find this story on AO3 under the same title. Most of the end notes have been copied from over there in one go as this fic originated on that site, so that is why they may seem weird, due to this story being brand new here. This'll be updated on both sites moving forward and has been uploaded here for readers' convenience in case you prefer FFN over AO3.

Chapter title from "Five Nights at Freddy's 1 Song" by The Living Tombstone.