It was quiet in the gray and rather dusty room. Although it is difficult to call it such, because now the Afton family lives in this house. A joyful, ignorant family. A single yellow lamp on the table illuminated almost the entire workshop. A drop of sweat slowly trickling down William's forehead made him take a dirty rag and wipe his face. Hands trembling with fatigue, covered with fuel oil, turned the screwdriver clockwise. A smile appeared on his face. William, as if not paying attention to fatigue, was completely absorbed in his favorite work.

- Dad? - a familiar voice was heard.

However, William was too absorbed in his work and, if he heard extraneous sounds, did not attach any importance to them.

- Dad, we brought the tools, as you asked! - the voice said a little louder so that it could be heard.

Finally, the immersion in work disappeared, and William returned back to reality. So it wasn't extraneous sounds, but just his children.

- Yes, yes... Come in! - the man replied.

The door to the room opened, and two figures appeared in the passage. It was Michael and Chris. The oldest son was holding two heavy boxes of tools in his hands, and Chris was trying to hold the same box of tools in his small hands. William hastily wiped his hands, took the box from youngest son and stroked his head. Then he turned his head towards Michael.

- Put it there. - he pointed to a small metal table that stood in the dark.

Michael walked over to the table and put the boxes down with a characteristic clatter. The guy who got rid of his burden sighed heavily and dusted off his hands.

- Do you need anything else? - the guy asked, turning to his father.

William looked at his sons. Everyone looked tired from work, because they had been helping their father all day. William was proud of them.

- That's enough for today. - William smiled. - Chris, you can go play with your sisters if you want. Michael, you're free too.

- Okay, thanks! - Chris smiled.

- No, thank you for that. If it weren't for you, I'd be breaking my back over this mechanism until morning. Well, now go ahead! What if your mom needs help too, huh?

The youngest son nodded in response and hurried to the exit. Michael also moved to the exit, but slowed down a little and turned back to his father.

- Dad, you need to sleep too. You've been stuck in this basement every day for a week now...

William got up. His back cracked slightly. He allowed his joints to move for the first time in several hours. Approaching his son, he took him by the shoulders with a smile on his face.

- I know that you and your family are worried about me. But that's just my job. My favorite job! Oh, if you only knew how much pleasure I get from this... You don't have to think about me. Everything is alright, okay? - said the brunette.

Michael nodded and smiled.

- I understand how important all this is to you. But... Can I ask you one little question? - he asked.

- I'll listen to you with pleasure. - William returned to his desk, followed by his son.

- Then explain to me. What is it? - Michael pointed at the mechanism his father was working on.

William looked at the model, and some unknown spark flashed in his eyes. As if something fateful would happen after finishing work on this layout.

- This, my son, is a new technology! A real breakthrough! - the man exclaimed, joyfully spreading his arms to the sides.

- New technology of what? Animatronics? - the son guessed.

- That's right! I'll show you now... - William walked over to the very table where the instruments were lying.

Next to him was a small bedside table, which the man opened, trying to find something there. Finally, he took out a small control panel with several buttons.

- But why do you need this thing? Animatronics are programmed robots, right? Then why do you need it? - the son was perplexed.

William smiled again.

- This is a temporary solution. So far, it's just a prototype, an inferior animatronic. This remote control is needed in order to control all parts of the mask. I have made some adjustments here, now we will check... - the man explained.

Suddenly, the mechanisms came to life. This was announced by clicking and scrolling gears. So far, nothing unusual has happened. If the mechanisms had started working, they still didn't show it.

- And what exactly should happen? - Michael turned to his father.

At this moment, William continued to press the buttons with concentration, typing certain combinations.

- Now the mask must... - he did not have time to finish.

Suddenly, all parts of the mask opened like a petal. And then some kind of madness began. The mask began to close and open uncontrollably. Every part of her seemed to live her own life. There was no order, sequence, or anything like that. The mechanisms, as if they had gone mad, tried to activate some process in a chaotic manner, but nothing came of it. The madness ended when one of the parts burned out. The layout died again, having stopped moving, and gray smoke formed in the air from it, notifying that some part really burned out.

William sighed heavily. Michael realized that he was very upset. It wasn't surprising considering how much he worked on it. But the sigh was followed by a smile. It was, in Michael's opinion, who always conveyed one of his father's best traits — tirelessness. He never gave up, even in the most difficult situations. William always stayed determination.

- It's nothing... - William said. - I do not know a single inventor who did everything at once.

- So you're a great inventor now! - Michael laughed with a comforting smile.

- No, not great. Just a beginner... - William's smile widened.

Calming down a bit, Michael looked at his watch. They showed 23 hours and 24 minutes.

- It's getting pretty late. - Michael yawned. - I think it's time for me to go to bed.

- We heard some noise. - Elizabeth suddenly looked in through the half-open door.

- Are you all right? - Naomi also looked in for her.

- Yes, it's all right. - William turned to the children and smiled. - Just a part burned out.

- And what now? - Naomi asked, somewhat distressed.

- What now? I will fix the error! - William walked over to the mask. - Henry's going to have an appointment soon. I have to have time to finalize the prototype and schematics. And you go to sleep.

- Yes... That's just it... Promise me that you will go to bed soon too, and finish your work tomorrow. - Michael said finally, and the sisters nodded in unison, worried about their father.

- I promise... - the father answered, turning to the children and winking wearily at them, while still smiling.

Michael nodded and went to the exit. The sisters disappeared into the corridor, fleeing to the second floor. William, after a while, returned to the mechanism and examined it carefully. The smile faded from his face.

- Damn it! - he exclaimed, tapping his foot lightly.

What was hidden under the mask of fun was actually a disappointment. He really spent a lot of time on it, but every time something goes wrong! William just didn't want to upset the children, so he didn't break down in front of them. They're already worried about him, why escalate it? When the disappointment passed, William immediately set to work. Going to the table, he rummaged a little in the drawers, finding all the necessary tools. Then, he walked over to the mask, and a new thought popped into his head. It seems that he won't be able to sleep today after all...