'Final night of the week.' Ethan rubbed his face. 'Christ.' The teen laid on his bed, mulling over the shift that he had just had. So many questions unanswered, assuming they could even be answered.

First off, what the hell was that golden Freddy suit, and why the hell was it talking? Secondly, murderous animatronics were making less sense by the minute. Were they programmed to be like that? Seemed unlikely. Maybe they were haunted? But how the hell would that work? Poltergeists? No idea.

Ethan sighed, petting Sylvia. 'Be glad you don't need a job, girl. Hell, I don't even need this job. I just took it to get a little more spending money.' Now that Ethan thought of it, he didn't even need to stay working at Freddy's. He could walk in today, walk right up to Mr. Sinclair, and say that he was quitting. Done and done.

Yet, something kept Ethan from doing that. From quitting one of the deadliest jobs on the planet. Curiosity? Mostly. A death wish? Most definitely.

Ethan sat up in his bed, sleep refusing to embrace him, even for an hour or two. He yawned widely and walked into his bathroom. A shower sounded nice right now.

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'I'm worried, Grandpa. He hasn't showed up to school in two days.' Emma sat at the dining table with her grandfather, Mr. Sinclair. 'He's usually a lot more-'

'Responsible?' Mr. Sinclair cut in, sipping on a cup of coffee.

Emma sighed. 'That's a word for it. He's just on top of things. Or he's running around like a madman on cocaine.'

Sinclair snorted into his coffee. 'That sounds about right for that boy.'

'It's just a bit odd, is all. I'm getting kind of worried about him.' Emma shook her head.

Sinclair sighed, trying to find the words to console his granddaughter. He found none. Taking another sip of coffee, Sinclair got up from the table to get ready for work. He turned back toward his granddaughter. 'Maybe today, you should go to his house and drag his sorry butt to school with you. You know where he lives, right?'

Emma nodded. 'He lives in his uncle's apartment complex.'

Sinclair snapped his fingers. 'Damn, you're right. Forgot Terry had that place.'

'You know his uncle?'

'Old friend, met him back during the war. Good man, great with kids and animals. He's a bit younger than I am, if I remember correctly.'

Emma nodded, mouthing "Okay then" as she got up from the table as well. 'I'll give Ethan a text to let him know I'm coming.'

Sinclair scoffed. 'Like hell. Don't give that boy a warning. It's his fault that he applied for night guard, now he can reap the consequences.'

'Just drop by unannounced?'

Sinclair nodded, a cheeky grin on his face. 'Like I said, that boy made his decision. Give him a bit of a wake up call.'

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Ethan looked like hell in a handbasket. At least, that's what Ethan could describe himself as. His hair was an absolute mess, looking more like a messed up bird's nest than hair. He had bags under his eyes, probably due to the stress and the collective four hours of sleep he had gotten over the past two days.

The teen sighed and rubbed his face. 'Christ.'

Night shift was taking its toll, that was for sure.

Ethan yawned and stretched, stripping down and turning on the shower to a scalding hot level. He stood there for a few moments, waiting for the water to heat up enough to cause burns, and thought about his upcoming shift.

What kind of hell was in store for him this time?

Whatever. He needed a hot shower.

About fifteen minutes later, Ethan hopped out of the shower, feeling refreshed and fully alert for the first time outside of work. And he was also red as a lobster. That was a bonus.

Ethan started to make his way to his bedroom, towel wrapped around his waist. The steam rolled out of the bathroom in a massive cloud, and cleared as Ethan walked out into the living room to make his way into his bedroom.

The cloud also revealed Emma sitting on his couch, on her phone.

Ethan stifled a yell and quickly shot into his bedroom.

'Don't worry, I didn't see anything.' Emma called out, the smile on her face obvious from the way she said it.

Ethan scowled. 'Ever consider NOT coming into someone's house unannounced?'

'No, not really.'

'Christ.' Ethan sighed as he dried off and changed into his usual attire; jeans and a shirt he got from a shop at the California sand dunes. He grabbed his boot by his bedroom door as he walked back out into his living room.

Emma looked up, smiling at him. Ethan's face remained neutral, crossing his arms. There was a silence between the two of them for a few seconds, before Ethan spoke again. 'Was this your own prerogative or did my uncle put you up to it?'

Emma shook her head. 'Your boss, actually.'

Ethan sighed. 'That checks.' Ethan looked down at Sylvia as she came over to greet him. He squatted down to love on his dog, but his attention still rested on Emma. 'So, why are you here exactly? What did your grandpa put you up to?' Ethan's voice was laced with a 1950's detective voice, smiling as he said it.

Emma scoffed. 'He just suggested that I check up on you. You haven't been at school in two days, and I find it really funny when I'm the first person Coach comes to when he's looking for you.'

Ethan laughed. 'Really? Thought he would go to Brandon or Jerome or someone like that.'

'Nope, right to me.'

Ethan laughed again. 'Huh. How strange.'

'Yeah, it's like they think I know where you are at all times or something.'

Ethan shrugged. 'You usually do.' He gestured at the door. 'Case in point.'

'Luck.' Emma responded, arms crossed. '

Ethan grinned. 'Sure, lovely. Say that all you want.'

Emma turned red, looking away from Ethan as she tried not to laugh at him. Ethan smiled wide. 'You know you can't win, Emma.'

'You're insufferable, Ethan, Jesus!' Emma said, face turning redder by the moment.

Ethan shot right back. 'Says the one who never seems to leave me alone.'

Emma had turned into a cherry tomato at this point. She turned back toward her friend. 'That's not a bad thing when the one person you've known since childhood can't seem to take care of himself and is overburdening himself with a job that takes away his nights.'

'I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself.'

'Then why did you take a graveyard shift?'

Ethan shrugged. 'My uncle suggested it, and frankly I wanted more money in my pocket.'

Emma scoffed. 'Don't you have an uncle that gives you an allowance?'

Ethan let out a sarcastic laugh. 'For food and clothes, that's it. Whatever I have left over is what I use on frivolous nonsense.'

'And that's not enough?'

'Call me a greedy bastard. It's the truth. At least I have some amount of responsibility in me, and don't get everything I have handed to me. I actually have to do a bit of thinking with the money I'm given.' Ethan retorted, glaring daggers at Emma.

Emma looked at her friend, at a loss for words, tears welling up in her eyes. Ethan sighed, hanging his head. 'Please don't start crying.'

Emma shook her head. 'Forgive me for caring.'

'No, no, don't do that. You don't get to apologize.'

'And why's that? Evidently you know everything.'

Ethan sighed. 'I'm the one being a jackarse here. I just…' Ethan couldn't find the words to say.

Emma nodded, understanding what Ethan was trying to say. 'I get it. Just, grandpa and I are both getting worried.'

Ethan scoffed and muttered to himself quietly. 'If only he knew.'

'Knew what?'

Ethan shook his head. 'Nothing, nothing.' Ethan stood up, knees popping as he stood up. 'Just thinking.' Ethan grabbed his backpack from the side of the couch. 'So, we going or not? School's going to start soon, yeah?'

Emma nodded. 'Yeah. We don't have long.' Ethan patted Sylvia on the head as he walked out the door, making sure to lock it behind him.

As the pair made their way to Emma's car, Ethan thought about his relationship with Emma. He didn't know how she felt about him, only that she cared. But then again, she was like that with all of her friends.

Then he had his new job and discoveries that he had made over the past four nights. How was that going to affect his body, school, and relationships with his friends? With Emma?

Ethan found he didn't care as much as he thought. He had a singular task on his mind. A new purpose for his time.

Finding out what the hell was going on at Freddy's.