The Buried Voice

Chapter 4: Caution

It turned out that the address led to a flat of apartments only a few roads off of the highway. It also explained why the address had an extra number in it, they realized this must've been the apartment number. The setting sun at the building's back cast a dark shadow over the parking lot, giving it an eerily cool feel in the blisteringly warm day. The parking lot was nearly empty of cars and very quiet.

Charlie and John searched around before finding the apartment on the second floor, taking the outside stairs to reach it. The lights were off and the shades had been drawn tightly. She couldn't even see a crack to peek through. Resolved to going ahead with this, Charlie knocked on the door. There was no answer, even when she continued knocking.

"I guess he's not home… Unless he moved too," Charlie said with dismay.

"Looks like someone's living here. I guess if they are they might know where he moved to. Or who knows. Maybe he's just out," John suggested. He checked his watch. "He could be out getting dinner."

"Think I should leave a note?" He didn't seem against the idea. "Let me just run to the car and get a paper and pen. I'll be right back."

Charlie hurried back down the stairs and back to her car. She got out a piece of paper and quickly jotted down a message.

"Hello. My name is Charlie and I'm trying to get in touch with Michael Afton. If you are or know him, please have him give me a call. It's important."She then quickly wrote down her number. She decided to not put her last name to not tip him off and scare him away. She couldn't be too sure that he wouldn't try to avoid further questioning.

By time she had come back to the apartment, she was surprised to see that John was no longer alone. Instead he was chatting with a woman who looked to be in her early sixties. She was small and thin with a friendly looking face. The two noticed Charlie walking up and John regarded her.

"Here she is. Charlie, this is Mrs. Prentice. She's Michael's neighbor," John introduced.

"It's nice to meet you," Charlie greeted. The older woman greeted her with warm smile. "I was just about to leave a note, but if you wouldn't mind giving it to him- Or, umm, if he still lives here."

"Not exactly," John said lowly and cryptically. She looked to him questioningly, but it was Mrs. Prentice who took the liberty to explain.

"I heard your voices out here and thought maybe it was him. We've all been very worried about him," Mrs. Prentice began. Already Charlie knew this explanation wouldn't go in her favor. "About, oh, a month ago? Maybe just a few weeks, maybe three weeks- My husband would know but he's not home yet. Anyways, Michael left and hasn't been home in ages. Nobody's heard anything from him either."

"What?" That timing sounded too suspicious to be a coincidence. "And… You don't think he just moved unexpectedly?"

"Oh, no! Angie- she's our landlord's wife- said that he was all paid up on his rent and didn't give any warning that he was leaving, and I certainly didn't see him moving any boxes. I heard him leaving for work around eleven, like usual, and then he just didn't come back the next morning. It's very strange, it's not like him to up and leave. Though I suppose it's not normal for anyone to just vanish, but you'd be surprised how many people up and disappear in this town."

Charlie felt a sinking feeling in her gut. It was definitely not a coincidence that Michael's disappearance somehow lined up closely to both Freddy's opening and the letter being sent. Something was going on here and she was starting to become more determined to find out what while equally uncertain if she would be able to do so.

"Has anyone reported him missing?" Charlie asked. The woman shook her head.

"I don't know if we can. He doesn't have any friends and family who've come looking for him. Maybe after the rent is late someone can do something. He's never late with the rent," Mrs. Prentice explained. "Would you like to come inside?"

"No thank you, we really should be going. If he does come back, you'll tell him we came by?" The woman agreed and headed back into the apartment. Charlie stilled slipped the note underneath Michael's door even though she doubted he would get it. Then she and John returned to the car and began to drive back into town.

The beginning of the ride was quiet. Charlie couldn't hide her disappointment at the lack of answers, or her disturbed frown as she thought about everything she had learned in the last few days. John must've noticed and as they pulled into the restaurant parking lot he spoke up.

"Can I ask you something?" John asked. Charlie agreed with 'sure'. "Why are you looking for William? You said you saw his name in your dad's notes, but you wouldn't have gone this far without a reason." It surprised her how quickly he had caught on. She considered telling him, wondering if he would make efforts to stop her, and finally did so.

"I don't think my father's death was a suicide like everyone said, I don't think my brother just 'went missing', and I think someone tried to cover both of those up… And I think it was William who did."

John was understandably surprised by the reveal but kept his cool. "What makes you think that?" He didn't sound like he doubted her. If anything, he sounded like he was trying to understand.

Unfortunately, that meant she would have to bring up a subject she hadn't thought of for some time; the night of her father's death.

"There's something strange about how my father died. Nobody ever found his body, they just found a large pool of blood. Nobody could've survived that much bleeding… And everyone knew my father was depressed after Sammy disappeared. My mother and him stopped talking, she was always out, and towards the end he was even starting to push me away. That and the fact that there was no signs of a struggle led them to believe it was a suicide."

"Without a body?" John questioned doubtfully.

"Right… But I don't think it was. And I don't think Clay thinks it was either, I just don't think he has any evidence to the contrary. Just like with Freddy's. Do you know how many people got hurt or disappeared and just had their stories covered up? This could've been the same thing… I know it was." Charlie face grew more firm. "My dad's last note said that he found Sammy. I think someone murdered him to cover it up… Because I know he must've found Sammy's body."

John was silent as he took all of it in. Then he agreed, "When you put it that way, I can see why you'd want answers. Nothing about that sounds right. I don't understand why they didn't look deeper into it." Charlie didn't have any answers either. "Remember when I told you I wanted to help? I meant it. I can't promise we're going to get to the bottom of this, but if you need anything I'm here."

"Are you sure you'd want to get involved? If what I'm suspecting is true, I could be making myself a target," Charlie pointed out. John seemed unwavering and she smiled. "Thanks, John… For starters, you can open the glovebox and tell me what you make of the letter inside."

John did so and found Henry's letter inside. As he read it, Charlie looked out the window at the dots of stars beginning to appear in the sky, the clouds from the day having cleared up.

She waited until she was sure he was mostly finished before adding, "And secondly, if you could keep this between us. I've told Jessica about the letter and I'll tell everyone everything eventually, but I'm afraid if I tell them now then they'll try to stop me. Or tell my aunt who I know will try to stop me."

"Are you sure this is from him?" John asked doubtfully.

"No, I'm not," she admitted. She sighed and turned back to him. "But if it's not, then it was from someone who knew enough to make it sound like it was… The main goal is to find Sammy or what happened to him. That was the last thing my dad said he did and I know it's connected to his death and the missing children. I just have a hunch."

"Alright," John said as he put the letter away. "But you're going home now?"

"Right."

"Then I'm heading home too. I'll look around online tonight and see what I can find. Call me if you hear any news from Michael." John got out of the car and she almost thought that was it, until he came around to her side and leaned in the window once again. He was quiet for a moment before taking the plunge and asking, "You want to meet up tomorrow? Just the two of us?"

It totally blindsided her. Charlie knew that he was asking about a date but the fact that he asked it now, when she was still thinking about her father, felt like emotional whiplash. It was clear from his small smile that he was trying to be there for her like he said and she knew he cared, she just didn't know if she was ready for all of this. She felt like she didn't have a choice as she gave him a hesitant smile of her own.

"That sounds nice," she agreed. He seemed more than happy with this and headed to his own vehicle, waving once again before climbing inside and backing out of the parking lot. Charlie followed in her car.

"Why did I agree to that? We only just met back up. This is going way too fast," Charlie thought anxiously. Though this nervousness was quickly forgotten as she pulled out onto the road and thought back on the missing man. "He just happens to disappear right when all of this is going on… Maybe he left town unexpectedly. Maybe he found out something and had to leave."

There were too many questions that she wasn't finding answers to. Once again she was stuck at another dead end, and this time she didn't have anything else to fall back on unless Carlton or John dug something up overnight. She couldn't rely on that though, like she couldn't rely on Michael calling her back. She had a hunch that he wasn't coming back anytime soon. There had to be something else she could do.

With that, Charlie turned abruptly and started driving away from the direction of her home and instead towards Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

The restaurant was still open but it didn't look like it would be much longer. There were only a few cars in the parking lot as she pulled up and got out. Swallowing her unease, she strode up to the front doors and stepped inside. The building made her a lot more nervous now than when she was surrounded by friends.

It didn't help that the restaurant was almost cleared out inside. While there were a few cars outside, there was only one family left in the establishment consisting of three children and their parents. They were playing a basketball throwing game against the wall. The father lifted up the youngest son to help him throw a ball into the basket while his mother and slightly older siblings watched. They were all smiling and looked so happy together. Charlie's gaze lingered on them longer than she intended it to.

Then she looked around and noticed a familiar man cleaning off the tables. It was clearly the man who had served her and her friends. He swept paper plates and used napkins off the tables and into a black garbage bag he toted with him as he made his rounds. Charlie walked up to him with the same determination she had when coming in.

"Excuse me?" she began. He looked back at her. "I don't know if you remember me. I came in with my friends yesterday and we had a pizza?"

"Oh, I remember you. We don't usually get anyone in here over the age of ten unless they've got a couple of kids on them. You guys stuck out like a sore thumb," he said with a smirk. He looked around and realized that she was alone. "Dining alone tonight? You know there's cheaper places to get pizza in town. By which I mean cheaper places to get better pizza."

"Not exactly. Actually I was hoping maybe you could help me. I'm trying to find a man named Michael Afton. Have you heard of him?" Charlie asked. The man raised a brow questioningly.

"Michael Afton?" he asked and she nodded. "No, don't know anything about him… Wasn't Afton that company that used to run robots out of their basement?"

"Honestly, I don't know. That's one of the things I'm trying to figure out." The server now seemed more curious and paid closer attention. She realized she couldn't back down now so she kept going. "I'm trying to look into some of the occurrences that happened at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, the old ones, and his name came up."

"Why would you want to do that? Kid, there's so many skeletons in Freddy's closet that it could fill up a Fazbear Entertainment licensed graveyard." Charlie didn't know what was stranger, the fact that he was clearly aware of Freddy's history and this nonchalant about it, or that he called her 'kid' when he only looked maybe three or four years older than her. She felt like he too wasn't taking her seriously.

"…My father was one of the original owners of Freddy's," she revealed. "And my brother was one of the children that went missing at Freddy's."

"Oh… Gotcha." That left him silent for a long moment.

"I know that working here you can't really disclose much without risking your job," Charlie sympathized. "But I'm running out of options. Do you know where he is?"

"Look, I really wish I could help you. I'm not here to protect Freddy's, I could care less about keeping this job, but I just don't know anything. All that stuff that went down at Freddy's happened years before I started working here. Now I could get my manager if you want-."

"No, that's fine. Don't worry about it…" Charlie had a good suspicion that any manager would ask her to leave and that would make it harder to come back. She turned away and looked across the restaurant, trying to smother her embarrassment, regretting even coming. That was, until she noticed the smaller stage's curtains were drawn back enough that she could see inside.

The black bear was missing. It reminded her of her dream from the night before.

"What happened to the other Freddy that was on that stage?" she dared to ask, pointing towards the empty spot where the bear once stood.

"You mean Lefty? He's in the back getting serviced." The man nonchalantly turned and continued collecting trash for the bag. "Don't expect him back anytime soon. He's been on the fritz since the place opened. This time I think the boss is looking to keep him off stage until they get the kinks worked out. Considering that it's already a one-eyed bear, I don't expect a miracle."

"Oh…" That black bear had been so unlike the others that it naturally stood out. Maybe if she couldn't get information about Freddy's, she could at least get information on the bear. "What do you think-?" She turned towards the server and her mouth snapped shut as her eyes fell across the room and landed on a familiar onlooker.

There was the man in the suit and Freddy head standing right beside the door to the back. Except this time he wasn't passing through or looking at the stage, he was looking directly at her. The head's eyes were empty, black holes that burrowed into her. Even hidden under the costume the man didn't seem human and his newfound attention made her very uncomfortable. That wasn't even considering that if he was the manager or owner then he could easily have her trespassed. It was time to go.

Charlie cleared her throat and rushed out, "Thanks for your time. If you do see him, somehow, just tell him that I left a note at his apartment with my information… If you'll excuse me." The server seemed surprised by the abruptness as she hurried out of the restaurant. She kept her arms folded tightly to her chest and only spared one glance towards the happy family before exiting the building.

"If that was the manager and he hears that I've been asking around then he's not going to let me back in… Guess that's probably for the best with their accident rates." She sighed deeply and made a beeline for the car. "Why would I tell a complete stranger that my dad owned Freddy's? Now they're going to think I'm looking to sue them or something." She unlocked the car and was about to get in when a voice called out.

"Hey Lady, wait up!"

Charlie was surprised by the call and looked back to see the server jogging across the parking lot. She furrowed her brows and he slowed beside her car, leaning against the car coolly, and sent her a sly smirk. He then gave an equally relaxed, "Smile and pretend I'm flirting with you."

"What?" While confused, Charlie did manage a realistically askew smile.

"The place has cameras, just go with it," the server said. He smiled wider as he crossed his arms over his chest, back against the car, and head tilted down towards her. He played the role very authentically as he said through gritted teeth, "Look, the only reason I'm telling you this is because I believe your story. Either you're telling the truth or you've really done your research."

"I'm telling the truth. My father was Henry Emily. I have a newspaper with his name on it in the car if you want to see it."

"Nah, I believe you. I don't want them seeing you pulling out anything. Just act natural," the server assured. He took a deep breath, looking for a moment like he was almost reconsidering it, and then explained. "A few years ago I worked as a night guard at a shutdown Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. They told me that I was there to keep out vandals and thieves, but that was a lie." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "The animatronics used to walk around at night."

"What?" Charlie asked in surprise. "What do you mean? You mean they walked around the building or they kept performing like they did during the day?"

"God, I wish. They would come right up to the office and start banging on the doors trying to get inside. You'd have to watch the cameras like a hawk because they would hide in the blind spot outside the doors and wait until you had your guard down," he vented. There wasn't a shred of humor or exaggeration in his voice. "Apparently they weren't so friendly once they were off the clock."

"That's insane," Charlie said. "Do you know what was causing them to do that? Was it a problem with programming that never got fixed?"

"Yeah, I know exactly what it was," the man said with a deadly serious look. "They were haunted."

Charlie gave a half-laugh to humor him and it wasn't until she saw his look remain that she realized he wasn't joking. She gave a doubtful half-smile. "I don't think they were haunted, just poorly programmed."

"What do you call an animatronic that gets up on its own and walks around without any power being supplied to it?" the man bluntly asked. That was enough to drop her smile.

"Well… They must've had a power source of some kind. Obviously not the typical kind, but if they ran on batteries that were charged afterhours-."

"Unless they were plugging themselves into an outlet outside my door that wasn't happening. As far as I knew, nobody was repairing them, they were never plugged in, and they didn't shut off. You couldn't shut them off if you tried. And trust me, I tried. I got fired for it too, so I consider it was a win-win in my book," he explained. He sent another glance back at Freddy's front doors. "I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it firsthand and I've got a feeling it's just the tip of the iceberg."

It was hard to believe something that sounded this outlandish. While Charlie believed in things like an afterlife- it was a comfort she held since her father's passing- she had a hard time believing in the concept of ghosts roaming around and haunting people. Especially if they were haunted animatronics who spooked people inside of a closed down pizzeria. It sounded too much like the plot of a horror movie to be real.

…Or that's what the more logical part of Charlie's brain said. The less logical part was suddenly looking back at the countless missing children and numerous accidents in a new light. Something about it fit together too well and went along with the slew of coverups that she had discovered. She came to a disturbing conclusion.

"If this is true…You're not saying that you think the animatronics were behind all of the people who disappeared, are you?" Charlie asked. The server considered this for a long moment as he stared blankly across the parking lot, then spoke again.

"I don't know. All I know is that they covered up the death of at least one other employee. Who's to say there weren't more that they blamed on "accidents"?... Suddenly paints the "Bite of 87" in a whole new light."

Charlie didn't know if it was the same event, but she immediately thought of the boy in the newspaper. A tragic mistake now looked much more insidious. The server looked back at the restaurant in time to see that final family coming out the front door. He straightened up from the car.

"I've got to go. Here," he said and handed her a napkin. "Do me a favor and call me if you find anything. Just don't tell anyone we had this talk, alright? As shady as Freddy's is, I need this job."

Charlie agreed and looked down at the napkin to see his phone number and name, which was apparently Schmidt. He turned to head back towards the restaurant, regaining the phony smile of someone who just got a date instead of someone who just spilled confidential secrets in the parking lot. She almost let him go before she suddenly got another realization. She hurried after him.

"Hey, wait," she called. He stopped and turned back towards her questioningly, and she barely faked a strained smile for the camera. Her unease was starting to leak through the cracks. "The animatronics… Are the ones here like the ones from the old restaurant…?" He knew exactly what she was asking.

"The Rockstars? Nah, they're clean. I don't work the night shift anymore but you can just tell." He then got an uneasy look. "…But I've got my suspicions about Lefty. Normal bots don't break down that much, and I swear I've seen him watching me from across the room… I don't know. That I might be imagining. I have been known to hallucinate from caffeine withdrawal." He watched the family cross the parking lot before turning back to her, tipping his hat, and giving a basic, "Take it easy."

Schmidt headed back inside. It was like the conversation had never happened. Nobody would be the wiser.

Charlie now noticed the security camera beside the door and that it was focused right at her, unsure if it had always been like that. It spurred her into her car and she drove out of the parking lot before she could look anymore suspicious. Now driving she had a few moments to think.

"He could've been making that up… But I don't think he was. He looked too nervous about someone finding out… Like that man in the Freddy head." Just the thought of the suited man made her want to shudder. Freddy's was definitely hiding something under all the child-friendly rebranding. It could've been these defective and aggressive animatronics. "But it's not possible for animatronics to just go rogue and attack people. They only follow programming… Unless someone was programming them to be aggressive."

If someone was working a control panel from nearby and somehow fueling the animatronics on their own time, then they could've been manipulating the bots to torment Schmidt. In fact, that would've made sense with all of the accidents, the bites, and the missing children. Except not with Sammy's disappearance. Charlie remember that rabbit; he walked and moved like a human. A human who could've been hiding behind a control panel otherwise, explaining why he was never caught.

As far as she knew, he could still be working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza even now. He could even be the man in the Freddy head.

Suddenly Charlie didn't feel comfortable returning to the library to research. It was already dark out anyway so she decided to head home. This had been eye opening, a far reach from hanging out with her friends. She would have to be more careful if she was planning on taking such risks. Tomorrow she would return to the library.

"I wonder if the diner is still standing… Tomorrow I'll find the address and go see if it's still there. I should do the same for Circus Baby's," she thought. This decision seemed sound enough. "…John said he wanted to do something tomorrow. It might not be what he was expecting, but maybe he'll be willing to come with me. As awkward as that would be."

With this plan, she arrived at the house and headed inside to finish out her night.

Charlie awoke unexpected and found herself lying in a vent shaft. It was so jarring that she pushed herself upright too quickly and hit her head on the roof of it. It didn't hurt, it just felt like ice against the top of her head. All of the metal was chilled. It felt like the wall of a freezer against her fingertips and yet she shivered more from dread than cold.

"Where am I?" she wondered. The last thing she remembered was that she was supposed to be at home. She suspected it had something to do with Freddy's. "…Was I kidnapped?"

A low groan echoed through the vent behind her and Charlie felt very uneasy. With no other options, she began to crawl forward down the shelf. She pulled her sleeves over her hands to try and block the cold, but it only seemed to grow more stifling. She could see her breath on the air, in the strange ethereal glow that surrounded only her and turned to darkness only a few feet ahead. She had no idea where she was going.

Still she blindly pressed on into the darkness. It wasn't very long before she started to hear a noise up ahead and paused. It sounded like something else crawling in the vent.

"Maybe I should turn back…" Charlie started to slide back the way she came before hearing a loud thunk. She looked back and in that dull glow she realized that the vent had been blocked by a small door just past her feet. There was no turning back now and she kicked at it with her foot. "Hello? Is anyone there?!" she called back. "Somebody's in here!"

Her answer wasn't anything that she wanted because she heard whatever else was in the vent began to crawl towards her a little more quickly. Charlie looked forward into the darkness yet again. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she stared frozen ahead. She didn't think she could move even if she tried as she listened to it inch closer, and closer…

And then a hand reached from the darkness and landed right before her. Rotten fabric wore away to reveal bones underneath. A human inside of a costume. She raised her head slowly as the rest of the body pulled into view. She came face to face with the dead stare of a soulless, decaying corpse barely hidden under a torn rabbit suit.

It reached for her and a shrill cry echoed through the vent.

Charlie woke up with a start and shot up in bed. Her hands were gripping the edge of her blanket tightly, she was already breaking into a sweat, and as the night before she had that same moment of dissonance where she couldn't tell where she was. She recovered quicker this time, but only because of the ringing of her cellphone from the bedside table. No doubt it had woken her up.

She reached over for the cellphone and only then realized that the clock read six-thirty in the morning. Too early for any of her friends to be calling. She still answered with a cautious, "Hello…?"

"Is this Charlotte Emily?"

Maybe it was because she was already on edge but the voice rolled a chill down her back. It technically sounded normal, but there was an hollow tone to it. Like it was echoing through a jug to reach the receiver.

"Yes, that's me… Who is this?"

"I could be anyone with how easily you have given your name out. You should be more careful. People who ask or tell too much tend to stop doing so if they stay in this town too long."

She couldn't tell if it was a threat or a warning. "Is this Michael Afton?" she asked.

"I am a concerned citizen. Let's leave it at that," he replied. "How much have you found out about Freddy Fazbear's Pizza?"

"You were just scolding me about giving out information, but alright. Since you went through the effort to call me…" Charlie exhaled patiently and explained. "Freddy Fazbear's was involved in a slew of unsolved disappearances and accidents that were covered up... Including the death and disappearance of the owners. The animatronics might've been malfunctioning, or they were programmed to appear that way."

"That is a good guess. You're the first person I've heard bring up that theory, that someone would be making the animatronics act how they do to cover something else. You must've thought about this for a while."

"I've had the time… Can I ask you something?" Charlie was now wide awake as she flicked on her bedside lamp. "If you're not going to tell me who you are, then will you at least tell me why you're calling?"

"Consider this your one and only warning that you are in over your head. You might think that you want to know these things, but what you are doing by digging up this information on Freddy's is putting yourself in danger. Along with any chance you have of getting away from this town. I know what you walked away from, Charlotte, and I can tell you that what is hiding at Freddy's is not worth it."

It felt like she was being lectured, but what was worse was that everything being said was completely true. Charlie couldn't argue with it; she knew she was already stepping off the deep end going back to the pizzeria. Yet when given the option to walk away she found that she couldn't. So she gave him her answer.

"I don't think I can just walk away from this. Danger or not."

He didn't sound pleased, just tired. "What do you hope to find? Delving into the past won't fix your family. It won't bring your father back."

He knew who she was. He couldn't have just gotten her note- if he did at all- but knew what she and Schmidt had been talking about. Either Schmidt told someone what she said, which was possible but unlikely… Or this man had been listening... This could be the man in the Freddy head. This could be William Afton himself.

That realization made her choke on her words momentarily, but she recovered and decided to bait the water with her words. "One of the last things my father wrote was that he had found my brother. That's what I'm hoping to find, my brother." The voice on the phone was silent. "…But I'm not stupid. I know I'm not going to find him alive after all these years… But I need to know what he found."

"Right, your missing twin. I know about him. His name was Sam, right?" Charlie didn't answer but her lack of correction gave one for her. The man on the line lowered his voice, making it sound even more inhuman. "Henry wasn't the only person to lose a son."

"I know. I know about the missing children."

"I'm not talking about the missing children. I'm talking about William Afton. I figured you would be interested, seeing as you've been asking about him," the man tempted. He paused for effect before he explained, "William also had a young son who went missing before Henry's did."

"What?" Charlie couldn't help but blurt out. "I didn't know about that. Why wasn't that in the newspapers?"

"You should know by now that William wasn't like Henry. He never reported his son missing and told those closest to him that he sent him away to stay with his grandparents. It was the perfect excuse. William's youngest son was very sickly. All throughout his childhood he struggled to thrive, having little to no immune system. When he told those who asked that he sent his son to live up north, somewhere cooler with less people, they believed him. After all, he didn't sound concerned…" The man's voice darkened. "He always knew where he was."

"…I'm guessing this is a silly question, but did they ever find him?" Charlie cautiously asked.

"As a matter of fact, he came home after a few years. No pomp and circumstance, he was just suddenly brought home…" The man's voice grew more melancholy. "As sick as he was, he always had such a bright smile. Always so happy even though his homelife was less than ideal… He came back terrified of everything. He had nightmares, he cried constantly, was always afraid. Wherever he had really been, he had gone through something terrible."

"That's… Horrible," Charlie said. "…To play devil's advocate, you're certain he didn't just go stay with his grandparents and the circumstances were… Less than ideal?"

"My- Ahem… My understanding is that the grandparents were simple folk who lived quiet lives. They didn't even have a television… But they were kindly. Living with them would've done him good. No, William was the one with problems. He was the one surrounded by this wave of misfortune, and he seemed to revel in it. Every time something went wrong he used it to his advantage."

"What do you mean?"

"He used to use the publicity of the missing children to get more business. He used to use broken animatronics as scapegoats while he kept cleaner, more efficient, much more dangerous ones on stage. He was, with no exaggeration, a monster." For a second it was like a completely different voice had said that. One deeper and emptier, but she didn't have time to ask. "But I digress."

"What was the name of William's son? The one who disappeared. Was that Michael?"

"No, but I would rather not say, knowing how you have been seeking out information. It's best if this matter is left alone."

"Can I at least talk to him? If this is about discretion I can be more discrete. Today-… Yesterday was an exception. I started to get desperate."

"I'm afraid he's not… With us anymore." Charlie was struck down in one sentence. She was surprised even though the boy had been described as so sickly. Except then the man clarified, "There was an… Accident... With one of the animatronic."

"Wait, was he the boy who was bit? That was William's son?" Charlie blurted out.

"God, you're quick. Why am I even talking to you?" He huffed in restrained annoyance. "Yes, it was a bite. One of the many bites at Freddy's. Are you happy?" She didn't answer that, hoping it could get across how unimpressed she was at his outburst. "…That was out of line. It's still a sore subject."

"No, I understand. I know what it's like to lose… People close to you," Charlie assured, somewhat embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm half asleep and that was tasteless. I didn't mean anything by it."

"It's fine. That bite still haunts all of us who were around to see it…" He paused once more, but this time something seemed to change. Something about her wording must've convinced him to open up. "…Don't research into it. I'll tell you what you need to know but only if you do not look into it any further. And I will know if you do."

"I promise," she agreed. After all, she had a feeling that she had already inadvertently looked up the bite. That newspaper printout was still looming in her bookbag. "What happened?"

"…There is no proper obituary or death certificate from what I know. This was because William pulled some strings- he always had strings he could pull- and had him taken out of the hospital and brought home. He had already been declared brain dead so nobody was willing to fight. They sent him home to die... Everyone stood there and let him die..."

"I'm so sorry."

"Yes, well… This is just one of the reasons why you shouldn't keep doing what you're doing. These things don't need to be dragged back up for public scrutiny, to open old wounds while your life is wrecked before it has even begun. What happens once you get arrested for trespassing? Or, God forbid, someone in the media takes interest in your story and puts it out there, branding your name for life with Fazbear Entertainment's."

This time his point made its mark. It wasn't that nobody knew what was going on; people did know and yet nobody knew enough to do anything about it. Meanwhile children disappeared by the dozens and in some cases they hadn't even been reported. With all this hiding, how was she supposed to find her brother? He could've been taken somewhere she would never find and she had no leads. Even this man who knew so much seemed to know nothing about her brother, save the basic information.

Worse still, what would she do if she did find Sammy? Tell Clay certainly, but would he reopen the cases? What if he just filed the body away and nothing else was solved? Then her work would be for nothing and she would have to live with what she knew but couldn't prove. If this man aimed to make her uncertain in, he accomplished it.

"I do understand what you're trying to do. I know you want to make this right, but soon enough Freddy's will be nothing but a distant memory, I assure you."

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked.

"Freddy's will be closing its doors soon, but don't let that encourage you to go there. Just let it fade out of existence and move on. Don't try to look for the other locations. Don't go to Afton Robotics under any circumstances. Just… Let it be. Everything that can be done has been done. All you can do is move on before it takes anything more from you."

"…I guess you're right." She sat there in the dark silence of her old bedroom. "Thank you for telling me about this. This has given me a lot to think about."

"Then I'll let you go. Try to get some sleep, I think we both sorely need it," he said. "…Goodbye, Charlie."

"Goodbye, Michael."

Without another word or any reaction, he hung up the phone, and suddenly Charlie was left in the silence again. She sat there thinking about what he had said for a long time and tried to think of her next move, but none came to mind. His words had their desired effect; she was beginning to doubt herself.

"What do I do now?" she asked herself. She looked across the room before her eyes landed on Theodore sitting at the foot of her bed. He stared at her, body slumped to the side, eyes blank and unstaring. "Burn the letter? Forget about all of this and go back to school, pretending like I don't know anything about this?... Maybe Dad's letter really was a warning. That there's nothing left for me here…"

It was a strangely upsetting thought. It felt like she had wasted so much time. Going all this way to find answers- to find anything- to get a credible lead and then have it tell her that she needed to stay out of it. That there was nothing she could do and that it wasn't worth trying. She knew that was Michael on the phone and from his tone he sounded like he had experience in what she was doing. Like he too had searched for answers and dug up nothing. Deciding in the end to give up, return to his life, and forget Freddy's.

But there was something that he slipped into the end of his conversation that stood out. Something she only now thought back on.

"Don't go to Afton Robotics… I guess that means that there was a building and that it must still be around here. It could still be open." Charlie started to feel herself slip back into suspicion as she tried to read between his words. "What if William's still involved with Afton Robotics? If he's as… Suspicious as everyone's been saying then that could be the real reason Michael's trying to stop me. Because I could be putting myself in danger. With what he said about his dad, I don't think he'd protect him."

Now she was completely torn. A new lead, a very risky lead, and a much more firm warning were laid out for her. Though now Charlie was much less confident in finding the location, let alone finding anything once she got there. Just her getting a view from the parking lot. That was summing up this entire investigation; her staring from the outside in, barely able to see past the foggy glass.

Charlie knew that at this rate she wasn't going to get an answer from herself so she made a new plan. There was only one place left to turn.

Tomorrow she was going to come clean to her friends. She was going to need their help.