Mable: I have a quick note at the end that you'll want to read. Enjoy!

The Buried Voice

Chapter 13: Closure

Sammy was eccentric in a very human way. The more time Charlie spent with him, the more little quirks she learned about. Things such as how he compulsively shut doors behind him when entering a room, regardless if he was with her or not, and regardless of it he had been touching the door or not. Almost like it was drifting closed on its own, and never locking them.

Another thing would've been drawing. At first she assumed that the pictures had just been to show her what he saw in the fire, but when she came back from dumping Lefty, she realized he had made a whole new stack of pictures to go with them. Sometimes fitting multiple sketches on the front and back of a piece of paper. Considering that he only had three, long fingers, she found his speed and linework impressive.

Then there was the sleeping arrangements. Charlie wasn't surprised when Sammy didn't want to sleep in the master bedroom- she hadn't either- and fully expected him to sleep in her bed again. It didn't feel as weird as it would've if he was a human so she had no problem with it. They had looked through the photo album together before bed and he was still looking through it when she went to sleep.

She woke the next morning to find the closet that held his stuff opened, a large cardboard box pulled out, the toys and clothing that had been in it lined and stacked on the floor, and Sammy tightly compressed inside of the box, enwrapped in the throw blanket from the downstairs couch. Charlie didn't know what was weirder, him going through all this to sleep in a box or the fact that she hadn't heard any of it.

And regardless of how long that must've taken, Sammy woke on his own and seemed to appear downstairs before she could even finish breakfast. She wasn't sure if he even needed to sleep- that was one of the many questions she would have to ask him when she felt more comfortable being invasive- but she was beginning to get the impressive that he didn't want to be alone.

Which was fine with Charlie, as there were things that needed to be done around the house. The first step being to plan out where she was going to go from here now that she made her decision on staying. Currently she was sitting on the couch with a notebook and trying to calculate a budget.

"The semester's almost over, so I don't think I'll be able to get any of the room and board fees back even if I get my stuff out today and turn in my key. But maybe I can work something out with Aunt Jen about putting next semester's board towards the house. That's still going to be a tough sell. She might not budge." Charlie really didn't want to have that talk just yet. "…Or I could always pick up a part-time job. The house is already paid off, so I'd really just be paying for the water and electricity. I think I can handle that."

She looked to Sammy who was sprawled on the couch beside her listening. His legs were hanging over the armrest while he lazily wound his strings in between his fingers like a cat's cradle. He was still watching her though, looking up at her as he absentmindedly fiddled with these loose strings that seemed to appear and disappear at random- another thing she wanted to eventually ask him about.

"We might have a little free money to throw around. Maybe we can use that to start on the guest room?" she asked. He nodded in agreement. "…Or we could always use it on a TV." He nodded even more vigorously. "TV it is. Besides, we kind of already have a guest room. Just send someone into that one and hope they don't open the closet," Charlie said, pointing a thumb back at the master.

While Charlie was looking back in the notebook, tapping it with her pen and thinking of what needed to be addressed next, she noticed that nobody had called yet. With how insistent Jessica had been about a plan, she expected to hear from her, but glancing at the clock showed that it was already eleven thirty and there had been no word. Sammy noticed her sudden quietness and chimed attentively.

"Hmm?... Oh, I was just thinking about the guys. I sort of expected someone to call by now… In fact, I think I'll call them. See what's up." She tried to not be paranoid, but she wondered if the silence had anything to do with what they saw the night before Afton Robotics. Now she regretted not having a TV to check the news with.

Charlie handed the notebook to Sammy, grabbed her cellphone off of the side table, and quickly dialed up Jessica's number. It took a few rings before she answered.

"Hello?" Jessica sounded awake and chipper, and from the sound of voices in the background it seemed like she wasn't alone. Her pleasant tone alleviated most of Charlie's suspicions.

"Hey, Jess. Just calling to check on this plan of yours."

"Oh, Charlie! Hey!" Jessica greeted a little loudly. It almost sounded like she did it on purpose. "I had to stop by the store and get a couple of things, but I'll- we'll be right over right after! If that's alright."

"Sure, I'll be here," Charlie said. She heard a familiar voice in the background. "Marla's with you?"

"…Right! She's just helping me pick something out. I'll bring her over with me once I finish up here. We'll be over soon!" Jessica said with surprising finality. Like she was desperately trying to get off the phone.

"See you then," Charlie said. She ended the call, mulling it over, and then turned back to Sammy. "So… That was weird. Jess said she was just at the store, but she sounded a little dodgy. She didn't even say what she was there to get." She thought of it a moment longer as Sammy started to write something down. "I mentioned plates last night, but I didn't actually think she'd get them. I was hoping someone would know someone who was looking to unload some."

Sammy tapped her leg and then held up the notebook. On it was scribbled a simple line: "People pay well for scrap. Find Lefte."

Charlie chuckled a little. "You waited until now to tell me we were sitting on a gold mine? I don't know, even if he's still out there I don't think he'll be worth much. Not enough for the hospital bills when we break our backs to move him," she joked. Sammy chimed and jotted down another message before showing it.

"Auction?" Must've meant something like a yard sale.

"That… Might actually be a good idea. We just won't say where the clothes came from." A rather morbid joke; Charlie wondered if she had gone too far, but Sammy didn't react. She didn't have any idea what he thought about their father now, and her feelings on him were mixed. Or they would be if she was willing to think about them. Every time he crept up in her mind, she pushed him away with distractions.

As luck would have it, the next distraction came quickly as Charlie's phone began to ring shortly afterwards. She answered it thinking it would be Jessica calling back. "Hello?"

"Uh, hey! It's just me." But this time, it was Carlton. "Just wanted to call and give you an update about the whole Dad wrestling clowns thing."

"You've heard from him?" Charlie sat up straight in anticipation. "What did he say? Did he find Baby?"

"Sort of. It's more what I pieced together from what he didn't say," Carlton said. He lowered his voice to continue. "Apparently they're still 'investigating' over at Afton's, which means they didn't catch Baby. But considering how weird he's being, being all dodgy and having a dozen cops over there, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that they did see Baby. Normally by now, Dad would be second guessing all this. The fact he's not tells me that he saw her in there somewhere or on camera or something."

"I hope they're being careful. She could be quick. Especially in those empty rooms…" Charlie could just feel the danger from that comment alone. She doubted she was at risk when Baby had no idea where she lived, but a cornered cop might not be so lucky. And that was putting aside her now confused feelings about animatronics- one look at how normal Sammy acted made her wonder how much Baby really thought and felt.

"So… Take that as you will. I mean, I'm taking it as a good thing, cause if they're looking for her in there then she's not running around out here, right?"

"Right," Charlie half-agreed. It was then that she noticed voices in the background. While she could've expected his parents' voices, she heard one that she distinctly didn't expect. "Is that Marla?"

"Yes… Wait, no. She's not here… Yeah, I have to go. Talk to you later." With that, Carlton got off the phone as quickly as possible. Charlie sat there silently for a moment.

"…Definitely buying something together." Which she would've told them that they didn't have to do if she knew about it beforehand, but since she couldn't, she smiled to herself and awaited their arrival.

Twenty minutes passed before everyone arrived. Since Jessica, Marla, Carlton, and Lamar all got out of the same car, and John pulled up right after them, she assumed that her guess of them being out together was correct. Sammy fled for the stairs the moment he heard the cars pulling up and Charlie went to greet them.

She stepped out to find Jessica coming up the steps with a can of paint. "You bought paint?"

"Surprise! We've come to paint your house!" Jessica said with a beaming smile. "I remembered you said something about painting the house and I thought what better way to leave a lasting impression."

"Yeah, especially if we do a bad job," Carlton called from the car. He was currently helping Marla and Lamar get rollers, trays, and other painting supplies out of the back. Apparently they had thought it all through and didn't cut any corners.

"I know we didn't really discuss colors beforehand, so I just played it safe and went with moss green and off-cream," Jessica said, holding up the can she carried. "And there's plenty more in John's car."

"Guys, you don't have to do this!" Charlie said with a thankful smile. "I don't want you to have to spend your vacation fixing up my house."

"You make it sound like a chore. It's going to be fun! At least, more fun than becoming a raisin out in a canyon somewhere, looking at colorful rocks," Marla chimed in. She looked as eager as she would've been if it was her own idea, even going so far as to dress in older, bland looking clothes in case any paint got on them.

She noticed John was also dressed in well-worn work clothes when he walked over. It wasn't the typical look for him, but looked good on him. "What do you say, Charlie? Up to joining us?" he invited. His tone holding a touch of playfulness, as though he already knew her answer.

"You know I am. Ready as I'll ever be," she answered. Something definitely felt different than before their talk yesterday. She couldn't tell what exactly it was, but so far it felt alright. Different, new, she liked it.

"Ever used a pressure washer?"

"No, but I can learn."

"Deal." Even his smile seemed more welcoming, even when it was already so comfortable. She came down the steps to join them and they got right to work.

Somewhere between pressure washing and painting, Charlie and Jessica had stopped for a brief break while the cans were being opened. The thorough job had left the house cleaner than it how been in years and even peeled back some of the old paint. Though even in that state it looked better than it had when she first walked up. She could already imagine how much more lively it would look with the fresh new coat.

"Hey, I wanted to get your opinion on something. I've been thinking of making a change and I wanted to run it by you before I told the others," Jessica began.

Charlie turned to her with interest. "Sure, what's on your mind?" she asked.

"What do you think… About me transferring colleges and us going to school together?" Jessica asked hesitantly. "Because I'm thinking that I want to stick around, but I don't want to completely violate your personal space. So, good idea or too weird?"

"No, I think that's great!" Charlie said eagerly. This should've been the surprise because the news was like a gift. Out of everyone, Jessica was the one she had become closest to, and she had been dreading the thought of losing contact once again. She restrained herself enough to add, "If you're really sure that's what you want. You'd be giving up a lot moving from the city to a small town like this."

"Maybe not as much as you'd think," Jessica assured with a half-smile. "Don't get me wrong, I love New York and I've loved living there, but I don't think I made the same connections there. It's not a big city verses small town thing, it's just being around you guys again and remembering what it was like to be part of tight knit group. I never really made close friends after I left."

"You? I don't believe it," Charlie half-teased.

"It's true. I think I was always afraid that I was going to get close to someone and then have to move again, so I just got used to keeping this arm's length distance around me. Maybe it's time for a change." Jessica seemed slightly unsure, though not about her decision to return permanently to this old town. Charlie put a supportive arm around her shoulders.

"I think it's going to be great, but I might be a little biased," she said. This got a more confident smile out of Jessica. Before Charlie could continue, they were interrupted by voices.

"Gah! Lamar!"

"Hey, I told you it was going to spill. That was all on you."

"It's all on me, all right!"

They looked over to see Marla and Lamar juggling a paint can. Marla passing it off to look at a large, green spill down her front and Lamar looking both apologetic and like he was suppressing laughter.

"What were you saying about being part of a group?" Charlie playfully asked. "We should probably get over there and help them."

"These are new-ish shoes. I'm waiting until they set the paint down before I go over there," Jessica remarked. Charlie gave her a mock unimpressed look, which she scoffed at. "Well, if you insist."

They returned to the others' side to continue the task at hand, a newfound lightness between them. Charlie supposed she needed to get used to it, but she couldn't say she was disappointed in even the slightest.

"I'm home!" Carlton called into the house. Not that he expected a response; only his father's car was home and if he was in the basement he wouldn't be hearing anything. Deciding to take this opportunity to catch him while he could, Carlton went to the basement door and found it unlocked. "Dad? You here?" he called as he headed down the stairs.

Clay wasn't in the basement, but he was definitely in the house if the door was unlocked. That or the lock was broken, something that only passed Carlton's mind right now. He wandered into the center of the room, hands in his pockets, and looked around with mild curiosity. Wondering if anything had changed since the last time he had been down here. Specifically, if there was any new additions to the basement.

His eyes gravitated to the same place where Lefty had been stored, and his mouth dried out as he noticed the tarp was back and covering something laying on the floor by the back wall.

"No way…" Carlton mumbled. He walked towards the covered form with chills prickling the back of his neck. "He couldn't of brought Lefty back here. Mom's going to flip out if that thing's back in the basement."

There was still some doubt as he approached the form. Taking a deep breath, Carlton yanked off the tarp in one smooth motion.

It was Lefty, but it looked nothing like how he and his friends had left it. It had been destroyed.

The reason the animatronic was laying on the floor was because it was in pieces. Its chest cavity had been opened and hollowed out, its arms and once-stuck legs detached and piled together, missing its eyes, and having its head completely pulled apart. It was more a mound of suit parts than a bear. Like something had ripped it apart and stole all the metal inside.

Carlton was in so much shock staring at it that he barely processed his father coming downstairs until he was right beside him. "This is exactly why I lock the basement. I leave it open for two minutes and you find your way down here," Clay remarked wearily. Though he didn't sound upset. At least, not with his son.

"Yeah, I was just… I guess you really wanted to make sure it didn't get up and walk around again, huh?" Carlton asked. He looked back to see Clay with a grim expression. "Okay, don't like that look. What's going on?"

"You not getting involved in this, Carlton," Clay said firmly. He took up the tarp and threw it back over Lefty, covering it once again.

"Come on, Dad. I'm not a kid anymore. I think I can handle it."

"You already risked your life going down into Afton Robotics without telling me or anyone else. I can't trust that if I tell you something, you won't put yourself in danger trying to pursue it."

Something in Carlton flared at that. He narrowed his eyes slightly but kept his voice even. "Well, maybe we wouldn't have gone down there looking for answers if everyone wasn't always hiding things. It's one thing to not tell me details about a case- I get that legally you can't do that- but you didn't say anything about a guy kidnapping kids at Freddy's who went off the radar, and you still haven't told me if you found Baby."

Clay turned on him quickly and said just as briskly, "You're not going after Baby."

"What am I, stupid?! There's no way I'm going after Baby, Dad! But I'd like to know if she's running around out there! There- There could be a killer clown and a child snatcher walking around in town in broad daylight, nobody knows about them, nobody believes they exist, and I'm just supposed to pretend like I don't want to know what's going on?!"

There was a long moment of silence between them. Clay seemed startled by his son's outburst while Carlton held his ground and waited for an outcome. He mostly expected his father to tell him to leave, in which case he wasn't sure how much more of a fight he would put up. He was surprised when it was his father who caved.

"You're right," Clay said.

"I am?" Carlton thought. He tried to hide his surprise.

"You were the one who came to me and told me about finding Baby. Anyone else might've been afraid to say anything, especially in this town. That's part of the reason there are so many unresolved cases left going cold on the shelves. Everyone wants to forget, but by forgetting what happened we opened the door for creatures like Baby and whoever started the fire to get out into the general public."

"So, Baby's still out there…" Carlton said quieter.

"We're still searching the facility for any sign of her, but I won't lie to you, it's looking like she found her way out… And unfortunately she isn't alone." He exhaled warily as he remembered those glowing eyes and the ruthless shock it gave him. It wasn't too much for him to recover from, but against an unsuspecting citizen or even a child it could be disastrous. "…We found that Freddy on the side of the road outside of Afton's. It looks as if something tore it apart and harvested its endoskeleton. We think it might've been Baby."

"I guess that makes sense. She looked like she could use the parts…" Carlton tried not to sound as uneasy as he felt. Even if he suspected that Baby was free, hearing it for sure now made him just as uncomfortable as having Left in the house. He then noticed exactly what his father said. "When you said she's not alone, did you mean that doll thing or?"

"There's a second animatronic with her. I couldn't get much of a look at it without its suit, but it is very aggressive." Clayton looked to him with that dead-serious look in his eyes. "I'm counting on you to keep yourself safe. If you see Baby or the other animatronic, don't go anywhere near them, even if they look like they're deactivated. In the meantime, we're going to begin searching more of the buildings that we know are connected with Afton's. There's not too many places she can hide."

"You're acting like I'm going to grab the guys and go robot hunting tonight. We wouldn't have gone to Afton's if we thought there was anything dangerous in there," Carlton said honestly.

"I know, but I don't want you to get in a position where you somehow find yourself with one of them and feel like you have to step in and stop them. I don't want you or any of your friends risking your lives."

Carlton gave his father an uneasy, if somewhat exasperated smile. "How exactly am I going to get in that position?"

"…I'd rather prepare for the worst." It wasn't a very confident answer, though Clay's sureness in it made Carlton all the more disquieted. He looked back towards the tarp that hid the remains of Lefty.

If Baby had found the bear that quickly after they dumped it, then she must've been close. Or worse, she could've been watching them the entire time. There had been more than once that he thought he heard something but assumed it was a distant car or one of the others moving Lefty around. A dangerous animatronic could've been watching them the entire time and waiting for them to get distracted.

No more late nights, he swore to himself. No going after Circus Baby.

About a week had passed since the painting of the house, the perceived ending of the reunion between Charlie and her friends, and things had begun to settle down.

Charlie had managed to buy off a little time with Aunt Jen by telling her that she was considering moving off campus and that she would be temporarily staying at the old house. At first Jen was adamantly against it, but after she mentioned Jessica moving back to Hurricane and floated the possibility of renting an apartment with her, her aunt loosened up a bit more. That was the best Charlie could do for now.

Speaking of Jessica, she had returned to New York with plans to get transferred and moved back permanently before the next semester began. She and Charlie still talked on a daily basis. Similarly with Marla, who had a little less free time with community college, but enough time to frequently invite Charlie out or over to her house.

She wasn't entirely sure what Lamar and Carlton had been up to for the last few days. Marla mentioned both in passing- Lamar applying for something and things being tense at Carlton's house- but didn't get the exact details on either. Though she had heard from the latter himself about Clay finding Lefty and the circumstances surrounding it. It was troubling to say the least, and there was still no sign of Circus Baby.

Then there was John. He was the one who helped her move her stuff out of her dorm and to the house, and they met up that weekend as planned. Charlie had been a little nervous leading up to it, but it turned out better than she expected. Nothing overly romantic, no long pauses or tension, just them seeing a movie, talking about the movie over a short dinner, and her walking out of it feeling surprisingly good.

If that was what dating was supposed to feel like, perhaps she was ready for it, and she couldn't think of a better person to do so with than John. She even told Sammy the details when she got home.

Sammy hadn't changed much in the last week that she had lived with him. They had settled into a bit of a routine between them, but nothing shocking had come to the forefront in his behavior. Save that he was utterly fixated with the television and that he frequently sought Charlie's attention when she was home. He liked board games, he could read, and he would listen. Their little family was coming together.

But there had been one thing left unfinished. One topic they never discussed, the elephant in the room, their father. Charlie tried her hardest not to think of him and Sammy showed little interest in bringing him up, so she assumed that it would just continue being this thing they tried to avoid at all cost. At least, until she found out from Marla that the police were no longer stationed at the burned down pizzeria.

The sun had set only an hour before when Charlie pulled up to the charred remains of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. She knew it was dangerous to be out at dark when Baby was still unaccounted for, but she wasn't too concerned, especially since she wasn't alone. She made sure that the area was quiet before she opened the backseat door. "It's all clear. You can come out."

Sammy slid out from under a throw blanket and drifted out into the parking lot. His gaze fell on the building and he stared with that blank smile on his face. She had picked up that this was his default look, both his resting face and the one he went to when he wanted to hide an immediate reaction. Though she could tell from his slow movements that he was bothered. Call it twin intuition, but she swore she felt his sorrow.

She followed after him and stood alongside him to look at the remains of the pizzeria. It had been partially blocked by caution signs and police tape, but anyone could've walked straight in. What held her back was wanting to stay with Sammy, so she got what view she could from here. It hardly looked like the stylized pizzeria it had been the first day she came, and not even the sign remained.

Charlie took a deep breath before admitting, "I wish I could've been able to talk to Dad one last time." Sammy's eyes flickered to her questioningly. "I don't even know what I'd say, I just feel like there's so much I needed to get off my chest. So much I wish I could tell him. Now I'm never going to get that chance," she said, wrapping her arms around herself.

Sammy looked towards the building for a moment before gesturing towards the building. A sweeping gesture with both arms, like coaxing her to go to the burned down pizzeria. She looked between him and it.

"I guess I could still say something. It wouldn't be much different than speaking to a grave," Charlie said. "…Do you think he'll hear me?"

Sammy gave an expressive shrug and she looked back ahead. She was torn on what to do, unsure if this was going to bring her any form of closure or just reopen the still fresh wound. He noticed her hesitance and reached for her arm, gently pulled it free of her hold, and took her hand in his. He gave an assuring squeeze.

This was just enough. She gave him a small smile before slowly walking closer to the building, him accompanying her. They stop just at the barrier of warning tape and after a moment to get her thoughts together, Charlie took a deep breath and spoke.

"Dad. It's me, Charlie. I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going to say my peace," she began.

At first she called into the building, but then her voice fell until she was speaking as quietly as if he was standing right in front of her.

"It's hard coming to terms with what you did. You abandoned me, Mom, and Aunt Jen. You hid from everyone for years and let us think you were gone. Then when you finally came back, you trapped Sammy in that suit and tried to burn him. It's hard to swallow."

Sammy squeezed her hand again and his head fell.

"…But I think what I'm most upset about is that you never gave me the chance to know you, or to help you. I know that's selfish, but maybe there could've been a better way. You didn't give me the chance to make my own decisions, you just sent me a letter and thought it would make up for everything. It didn't, Dad. I wanted to know you. I wanted to be loved by you… And now there's no going back. You're really gone."

Charlie took a deep breath to ease the tight pangs in her chest.

"…But I know what you were trying to do. You weren't trying to hurt us, you were trying to fix what happened at the diner. I can't agree with what you did to Sammy, but you trapping William… As cold as it sounds, after all he's done I don't feel any sympathy for him. If you stopped him from hurting other children, then you're a hero. That was worth some of the pain we had to go through. Not all of it, but some."

Sammy's other hand came to lay on hers as he turned more towards her and further from the former pizzeria. His head was lowered and she could faintly see a glossiness on his stripes. She hoped that this was giving him some amount of closure too. She squeezed his hand again, petting it with her thumb.

"I still love you, Dad. That's why this hurts as much as it does. I can still remember the better times back when we were still a family. Days when I used to play in your workshop while you worked, listening to you tinker and wondering what you were building next. Nights when you would tuck me into bed or let me sleep with you when the dark was too dark. I still love you… We still love you?" Sammy nodded beside her. "Yeah, we still love you. Even if things had to go so wrong, we still love you, Dad… And we're sorry you're gone."

It was a strange moment. That sorrowful feeling Charlie had earlier was much stronger and the mood outside the graveside was dismal, but there was also something lighter to it. A sort of relief to it. Like lancing a wound and letting all the poison out so it could finally heal for good. She believed that this might've been what closure truly felt like.

"I think I feel a little better. Ready to go home?" Charlie said. Sammy nodded in agreement and eagerly led her back towards the car, ready to get away from the remains once again. They had stayed long enough, there wasn't anything left for them here. Not when the house was waiting for their return.

Now they could get back to moving on. If anything good had come from this, it was that it had brought them together again. Only time would tell how this would go from here and Charlie was ready to face whatever was next. This time she wouldn't be alone.

End of Book One

Mable: The fic isn't over, the next 'book' is going to begin on the next chapter. I wanted to have the story broken into books in reference to the trilogy, since it's sort of a play off of it, but I think it would be easier to read if I kept all three parts together. Thus, the fic will continue updating with the next 'book' very soon. ^-^ I hope you've enjoyed so far!