2#Nightmare.

Fort Collins, Colorado

April 30th-(1984)

"(Gasps)." Tyler gasped as he shot up in his bed in his dark bedroom, sweating all over, and wearing a white sleeveless undershirt, his brown hair still it's long neck-length. He looked at his surroundings and realized he was in his bedroom. "(Sighs) Another nightmare." He said. Another nightmare. ANOTHER nightmare. He had been having the same nightmare ever since that fatal night last year, and each time he would be relieved when it was over. Only the nightmare wasn't over. Sure, he was awake now, but the nightmare hadn't reached it's end. It was still going. It had been on-going since that night in...'83.

Even though 1983 had only been last year, it felt like decades had passed since then, given everything that happened afterwards. The fallout was as anyone had expected it to be: Not pretty. Mr. Afton called 9-1-1 and an ambulance arrived at the diner later that night and took Evan to the hospital. Evan was still alive...but barely. Michael's friends had fled the diner during the chaos and confusion, which had been no surprise to Tyler. They obviously weren't Michael's real friends. If only he'd realized that long before that night.

Mr. Afton followed the ambulance in his old purple Lincoln car, with Tyler, Charlie and Sammy riding with him while Michael rode with Mr. Emily in his car. They followed the ambulance to the hospital where doctors quickly took Evan into surgery. While the operation was taking place, everyone sat quietly in the waiting-room, waiting for an update on Evan's condition. Tyler's Mom soon arrived at the hospital after being called by Mr. Emily back at the diner before he and the others left to follow the ambulance to the hospital. Needless to say, she was glad to see that Tyler was alright.

Mrs. Sharon Emily, Charlie and Sammy's mother, also arrived later after being contacted back at the diner by her husband, Mr. Emily, about Evan getting hurt at the diner. That was all he had told her, but he planned on filling her in on the whole story after hearing the verdict on Evan's condition.

Mr. Afton's wife, Yvonna Clara Afton, later arrived at the hospital after contacting her back at the diner just before he and the others left for the hospital. Mr. Afton clearly hadn't filled her in on what had happened, as she was asking all kinds of questions about what happened, how Evan had gotten hurt, and why he was in the hospital. Mr. Afton had managed to calm her down and assured her he would explain everything once the doctor gave them an update. She hadn't known the full extent of Evan's injuries, she just knew he had been hurt from her brief conversation with Mr. Afton on the phone. Despite having nothing to go on, Mrs. Afton calmed down and decided to sit in the waiting-room and wait for the doctor's verdict like everyone else.

After waiting for what felt like forever, a male doctor came into the waiting-room and revealed the outcome of the surgery. While the operation had been a success, Evan's condition had not improved. Neither was it going to. Minus his face, the frontal lobe and the rest of Evan's head had been crushed. A serious injury he wouldn't recover from, and even if he did, he would likely be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Life-support was the only thing that was keeping him alive. Everyone was deeply upset by the news, but no one was more devastated than the Aftons. Understandable, since Evan was Mr. and Mrs. Afton's son and Michael's brother. Even more understandable for Michael, since he was the reason Evan was fighting for his life in the first place. After all, it was the prank of Michael and his friends that landed the 9-year old Afton boy in the hospital.

Tyler was also distraught by the news as well. Why wouldn't he be? Evan was his best friend. They had made plans to grow up together, graduate elementary, middle and high school together. They even planned on going to college together and bunking as room-mates. They had also made plans to go on a road trip together after graduating college. Plans they could no longer fulfill because Michael and his friends took it away from them. But a part of him believed that all of those things could still happen. After all, with Evan on life-support, it was highly likely that he would come out of this and make a full recovery. He knew it wouldn't be instantly in one day, but he believed it would happen. Slowly, but surely, it would happen. A belief that sadly did not live long.

After being on life-support for five days, Evan passed away at the age of 9. With Evan officially declared dead, Mr. Afton called the police down to the hospital and had Michael arrested for the death of Evan. When asked by police why he had waited five days to report this, Mr. Afton's response was he wanted to wait and see if his son would pull through, however small the chance was. Now that Evan was gone, this was no longer a matter of life and death, this was a murder.

Mr. Afton blamed Michael for Evan's death and intended to cooperate with the state in their murder case against him. Michael's friends were also arrested and charged with Evan's death as well due to Michael naming them as his accomplices and Mr. Afton pressing charges on them for Evan's death as well. There had been no trial, as Michael confessed to everything he and his friends did on the day of his arrest, and his confession was enough to convict them. All four boys were charged with murder and sentenced to nine years, as that was how long Evan had lived. Michael went to juvie, as he was only 12, and his friends were charged as adults and sent to prison. After all, they were in their late teens, and by law, that made them adults. Michael would be transferred to a prison facility as well when he reached the age of 20. Mr. Afton wasn't too thrilled about the verdict and neither was Tyler, as it meant that all four boys would be released back into society in 1993, and they would be in their 20s when they got out. But some justice was better than no justice at all.

The death of Evan was the start of a nightmare for Tyler. A nightmare he would never wake up from. As Evan's best friend, as well as someone who had known him his entire life, Tyler was use to hanging around him and considering the horrible events of that night, he didn't want to go home. If he did, this would become real. There'd no longer be any possibility that he suddenly found himself in bed, having just awoken from a terrible nightmare. Tyler knew that once he went home and went to sleep later that night, he'd wake up to find that this was the new forever.

Evan was dead.

Tyler felt terrible for Mr. and Mrs. Afton. He was heart-broken for them. Evan was dead and Michael was shipped off to juvi. It wasn't fair that they had lost both kids in one day...but it was what it was. Things eventually only got worse for Tyler after Evan's death. His other friend, Sammy, was abducted from his home that same year by someone dressed as Spring Bonnie and was never found, and Charlie ran away from home, only for her backpack to be found later on by the dumpster behind Fredbear's Family Diner and the runaway case quickly became a case of abduction. Long story short, Charlie, like Sammy, was never found and Fredbear's Family Diner was closed down in September. After that, Tyler's Mom moved them out of Harmoney and the state of Utah that same month and they came here to Fort Collins in Colorado for a new start in life. Tyler didn't feel new...he didn't feel like his life had improved...he couldn't run from his guilt over Evan's death or the memories of that night that plagued his mind 24/7...and he couldn't escape the nightmares that terrorized him every night. It was hopeless.

Having done enough strolling down memory-lane for one night...Tyler plopped back down on his bed...and went back to sleep.

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