From the Scraps they Came (Fnaf Murder Mystery Fanfiction)

Chapter 3 - Deer in Headlights

      The disturbance came rather quickly and suddenly. However, its effects lingered. What was once a dark and peaceful night morphed into something quite curious to the average bystander. Not too long after the scene was discovered, the sirens that once seemed so distance and unlikely to appear at such a place during these hours were making their way over. Lights of white, red and blue came into existence in the form of small specks, only appearing as shiny as the stars up above before they became overwhelming and blinding. An ambulance soon followed, adding to the unrest. As they got closer, the civilians possibly knew in their head that something was wrong. "Perhaps, just maybe..." They could be pondering. "History has fallen back into it's old patterns." Who could place the blame for such ideas? One disaster and controversy after the other, this chain was.
     Among the many uniformed figures, quite a few were familiar with the mystery and tragedy that tends to befall this place. The uncertainty began to rise as they went inside. Questions, conversations, chatter of all sorts ensued. Every employee was questioned as the mangled body was pulled away. No one was allowed in and no one was allowed out for quite a while. Each person was pulled aside for questioning at some point during that time.
    When the sun proclaimed it's victory over the night sky, it was time for everyone to pack up. Due to the establishment's policies, the pizzeria was to be closed up and thoroughly cleaned and bleached. The police had already left, yes. They did so rather quickly to examine the evidence they could get their hands on before the cleansing began. However, the employees watched their vehicles disappear over the horizon before heading back inside. Everyone sat down at the tables positioned just in front of the stage, each mulling over the events of the previous night. Several moments passed before someone spoke up.
    "...Y-you know..." Fritz finally looked up from the ground, glancing at everyone as spoke with shaky eyes and a forced grin. "If he was here... H-he'd say 'lighten up fellas! I know what'll cheer you up!' and he'd go on and... do whatever he could to get a smile out of us." He looked back down at the ground once all eyes shifted over to him. "...God, I miss him a-already..."
    William slowly nodded. "...You know, many employers, bosses and such would say that anyone can be replaced in a work area... Well... In cases like this that's not true..." he sighed softly. "Christopher kept the energy and light for this place..."
     "As well as clean." Scott added. "He...knew how to work but didn't let that get in the way of having fun, he made it himself."
     "He...was always so caring..." Marley's voice was quiet.
     "...But.... w-why would anyone do that to him?" Jeremy timidly looked up at everyone. "And... What do we tell Henry?"
     Silence filled the room once more. This time, its friend 'tension' filled the room. Everyone glanced at each other as they themselves pondered the same question. Everyone knew that Henry treated everyone like they were his children and wouldn't take anyone's death too well. Eventually, eyes fell on William who let out a defeated sigh.
     "Alright, I'll do it..." He looked away toward the stage. "I just don't know what he'll say, I'm... I'm scared, I say."
     Mike looked over at William. "Has to be done eventually. The sooner the better."
     William nodded. "...Are we...Certain that no one got in?" He looked back over at anyone. "I overheard that much during investigations."
     Mike shrugged. "Hell if I know, the cameras were all down." Jeremy nodded in agreement.
     Scott looked over at William "After Jessica and Tenna went home I stayed near the entrance-"
     "No sign of a break in either." Fritz shook his head. "Which me-" he stopped himself right there. He knew everyone was coming to the same conclusion, even if they'd rather not even consider it.
      "Uh- Hold on- there's...p-probably an extra entrance- like a back door or emergency exit-" Marley looked over at William. "We have one of those...right?"
      William looked over at Marley immediately. "No, we don't."
      During the exchange, Mike glanced over at Scott just in time to catch his reaction to William's answer. Despite its brief nature, he caught him shooting a glare at William immediately. Everything else seemed completely still, as if time itself had stopped. Mike raised an eyebrow in question. However, Scott didn't look over. Confused, Mike glanced around the room slightly to see if anyone noticed. The hell was that? He internally wondered.
      "...So...it's one of us-"
      Mike's brief train of thought faded away as he turned his attention to Jeremy. He then glanced at everyone in the room. William was staring off with an exhausted and troubled expression, Scott appeared to be in thought, Fritz and Marley seemed uneasy. The silence and unease was enough to madden even the most cool headed person and it showed. Here they all were, fellow workers who've known each other for years now considering the idea that one of them was a cold blooded killer.
      Mike's own thoughts surfaced as well. This is crazy, no one here seems to be cut out for murder... he thought a bit harder. I know Jeremy wouldn't do such a thing, he was with me the entire night... But why did Scott shoot that glare at ol' Will? He glanced over at Scott very briefly. He might know something we don't...but what? Then again, he's worked here the longest... He's even the most trusted worker... Perhaps it's a facade- Though... If it's not... That doesn't look too good on Will...
      Suddenly, the sharp clicking of the front door unlocking echoed down the halls, causing everyone to jolt, startled. Everyone turned their attention down the hall. Slowly, William stood up.
      "It's probably Henry... You can all get started on cleaning up the place. You can have tonight off to rest afterwards, you'll all need it." With that, he quickly wandered off, disappearing down the corridor.  A few moments passed before they finally  stood and began the process.
      The company has a very lengthy process for situations such as this. In fact, it's almost as if they're begging their employees to cover up any traces of anything problematic. Not only did the scene in question have to be cleaned, but the rest of the pizzeria too as to not raise too many questions among the general process. Animatronics had to be taken apart, cleaned, and then put back together again. The carpets and tiles were to be torn up, thrown away, and then replaced. The process could take days, weeks, sometimes even months depending on the location. During this, the employees are given a few days off in between and the pizzeria remains closed until a few days after everything's said and done. Even the walls and such had to be thoroughly cleaned and the lights were to be replaced. Soon after, everyone would have to swear not to speak of the incident after the missing person report was filed. At least, on normal occasions anyways.
      Mike, Jeremy, and Fritz were left in charge of the back room. Due to the recent suspicion that was raised, only small talk happened every now and then.
      "Never thought the first major crime incident I'd be a part of here would involve one of my closes friends..." Fritz shook his head. "Now I gotta be the one to cover up any trace of him."
       "This whole process is pretty damn shady, if you ask me." Mike remarked.
       "Y-yeah...though...it is a public establishment- d-don't know what we expected." Small taps from Jeremy trying to remove the tiles were heard as he spoke.
       "Can't believe we went this long without anything major happening- fuck-" Already, Mike was getting frustrated with getting stains off the table. "Out of curiosity, how close were you two? When he first started working here you both seemed to know each other-"
       "...Well... He... He was my boyfriend-"
       Both Mike and Jeremy stopped, looking at him. "Well that's just perfect-" Mike's sarcasm poked through upon hearing this to mask the fact he was internally crying.
       "That's...awful...I'm so sorry this happened-" Jeremy's voice became soft and somber. "Why... Didn't you say anything?"
       "We felt it'd be a bit unprofessional i-if people found out during work." Fritz shrugged. "W-we'd... drive home together a-and get dinner every night... and..." he trailed off.
       Jeremy looked at him "You...m-must be so lost now-"
       "Knowing him... h-he wouldn't want me to dwell on it for too long... He'd want me to move on and smile, taking his memory w-with me..." He paused. "...He was truly taken way too soon... I-I just don't know what I'll do now...Th-that he's gone..."
        Mike stared for a moment before sighing "...Fritz, if you need to take a few days off to get your head sorted out, I'm sure William wouldn't mind..."
        "I-I couldn't do that... W-what if something else happens? I can't just leave you guys to deal with that-"
        "Fritz, this murder was... high profile, to say the least. Two murders in a row would be illogical in such a short time span." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not forcing you to do anything but... If you need it, take a few days off. You're... Always doing so much for us but... Never for yourself."
        For a brief moment, Fritz considered his words. "... i-it's not in my nature I guess." He paused.  "I'll get the rest of the cleaning supplies-" Immediately, he left the room.
        Mike stared for a moment in thought and Jeremy looked over at him. "... A-are you alright?"
        He looked over at him, choosing his words carefully. "I doubt anyone is. I can't help but notice how off everything is now." He shook his head in dismay. "Hell, a few of them are acting suspicious as fuck-"
       "W-what do you mean?" Jeremy tilted his head in question.
       "...I... You know how William said there wasn't another exit?" He paused, waiting for a response. Jeremy nodded and gestured to go on. Mike leaned in and spoke quietly, as to not be heard. "I swear on my life that I saw Scott give him the quickest yet deadliest glare ever-"
       "Gee- E-everyone knows that i-if you get that kind of look f-from Scott then..." Jeremy shivered.
       "Yes but then I got to wondering why he wouldn't just call him out on it-" Mike paused for a moment. "Like, Scott's known for calling out bullshit when he hears or sees it, subtly or straightforward if it's not coming from himself. However, this time it was just a glare that no one else seemed to notice. He didn't want anyone else but William to notice and I'm not even sure if he saw or not. It could be a warning or he's in on it- It's no secret that Scott knows more than all of us combined-"
       "S-so... You're suspecting Scott and William?"
       "It's the only small thing we have so far. I'll interrogate Scott during tomorrow's shift, I want you to stay out of this best you can...Alright?" Jeremy hesitantly nodded in agreement
        It wasn't long before Fritz returned and the process continued. By the time the sun started to go down, everyone was exhausted and drained, having worked two shifts in a row. Jeremy had already passed out by the time everyone was leaving. Mike stared for a moment before picking up Jeremy and taking him to the car. Once inside, he began driving as the roads went from a faint amber hue to a pitch black shade. Streetlights woke up once more along the street. The sound of a horrendously bumpy ride filling his ears.
        Man... What a fucking night... He thought to himself as he stared straight ahead at the road ahead. It then occurred to him that he'd be too tired to drive to both houses. All he wanted to do was to sleep somewhere. Anywhere would do at this point. Jeremy's house just so happened to be closer. And so, he pulled up into Jeremy's driveway and fished the keys from his pocket. Once he found the right ones, he unlocked the door and carried Jeremy inside. He closed the door, locking it. It was a small one story house, not really hard to find someone's bedroom. He gently placed Jeremy in bed and tucked him in gently. A dull thud caused him to jump slightly and turn. There in front of him was a worn teddy bear. He picked it up and examined it for a moment before placing it in Jeremy's arms and leaving the room.
        He felt his body become heavier and heavier as he trudged his way over to the living room couch. It wasn't a bed but he also didn't want to make Jeremy uncomfortable. And so, he dropped on the couch, laying down upon contact. Almost immediately he went still, letting himself fall asleep rather easily to the sound of distant cicadas and crickets.