Five Nights at Freddy's-The Black Hood

A New Home

"Just a little bit longer, sweetheart."

"You said that last time when we crossed that bridge!"

"Ugh! Mom, are you sure we can't tie her to the roof of the car?" came her brother's irritated voice from the other side of the backseat.

"Josh, knock it off."

"Well, I'm sorry, but she's been talking nonstop ever since we crossed into this-"

"Josh!" his father barked from the driver's seat.

Josh fell silent and continued scrolling through his phone, checking to see if his girlfriend back home had responded to his last text. He still couldn't believe that they were actually moving. What was wrong with Minnesota? It was a beautiful state, lots of fun activities for a fifteen-year-old boy to do with his friends and girlfriend like hiking, sneaking into R-rated movies, going to the park, and just being stupid and idiotic for laughs. Now, he and his relationship had to suffer for it. He was certain that was the true job of every parent...to do everything possible to make their children's lives miserable. So far, his own deserved an award. No, it was actually his dad's boss's fault for relocating the job.

"Well, kids, welcome to St. Louis!" announced their father.

"I wanna go see the park!" Olivia exclaimed, turning her attention once more to the surroundings outside as they passed. "I wanna go visit all of the playgrounds! I wanna-!"

"Calm down, darling," said their mother. "There'll be plenty of time to do all of that once we get settled in."

"Yay!" she screeched, causing the others to flinch.

Josh grunted. It wasn't that impressive. St. Louis, a very wannabe city in his opinion, with the only notable landmark being a giant arch that did little to symbolize the city. They should've learned from masters like New York and Paris. Meanwhile, Olivia practically had her nose and hands glued to the window, watching every single tree and house go by as if it were a candy shop. She was so excited to explore every nook and cranny of this new, exciting place that she could hardly keep herself from shaking.

"Kendall, you've been awfully quiet. How are you feeling?" asked their mother.

Kendall said nothing. Sandwiched awkwardly between his ecstatic younger sister and irritable older brother, he kept his gaze focused on the road ahead of them, trying his best not to get involved in the tension mounting around him. He felt like Switzerland caught between the allied and axis forces.

"I'm okay," he said softly. "Just tired."

"Didn't sleep well?" asked their father. Kendall shook his head.

"What's the matter? Too many fantasies about being a space pirate exploring all of Mom's stolen treasures?"

Kendall gave his brother a death glare. He'd grown out of that years ago. As soon as he grew old enough to realize that he didn't know how to build a spaceship, he figured he would settle for learning about other things instead, how real-world contraptions worked. It fascinated him to learn about the inner workings of things as simple as a doorknob, how it was craftily designed to lock and unlock as opposed to simply deciding when and for whom it wanted to open. He wasn't sure where such an interest would lead him in life, but one thing was for certain: no matter what, he didn't want to grow up to be the self-absorbed jerk that his brother was.

"Ooh, look!" Olivia shouted, pointing frantically out the window. "Look at that!"

The five family members looked out the window. They were driving through the outskirts of the city toward their new home, passing by the tall buildings of downtown St. Louis.