»Of Godhuman Nature« [Five Nights At Freddy's]

Chapter XI - A Sleeper's Breath

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We're sleepwalking
backwards to where it all began...
Our minds are locked
where black stars hang.

Draconian - Sleepwalkers

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Mike's car pulled up in front of the grey - & as advertised by Lily mere minutes ago - apartment building shaped like a chest of drawers at the outer edge of Hurricane, past the old, partially splintered wooden fence & the clumsily cut bushes behind it. The sun now sat pretty high in the cloudless sky, beaming down onto a slowly recovering city. It was only 8 o'clock yet countless people were already roaming the streets, either ridding their properties of the storm's trails of destruction or heading out to check up on their loved ones on the other side of town. Thankfully, Lily's house as well as the surrounding garden showed little to no damage besides a few snapped twigs & a carpet of fallen leaves covering most of the yard, & a few plant pots had been knocked over. Compared to other things she had seen on the way here, this was more than just acceptable.

Mike parked his car right in front of the garden door, checking the sidewalk from both sides to ensure no one was going to pass by anytime soon before he turned off the engine. " I think this is your stop, Miss ~ "

" It sure looks like it, " she joked, once again feeling the fatigue settle back into her body, " from here I can actually hear my bed calling for me... "

" I can hear mine too... & it's on the other side of the city. " He yawned softly as though to accentuate his statement & rested his upper body against the steering wheel. " I can also hear my sister's voice of judgment, but my bed is significantly louder right now, so it's fairly easy to ignore. "

" Voice of judgement? " Lily threw him a questioning look while stuffing her phone & hair brush back into her purse. " How come? Is she mad at you? "

" No, no. Forget it. I'm sorry... Don't even know why I brought that up. I guess I'm the master of bad timing... " Yet another thought spoken into existence at the most inappropriate time possible, worthy of a slap or two. Maybe even three.

" Well, I'd say the reason you brought it up is because, deep down inside, you can feel that it burdens you gravely, & you want to share it with someone who's willing to listen, maybe even able to provide you with advice ~ " Realizing that she suddenly sounded a lot like William Afton she went silent for a moment, reevaluating her choice of words.

Not only did she sound like Afton, she also sounded very much like her brother...

" At least that's what my brother would say... "
She averted her gaze, worried that tears could flood her eyes any second, but to her relief nothing of that kind happened.

Mike stared out of the window, taking in her words like it was the water he needed to quench his thirst. Unfortunately, she had hit the nail right on the head with her theory...
" That... might be true. But you sure as hell ain't the one I want to burden with my personal little ailments... "

" And what if I want to be the burdened one? "

He raised his head slowly, a soft gasp of surprise leaping out of his mouth, & he cleared his throat in an attempt to play if off. Someone caring enough to willingly sit through him lamenting about his private issues... That was a first for sure.
" Why... why would you want to be the burdened one? "