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

Chapter XV - Venomous Souls

                                  ___________

The storage room door fell shut behind them with a gentle thud the same second the overhead lights sprung to life, the in no way practically installed light bulbs trying their hardest to lend their surroundings its shapes & contours; two only managed an ongoing strobe-like flickering, one didn't work at all, & the remaining three emitted a light so dim, if anything it left plenty of room for imagination.

The storage room looked more like a workshop with its many shelves stuffed with tools & two neatly arranged work benches against the back wall, carrying opened boxes overflowing with amateurish engineering equipment. In the corner hung dozens of animatronic limbs & heads off large hooks, presumably replacement parts for the animatronics Freddy, Bonnie, Chica & Foxy; their distinct shapes & colours sort of gave them away.

Her new surroundings piqued Lily's curiosity only briefly, her previous conversation with Francis as well as the news he had shared with them occupying most of her mind & feeding her once more with new, unwanted misgivings. Moreover, no matter how much she despised the harsh reality behind it, Lily couldn't deny that the story of Mary's disappearance had heavily triggered her own trauma & set an entire avalanche of abandoned feelings in motion, one that now threatened to bury her underneath it.

Remembering the few short minutes she got to spend with Adriana's sweet little sister on her eight birthday at Freddy's restaurant Lily put a hand over her chest & breathed out, her heart noticeably growing heavier.
She hadn't lost a younger sibling, but a sibling nonetheless, & with that sibling she had also lost a huge part of herself; a most essential part.
She knew better than anyone what Adriana was currently going through. Furthermore, what struggles & obstacles were yet to come her way...

Sleepless nights ruled by gruesome, recurring nightmares carrying the signature of her own guilt, always there to remind her of the loss suffered.
Restless days filled with hours of regret & self-pity, followed by the dawning realization that neither would in any way help ease her pain, but instead multiply it.
Weeks, months... or even years of questions amassing, never to be answered but destined to haunt her in her search for justice, for relief.
For her sister.

A hand landed on her shoulder & she flinched.
" You appear to be lost in your thoughts, Miss Aalefjær ~ "

Blinking against the dim yellow light flowing in from above she slightly turned her head to peer to the side, Mr. Afton's figure inching into her peripheral vision.
" I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to be rude. There's just... so much on my mind right now... "

" The disappearance of Adriana's sister? "

She didn't even have to nod, for his question was of rethorical nature.
" I wish there was something I could do... I mean, who doesn't? "

" I understand your feelings very well, believe me. If there is one thing crueler than loss, it is uncertainty over whether or not loss has taken place ~ " Mr. Afton drew around her so they faced each other, a sympathetic expression embedded in his mature features.
" It renders a final farewell impossible. "

" The irony of declaring someone dead, without even knowing where they are, what happened to them... Where their bodies went...
Someone becomes a ghost, yet no one ever actually saw them die. "
Once again she was on the verge of losing the battle against the demons of her past right before William Afton's eyes, & normally this would be the point where she'd silence herself & apologize for burdening him with her personal ailments, were it not for that incomprehensible comfort his presence blessed her with; the kind of comfort that everyone craved yet was so hard to find in people & required long years fueled with trust, love & loyalty to eventually come to fruition.