Five Nights At Freddy's: Clawmarks

CHAPTER FIVE

Henry got out of his car, a gear in one arm and opening the front door with the other. He greeted Max, then handed him the part. "Here you go," he said. "Now Foxy should be up and running." Max laughed a little under his breath, knowing that statement had a double meaning. Instead he thanked Henry, and asked, "Have you seen Will? He's ten minutes late."

Henry replied, "Maybe he's working on a new robot." That's when Max noticed a long adhesive bandage wrapped around Henry's left wrist. Old blood was clearly visible through the white wrap. "Um, sir? What happened there?" Max asked in concern. "Are you hurt?" The manager looked down, then said, "Oh, I just poked myself with a tool by accident."

Max couldn't help but notice that Henry wasn't looking directly at him when he said that. Instead of pressing for the obvious, Max just calmly laid a hand on Henry's shoulder, nodding. "Ok, then..." he murmured. "If you need anything at all, just let me know." The manager seemed surprised, then, seeing Max's understanding expression, nodded. "I will..." the manager sighed.

Just then, William came striding by carrying something long under a purple overcoat. He glanced at the two men before rolling his eyes and going inside. Max felt upset. Did Will know about this, and didn't care?

Later that day, Max continued his work on Foxy. The events from last night scared him quite a bit, but he had a job to do. Max carefully took out the busted gear and replaced it with the new one. Then the engineer noticed that the fox's hook was rusty. A long, ugly scratch ran down one side of it. "Don't worry, Foxy..." Max whispered. "We'll have you in ship-shape soon, matey." The animatronic stared ahead motionless.

When Max went backstage to get a hook, he was a little surprised to see Will back there, who quickly covered up something metallic with the overcoat. "W-what are you doing?" Afton barked, a hint of fear in his voice. Confused, Max replied, "Just getting a new hook for Foxy." Afton snorted, turning his back to the engineer. "Why do you care, anyways?" he grumbled.

"Because it's my job, Mr. Afton. And I don't know about you, but Foxy needs a little more respect right now."

Will turned to face Max. "Respect?" he snapped. "It's a dumb robot!" Max shot back, "A robot you made! And he holds a special place-"

"In the hearts of children, I know," Afton interrupted. "What a stupid line." Clutching the hook in one fist, Max stared at the man in purple. "Listen, Will..." he tried again. "Just because you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning doesn't mean you need to start acting like this. Henry nearly killed himself last night!"

William shrugged it off. "It probably isn't the first time, either!" he retorted. Both men stared each other down, waiting for one of them to break the silence. Finally, Will did: "Max, let's make something very clear today. We are not friends, and I hate this place. Henry's been depressed for years. The pay certainly isn't getting any better, and no matter what you do to Foxy, he's gonna fall apart again anyway."

Max gave him a quizzed glance. "Then...why do you keep coming back?" he asked. "Why are you so angry nowadays? Why does Vicky hang around Freddy? Why-" Afton startled. "She what?!" he growled. Max pressed, "Will, answer me!" Suddenly, Will grabbed Max by the shirt and held him against the wall, glaring at him. "I don't know what you're up to, or who told you these things, but...I'm just going through some things myself."

Will calmed down a little as he continued, "My animatronics are programmed to learn things, so I have to correct them if necessary. Especially Vicky. That's why I'm so frustrated and upset...and the reason I keep coming back is because...because..." Afton looked like he said too much already.

"Because of your children..." Max finished. Will stared at him before putting him down. Afton closed his eyes and murmured, "Just go work on Foxy, Max. I'm so sorry..." Then Will turned and picked up the object hidden in the overcoat, slinging it over his shoulder as he briskly walked away. Max was quiet before he said to himself, "Well, I certainly don't come here because of the money."