Autophobia

Chapter 6: The Vow

Charlie's eyes fluttered open. At least, she assumed they were open; it was pitch black except for a sliver of light emanating from underneath the closed door. The automatic lights in the bleak room mercifully flickered on as she stood up, her head pounding. She slumped against Chica's sturdy frame, listening to the carnival-like music in the distance. It was somehow familiar and comforting, unlike the eerie music box melody that was still fresh in her memory. She hadn't hallucinated like that since her hospital stay- her heart was pounding in her head and she was weak in the knees.

The sound of her father's work boots against the tiled hallway floor was grating on her ears.

"Charlie?"

"In here." She muttered, pressing her hand against her forehead. Henry rushed into the room, his eyes wide with fright.

"Charlie, don't-!" He yanked his daughter away from Chica, prompting her to yelp in pain and protest.

"Jesus!" She exclaimed, "They're off! How could they hurt me?" The momentary pain wore off and Charlie's eyes narrowed. "And why are they here? You told me that they were destroyed."

"Charlotte, we have to go. Now."

"No!" The girl pulled away. "You've been lying to me this whole time! Why?"

Henry's expression softened and he reached for her, only for her to step back defiantly.

"I was about to scrap them, Charlie, but then Scott, the investor who bought Freddy's from me, begged me to make him new robots. To save time, I tried to retrofit these guys with new technology. Unfortunately, it was a lost cause. Remember all that money I had to borrow from Aunt Jen?"

Charlie nodded slowly.

"I used it to create the Toy Animatronics."

"But how did you open Junior's if the money went to building the Toys?"

"Aunt Jen also cosigned on a loan for me, and that loan went to Junior's. Fortunately, I've been able to pay it back in increments because it's successful. I truly wish I could say the same for Freddy's." Henry smiled sadly. Charlie wasn't convinced but held her tongue. Her father's explanation made sense, but it also seemed very rehearsed.

"Now, I'm about done here. Let me just tie up some loose ends with management and then we can go."

"Can we eat first? I feel lightheaded."

"I'd feel better about just getting you home if that's the case." Henry adjusted his glasses.

"Please? I want to keep watching them. The Toys." Charlie was shocked to hear the pleading in her voice. Despite the hallucinations, despite the eerie tune that now haunted her, she wanted to stay.

"Okay.. okay." Henry shut his eyes. "We'll get a pizza to go, okay? You'll have time to watch them while it's cooking."

I'm going to come back. Charlie vowed internally, I'm going to come back and figure out what you're hiding from me. As they stepped out of the backroom, Henry shut the door firmly only to have it swing open part way despite his efforts.

"Needs a new lock, I guess." He said miserably, "It's not good that it won't lock."

"Why?"

No response. Henry strode purposefully down the hallway, glancing behind him to make sure she didn't linger. The animatronics used to walk around- Charlie remembered that vividly. The door needed to be locked so that they wouldn't wander. But why? She found herself getting progressively angrier. Her massive headache certainly didn't help. As they walked back into the main party area, all of the Toy Animatronics, with the exception of Toy Foxy, were back on their stage.

"Looks like there's a free table over there." Henry gestured to an empty table that was furthest away from the stage. Charlie's agitation grew but she was feeling too sick to fight him anymore. "I'll put in the order. Pepperoni and sausage?"

She nodded absentmindedly and sat down at the table. The animatronics were now singing some Freddy's-style variation of "Happy Birthday"- Bonnie strummed his guitar, Chica waved Mr.Cupcake around, and Freddy swiveled about. Charlie smiled at the kids gathering around them, some trying to hand them pizza or tokens. She could feel her father's watchful gaze even when she looked away from the ordering counter. Just as Chica started bantering again, she heard it- the music box. But this time it was very real. A lanky puppet animatronic, of which Charlie had very faint recollections of, was hanging out of a large white box by the prize counter.

Why was it suddenly making her so uncomfortable and scared?

"Excuse me... Charlie, right?" She looked up to see Greg standing next to her, a large manila folder in one of his big hands.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind moving over to one of those tables? I'm interviewing this gentleman over here." He gestured to the young man standing behind him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

"Charlie...?" The interviewee said her name like a question, although he didn't appear to be speaking to her.

"Fritz, she's my technician's daughter." Greg explained.

"Yeah." Charlie said dumbly, standing up. "Sorry." Nothing about Fritz was familiar to her, but clearly he recognized her. Had they gone to high school together? He was tall and somewhat muscular, with medium-length brown hair that curled around his ears. His blue eyes stared right through her.

"Pizza's gonna be ready in about five minutes, Charlie." Henry was suddenly beside her, a large smile plastered on his face. She couldn't tell if it was fake or genuine for once- normally she could read his expressions like a book. "You got an interview, Greg?"

"Yup. This is Fritz. He's looking to replace our current guy on the night shift 'cause he's moving to the dayshift in a day or two. Fritz, this is Henry, my technician."

"Stand-in technician, really. But nice to meet you." Henry extended his hand and Fritz took it reluctantly, still observing Charlie out of the corner of his eye.

"About that. We'll chat later, Henry." Greg's voice was laced with desperation.

Good, Charlie thought, keep him coming here.

"You have my landline and my phone number." Now Henry's smile was completely and utterly fake.

"Anyhow, Fritz and I are gonna sit here-"

"Of course. Come on, Charlie, let's get out of their way."

"Yeah. See you, Greg." She gave a small wave and followed her silently seething father to the to-go window. He didn't speak again until they were back in his green Dodge Stratus.

"I don't care what Greg thinks. I'm not taking responsibility for these things anymore."

"Why?"

"Charlotte, please." Henry sped out of the parking lot. Charlie picked at some stray cheese that was dangling out of the white pizza box in her lap.

"You're the only one who knows-"

"Charlotte, I'm done talking about it. I need to focus on Junior's and you now. Mr. Hippo needs a new jaw, I need to hire more waiters, we need to get you a new car..." He went on but she tuned him out and reread her last texts from John. He was visiting for the weekend with the promise that she could stay at his house. Not that her father knew that was the plan yet. He'd be reluctant, but John would convince him.

"Charlotte?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear me? There's no reason for me-or you-to go back there."

"Yeah." Charlie could no longer hide the exasperation in her voice.

"I'm serious. It's a lost cause and I have no interest in being a part of it anymore."

"Yeah," She acknowledged again, "I understand." She slipped her phone back into her pocket and turned to stare out the window. She vowed once again to go back, with or without him.