THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017, 3:46 AM
"Hi, you've reached Chris. I'm sorry I missed your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you."
"AT THE TONE, PLEASE RECORD YOUR MESSAGE. WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED RECORDING, YOU MAY HANG UP OR PRESS 1 FOR MORE OPTIONS."
BEEP.
"I thought I'd try you one last time. Wasn't really expecting an answer at this point, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I just touched down in St. Louis, so I'll be there real soon. See you in a few."
END OF MESSAGE.
____________________________________________________________
As Jack pulled into the parking lot, he and the Phillips were immediately greeted by Richard's car parked right in front. Richard huffed.
"He'd better not have scratched the sides."
They parked nearby and began walking over to the building.
"So what's going on?" asked Emma, growing increasingly worried upon seeing the presence of their car which also confirmed the presence of their children.
"I've been doing some deep digging," explained Jack, "and frankly, I don't think Mr. Everett is the real mastermind behind all of this."
Emma and Richard looked at each other.
"But the news..." said Richard.
"I know what the news says," said Jack, "but I think I've uncovered evidence which states otherwise."
"What do you mean?" asked Emma, her panic beginning to rise.
"I think this may be an inside job."
"Inside job?" said Richard. "As in-?"
"The managers," said Jack.
"The managers?!" said Emma. She was certain she was mishearing. "What do you-?"
But then it hit her. She remembered seeing news clippings and TV reports concerning William Afton being the prime suspect of the disappearances at Freddy's. It had all made sense to her as she got older: whoever kidnapped Cassidy had displayed a rather unusual knowledge of the restaurant's inner workings. The only explanation was that it was an inside job. Her breathing became erratic as the sense of deja vu washed over her.
"We need to get inside!" she insisted.
Jack opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the sudden sound of a metal gate just beyond the doors slamming to the ground, accompanied by the sound of a blaring horn.
"What's going on?" Richard shouted over the noise.
"Someone's just activated the security system from the inside!" Jack responded.
"Security system?"
"Yes. It's meant to prevent any animatronics from escaping while in free-roam mode, but it also means that nobody can get in or out."
Fear rising deep within her, Emma began to sprint toward the building.
"Emma, no!" cried Jack as he reached out and grabbed her, holding her back.
"Our children are inside!" she screamed, glaring at him.
"And there's no way in hell we're leaving them!" Richard added, sounding like he was battling his own urge to follow his wife's impulse.
"I know, I know!" said Jack, desperately trying to calm them down. "I have no idea what set off the security system, but it's disabled public access. That's how it works. I looked at blueprints during the investigation. We have to wait for the police to arrive and lift it; they're the only ones on the outside who have access and authority to do so."
"On the outside?" said Emma.
"Well, it can also be lifted from the inside by someone who knows how."
Emma and Richard looked at each other and came to the same thought:
Kendall.
She nodded hopefully, her nerves beginning to settle. He'll figure it out. He's a smart boy.
But no sooner had she taken a breath of relief, they were suddenly startled by a loud and powerful force that echoed through the air like a cannon, causing Emma to jump so fast that she lost her balance and fell to the ground. Looking up, they saw a jet of flames surge through the roof into the air, causing much of the metal on the roof to come crashing down around them. Scrambling to their feet, they retreated several yards before turning back to stare at the scene in horror.
Jack immediately set out to call for help while Richard stood in silence, unable to comprehend what was happening. As the images of her children being burned alive began to intrude into her mind, Emma sank to her knees, buried her face in her hands, and began sobbing.
____________________________________________________________
Josh, Kendall, and Chris moved toward the door to the main room. Josh placed his hands on the door but Chris stopped him.
"What?"
Chris placed a finger to his lips and pointed back down the hall. "Rebecca's probably watching the cameras."
"She is," said Kendall. "That's what she said earlier."
Chris nodded. "There are cameras all over the place, so we have to be sneaky."
"What are we doing, exactly?" Kendall asked.
"We have to find your sister and get outta here."
"I still don't get it," said Josh. "If you knew that children were being kidnapped, why were you expecting us to come?"
"I knew you would," said Chris. "I've seen people of many types over my life. You may have a bit of a rough exterior, suitable for a young man such as yourself, but you've got something deep down that isn't all that common anymore, Josh...a heart that isn't satisfied with letting sleeping dogs lie. Even though they had you snowed about me at first, you knew that something fishy was going on and you had the firsthand experience needed to take the leap of faith. You'd be amazed at how few people there are in the world anymore who would actually do that."
"What about me?" said Kendall.
"Well, given the lockdown, someone needed to be in charge of finding a way in...someone with brains," said Chris, a slight smirk appearing before his face went sour. "Unfortunately, I didn't think your sister would be coming with you, too."
"That was my fault," said Kendall. "I encouraged her to come with me."
"Well, if I'd only known just how insane their operation was, I would never have left that trail of hints to begin with. None of us belong here right now. I thought children simply possessing animatronics was crazy enough, but actually living as robots?"
"What do we do?" asked Kendall.
"We need to find your sister and get outta here...then alert the police. Josh, do you have your phone on you?"
Josh reached into his pocket only to discover to his horror that his trusty cell phone, which he always kept in his right side pocket, wasn't there. He thought back to the last moment he knew he had it: in the vent right before it collapsed. He realized that he'd never gotten the chance to put it back into his pocket before everything got hectic.
"It's probably buried in rubble somewhere," he said.
"What about you?" Chris asked Kendall.
Kendall shook his head. "I've been asking for one for years, but Mom always said not until I'm fourteen."
"Well, somehow we're going to have to get the word out."
"I have an idea," said Josh. "What if we alert the police while getting out?"
"What do you mean?"
"Since it would apparently ruin their plan to have people storm in, what if we give them a reason to?"
"The security system?" said Chris, and Josh nodded. "Good thinking."
"What does the security system do?" asked Kendall.
"It prevents any animatronics...or rather any remnants of their illegal activity, really...from getting out," Chris explained. "If a single animatronic passes beyond the front boundary where the sensor is located, the entire place locks down until the police or someone on the inside clears it."
"And it sets off alarms at all the police stations nearby," Josh added.
Chris nodded. "Right, at least that's what I was able to deduce from my investigations."
Kendall's lips pursed.
"What are you thinking, Einstein?" said Josh, recognizing the look on his brother's face.
"I did some reading earlier..."
"Oh, really? That's new." Josh laughed.
"I'm serious! There's a failsafe called ESM."
"Emergency Safe Mode," Chris confirmed with a sigh. "Unfortunately, this thing...this stitch wraith...doesn't have one since it's so old."
"I know," said Kendall, "but what about the other animatronics? Do they have one?"
"Yes," said Chris, "but I don't see how that's going to help. They're not even programmed to move at all during the night."
"How easy is it to get inside the computer?"
"Not too hard. Why?"
"I think I can tweak the programming a bit to make them move around."
"You're gonna trick them into setting off the alarm, aren't you?" said Josh, smiling. "Well well well. I didn't think I'd see the day that your reading actually became useful."
Kendall snorted. "Spoken like a true C-student."
Chris pondered for a moment. "You know what? That might work. But we'll have to hurry. We've only got minutes before Rebecca figures out what's going on, and who knows where our other friend is."
Slowly opening the door, Chris peeked his head out. The showroom was completely silent, with no light except for the moon shining through the skylight. The animatronics were still standing in their place on the stage, motionless and dead-eyed. Chris peeked up at the security camera on the wall above them. Assuming Rebecca was still monitoring the security system, their time was excruciatingly limited.
"Let's go," he said, slowly leading them into the room and along the wall beneath the camera. He watched it move back and forth for a moment and turned to Kendall.
"What is it you need to do with the animatronics?"
"Not much," said Kendall. "They probably have a complicated timer system that I can't mess with, but since the ESM failsafe is a bypass to everything, I might be able to rearrange a few wires and cause it to force-start them instead of shutting them down."
Chris glanced at Josh, who shrugged but nodded.
"He's the man."
"Okay," said Chris. "Be careful."
They watched the camera for a moment. When it panned far to the right and stopped for a moment, Chris gave them a nod. Josh and Kendall took off toward the stage in the center and dove underneath and out of sight.
"Ow! It's really cramped under here!" said Kendall.
"Just shut up and work your magic," Josh replied.
Kendall crawled slowly toward the center of the stage with his brother following close behind. Feeling along the metal above them, they found a small hatch that opened up to the center of the stage, directly behind the animatronics. Kendall carefully climbed up and immediately began to examine one of the animatronics, a white chicken with a guitar. Feeling around the neck area, he smiled when his fingers made contact with a button he recognized as being the ESM activator.
"What did you find?" came Josh's voice in his ear, causing him to jump.
"I think I found the button I'm looking for. Do you think you can lift this off?"
"Lift what off?"
"The faceplates or something?"
Josh grabbed the edges of the chicken's wide face. After finding a latch on either side, he popped the faceplate off and removed it, exposing the unnerving endoskeleton face beneath.
"What now, genius?"
"Hold on," said Kendall as he examined the wires.
Josh glanced over at Chris, who looked up at the camera which was still panning elsewhere and gave him a thumbs up. Josh nodded, though he still felt a bit uneasy. They were only scarcely hidden from view behind the motionless animatronics. While a quick glance wouldn't give them away, even a brief closer look was a different story. He turned back to his younger brother, who had his hands inside the neck of the animatronic.
"How's it going?" he whispered.
"Pretty good," said Kendall. "There are a few wires right here connecting the ESM button to the computer."
"And that means what?"
"These wires, the green, yellow, and blue ones, feel different, like they're coated differently. I think that's to mark these wires as being exempt from the usual timed system operation. If I can connect these to the activation part of the system instead, I might be able to jumpstart these things."
"Do you know where that is?" asked Josh.
"I think so," said Kendall. He thought back to his research on the Roomba from home. He remembered reading about the wire connectivity and how they were laid out. While this animatronic was much more complex than a simple robotic vacuum, he'd learned enough to know that somewhere within the mess of wires and parts was a very similar startup. After studying the inside carefully and following the wires downward, he asked Josh to help him remove the chest plate, which came off just as easily, although it was considerably heavier.
With the chest plate off, the animatronic looked naked and much more intimidating. Josh locked eyes with the dead ones that were staring back at him. He found himself taking a step back. He was reminded of his first look at these things during his interview, and those feelings only deepened now that they were alone in the dark room. As those eyes looked back at him, one thought came to mind:
What are you doing here? This place is dangerous.
Kendall, however, didn't want to linger and continued studying the animatronic's inner parts. In the center of the endoskeleton's chest was a small rectangular device that Kendall instantly recognized as the main computer. There was a myriad of wires protruding from the device in the back, including the three differently-coated wires that were grouped into one outlet. Kendall gently removed them from their place.
"Ok," he said to himself. "Now, which of these are for the startup procedure?"
He placed his hand on the screen, it beeped and lit up. There were two options listed: scheduling and maintenance. He pressed maintenance. Three more options replaced it, and he pressed the option for testing connectivity. Along both edges of the screen were many options, each pointing to a set of wires along the side. Near the top of the left side was another conjoined group of wires labeled ACTIVATION. Kendall quickly removed this outlet and replaced it with the wires connected to the ESM button. If all went according to plan, the rewiring would cause the computer to bypass the system's usual complex programming and activate the animatronic.
"Let's see if this works," said Kendall as he stood up and pressed the ESM button.
A mechanical whirring sound came from deep within the robot, and Kendall's heart sank as he imagined a feeble attempt at a startup that wouldn't yield any fruitful results, but within seconds, the eye illuminated and the head looked up, causing him to jump.
"Do you want to sing a song?" it asked in its usual cheerful voice, though the lack of a cheerful face or torso to complement it was a bit creepy.
Kendall and Josh glanced at each other, unsure of what to say, though Josh managed to crack a smile.
"Wow, you're good," he said.
"It was nothing, really," said Kendall. "So much of today's technology is internally organized a lot better than it used to be, according to what I read. It's good that there's a bypass, too."
"Do you want to sing a song?" the faceless animatronic asked again.
"I think that's all it can say," said Kendall. "Those must have been its last words before it was shut off. I only connected the activation portion to the bypass. The rest of its speech database is probably still inaccessible."
"Well we at least got it started," said Josh. "Now if we can just get it over to the sensor."
"Hey!" came a voice from over near the entrance. They saw Chris standing there, waving his arms. "I want to sing a song!"
The animatronic turned toward the noise and blinked. It did not move, however.
"What's wrong with it?" asked Josh.
"I don't know," said Kendall. "Maybe it's a different function."
He examined the computer and quickly noticed another option labeled FREE-ROAM. Thinking quickly, he removed the attached wires and replaced the bypass wires in the port. He pressed the newly-programmed ESM button.
The animatronic's feet immediately began moving and the trio watched in amazement as it walked off of the stage toward Chris. Josh turned his brother with a wide grin.
"You did it! That's unbelievable!"
"Thanks. I'm kind of surprised that it was so simple since these things are supposed to be pretty advanced," said Kendall.
"Yeah, well...I think the bosses were a bit preoccupied with something else to put too much focus on the mindless entertainment for the kids," said Josh.
Chris watched as the animatronic approached him.
"Do you want to sing?" it asked.
"Yes! I want to sing!" said Chris in his best child's voice. He took a step back and watched intently as the robot finally crossed the invisible beam beneath the security sensor.
Almost instantly, a thick metal gate slammed to the ground near the front door. This was accompanied by a loud horn that began blaring throughout the entire restaurant and bright flashing red lights shone around the room, giving the entire room an eerie glow. Josh and Kendall jumped off of the stage and met Chris in front of the cafe.
"What now?" said Josh, wincing as the horn blasted against his eardrums.
"The police have been notified and should be here within minutes. We need to find your sister!" Chris shouted back
"NO!" cried a loud, shrill voice from nearby. Turning, they saw Rebecca standing near the stage, her fury burning in her wild, murderous eyes. Her hair, usually so tidy and kempt, was an ugly mess. She looked like a madwoman in the low light. "What have you little rats done?! When I get my hands on you, you'll REALLY wish you'd never come here!"
"What's wrong?" shouted Chris over the horn. "You weren't planning on the police rushing in and crashing the party?"
Rebecca screamed a horrific, piercing cry of anger and, without a moment's hesitation, smashed the protective glass of a nearby fire extinguisher case. Grabbing the extinguisher, she turned and hurled it with surprising force straight at them.
"Look out!" cried Chris, shoving the brothers to the ground right as the red container flew over them and hit something. This was almost immediately followed by a loud bang and the sound of sparks flying up into the air and the smell of something burning. After a few moments, Josh recognized the smell of burning cheese and realized that the malfunctioning nacho cheese machine had been knocked over.
"You little wraiths!" cried Rebecca as she stared up at the orange glow that was now illuminating from behind the counter. "I'll skin you alive if it's the last thing I do!" Without another word, she turned and made a beeline for the door to the back rooms.
The roaring sound of flames came from behind the counter and they saw the flames licking their way across the ceiling above them. Through the thickening smoke, Chris noticed a sag in the ceiling.
"We have to move!" he cried.
"What?" said Josh.
"MOVE!" he screamed as he pulled the two to their feet. "It's gonna collapse!"
No sooner than when Kendall had just crossed the threshold from the cafe area did the ceiling collapse and cause a jet of flames to surge upward. Through the thick smoke, they could barely make out the night sky.
"Unbelievable!" said Chris, his voice almost too low to be heard beneath the fire and blaring alarm. "For people who supposedly learned from my dad's mistakes in Hurricane, you'd at least think they would've chosen flame-retardant materials on the walls!"
"What do we do?" said Josh.
"Same thing as before. We need to escape!" Chris shouted back.
"What about Olivia?" said Kendall.
Chris said nothing, and from the helpless look in his eyes, Josh and Kendall knew that he wasn't sure whether or not she would be found in time.
____________________________________________________________
Olivia was growing more frantic with each passing second as the walls of her metal cocoon that used to be the playscape held firm, preventing her from being able to escape. No matter which way she tried to shift her body, she was met by a firm barrier on all sides. Her breaths quickened and her whimpering became louder as she remembered the time she'd gotten herself caught under her old bed. It was the first time that she could remember not being able to move, and despite her brothers laughing at her, it was one of the scariest moments of her young life and it had made her happier than ever to get her first big-girl bed with more space underneath. But once again, this was much worse. In addition to not being able to move, she couldn't see anything. She was alone in the dark.
Olivia let out a scream as a loud bang echoed from nearby and rumbled the floor beneath her. Covering her head with her hands, she waited for the metal above her to come crashing down on her. She dreaded it but there was nothing she could do. She heard something move behind her and resigned herself to her fate. Any second the entire thing would collapse. It was the end.
But the crash didn't come. After a few moments, she moved her foot and realized that the piece of debris that had been behind her was now gone. She moved her foot back even more and found no resistance. Her heart leaping in excitement, she began moving backward as best as she could with her restricted movement.
Don't panic, she told herself mentally. Mommy said panicking was bad.
She let out a small gasp when her back hit a low-hanging piece of metal. She felt her body jolt in fear but she forced herself to stay calm. She squashed herself to the floor as best as she could and continued moving slowly. As she felt the piece of metal pass over the top of her head, she breathed a sigh of relief.
It's just like playing with Cameron, she thought as she forced back a tear. I can't be scared. I have to help him...somehow.
After another minute of squeezing her way through the debris, the blaring of an alarm became noticeable. She wondered what it could mean but didn't want to find out. In movies, alarms always meant something bad. But she didn't want to linger because, with one last backward thrust of her body, she finally felt the metal presence above her cease. Looking around, she could make out the dark walls of the room. She scrambled to her feet and ran for the door, stumbling slightly as she did so as her legs struggled to regain sturdiness after being flat for so long.
She stopped at the door and listened. She had no idea where anyone was and the last thing she wanted to do was encounter the creature alone, even though Cameron seemed to be inside somehow. She noticed an orange glow emanating from somehow out of sight and billowing smoke that was blocking her vision and preventing her from seeing more than ten feet ahead of her. She heard someone talking nearby but couldn't make out what they were saying. Although still nervous, with a loud cough, she knew she had no voice but to get out. She didn't want to stay there any longer.
She slowly moved out into the smoke, which was growing thicker by the second. She tried to make her way to the middle of the room, but her bearings were throwing her off. She had no idea if she was heading for the stage or straight into a wall, but she pressed on hoping that she'd find something useful. It was just like trying to walk through the unexpected blizzard back in her old home, except this was hot rather than cold. She whimpered as she felt her skin beginning to burn. Her eyes began to water and her vision was beginning to blur. She was running out of time.
She screamed again as she suddenly bumped into someone. In her panic, she tried to turn and run but a hand grabbed her and held her close.
"Olivia!" came Josh's voice. Turning around, she saw both of her brothers standing there. Crying out in relief, she hugged her eldest brother as he held her close and kissed her head. "It's ok, 'Liv. We got you!" They pulled apart and he began checking her for injuries. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head. "What happened?"
"The building's on fire," said Chris. She turned to him and her eyes went wide. She hadn't seen him since the incident with Cameron and the boss.
"It's ok. He's a good guy," said Josh.
Although a little shaken, she saw the confident look in her brother's eyes. She turned back to the man before her and he gave a warming smile. She nodded.
"Now come on," said Chris. "We really need to get outta here ASAP."
Josh grabbed his sister's hand and the four of them made their way to the door leading to the back rooms.
____________________________________________________________
A man pulled up in a taxi cab just outside the building, which, to his shock and terror, was now engulfed in flames with two fire trucks already on the scene battling the blaze down as best they could. Additionally, there was a growing crowd of people gathering around and watching the scene, some in awe, some in despair, others with a look of un-surprise. Among them were a trio of bystanders standing closest to the burning scene, two horrified-looking men and a woman who was sobbing hysterically.
"Whoa! What's going on here?" said the driver in amazement.
The rider said nothing. He immediately got out and began running toward the building.
"Hey!" the driver shouted after him. "You still have to pay!"
As the man approached the building, stepping into the parking lot, one of the firefighters stopped him.
"Sorry, sir, but you can't come any closer."
"I have a friend inside," he said.
"I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous for anyone to be going inside right now. Stay back...backup is on their way."
Having no other option, the man gave a wave of acknowledgment and took a few steps back, mainly to get the fireman to walk off, but the man had no intention of leaving. He'd just miraculously caught a last-minute red-eye flight in the dead of night for this, and he wasn't about to give up so easily. Still, he had to think of something.
A jet of flame suddenly surged upwards and roared into the night sky. Despite being a safe distance from the building, he still jumped in shock. The memories from that fateful night so many years ago began flooding back: the intense flames, the heat, the smoke, the voices, and worst of all...the tall, dark figure looming over him, turning the world against him with every word. He shuddered violently, forcing himself back to the present.
Maybe I'm wrong, he thought, clinging to the slim hope that it wasn't as bad as he was fearing. Maybe he's not in there. After all, I've been wrong before.
And then he saw a familiar car parked beneath a nearby tree, nearly obscured in the shadows...and his heart sank. He turned back to the raging inferno before him.
Where are you, Chris?
____________________________________________________________
Chris and the Phillips' entered the dark narrow back hallways once more. The heavy door closed behind them, finally muffling the blaring of the alarm and providing some temporary relief from the heat and smoke, which had yet to reach this part of the building. On the other hand, the lack of any windows or skylights in this area meant they were immediately engulfed in darkness due to the lights shutting off on account of the lockdown. Olivia whimpered but Josh shushed her gently.
"You came in the back vent, right?" said Chris. His face was barely distinguishable in the darkness.
"Yes," said Josh. "That's what you were referring to with your notes, right?"
Chris nodded. "They were pretty clever, putting the secret entrance in plain sight like that. But it makes sense. After all, it had to be big enough for that thing to get in and out without drawing attention."
"Or triggering the sensor," said Kendall.
"What sensor?" said Olivia.
"The metal thing up front that looks like a small disco ball," Kendall told her.
"What's a disco ball?" Olivia asked, and Kendall groaned.
"Forget about it," said Chris. "That vent is our only way out. Now, I forget which of these rooms has the broken grating I came through."
"I don't think we made it that far," said Josh. "That thing found us and collapsed part of it."
"Where was this?"
"Down the hall."
Chris' eyes lit up. "Then that's our exit. Let's go!"
They began jogging forward down the hallway, with Olivia struggling to keep up until Josh reached back and grabbed her hand. Despite the layout of the hallway being far from complex, the lack of adequate lighting made simple navigation rather difficult. Their only beacon was a bright flashing siren-light which briefly illuminated parts of the area. With darkness surrounding them, they had no choice but to slow to a fast walk to ensure they didn't trip over anything. At one point, Josh felt something while running his hands against the wall, only to discover that it was the door to the room with Derek's body continuing to devolve on the ground. Immediately, Josh covered his sister's eyes.
"Nothing here," he said as he hurried her along. "Nothing here...anymore."
Finally, further down the hall, they were greeted by the sight of a broken section of the vent, with one end on the ground and the other still firmly connected to the other end. Thankfully, there was a dim yet still helpful emergency light on the wall nearby, giving their chance of escape a nice little red glow in the dark.
"That's it!" Josh cried excitedly. "That's our way out!"
Suddenly, Chris let out a great cry of pain. Josh was about to ask what happened when Chris fell to the ground. Standing behind him, eyes burning with vengeance and a bloody knife in her hand, was Rebecca.
"Consider this your final paycheck," she said to Chris in a fierce voice. She turned to the others. Kendall and Olivia clung to their brother's shirt.
"Let us go," said Josh. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes I do, Josh," she said in a slightly calmer voice that was still ripe with fury. "This is what Derek and I have spent our entire lives working toward, and I'm not letting any of you ruin it, especially not after you made a martyr out of him."
"We won't say anything," said Josh, which he wasn't sure was completely true, but he was looking for any slim hope of getting out.
"It's too late for that," said Rebecca, pointing a stern finger in the direction of the entrance, "because you already have."
Josh felt himself shrink in her vision. He remembered how serious she looked the first moment he saw her on interview day, but this was so much worse. Her face was stone-cold and looked absolutely psychotic. Her mouth, usually so happy and radiant with a large beaming smile, was contorted into that of a snarl. Her eyes were vengeful, illuminated by the flashing lights behind them.
"What do you want with us?" asked Josh.
Rebecca raised the knife and pointed at Olivia.
"I want her."
"No," said Josh as he tightened his grip around his siblings. "I'll give you anything else, but don't touch her."
Rebecca raised her eyebrows. From behind them came a familiar swooping noise, and before any of them had time to react, two metal arms came around and grabbed Josh and Kendall and held their bodies tight against the metal torso behind them.
"Did you miss us?" came a sneering voice in their ears.
Olivia screamed and jumped back but found herself suddenly in the firm grasp of Rebecca as she lifted the frightened girl by the collar right off of the ground.
"NO!" screamed Olivia as she struggled in Rebecca's fierce grip. "LET ME GO!"
"Not a chance," said Rebecca. "You little brats have done nothing but cause us headaches tonight. But no matter...I think our marvelous creation would greatly benefit from someone with your energy and evasion tactics."
Olivia's eyes went wide as she turned to the creature standing nearby, nearly crushing her brothers in its grip.
"Cameron?" she said in a tiny voice, hoping more than anything that he was listening.
The creature said nothing. It only stared back and forth between her and her captor. Its glowing eye flickered, giving the appearance of ponderance.
"Come," said Rebecca. "Bring those two with us, and let us finally begin this process."
"Wait."
The voice came as a surprise to everyone, sounding almost hesitant.
"What?" said Rebecca.
"How do we know this will really work?"
Rebecca stared at the creature dumbfounded. "What are you talking about?"
"What if..." said the creature, and Olivia recognized that tone of voice as being Jake's. "What if this doesn't work?"
Rebecca couldn't believe what she was hearing, especially when they were so close.
"What are you talking about?" she said, her chest heaving with every breath. "This is our moment. We may have been set back by the fire and security system, but we can still make this work."
The creature turned back to Olivia, who was still struggling in Rebecca's grip and looking back with pleading eyes.
"Please...don't," she said with tears in her eyes. "Help me."
"Let her go!" came Cameron's voice.
Rebecca grunted. "I take it that's our newest subject."
"He's still getting used to it," said Andrew. "We'll keep him under control."
"Good," said Rebecca. "Now come. We need to get out of here before the police clear the lockdown."
"And the place burns down," said Andrew.
"No!" Josh shouted, looking at Chris with pleading eyes, but Chris could do nothing as he battled his own pain. "You can't do this!"
Rebecca sighed heavily. "Josh, you really need to understand that this is what's best. You should be proud that your sister is going to be a part of such a grand revolution to the world of science."
"I don't want to be part of a robot!" Olivia cried as she struggled in Rebecca's grip. "I want to go home!"
"Nobody asked you what you wanted!" Rebecca retorted angrily, shaking the quivering girl forcefully. "Do you think I wanted to see my partner lying dead on the floor? Life isn't about what we want, it's about what needs to be done!"
"Kidnapping and killing children isn't what needs to be done!" screamed Josh, his anger and frustration boiling as he listened to his sister's cries. "You're even more insane than Afton!"
Rebecca looked at him as though she were ready to snap his neck on the spot. However, after a few moments, she smiled.
"Would you like to see how it works?" she said. "Perhaps that's what your problem is. Would you like a front row seat to your sister's induction into our little hall of fame?"
"Let her go!" cried Josh, struggling once again in the creature's firm grasp.
"Very well," said Rebecca. "The original plan it is, then." She turned to the creature. "Do try to be better at hiding the bodies this time."
Kendall let out a shriek of terror. This was the part of every horror movie when someone died. The thought of his own death made him tremble, and before he could stop himself, he turned his head and vomited on the ground, causing Rebecca to jump back and let out a sigh of disgust.
"Pathetic," she said quietly, making a half-effort to keep her voice low. "This is precisely why we need to eradicate you brats and all your filthy habits. Children really are the worst of humanity."
Olivia noticed the creature's eye flicker slightly as it looked up at Rebecca curiously.
"Now come along," said Rebecca. "We still have enough time to do this before the building burns down."
She turned and began moving for the door, but when she heard no movement behind her, she stopped.
"What are you waiting for?!" she snapped.
"What do you mean by 'filthy habits'?" asked Jake.
Rebecca groaned. "Are we really doing this now? Success is finally within our grasp and you're asking questions?"
"Well, you always told us that we were destined for greatness," said Jake simply. "We've been talking a lot lately, and we're still curious as to what the plan is."
"Yeah," Andrew chimed in. "Now that we've got all this power, what are we going to do with it?"
"I told you," said Rebecca, anger seething from her voice, "all will be revealed in due time."
"We're tired of waiting," said Andrew with just as much impatience as her. "You told us that as soon as we had that...stuff...inside us, you'd tell us what the next step was."
"You don't need to know yet. Right now, you need to stop complaining and do as you're told!"
"Excuse me?!" said Andrew. "I may have been a kid when this thing we're in took me, but that doesn't mean I'm not sick of being treated like one, especially after all these years."
Rebecca gave another irritated groan. "Jake, can you please control him?"
"Sorry," said Jake, "but I think I agree with him on this one."
Even in the decreasing light, Rebecca looked absolutely flustered. Josh couldn't tell what was going through her mind, but he imagined she was getting dangerously close to her breaking point, assuming she wasn't there already.
"Now you little miscreants listen to me, and listen good," said Rebecca in a low voice. "I will not tolerate any insubordination, do you hear me? We brought you into this project as an exclusive privilege to be part of something greater than anyone can imagine, and all we've ever asked in return is your cooperation and trust. If you're going to refuse to do that, there will be dire consequences, especially since I've now lost my lifelong partner."
"Well, you're not the only one who's suffered, you know!" Jake shot back, anger finally rising in his voice. "You think I didn't miss my mom and dad when they died? You think I wasn't in any pain when that brain tumor slowly killed me?"
"Yeah. What do you know about pain, boss?" said Andrew.
"More than you can possibly imagine," said Rebecca. "I've seen it in so many people. Do you have any idea how powerful it is? While some people succumb to its pressure, others push past it and do extraordinary things! It's unpleasant, sure, but it's necessary. Can't you see it? A world without weakness...instead, only pain, and those who can't rise to the challenge and embrace its power will be...shall we say...amputated from their useless former realities and refitted for a better purpose, such as you are."
"So like 'survival of the fittest'?" Josh asked, growing more unnerved with every increasingly-elaborate explanation of the master plan.
"Precisely, Josh," said Rebecca. "You have a very fine mind, unlike Mr. Afton over there. It's a shame you wouldn't cooperate. You certainly would have been a good role model for the keen minds we need."
"But you and Derek said you were looking for people with disabilities and 'ailments' for your project!" Josh protested. "Why do you want my sister, then? She's not disabled!"
"Well, we had a theory about the impact of including someone healthy in the project," said Rebecca, smiling creepily down at Olivia in her grasp. "This little one would be perfect for giving our little creation a more...friendly demeanor, one that would arouse less accusations of prejudice. Never underestimate the child's innocence."
"So we're suddenly not good enough?" said Andrew.
"You have your purposes, and she has hers," said Rebecca.
"Which is what?! Do your bidding for the rest of our days?" said Andrew. "I thought once we finally got all this power, we were gonna be free to use it, not be your slave."
"You will use it...in time," said Rebecca, "but listen to me very carefully, for I will not say it again: I will not stand for any disobedience from you. You are to listen to me and obey me, because I know what is best for you. I always have, and I always will."
The creature said nothing. It simply stared at Rebecca in a silence filled only by Chris' groaning and the increasingly rumbling of the building as the fire continued raging just down the hall, blocked only by the thick metal door.
"Please let us go," said Josh, once again desperate to get through to the woman he'd formerly been so fond of. "You don't understand."
"No, you don't understand, Josh," said Rebecca. "This is precisely what Dr. Taggart was working for...what we've been working for. This is the only way. Now are you going to stop questioning me or not?"
The creature retained its silence. Rebecca's eyes were unrelenting, and it knew that she had absolutely no intention of giving up. It looked down at Olivia, who was still putting up whatever little fight that she could to free herself from the madwoman holding her, tears pouring from her eyes. It then looked down at the two young men in its grasp.
"Perhaps..." said Jake.
Without warning, Josh felt an odd vibration coming from the metal arms gripping him and his brother tightly. Looking up, he saw the creature looking down at him intensely without a word. The vibration had infiltrated his body and was rattling his brain in his skull making him feel rather uncomfortable. The creature continued staring down at him in silence, and as he looked up into its glowing eye, he felt a strange sense of being searched, like this creature was studying him closely. He squirmed in its grip, suddenly feeling like his thoughts were being broadcast to someone. He didn't like it, but no sooner had it reached the point of feeling unbearable did it suddenly stop.
The creature turned to Kendall, who was still in a battle with his stomach. The sudden sense of vibration coursing through his body felt like lightning and he instantly felt like vomiting again. His brain was becoming jello from being overwhelmed by the fear that had gripped his heart, but he managed to look up at the creature that was now studying him very closely. He too was enveloped by a weird sense of being observed closely, as if the creature could see into his inner being, but unlike his brother, he found an odd sense of comfort in it. There was so much going on in his mind right now, he couldn't put it into words if he tried, but if, by some far-fetched idea, this creature was able to actually understand him right now, he would be glad of it.
The creature's complex mind was in a state of turmoil. Up until now, it only saw the Philips' as people to observe from the shadows. They were simply three more people with unique personalities and antics to watch closely while wondering whether or not any of them would be the next addition to itself, especially after Jake's last-minute abduction from his deathbed almost thirty years ago caused much more media attention than desired, leading to a rather lengthy period of laying low on Rebecca and Derek's orders to await the next ideal victim. However, something was different...something was wrong.
Between the raw agony that continued flowing through its being, the resurgence to give the agony more power and influence, and the emotions of its piloting victims filling its salvaged mind, the world suddenly had a different outlook. There were so many emotions coursing through its synthetic veins that everything that had seemed so cut and dry was blurring: from the rage of Andrew to the pity of Jake to the desperation of Cameron, for the first time since its birth, it pondered its given purpose.
Olivia turned to the creature and it met her gaze. Her tiny mouth was quivering, her nose was wrinkling, and her long bangs were completely tangled and messy. Her eyes were bloodshot and red, pitiful and full of despair.
"P-please," she cried. "Help me."
The creature looked long and hard into her eyes. Even without any physical contact with her, those eyes said enough.
"This...isn't right," said Jake. "I don't want to do this anymore."
"Oh, not you, too!" cried Rebecca, absolutely flabbergasted. "After all these years, and all this waiting, you're just giving it all up? The revolution of science, the glorious future of scientific achievement, it's all nothing now?"
The creature stared at the woman whom it had followed for nearly half of a century.
"Maybe not," said Jake, "but answer me this: are we really bettering the world, or just forwarding your own agenda?"
"Yeah," said Andrew, "No more games. We wanna know the truth."
"It's no business of yours!" Rebecca's voice began to sound less human and more animal-like. "Derek and I knew that children couldn't be trusted with confidential information, which is precisely why we demanded your unquestioning loyalty and obedience, because as soon as you started poking your noses around in our research and asking all these questions about our methods, you'd be as useful as a bunsen burner with no gas! Humanity has become too weak and pathetic to continue thriving in this new age, which is why it's time to start anew and weed out the weaklings. This is our only hope, and you'd better know it, because I'm sick and tired of seeing people succumbing to their weaknesses like emotional wrecks."
"Emotional?" said Josh. "Do you really think emotions are a weakness?"
"You have no idea," said Rebecca in a rather snarky voice, her frustration so high that she was almost laughing in irritation. "Joy, happiness, despair, sadness, fear...all useless obstacles that do nothing to forward progress in the world of science. Tell me, when was the last time you saw tears bring back the dead? Can sadness cure an illness or heal an injury? And can joy prevent them from happening again? No. Science does that, emotions are nothing without it. Do you think Derek, William, or I cried when we lost Dr. Taggart? No, because doing so would have been a waste of time and energy that was otherwise spent on furthering his research. That is what we are striving for: a future dominated by scientific advancement, not whiny people complaining and crying over their pathetic lives like bratty children do whenever something they love is taken from them."
"Like a parent or loved one?" said Josh, sensing a golden opportunity to employ his parents' favorite tactic: reverse psychology...as Chris had done before.
"Precisely."
A silence fell between them. The creature's head creaked as it jumped upward in shock, and within Rebecca's furious expression was a detectable hint of regret. She knew she had just made a critical error.
"'Crying like bratty children'?!" said Andrew with renewed hostility. "You're no better than my father!"
"You promised us that we were gonna end people's suffering, not be a part of some big science project that uses people as guinea pigs!" added Jake. "All this time we've been lurking around, watching people from a distance, even getting rid of anyone in our way. I always trusted that it was for the greater good, that when all was said and done, they'd be 'healed of their weaknesses and able to live better lives,' like you always said! But all you ever cared about was using us to kidnap and even kill people for your own fulfillment!"
"This is science!" Rebecca retorted angrily. "There are always sacrifices in science. We've told you that many times!"
"You told us that we'd help the world," said Jake, "but all we're really doing is causing more pain and sadness, not getting rid of it!"
"For the last time, pain is necessary!" screamed Rebecca as she violently shook the whimpering Olivia in her grasp.
"Not the kind of pain we're causing," said Jake. "We're not bringing people together in the name of science, we're tearing people apart! Andrew and I may not have lost much when we passed, but Cameron has, and so will that little girl."
Olivia made yet another futile attempt to escape Rebecca's grip, but Rebecca held her firm.
"Kid's got a lot of willpower, I must say," she said. "I'm going to enjoy seeing the full power of this one."
"Let her go!" cried Cameron.
Rebecca paid him no mind. She continued staring into the eye of the creature, completely aghast that everything had gone downhill so quickly. "So this really is it, then?"
"Did you not hear us properly?" said Andrew. "Yeah, we're through. Your days of glory are over."
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I still have control over you," said Rebecca. In a swift instant, without releasing Olivia, she lunged forward and slashed the knife across the creature's throat. The creature jolted back a little bit, initially unphased, but then Josh and Kendall felt its gradually loosening grip begin to re-tighten.
"What's happening?" said Andrew.
"As of now, you've lost your piloting privileges," said Rebecca with a wicked grin. "Derek and I never told you, but there actually is a hidden failsafe within you, discovered long ago. At first, we talked about getting rid of it, but I decided it would be best to have a little insurance policy to ensure that you would never rebel against us. That small wire was the connector between you and your magnificent body. Without it, all you can do is endure the agony that flows through its veins...and watch."
As she spoke, the metal arms continued closing in around Josh and Kendall's bodies, suffocating them. It was clear that something else had taken control of their captor.
"You filthy LIAR!" screamed Andrew. "You never cared about us! This was all part of your own little evil plan! You really are sick, aren't you?"
"Well, since you've decided to question my motives and proven that you cannot be trusted, you can now sit idly by and watch as this hand-crafted machine helps me finish the job in all of its raw, unfiltered power."
"No," said Jake. "No, you can't..."
"Oh, I can," said Rebecca. "You thought you had the upper hand, but you're wrong."
"This wasn't part of the agreement!" screamed Andrew. "When I get my hands on you-!"
"You won't," said Rebecca, "because you're losing more of your ability to move as we speak. In about fifteen more seconds, you'll no longer be in control."
Josh and Kendall were beginning to turn purple as the metal arms continued crushing them in its grip. Olivia was now straight up sobbing as she tried once more to get away from Rebecca, who held her firm.
"In fact, I think it's about time we end this," said Rebecca as she effortlessly lifted Olivia higher into the air. "It's time, my dear."
"No! No! No!" Olivia cried. She continued squirming in Rebecca's iron grasp.
"Usually, Andrew is the one who does the honors," Rebecca explained, "but in light of his current punishment, the old-fashioned way will just have to do."
She raised the knife high into the air, the dim lights flashing in its reflection as it was prepared for the fatal slash.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" cried a loud voice. In an instant, Kendall and Josh were dropped to the floor. There was a loud whooshing sound, and Olivia likewise was dropped to the ground. Crawling over to her brothers, she stared at the creature that now held its former boss by the throat. The knife had clattered to the ground. Rebecca looked absolutely bewildered.
"Wha-? How-?"
"Do not touch her!" the creature screamed, and despite the wild emotion, Olivia recognized the tone of voice as being none other than Cameron. "Do...not...TOUCH HER!"
Rebecca grunted. She tried releasing the metal hands that were gripping her, but they wouldn't budge.
"What are you going to do now? Shock me?"
"Oh no, we've got something much better in mind for you," said Jake. "I think it's time we let nature run its course, wouldn't you say, Andrew?"
"Absolutely," said Andrew. "We've done enough damage in the past. It's time for our 'boss' to face the consequences of her own actions."
Lifting her from the ground, the creature held her up high into the air. Above them, the ceiling began to creak as the extent of the fire's damage had finally reached them. In spite of his dazed stupor, Kendall recognized that the building's foundation was nearing collapse.
"Hmm...it looks like our ship is sinking," said Jake. "What's a good captain to do?"
Without warning, the creature sprinted back down the hallway, still carrying Rebecca by the windpipe, and disappeared into the darkness. Josh scrambled to his feet and followed. Although he knew time was of the essence in their escape, his curiosity was too strong. He simply needed to see what was about to happen.
Ahead of him, there was a loud crash as the creature effortlessly smashed through the door with its free fist, leaving a gaping hole into the main showroom that was now a raging inferno. Josh stopped at the opening and watched in awe as the creature stood triumphantly in the center of the room atop the now empty stage, holding Rebecca high above its head.
"Hark, the sound of judgment approaches!" came Andrew's loud voice through the sound of the roaring flames. "Is your soul prepared, Miss Swift?"
Rebecca looked down at the creature again, and for the first time, evident even from a distance, Josh saw pure terror in her eyes.
Without warning a loud crack sounded above them. The last thing Josh saw was a large section of ceiling come crashing down, causing him to have to shield his eyes and cover his ears as a loud crash and a burst of heat nearly knocked him over. Carefully lowering his defenses, he scanned the room and saw a sight that he never thought he would see.
In the center of the room, where the stage had been only moments before, was a mountain of wood and metal. But that wasn't what caught Josh's attention. Lying at the front of the pile was none other than Rebecca and the creature, both of whom had been impaled by a single metal rod. Rebecca's body hung limply like a ragdoll along the upper half of it, her ghostly eyes empty and lifeless and her open mouth dripping blood. The creature was lying on its back beneath her, staring up at the ceiling. The same metal rod that had penetrated Rebecca had also pierced its body directly in the heart, precisely where the resurgence had once been inserted. Unlike Rebecca, it was still twitching slightly, giving a little jump every couple of seconds as the metallic body tried in vain to restart itself. But then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped and laid motionless. As Josh decided he'd had enough of the scene and began to turn away, he saw the head of the creature turn to look directly at him. His eyes locked once again onto the ghostly eye that was staring into his soul. Unlike all past encounters, this time, Josh felt a sense of comfort and peace. He still had no idea what exactly this thing was, but what was clear was that it was no longer a threat to him or anybody.
As he came to this realization, the luminous eye flickered and faded into blackness. The creature was now completely motionless among the debris. Through the billowing black smoke, Josh could make out a noticeable white wisp rising from within the chest of the creature before vanishing into the air. Before Josh had time to react, a nearby section of wall in the giant room collapsed right next to him. Causing another surge of flames and sending a wave of intense burning heat toward him. Without a second glance, he turned and high-tailed it back into the increasingly darkening hallway.
"J-Josh?" said Olivia as he approached. "Is that you?"
"Yes," he said, and from the darkness, he saw a silhouette run toward him before he felt her arms wrap around him. He kissed her head and held her close.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah," she said into her brother's shirt with a sniffle, still trembling in fear. "What happened?"
"They're gone," said Josh.
"Where did they go?" said Olivia.
Josh pulled away and knelt down to her eye level. "Remember what Mom told you about what happens to people when they die?"
"They move on," said Olivia. "Did they die?"
"Yes," said Josh, unsure of how else to say it. Olivia was young but not too naive and innocent to know.
"Are they in heaven now?"
That was the question Josh felt more uncomfortable about answering, but he nodded.
"Yes." Of course, this didn't apply to all four of them, but the strange sense of peace he'd been feeling since witnessing the event minutes before had not subsided. He didn't know what it meant, but he hoped that Cameron and the others were in good hands. Olivia smiled.
"Not to break up this tender moment," sputtered Kendall, who was holding his stomach, clearly trying to avoid emptying it again, "but have we forgotten that we're in a burning building?"
"Right," said Josh. "Let's get outta here."
As Josh pulled Olivia to her feet, they heard a cry of pain and remembered the dying man lying nearby.
"Chris!" Josh shouted. He ran over and kneeled down beside his friend of only an hour. "Where did she get you?"
Chris grunted and raised a weak finger. He pointed behind his back. Josh lifted him up while trying not to hurt him and saw that the entirety of Chris' back was red from blood.
"Hold on!" said Josh as he gently lowered Chris back onto the ground. "We'll get you fixed up...somehow!" He turned to his siblings nearby. "Could you guys grab something to put over the wound?" He thought back to the TV shows he'd watched with his friends from back home. He wasn't a doctor by any stretch, but he remembered that with a large wound like this, it was essential to stop the bleeding. "A bandage?"
His younger siblings only stared at him. Kendall's face was pale; he looked like he was using all of his strength just to keep himself from vomiting anymore. His eyes were lost and provided no comfort. Olivia stood next to him just as helplessly. She had no idea what to do, either.
"Hello?" shouted Josh. He felt his fury rising desperately. "Did you not hear me? We need to help him! Go find something!"
"Like what?" cried Olivia, frightened.
"I don't know! Anything we can put on this wound!" Josh screamed. "Stop standing there and go look!"
"Josh," said Chris in a pitiful, strangled voice. "Don't...bother. It's too late for me."
"Don't say that," said Josh. "You can't give up. We need to get you out."
"No...you don't," said Chris between deep pained breaths. "I'm still...a wanted man...I have no...place...in this world."
"Stop talking like that!" said Josh. He slammed his fist on the ground. "We'll tell everybody the truth! You don't have to die here!"
Chris turned and looked directly into Josh's eyes.
"I always...knew you were...a brave and...caring man...deep down," he said with a small smile. "You have...a gift...that the world...needs. Don't waste it...here...on me."
Josh gasped in shock. His mind was completely fighting a battle with itself. Recalling an incident concerning his parents' distrust of him, he found it completely unfair that Chris had to be labeled a murderer and madman when he was actually the one trying to save the day, and Josh felt nothing but shame for his earlier feelings of anger toward the man. He wanted to make up for it in any way that he could, but deep down, he knew that Chris was too injured to move, and with the smoke continuing to thicken, time was short for all of them.
"Chris," he said sadly, his voice finally beginning to break. "I don't want to leave you here."
"I know," said Chris weakly, "but...you have to. If you really...want to...do something...for me...I ask...only one thing."
Josh leaned forward, his ear inches away from Chris' mouth.
"Take good care...of your brother...and sister...Keep them...safe and...loved."
Josh stared long and hard into Chris' eyes. He still had no idea why Chris was so determined to be the good guy despite encountering so many slanderous and discouraging obstacles along the way. It was a kind of perseverance that Josh found strange...yet uplifting. The one thing that was for certain, however, was that it was legit. There was something deep in Chris' eyes, some undying sense of pain and agony beyond his physical wound that would not be quenched until all was right. Resigning himself to the truth, Josh nodded.
"I will."
Chris smiled. "Now go. Get...out."
Josh got to his feet. Taking a look down the hall, he saw the flames beginning to lick their way from the main room down the hall. Without a second's hesitation, he grabbed his brother and sister's hands and began pulling them toward the vent. He turned back to Chris one last time.
"Thanks for everything."
Chris managed a weak smile. "My duty...and my pleasure."
Kendall climbed onto the top of the hanging section of the vent, which was already heating up from the flames rushing toward them and the smoke jetting from the other section of the vent above them. Although he was significantly weaker from his stomach sickness, he forced himself upward, fighting through the pain and aches until he reached the inside of the vent leading back to the exit. He turned back.
"Come on!" he shouted as best as he could, waving his arm.
"Your turn, 'Liv,' said Josh. As she touched the hot metal, she cried out, but Josh continued pushing her up, even reaching out to catch her when she nearly fell over the side. As he did so, he noticed the emergency light's reflection on the ground nearby and recognized it as his phone's screen. Having completely forgotten about it, he grabbed it and stuffed it into his pocket.
From several feet away, Chris watched intensely as the trio made their escape.
Please let them make it, he thought. Please God, let them make it.
Another jab of pain surged from his wound and throughout his body. He let out a loud cry, and in his agony, he could've sworn he heard the familiar voice of his childhood friend Sarah through the billowing smoke and flames, and his heart almost stopped. He hadn't heard that voice in nearly twenty years, not since her ninth birthday party when they both found themselves being dragged across the hardwood floor of the small restaurant by the school bully Rufus Schmueller.
"He only wants to say hi to you!" came his sneering voice from above them.
"Let us go!" cried Chris, fighting against the bully, but it was no use. Rufus once again was demonstrating with his strength how he should have been a few grades higher had it not been for his academic record.
"Aww, but Benny will be so disappointed!" said Rufus. "He's been waiting all week for this!"
"No he hasn't!" shouted Sarah as she struggled in his grip. "Let go!"
After a few moments of struggling, they found themselves face-to-face with the animatronic bear named Benny, an old rusty animatronic who'd been around as long as the small restaurant had been open. Never given any advanced programming, the bear stared back at them with motionless eyes as he sang a song. Chris felt Sarah begin to squirm again and he joined in on the effort, but Rufus' grip was still too tight.
"You're making him so sad! Don't you want to hear his song?"
"Let us go!" said Chris, his panic beginning to rise as he anticipated the bully's next move.
Benny opened his abnormally wide mouth for a high note when the hinge jammed. He made attempts to close it with no avail as the music continued.
"Uh-oh! Something's wrong. Why don't you take a look?"
With no time to utter any protests, Chris felt himself being shoved forcefully into the bear's mouth right as a loud click sounded and the giant prosthetic teeth clamped down onto his neck with a loud crunch. The pain was immense as it felt like his entire neck was being flattened. He heard a loud crying beside him as he felt Sarah's frantic hands bumping into him. He wanted to help her but could do nothing as he himself suffered the same fear and agony.
Just as his panic reached its highest, the upper jaw was lifted slightly and he felt a large hand pull him from the jaws of death. As his eyes readjusted to the lights above him, he noticed Sarah's older brother Tom trying desperately to free his baby sister from the malfunctioning bear's mouth. By this time, other people who had taken notice were rushing to help. Rufus was nowhere to be found.
As a stronger man forcefully lifted the jaw up, Tom pulled Sarah from the mouth and began checking for vitals, but she was limp. After a record-breaking ride to the hospital, after being cleared of suffering any injuries besides some minor neck trauma, Chris watched in horror and anguish as Tom continued pleading with the doctors for any good news until they finally informed him that Sarah wouldn't make it.
Chris didn't recall how long he'd spent watching Tom cry over his little sister's body, but it left him numb inside for months. When he eventually heard that Rufus was caught and brought to justice for being the culprit, a huge wave of satisfaction washed over him, though Sarah's death continued to plague him. Being almost crushed himself, he shuddered at the thought of someone's last moments being so cruel and agonizing. He vowed that he wanted to be just like her heroic brother: a close observer doing whatever he could to protect anyone, especially children, from having to suffer that fate.
As he was brought back to the present by another jolt of pain from his current injury and the familiar smell of smoke, he briefly wondered if any of it was even worth it. Then, he heard Sarah's unmistakable voice through the flames.
"It's time to come home, Chris."
Chris would've chuckled in elation if he weren't so weak. Turning back to the vent one last time, he saw Kendall and Olivia vanishing into the darkness of the vent while Josh climbed up behind them. Once he disappeared from sight, Chris gave a content smile, rolled his head back, and breathed his last.
____________________________________________________________
"I'm scared!" cried Olivia.
"Just keep moving, 'Liv!" said Josh from behind. "We're almost out!"
Kendall hadn't stopped moving. His hands and knees against the vent were blatantly loud as he scrambled forward like he was crawling from a lion. He wanted out of there.
The smoke was growing thicker and heavier, making it near impossible to breathe. Olivia stopped briefly as the heat from the vent floor began to take a toll on her hands, but she felt Josh gently but firmly shove her forward.
"Keep going! We can't stop!"
Eventually, Kendall felt the cool night air hit his face as he clambered out of the vent onto the thin ledge they had used to enter. He turned and saw his siblings exit right behind him. Immediately, Olivia looked down and screamed, forcing Josh to hold her so she wouldn't accidentally fall.
"It's so high!" she cried.
Josh looked around and, to his horror, discovered that the small tree they had used to climb up was lying flat on the ground, completely uprooted by a fallen air conditioning unit from the roof. Josh turned to his brother for an answer, but between his quivering stomach and the agonizing fear of their close shave inside still lingering, Kendall was in no right mind to think clearly.
"Hey!" cried a voice from below. Standing there, clad in a lightweight jacket, was a man in his thirties with brown hair and sporting a thin stubble. He had his arms outstretched. "Jump down! I'll catch you!"
Olivia whimpered and clung to Josh, but after a split second to consider, Josh said, "Hang on, 'Liv," before giving her a shove. She screamed as she fell through the air, only to find herself in the man's caring embrace moments later. With knees growing weaker and shakier by the second, Kendall forced himself off of the ledge and into the man's arms. Finally, Josh took his leap of faith and within seconds, the three of them were being pulled by the man away from the building to a safe distance.
"Are you three alright?" said the man.
"Yeah, I think so," said Josh, still holding his coughing sister in his arms. Kendall's face was pale, and after a few moments of trying to hold himself together, he turned and vomited on the ground once more, which caused Olivia to cry out in disgust.
The man turned away from them to give them a moment and stared at the burning building. His eyes began to water as the memories came flooding back to him once more, and this time, they weren't going to be pushed back without a fight. The flames, the smoke, the voices, it was all becoming clearer than it had been for a long time. Eventually, after the sounds of retching stopped, he turned back to the children.
"Where's Chris?" he asked.
"Inside," said Josh. "He...didn't make it."
The man looked shocked at the news for a moment, but then let out a loud, sad sigh and closed his eyes. He placed a hand to his forehead in grief.
"Did you know him?" Josh asked.
"Not for long," said the man, "but yes, I knew him quite well."
"Who are you?"
The man opened his mouth, but instead of an answer to the question, they heard a loud cry. Turning, they saw Emma standing nearby, with Richard and Jack right behind her.
"Hey! Hands off our kids, punk!" shouted Richard furiously, charging at the man, who put his hands up in surrender.
"No, no! Dad!" said Josh, throwing himself between them. "He's not the kidnapper. He saved us from inside!"
Richard stopped. He stared at his son in anger and relief for a few moments and turned to Jack, who nodded in confirmation.
"He's right, this isn't the suspect."
Emma practically sprinted forward and wrapped herself around Kendall and Olivia. Olivia buried her face into her mother while Kendall held onto her arm to steady himself, having lost nearly half of the contents of his stomach. She then grabbed Josh by the arm and pulled him into an embrace. For the first time in a long while, Josh didn't protest. He returned the hug, more thrilled than he thought possible to be back with his family.
Emma held her children for what felt like hours, cherishing the feeling of them pressed against her as tears of joy poured down her face. She remembered when Cassidy's parents had discovered that their daughter was indeed missing, and the agony they had expressed when they were forced to give her up for dead. She gave thanks to God that she didn't have to go through that as she continued holding her children close.
She heard a small sigh from nearby and remembered that they weren't alone. She realized she should probably thank the man for helping rescue her beloved children. Looking up at the new face, she gasped. This face was very familiar, one that looked kind and humble despite giving the slight appearance of sternness. The last time she saw the face was the day at Freddy Fazbear's thirty years ago when Cassidy had been taken from her. Now, here he stood in the flesh, like an old ghost from the past.
"H-Henry?"
The man's eyebrows raised significantly. He looked visibly shocked to hear the name, and there was a detectable glint of sadness in his eyes. After his initial shock faded, he shook his head.
"No, actually. He was my father. My name is Sam. Sam Emily."
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