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Chapter 3. Second Stage.
"The Past"
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[Words: 1528]
[Duration: Medium]
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1980 :Year
Indiana :State
New Jersey :Location
Two adults were talking in the main dining room of the home. Plans, sketches, and some mechanical parts, the two people discussed their ideas.
- No, no, look - The light-brown haired spoke, expanded the plans of the rabbit, pointing to one of its parts - With a good endoskeleton it could stand up...
- An endoskeleton would crush us from the inside... - William whispered, looking askance at a little girl who was watching them in the background.
- No.. We would have to add a retractable mechanism, so that it separates the mechanical parts and then do not cross us - The father of the twins spoke decisively, he grabbed his notebook writing down the ideas.
- You are going to traumatize your daughter... - The dark haired man muttered a little louder.
The opposite, who until now had been focused on the ideas for the animatronics, had not noticed the presence of his daughter until his partner warned him.
Charlotte looked at the two adults with confusion, luckily she was too young to understand.
- Oh, Charlie.. - Her father spoke looking at the clock on his right, then returned his gaze to her daughter - It's too late to be awake at this time, go to sleep with your brother. Right?
The girl made a grimace at her father.
- Will you read me a bedtime story? - Asked the girl with a sweet voice, William looked at the father with listless eyes, Henry just scratched the back of his neck somewhat nervously.
- Later, yes? Dad is busy with his work now
Henry moved from his seat to call her wife, who understandably encouraged her daughter to help her go to bed. Henry sighed once both women left.
- I would not let my children talk to me like that... - William murmured with a colder tone.
Henry looked at him without really understanding what he was referring to.
- She's just a kid, I don't understand what you're talking about... - The light haired man spoke surprised.
- How do you allow her to interrupt your work? - William explained looking at the notebook of ideas about the animatronics.
- She's 7 years old... She just wanted a book - He answered, downplaying the situation.
- She is too old for such things - William sighed, Henry shook his head in response - She could get used to it... And then she would never part with you...
- She's my daughter.. I don't intend for her to separate... - Henry objected, returning to the plans.
A silence fell between the two, Henry taking measurements on the animatronic suit, William reviewing the various tools they should use.
- You talk as if you don't like children - Henry broke the silence, looking at his partner.
- I have never like them - Afton answered, narrowing his eyes, more seriously.
-William, you have three kids... - He laughed the opposite before the occurrences of his companion.
Afton clenched his teeth shaking his head, his partner just laughed at him downplaying the situation. They decided to change the conversation, now their doubts were based on how the robots were going to stand up or if they could walk and keep their balance while moving, they still had many studies left.
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1983 :Year
Charlie was screaming for help, the rain and wind were freezing her out in the open.
She hugged herself as a shiver ran through her, she sneezed from the cold as she stared out the window. She couldn't find her father anywhere, he was possibly busy with business matters.
Some children had left her locked outside of it, Charlie hated children, they were always so cruel...
Her only friend was Elizabeth, which could barely see, when William went to the Emily house, he always came alone, only for business about work with the animatronics, even so Henry never allowed Charlotte to travel to the Afton house, for some unknown reason the owner of such a home did not like visitors.
Charlie banged on the sodden windows of the restaurant trying to get someone's attention to open it.
As she jumped for someone to see her, a car pulled up behind. She turned to see the head of the Afton family get out of the vehicle.
- Charlotte? What are you doing out here in such a storm? - He asked her cordially with his thick British accent, he closed the car door keeping his hands behind him.
- Mr. Afton! Some children left me out here... - She murmured, hoping that the adult could help her, obviously William was the co-founder of the place and had the keys with him.
-And your father? He could not hear or see you? - He asked surreptitiously looking around her and approaching the window to see inside, there didn't seem to be anyone near.
- No... I think he's busy... - The girl murmured sadly.
- What a shame... - He mused in a whisper.
The girl turned to look at the eldest when something took her breath away. A hand covered her mouth so she couldn't scream.
The girl tried to free herself but a horrible pain ran down her back to her entire body causing sobs of panic.
- Shhhh... - The adult whispered, keeping his knife buried in the minor's body to keep her alive for a short time - ... It is not personal... But your bastard father deserved it... - He muttered with hatred and contempt.
Charlie was so confused, she fell into shock when the adult removed the knife, leaving her on the ground, bleeding in agony and unable to scream.
Just Afton's cold and dark gaze on her, then she remembered the bite one of his children received of the golden bear, but... Why did she have to pay? What did she have to do with it?
She was so young... with a long life ahead... A life she will no longer be able to count.
Between tears and without strength, she felt her eyes close, she didn't even notice when the adult disappeared from her vision. She was only aware for the last few minutes of her life, like that puppet her father had sworn would protect her, climbing over her in a painful embrace.
In the rain, the tears, the spilled blood, a disoriented soul reinforced with revenge, she decided to take the course towards a second chance, between the strings of the puppeteer who held her between the last breaths.
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1985 :Year
She saw it, she saw everything.
How that dirty murderer dragged those poor children, with false smiles and lies as promises.
She saw it, she saw everything.
As that innocent rabbit suit smiled at five souls trapped in his falsehoods, just as she fell, just as Henry fell, just as they all fell in his golden painted mask of the other's pain and suffering.
She saw him, she heard him, and she felt him.
She felt the pain of the souls.
The puppet saw the five children, pale, stained crimson. She felt so much anger, she felt so much resentment, she felt so much hatred, hatred towards him, hatred towards his actions.
She led all of them, poisoning them in the feeling of the retaliation she carried, trapping them in the robot suits.
Gabriel, for the bear.
Jeremy, for the rabbit.
Fritz, for the fox.
Susie, for the chicken.
And Cassidy, for ########.
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1987 :Year
The music had stopped.
Some time ago a guard suffered a similar event. The jaws of an animatronic took him to the hospital, and it is because the souls do not like when they play with them without his consent.
Charlotte was well aware.
She doesn't like to be played with, she doesn't like to be laughed at. Only the music calmed her, made her remember when her father used to sing her before bed, when he read her stories, when they played together.
Her father played that melody on the little girl's birthdays, to wish her a long and prosperous life.
But... The music was like the ticking of a clock, it was like the counting of time.
If the music runs out, time runs out.
If your time is up, you will become part of them.
The music stopped. And Charlie didn't like that.
On the sixth night, she went to look for the guard, this time...it would surely be Afton.
"Oh, it's you"
Thought the puppet when she saw the man's eyes. She could feel the panic in the boy's pupils.
"No, you're not him, are you?"
She looked at him, surely they weren't able to communicate, but it was enough for the puppet.
The animatronics paused momentarily, watching the actions of the monochromatic animatronics.
"But you know him"
The guard didn't speak, didn't answer, couldn't hear Charlotte's soul speaking to him.
Still, she managed to understand.
"I don't hate you, but... you need to stay out of my way"
The warning was given, as she let the guard run away. The animatronics lurked from afar, 6 o'clock in the morning announced the end.
Charlotte, smiled inwardly knowing that she wasn't the only one looking for him.
The others are like animals, the others are under her protection, but she is very aware of everything, she is no longer afraid, no longer... Because he will be able to escape from death as many times as it takes.
But they will find him, they will hunt him down, and they will take him to hell from which he will never be able to get out.
She swore revenge, and so she will fulfill it... Right?
[...]