"Mike?"
"Michael!C'mon,wake up,i-it's not funny!"
The boy slowly opened his eyes again as he heard Christian and Gabriel calling his name.
"Ugh...what happened?" He asked,pressing his tempers and groaning as the bright light in the room flashed in his eyes. "My head hurts..."
"Shh,don't worry and stay calm. You passed out last night. " Chris answered while checking him.
"...I did?"
"Mhm. You have to relax now." He answered again.
"N-no way,I can't!I have to-"
"Susie and Jeremy are already in the second pizzeria for their shift." Gabriel spoke. He was standing next to Michael's bed thanks to a crutch.
"...T-they went there alone?On their o-own?!" Mike asked worriedly and quickly sat up.
"Calm down!My dad sounded pretty angry and they had to go if they didn't want to be fired. And right now,we don't need that,do we? You know the pizzeria may close at the end of the year,and my father wants to get as many money as he can before closing,so... He sent them in the other pizzeria for a birthday."
Michael looked down worriedly.
"Hey... You have to take it easy. If you keep going like that,something worse might happen." Christian pouted while stroking the boy's back.
"Yeah,yeah..." He huffed,facing away.
"Look at the bright side! I'm getting better fast and can already walk with a crutch and soon i'll be able to walk on my own again!" Gabriel chuckled,causing Mike to smile at him optimism. "Hehe,right."
"By the way,Mike...Your skin and eyes are-"
In that moment the boy realized his skin was visible,and so his eyes.
He realized he fucked up.
"O-oh,well,I-"
"No need to explain!Your uncle over here already told me pretty much. I was about to say they're...pretty cool!" The man chuckled as the other stared spacheless for a few seconds,then sighed.
"Psh,thanks i guess...-"
"N-NO!LET ME IN!Please!"
A girly voice shouted from the hall.
"...Susie? Gabe,wasn't she supposed to be at the birthday?" He asked,frowning and trying to peek from the open door of his room.
"Yeah?She was supposed to!What the hell happened?"
"Let's check!" Michael gulped,quickly standing and stumbling for a moment,then walking to the door as Gabriel followed.
"Mike,be careful!You can't walk properly ye-...Nevermind. He's gone." The doctor sighed and after fixing his glasses,he stood and left the room as well.
Susie sobbed desperately in the waiting room.
"Susie!" Gabriel shouted.
"W-what happened??" Mike continued.
"Michael!Gabe!O-oh gosh!" She cried while throwing herself in their arms,hugging tightly in fear.
"W-where's Jeremy?" The tallest gulped.
"I-...He-...!!" Susie just kept on crying.
The two boys glared at each other,understanding what was going on.
"...I-it's mangle!He was watching the children and went in her room and...and- He was bitten! I-it ripped off a part of his HEAD! H-How's a kid attraction supposed to DO THAT?!W-what if he dies!?" She sobbed and shivered lightly.
"No no no... H-he won't die. Susie,c-calm down." Mike clinched his fists and didn't sound sure at all of his words.
"It's all my fault,i-it's all my fault!If just I stayed with him,he wouldn't--"
"It's not your fault!He's trying to kill you because of ME,and just me! Y-you did nothing wrong..."
"STOP!" Gabriel suddenly shouted.
"It's no one's fault!We are going through this TOGETHER! And we're taking our responsibilities as a team!"
The other two looked down,then towards the room.
"A-all we can do is wait now..." Mike sighed,stroking the girl's back and handing her a tissue.
"J-jeremy's strong...!I'm sure they'll save him..." Gabriel tried to comfort her.
"I hope so..." Susie sniffed and wiped her tears away with the tissue,then with her sleeve.
They sat there in the waiting room and patientely waited for hours.
The room's doors kept closed for a long time.
By afternoon,the operation was finally over.
The guards rushed inside the room.
"J-jer,how do you feel?" Susie immediately asked,whispering worriedly.
The victim seemed confused and tired;bloody bandages were surrounding his head.
"I don't know..." He answered weakily.
"It's okay,rest..." Gabriel sighed.
"H-how's your leg?"
"Who cares!I-it's getting better but-"
Michael just stared in silence,concerned and focused.
The four friends talked for long minutes until a doctor interrupted them,saying the boy needed to sleep and rest.
As they left the room,Mike took the chance to talk.
"Susie,Gabe?I need to tell you something."
Both turned around "...Uh. Sure?"
"This is going too far. We are going too far. "
"W-what?"
"We have to stop."
"Now?! But!-"
"I don't want any of you to risk anymore."
"But Michael,you'll have to go back to prison and... And he'll be out there!"
"I know. But the pizzeria will soon close and he won't be able to kill there anymore. You'll just have to forget about this."
"A-are you giving up... ?"
"...Yes. I'm giving up,Gabriel." He concluded,turning around to leave.
"But we're a team!We have to do this together!Mike,w-where are you going?!-"
"I'm going home to wait for the end of the week."
Susie and Gabriel glared at each other. "You're...You're acting like a coward!Yeah!" Susie knew how that word could make him chance mind.
"Yes,I am. Bye guys." The reply was unusual.
Michael left the place.
"I can't believe it..." Susie sighed.
"What do we do now?"
"...We'll keep going."
"Without him?"
"Yeah,without him! We'll keep going to the pizzeria to find proofs!"
"A-and Jeremy?"
"We'll revenge him too. That motherfucking murder won't leave so easily." She clinched her fists.
Gabriel sighed. "Well,alright,you know you can count on me. But have you got any plan?"
"Well,the only reason why we have trouble looking for what we need are the animatronics. If just we could slow them down or disguise..."
"Hold on,I know! When I worked in the second pizzeria and gave advices to Jer,I remember the animatronics had a facial recognition system. It was kind of messed up,but masks were a pretty good way to avoid them from recognising you. We could try that!"
"I love it when you actually use your little brain to think. " Susie laughed. "Great!The backstage is full of masks. We just have to get there before the murderer and the job is done!He'll mostly think we stayed at the hospital after your and jeremu's accidents. Perhaps,if we are careful and quiet,he won't even know we're there."
"Oh hell yeah. Aren't we the smartest?" They high-fived and smirked.
"Let's go!" They exlaimed and walked to the exit together.