Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes(25)

“John, what?” Charlie said, impatient.

“Then the animatronics on stage stopped moving, and I looked over at them, and when we all turned back around, Michael was gone. And so was the mascot.”

Charlie stared at him in disbelief.

“You saw the kidnapper,” she said.

“I didn’t know what I saw,” John said. “It was all chaos; I didn’t even think about it, I didn’t make the connection; it was just another animal at Freddy’s, I didn’t think about who might have been inside it. I was… I was a kid, you know? You figure that the grown-ups already know everything you know.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “I know. Do you remember anything? What the person looked like?” John was staring up at the sky, as if he were seeing something Charlie could not.

“Yes,” he said. His voice was deliberate, steady. “The eyes. They were all I could see, but I still see them sometimes like they’re right there in front of me. They were dead.”

“What?”

“They were dead, just dull and flat. Like they still moved, and blinked, and saw, but whatever was behind them had died a long time ago.” He fell silent.

It was growing dark. There was a bright, almost unnatural streak of pink across the Western sky, and Charlie shivered.

“We should go get the car,” she said. “It’s almost time to meet everyone.”

“Yeah,” John said, but he didn’t move right away, still staring into the distance.

“John? We have to go,” Charlie said. He seemed to come back to himself, slowly.

“Yeah,” he said. “We should go.” He got up and brushed off his pants, then grinned at Charlie.

“Race you?” He said, and took off running. Charlie chased after him, her feet pounding the asphalt, and her arms swinging free.





Chapter Four


Charlie and John were the last ones to the mall; when they pulled up the others were gathered tight in a circle in front of Marla’s car, as if sharing a conspiracy.

“Come on,” Marla said, before they had walked all the way to the group. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as if she were ready to run for the door of the abandoned building. Everyone but Charlie and John had changed their clothing, wearing jeans and t-shirts, things more suited for exploration, and she had a brief moment of feeling out of place. At least I didn’t wear a dress. Charlie thought.

“Let’s go,” she said. Marla’s impatience seemed to be contagious, or maybe it just gave Charlie an excuse to let her real feelings come to the surface. She wanted to show Freddy’s off to the others.

“Hold up,” John said. He looked at Jessica.

“Did you explain everything?”

“I told them about the night guard,” she said. “What else is there?” He looked thoughtful for a moment.

“I guess nothing,” he said.

“I brought more lights,” Carlton said, and held up three flashlights of varying sizes. He tossed one to Jason, a small one with an elastic headband attached. Jason turned it on and fixed it around his head, and began moving enthusiastically in waves and circles, making the light bob and dance.

“Shh,” Charlie said, even though he was not making any sound.

“Jason,” Marla whispered, “turn it off, we can’t attract attention, remember?”

Jason gleefully ignored them, spinning off into the parking lot like a top.

“I told him if he’s not good he has to wait in the car,” Marla told Charlie quietly. “But now that we’re here, I’m not sure which place is creepier.” She eyed the bare branches overhead raging in the wind, threatening to reach down and grab them.

“Or we can feed him to Foxy.” Charlie winked. She went to her trunk and hefted out the police flashlight, but did not turn it on. Instead Carlton switched on two of his smaller lights, and handed one to Jessica.

They headed into the mall. Knowing where they were going, and what was waiting for them there, Charlie, John, Jessica, and Carlton moved through the empty spaces with a sense of purpose, but the others kept stopping to look around.

“Come on,” Jessica said impatiently, as Lamar gazed up at the atrium dome.

“You can see the moon,” he said and pointed. Next to him, Marla nodded, mimicking his posture.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, although she could not see it.

From a distance, they heard footsteps echo in the emptiness.

“Hey, hey, over here!” John hissed, and they hurried as quietly as they could; they could not run for fear of making noise, and so they walked, fast but careful, hugging the walls. They entered the black void of the department store, creeping along in the shadows until they reached the break in the wall. John held back the hanging plastic obscuring the opening as the others maneuvered around the scaffolding. Jason was slow, and Charlie put a hand on his shoulder to hurry him up. As she steered him to the opening, a strong beam of light swept into the room, scanning up and down the walls. They all ducked through and ran down the alley to where the others were crouched down against the wall.

“He saw us!” Jason whispered, alarmed, running straight to his sister.

“Shh,” Marla said.

They waited. Charlie was next to John this time, and after that moment by the tree, whatever it was, she was very, almost uncomfortably, aware of him. They were not quite touching, but she seemed to know exactly where he was, an awkward sixth sense. She glanced at him, but his eyes were fixed on the opening to the hallway. They could hear the guard’s footsteps now, clear in the empty space, each one distinct. He was moving slowly, deliberately. Charlie closed her eyes, listening. She could tell where he was from the sound, she thought, getting closer, then farther, crisscrossing the open room like he was hunting for something. The steps came right up to the entrance of the ally, and stopped while they all held their breath.