Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes(47)

They ran down the hall to the outside door, all bouncing with a frightened impatience as they filed through to the alley one by one; there was no way to go faster. When they were all through Charlie looked down the hallway for a long moment, but there was no one coming. She shoved the door closed and stepped out of the way as Lamar and John wrestled the shelf back into place, blocking it off.

“No one saw Dave,” Charlie said; it was not a question. They all shook their heads. “He must have taken off when the lights started going haywire,” Lamar offered, but he did not sound convinced.

“Carlton!” Jason cried out again. “Carlton is still in there! Bonnie took him!”

They all glanced around: Carlton was not with them.

“Oh, no,” Jessica said. “He’s still inside.”

“Bonnie took him!” Jason said, choking out the words one by one, his voice shaking. “I saw it, Bonnie was there, he was in Pirate’s Cove and he grabbed Carlton and carried him away, and I couldn’t stop him.” He scrubbed a sleeve across his eyes, wiping tears.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Marla hugged him, and he clung to her, hiding his face in her shirt. “No, it was a trick of the light. Bonnie couldn’t do that, he’s just a robot. He was onstage when we left.”

Jason closed his eyes. He had only glanced for a second at the main stage as they were leaving, but it was true: Bonnie had been there, moving in strange and clumsy twists and bends, but stuck in place. He pulled away from his sister’s arms.

“I saw it,” he insisted, more weakly. “Bonnie took him.”

The others exchanged glances above his head. Charlie looked at Marla, who shrugged.

“We have to go back in,” Charlie said. “We have to get him.” Jessica was nodding, but John cleared his throat.

“I think we need help,” he said. “It’s not safe in there.”

“Let’s get Carlton’s dad,” Marla said. “I’m not taking Jason back in there.”

Charlie wanted to protest, but bit her tongue. They were right, of course they were right. Whatever had just happened was beyond them; they needed help.





Chapter Seven


They made their way back through the corridors of the abandoned mall, not bothering to be cautious with their footsteps, or the beams of their lights.

“So much for being sneaky,” Charlie said darkly, but no one responded. By silent consensus their pace quickened steadily; by the time they reached the parking lot they were almost running. Spotting her car as they came out the front door, Charlie felt an almost physical relief to see it, as if it were an old friend.

“Someone should stay here,” she said, pausing with her hand on the door handle. “We can’t leave Carlton.”

“No,” Marla said firmly. “We’re leaving, now.” They looked at her in surprise for a moment—suddenly, she was talking to them all the way she talked to Jason. Sister knows best. Lamar and Jason exchanged glances, but no one said anything. “We’re going into town. All of us,” she added, giving Charlie a warning look, “and we’re finding help.”

They hurried into the cars. As Charlie took the wheel, John got into the passenger seat, and she smiled tightly at him. Jessica climbed into the back a moment later, and she felt a minor disappointment; she had wanted to talk to him alone. We’re running for help, it’s not a date, she scolded herself, but that hadn’t really been the point. He felt safe, a touchstone amid the strange things that were happening all around them. She looked over at him, but he was staring out the window. They pulled out of the lot, following Marla’s car as she sped into the darkness.



When they reached the town, Marla yanked her car to the side of the main street and stopped, and Charlie followed suit. Before the car had fully come to a halt, Jessica leapt out of the back seat and started running. Marla followed, just a step behind. They stopped in front of the movie theater, and only then did Charlie see that there was a cop in uniform beneath the marquee, leaning back against his black-and-white car. His eyes widened at the sight of the young women barreling toward him, and he took an involuntary step back as Marla started talking without pausing for breath.

“… Please, you’ve got to come,” Marla was finishing as the others caught up.

The cop looked a little bewildered. He had a shiny pink face, and his hair was so short it was entirely covered by his hat. He was young, maybe mid-twenties, Charlie realized, and he was looking at them skeptically.

“Is this an actual emergency?” he said. “You may not realize it, but pranks can get you in real trouble.”

Jessica rolled her eyes and stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

“We’re not playing a prank,” she said crisply, and Charlie suddenly remembered how tall she was. “Our friend is trapped in that abandoned shopping mall, and it’s your job to help us.”

“The shopping mall?” He seemed confused, then looked in the direction they’d come from. “THAT shopping mall?” His eyes widened, then he frowned at them reproachfully, looking remarkably like a disappointed parent despite his youth. “What were you doing up there in the first place?”

Charlie and Marla exchanged glances, but Jessica didn’t blink.

“Deal with us later. He’s in danger, and you have to help us, officer—” She leaned in and peered at his nametag. “Officer Dunn. Do you want me to go to the fire department?”