Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes(91)

She dressed quickly in her jeans and her last remaining clean t-shirt, and emerged from the bathroom to find Jessica and John carrying suitcases out to the car.

“I figured there was no point leaving stuff here,” Jessica said. “We’re all going in the morning, we may as well bring it all to Carlton’s. Charlie nodded, and grabbed Jason’s backpack, taking it out to the car along with her own.



Carlton and his father were already back by the time they arrived, and again they entered Carlton’s living room, now almost familiar. Carlton was curled up in an armchair by the fireplace, where someone had lit a fire, and Marla and Lamar were on the couch. Jason was sitting right in front of the fireplace, staring in at the licking flames. Charlie sat down near Jason, arranging herself stiffly; John joined her, looking at her with concern, but she ignored him, and he said nothing.

“Are you okay?” Charlie said, rubbing Carlton’s arm for a moment, and he looked at her sleepily.

“Yeah, it’s a mild concussion,” he said. “I’ll be fine as long as no one else tries to murder me.”

“So… now what?” Jessica said as she took the chair beside Carlton. “I mean—” she paused, searching for words. “What happens?” She said finally. They looked at each other; it was the question they all had. What did you do after something like this? Charlie looked at Clay, who was standing in the doorway, only half in the room.

“Mr.—Clay, what happens now?” She said quietly. He looked off into the distance for a minute before answering.

“Well, Charlie, I’m going to go back to Freddy’s. I have to get my officer.” He said gravely. “I won’t go alone.” He forced a smile, but no one joined him. “What do you think should happen?” He said. He was looking at Charlie, asking her this impossible question as if she could answer it. She nodded, accepting responsibility.

“Nothing,” she said. “It’s over; I want to leave it that way.”

Clay gave her a nod, his face impassive. She could not tell if it was the answer he was looking for, but it was all she had. The others were silent; Marla and Lamar were nodding, but Jessica looked like she wanted to protest.

“Jessica, what?” Charlie said gently, realizing with unease that her friend wanted her permission to disagree.

“It just seems wrong,” she said. “What about… everything? I mean, people should know, right? That’s how it works, that guard, he murdered all those kids, and people should know!”

“No one will believe us,” Jason said without looking up.

“Officer Dunn,” Jessica said. “Officer Dunn, he died in there, what will you tell his family? Will you tell them the truth?” She looked at Clay.

“Officer Dunn died at the hands of the same man who killed your friends. I can prove that now.” A silence fell over the room. “It won’t bring them back,” he said softly. “But maybe it will give them some rest.”

Clay turned his eyes to the fire, and a few minutes passed before he spoke again.

“You kids have been carrying Freddy’s with you all these years. It’s time you left it behind,” he said. He said it sternly, but his commanding tone was reassuring. “I’m going to see to it that Officer Dunn is given a proper burial.” He paused, collecting himself, as though what he said next required effort. “Your friends, too.” His brow furrowed. “I have a few favors to call in, but I can make this happen quietly. The last thing I want to do is disturb that place, or desecrate it. Those kids need rest.”



The next morning, they began to go their separate ways. Marla offered to drive Lamar and Jessica to the bus station, and they said their goodbyes with hugs and promises to write. Charlie wondered if any of them meant it. Marla probably did, at least. They pulled out of the Burkes’ driveway.

“So, my bus isn’t till later,” John said as they disappeared around a bend in the road.

“I wouldn’t mind a few more hours in Hurricane,” Charlie answered. To her surprise, she realized it was true.

John flashed her a quick, almost nervous smile.

“Okay, then,” he said.

“Let’s get out of there. Let’s go somewhere; anywhere,” Charlie said.

When they were alone in the car John gave her a sideways glance.

“So,” he said, “are we ever going to see each other after this?” He tried to say it lightly, but there was no way to lighten it. Charlie stared straight ahead.

“Maybe,” she said. She could not look at him. It wasn’t the answer he wanted, she knew that, but she could not give him what he wanted. What could she say by way of explanation? It’s not you, it’s the weight we both bear, it’s too much. When you are here, I can’t ignore it. She did not look at him.

But something in her thoughts felt off, not quite right, as if she were speaking by rote, thinking off a script. It was like flinching instinctively to protect an injury, before remembering it has healed. She looked at John beside her. He was staring through the windshield, his jaw set.

“I have somewhere I need to go,” she said abruptly, and made a slow U-turn. She had never gone to visit the place, but now, without warning, her mind was consumed by it. Aunt Jen had never suggested it, Charlie had never asked. She knew where it was, though, and now she headed there with a singular sense of purpose: I need to see.