CALL OF THE SHADOW [Freedom AU Book Eight]{FNAF/UT}

T̴̰̙̻̃̒̀̽H̷͎̊̐Ī̵̭̜͕̥̮̂͆Ṙ̴̠̲̝͓T̴̞̪̔Ẽ̷͙͕̜͚̊̾̋̎E̷̥̖͕̊N̵̲͙͖̿̇̃

A.N. A 'shortie' for today, folks.

~~~

That Sunday afternoon was pretty quiet. With the café being closed on Sundays, that meant Chica was currently home with Freddy, her husband. It was a rather quiet afternoon, as were Sunday afternoons the couple spent together, however the quiet didn't quite feel the same. To Freddy, the quiet no longer being the same was very well attributed to the fact that things hadn't been the same since one of their fellow anthros had passed. But, there was something else the bear found curious about the quiet.

About how quiet Chica had been. She'd been acting differently even before the funeral, Carl even confirmed as much when Freddy asked him. Ever since she'd been attacked, Chica had been acting oddly. At first, Freddy simply thought she was growing paranoid of being attacked like that again. After all, she claimed she never got a good look at her attacker's face. What if they were still out there? What if they came at her again, maybe to finish the job?

The more Freddy read into it, he began to notice that it wasn't paranoia. It was something else bothering her, but he couldn't put a finger on what it could possibly be, and Carl had no guesses either. The bear put his half-empty mug of coffee down on the coffee table in front of them. (The couple had sat down in the living room to have some coffee following lunch.)

"Okay, what's the matter?" Pulled from her thoughts, Chica suddenly looked up to him. "Sorry?" Freddy's expression softened a little, almost looking worried. Carl, from where he was on the back of the couch, looked to Chica too. "There's something bothering you, I can tell." With a small shrug, Chica simply answered with, "Nothing's bothering me. I've just been... feeling down, since the funeral, you know?"

"That's not it." Freddy shook his head a little. Putting a hand on hers, he coaxed Chica into putting her own mug down. Once she did, the bear held both her feathered-hands. The two made eye contact, and the look of confliction was clear as day in her violet eyes. "There's something else going on. Please, just tell me, maybe I can help."

"... I don't think... you can." Chica quietly said. Freddy and Carl momentarily glanced to each other, before Freddy asked with, "What do you mean? Did something happen?" The chicken was quiet for a minute, her gaze searching the bear's. As if she were looking for some sort of trust in his expression. She sighed, gaze falling. Another beat of hesitation passed, before she looked up once more. "You've got to promise you won't tell anyone."

"I won't tell anyone what?" Freddy asked, giving her a puzzled look. "Promise." Chica begged. The bear nodded. She then looked up to Carl. "You too, Carl." The cupcake companion hummed in agreement. "Okay, I promise." Freddy affirmed, though, he still didn't know what he was promising to, exactly. "The day I was attacked... I've been racking my head about what happened then."

"We've all been, Chica." She shook her head. "No, let me finish." Freddy fell silent and listened. "I remember someone else being there... after I was attacked." Chica told, her husband's look of confusion never waning. "Bonbell. He was there when- Or, after I was attacked, I don't know which. He's the one who called the ambulance... He knelt down in front of me and spoke to me—I forget what he said, it's all a haze. I don't know what to make of all this..."

"Wait, Bonbell was there?" Chica nodded. "I never saw him when I found you. Are you sure?" Freddy asked, trying to understand what he was being told. "Yes, I'm sure. Freddy, you never told me that you called the ambulance." The bear was going to say more, but realized she had a point. "I didn't..." He confirmed. This was strange, and hard to believe. Why would Bonbell—one of the few anthros who decided to pursue medicine—leave Chica to bleed out the way she was after having called for help? Wouldn't he have stuck around to make sure she was alright?

"Have you... asked Bon about this?" Chica shook her head 'no'. "I don't know why I haven't, either." She explained, before adding, "And I certainly can't now. Not with all that he's dealing with, having lost his brother and all. I don't want to press him like that." Freddy sighed a little. "That's understandable, I guess." He agreed. "But... you'll have to ask him eventually, I mean, what if he saw what happened?"

"Maybe... But I will. Eventually." Freddy put his hand on the back of her head, pulling her towards him. After pressing a kiss to her forehead, he said, "Until then, my lips are sealed." Chica smiled a little. "I won't say another word." Carl added. "Thank you, guys. It felt good to get that off my chest."

"No doubt." Freddy sympathized. Carl hoped onto Chica's shoulder, and nuzzled against her neck—his way of giving her a hug. "We'll always be here to listen, Chi." The cupcake companion told, a glint of confusion momentarily showing in Freddy's eyes due to being unable to understand. "Thanks. I'm glad I got you guys to just listen to me sometimes." Chica thanked, indicating what Carl had said. "Of course." Freddy told, before then saying, "I love you."

"I love you too." Carl simply smiled at the two.

~~~

A.N. Next chapter on Saturday, as usual~