John X Arty: Book 3

Do you remember, John? - Chapter 4

~*John's pov*~

I looked up at the ceiling of Clay's house, many things have changed since Carlton and I left Hurricane two years ago. I try to push the past away, but it simply won't go. Everything that has haunted this place, it all comes back, the murders of Freddy's, and him. Him. Two hims, actually. Afton and Arty. They both are quite horrible people. I rise from the bed, stretching my arms over my head. I straighten out my clothes, since I had no time to pack clothes when we came from New York to Hurricane. I take another moment to look around the room in the dim light of the early morning. It was quite cold, considering Hurricane was mostly warm in the winter. I walk over to the window and open the curtains, the pitch black of the night is welcoming to me. I stare into the night, and the white silhouette of Charlie comes to me again. She appears on the flat part of the roof. I recall the times where me and Carlton would go out there before we even got together.

"Charlie?" I looked over at the unmoving body of Carlton, making sure he was sound asleep. She's wearing her regular outfit, and her hair was flowing past her, though there was no wind. "John..." Her voice faded into almost a whisper. She leaned up against the window, and I held out my hand to let her inside. She put her hand on mine, her hand was as cold as ice. John helped to pull her in, and they were inches away from each other. "So, you're dead, huh?" John held back tears, because after all this time he has finally been able to see Charlie. "I'm sorry. But I had to save you." She said, looking into his eyes. "Your life was worth more than mine. Why couldn't have I died in your place?" He objected. Charlie placed her hand on his cheek, moving her thumb along his cheekbone, which made his eyes wander back to hers. "It was the only way to get rid of the fake Charlie." She said, she looked down fidgeting with the buttons on his blazer. "Im just here to say... He's back." John's eyes widened, as Charlie began to fade away into the darkness of the room. "No! Charlie! Who is he?" Charlie looked him with the warmest look in her eyes, she smiled. "You know who." She disappeared, and the intensity of the room suddenly got larger by the second. John could hear his breathing, and a fresh adrenaline was running in his veins.

"Charlie! Please come back.." John sat down on the bed, suppressing his sobs, as he realized Charlie wouldn't be come back. Carlton woke from behind, sitting up and noticing John crying. "John...? Are you okay?" He asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He didn't turn around, but he whispered. "I saw her again." Carlton sat down beside him, both of their legs hanging off the edge of the bed. "Do you really think this is her?" Carlton asked, whispering back to him like there were other people in the room. "What if it was the soul of that one fake Charlie?" Carlton speculated, wrapping his arm around John's shoulders. "That could be possible..." John put his chin in his hand. He continued, "Charlie didn't have a soul." He finished, and Carlton's eyes widened. "How could that possibly work? She was fake?" John nodded, explaining. "Springtrap told her something when she was still in college. He said, 'I didn't take him, I took you.' Charlie was a delusion of Henry's imagination. At the end of his suicide letter, he wrote, 'I'm going to be with my daughter.'" Carlton said nothing in reply, which was a signal for him too keep going, "I saw Charlie's gravestone in the graveyard. She only lived to be three...Charlie's mother must've took Sammy." They say in silence for a moment, with a few sniffles from John.

"So Henry fed on the lie that Sammy was the one that got taken..." Carlton murmured. Carlton pulled John close, resting his head on his shoulder and hugging him. "Did she say anything to you...?" He asked, and John nodded. "She said.. he's back. I don't know who." 

"Afton maybe?"

"Could it really be possible? You watched him burn in the fire yourself." John said.

Carlton released the hug, "He's survived before. And who's to say that the creepy robot clown didn't come back as well?"

"Oh, don't remind me.." John paused, staring off into the distance. "But... Who would she mimic this time? Whatever Afton wanted is dead." Carlton looked into his eyes, bringing him back from his other world. He pointed a finger at John, and John's eyes narrowed. "I know nothing about robotics.. Why would he want me?"

"You're the one who knew Charlie the most."