The Aftons and Emilies React to Game Theory

The Box

"Good morning, William." Henry greeted his partner as he stumbled over the threshold of the main office. "Another long night?"
"Yes," William replied. "Evan's nightmares started again."
"I'm sorry, Will. How is he?"
"He'd be fine if his brother would leave him alone, for a change." William pulled a flask from the inside pocket of his purple suit jacket and unscrewed the top.
Henry sighed. "I wish you'd stop drinking. It's not good for you."
William rolled his eyes as he drank but did not say a word. He was frustrated that day anyway. Before he had even retrieved his morning coffee, he had to separate his sons, the younger of whom was running for his dear life as he was pursued by the older. Elizabeth was fussier than normal that morning as well and would not eat. Turned out, she was running a mild fever so Clara decided to keep her home for the day, much to William's disapproval. He had to go to school sick when he was Elizabeth's age, and little things like that made him stronger. He was worried that she was spoiling them too much.
Henry broke the silence. "Have you finished Bonnie yet?" He was alluding to the springlock suits, their current project.
"I'm close," he smirked. "You haven't finished Fredbear either, I would say?"
"Nowhere near," Henry chuckled. "Here's hoping that we'll be able to unveil them during our tenth anniversary this year." They had opened in 1973. This year, 1983, would be their tenth anniversary.
"That's only a month ahead," William reminded Henry.
Henry smiled at his friend. "We'll be finished by then. I'm sure."
They heard someone walking speedily to the workshop, where they were. They turned to see one of their security guards standing in the doorway with a concerned expression on his face.
"Mr. Afton. Mr. Emily. We have a problem."
"What's that, Jeremy?" Henry asked.
"We have a suspicious person roaming the diner. He's at the stage now. I don't know if he's praying or talking to himself, but he has a box with him."
"Can you see his face?" Henry asked.
"No, he's wearing a hoodie and a strange mask. I've never seen it before. I think he made it himself. He's scaring the kids and the parents are starting to get anxious."
William huffed. "It's that bloody hermit. I'll handle this, Henry."
William started out the door and Henry followed him. Sure enough, knelt at the main stage was who they knew as "The Hermit." They did not know what exactly he was doing, but a chill ran down their spines nonetheless.
"Hey!" William yelled. "What do you think you're doing?"
The Hermit jumped up and ran to William. Jeremy hit him, knocking him to the ground and fracturing his jaw. Despite the pain in his knuckles, he pinned the young man down and Henry rushed off to call the police.
William knelt to meet him. "That was a rather stupid thing to do."
The man laughed and William continued. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
The Hermit slowly extended his hand and opened it, revealing a key. "Take the key. Open the box. Watch the tapes. It's not just a theory."
Curious but skeptical, William slowly retrieved the key from the Hermit's outstretched hand and reluctantly agreed to watch the tapes. Did he mean VHS tapes? They waited for the police to arrive.

After the police escorted him out, Henry approached William. "That was interesting."
Studying the key, William replied, "It certainly was. Although, why we aren't getting sued for letting him in is a mystery to me."
Chuckling, Henry patted William's back and said, "Well, there's still time." Henry leaned in and saw the key that the Hermit had given William. "What's that for?"
"It's for the box he brought with him. It's still over on the stage," William answered. He had not yet decided if he was going to open it or destroy it.
"You're not seriously considering opening it, are you?"
William grinned at his partner. "Are you not curious in the least?"
"I am, but-"
"Admit it; you want to know what's in the box as much as I do."
With an awkward chuckle, Henry replied, "Yeah, okay? I do."
The two spent a moment or two studying to key before finally deciding to open the box. They approached the stage and ordered the employees to step back (they had closed for the day after the incident with the Hermit).
The box was metallic and had turned green with age. A musty smell came from it as if it had been in that man's attic or basement for years. It was an elongated box with two new golden locks on the left and right of the front.
Hesitantly, William unlocked the left lock, then the right lock, and both fell to the ground with a soft thud. He gently raised the top. The stench of mildew filled the air as he uncovered four VHS tapes neatly lined up in a row. They looked relatively new. Or, at least as new as the locks looked. Curiously, the tapes were only numbered one through four. They had no name. Under them was a piece of moth-eaten paper with a green 8-bit trophy on the surface of it.
William and Henry both stood. "I guess this is what he meant," William said.
"What?" Henry looked at him, confused.
"He said to 'watch the tapes'. I suppose he meant these."
"Well?"
William looked back at Henry puzzled. "What?"
"Are you going to watch them?" Henry asked, his curiosity growing.
"I would, sir," Jeremy spoke up. "He's made predictions before and has been right. I'd hear what he has to say."
William looked at the crowd of Fredbear employees and sighed. "Sure."
Henry smiled. "I'll go get Charlie and meet you at your place." He aptly hurried out of the diner.
"You may all go home," William told his employees. "I promise, you will be paid a full day's work."
When they left, William carried the box to his violet Monte Carlo and proceeded to lock the building up. All the while, he was anxious to return home and see what this Hermit wanted him to see. What was he about to endure? He sighed as he locked the red doors to the diner and drove home with the mysterious VHS tapes still in the rusty metal box, unknown to William, waiting for their chance to reveal his fate and the fate of his family.