FNaF but AU/Less people die

Chapter 10

AN: dream theory may have been disproved but it lives on in parallel universes.

Michael woke up while it was still dark. He glanced over at the faint red glow of the clock. It wasn't even close to 5am, the time they were planning to leave. No way he was going to get up before then. Much less at 2am.

Then he noticed the footsteps that would hesitantly pause every few seconds. He sat up and blinked, still half-asleep.

Michael listened carefully, the footsteps weren't heavy. Light, hesitant footsteps at this hour? That could only be one person. "Ev?" he mumbled, holding back a yawn and sitting up.

Silence.

"Ev, I know that's you."

The footsteps got closer. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No— I mean— yeah. But I was just going to get some water."

"No, you weren't. Come over here."

A moment more of silence before Evan sat down next to him. "Have you been getting the nightmares again too?"

"It's odd, seeing them again. A bit bittersweet, would be nicer without them constantly killing me for not listening closely," Michael joked.

"It's not funny."

Michael tilted his head and turned on a small, dim lamp. "But why shouldn't it be? They're not real. We're okay. We survived them for years before, we're older now. Stronger."

"I should be stronger. I should be braver. I shouldn't be terrified like some toddler over nightmares," Evan tapped his fingers against the floor. "But it's almost worse now. I got used to them before. I guess because I thought I'd never see them again, they're worse than I remember."

Michael scooted closer to Evan. "It's okay to be scared, you know. I know I make it sound as though you shouldn't be, but there's nothing wrong with being scared."

"You're not scared," Evan replied, a bit sarcastically.

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I'm not scared of the nightmares anymore, but only a couple days agonI was so freaked out I stole a car. Remember?"

"But you're scared of real things."

"I'm scared of a lot of things. Things that have happened, things that could happen, things that never will happen. Both of us have fears that live in our heads, both of us have fears that aren't realistic. That doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you're scared of it suddenly raining candy one day! Your fears are still valid, there's nothing wrong with being scared, Evan."

"Just because you used a lot of words doesn't make it true or believable."

"Believe this." Michael hugged Evan. "I'm your big brother and I will protect you for as long as you need me, okay? Me, Charlie, Uncle Henry, even Elizabeth, we're all going to protect you. We'll protect each other."

Evan buried his face in Michael's shoulder. "I don't want to need protection."

"Does anyone? Life isn't meant to be conquered alone. If we didn't have Charlie, we wouldn't be able to take the car since Father hid the keys. If it weren't for Elizabeth, Charlie wouldn't be here with us."

Evan pulled back. "Yet I haven't done anything."

"That's not true. When I couldn't see, who guided me around? Who told me what was happening? Who made sure I didn't fall on my face?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Falling on my face wouldn't have been fun. Very glad I didn't do that." Michael nodded, pretending to look thoughtful. "And who bandaged my side yesterday? You're more helpful than you realize. Even if you've been more scared than us, that only means you were braver."

"You know, you're more eloquent at 2am than you ever are when you're fully awake."

Michael laughed and elbowed Evan's arm. "Alright you cheeky lad," he said, purposefully exaggerating his slight British accent to make Evan laugh. "Try and get a few more hours of sleep."

"Can I sleep on the floor with you."

"Fine, but if you kick me I'll kick you back."

"It's a deal."

The two pretended to slit their palms with imaginary knife and shook hands for a mock blood oath, as they had done many times prior, before falling back asleep.

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Elizabeth felt someone shake her shoulder to try and wake her up. She grumbled incoherently and snuggled further into her blanket.

"Elizabeth, we need to get going," Charlie said in a low, impatient voice.

"Don't wanna."

"You'd rather stay here with your crappy father than go back to Uncle Henry?"

Elizabeth turned and squinted at her sleepily for a few seconds before it was as though a switch clicked in her brain and she was wide awake. "Oh! Yes! Right!" She hopped out of bed, grabbed her backpack, and threw on shoes, having made sure she would be ready to leave quickly the night before.

Charlie and Elizabeth walked out to the kitchen where Evan was raiding cabinets for on the road snacks and Michael was digging through a drawer for a flashlight.

"Ah-ha!" Michael quietly exclaimed in triumph as he held up a flashlight. He clicked it on and off a few times before tossing it to Charlie. "If you head out and get the car ready I'll get everyone else out."

"Sure. Gives me time to get in the driver's seat," Charlie said with a smirk, turning before Michael had a chance to respond.

"You two ready to go then?" Michael asked Evan and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth stuffed some candy in her backpack before giving a thumbs up. Evan stuffed some mixed nuts and crackers in his backpack before nodding.

Outside, Charlie hummed the tune of her music box as she hot-wired the car.

As horrible a person William was, he didn't have bad taste in automobiles. It looked as though he had had this one modified slightly to go faster and such. This would be fun to drive.

It didn't take Charlie long to finish, she then realized there was the issue of getting inside the car. She glanced around and as her siblings walked out of the house, she made the split-second decision to smash the driver's seat window and unlock it from the inside.

"Charlie, don't—" Michael started as she smashed her fist into the window.

"Not the best idea..." Charlie muttered to herself as she looked at her bleeding fist and the glass in the seat. "Hey, Evan, toss me a bandage!"

Evan fumbled with his backpack for a minute before handing her a roll of bandages. She made a makeshift glove to dust the glass out of the car before tossing it to the side and wrapping a more proper bandage around her hand. "There! Now we can go." Charlie said as she climbed into the driver's seat.

"Nice try, move," Michael said sternly.

"Nuh-uh. I was here first."

"You have an injured hand, you're so tired you decided to punch a glass window, and we don't have time for this. We can switch halfway if you're more awake, deal?"

She didn't want to admit it, but he had a point. "Fine. But I remember which point is halfway."

"Good, that means you can give directions because I have no idea where I'm going," Michael replied, stepping on the gas pedal the second everyone was buckled in.