behind the glass

secrets well kept

Scott gently knocked on the door, silently praying that Jeremy would hear him.

It had been a day since Jeremy emerged from the coma that resulted from an animatronic biting into his skull.

The animatronic in question, the Mangle, had its jaw broken and was immediately thrown into the storage room. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was effectively closed for business, as well, only staying open for a week after the accident to host the remaining birthday parties on its schedule. A new location was scheduled to open just after the new year, with more safety precautions put in place.

Scott couldn't believe that a new location was already in the works after what happened. More than that, people were beginning to call it the 'Bite of '87,' as if it was simply a scary story to spread around. It was all over the local news, yet it was being treated as a rumor. Jeremy had effectively been lobotomized, yet his tragedy was being treated as a joke.

Scott wasn't stupid; he knew that the animatronics in a children's restaurant shouldn't have the capability to bite clean through a human skull. They couldn't have the capability unless someone specifically designed them that way.

He couldn't help but think that someone had purposely tried to murder Jeremy. For what reason, he wasn't sure, but it was very unlikely that the bite was a coincidence.

Michael and Vincent told him that there was no use in speculating. They told him that it was highly unlikely that someone would try to murder Jeremy, and even if the bite was planned, it wasn't Scott's job to reveal the identity of the killer.

Scott knocked again. Twice. Three times.

"Come in," A dull voice answered from behind the door.

Scott hesitated before pushing the door open. Was that really Jeremy? It sounded like his voice, but it was lifeless. His voice lacked its typical inflections, instead sounding like a robot.

Stepping inside the room, Scott slowly approached the hospital bed, where Jeremy was sitting with a TV remote in his hand.

"Oh, Scott. Hey."

"Hey, Jeremy..." Scott tried to make eye contact, but it was too uncomfortable for him when Jeremy's eyes were so empty. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay." Jeremy ran his fingers across the row of stitches on his head. "I feel different, but I feel fine."

"That's good. I was really worried about you after what happened, and so were Michael and Vince." Scott paced toward the sofa, taking a seat beside the bed. "We really missed you at graduation. We had a bonfire out in the woods behind Michael's house and we got drunk and cooked our food over the fire. Then, we were going to sleep in the woods, but Michael saw a bear and freaked out, so we slept in the living room instead."

"That sounds fun." Jeremy nodded, smiling half heartedly, as if he had forgotten how. "I wish I could have been there."

"I wish you could have been there, too."

Scott looked down at the floor as they sat in silence for a moment, the TV humming softly in the background.

"What happened to the restaurant?" Jeremy asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"It closed down about a week after the accident, but they're planning on opening a new one with safer robots." Scott looked up, staring at the wall across the room. "Honestly, I think it's disgusting that they're turning around and opening a new location so soon, but what do I know, right?"