Five Nights at Freddy's: The Lost Souls [Reboot Book 1]

Chapter 9: Eve of the End

I felt like I was preparing for my own funeral. How was I supposed to feel, knowing that I very well could die?

I still had time. I could run. I could pretend it never happened. I could abandon them, Freddy's and this mystery. I didn't need to do this.

That would be cowardly. Not to mention, my deep seeded desire to save them. I had to. They needed peace.

What was I hoping would happen though? I wasn't about to kill someone, no matter how depraved they were. I wasn't a murderer. I was going to confront the Yellow Rabbit. Maybe I'd even fight him. Calling the police crossed my mind, but I could never truly get them to believe all this. I hardly believed it myself.

I ran my hands through my hair. I was stressed, scared and anxious. My forehead was drenched. My eyes were bloodshot. I was shaking.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a page turning. I looked and saw my sketchbook had flipped open. Imprinted on the page was a new message. Cassidy had contacted me again.

Do you remember me yet?

“No, I can't remember,” I said as I simultaneously wrote the words on the page. I somehow figured that writing it would make it easier for Cassidy to understand.

Grab the doll.

I looked at the Fredbear doll and grabbed it. “You mean this?”

I examined the doll. Once again, it was familiar. Where had I gotten it? I stared into its eyes, and they almost stared back.

An image flashed in my mind, like a photograph suddenly being developed. A girl was holding the doll to me. We were in what appeared to be a Freddy's restaurant. The girl had black hair, but for some reason there was a haze over her face. I couldn't see her clearly, but she was familiar. She appeared to be between 8 and 10, but based on my height in this vague memory, she was older than me at the time.

This girl in this memory…it was Cassidy!

“Cassidy, what are you showing me?” I asked. “Were we friends? How did we know each other?”

The page indented with a new message.

We knew each other.

“Then why can't I remember?” I asked.

The one who killed me stole your memory.

“That's not even possible!” I exclaimed. “You can't just wipe someone's memory!”

She didn't reply. For whatever reason, she could only say a few things at a time, each time. I likely wouldn't hear from her until the next day. I let out an exasperated sigh.

“I don't understand, Cassidy,” I said as I squeezed the plush. “Why can't I remember?”

I laid back in my bed and closed my eyes. No matter what was going to happen, I needed to rest. It was going to be a long night, I knew it.

I let sleep take me.

-June 28th, 1986-

“Cassidy, won't we get in trouble?” I asked as she pulled me along, her hand holding mine.

“Mike, we're going to be in and out, promise,” she replied as she crouched under the police tape surrounding Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

I anxiously followed her inside. It was dark, the lights were off. I'd never seen the place so dead.

We walked through the silent dining room. The animatronics on stage almost stared at us. It made me nervous and I stayed close to Cassidy.

She led me to the prize counter. The only noise was the song of the music box by the Prize Puppet.

“Ok, stay there,” Cassidy said as she climbed over the counter.

I stayed in relative silence, listening to the music box. There was rustling behind the prize counter before she stood up and climbed back over.

In her hand was the Fredbear plushie I wanted. I always wanted it. I loved the golden bear. Though Freddy was the namesake of this place, I loved Fredbear. Cassidy knew this more than anyone.

“I got it, little buddy,” she said as she ruffled my hair. She then held the doll up to me. I hesitantly took it and hugged it.

A loud footstep interrupted our moment. The both of us gasped and turned to see a large yellow rabbit standing in front of us. “Howdy, what are you two doing here?” He said in a voice that was both cheery and menacing.

Cassidy protectively stepped in front of me. “We were just leaving, Bonnie,” she replied nervously.

I could almost see his eyes narrow. His gaze met mine. “Go home, kid,” he said, even more sternly than before. I was scared.

Home was just a block away, but I was scared. I was too scared to move. Why did Bonnie know my name? I wanted to obey, but I didn't want to leave Cassidy.

“We'll be going home then,” Cassidy said as she started ushering me away.

He grabbed her arm. “Not you, you're in trouble. I saw you steal the plush. You do know stealing is wrong, don't you?”

He started dragging her away. I was too frightened to move. She struggled in his grasp, but it was no use. I stepped forward to go after her, but she shook her head. “G-go, run Michael!” she shouted with tears in her eyes.

I clutched the doll, staring into her eyes one last time.

I ran. I ran home crying. I didn't understand what happened. I felt like I'd gotten Cassidy in trouble or worse.

I didn't understand at the time what really happened. I never understood why I never saw Cassidy again. The memories were too fuzzy after that.

I never remembered. It became a blank. The only time I ever remembered was in this dream.

I had this dream every night.

I never remembered the dream.

-Present Day-

I woke up to my alarm. It was 11:00 PM. One hour until I had to go.

My eyes were wet with tears. Why was I crying? I didn't remember any dream, so I shrugged.

I got ready for the drive to Hurricane. I grabbed a crowbar from the garage. If I was going to confront the Yellow Rabbit, I wanted to be able to fight back. A gun would have been nice, but my dad never kept one.

I looked at the passenger seat at the Fredbear plush. For some reason, I felt compelled to bring it along.

“Cassidy, Freddy and the rest of you, I'm coming,” I said as I sped down the road.