Alone With Them

Chapter 15

I know I'm late...at this point it's become an obvious pattern. Lol

 Just seeing Markus had brightened her Wednesday.

Chancellor had left her alone so she could sleep, but she'd spent the entire time staring up at the ceiling, her mind haunted by lists of questions. Begrudgingly, she'd eventually given up on the idea of sleep and forced herself from bed to make them both sandwiches.

Then Markus had appeared at their doorstep.

Now Chance was watching T.V. while Markus sat across from Cathryn in her room. She was glad she'd changed into lounge clothes before eating lunch.

"You look horrible," Markus pointed out, his eyes wide.

Cathryn's joyful mood was partly crushed. "Thanks, Markus, it's good to see you again, too."

"Oh, I didn't mean it in a bad way!"

"It's fine, I was teasing." Cathryn couldn't help but notice the weird way Markus eyed her. He continuously scanned her body to make sure she was okay. It was as if he couldn't believe she was sitting right in front of him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I've just been worried," he admitted, a shy smile on his face.

"Why are you worried?"

"Why else? You keep..." Markus harrumphed before dropping his voice to a whisper, "You keep going back to Fazbear's. I'm worried that the animatronics are actually crazy and trying to kill you. I'm worried that I sent my best friend to her death. And I'm worried that–"

"But I'm fine, see," Cathryn insisted, gesturing to herself. The action made her wince, but she hoped it wasn't too noticeable. Just like how she tried to hide the headache that flared every time Markus whistled when he made the "s" sound.

"You don't look that fine."

"What do you mean?" Markus gestured to under his eyes, and she sighed. Cathryn had analyzed herself in a mirror that morning and knew he was talking about the dark shadows that had begun to appear on her face. They were an obvious sign of her lack of sleep – which was somehow even less than she normally got. "It's fine, those will go away in a few days."

"Sure. But what about the robots? You can't tell me they don't bother you, even when you're not at work."

Markus was right. The animatronics haunted her mind at all times, silently waiting in the back of her thoughts until they could pop up again and scare her.

"Plus, you didn't even tell me what happened last night. Obviously you survived, but you didn't call me for the last hour! I was too scared to call you because I didn't want to be a distraction."

Cathryn smiled. She was glad at least someone cared about her health, because she obviously didn't or else she wouldn't be questioning the idea of going back tonight. "It's okay, everything was fine. I just got a little tired and lost track of time."

"Are you sure?"

Cathryn nodded insistently. She'd chosen a t-shirt with sleeves that went to her elbows to try and hide the large bruise Freddy's grip had given her, and her shorts were long enough to conceal the marks on her knees. Luckily, her ankle had no visible signs of injury. She felt bad not telling Markus, but Freddy's expression as he'd grabbed her face – as well as her fear of the bear somehow finding out – kept her silent.

"I'm totally fine." As long as she drank enough water, Cathryn hoped that no one would even hear the raspy undertone in her voice. "So let's talk about something else. What's new in your life?"

Markus looked at her flabbergasted, almost insulted. He scoffed, "Oh, I don't know. Nothing much besides my best friend working in a restaurant with murderous robots."

"What about changing the subject don't you understand? Come on, there must be something else happening in your life."

"I mean, I think one of my cousins is getting married in two weeks, and I have to go to that, but I don't even know him. I know you! And I've barely been able to sleep at night ever since you started working there."

"Why?" It wasn't like Markus was the one being haunted by evil animals in his dreams. At least Cathryn had a good reason for being tired.

"Because I feel guilty! Cat..." her eyes widened when Markus' grew shiny, "I'm so sorry that you're working there."

"What did I tell you about apologizing? It's not your fault. So don't feel guilty." Cathryn attempted to give her words a soft edge, and something about the way Markus' expression lightened gave her hope that she'd done a good job.

"But it is partly my fault."

"Fine. Do you want to take responsibility?" Markus looked a bit shocked at her change of tactics, but an idea had hit Cathryn square in the face. "Do you remember that tech camp we went to last summer?"

His eyes widened curiously. "I...guess?"

"Do you remember how we learned about hacking and built those small robots?" Markus still looked lost. Cathryn's mind was only repeating Freddy's demands. Fix us – he wanted her to fix the animatronics, somehow, even though she hardly knew much about robots.

"Yes?" Markus said slowly. "What about it?"

"Tell me everything you remember."

Markus almost laughed at the request, staring at her in disbelief. "Cat, you probably know more than I do. You were really good with that kind of stuff."

"No, I really wasn't." Sure, she still remembered the basics about coding, but nothing that could actually help her.

"Your robot moved! Do you remember what mine did?" Cathryn's mind went blank, and she shook her head. "Exactly! It did nothing. Yours could move blocks around and color sort them into different piles."

"That's because the camp simplified everything for us, but I need to know if you remember any of the advanced or the important stuff that they told us."

"Trust me, I could barely remember the basics. You know more than I do."

Cathryn rolled her eyes and gently tugged on the hair falling loosely around her face. Her mind worked rapidly for a new plan. "Then could you help me look up that kind of stuff online?"

"Why?"

"Please? I'll tell you everything soon, but right now, I just need some help."

Markus hesitated for a moment, but Cathryn knew his guilt would get the best of him eventually. "Sure, I'll help you."

"Thanks! You're the best!" Cathryn couldn't help but wrap her arms around him in a hug. Markus was amazing. Even though he still had unanswered questions, he fully trusted her! Sam knew just as much as Markus did, probably even a bit more, but he offered more complaints than support. When Cathryn pulled away from the hug, she chuckled at the red tinting Markus' face. "Why do you get embarrassed so easily?"

"M-Me? You do, too! You just avoid people more than I do so I'm seen blushing more."

"Yeah well, it's not my fault I'm grounded."