A New Guard

Chapter Nineteen: The Accident

Waking up, I feel more tired than usual, yet more refreshed. I stretch out my remaining muscles, partly out of habit, a yawn escaping my throat.

"Morning Matthew," A voice says, startling me. I jump slightly at the sudden voice, soon recognizing Mangle's tone. My heart stops beating hard when everything registers in my mind.

"Oh. Morning Mangle. How long have you been up? If you even sleep," I say, speaking that last part a little cautiously. To my surprise, Mangle gives a little chuckle at my question.

"For a bit. I guess you could say I sleep in a way," Mangle says. In a way? What does she mean by that? I shrug it off and continue to get ready for yet another day. A thought crosses my mind as I slip on the eyepatch Foxy gave me. I can't hide this forever. Somebody is bound to find out sooner or later. My phone's notification ringer cuts my thoughts off. Grabbing my phone, I see it's a text from Chase.

'DUDE! Get to the hospital RIGHT AWAY! It's Jackson!' Meet at the hospital? Mangle's worry kicks my mind into action and floods my body with worry. Jackson! He's in the hospital! My bag still in hand, I swipe my keys off of my desk and practically run out of my bedroom, almost running into Dad.

"Easy, Matthew. What's the rush? It's Saturday," Dad says. I completely forgot it was Saturday today. No school. Wait, does Dad not know what's happened?

"I've got to meet Chase at the hospital," I say. Confusion crosses Dad's face, before worry overtakes it.

"The hospital? Why? Is everything okay?" Dad says. I dash past Dad and hurry to get my shoes on, my animatronic feet proving to be a problem. I figure it rude to not answer Dad, so once I finally manage to get my shoes on over my feet, I decide to say what's going on.

"I don't know. When I woke up, I got a text from Chase saying to meet at the hospital. Something happened to Jackson," I say. I grab an apple sitting conveniently beside the front door.

"Be careful, okay?" Dad says. I nod lightly before opening the door slightly.

"I will," I say. I walk outside and shut the door behind me before the severity of the satiation sends adrenaline back into me. I toss my bag onto the passenger floorboard and practically jump into my car, slipping the key into the ignition and head out to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, I pass a severe wreck, the driver side of the front bumper just about concaved into the engine, the tire missing, laying on the ground a few feet away from some skid marks, and fragments of two vehicles scattered. I barely get a glimpse of the license plate and see its Jackson's plate. That's Jackson's car! Driving away from the wreckage, I manage my way to the hospital in surprising time, considering the amount of traffic on the roads. Parking, I borderline jog up to the hospital doors and walk up to the desk.

"Hello," The lady sitting at the front desk says, before looking at me. She gives me a weird look once she sees the eyepatch Foxy gave me. I begin talking before she can say anything else.

"Uh, may I ask if a Jackson Peterson was rushed in?" I say. I just notice that my foot started tapping out of nervous habit. The lady looks to her computer and types something in, probably searching for his name or something. After a bit of scrolling, she stops and looks a little closer.