Recovery: A prologue to Fazbear & Co

Chapter 13

"Bud!" Goldie's whisper-shout caught his attention. "Bud! What's up?"

It took Freddy a second to realise, for he had once again been lost in his own fearful mulling. Nevertheless, the brown bear thought that it would be best to voice his concern immediately.
Turning around so that he was facing his friend, he began to speak. "Gold," he began, "we're on the main level of the bungalow! The guy who took Bonnie could be anywhere! In fact, he could be watch..."

One of the doors just ahead of the pair began to creak as it was pulled away from its doorframe.
Goldie and Freddy stood frozen to their respective spots, both pairs of blue eyes focused on the door. Neither was bold enough to move until Goldie grasped his companion's arm and bolted for the stairway, grunting with effort due to pulling Freddy's weight as well as his own. Unfortunately, the golden bear was heavy-footed, and Freddy cringed at every step. After a particularly long stride, the duo found themselves back in the darkness of what they could only assume was a basement.

The brown bear and his comrade snuck into a corner of the room, ever so slightly illuminated by the hallway light, yet it was still dark enough for them to hide in. Goldie pressed himself against the solid stone wall, and Freddy crouched in front of him. They waited in anticipation for who Freddy thought was about to round the corner. The brown-furred bear pricked his ears, listening for any signs of movement.

There it was.
A high-pitched screech was growing louder, along with heavy footsteps that weren't too indifferent to Goldie's. Grunts and mutters could also be identified, and the rectangle of light created by the staircase entrance was immediately partly obscured by a tall shadow. At the same time, the screams were silenced, and a large figure stepped into the room. He appeared to be a rabbit; Freddy could tell by his tall ears. Thanks to the light coming from behind him, the bear could make out that his fur was a beige colour. Hoisted by both of his arms was another tall bundle. Its long, floppy ears draped down towards the floor and, clasped over its maw, was the other rabbit's paw.

Behind him, Freddy heard his friend's breathing quicken. Following this was his hushed whisper.
"Fred! That's 'er! Bonneh'!"

Upon realising this, he too let out a gasp. The doe in question was flailing in her captor's arms, muffled screams silenced by the brown paw covering her mouth. The brown bear fell into a shocked daze. It was too much. He needed to rescue her from the assailant's cruelty!
His legs had begun to quiver with motion in preparation for action, but before he could physically do anything, the brown rabbit's voice sounded in the darkness.
"Now listen here, you little bitch," he rasped with a low growl. "You stay right here, ya hear me? Don't move an INCH." With that, he hurled Bonnie to the floor and promptly marched out of the room, slamming the basement door behind him. A click notified the occupants of the room that he had locked it, too.

Freddy returned his attention to the purple rabbit, who was now faintly outlined by the small amount of light coming from the hatch that the bear and his friend had entered through. She moaned in pain from the hard impact of the throw. After looking around to make sure the door hadn't opened again, the brown-furred bear crept out of his hiding place, calling Bonnie's name.
"Bonnie! Bonnie!" His voice was still hushed.
The purple doe moved her head so that it faced in his direction. "Fred...dy?" she croaked.

Relieved that she'd managed to hear him, Freddy replied. "I'm right here. Can you see me?"
"I think so." The female began to crawl haphazardly towards him, and he reached out a paw to help her up.
"I'm going to help you get up. My paw is just in front of you." The bear remembered what had happened the last time he'd touched her, so he decided it was fair to at least give her a warning.

To his utter reassurance, he could see Bonnie's head nodding. Manoeuvring so that his paw was in line with her incoming one, he suddenly realised that she'd never touched him before. They'd never really made physical contact, unless you were to count the time where she'd shuffled into the bush. Freddy wasn't sure why, but the thought made his heart beat faster.

Before he knew it, he felt the doe's fingertips against his own. A sensation that the brown bear couldn't fathom rocketed up his paw and progressed rapidly down the length of his arm and he froze, shocked until her cough reminded him that he needed to aid her in coming to her feet. Immediately responding, Freddy tightened his grip on her paw and gently pulled her up so that she was standing, albeit shakily. He could see Bonnie attempting to steady herself, and it wasn't going well, so on a whim he darted behind her and placed both of his paws on her shoulders. In response, she turned her head to look at him. The bear couldn't tell what shone in her eyes – was it gratitude? Whatever it was, Freddy decided not to stare and instead focused on getting her to the corner where Goldie still stood; his hands had since fallen from their outstretched demeanour and his darkness-dulled blue eyes glimmered with curiosity.

"Alright. Bonnie, can you try and walk over to Goldie? He's standing by the wall. I'll support you if you wish."
The purple rabbit grunted and began to shuffle across the cold stone floor. The brown bear made sure his paws remained steadily on her shoulders for the entire duration of her struggle, and when she reached out to put her own small paw on the wall, Goldie rushed over to hold her from one side. Relaxing a little, Bonnie let the stone bear most of her weight. She opened her maw to speak.

"How...did you get...here?" Freddy could see that she was trying very hard to keep control of her body; one of her eyes was half closed and she was shivering.

"Well...we came in through that hatch up there. Can you see the light up there?"
She shifted so that she could look up to the entrance in the ceiling. "Yes."
Goldie butted in. "We ran fuh' a while until we came teh' this bungalow."

"Oh..." Bonnie sounded nervous, which was unlike her. The corners of her mouth sunk, her mouth forming a wobbly frown.
"Bonnie?" The brown bear became more concerned as time dragged on.

Taking him and his friend by surprise, the rabbit let out a wail and flung herself into Freddy's chest. Heaving gasps that came from the fabric of his t-shirt told him that Bonnie was sobbing, and two wet patches that were starting to form there confirmed this. Instinctively, the bear brought both of his arms around her and gripped her back tightly. "Shhhh...it's okay..."
Purple fur shook as she continued to cry. The bear didn't know what was wrong, and attempted to pose a question.

"Bonnie...what's wrong?" he cooed, shifting a paw to stroke the top of her head.
Moving at a crawl, the doe eventually lifted her head, and her red and puffy eyes looked up at him with a solemn dullness. The remaining makeup at the top of her eyes was smudged, smearing across her eyelids to create an unfortunate sight. Freddy truly felt sorry for her, despite not knowing the problem that she faced.

"It's...him," the purple rabbit choked out. When Goldie started to look guilty, she continued in the same upset tone. "The...man that carried me in...here...my..."

The brown bear encouraged her. "Go on, we're listening..."

"My...my...my father."