Behind Closed Doors

Strawberry Maple Syrup

Mike's mouth fell open. Jeremy got out of Mike's grip and was jumping up and down. Scott fell limp from exhaustion and relief. Vincent helped Scott and held him up.

Stephanie ran in through the wall screaming, "YOU GUYS DID IT!!! IF YOU DIDN'T THAT WOULD BE REALLY SAD, SO DON'T SAY THAT ONE OF YOU DIDN'T MAKE IT BECAUSE I WILL BE REALLY SAD!!"

"You don't have to yell and we all made it!" Jeremy said, jumping up and down.

Stephanie and Jeremy were overjoyed, running around the security office.

"You'll trip over someone, Jeremy." Mike said, putting out a hand and stopping Jeremy.

After Scott was able to walk again, he and Vincent started to leave. Scott remembered something and turned around to say something.

"If this night we were going to run out of power, tomorrow won't be so easy. Remember, it gets harder as the nights go on."

Everyone's spirits died.

"You had to ruin the mood didn't you?" Mike asked annoyingly.

Scott shrugged. "You have to keep that in mind." He walked out of the office. Vincent followed him.

"What are you going to do now?" Stephanie asked the remaining two guards.

"We'll grab a bite to eat somewhere and sleep at my place." Mike said. "See you tomorrow, Stephanie." He said as Mike and Jeremy left the office.

"Yea. Tomorrow." Stephanie said, staring at the ceiling.

* * * * * *

Scott and Vincent climbed into Scott's car. They had decided that they would use Scott's car and they would leave Vincent's car in the parking lot and come back to it the next night. They were heading over to the grocery store to buy things to put on toast.

"I like jam on toast." Scott said. "How about you?"

Vincent thought for a moment. "I don't put anything on it." He said.

"What!? That's not normal." Scott said. "You have to put SOMETHING on it. How 'bout you try some different flavors of jams?"

Vincent nodded. "Which jam do you like?"

"Strawberry maple syrup."

"What!? That's a weird flavor. You can't complain to me about me not putting anything on my toast if you put such a weird flavor of jam on your toast." Vincent said.

He waited for an answer, but Scott didn't answer. So he decided to change the subject. "So what was it with the pessimism back at the office?" He asked.

Scott looked at him with an annoyed expression. He looked back at the road. He didn't answer, but Vincent knew that he had an answer and waited.

The silence was killing him, so Scott replied. "If you're not prepared for the next night, you'll get killed easily. I tried to forget about it last time, and I almost died!"

His voice was rising and Vincent decided not to bother Scott.

"Ok. We're here." Scott said, getting out of the car. Vincent followed him to the store.

*I have never tried strawberry maple syrup jam. I don't even know if that's a real thing.

If you have tried it, then tell me. I want to try it.*

*I have been informed that strawberry maple syrup is a real thing and it has become one of my life goals to try it.*

* * * * * *

Mike led Jeremy out of the pizzeria and to his car. They had taken Mike's car to work, so Jeremy didn't have to worry about his car.

They noticed that there was a car in the parking lot that wasn't Mike's.

"I bet that Vincent and Scott took one car." Mike said, getting into his car.

Jeremy nodded, getting in the passenger seat of Mike's car.

"So, what do you want to eat?" Mike asked Jeremy.

"Waffles!"

Mike nodded. There was a good waffle shop that he knew about. It was also close to his apartment so they didn't have to go too far to go to sleep.

"I think Scott's right, though." Jeremy said.

"About what?" Mike asked.

"About the night getting harder and the power. I do think we should keep track of the power and we should try to keep the power up. Foxy can attack and we'll lose-"

"We can talk about that later." Mike butted in. "We should think that we were able to live for another night and celebrate the fact that we were all close to death."

Jeremy sighed. "But-"

"No. Shhhh. It's Ok. We'll talk about that later. Right now, think of what kind of waffle you want. I want the fruit one."

Jeremy knew that he couldn't argue. "Fine. I want one with lots of whipped cream and chocolate."

Mike smiled. "Of course you do. You have a real big sweet tooth, you know?"

Jeremy laughed. They then made it to the waffle shop and they went inside to get their waffles.

* * * * * *

Stephanie hovered backstage. She had a message from The Mother to meet her there, but she had been there for an hour. She had just begun to think that she just thought she felt it, but then a figure entered the room.

"Mother." Stephanie greeted.

The Mother just stared back at her.

"Why did you call me?" Stephanie asked. She knew that it was important.

The Mother spoke in a soft voice. "Your friends have been mad at you. You know why."

Stephanie nodded. "She called me to scold me, didn't she?" she thought.

The Mother continued. "But I believe differently. The security guards that you've been talking to? Well, they are important. You'll find out later why. There is something special about them."

The Mother paused to see what Stephanie had to say.

Stephanie's mind was racing. She had even more questions than before.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"You'll find out soon enough." The Mother replied. "For now, there is one thing I can do for you. It will benefit everyone."

Stephanie was going to ask what it was, but she couldn't speak. A bright light filled the room and Stephanie couldn't see anything.

When the light was gone, both The Mother and Stephanie were gone.