Autophobia

Chapter 11: Tomorrow is Another Day

Charlie and the rabbit stared at each other. She could see the gleam of the springlocks behind its purple eyes, which seemed to follow her as she knelt down to get a closer look.

    "Isn't that...?" John took a step forward.

    "Spring Bonnie." Charlie finished for him. The rabbit had seen better days- the yellow fabric that encased its animatronic endoskeleton was ripped in several places and had taken on a sickly greenish hue. Part of its right ear was missing and its cartoonish plaster teeth were partially exposed due to the decaying fabric around its mouth.

"Dad said he destroyed him. Him and Fredbear." Charlie's voice shook. She and the rabbit continued to stare each other down as she reached for the large steel crank by its side. It was heavy and cold in her hand as she picked it up and examined it closely.

"Have they been using it...?" Charlie muttered mostly to herself, tilting the rabbit's head back to access the winding mechanism hidden in its neck.

"What are you doing?" John inquired, kneeling down to get a closer look.

"Unwinding the springlocks." Charlie replied nonchalantly.

"The what?"

"These suits could be worn if you cranked the animatronic parts back."

"Whoa, whoa ,whoa." John grabbed her wrist. "Bad idea."

"I'm not going to get inside it. I just want to see how it works."

"...But have you done this before?"

"...No."

Charlie's father had never let her anywhere near the mascots while he was maintaining them or helping an employee worm into one, but she had watched the process from afar many times. The springlocks whined as she started to crank them into place, and she watched in fascination as they retreated into the darkness of the suit. She cranked until there was a metallic boing sound, indicating that the suit was in mascot mode.

"Hold this." She held the crank out to John, who took it reluctantly. She peeked inside, curious about the suit's inner workings. Unable to see anything, she grabbed a flashlight that was sitting on a nearby workbench.

"Charlie, come on. It's just a suit. Besides, I thought we were here to watch the new animatronics." John sighed, shifting the crank's weight from hand to hand. Charlie ignored him and positioned the flashlight so the beam was shining directly on the suit's internal components.

"Oh my God-!" She stumbled backwards and John caught her, dropping the heavy crank in the process. The flashlight fell to the floor with a clatter and Charlie's hand flew to her mouth as she fought a sudden, intense wave of nausea.

"What is it?"

"...Blood."

"What?"

"T-t-t-there's b-b-blood in the suit." Charlie stammered. Don't you dare throw up.

"Like... fresh blood?"

"I can't tell." She stood up after several seconds, fighting the dry heave that threatened to escape her. There were a million questions and no answers. Why is it here? Who was wearing it? Why was there blood? God, why is there blood? Charlie leaned back, her hand still covering her mouth. She lightly tapped her cheek with her pointer finger as she struggled to put the pieces together. They were disassembled. She remembered the robotic components and limbs sprawled everywhere in her father's workshop. Did someone rebuild it? Did dad rebuild it? That second possibility had Charlie reeling- her father was seemingly determined to leave Freddy's in the past, but maybe he couldn't. These were his creations, after all.