Autophobia

Chapter 20: Nightmare

Charlie woke with a start, tears running down her cheeks. The pain in her leg was the equivalent of a charlie horse times one hundred. She groaned and grasped her pained limb, staring at the bottle of pills on the nearby dresser. If she could just get to them... she set her leg on the floor gingerly, but even that caused an unbearable sensation.

"Michael!" She called tearfully, "Michael, help me!"

There were footsteps in the hallway and she breathed a pained sigh of relief.

"It's my leg... it hurts and I can't move it. You've gotta help-" The right door creaked open but Michael didn't enter. "...Michael?"

There was a shuffling sound and then a shadow appeared before her- a large shadow. Two red eyes peered at her through the darkness.

Oh no. She fumbled for the flashlight on the bedside table. The shadow took the form of a bear, but it was very different from the yellow bear she'd seen before. This bear was all black, save for a yellow top hat and bow tie. It had rows upon rows of terrible, glistening teeth.

"You will not be spared... you will not be saved." A low, guttural voice filled the room. Charlie managed to grab the flashlight and shined it right at the bear, but it was undeterred. "I am here to claim what is left of you." A cold metal paw wrapped itself around her throat. She cried out and tried to push it away from her, but its grip was much too strong.

"Charlotte!" Michael's voice was distant. "Charlotte!"

Her lungs started to burn from a lack of oxygen and the world faded around her.

"You will not be spared... you will not be saved..."

Her arms went limp as she let out another desperate gasp for air.

"Charlotte!" She could still hear Michael's voice, now pained and desperate. Everything went black and she felt as though she were floating in water.

"Charlie..." Suddenly there was another, softer voice. It was childlike and tender. "Charlie, open your eyes."

I can't.

"Charlie, you can. Open your eyes."

She opened them. She was standing in Fredbear's Family Diner, which looked exactly how she remembered it. It was empty, except for a lone box in the corner. The puppet's box. She recoiled in fear.

"Don't be afraid. Charlie, I'm here with you." The gentle chiming of the music box filled the room.

"Charlotte, you are safe here." Came another voice. This one was motherly. "The demon has come for you, but have no fear. It is not your time." A hand gripped Charlie's shoulder. She turned around to see a blonde-haired woman with striking green eyes. She wore an ethereal white dress and a necklace with a key charm. The diner faded away and turned into Michael's bedroom. Charlie saw him holding her head in his lap, pleading with her to open her eyes.

"Am I... dead?"

"No. Your pulse is faint, but your heart has not stopped. As I said, it is not your time."

"Who... who are you?" Charlie backed up.

"We've met before, Charlotte. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to explain myself then." Charlie remembered the silhouette in the hallway at her house. The silhouette of a woman.

"I don't understand. How am I not dead? That... thing... was choking me. I couldn't breathe."

"Things are different for you now, Charlotte. You're different."