Autophobia

Chapter 22: Business as Usual

"What's worse?" Charlie turned on the bedside lamp.

"B-Bonnie's out there. I think."

"What?"

BANG! Michael jumped away from the window.

"Like, Freddy Fazbear's Bonnie? Or old Bonnie?"

"Neither! He's-!"

BANG! Charlie kicked the covers off and rushed to Michael's side, grabbing his arm. She saw a purple form lingering by the window and caught a glimpse of gleaming silver- more menacing teeth. Michael cautiously made his way to the balcony door and poked his head out, shining the flashlight down the open corridor.

"What are you doing?!" Charlie clamoured after him. Bonnie lurched forward and Michael slammed the door, but not before giving the rabbit a large dose of light. There was a low growl and the flashlight flickered several times. Michael poked his head out of the door again.

"...He's gone."

"This can't be real." Charlie pinched the bridge of her nose and walked back to the bed, plopping herself down on its edge. "There's no way they're real."

"We're both seeing them, Charlotte." Michael shut the door and joined her.

"Yeah, but just think about it for a second. First of all, they show up out of nowhere. Second of all, they don't move like real animatronics. Even my dad's new animatronics stutter a bit when they walk. Orville is the fastest one at Junior's and even he takes a few minutes to cross the entire dining room."

"Wait, the robots at Junior's walk around?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Very rarely, like twice a month, but yes. Nobody's in the restaurant when they do. They don't need to walk around every night like the ones at Freddy Fazbear's, but they're still in danger of locking up if they don't get some kind of movement beyond the stage occasionally. But that's not the point. The point is that it's physically impossible for real animatronics to move like the ones we've seen. Also, "Bonnie" didn't like the flashlight very much. The yellow bear doesn't, either."

"So?"

"So they like the dark. Have you ever had a night terror?"

He gave her a look.

"Okay, dumb question. But when you have a night terror, it's usually because you think you're seeing something in the dark. It takes your brain a minute, but once you turn on the light, that something disappears because it was an illusion. A trick of your mind."

"Charlotte, an illusion can't choke you. You were unconscious."

"But you didn't see the black bear when you came into the room, remember? Have you ever dreamt that you were falling or drowning? The sensation feels real. People have died in their sleep because their bodies thought that they were actually drowning."

"So... these things are night terrors?"

"Some freakishly elaborate version of them, yes. It's the same concept."

"I still don't get it. How are we both seeing them at exactly the same time? ...Most of the time."

"I don't know, but we should probably keep the lights on tonight." Charlie yawned.

"...Right." Michael stood up and turned on the overhead light. "...I'm going to keep watch."

"Watch?"

"In case any of them come back. It's not like I'm going to get sleep anyway. Did you see that thing?"

"...If you're sure." Charlie got under the covers and Michael sat on the foot of the bed, armed with the flashlight. He watched the window closely.