From the Scraps they Came (Fnaf Murder Mystery Fanfiction)

Chapter 7 - Red Ties

          A small creek echoed along the cracked and aged walls of an office as someone threatened to enter from a small crack. A curious head poked in and looked around at the disaster of a room. Robotic parts laid to the left, papers were scattered along the floor and the blinds were left half open. The desk appeared to be the only organized thing in the room, only one stack of papers being on one side and a mug holding a single pen on the other. Behind it, an old chair stood devoid of any presence.
           Upon this observation, the door opened further and a quiet figure slipped in, closing the door behind it. It tried the light switch only to be met with a brief dim light before a sudden pop filled the room and the place went dark again. It sauntered to the middle of the room and stopped, looking around a bit. It placed a hand on it's chin in thought before going over to the desk and sitting down, turning a few times as if it were testing the reliability of the chair.
          This was short lived, the door soon opened and a hand reached for the light switch. There was a slight click from it before it repeated itself, the person realizing the light wasn't working.
          "...Henry." It's voice sounded exhausted. "...What are you doing at my desk-"
          "William!" he sprang up from the chair, both hands on the desk in a cheerful manner. "Hey there! You're... Supposed to be in the hospital- Why-" Henry trailed off.
          William stepped in on crutches, one foot bandaged heavily. "You know me, I'm not one to stay anywhere for too long when I have something to take care of." He sighed. "Still hurts but... Not as bad as it did last night when it happened."
         "I... I see..." Henry paused for a moment.
         "...Back to the source question-"
         "Oh- I was just looking for your paperwork you're always so uptight about doing on time!" He chuckled. "I know how you are so... I was hoping I'd be able to do it for you while you're not here. It... was supposed to be a team effort regardless. I have no idea how you ended up getting so absorbed-"
          William chuckled slightly. "Guess you'll never know." In all actuality, it began once his home life slowly began to tear at the seams all those years ago. He was glad he was able to end it all with his own hands, even if a stain of regret remained.
          "Hey uh... I couldn't help but notice that Jeremy's bike hasn't been at the rack the past couple of nights-"
          "Someone stole Jeremy's bike so Mike has been driving him to work and back." William thought for a moment.
          "...He drives him to and back?"
          "...Yeah- why- wait what were you doing back there anyways? Don't you go straight home after you leave?" William raised an eyebrow.
          "I usually check around a bit to make sure no one's lurking- especially considering all that's happened. It's like you always say..." Henry cleared his throat and proceeded to do a spot-on impression of William. "Never leave the premises unchecked!"
          "Sometimes I wonder how you do that- Our voices are so different and here you are-" William chuckled. "Doing perfect impressions of me. Of... Everyone as a matter of fact."
          Henry giggled. "Thank you!" They both froze when someone knocked at the door. "Come in!" Henry didn't even wait for William to consent any entry.
          Fritz and Scott stepped in. Scott was holding his arm in severe pain from last night and Fritz wore a worried expression. "Sorry to bother you but... Scott's in major pain and won't take it easy-"
          "No- not true-" Scott chuckled anxiously.
         "Scott, I turned away for five seconds and you slammed your hand into the doorway, collapsing on the floor in pain-" Fritz raised an eyebrow.
         "Nope- Didn't happen- I'm fi-" Scott made the mistake of trying to lift his injured arm and immediately froze up, a pained and anxious smile plastered on his face for all to behold.
         William stared for a moment and slowly facepalmed. "...Scott, you should be taking it easy after last night- did you even see a hospital or anything?"
         "I-... No sir-" Scott looked off to the side. "But I... Can't take the day off- Quite a few workers are either not here or late."
         Henry paused for a moment. "Well, Fritz has Marley to help take care of your shift and I'm I'm sure Ten-"
         "Quit." William looked at Henry. "Tenna quit a little after rumor got out about what happened."
         "...Jessica?"
        "Followed with."
        "Todd?"
        "Haven't heard from him."
        "Well gee... We are short..." Henry thought for a moment. "Well, there's Mike-"
        "We haven't seen him all day." Fritz said quietly. "He'd normally be here by now, Jeremy along with him."
        "I'm not leaving you to work here alone, Fritz- My arms are in pain but I can still work-" Scott looked at him. "Leaving you here would be the worst idea in the book-" He stopped, hearing the doors of the pizzeria slam open and fast footsteps skittering along the corridors. Soon, Mike slid into view. He was breathing heavily and held up a finger as if to say 'one moment' before inhaling to speak.
       "Has anyone seen J-Jeremy?" Mike frantically scanned the faces of everyone in the room for any signs of knowing. When he was met with confusion and concern, he stepped into the room and continued. "I-I went to his house- h-he wasn't waiting up front so I-I went in- Jeremy wasn't there- I searched everywhere I could think of and then I thought, 'Hey, maybe he'd be back here-' so... P-please tell me he's here-"
         They exchanged glances for a moment. Confusion changed to great fear and concern for Jeremy's safety. William looked at Mike. "Are you sure you looked everywhere?"
         Mike nodded. "Yes! I checked the park, I checked down town, I checked the woods, his house, I even checked the route he'd bike down and nothing! Nada! Nein!" His hand  climbed to his head. "Not even a trace of a break in or struggle- nothing... just... gone... o-oh god..."
         Seeing Mike this fearful and disturbed was unsettling for anyone who knew him well enough. Normally Mike was the one who'd remain calm or resort to anger rather than fear. However, here he was. Pleading, shaking slightly and his voice trembled every now and then. To be fair, no one could blame him after everything that happened. Him assuming the worst was completely justified. No one knew what to think.
         "It's... Not like him to just disappear and... If he needed to go anywhere he'd call me..." Mike then fell silent.
         "Maybe he'll turn up?" Henry suggested. "There's a first time for everything, I wouldn't worry-"
         "Wouldn't worry? my ass- Have you taken one second to look around at everything that's happened?" Mike stared at Henry.
         "We shouldn't get bent up till we know for su-"
         "I'll go to the police station." William wasn't about to stall for time. This was serious for him. "See if they know anything and get word around." William went over to Mike and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find him- come with me." He looked over at Scott. "Scott, you're coming too. That's an order-"
         Scott jolted before nodding. "Yes sir..."
         "Fritz, tell Marley that you and him are taking tonight's shift. Henry, travel safely-"
         Fritz nodded and left to tell the news. Henry smiled and left the area, William and the others trailing behind. Mike's mind was already racing miles at a time, he felt as if he had failed him. Scott felt similar, he hated seeing Mike so distressed while William was concerned for everything at this point. He's concerned for his workers, his pizzeria, everything. It was almost as if someone distorted his reality for some twisted game that he never meant to play. He could only hope that tonight Fritz and Marley would be okay in the end, it was all he could count on.