From the Scraps they Came (Fnaf Murder Mystery Fanfiction)

Chapter 9- Ringing Drops

         Thunder roared overhead, briefly masking the merciless pounding of the rain of the cold 5 a.m. morning. Water refused to stay still as vehicles raced onward, never slowing and never stopping till a light declared that it was time to halt. In the midst of the hustle among the highway, an old violet car stuck out from the silvers, reds, and blacks that stained the metallic speed demons. For a while, only the muffled sounds of the weather and traffic filled the silence between the three people inside. A very troubled William sat in the driver's seat, eyes glued to the street up ahead as he contemplated the recent events. In the backseat sat Scott and Mike. Mike held a defeated and thoughtful look as he stared out the window. Scott glanced from Mike to William from time to time, only trying to focus on the moments at hand.
         After a while, William sighed. "... I'm... Terribly sorry for all that's happened."
         Scott looked up at him "What for? You didn't do anything-"
        "It's my establishment, I should be able to figure things like this out before they escalate." He sighed. "Things were going so well and... Now there's a murderer on the loose that's most likely among our own partners. We don't even have a clue on who-"
        "It's not like you could've known." Scott coughed for a moment. "Don't blame yourself for what's been happening. Besides, it's Henry's just as much as it's yours."
        "He's been awfully dismissive of everything too." William added. "Makes you wonder." They drove in silence for a moment, unsure how to keep up a conversation.
        After a while, Mike lifted his head from the glass and looked past the windshield, squinting at the sight of police lights. Traffic came to a slow and he stared longer, taking full advantage. "...Guys-" They all looked at Mike. "I-Isn't that Fritz's car model?" They froze before taking a better look at the scene. There was a broken rail and, just below the hill was a car that had crashed.
        "...Could be... Hope it's not-" William immediately took a detour and pulled over on the side of the road, looking at Scott and Mike. "Stay in the car, I'm going in to investigate. It shouldn't take too long." Scott and Mike nodded before listening to the car door lightly slam and watching him leave.
        A few seconds of silence passed before Mike looked over at Scott. "...Fritz too... Can't believe it- I can't fucking believe it-"
       "If it is him, what was he doing on the street during his shift?" Scott thought for a moment. "He usually never leaves, even when things are getting pretty rough."
       "My guess is he had an encounter with that fucker... Whoever it was..." Mike shook his head.
       "...I've been... Thinking about who it might be." He looked at Mike. "Whoever it was had knowledge of the camera system, knew how to get in the generator, and knew about the back room. Only a few people originally knew about the back door... It was me, Henry, and William." He looked away. "And two are already proven to be innocent by the recent events." Scott sighed. "Unless there's another person in this equation we aren't aware of yet, I'm thinking it might be the team dad..."
         Mike groaned. "Perfect, just fucking perfect. And it took like, what? More than half of our team to consider the idea? We're fucked!"
        "Now hold on, we don't know for sure yet-"
        "For once, for just once I want an answer from this damn place!" Mike's voice suddenly became quieter. "... I can't believe after all this time someone takes advantage of our trust... Maybe, just maybe if we were a little more suspicious... Just a little more careful... None of this would've ever happened..." Mike went silent. He was angry and devastated now that Jeremy wasn't here to calm him down.
        Scott stared at Mike and briefly remembered what Mike was like before Jeremy came by. It was already made clear that Mike needs something, someone to calm him down when he needs it the most. If no one came, it could easily escalate into major trouble for himself and everyone around him. Jeremy was like a little brother to him and knew that since he wasn't in the picture, Mike would mostly be angry at himself rather than anyone else. He realized that someone had better stay with him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. And so, despite the pain, he slowly lifted an arm over Mike's shoulder.
        Mike stopped and looked at Scott for a moment. "... You fucking dumb ass, you're too injured!" Mike suddenly hugged Scott, finding it hard to hold any emotions in. More than ever now, he needed a friend and he didn't want him to have to hurt his arm in the process. Scott was startled for a moment before realizing how shaky Mike actually was.
       Scott chuckled. "Now... why d-does that sound familiar?" Scott had said the same thing to Mike a long time ago when he got himself injured by Foxy. He proceeded to push himself anyways out of sheer stubbornness and Scott had to keep him in check. Now, it seems the tables have turned. Scott barely took care of himself and Mike was a bit more careful now.
        They stayed like that for a bit in silence, listening to whatever was going on around the car. When they heard footsteps, Mike pulled away. This was most likely due to the fact he had too much pride to be seen like that with anyone but Jeremy. He glared at Scott, as if to silently warn him that misfortune shall befall him if he said a word about it to anyone. Scott nodded casually in understanding and Mike's glare softened.
        William opened the door and sat down in the seat and inhaled deeply, hands over his face. Scott and Mike stared at him, understanding that only bad news follows these gestures. William's hands dropped from his face. "...Mike..."
        "Yeah?"
        "You were right... It was Fritz..." William seemed more than just drained at this point, he looked like he'd start begging for death at any moment. "...I saw him at the scene... Cut up to all hell from the crash... Car parts scattered here and there... Frozen on his face was the look of sheer horror... The police told me that his brakes were tampered with." Mike and Scott looked at each other as William started the car and drove. "...I-I shouldn't have left him and M-Marley there... I-..." William shook his head.
        "I-it's not your fault..." Scott said quietly. It was too much to take in, let alone the description. Just at the beginning of the week, the eight of them were alive and having fun. Now there was only him, William and Mike left with Henry being the possible culprit and Jeremy still missing. As much as he hated to admit it, he assumed he was dead already. It was surreal and emotionally draining. He looked over at Mike to see how he was taking it. Sure enough, the lad's face was full of gloom and he stared at the floor, struggling with his own thoughts.
        "He left something in his final moments though..." William glanced at them. "It read K equals H."
        Scott and Mike stared in disbelief. Mike spoke up finally. "The fucker was doing algebra in his final moments?" Scott immediately stared at him, completely done.
        "I know!" William exclaimed, causing Scott to quickly look at him in confusion. "Couldn't believe it either, he died the way he lived..." Scott's expression twitched and he slowly facepalmed.
        "Like a goddamn nerd is what." Mike chuckled slightly.
        "Oh! My god! You're all fucking idiots! I can't-" Scott inhaled as Mike and William looked at him.
        "What do you mean?" William asked.
        "K equals H, I want you to think on that for a moment." Mike and William thought as instructed. After a full minute of silence passed, Scott sighed. "Killer equals Henry." He said quietly.
        "Oh- I knew that." They said collectively.
        "No you di-" with a clap sound, Scott put his hands together in front of his face. His expression screamed 'Lord give me patience because if you grant me strength I'm going to kill these dumb fucks.' He inhaled deeply, reminding himself that it wasn't worth it and that he should calm down.
        "...I'm driving you two home, I'll send the information to the police station right away. You two remain home until further notice, I'll call once things are settled." William paused for a moment. "I'm not losing you two as well..."
        It was now 6 a.m. Scott and Mike stared at the sky as the sun rose, being thankful that they lived to see the it rise. However, it was bittersweet. They wished more than ever that the others were around to witness it too.
        Oh how they took it for granted...