00.19

I SIGH, WALKING down to Freddy's bedroom. As I go to knock on his door, I hear talking between him and someone else. My brows furrow, and I walk inside, holding the heavy box of parts.

There was a little boy in there with him.

My eyes widen. "Hey! What are you doing in here?" I turn and look to Freddy anxiously. "Freddy, are you okay?"

He must have been the one Vanessa was talking about. I wonder what his deal was. He looked pretty young, so maybe he got lost or something.

"Please don't hurt me!" The boy cowards behind the large animatronic.

"Oh, Y/N, I'm glad that you're here. I hope that you are doing better. This is Gregory. He's explained to me, that officer Vanessa has been looking for him." Freddy explains to me the information I was already aware of.

"Yeah, no shit." I roll my eyes, setting the box down to the floor.

"Y/N! Your language, there is a kid present." Glamrock scolds me. He was just as bad as Sun.

I sigh, shaking my head at the reminder. "Look, kid, you really shouldn't be here at night, it's dangerous . . do you have a place to go home to?" I bend down at my knees and tilt my head curiously. Gregory frowns up at me. "I'm sorry. I-I just can't let her see me! She's trying to get me." His gaze turns out to the window behind us. The curtains had been pulled closed for the most part.

I furrow a brow. "Well yeah, she wants to bring you home." I offer him a smile. The brunette boy frowns, shaking his head. "No she doesn't . . I don't trust her. There's something not right."

I let out a soft sigh. "Well, do you want me to help you out? The doors are going to shut in a couple of minuets, and I'm almost done with my shift. If we hurry, you can make it out."

He falters. "No. I can't go back out there, either."

He definitely wasn't making things easy for me. If he was here to try and sneak food and games, it didn't seem like it. Gregory looked pretty frazzled.

"I tried to message you on your Fazwatch. I knew if anybody could help, it would be you," Freddy mentions to me. "But it seems you had missed the memo."

I sigh short, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, I was a little busy saying goodbye to Sun."

Freddy furrows a brow to me. "Goodbye? What do you mean?" His body turns to face me. I glance down to the floor. "Freddy . . I quit today. My last day is next weekend." I try my best to avoid eye contact with him, but he managed to make me look at him again. "I got attacked by Moon."

"Oh . ." He mumbles to the floor now. "That's . . unfortunate to hear. I am sorry, things haven't been working out for you, here. I know you were one of the best to us." Glamrock places a hand to my shoulder to sympathize with my feelings. I appreciate it.

"Thanks, bud. I didn't want to, but I'll explain it all later."

"Can we get back to me, now?" Gregory groans softly. I look down to him and frown.

"Well, I'm not sure what I can do for you. You don't want our help, you don't want to leave, and you can't stay here all night. Are you in some sort of trouble? I can try to figure something out for you." I offer the boy a smile as I bend down to his level. He looks hesitant for a minuet, but keeps his gaze flicked up at me. "I just . ." A soft sigh escapes him. "need someone that I can trust."

Freddy looks to me and gives a little nod.

I have a feeling I'm going to regret this later.

"Okay, Gregory. I'm here for you." I smile. "What can I do to help you?"

"Just keep me away from her . . I think she's trying to hurt me. I don't trust her!" His voice shakes with anxiety. I try to wonder why he doesn't trust Vanessa. I mean, she wasn't always the nicest to the Glamrocks, or even sometimes, Sunny, but she wouldn't hurt anybody. Not to my knowledge, anyway. I know lots of people around here had their own secrets.

"Okay, we'll avoid her at all costs." I put my right hand up. He nods. "It's like, fifteen minuets until midnight. We're going to be locked in, so we might as well try and get down to the main office to unlock the doors. Late night employees say it's easiest to get out of here, that way. I agree with them." My shoulders shrug. "So, come on." I hold a hand out for him to grab. He looks at it and decided against taking it. I don't feel offended. Instead, I try to think like I'm in his shoes.

"Y/N, do you have any guest passes on you? I believe letting me help you get out, would be best." Freddy grabs my attention again.

I pat around my uniform pockets and find the right card. "Yeah! I can let you out. I don't have many other cards on me though. Management hasn't needed me to use them, so if we need to go get any, it might be kind of a pain."

Since I was leaving next week, they made me return all of my key holding cards and such. I was only going to be working the diner after tonight, so I didn't need them anyway. It makes sense why I had to return them.

"Just what we need," Gregory whines. "More problems." I smile down at him. "You're a fun one to have around." Unlocking the door from the inside, I allow Gregory to get out before me. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Freddy soon follows, and we head out to make our way to the office.

"So . . How did you get in here, anyways?" I ask Greg. He shrugs. "I snuck in. I didn't know where else to go . . I'm sorry."

I frown a little. "Gregory, do you have parents?" I ask. "Anybody to watch you?" He looks to me, then ahead on the path, as we keep walking. "Not really."

I furrow my brows. "Where have you been staying?" It bothered me knowing he was alone. I know that feeling, but at least I had a mother. She was just emotionally absent.

"Uh," he slows his pace a little, looking up at me. "Right now . . a box?"I stop, looking down at him. "A box?! What do you mean, a box?"He looks around anxiously, then hushes my voice. "Be quiet! They'll hear us." I frown and bend down to his level. "Gregory, are you living completely alone?" My hands take hold of his, and he gives me a crooked frown.

"Yeah, okay?" His brow knit together.

Freddy frowns down at us.

That was no way for any child to live. I feel something shift in my chest.

"Holy shit . ." I mumble, standing back up. "Don't worry, I'm going to help you. We'll get you out of this mess, and I'll find somewhere for you to stay." I smile softly. "Okay?" He looks up to me with curiosity. "Okay." His mouth upturns to a weak smile.

Working in the daycare really made me gain a soft spot for kids. It wasn't often that I'd see a good parent with their kid, not wanting to drop them off. Most of the ones who came here, couldn't wait to get rid of their child.

It made me mad.I felt that way, when mom would urge Isabella to come to work with me.

Loud footsteps made their way over to us. Freddy turns as I can hear Chica's voice squeaking in the halls. "Greeegoryy~"

"Oh no! It's Chica!" The boy frowns.

"Come on, we need to move." I urge him up the stairs. She slowly chases after us, Freddy frowning with distress from behind. "Y/N, my power is getting low. I didn't have the time to finish charging." Freddy warns me. I groan, eyes spotting a photo booth.

A bit of anxiety rushes through me. This felt like Moon trying to hunt me, all over again.

"We'll take care of that soon, don't worry. For now, we gotta hide." I push Gregory in front of me, opening the curtain to the booth. With Chica now racing up the stairs, we hop into the booth before she can even see.

Gregory tries to calm his breathing. I do the same. I hold my finger up to my mouth and hope she doesn't start attacking Freddy, too.

"Who wants candy?~" she chirps eagerly from outside the booth. Chica's heavy feet stomp around the floor, until finally inching away. I wait out another minute before Freddy gently taps the side of the booth. "She's moved on, it's safe to come out now." Freddy tells us. I sigh in relief, and allow Gregory out.

"Holy shit, that was close." I whisper.

"I know," Gregory frowns. "Now, where do we go?"

"I can take us under the building. It may be the fastest way to go, if we are avoiding the others." Freddy says. I nod, "that sounds like a good idea for now. Let's go."

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and so it begins ~