Vol. 2 Relapse

It's been almost five years since Freddy Fazbears burnt to the ground, and the kids moved on.

I almost feel like a new person. I no longer need medication, and their parents finally have the closure they needed.

My music career is at its climax. Currently I'm on tour, featuring the requested songs. I asked my manager to give the option when they ordered tickets online.

"Where are we playing next?" I ask, sitting at the tiny table on the tour bus.

"We are heading to Las Vegas. For this concert hall, there's a lot of requests." She hands me a piece of paper.

The list on the paper is very long, most of the requests are for my older songs. Some being 'Nightmare' and 'Home'. I even have a special song in mind to feature that hasn't been released yet.

I lean back into my seat. "Is this the last stop?"

My manager nods. "Yes, once we are done here you can take your parents on a vacation."

I smile. "That would be nice, but I can't bring my dad just yet."

My father is currently in a rehab facility for being an alcoholic. I've been told that he's been doing really well, so maybe we can go.

I watch out the window as the fields from the highway turn into desert sands.

We finally reach our hotel and I plop onto the soft bed. "Please make sure the driver gets a break."

She sighs. "Don't worry, I've already told him a thousand times."

"Thank you." I say as she leaves the room.

I stare out of the giant window and watch the busy city move around.

After a minute or two of silence, the puppet comes out from under the bed. She lays next to me, wrapping her arms around me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just tired from being on the road so much."

"Then sleep, I will protect you. I promise."

I sigh. "Alright."

Her long arms squeeze me a little bit, and she uses her gift to help me sleep. She has helped me sleep ever since I burnt that damn place to the ground. She also helps keep the nightmares at bay.

I feel my body relax, and I slowly go to sleep.

"Hey." Someone shakes me awake. "It's time to get ready for your performance."

I open my eyes and sit up. I look over to my left and the puppet is gone. "Okay."

After I take a quick shower, we hop into a car and go to the concert hall. Once we get there, I'm brought to the back. I notice all of my fans standing at the front entrance, waiting for the doors to open.

I walk through the back door, and am guided to the dressing room.

There's a long rack filled with outfits for the show. Most of them are black, but there's one that catches my eye. My eye twitches in irritation. I pull the dress from the rack, it's blue and it sparkles. "Are you fucking serious? When have I ever worn this color? I really hope this is some sick joke." I toss it aside, and continue looking through my options.

I ended up choosing some plain black clothes. My pants have some rips on the side, and my shirt is a tank top. I take some deep breaths, and warm up my voice for the show.

Some time later, there's a knock on my door.

"Come in."

"Excuse me ma'am. It's time to go on."

"HelloVegas!" I address the crowd, a little breathless from the nerves.

They cheer in excitement.

"First thing is first. I want to thank you all for coming to see me tonight. This is the last show of the tour. So I have a special surprise for you, would you like to know what it is?"

The crowd cheers again.

"I don't think that was loud enough, can you do better?"

They cheer louder.

"Alright, that's much better! I have a song that I'm going to sing to you that hasn't been released yet. What do you guys think about that?"

I can hear the excitement in their screams.

"Let's get the show started shall we?" I nod to the band and they start the music to the first song of the night. I take some deep breaths to release the nerves, and I start singing.

"Okay, that was all the requested songs for the night. Are you ready for the new song?"

The crowd cheers in excitement.

I nod to the band again and they start the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdi8YMc6Ids

I didn't mean to lie

When I said you were safe

I'd keep the nightmares at bay

The first time

That I saw you smile

I swore above all else

I'd choose you over myself

What if I couldn't save you

Even though I tried

What if the dark embraced you

And you lost my light

If I couldn't cut the strings

That kept you tied

What if I couldn't save you

When I heard you cry

"Save me"

Those nights when you got scared

You would cry, I would check

For monsters under your bed

But I, couldn't make it there

When your fate would be sealed

The time the monster was real

What if I couldn't save you

Even though I tried

What if the dark embraced you

And you lost my light

If I couldn't cut the strings

That kept you tied

What if I couldn't save you

When I heard you cry

"Save me"

I'm sorry I couldn't save you

I'm sorry I couldn't save you

When I heard you cry

As I finish the song, I notice something odd in the crowd. It's really tall, and resembles a bunny. It's large dark eyes have a white glow in the middle of them. They seem to stare into my soul.

"No." I drop my microphone, and it makes the speakers screech as it hits the ground.

That suit, those glowing eyes. I recognize them both. It's Vinnie, we killed him at the pizzeria. I watched him bleed out to death. How is he here? I stare at him and notice that his suit is burned and it's tattered in places.

I look down and see the spirits of the children I thought I saved in front of me. As if they're protecting me from him once again.

"Springtrap is after you." Cassidy whispers. "You have to run from him. This curse must come to an end." Her eyes are black holes, black tears are running down her cheeks.

"I thought I saved you."

"He still roams, we remain."

I look back at Vinnie, who they call Springtrap now.

His fingers twitch, and his head jerks to one side and back.

Suddenly he runs towards me, the gears in the suit grind loudly as he moves.

I scream and try to run from him but something grabs me from behind. I look to see who it is, and it's him. I try to get away but his grip is really strong. I scratch and claw at his mechanical hands but it's no use. You can't hurt something that's metal, even my screaming doesn't help.

My head starts to pound, like someone is hitting me repeatedly with a hammer. I instinctively grab my head, but the pain gets worse. I continue to fight back. "Get away from me!" I fight until I can't fight anymore. My strength is gone, and my mental energy is depleted as well. I feel my eyes roll to the back of my head, and I collapse onto the stage.

"Erica!"

I wake up in a hospital, connected to all sorts of devices. I sit up and slowly disconnect them, one by one. Carefully and gently, I take out the IV needle. I get off the bed and put my clothes back on, and pull my hood over my head. I quickly leave the room, my head still pounding as I recall what I saw. I pass by some doctors and nurses, neither pay attention to me.

Someone grabs my shoulder from behind. "Where are you going?"

"Home." I whisper.

"Not after what you did yesterday, I need some answers."

I turn around and it's my manager.

"I need you to have a full evaluation after last night. Your actions are all over the news!" She points to the TV nearby.

I'm the top story on every channel it seems.

The nurses gasp as they watch me attack a security guard trying to help me calm down.

Tears well up in my eyes. "I, did that?"

She nods. "Yes." She grabs my arm and guides me back towards my room.

As we get closer, we find a mob of paparazzi outside the door.

She pushes me down the hallway, hiding me behind her back. She finds a nurse passing by. "Excuse me, is there any way we can have a different room for her? I don't want her being disturbed by the press."

"Of course, I'll see what I can do." She leaves us there in the hallway.

"Once you get settled, we are going to have a chat."

"I don't think you'll believe me."

"Try me, I've seen more than you think."

She sits there quietly, watching the Puppet hold me close. "So, you've been protecting her ever since she left the Pizzeria?"

"Yes." She replies. "She will soon face more danger, and I must help her in any way I can."

"Hm." I can tell she's trying to process my story. Her face is expressionless, I can't read what she may be thinking. "And that's the ENTIRE story?"

We both nod.

She sighs. "So, when you were back at that place, you were going through more than you told me. I thought something else happened when you were in the hospital after that fire. I certainly didn't imagine this."

"It's not your burden to bear, besides, this is something I have to do."

She leans back into her chair. "Well, there;s something I need to share with you then as well. You're not going to like this very much, but you need to hear it anyway." She crosses her legs and stays silent for a while.

"Please don't keep me waiting here forever." I comment.

"There's a place here in the city, it's some kind of horror house. But it's based off of the events that happened in Freddy Fazbear's. To you, and those other unfortunate children. I had everyone keep quiet about it, because I didn't want you to be triggered by anything. But it's a little late for that isn't it?"

"I'm sorry about that." I look down at my feet in embarrassment.

"It's alright, it's already being taken care of as we speak. What you need to do now is your business. If you want to tell me after, go right ahead. All I ask is that you keep away from the press and paparazzi."

"That's easier said than done, you know. But, I will do what I can." I look over at the Puppet. "I'll see you back at the hotel."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" She squeezes me a bit tighter.

I nod. "I'll be just fine, just don't get yourself caught."

She leaves out the window, and disappears.

I go through my evaluation as my manager requested, both physical and psychological.

The doctor writes something down on a piece of paper, and hands it to her. He whispers in her ear for a minute and then leaves the room.

I look at her concern. "What's that?"

"It's a recommendation, that's all." She rips up the paper and throws it in the trash can.

"I see, can we leave now then?" I ask impatiently.

"Yes, I have some paperwork to deal with since your parents are not here." She stands up and stretches. "And don't apologize, you need to deal with your issues. Be sure to come back, or I'll kill you again myself." She grabs her coat and leaves the room. "Remember my warning, Erica."

I sigh and lay back on the bed. "Why is this happening now of all times?"

After a while I get up and sneak out of the room. Finding my way through the Hospital for a barely used exit. It was surprisingly harder than I thought, almost every door had paparazzi. Luckily, I found one with one guy standing there.

I run past and duck into an ally. I pull my hood up as far as it will go, and slowly make my way back to the hotel.

I managed to get back in one piece, this time. I lock my room door, and shut all the blinds. I find my laptop and open it. I connect it to the hotel wifi, and google the Freddy Fazbear horror place.

It wasn't hard to find, there's only one place in the city. It's called Fazbear Fright, and it doesn't look like it's open to the public just yet. There's pictures of the buildings outside, but no interior pictures.

If they're still putting it together, maybe I can request to see it before they open it to the public. I find the email of the owner somehow, and send him a quick email asking permission. I didn't say why, but I hope he won't ask.

I look through all of the photos of the building. Trying to figure out what all they have on the inside. My guess is that it could be any number of things.

A while later, I got a reply. I open it, and read the contents.

Dear Erica,

I'm surprised to hear that you're interested in seeing our horror house. If you'd like, I can definitely open it up for you. I left my contact information at the bottom of this email. Feel free to contact me anytime, and please let me know when you're ready to see it. I'll give you a copy of my key so you can get in any time.

Sincerely,

Jacob Foreman

Short response, but at least he gets straight to the point.

I contemplated contacting him.

After a long while of thinking, I sent my reply.

I feel the Puppets presence behind me, as I shut my laptop. "How dangerous is he?" I ask nervously.

She climbs out from under the bed and sits next to me. "He is a tortured soul like us. We've been hunting him for a long time."

"That doesn't answer my question. How much danger am I in?"

"A lot, I'm afraid." She pauses. "There is a chance that you will die. But I will use all of my power to keep you safe, no matter what. I'll sacrifice myself if I must." She looks at me. Her eyes are sad, even though they are black, and her mask forces her to smile.

"I know you feel guilty for not being able to save them. Don't worry, we'll free them together. And I promise to free you too." We lay on the bed for the rest of the night, trying to prepare for the fight ahead of us.