What lies in the shadows~~~ Michael Afton x Reader

Chapter 8

This chapter has been proofread as of 10/31/23, but please let me know of mistakes! This one's also short sorry!

11/10/23 edited for minor errors.

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I tell Gregory to scoot back a little bit so I can maneuver my body to kick the vent open.

When I peek my head out, I hear the sound of footsteps falling in a rhythmic pattern. I turn my head just to see the bunny hopping down the corridor. I quickly tell Gregory not to make a sound. I retreat back into the vent and wait for it to pass.

I grab a hold of Gregory's hand as we step out of the vents. We follow the Bunny's trail, but not too close as to not get caught. I duck behind a fountain, and I drag Gregory down with me. The bunny sharply turns her head and scans the area. When she moves again, I pull Gregory up and proceed on. Roxy Raceway is located on the second floor, so we'll need to follow her up the stairs. And that's just what we do.

When the bunny makes it up the stairs, I grab Gregory and try to sneak to the photo booth to hide. Just as we get within reach, I trip over some loose flooring, stumbling to the floor with a thud.

The bunny turns around. Narrowing her eyes, she spots us.

"You!" A distorted feminine voice comes from the bunny. It begins sprinting our way. On the way towards us, it grabs a glass bottle sitting on top of one of the trashcans. It hadn't been emptied yet.

I stand and shove Gregory in the direction of the raceway, yelling for him to run. Just as he does, I notice Mike come flying out of the raceway, heading for me. Just as the bunny lurches for me. Mike steps in front of me. She's quick to react, though. She knocks Mike to the ground, sending a swift kick to his stomach to keep him down.

"You two! If you hadn't taken that stupid boy under your wing." She knocks me back down to the ground again. She's too quick for me to react. "You wouldn't be here! You would be in your office, tinkering away. Oblivious to all this. And Mr. Schmidt wouldn't be doubled over in pain. He'd be safe in his office... Well... maybe I should say Mr. Afton."

Mike's head jerks up at the name. His body betrays him, though, and he doubles over again. He croaks out a quite 'how' but it falls on deaf ears.

"Always in the way. Not anymore." The bunny raises the glass in her hands, ready to slam it down.

I begin to crawl backwards, but I'm stopped when my back hits the photo booth. My mind is paralyzed with fear. The only thing I think to do is throw my hands up to block the bottle from hitting my head.

She swings the glass down, but I never feel an impact. The sound of glass shattering against what sounds like metal is heard throughout the room. When I look up, Mike is hunched over, facing me. Glass falls from his hair as he whips around. "You made the wrong choice."

Mike is a little too quick for the bunny to react. He snatches the taser from his belt. When the bunny falls, he snatches my hand and runs straight for the raceway.

There's no damage to Mike; there's not a scratch on him from where the bottle hit him. He seems so unfazed. And what about being called Afton? The Afton's weren't real. William wasn't the true founder; Henry was. His kids never existed. Evan, Elizabeth, and Michael were just made up to scare the kids from going near the animatronics.

'Wait.'

'Evan and Michael. Mike Schmidt. The bunny had called him Mr. Afton. Mike Afton... Michael Afton. Mike had a younger brother... Named Evan.'

When we make it through the doors of the raceway, I snatch my arm from his grip.

"What are yo-" I waste no time in cutting him off.

"No, no, no! I think you should be explaining who you are."

He doesn't try to dance around the topic.

He gets straight to the point, like he always has.

"Michael Afton, that's me." He says, almost hesitantly, like the name itself is a demon.

"Don't. He's not real. He's just some stupid story. Along with the rest of his family. What I want to know is why? Why lie about your name? Why sit here and say it's one? Then to go, and say your name is Michael Afton. Of all names, you choose that one to say is your "real" name. He's not real, and even if he was. He's been dead for years. So, what are you hiding? What do you really want?" I spit venom at him.

"Man, for as smart as you are, you are so naïve. I did not suffer with what I went through just for you to call it all fake." He begins to remove his hat and mask. There it is. What I've tried to remove from my head for so long. His eyes are pitch black, with white irises sitting in the middle. They are sending a sharp glare in my direction. His skin is a deathly white with a purple tint. "You've seen me before. Do I look alive to you? Because, guess what? I shouldn't be. The systems I accidentally mentioned in the daycare? Yes, they are what keeps me alive. How? Don't ask me. I don't know." His glare softens as I fully meet his eyes. "All I know is that one minute everything is being ripped from me. The next I wake with the sounds of mechanical clicks and whirls coming from me. What I do know for sure. My intentions haven't changed. I don't want to hurt you or Gregory. I'm still the guy you've been friends with for two years. Please."

Michael steps towards me, but I take a hesitant step back.

"Please, don't do this." He begs as he reaches, but I flinch back.

"Look, you can't just dump that on me and expect me not to be skeptical. It's a lot to take in. Just let me process it." I raise my hands in front of me to distance us.

"I don't want to hurt you! I've done nothing but protect you! I'm still Mike! You just know the truth now!" He's desperate, and the pain in his voice hurts me. I'd be lying, though, if I said I wasn't a little scared though.

"I just need some time, ok? I knew you as a completely different person for two years. Just some time is all I need."

He's hesitant, but he nods. "Ok, I'll be patient...For you."

"Come on, Gregory and Freddy are waiting for us." I shuffle past him and head for the construction wall.

So, if he's Michael Afton, It's all true. All the kids who were killed. Evan and Elizabeth died. All of them died because of his father, William Afton. Michael "died" trying to stop him.

'If Michael is still alive, wouldn't that mean-'

Ǐ̶̫͐ ̴̥̈́ä̴̠͉͛l̵̠̓w̶̰͈̏̆á̵̯͖̀y̷͎̏̄s̴̩̲͝ ̴̩̏c̷̜͔̕o̸̟̽m̵̯̻͒͝e̷̗̜͑̌ ̴͈̎̎b̴̞͉̾̋ä̶̦́̈c̵̭̿͘ḱ̵̡̫̽

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Hellllllooooooo! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I tried to make the last line a little bit more readable (trust me. The one I did in the last chapter was hard to read. I just forgot to fix it, whoops XD) If any of y'all have any good recommendations for a different creepy text to use, Please let me know! I appreciate all the feedback I'm getting from you guys, so please continue to comment! That's all I have for now! I'll see you, lovelies, later! Bye!!!