When They Were Lost . . . (Sequel to That Time In 1987. . . .)

12: Anger

(Chica's POV)

Chica didn't know how to feel.

Freddy was back.

For some reason, anger boiled inside of her. She wanted to pound him into a pulp and . . .

What was going on?

Another part of her wanted to throw her arms around him, relieved that he was somehow alive.

But how did that happen?

Chica could only stare at his face. He definitely looked different. He was a lot skinnier and oddly more tan than he usually was. His hair was a bit longer and his jawline was much more defined than it used to be. The biggest difference was how much skinnier he was.

Freddy was silent, even if his cheek was blotched with red from when she slapped him. He only stared at her and she stared back. His blueberry dum-dum eyes were relaxed while hers were wild.

Chica still couldn't believe it.

She had seen his dead body once before.

Lying in a chair.

Dead.

And yet she had just seen him explode into existence in front of her eyes. How did it happen?

Ben had said something about Jonathan being crushed in the falling boulders. Then he said that something would happen because of that. Was this the outcome of Jonathan's death?

"Hey," Freddy greeted. His voice was much deeper than it used to be. How much had he changed in the months that he was dead?

Chica's anger welled up again. "After all this time, frightening us, making us believe you had died, and you say hey?"

Freddy's eyebrows turned upward, his mouth turning downward into a frown. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my fault. You guys said--"

"I don't care about what we said!" Chica burst. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair before stomping. "I need some time to breathe, okay?"

"No, I need to explain to you how I died, alright?"

Chica's frustration seemed to weigh her down. Then, she realized how she had that vision a few days before. Of her and her friends telling Freddy that he needed to jump into a volcano to save them.

What was that all about any way?

She looked up at Freddy. Bonnie and Foxy walked in from the side and stared at each of Chica and Freddy.

Bonnie spoke. "Freddy, how did you die?"

He shook his head. "It's kind of complicated. Jonathan put me into a simulation that could kill me if I had died in the simulation. I climbed a volcano to see you guys holding up this pink light. You told me that in order to save you guys in real life, I had to die."

"Do you know why that is?" Ben cut in.

Freddy shook his head. Then his eyes widened as he stared at the young boy. "Who are you?"

"Oh, right. I'm Ben. I'm ten years old, and I've been helping these guys get you back on Earth. I need to tell you why you needed to die in the simulation to save these guys."

"You knew?" Foxy asked, shocked. "How?"

"Just let me explain this. Okay?" Ben instructed.

Everyone nodded, even though it was clearly directed to Foxy.

Ben took a long sigh. "Chica, Bonnie, Foxy, what happened after you found Freddy's dead body in the white chair?"

Chica gulped at the memory. The memory of seeing her friend's own dead body. "Pink light shot out of the body and at Jonathan."