Finding The Five || FNAF Movie

18 || Did it Work?

(Unedited, Not Proofread, 2814 words)
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of death

We pull into the deserted parking lot just as the clock strikes ten thirty, and everyone goes deathly quiet as Kaylen drives towards a specific row of parking spaces. I hit a few memories on the way in, some with pouring rain, some with shining skies, and at least one or two with kids running out in front of Kaylen's car. I grab onto the door every time it happens, because some of the energies are conscious enough to stop and look at us. 

Kaylen parks a little closer to the building than Jonah did yesterday, easing into the parking spot slowly and hesitating before putting the car in park. She doesn't turn the car off yet, and I can't blame her. We all sit and stare at the rundown building for a long time, and as we do, I see it flash in different stages. Weird, really, but also kind of cool. 

To my surprise, the sign changes at one point, and the memory sticks. I watch it for a moment, looking around to notice the rain and the few cars around us. It feels familiar from the instant it begins, and when the access door creaks open far ahead of us, I realize why.

This is the night the Puppet died. 

Or at least the spirit inside of it.

Spirit? Ghost?

I ponder the thought for a moment as the Puppet walks behind the building and the memory fades away. 

The Puppet has a purpose, doesn't it? Its original purpose was to protect children, but it doesn't do that anymore. It can't see ages. 

But it does protect kids. 

Dead ones.

So... spirit? 

Spirit.

After a minute or two, I become the first person to unbuckle their seatbelt, and as I reach down to retrieve my bag from the floorboard, Mike becomes the second. 

I open my door as Kaylen finally turns the car off, her hand just barely shaking as she pulls it back into her lap. Everyone is nervous, so I decide to say now what I've been wanting to say since we left Rachel's. "The gemstones work best if you believe in them. Hold onto them like a lifeline. Believe in them like a religion. Please." 

"Like a religion," Kaylen echoes, "deep stuff, right there." 

God, even her voice sounds worried. 

I step out onto the asphalt and all the whispers of the dead come rushing to me. Nothing too terrible, just a light press on my mind. Nothing I haven't dealt with before, I guess. A few kids run past, appearing and disappearing as their memory washes over me. 

The building is more alive today.

The memories must be stronger during the day.

The thought makes me wonder about what's stronger at night.

Closing the car door, I step back and turn to the building. It looms over us like some concrete monster in the middle of the pavement, standing tall with the cloudy sky at its back. I feel like if I were to run now, it would try and catch me. How? I don't know, but the sensation is strong enough to deny me any hopes of escape. 

Should that be a warning?

"Ready?" Mike asks, and I turn back to look at him. I expect his words to have been pointed to Abby, but his eyes are on mine. The shift in my expectations silences me for a moment, and his eyes re-ask the question his mouth fails to produce. I catch myself as Abby climbs out.

"Yes," I confirm, nodding a bit as my eyes flick to her and then back to him. "You know the plan?" He opens his mouth to answer, likely with a snappy comment, but instead he just nods, sighing softly. His eyes hold a kind of worry I've seen very few times. The kind of worry people experience when they're being forced to let go of something they're scared to lose. The kind of worry you feel when you're scared that the thing you're losing won't find its way back.