FNaF Origins | The Crying Child

(V1) Chapter 5 - The Memories

Sirens wailed loudly.
William stood over at the sidewalk in front of Henry's house with Michael, Sammy, and Elizabeth. The babysitter had to drop them off, so she brought them to William, who had stayed put near the house.
It was past sunset, and rain was pouring down, mixing William's feelings all over.
He couldn't believe that his childhood friend has been killed. The thoughtful thinker was gone, never to return to with him. William had no one else to go to.
Michael was staring at the house in horror. Sammy was crying, and Elizabeth was weeping into William's shirt.
William watched the police, who were stepping over the yellow tape lines all over the yard and making their way inside the house, taking the guns just in case. They already questioned William, and the authorities concluded he was innocent for now; he didn't have blood or anything sharp on him, and he had originally called them.
Ambulances and medical professionals already came and tried what they could to save Henry, but it was no use. He had been dead for a long while, his body cold. The house was going to be inaccessible to anyone until it was all over.
Sammy slowly stopped crying, still sniffing badly. He looked up to William, eyes shining with tears under the faint moonlight and siren lights.
"Will h-he come o-out?" he asked shakily, holding back a whimper.
William combed his fingers gently through Sammy's brown wet hair. The child held on to William's wrist with his free hand, already holding on to his soaked plush with his other hand.
Sammy's eyes widened when William didn't answer for a little while. His voice turned soft.
"Will y-you take u-us?"

~~***••***~~

1 day until the party

~~***••***~~

"We tried everything we could. There is no evidence or DNA of who could have done it. I'm sorry, sir. If there's anything I can do, just call us."
The lead detective shut the door and William was standing, tired and gloomy, on the other side, hopeless on what to do.
The family had been to Henry's funeral, and William successfully adopted Michael and Sammy. When he told them, they smiled for the first time since Henry died, though it was barely noticeable.
Elizabeth kept encouraging Sammy to stay happy; she didn't have as much as a connection with Henry as the others did, so she was better off than them.
Michael actually stayed in the house for once, though he only watched his favorite show, ignoring everything else.
This day wasn't as depressing as the other ones; Elizabeth kept bouncing around, excited for her "birthday surprise". It was easy for Sammy to share her excitement, too.
William didn't know what to do. He battled inwardly against bringing her to the new, not yet tested location, or to just bring her to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, like the usual. He didn't know much of what Henry was working on.
William sighed.
He couldn't stop thinking about him. They were like brothers. But he left. And William stayed. Alone . . .
He heard shuffling behind him.
"Daddy . . . ." He looked down at Elizabeth, who was right next to him. She seemed to know he was grieving. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.
"Nothing, but . . ." He thought for a moment. He was too tired to do anything, why not let Elizabeth choose for him?
"I have a question for you." He knelt down to his daughter, trying to seem cheerful. "Would you like to go to Freddy's, or to the surprise place?"
Elizabeth took careful consideration. "Surprise place, please. I've seen Freddy and the others already."
So be it. "Okay, Liz." It relieved him, but at the same time, his stomach tightened. He stood up, herding her away from the door. "How about you check on Sammy?"
She nodded quickly as she skipped away, smiling.
William sped through the living room, past the ugly lamp and the grandfather clock (reading half past two in the afternoon), into the kitchen, and out to the backyard. He made his way past the hoard of unkept weeds and entered the shed.
Once he went inside, he took a deep, shaky breath, letting himself relax.
The work tables were clean and stripped aside, and at the other side of the room was small elevator, built into the wall.
—So that's what those 16 builders in the backyard were doing—
But on one of the desks was a small blue rabbit, made with rusty metal. Most of the paint was peeling off, giving it a metallic paint smell. It had a black nose and rosy cheeks. Its small arms and legs were connected to strings that clumped together into a ball at the ends. It seemed like it could be a hand puppet.

He remembered.

~~***••***~~

"Will, let me show you! Please! I made it for us to play with!"

A young, less weary Henry moved a blue rabbit in front of William using the strings. Henry was wearing blue shorts and a black T-shirt. His hair was messy and floppy. He looked to be in his early teens.
The young William, reading a book on trains, was laying back on a tall tree wearing jeans and a purple tank top. His hair was combed back, but was losing its statue as the wind blew on it. He was a bit younger than Henry.
Both kids were on top a small hill that looked over their neighborhood and a bunch of grassy, tree-filled areas.
". . . Okay. Lemme see." William closed his book on his lap and looked to Henry, interested.
As Henry moved the rabbit, his face was strained with concentration. The puppet moved along the grass, smiling, until when he went over to a daffodil and, with his fingers, shakily picked it up and trotted to William, dropping the flower on top of his book.
William stared at Henry and the rabbit in awe, until Henry told him, "I didn't do all of it, I programmed its fingers."
"Still, the . . . what is it . . . a robot? . . . it's amazing!"
Henry smiled. "If you didn't show me that robotics book, though, I wouldn't have thought of it." He continued to make the puppet prance around. "I could have this for a job or something."
"That would be awesome! You're gonna be rich when you grow up."
"I'll be doing it with you, Will. Don't ever forget that." He laughed brightly.

~~***••***~~

All of the family ate that night, and later on, William gave the guest bedroom to Michael, and Sammy shared Elizabeth's bedroom, sleeping on piles of blankets and playing with his bear.
Just before going to sleep, Sammy looked up at one of the doors, and saw Michael's face peaking out from the dark creepily.
"Don't let them get you," he whispered, mildly scaring and confusing Sammy. Michael ran out chuckling.
  Elizabeth didn't notice; she was sleeping soundly.
Sammy lied down on his "bed", glancing at his Fredbear plush sitting next to him. He picked it up quickly, hugged it under his blankets, and went to sleep fast.