The Buried Voice

Chapter 1: Reunion

To my dear daughter, Charlotte.

I know you have so many questions and believe me when I say that I would explain everything if I could, but there's too much that you must never know. Too many lives have been ruined by the choices I made.

All I wanted was to bring happiness to children and bring families closer together. I never wanted it to turn out like this, but I've finally found the way to fix my mistakes. I know this letter will only reopen old wounds, but there were things left unsaid, and I hope this can bring you some amount of closure.

I have always loved you and I regret that I won't be able to see you grow up into the strong woman I know you will become. I can't be there to walk you down the aisle, to watch your children grow, to see you live your life, and I am sorry for that. I only ask that you move on from the past. Go start afresh somewhere new, without the memories of your brother and I weighing you down. Know that we are in a better place.

I love you, Charlie.

And that was it. That was all that was in the letter. Charlie had read it over a dozen times since she had gotten it days before and she still felt like it was unfinished. Like if she read it again something would jump out for her, because it simply didn't make sense how she could get a letter from her father who had been dead for years.

They never found the body, but the copious amounts of blood found in his workshop had suggested that something terrible had happened. It had been enough to pronounce him dead and shatter their family forever. The case still sat open, unknown whether it was an accident or a homicide, and leaving her without any answers or reason.

Nobody had ever mentioned her father leaving a note behind, and it seemed unlikely that her aunt or mother would've sent it without warning or a return address. The letter didn't look old but looks could've been deceiving. She couldn't even tell if it was really his handwriting since he hadn't seen it in so long. Too elaborate to be a prank, too outlandish to truly be him.

It didn't give her any closure. Far from it. It had suddenly dragged her thoughts from her college work and back to the town of Hurricane. Within minutes after she had read it, she had called one of her remaining friends in Hurricane, one of the only ones she still talked to who still lived there, Marla. She stressed her interest in coming to visit. Marla promptly threw together a makeshift reunion in only a matter of days.

So, that's where Charlie was. In sharp contrast to the letter's suggestion, she had driven back into Hurricane and was now parked across the street from Marla's parents' home. She hadn't even visited the old house yet, just drove straight into town and right here to this spot. There were plenty of cars in the driveway signaling that there had been quite the turnout and she almost felt nervous.

But on the other hand, she didn't feel like she could turn back now. She had been the catalyst to bring them together so she obligated to make the effort. Though she supposed she wasn't the only driving force, looking down at the letter again. Wondering who, if not her father, would've had the means to write or send this letter.

With a sigh, she shoved the letter into her glovebox and got out of her car to meet the others. The anxiety started to grow as she jogged across the street and she pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders.

"Keep it together, Charlie. They're just old friends, they're not expecting anything crazy," Charlie tried to assure herself. They probably knew she was in college and assumed she was just visiting town to see the old house, which was her story and wasn't a lie. Though mentioning the letter directly might raise red flags with her family's sordid past. "…Act as sane as I can. Noted." She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"I bet that's her!" she heard through the door and realized that they were all waiting for her. Before she could begin to second guess it, the door swung open to reveal a familiar face. Marla stood shorter than Charlie by a few inches with short, dark brown hair and a curly physique. Charlie had seen pictures of her relatively recently from letters she received in the mail. Though they hadn't visited each other, they had stayed in contact off and on for years, so it wasn't like seeing a stranger. Not like seeing the others would be.

Marla's face broke into a wide smile. "Charlie!" she greeted excitedly and pulled her into a tight hug. "We were just wondering when you were going to get here. Come on in, the gang's all here! Except John but he's on his way." She ushered the girl in and shut the door behind her.

Even though it had been years, Charlie recognized everyone right off the bat. It wasn't too hard to match the hair color and the facial features, even though they weren't the children they once were. All three of them sat on the couch together. On the far left was Lamar, a dark-skinned young man with short cut hair and a warm smile. Beside him was another young man, this one with red hair that stuck out like a sore thumb, definitely Carlton. Finally, on the far right was a nicely dressed, pretty blonde woman, clearly Jessica.

Charlie could remember vague memories of playing with all of them, but Jessica was the one she remembered most. Within their group of friends she and Jessica had been especially close and she played with her the most out of anyone else… Other than her brother.

Charlie blocked out that thought quickly and tried to keep from fumbling her introduction. "Hey guys. It's been a while," she said with a wave.

She received a chorus of greetings, including Jessica coming over to greet her with a welcoming hug. It had been a while since they had last spoken so the action almost surprised Charlie. But not quite, not when Jessica used to be so close. Charlie hugged back.

"It's been way too long," Jessica said. She drew back with a warm smile and curiosity in her eyes, "How have you been?"

"I've been doing good. You know, going to college, doing classes. Nothing too spectacular," Charlie said. She smiled back. "You look amazing."

"You know how I am. Always have to dress to impress," Jessica joked. Though she was probably serious and though Charlie technically didn't know how she was. The last concrete thing she had known about Jessica was that she wanted to be a princess super spy- she assumed her dream job had changed by now. The blond brought her to the couch to sit, with Carlton moving into the armchair to give them room. "We were worried you weren't coming, considering how last minute this was."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Besides, St. George isn't that far of a drive from here. How about you? I thought you were still living in New York."

"Oh, I am! Mom let me use some of her leftover frequent flyer miles and I caught the red eye here last night. To be honest, I was looking for a reason to get out of the city. School's just been exhausting," Jessica explained. She turned back to Carlton and Lamar. "But they still live here."

"Yeah, I'm kind of stuck here," Carlton admitted with an unenthused look. "I kept telling myself 'just a few more years and then I'll be on the next plane to Anywhere Else'… I've been telling myself that since I was fifteen. I'm guessing one of these years it's actually going to happen."

"Outlook hazy, try again later," Marla teasingly chimed in as she refilled a bowl of tortilla chips on the coffee table.

"Trust me, it will happen. My parents would love me to stick around and find a job here, but there's just some fields you can't get into in a small town like this," Carlton vented. He returned to a better mood as he changed topics, "What about you, Charlie? What's your major?"

That was a loaded question and she rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. "Well, actually… I've been studying robotics. I know that probably seems strange with all-."

As fate would have it, this was when there was another knock at the door, sparing her the discomfort of explaining how she got into the family field of work. Marla hurried to the door and opened it to reveal the final member of their small group, which would be John. Charlie was almost surprised at how different he looked to the little boy who used to play hide and go seek in the park with them. Now he was tall with dark hair and an athletic build.

"Finally! We were starting to worry you got lost," Marla said with a teasing smile. She shut the door behind him as he walked into the living room with his hand in his pockets and a smile on his face.

Charlie might've imagined it, but she swore that he looked at her for a split second. For a moment that smile seemed to falter and his eyes slightly widened, as though he was just as surprised as seeing how much she changed as she had been with him. She went to her default and gave a small wave as Lamar gave him a more proper greeting.

"You made it just in time. Marla just refilled the chips," he said. They exchanged a more familiar look, as though they knew each other better. They had probably stayed in touch. "What was the hold up?"

"No hold up, just wanted to make sure I got in fashionably late," John said as he sat down on the untouched loveseat by the window. It was further away that the armchair and couch had been, but it was either that or pulling up a dining room chair like Marla did shortly afterwards. He seemed content to keep his distance, but his eyes were back on Charlie. "Hey Charlie."

"Hey," Charlie replied. She didn't have a chance to add on before Carlton suddenly interrupted the exchange.

"You said you were doing robotics?" he asked and she nodded. He pointed a thumb back in a vague direction, "Did you hear about Freddy's reopening?"

The reaction was immediate. Marla sent Carlton a sharp stare, Lamar clasped a hand over his face, and Jessica subtly pursed her lips, trying to hide exasperation. Apparently they had already established some sort of agreement to either not talk about Freddy's, or the past, or both. From Carlton's look of dread he must've accidentally slipped up.

But Charlie was much more interested in this information. She blinked in surprise and asked, "Wait, Freddy's reopened? In town?"

"Yeah…" Marla drew out awkwardly. "It opened only a couple of days ago. I thought maybe you heard about it?" She had thought that was why Charlie had been calling and suggesting visiting, but the woman's look of shock disproved this. "So… Wait, you didn't know about it? I thought since you were… They can't just open a restaurant without getting permission, right?"

"That depends on who owns the rights to Freddy's, and considering it's a franchise they probably have a couple of people who signed off on it," John offered. He sounded disturbed so he must've not known either. "Why they would open a place like that in this town is beyond me. They're not going to make money off of it."

"I've driven by there once. It's pretty small and it didn't look like there were a lot of people inside… Kind of hard to tell though. The place pretty much has no windows," Lamar said.

"Let's not talk about this," Jessica said. She glanced at Charlie out the corner of her eye, which went unnoticed. "This is the first time we've all been together in years, let's not waste that bringing up bad memories."

Charlie could tell she was being cautious because of her though. She knew she could let it drop, but this reveal so close after the arrival of the letter made her more curious. That desire to know began to flare again.

"No, Jess, it's okay. Its been years, I can handle talking about Freddy's for a few minutes," Charlie said. Jessica looked to her in assurance and her friend gave her a smile, then looked past to Lamar. "Do you know when it opened? Or who opened it?"

"I think it opened a week ago? I don't know, it seemed like construction on the building went up really fast. I wouldn't be shocked if the place opened the day after they got the doors on," Lamar admitted. "About who owns it… I don't know. Carlton?"

"What?" Carlton arched a brow.

"Your dad was wrapped up in the case on Freddy's, right? Did he say who was opening it up?"

"You know, you're onto something asking me about this since I've got connections," Carlton complimented. "…And if it was anyone other than my dad who we were talking about I'd probably have some clue. But this is my dad, so you would know automatically that he wouldn't tell me anything."

"I thought maybe he'd say something. You don't investigate… Something like that and then just shrug off when Freddy's come back," Lamar defended.

"This is the man who keeps his office in the basement and locks it when he's out. I'd have an easier time walking into Freddy's and asking straight up, 'Hey, who owns this place? Cause you know, it's got a really sketchy past'."

"…We could." Charlie spoke before she thought and they all looked to her immediately. Only a few minutes after meeting friends she hadn't seen in years and somehow she had already managed this kind of reaction. She tried to do damage control. "Go over there, I mean. Check it out and ask if it's privately owned or not. There's not really a reason for them to lie, right?"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Jessica cautiously asked. "I mean, after everything that happened there… Do you really want to go back? I don't want you pushing yourself to go into that place if it's going to make you uncomfortable." There were so many words she wasn't saying. Charlie both appreciated her concern and was embarrassed by it. "We could probably just look it up online."

"I guess so," Charlie agreed. She didn't really want to see Freddy's, she felt like she had to, but she was unwilling to argue for it. She could always just go alone after the reunion.

Maybe John noticed her torn look as he spoke up from the loveseat. "Why don't we go check it out? It'll be just like old times," he said as he stood. "Except now we're all going to stick out like a sore thumb because we're too old for singing bears."

"But not for pizza. Alright, I'm in," Lamar agreed. He stood, then Marla, then Carlton shrugged and stood. When Charlie stood, Jessica followed along and it was silently and mutually agreed that they would go see this pizzeria for themselves. This wasn't what Charlie was expecting, but she was relieved that she wasn't going alone. They left the house, Marla locking up, and dispersed into the various vehicles.

Charlie had climbed into her car and was putting on her seatbelt when she heard a knock on her passenger window. She looked up to see Jessica standing there and rolled down the window.

"Mind if I ride with you? My car's blocked in," she asked with a smile. Charlie perked up and eagerly let her in. She got into the passenger's seat and they waited for John to move his car for Lamar to back out, since he would be having to lead them. After a few moments, she spoke up, "I noticed they were building a strip mall while I was driving here."

"Actually, they're rebuilding it. There was a tornado last year that tore off the roof and they had to rebuild the entire left side." Jessica got a look of horror, much to Charlie's amusement. "You've been gone too long. You forgot about the category four tornados that blow through every summer."

"Yes, I did. Wow." Jessica looked out the window as Lamar finally started to pull out. Charlie let John go before following their cars. It looked like Carlton and Marla had gotten a ride with Lamar. The blond watched them for a silent moment, tapping her fingernails on the door, before she finally caved and spoke. "I'm sorry to bug you about this again, but you're totally sure you want to do this?"

"…To be honest, I need to do this. I feel like I have to get this out of my system. Like I'm going to have it looming over my head until I do," Charlie admitted. "Besides, it's going to be easier seeing the inside of Freddy's than seeing the old house."

"You're going to visit your old house too?"

"That's where I'm going to be staying while I'm in town, hopefully. It'll be cheaper the staying in a hotel."

"Think you're going to need some help cleaning it up?" Jessica offered with a smile. Charlie quirked a brow with a slightly amused glint. The blond beat her to the punch. "I'm not as much of a priss as I used to be. I might look good, but I'm not obsessive about it." Charlie gave a small laugh and turned her focus back on the road.

She still hadn't anticipated the shiver that would run through her as they pulled into Freddy's parking lot.

The pizzeria was located in an undeveloped area right outside the city. From the cleared-out land it seemed like eventually there would be more businesses placed there, but this was the first one. Unlike the Freddy's that Charlie had known about over the years- occasionally looking up but never daring to drive to- it was much smaller. Maybe the size of the original diner. As Lamar had said, there were only two windows in the front and because of an entrance section it was impossible to see through them and into the dining room.

The Freddy Fazbear's Pizza sign was brand new and loomed overhead as Charlie pulled up underneath. The smiling bear didn't bring a feeling of nostalgia, just a slight foreboding sensation.

The group walked in together with Marla leading the way. The song of stock music played over the entranceway as they stepped through into the dining room. It was even smaller on the inside, with only about eight tables lined up and topped with purple, star dotted tablecloths and party hats. The floor was cleanly tiled and was covered in confetti and lost tickets.

Though regardless of this small size there were quite a few attractions and games crammed into the tight space. Between the multiple flashing lights, music, sound, and children yelling it was almost disorienting just being in there. A full silence had fallen over the group though, largely in reaction to how overwhelming it all is.

"…Should we get a table or something?" Marla asked back to the others. Only a few of the tables were occupied so this seemed like a good idea. At least to get them out of the way of running children. The others agreed and she quickly claimed a table nearby. It almost looked casual if their group didn't stand out so much.

From where Charlie was sitting she could see the large stage in the back of the room and immediately recognized the animatronics mounted on it. Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy were all lined up. Though they weren't the versions she remembered them to be. All of them had been updated with new redesigns that looked more colorful and kid friendly. Foxy now had a parrot, Freddy had a big star on his chest.

No less than thirty seconds after they had sat down- almost immediately after Lamar asked, "We're still getting a pizza, right?"- a Freddy's employee walked up to the table, drawing Charlie's focus away from the animatronics. The man had dark hair and wore a purple and yellow uniform and the most unenthusiastic look on his face.

"Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza," he began. He looked up from his waiter pad, scanned over the group, and then added, "Aren't you guys a little too old for Freddy's?"

But before anyone could even start an excuse, Marla was on it with, "We used to go to the old Freddy's when we were kids, so we decided to stop by and see what it looked like now." She flashed him a smile.

He started at her for a moment before giving a blank, "Why?" That smile dropped instantly into her own tepid look. "Okay, never mind. What are you having?... You are at least ordering, right?"

"Yes, hold on a second," Lamar began then turned to the others. "Nobody's gotten any severe allergies in the last few years, right?" Of course, nobody had. "We'll have a large pepperoni." The employee hummed and scribbled the order down on the slip of paper. Seeing her chance, Jessica spoke up.

"Freddy's has been closed so long; we were shocked to hear it reopened. Do you know whose running the business now or who reopened it?" she asked bluntly.

"Fazbear Entertainment," the server answered.

"No, I get that. I meant who is running Fazbear Entertainment now? Do you know?" she pressed further.

"Some soulless corporate conglomerate that doesn't pay me enough," he said. Jessica couldn't even tell if he hadn't taken the bait or was completely oblivious to it. "Anything to drink with that?"

At this point it became apparent that they wouldn't be getting answers so Charlie started to drift off into her thoughts again. She looked back towards the performers and noticed someone walking past the stage. If not for how oddly they were dressed she might've not noticed them at all. A simple brown suit with a purple tie, as though trying to match the employees' attired, with black shoes and gloves.

The gloves too may have been overdoing it, but she was more drawn to the fact that he was wearing a yellow colored Freddy Fazbear head. From the size of it, it was clear that it had been made to be worn by a human worker and wasn't just a hollowed out animatronic head. It was just so strange that someone who was dressed like a manager would be walking around in a suit head, especially since he was the only one.

He paused by the end of the stage to look at something on Chica and then, seemingly unconcerned with whatever he spotted, he disappeared through a thick door beside the stage. It was very strange.

"I can't believe they fit a prize corner in here," Jessica said, pulling Charlie back out of her thoughts. "I wonder if they still have those Freddy Teddys. Anyone else remember those? You squeeze their bellies and they'd talk."

"I had one of those! But mine must've gotten something in it. It started making these crackling noises and after it started smelling like burning plastic Mom 'took it to the toy doctor"," Marla said, emphasizing with air quotes. "Until this day she still swears she doesn't remember what happened to it. I'm guessing she just threw it out."

"Yeah. My mom got rid of any Freddy junk in the house after it closed down. I think all I had was a Bonnie nightlight and a toothbrush," Carlton added. He shrugged and admitted, "I wasn't really attached to them so I didn't care. I just thought it was weird that we weren't going back to Freddy's to play anymore."

"Yeah, same. Didn't help that Freddy Teddy got a little demonic towards the end there," Marla agreed. It was then that Charlie stood up from the table.

"I'm going to go get a closer look at the animatronics. Anyone want to come with me?" she offered. Jessica was prepared to agree and was surprised when she was beaten to it by John.

"I'll come," he said as he stood from the table and followed with her. Jessica quirked her brow at his eagerness when he seemed like the last person to be interested in Freddy's. Unless it wasn't Freddy's he was interested in. She sent a glance between the two and smiled to herself, deciding to stay put and let them go on their own.

Foxy was in the middle of singing a sea shanty when Charlie and John walked up to the large stage so he was the only one actively moving. Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie were all poised as though they were listening, instead waiting for their cue to begin again. Seeing them up close was jarring considering how long it had been. Charlie could see the changed details better from here. She was glad they changed Bonnie's coloring.

"I've got to admit, they look a lot better than I remember. Usually it's the other way around," John said to try and make conversation. She expected it to be uncomfortable but looking at him- looking up at the stage with vague interest and unlike the others showing much less overprotectiveness- he seemed as calm as could be. It encouraged her to continue the train of thought.

"I'm guessing these are probably brand new. With how long they've been closed, I wouldn't be surprised if the ones at the diner were thrown away years ago," Charlie said. "Do you remember them at all?"

"Freddy and Bonnie? Yeah but not well. I think they were bigger than these ones. I don't know, maybe that's just because I remember them from when I was a kid."

"No, you're right, and there's a reason for that. The animatronics at Freddy's aren't like the ones you'll usually see at a theme park or another restaurant. Normally those are controlled by a series of air hoses that cause them to move. Their bodies are lighter and they're a lot thinner than they look with their suit on. The ones at Freddy's though are built more like robots, if robots actually existed," Charlie explained. She realized she was rambling and gave an apologetic smile. "And that's our lesson for today. I expect a two-hundred word essay on my desk by Monday."

John's mouth twitched up into an amused smile. "I guess I'm lucky I have an expert to teach me the tricks of the trade," he said. She felt a soft flutter at the compliment and, spurred on, planned to say more-.

But she was beaten to it by the sea shanty suddenly ending and instantly switching to a new music and voice track. Now Freddy sprung to life once again and both Charlie and John looked up at it.

"Hellllooo, everybody! You ready to have a good time? I know I am!" Freddy's voice called enthusiastically through the speakers around the pizzeria. On stage the animatronic mimicked the movements of talking, with his mouth movements almost syncing exactly to the voice even though it clearly wasn't coming from him. It wasn't the voice Charlie remembered, which made sense since she thought it had been her father doing the voice. Freddy cocked his head and lifted his microphone to his mouth as he began to sing. "Cause it's…~"

"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza!~" the other voices joined in with his and the others began to move and 'dance'. "For kids it's number one! Freddy Fazbear's Pizza! Where fantasy meets fun!~"

Any sense of wonder was dashed when an automated sounding voice spoke up specifically from the stage speakers, sounding like it was added to the song after the fact. "Please do not touch Freddy Fazbear and friends and stay three feet away from the stage at all times."

"You don't have to tell me twice," John said.

Charlie snickered a little and looked towards him. It was at that moment that she looked past him and realized that there was a second stage. It was smaller than the main stage with its curtains drawn closed. Her smile faltered and was replaced by a curious look. It looked like the gang was all here, so what was on that stage?

"Hold on. I'll be right back… I want to check something out," Charlie said before heading over. John seemed unconcerned and instead continued watching the animatronics, now with an unsettled frown on his face.

As Charlie got closer she realized that the curtain was open a few inches and looked inside. She was just able to make out what stood behind it, and it was nothing short of confounding.

There was a second Freddy on the stage. Except this one was all black in color, with rosy cheeks and a single yellow eye. The other eye looked blackened out but she couldn't see well enough if it had fallen out or was broken, just knowing that it didn't look right. The entire bear didn't seem right. While almost identical to Freddy's build, there was something depressing about this recolor. Just looking at it was depressing.

Until its single eye moved and suddenly stared back at her. At that second ice pierced through her heart. A cold chill of fear washed through her, like she knew something was terribly wrong with this animatronic. It was unbearable and she quickly turned and retreated to John's side, unable to continue standing there underneath it.

"That's… Really weird," she admitted. John looked to her with a raised brow.

"What?"

"There's a second Freddy on that stage over there. It's just colored black instead of brown," Charlie said. She pulled her jacket closed and glanced back towards the curtain. "…I think it might've looked at me."

John didn't seem too concerned and shrugged. "It probably has built in sensors to look in the direction of people when they get close. Maybe that's why they have those stools around the stage."

Really it was a reasonable guess and Charlie couldn't argue with it. Still, something about the bear made her uneasy. Unlike the other animatronics, whose eyes passed over her but never focused in, it almost felt like the black bear had looked directly at her. Almost like it was conscious enough to see her.

John noticed her silence. "Want to go back to the table?" he asked.

"Sound's good," Charlie agreed. She decided not to voice her suspicions, nor mention any of the eccentricities of the pizzeria to him or the others. She couldn't be sure if what she was seeing was real or if her memories of the diner were twisting her perception of this restaurant. For the moment, she would just let it go.

She swore she felt the yellow eye follow her back to the table. The feeling of being watched didn't go away until they left the pizzeria.

Mable: I would love feedback if you feel like leaving it, but no pressure. ^-^ Have a Happy Father's Day and I hope you enjoyed!