Mike stopped counting after a while.
It didn't seem to matter anymore; whether he was caught or survived long enough, the clock always reset to 12:00 AM.
Mike wasn't sure how much time had passed, but something changed.
Something stepped out of the darkness. Mike wasn't sure how long it stayed, but it was dark and transparent, with glowing red eyes and rows of sharp teeth.
Nightmare was staring right at Mike as the hallucination fractured around him.
The office walls shattered like glass. Fredbear and Spring Bonnie flickered, their forms fading.
Mike opened his eyes and realized he was outside, lying on concrete.
Mike pushed himself up. Yenndo stood a few feet away; Bonnet was just on his hand.
"You're awake!" Bonnet's voice pitched high with relief. "We were moving you out of that room, but then the lights started flickering, and we saw red eyes, and we were just suddenly here."
"I see," Mike replied.
"Why did you go unconscious?" Yenndo asked quietly.
"A certain someone might have rigged the place; at least we are out of there now."
Mike looked around. The building loomed behind them, Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental. His car was still parked near the maintenance entrance where he'd left it.
He pulled himself to his feet, dusting off his shredded jacket. The fear gas had worn off. All that remained were the unforgettable voices of William and Garrett.
"Let's go," he said.
Yenndo and Bonnet exchanged a glance and went with him.
Yenndo and Bonnet sat in the back, causing the car to shake slightly as they settled in.
"So, um…" Bonnet started, "We're really out? Like, out out?"
"Yeah," Mike said, starting the engine. "We're out."
"Where are we going?"
"My place."
Bonnet fell quiet. The drive passed in silence. Mike's mind kept hearing Garrett and William. He pushed the thought away. Focus on using the remnant on Jeremy.
When Mike pulled into his driveway, the house was dark.
He unlocked the front door and turned on the light as he stepped inside. Yenndo followed, ducking slightly to get through the door. Bonnet rushed right in, making herself right at home.
"It's… cozy!" she said.
Mike walked over to his computer and turned it on, pulling the USB drive from his jacket pocket. He plugged it into the monitor. The screen flickered to life. Lolbit's face appeared, glitching slightly before stabilizing.
"Finally," she said through the speakers. "We're out of that place."
"So this is your house?" Lolbit asked, her digital eyes scanning the room through the webcam.
"Yeah," Mike said. He paused. "Just stay out of my search history."
Lolbit's laugh crackled through the speakers. "No promises."
Mike left them in the living room, Bonnet already talking with Lolbit, Yenndo standing right beside them. Mike was in his room, changing out of his shredded jacket and shirt along with his pants, and put his bag on the bed. Besides the massive hole in the middle of his stomach, his skin was completely repaired.
He pulled on a clean shirt and jacket. Checked his watch. 9:47 AM. Jeremiah would later visit Jeremy; Mike planned to use this opportunity.
At eleven-thirty, he pulled into the hospital parking lot. The morning was as busy as usual, but there were still visitors coming and going.
Jeremiah sat outside the room; he looked up as Mike approached him and sat in the seat beside him. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then Mike asked, "How are you holding up?"
"Exhausted," Jeremiah muttered, rubbing his eyes. "They let me take time off work, but sitting around doesn't make things any better."
"It's going to take time, but things will get better."
"I will be counting on that."
Shortly after, the doctor let them in. Mike followed Jeremiah inside, and they both sat beside Jeremy.
"So how are things going for you?"
"I've been dealing with things at home; it's just been quite stressful with everything that happened yesterday."
"Yeah, tell me about it. By the way, some guy from Fazbear stopped by," Jeremiah said. "Last night, after you left, he wanted to talk about the incident."
"Did he give a name?" Mike asked after a moment.
"Said he was a company rep and I didn't care enough to ask for his name," Jeremiah said, shrugging.
"What did he look like?"
"Young, mid-thirties maybe; looked professional and sounded British and polite, but even then that bastard kept trying to get me to understand that it was Jeremy's fault for getting too close and that he was warned." Jeremiah shook his head.
"A Fazbear employee going out of their way and actually bothering to show up here?"
"No idea; however, I keep thinking," Jeremiah said, "if I had forced him to quit that job or even made sure he never got it in the first place." He shook his head. "But he was excited about it. Said it was easy money, six hours of just sitting and doing nothing."
"Don't blame yourself too much."
"You have no idea how much I regret not making sure he never got that stupid job."
"Everyone has something they regret; it's a way for them to remind themselves of what not to do."
They silently sat for a while longer.
Eventually, Jeremiah stood. "I'm going to the bathroom. I will be right back," he said, wiping his eyes.
"Alright."
Jeremiah shuffled out. The door clicked shut behind him.
Mike quickly made his move.
He pulled the remnant injector from his bag and loaded one vial.
He rolled up Jeremy's sleeve and injected him with remnant, then quickly put away the injector and the empty vial. A few minutes later, Jeremiah returned.
"By the way, if you need anything, you're always welcome to call me, and I will make sure to stop by," Mike said, already back in his seat before Jeremiah arrived.
"Yeah... I will"
Mike, bag over his shoulder, went down the hall to the elevator. It was crowded, but he made it to the first floor and out the exit.
Two days later, Jeremiah called.
"He's gone," Jeremiah said. His voice was flat. No emotion left in it. "The doctors said his brain just… gave out."
Mike closed his eyes.
"There's going to be a funeral," Jeremiah said. "Wednesday. If you want to come."
"I will."
Jeremiah hung up without saying goodbye.
On Wednesday, there was a small crowd at the gravesite: a few mall security guys, an aunt Mike had never met. Jeremiah stood at the front, stone-faced. He didn't speak. Nobody did.
Mike stood near the front; he tried to save Jeremy and failed.
Afterward, he lost track of Jeremiah. Texts went unanswered. The number disconnected a few weeks later. Mike drove past the house once, empty driveway, curtains drawn. He didn't stop.
The remaining vials sat in his room, still inside the box. The remnant hadn't worked on Jeremy the way it had on Mike; maybe it had even made things worse.
Back home, the house was quiet. Yenndo stood by Lolbit, talking with her. Bonnet was powered down, tucked against Yenndo's hand. Lolbit was there in the computer, just a bit bored.
Mike stood in the doorway for a moment, watching them. He wasn't sure what to do with them, but it seemed they were going to be living here forever; it's not like they had anywhere else to go.
He went to his room and sat on the edge of the bed.
Somewhere out there was Nightmare, maybe the other nightmares as well. He didn't know why it had helped out, but Mike was sure to figure it out eventually.
But now, Jeremy was gone, and Mike couldn't fix that. But one thing was clear: he didn't plan on playing God and bringing people back from the dead.