// tw suicidal ideation, mentions of child death, hallucinations
It took around 10 minutes to drive there, and another 10 minutes to walk to the spot. He could’ve walked the whole way there, sure, but it’d take about an hour and a half. And that was with the benefit of his unlimited stamina. No thanks. He’d rather not deal with that.
The grave was right where he’d left it.
Granted, it was less of a grave and more of a small boulder he’d carried over and dropped on the ground half a mile from the road, but the sentiment still stood.
It was too dark to make out anything on the stone. Regardless, that didn’t matter to him; he knew the thing like the back of his hand. Better, actually, considering his hand was bandaged 90% of the time and he hated looking at any part of his body for more than 5 seconds.
He ran his finger along the rough surface. In the center, his own name, amateurly etched into the rock during a particularly bad break in 2000. The grave was oddly clean, save for some moss creeping up the bottom and dried blood on the side.
A face peaked out from behind the other side of the grave, and Michael heaved a sigh.
“You know, I’d kill you if I could.”
“Like, throw you off a cliff, or something. Maybe I’ll try the old classic and stab you.”
He remained unperturbed, staring at her.
“I’ll set you on fire. It’ll hurt, a lot.”
The foxy mask covered up any expression that the boy was making.
“Why won’t you leave me alone?” She groaned, turning away. “You’re not real. I know you’re not real. It’s just my luck that alongside my dead brother and sister, I’m being haunted by my bratty younger self.”
[I’m not a brat,] the boy insisted. They both knew it was a lie.
“You’re a brat who bullies his younger brother because you’re too much of a pussy to admit you’re jealous of the guy. You think it makes you cool how you hate your family, and you brag about it to your bitch friends who’ll abandon you, rightfully so, when you kill CC. You’re going to spend your 13th birthday alone because you’re a murderer just like Father.”
[It was an accident! I just wanted- It was just a prank! I didn’t know it would go wrong-]
“Oh, shut the fuck up.” She snapped. The boy, for once, didn’t whine or complain. “You know what I’d do if I could go back in time?”
“I’d kill you. And then I’d kill father. I wouldn’t kill Mum— she doesn’t deserve that— but I would give her a punch in the face for good measure. I’d make sure Liz and CC moved in with the Emilys, where they’d actually be cared for. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
[...You’re not a better person because you hate yourself, you know?] The boy said, and now he was 5, clutching onto a Foxy plushie he’d gotten for his birthday.
“I know,” Michael replied. She knew. This was not him trying to atone; No, he'd been doing that for his whole life, in the security room and in class and before CC had even died. The self-loathing was just a natural byproduct of being a terrible person.
“Dad,” Mike said, with Foxy in one hand and a worksheet in the other, “Can you- can you help me with this sum-”
“Michael, what are you doing with that thing?” William asked, a look of clear disapproval on his face.
“It's… It's Foxy. You made it for me-”
“Mike, you're 9 years old. you're not a child anymore.” William reached over, grabbing the plush from his hands.
“Michael. Don't talk back to me.” His dad snapped. He wilted, lips pursed. “I'm giving it to CC.”
He wanted to complain, ‘But CC already has his Fredbear!’, but he knew better than to test dad’s patience. He just glared at the 3-year old with the force of a thousand suns.
Michael sat down and leaned against the grave. He wished he could cry.