William awoke at midnight in his bed in a cold sweat. He looked around, forgetting where he was.

Suddenly, a cloaked figure similar to the Grim Reaper appeared in his open closet door. And his family appeared beside him in the bed.

The Reaper inched closer and closer. The Aftons started bunching closer and closer together as they all started aging at a rapid rate. Mrs. Afton went first. Then Michael and Elizabeth. Finally, Tristen disappeared as well.

The Reaper inched up until he was an arm's length away from William. It raised its dark scythe and swung it at him.

William woke up again in a cold sweat. He checked the closet door for any monsters. It was empty.

He sat down with his head in his hands sobbing over the shock of the dream. He then opened the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a notepad with a family picture.

He began writing furiously on the pad, planning on a way to save his family from their impending doom.

*****

William made his way downstairs to see everyone else enjoying pancakes.

He sat down with a full plate from the kitchen and began wolfing down the pancakes.

"Are you...alright, Afton?" Henry asked as he finished his plate, "You woke up late and you look awful."

William looked up from his pancakes, mouth full. "Don't worry about it. Just had a weird dream, but it won't affect me. I always bounce back from that stuff." Then he continued stuffing his face.

"Any who..." Henry switched topics. "Sales of the arcade tokens have been going up heavily since we opened the pizzeria. Good job on the game ideas, Afton!"

"Uh, thanks, Henry," William replied. "I'm gonna go get another helping of these delicious pancakes."

While hyperventilating, He then made his way to the kitchen while avoiding the weird look coming from Michael.

He then sat on one of the bar stools and took slow deep breaths, trying to regain his composure.

Michael came into the kitchen behind him and asked, "Are you okay Dad? You really don't look too good."

William turned to his son and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I just have a lot of things on my mind," William explained, "but it should be fine soon. Now, go finish eating."

"Dad, I'm already finished eating," said Michael while holding up his very obviously empty plate.

William faltered. He responded, "Well I guess I didn't notice. Just uh...go back into the dining room or something."

His son turned and marched back into the dining room. William then slumped down on the stool again and sat in misery.

*****

The business day continued as normal for everyone else, but William was counting the kids one by one as they came in. He documented their names and observed their behavior.

Some kids were playful and absent-minded. Other kids were attentive and aware of their surroundings. Afton made a note to avoid those.

Other than William's new routine, the business continued as usual for the next week.

Michael watching the kid.

Henry and William running the restaurant.

Mrs. Emily tending to the house.

Everything was going smoothly and efficiently.

*****

Teen William woke up tied to a chair. His father was standing in the corner, with a cigar and whiskey in his hands.

William began to whimper as Afton stepped closer to him.

"Son," Afton muttered, "You have become a disgrace to me. Ever since your mother died, all you can do is mess up!" He lit the cigar. "This'll show you to disrespect me in my house."

He pressed the lit cigar against William's face as William screamed out in horrible pain.

"Stop Dad!" William pleaded. "I'll do whatever you want!"

Afton lowered the cigar. "Then you have a choice", he said as he pulled William's cousin from the shadows. "Either you kill her or I will."

William's eyes widened in terror as he was forced to make a difficult choice.

*****

3 birthdays in a row happened during the business week. This was William's chance.

The first birthday was for a young brown-haired child named Gabriel.

Gabriel was a bit more playful than the rest of the children, but he was also daring. He would stick his hands super close to the mascots on stage, or try to get inside the curtain with Foxy. Enticing Gabriel to follow him would be very easy to do.

William donned one of the empty SpringBonnie outfits from the Diner and proceeded to walk up to Gabriel while inside the suit.

"Whoa!" Gabriel said. "This must be a new character! What's his name?"

William said in a happy voice, "Well I'm....Golden Bonnie! And I'm here to wish the birthday boy a happy birthday and give him a special gift!" He patted Gabriel on the back.

Gabriel bragged to his friends, "Looks like I'm the first to get the new gift. I'll be back soon."

William led the child into the Parts and Service room where all of the spare animatronics and their suits are stored.

"Hey so uh..." Gabriel said softly, "Where's this gift you're talking about?"

William slowly removed the mascot outfit piece by piece and turned to face Gabriel with eyes full of self-doubt.

*****

"So!" Afton said. "Which'll it be? Me or you?"

Teen William sat there with a very very sad look on his face contemplating what he should decide. He saw the terror in his little cousin's eyes.

Right then and there, he knew what to do.

"Alright Dad," William said. "I decided I'm going to continue the torture. Nothing is worth someone's life."

"Is that so?" Afton questioned as he let the girl go and walked back over to his son. He then took the bottle of whiskey and smashed it against the wall, giving it a jagged edge. The bottle was pushed down into William's thigh as he began to scream out in pain once more.

"Have you had enough?!" Afton continued pressing the bottle down as he took the cigar and started burning William's arm.

William tried to take the pain, but it became too much for him.

"Okay, okay!" William shouted. "I'll choose correctly this time!"

Afton backed off and grabbed his cousin again.

William hung his head and spoke softly, "I'll do it."

Afton handed him a cord and his cousin. Then William whispered into her ear while sobbing, "It's gonna be okay alright? I'll read you the book after we finish playing this game."

He wrapped the cord around her neck and began to pull it tighter slowly. He looked upward silently as he felt her jerking until after a while the convulsing stopped.

He then knelt in horror and sadness after realizing what he'd done. He began to sob harder as his father nodded his approval and limped out of the door.

*****

William pulled a knife out from behind his back.

"Is this some kind of Manhunt or something?" Gabriel asked. "Because I didn't order this."

He grabbed Gabriel by his collar and put his arm over Gabriel's mouth. Gabriel attempted to scream as William moved the knife to the front of him and placed it over his neck.

William began to hesitate, but then he remembered his dream. His family. Their future.

In haste, Afton slit Gabriel's throat slowly, to prolong his death and use him for testing. Gabriel began to struggle, but it was already too late.

To save the body and come back for it later, William removed a head from one of the Freddy suits and forced the body down inside of it, then he returned the Freddy head to its rightful place.

William hurriedly put the SpringBonnie outfit back on, walked out the back of the Pizzeria, and stashed the suit in his car.

He ran back into the pizzeria as Gabriel's parents began to search for the boy. William told them that he saw him run out of the back, then turn the corner and disappear. His parents became unbelievably worried and called the police to help search for him.

Afterward, William looked at the Parts and Service door with tears in his eyes and a large pang of guilt.