Chapter Text
Freddy looked around in awe. She was in someone's living room. A real living room with furniture that didn't look like props straight out of a children's television show. Outside the window, she spotted a family having a barbecue. Soft noises of their interactions filled the air. Maybe they're having a celebration? She instantly thought of a song about celebrations, but pushed it back down. It didn't really matter. They had escaped. This was the real world. She had done it. No, they had done it. Holding back tears, she whispered, "See, guys, I knew we would make it out." After a second of silence, she looked down. The first thing she noticed was Mr. Mailbox coated in blood. He looked different. She felt a pit in her stomach beginning to form. "Mr. Mailbox?" she said softly, hands gently touching the mailbox, which now looked like a normal object.
No
NO NO NO NO NO
With shaky hands, she hastily removed Strappy from her back. Clutching her former friend in both hands, who now looked like a normal backpack, Freddy couldn't bring herself to feel even a little bit happy about escaping. She clutched Strappy to her chest and started sobbing uncontrollably. This wasn't fair. She had given up everything to be here. All her friends were gone, her mother was gone, and she was alone in some stranger's house. What was she supposed to tell people if they asked what happened to her?
"Quien eres tu?" Freddy looked up, startled. A man was standing in front of her, looking as bewildered as she did. Probably the owner of this house. He asked her something else in a language that sounded faintly like Spanish. She didn't need to understand the language to know he was probably asking her who she was. The man called out to somebody outside, and a woman jogged in from the back door. Freddy scrambled back up to her feet, put Strappy back on, and with a grunt lifted Mr. Mailbox (Who had gotten a lot heavier).
"I'm sorry!" she squeaked. "I- My friends- well." She didn't know what to say. Sorry for intruding; My friends were murdered by an orange unicorn in an alternate dimension! Well, she obviously couldn't say that. The couple- she assumed they were one- had started eyeing her suspiciously. They were talking at her, and the lady had run to a landline, dialed a number, and pressed it against her ear. She felt her fingers tighten around Mr. Mailbox, and all her instincts started yelling at her to get out. By now, the lady was yelling frantically into the phone while the man had crouched down to her eye level and started reaching out while talking to her. Freddy's brain screamed at her to get out, and her feet started moving on their own.
She pushed past the man and rushed outside through the back door. The man said something else to her in Spanish, and the woman was also saying something as they both followed after her. There were children there- probably their kids- gawking at her in horror. She became consciously aware of the sticky substance clinging to her. She pushed past the fence gate and found herself sprinting down the sidewalk, trying not to drop Mr. Mailbox. They were strangers. The last time she trusted strangers, they had kidnapped Strappy. But they were also adults. When in need, go to the nearest trusted adult. The voice in her head singsonged. That's right, trusted adult. She didn't know these people. She needed to find the police! But where would she find the police? She stumbled and gripped onto Mr. Mailbox harder. Call 911, the voice said. Yes, of course! She needed to call 911. She needed... to find a phone. Crap.
With a heavy breath, she plopped down on the edge of the sidewalk. She had managed to outrun the couple. They probably would call the police. They probably had been calling the police-or the lady had been, at least- and she had just run away from her one chance of explaining herself. Maybe she should go back and explain that someone hurt her and she needed the police. No need to go into details yet. She was drenched in blood. Just because it wasn't her own doesn't mean it didn't look like it. She never would have thought that something like Buddy could bleed. She thought about how Buddy had swallowed Oliver a few minutes before dying himself. The disgusting feeling of wet blood on her clothes and skin was now starting to feel very prominent. Was this Oliver's blood? Freddy felt sick. Oliver had just been alive, and now his blood was all over Freddy, mixed with that monster's own. How long had it been since he and Hannah died? An hour? Forty minutes? Maybe even less than that. Her mother had died five minutes before they did. And Wade? It had to have been at most twenty-four hours. If she hadn't dropped him, would he have managed to get everyone out alive? If he had gone first and it was Freddy who had died instead, would Wade have figured out an escape route sooner?
Freddy sniffled as she got up. She needed to go back. Talk to the couple and ask them to call the police. Even if there was a language barrier, she could figure something out. What would she tell the police then? She could tell them the truth and leave out the more supernatural elements. And when she couldn't answer something, she could blame it on bad memory. Yes, she could do that. She lifted Mr. Mailbox. He was really heavy. Probably because a real mailbox was supposed to be heavy. She stumbled onto the main road; the weight of Mr. Mailbox caused her to tumble forward and fall harshly on her knees. She winced in pain as she slowly started to push herself back up.
A loud beeping sound broke her train of thought, causing her to look up to see a huge car coming her way at full speed. Was she really going to die before actually getting to live? Before she could answer that question, her world went black.
....
"Oh, hey, kids!"
huh?
Freddy blinks as she looks down at the ball in her hands.
"Hi Mailman Miles!" Wade exclaims, walking towards him.
Wade?
"I've got mail for you-"
"Hey hey hey! Are you trying to put me out of the job?" Mr. Mailbox interrupts.
Mailman Miles? Mr. Mailbox? Freddy felt her lips tremble. They were all alive! Or did this mean she was dead?
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Mailbox. Open wide." Mailman Miles said as Mr. Mailbox opened his mouth for him to put the letters in. "There we go!" He gestured towards the mail for Freddy to pick up.
Was this some sort of sick joke? Why was she back in the playground? Why was everyone still alive?
"Hey, kids, you got mail!" Mr. Mailbox exclaims cheerfully, forcing Freddy out of her head. She shakily reaches in to grab both envelopes.
Didn't this exact exchange happen just a few days ago?
Wade takes one envelope from her hand and rushes to open it. "It's an invitation... to a dance party!" His face brightens after reading the contents.
"Pull me up, Freddy!"
"Whoa! I better go practice my moves!" Mailman Miles says, laughing as he dances away. "Bye, kids."
"Give me the knife."
"You want the knife?" Buddy asks.
"Bye, Mailman Miles!" Wade waves goodbye, and all Freddy could think about was the hole in the fence. "I can't wait to dance my socks off," Wade says. Freddy doesn't know how to respond. She fears if she starts speaking, she might as well start crying.
"..."
"Hey Freddy, are you okay?" Wade asks. "You don't look too well." Freddy might actually throw up. Did she go back in time when she was hit by the car? Or did she survive and is currently unconscious in the hospital? She pinches herself hard and winces. That rules out dreaming.
"...you to Nurse Nancy?"
"Huh?" Did he say something?
"I asked if you wanted me to take you to Nurse Nancy?"
"I'm not sick!" She might as well be. "I'm just... scared." Her hands were shaking. What was happening? If this wasn't a dream, was it actually the afterlife? She wouldn't believe it. She couldn't. The afterlife wouldn't be this cruel. She felt her heart drop. Had she gone back in time?
"I wish we could give you some courage." Mr. Mailbox said. She flinched; she hadn't gotten used to Mr. Mailbox talking again.
"Wait, maybe we can't, but I know who can!"
Wait what? "Wade wai-"
"Oh, Buddy!"
They thought she was still talking about the dance party. Freddy watches in horror as her worst nightmare comes back to life.