Chapter 20
It wasn't long before Foxy and Clyde lost sight of Freddy. He'd practically sprinted up the side of the mountain, off the trail. Clyde was hoping that Freddy knew where he was going. Clyde attempted to step off the trail, before Foxy grabbed his shoulder.
"Stay with me..." Foxy muttered.
"What if we don't get there in time?" Clyde asked, glancing at Foxy.
"We will...come on, let's speed up..." Foxy began walking faster, dragging Clyde with him.
Freddy pushed himself up the hill. His boots dug into the snow. He grunted and unsheathed his claws. The bear dug his claws into the side of the hill and pushed himself up further. He eventually made it to the top of the hill.
The trail came back into view. Freddy breathed a sigh of relief and stumbled onto the trail. He began jogging along the trail, towards the top. He eventually reached the top, where they'd been before. He looked down at the ground and noticed Bonnie's backpack.
He knelt down and opened the backpack. Freddy sighed and shut the bag, as it was empty. He stood back up and looked back at the trail. The bear glanced at the ending of the trail and noticed a broken wooden plank. He approached the plank and noticed a set of footprints moving away from it.
It seemed to lead up the side of the mountain, "He better not..." Freddy whispered, as he began following the footprints. The bear's vision began to fade as a snow-storm stirred around. He shivered and rubbed his shoulder.
Freddy winced as his paw came into contact with the bandage, "Fucking shoulder..." He continued following the footprints. He began to panic as the snow-storm began covering them. He'd never find Bonnie without the footsteps to guide him.
Freddy quickened the pace. He panted and looked around the landscape. He looked to the left of him and noticed that he was on the border of the mountain. One slip, and he'd fall off the side off the mountain.
The bear stepped back from the side of the mountain and continued following the footprints. The footprints eventually lead into the forest.
"Fuck...fuck!" The snowstorm had completely erased the rest of the footprints. Freddy looked around the forest.
"Come on...come on..." Freddy's panic began settling in again. He looked around and noticed a branch hanging off a nearby tree.
Freddy's eyes widened when he noticed a red stain on the side of the branch, "Ah, shit..." He muttered. He approached the branch and pulled it out of the tree.
He examined the texture of the stain and came to the conclusion that it was blood. It had to be Bonnie's. Freddy dropped the branch and noticed a trail of blood leading away from him.
"I'm comin'..." Freddy followed the blood trail.
Five minutes earlier
Bonnie stood there after Freddy walked back down the trail. He rubbed his shoulder and looked down at his backpack. A lot of things were going through his mind, he couldn't handle it anymore. He needed time to himself, and maybe he could go off the trail for a while.
He began walking away from the ledge, before his foot made contact with something. He pulled his foot off the object and looked down.
"Holy crap..." Bonnie reached down and grabbed the object. It was a gun, the exact same gun that Clyde had used during his confrontation with Red.
Bonnie examined the gun and looked down the trail. Could he...? He paused for a second and closed his eyes. What would be the point anymore? He and Freddy were obviously not friends anymore, and Freddy was his whole life.
It wouldn't matter anyway. His family was gone. What could he lose? Bonnie walked to the end of the trail and tripped over a wooden barricade.
He growled and kicked the plank, slicing it in half. The bunny walked away from the trail, with the gun in his hands. Bonnie wiped some tears away and exhaled.
It wasn't long before he heard footsteps. Bonnie turned around and raised the gun, "Whose there?" Bonnie growled.
There was no response. Bonnie backed away and lowered the gun. He felt a pair of hands grab him and pull him back. The gun was lifted from Bonnie's paws.
Bonnie pushed the hands away and stood up. He looked up and saw Aiden standing there, with his knife and the gun in his hands.
"Aiden!" Bonnie exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing up here?!"
"I was waiting for somebody else but..." Aiden chuckled a little, "I hate your guts you see, so I wanna see them spill out of your chest."
"Say what?" Bonnie began backing away. Aiden followed him slowly. He tightened the grip he had on the gun and knife.
He holstered the knife and held the gun with both hands, "Leave me alone...!" Bonnie whimpered.
"Enough with the fucking drama already!" Aiden shouted, "I came on this trip for one reason, and one reason only, to take you out!"
"What!?" Bonnie shouted, with a panicked tone.
"There's been a change in plans you see..." Aiden explained, "I'm taking Clyde with you..."
"Wait a minute..." Bonnie's eyes widened, "You're one of the debt collectors?"
"Correcticall..." Aiden laughed a little.
"Not a real word..." Bonnie muttered. He stepped back further, towards the forest.
Aiden growled and proceeded to follow him, "Why do you hate me!?" Bonnie screamed.
"I did nothing to you!" Bonnie shouted, "You tried to do awful things to me the other day, and my friend protected me!"
"It goes back further than that..." Aiden muttered, "You see..." The bear began.
"I knew Freddy before you did," Aiden gripped the gun, "He might not have told you, but we used to be close friends at school. We were like brothers, him and I."
"Clyde and Freddy had a falling out..." Aiden added, "Clyde's parents knew about Freddy's sexuality and made sure that Clyde and Freddy were as far from each other as possible."
"That's when I decided to step in..." Aiden grinned.
"What did you do...?" Bonnie asked. He was stalling Aiden as he continued to move further and further back from him.
"Freddy's father opened up one of their houses and I decided to set it on fire," Aiden's grin widened, "Some people had died, which garnered bad publicity for their family..."
"Clyde saw what I did and reported it to the cops..." Aiden sighed, "They never released the official report, so only my parents and Clyde knew that it was me."
"It forced my parents to send me out of town and bring me to this shit-hole," Aiden growled, "Clyde got to live an awesome life there..."
"That isn't true." Bonnie argued.
"What do you mean, 'it isn't true'?" Aiden raised the gun to Bonnie's head.
Bonnie just shook his head, "Clyde didn't live an awesome life there. He contacted me a few days before Freddy arrived and said that his family was bringing him to this town..."
"It's weird..." Aiden said, "All of us came to the same town..." He lowered the gun.
"Maybe it was fate?" Bonnie smiled a little.
"Fuck fate," Aiden raised the gun again, "I'm taking you out." Bonnie backed away further. He bumped into a branch hanging out of the tree.
He pulled at the branch, trying to sever it from the tree. He couldn't get the branch off and instead, he impaled his paw.
"GAH! FUCK!" Bonnie screamed.
Aiden winced and looked away. Bonnie pulled the branch out of his paw and stepped back, with blood dripping down his arm. He looked over at Aiden to see that he wasn't looking. Bonnie looked around and noticed a stone.
The bunny limped over to the stone and threw it at Aiden. The stone hit Aiden in the neck and he fell to the ground.
"Holy shit!" Aiden winced. Bonnie took this opportunity to run away from him. Aiden growled and raised the gun. He aimed it at Bonnie but he didn't pull the trigger, as Bonnie was already out of his view.
"You're going down..." Aiden got up and ran after him. Bonnie ran past a few trees and tripped over a bush. He grunted and stood back up. He looked behind him and saw Aiden catching up quickly.
Bonnie whimpered and ran a little faster. He panted and approached a fallen tree. He closed his eyes for a split second and dove over the top of the tree. He landed on his stomach.
The bunny coughed and stood back up. He didn't look back, he just kept running. Aiden tightened his grip on the gun and saw Bonnie come into view.
He aimed the gun at Bonnie and pulled the trigger.
Freddy's ears twitched once he heard the gun-shot, "Bonnie?!" He exclaimed. He began picking up the pace as he followed the blood trail.
His eyes widened once he saw Aiden standing ahead of him, "HEY!" Freddy shouted. Aiden turned around and his eyes widened once his eyes met Freddy's.
Aiden raised the gun to Freddy's head and approached him. Freddy shrieked and fell over, "Holy crap!" He exclaimed.
"Put the gun down..." Freddy looked up at Aiden as he approached.
Aiden said nothing, he just held the gun to Freddy's head. Freddy covered his face and Aiden pulled the trigger. The gun clicked.
Freddy stood back up and punched Aiden across the face. Aiden fell back onto the ground, knocking the gun out of his hands.
Freddy noticed a combat knife fall out of Aiden's pocket. He snatched the knife and the gun and growled at him, "You need to back the fuck off..." Freddy threatened.
"You won't kill me..." Aiden growled back, "You can't do anything..."
"I wasn't planning on killing you..." Freddy said, "I'm not like that...and I never will be."
"I know you..." Aiden grinned, "The real you...you wouldn't do anything like this...you're charming...friendly...caring..."
"Shut the hell up, man!" Freddy growled, "Where'd Bonnie go?"
"He went to the look-out..." Aiden replied.
Freddy hit Aiden across the face with the handle of the knife, knocking him out, "Bonnie!" He shouted. He threw the gun into a nearby bush, along with the knife.
He continued following the blood-trail, until he reached a set of stairs. He held the railing and pulled himself up the stairs. He noticed a trail that hadn't been covered by the snow, yet.
He proceeded to walk up the trail until he saw the familiar set of purple ears ahead of him. Freddy's eyes widened. He ran to the end of the trail and towards the edge of a cliff, where the silhouette was standing.
"Bonnie!" He shouted. The figure turned around and looked at him, just as the snow-storm began to settle. Bonnie's crimson eyes met Freddy's.
"What are you doing up here...?" Bonnie asked, with a weak tone. Freddy cautiously approached Bonnie as the bunny backed off, towards the edge of the cliff.
"Bonnie..." Freddy raised his paw, "I came up here because I care about you..."
"I know..." Bonnie's lip quivered, "I'm so sorry about the things I said!"
"Why are you up here?" Freddy began to step forward while he spoke, "What's the point?"
"Why else would I be up here, Frederick?" Bonnie asked. Freddy winced once he heard that name. Bonnie hadn't called him that at all since he had met him, "To kill myself of course!"
"That would be the dumbest decision to make, Bonnie..." Freddy frowned, "Why would you do that?"
"Because I'm a failure!" Bonnie shouted, "And because I can't do anything right...!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Freddy came closer, "You've done nothing wrong! In fact, you've probably saved many lives!"
"If I had done something, my mom would still be alive, and my little brother wouldn't be in a fucking orphanage!" Bonnie snapped, "And I just...took out all of my anger on you, like a damn jackass..."
"I deserved it..." Freddy stepped closer. He was only a few meters away from the bunny, "I could've done something...but I didn't and I screwed everything up..."
"No you didn't..." Bonnie's ears lowered, "You took a bullet for me and I still couldn't push away my selfish thoughts about you causing anyone's deaths. They're all my fault...my fault.." The bunny whimpered.
"We've both said and done some stupid things lately..." Freddy smiled, "We can live with them though...right?"
"I guess we can..." Bonnie frowned.
"Together." Freddy added.
Bonnie looked down at the ground. He clenched his fists and he closed his eyes for a second, "Fred." He looked back up.
"Yeah...?" Freddy was within arm's reach of Bonnie.
"Before anything happens, there's somethin' I've been meanin' to share with you..." Bonnie came closer. Freddy reached for Bonnie and pulled him into his arms.
Bonnie hugged him tightly and wrapped his arms around Freddy, "Bonnie..." Freddy muttered, "I'm so glad that you're alright..."
"I'm fine..." Bonnie said, "I'm sorry for being such an idiot..." He closed his eyes for a second and pondered on what he was gonna say.
"We're both idiots..." Freddy smiled.
Clyde and Foxy ran out from the end of the trail and saw Bonnie and Freddy hugging each other. They looked at each other with grins on their faces.
"Okay," Freddy pulled away, "This has been long overdue..."
"I know how you feel..." Bonnie shrugged.
"I don't think so..." Freddy cooed.
"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.
Freddy grinned and pulled Bonnie close again. He rested his paws on his friend's cheeks and their lips met. Bonnie and Freddy melted into the kiss and into each other's arms.
After a few seconds, they pulled away from each other, "That was nice..." Bonnie smiled.
"But..." Bonnie added, "How did you know...?"
"It was totally obvious..." Freddy chuckled.
"Took long enough!" Foxy shouted.
"Can we get down from this mountain now...?" Clyde asked, "It's fucking cold out here..."
"I'd like to get warm back at camp..." Freddy said.
"I can help with that..." Bonnie whispered shyly.
Before they could do anything, Aiden ran out from a nearby bush, with a knife in his hand. He raised the knife above his head and ran towards Bonnie and Freddy.
Freddy and Bonnie backed off, "Look out!" Freddy shouted. Clyde looked over at Foxy and kissed him on the cheek.
"Lad...?" Foxy's eyes widened. Clyde gave him a warm smile before running over to Bonnie and Freddy's side.
Aiden had the choice to either attack Bonnie, or Clyde. He weighed up his options as he came closer to them, Clyde was his original target, he needed to be taken out.
Aiden growled and plunged the knife into Clyde's chest. Clyde coughed and kicked Aiden away.
"NO!" Foxy ran over to Clyde's side and rested his paws on the knife.
"Oh man..." Clyde whimpered. He coughed out some blood and looked up at the sky above him, "What a crappy way to die..."
"Ye ain't gonna die on me, ye motherfucker..." Foxy growled.
Aiden got back up from the ground and looked down at Clyde. He grinned as his handy-work and glanced over at Freddy and Bonnie.
Freddy and Bonnie stood there in shock, not sure of what to do. Aiden cracked his knuckles and approached the couple, but before he could get any closer, a flash of red and brown sprinted behind him and tackled Aiden to the ground.
"RED!" Aiden shouted, pushing his co-collecter off of him, "I knew you were too weak..." He growled.
"Fuck you, Aiden. You deserve to die here..." Red spat.
Freddy held Bonnie close and brought him a few steps back. Foxy picked up Clyde's body and held him close, "Yer gonna be fine, you asshole..."
Red growled and tackled Aiden again. They threw punches at each other as they rolled to the side of the cliff.
"Slow and steady, slow and steady..." Foxy pulled the knife out of Clyde's chest. He kissed Clyde deeply and hugged him tightly.
"Gross..." Bonnie muttered.
"It hurts..." Clyde whimpered. Foxy dropped the knife and proceeded to approach Freddy and Bonnie, with a look of worry on his face.
"We should help him out...!" Freddy glanced over at Red.
Aiden glanced at the newly-dropped knife and grinned. He crawled towards the knife while Red pulled the bear's fur back, slowing him down.
"Oh, no you don't!" Aiden grabbed the knife. Red jumped off of Aiden and crawled backwards, towards the cliff's edge.
Red pushed himself off the ground and pulled Aiden up with him, neglecting to notice the knife in Aiden's paw. Aiden brought his lips to Red's ear and a grin made itself present on his face, "Goodbye."
Aiden plunged the knife into Red's chest. Red growled and pulled it out, wincing as he did it, "Fuck you, asshole!" He smashed Aiden across the jaw with the handle of the blade and proceeded to plunge the knife directly into his jaw.
Aiden screamed and cried as he felt the knife go right through his jaw, "HOLY FUCK! HOLY SHIT! OH MY GOD...!" He screamed.
Red closed his eyes for a second. He sighed and re-opened them. Red clenched his fists and grabbed Aiden again. With Aiden's final bit of strength, he fell forward, forcing Red to go backwards, and off the edge of the cliff.
"NO!" Freddy ran to the side of the cliff. He could see Red and Aiden's bodies disappear through the fog.
Bonnie ran over and pulled Freddy away from the edge.
"Holy crap..." Foxy muttered.
"Where did they go!?" Freddy shouted, as tears began to trail down his face, "I can't see them!"
"They're gone..." Bonnie whispered.
"He saved our lives..." Foxy frowned.
"I could've prevented this..." Clyde whispered.
"Shush now...we need to get you some medical attention..." Foxy replied.
"Let's get back to camp. We need to go home..." Bonnie said.
Bonnie led Freddy away from the cliff and hugged him tightly. Freddy rested his head on his companion's shoulder and proceeded to cry for the next few seconds. Freddy pulled away a few seconds later.
Foxy and Freddy looked at each other. Foxy glanced at Clyde, and Bonnie glanced at Freddy, "Let's go..." Freddy dusted himself off and wiped a few tears away. Freddy lead the group back down the trail and towards the camp.
As they approached the camp, Spring was the first one to greet them.
"What the hell happened!?" Spring ran over to them. He immediately noticed the injured state the Clyde was in, and the massive gaping hole in Bonnie's paw.
"Bonnie went up...there..." Freddy stuttered, "Aiden was going to hurt us...Red tackled him and they went off the cliff..."
"He saved our lives..." Clyde whispered.
"Holy crap!" Chica exclaimed, "Seriously!?"
"We need to get out of here..." Foxy said.
"Wait, so your saying Red and Aiden are...?" Chica's eyes widened.
"They're both gone..." Freddy repeated.
"Pack up your gear everyone, we're heading home." Spring ordered.
"Aww...I was just getting settled in..." Chi complained.
"Enough complaining, we need to get Clyde to the hospital as soon as possible!" Spring shouted. Chi winced and nodded.
"Sorry, Springy..." She muttered.
An hour later
The van stopped in front of the school. Foxy, Clyde, Freddy and Bonnie got out first, with Chi, Spring, Goldie and Chica getting out a few minutes later.
"We need to call the cops." Foxy said.
"I just called them." Chica put her phone back into her pocket.
"He's dead..." Freddy whimpered, "I can't believe he's dead..."
"Everything'll be fine..." Bonnie rubbed the bear's shoulder.
"Freddy..." Bonnie looked into Freddy's eyes.
"What...?" Freddy returned the glance.
"Aiden...Aiden told me things..." Bonnie explained, "He said that he was the one who burnt your parent's other house down..."
"That doesn't matter right now..." Freddy frowned, "He was a douche-bag...but he was my brother."
"Everything will be fine...okay...?" Bonnie smiled at him. The bunny caressed Freddy's cheek and kissed him, "Do you understand...?"
"Yeah...yeah I do..." Freddy smiled a little, "Thanks..."
"We're both...grieving," Bonnie paused, "But we can do it together...right?"
"I'll take care of you and you'll take care of me?" Freddy grinned a little.
"Of course." Bonnie replied.
A few minutes passed before the police arrived. One of the police officers approached Bonnie and folded his arms, "We weren't really told what the nature of the situation was, would you care to explain it?"
"His..." Bonnie glanced at Freddy, "His brother and somebody else fell off a cliff."
"Say what?" The officer's eyes widened.
"We went camping for a little bit, and they just...tried to attack us." Bonnie added.
"You need to start from the beginning..." The officer said, "Back at the station."
Bonnie nodded. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a phone, "This phone belonged to Aiden, the one who caused his brother to go off the cliff..."
The officer snatched it, "We'll use this as evidence..."
"Bring everybody along to the station as soon as possible," He glanced over at the paramedics as they were talking to Foxy and Clyde, "And bring your injured friend with you."
"Yes, officer..." Bonnie watched the officer walk off.
Foxy kissed Clyde on the cheek and smiled at him as he was lifted onto a stretcher, "I'll be there after ye get there..."
"Thanks captain..." Clyde whispered. The paramedics brought him to a nearby ambulance and lifted him inside.
Foxy closed his eyes and exhaled. He looked over at Freddy and Bonnie and walked over.
"How is he...?" Bonnie asked.
"They haven't said a word but...I'm sure he'll be back here in no time..." Foxy grinned a little. He glanced at Freddy and noticed the mortified expression on his face.
"I can't...believe this..." Freddy whimpered, "I don't want to talk about all of this crap...!"
"Freddy..." Bonnie glanced over at Freddy.
"What?" Freddy folded his arms.
"You need to calm down, okay?" Bonnie assured, "Everything's gonna be fine..."
"Thanks Bonnie..." Freddy smiled, "Have we got any...good news, at all?"
"I looked at Aiden's phone," Bonnie rubbed his shoulder, "He was getting messaged by somebody called 'Boss' who told him to kill Clyde!"
"Do you know who it was...?" Freddy asked.
"No, but I'm sure the officer will trace the message to the phone where it was sent from..." Bonnie re-assured.
Foxy grinned and folded his arms, "I'll leave ye two love-birds here...I've gotta make sure my bunny is alright..."
"Bye Foxy..." Bonnie smiled.
"Bye..." Foxy waved at them and ran off.
Freddy pulled Bonnie close and hugged him tightly, "Thanks for being so supportive..."
"You were always supportive to me..." Bonnie smiled.
"I love you..." Freddy muttered.
"I love you too..." Bonnie responded, with a small smile on his face.
Tomorrow is another day...