Chapter Text
“Ok... we can do this, Freddy. We can do this...”
Dawkguard stared at the Freddy head he always kept close by. The head said nothing back to him, but he wasn’t expecting it to. He sighed and shook his head.
“I can do this,” he said. “It’s scary, but I can do this. We have to escape, Freddy. We gotta get out of here. Gotta get help. Maybe then the others can be saved too.”
He was terrified. He was alone, he had no place to go, he had no means to survive...
But he couldn’t stay here. He was pretty sure he’d end up dying here. And he hadn’t spent so long fighting the Freddys and Chicas and Foxys and Bonnies just to die here. He would get out of here and... he’d figure out what to do after that.
“I can do this,” he said softly. “I can do this. Be brave... Gotta be brave...”
He had to be brave, even if he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance if the guards found and fought him. Unlike the animatronics (and the weird glitching man) that had tormented him, Dawkguard was on the smaller side. He was only about five feet and six inches tall and slender to the point that his uniform was actually a bit baggy on him. Granted, that was more because they didn’t have his size when he was hired...
He slid his Freddy head on and settled down to wait.
They had asked him about his Freddy head. The doctor had. The nice one. He’d told them about it, how he’d used it to survive his shifts at night, but he didn’t tell them about the special ability it had in this world. How it rendered him invisible to anyone who wasn’t an ego. He felt bad about leaving the nice doctor behind. They’d become the closest thing he had to a friend in this prison...
Dawkguard didn’t know how long he waited until the little flap on his door opened. He saw a tray of food get shoved in, but the flap didn’t close.
“Huh?” He heard rustling sounds as if someone was moving around outside his cell door. “The hell?”
The flap finally closed and the door opened. A big mean looking guard stepped inside and looked around.
“Where are you?” He growled. “You know better than to hide!”
Dawkguard stood on shaky legs and carefully snuck out of the cell. He took slow and silent steps until he was further down the hall, then he began to walk faster. He didn’t dare run, there was too much risk of running into someone around a corner. He had to be slow and careful if he wanted to make it out alive...
It had taken him so long to work up the nerve to attempt an escape. He had to keep moving lest he lose it. And if he did, he knew it would be even longer before he’d try again. This was his one chance...
Dawkguard called for the elevator and nervously waited for it. He kept looking up and down the hall, then flinched and nearly cried out when he heard the guard from earlier sound the alarm. He pressed his hands over his mouth beneath the Freddy head, and his eyes widened. He heard the elevator lurch to a halt and the screen over read ‘Override Needed. Emergency Use Only’.
No! This wasn’t good. He needed this elevator...
He flattened himself against the wall, watching guards rush past him and down the hall to his cell. His fingers dug into the plaster, locked with fright. What could he do? Find some stairs? How many floors down was the ground?
He looked up when he heard footsteps. It was the nice doctor! They looked around as they walked down the hall.
“Get out of the way!” one of the guards barked. “This floor is being closed off. One of the subjects is missing, and we don’t need you making things worse.”
The nice doctor rolled their eyes and then swiped their badge on the pad next to the elevator. Dawkguard heard the elevator start up again and stifled a sigh in relief. The elevator doors opened and the nice doctor stepped inside. Dawkguard carefully entered the elevator as well, staying pressed against the wall. The nice doctor pushed the button for the fifth floor.
Dawkguard was already trying to think of his next step. This elevator would take him to the fifth floor. After that, it would stop and he wouldn’t be able to override it without a badge. Maybe he could take the doctor’s? Oh, but then they would get into trouble. He didn’t want that...
Soon enough, the elevator dinged and the doors opened again. The doctor moved to step out, but then they paused. Dawkguard’s eyes widened as they slowly turned to look around the elevator. They looked... confused. They stepped back into the elevator and swiped their badge before hitting the button for the ground floor.
“Did I forget something?” they said softly. “Must have. I’ll need to look for it.”
Dawkguard had no idea what they were talking about, but he stayed silent as the elevator continued to descend. The doors finally opened again, and the doctor stepped out and walked off. Dawkguard carefully got out and looked around. There were security cameras, but he knew from experience that it was impossible to watch all the cameras at once...
He was taking a risk, but it was necessary.
He found an exit and quickly walked out through the door. Now he was outside, but it was going to be impossible to get through the security that surrounded the place. The guards out here had dogs and they would smell him...
Lucky for him, he found a man loading something into the back of a truck. The man walked back into the building, and Dawkguard seized his moment. Before he could think about it any further, he rushed forward and climbed into the back of the truck. As he settled down, he heard the man return. The man tucked a blue tarp over the back of the truck, and then walked off. The truck suddenly roared to life, and Dawkguard felt a swell of relief as it began to move.
He was doing it! He was actually escaping! All by himself, too.
He was starting to sweat in the Freddy head, but he didn’t dare take it off. Not yet...
Dawkguard didn’t know how long the truck drove until he felt it stop and heard the man leave. He carefully peeked out from the tarp and saw that it was night time and the coast was clear. He climbed out and removed the Freddy head before calmly walking away as if he hadn’t just escaped some highly guarded facility. As if he wasn’t technically a fugitive on the run.
He still had to get away. They would be looking for him, and he could only hide for so long. He found a bus station, but he had no money for a ticket. A bus was leaving soon for... Las Vegas? That was far away, that would be a good place to go, right?
But he still had no ticket.
He deflated slightly with a groan. What was he going to do now?
“You ok, Hun?”
Dawkguard yelped and looked up to see an older woman staring at him. She had a bus driver uniform on.
“U-Um...” Dawkguard curled into himself. “I-I just... I don’t have a... a ticket.”
He sounded so pitiful, and the driver frowned.
“Are you trying to get away from someone, Hun?” She asked, noticing the bruises on his face and arms. “Is someone hurting you?”
Dawkguard gave a small whine as he nodded. He just wanted to get away from here so that he could be safe...
“Oh, you poor thing,” the driver said. “Here, come on my bus. I’ll let you ride for free. I can’t in good conscience leave you here when you clearly need help.”
“Huh?” Dawkguard looked surprised. “O-Oh! You... you don’t have to-”
“It’s the right thing to do,” the driver slid an arm around Dawkguard’s shoulders and ushered him to her bus. “Here, sit up here behind me. No one will bother you.”
There were only a few other people on the bus, but Dawkguard still sat all the way against the window. He held his Freddy head tightly to his chest and sighed. He was so tired and hungry... but he couldn’t stop now.
Could he?
The bus was moving now, and Dawkguard watched the bus station vanish from sight.
Maybe he could rest for just a little while... His eyes slid closed as he fell asleep, still clutching his Freddy head.