Adventure Time with Phin and Mike

You had never seen a man so close to death in your life. Looking back on it, if it hadn’t been for you hearing something rasping for air in the backstage area as you left that morning, he might not have made it at all. If you had waited for his recorded voice to tell you to find him, it would have been too late. He was a thin man, and, luckily for him, the old suit he had been shoved in was not in the best of conditions. Most of the devices had rusted away, giving him room to tuck in his head and only leaving his limbs mangled. Regardless, the amount of blood crusted over was dizzying. But he was breathing.

The rest of the morning was a blur. Shock had set in, and using all of the strength you could muster, you had picked him up, suit and all, and put him in the back of your car, driving him to the hospital as fast as you could. He couldn’t talk from weakness, but you could see in his eyes that he was thankful. It was safe to say you were not going to keep your job, but, despite your monetary situation, you couldn’t care in the least.

The doctors had no idea how to cope with him when you brought the poor former guard in. You tried to explain, but you couldn’t get all your words out. They put him on a gurney, bear costume and all, and rushed him immediately into surgery. They would think you were crazy if you told them the truth. You waited in the waiting room. You were invested now. You had to make sure he pulled through. Eventually the police came and took your deposition. Their eyebrows raised at your story, but they wrote it down regardless. You didn’t want to think of the legal implications of the incident quite yet. You were still numb. When you had time to cool down, you’d eventually be as angry as you should have been at the restaurant.

You managed to find a crumpled dollar in the depths of your wallet and slid it into a vending machine. You grabbed the deposited candy bar and devoured it. You looked at the clock on the wall. 12pm. He had been in surgery going on 6 hours. As you sat and stared with glazed eyes at the tv in the room playing daytime television, you realized you had no idea who the guy was. In fact, you didn’t even know if he was the guy on the phone. He was in a guard uniform, so you assumed it had to be. Whoever he was, you felt a kinship in the terrors you experienced at the pizza place.

It would be another 6 hours before you heard of his condition. The nurse used the word, “Amazing,” to describe how he had survived. Dehydration, extreme blood loss, broken bones. She explained he was stable, but most of his limbs couldn’t be fixed. His legs and his left arm were too far gone to be saved and were amputated. According to his state, he had been in that room for 2 days about, but they would ask him for certain when he woke up.

You are shaken awake by a different nurse. You must have dozed off. The clock says it’s 4am. “He’s awake if you would like to speak to him,” she says leading you into the ward. Your stomach flops. What do you even say to the guy? You walk into the room, and he’s hooked up to all kinds of machines, monitoring his vitals and dosing him with pain killers. He looks a little loopy, but anyone would be with that much morphine dancing through their veins. His left hand is free, but bandaged heavily.
His voice is shakey, but you’re amazed he can speak at all after such an intense round of medical treatment. “N...new… guy.” He says softly. Even in his condition, you can tell he was indeed the man in the recording. “... Thanks.”

The nurse leaves the room, shutting the door behind her. You come up closer and get a better look at him. “Did… Did they… The robots…?” You ask him.

He nods weakly and breaths one word, “F-freddy.”

Your blood feels icy at that. There was no joke, those animatronics were deadly. You had no idea what was happening at your now former work place without you there for your shift. You prayed that the police had come and hacked those things into pieces. But what if they hadn’t..?

The man in the bed speaks again. “Please…. Stay w-with me.” You didn’t plan on leaving at all. You pull up a chair and sit with him, introducing yourself. He tells you his name is Phineas. Over the course of hours, despite the pain, he becomes a bit more talkative. He tells you all about how he came to work at that place. “I was…. Investigating a cold case with the police department… I’m young so… they sent me in as a decoy to look for clues about these.. unsolved disappearances. I did everything they asked of me…. Getting fired would mean I lost my opportunity to look for evidence… but… “ He looks more shaken than usual, “...Those monsters… How… They’re not… They’re not advanced enough mechanically to do those things… I.. I thought they had a free range mode when I saw them walking around… But no… They… were bolted to the floor... They’re bolted to the floor…HOW...” He shivers and his pulse quickens. You tell him it’s going to be okay and that you had already told the police. Those robots were no doubt in pieces. This calms him a little and his pulse reduces.

He settles against his pillow. “I’m not… going to be much good for the department now, but… I’m glad I’m alive…. Mike… You never know how precious life is until it’s almost taken from you…All I could think about was my case… If I died, no one would solve it…. I’ve gotta.. keep living…”

Around 7am, a few officers flood into the room, obviously friends or co-workers of Phin. They try to make you leave, but he protests, telling them that you are just as important to the case now. You know how dangerous the machines are and you risked your life to save him. One of the police pat you on the shoulder, calling you a real hero. In all the craziness you had been through, the last thing you had thought of was being heroic. You hadn’t thought too much about yourself at all. Phin smiles at you from the bed, “Yeah… He really is my hero…”