Chapter 34: Night or Day, It doesn't matter

"Huh? Who's here? What are you talking bout?", I ask Joseph. He looks at me and says, "When I say run, run." I peek around the wall with him and gasp. Standing next to a light pole is a thin, black with white stripes, marionette! It's fairly tall, somewhere between 5'11 and 6'4". It has a white mask-like face with purple steaks right below its coal-black eyes. It has rosy red cheeks, long fingers, and three buttons on its front. "That thing?", I say, stepping out from behind the wall. "What!? It's not even scary! Joseph, why are you so scared of a-" Before I can finish my sentence, Joseph grabs me and yanks me back into the ally. "Shhhhhh! Don't talk to it! It will kill us!", he hisses at me. I glare at him and say, "You're not telling me what's going on, Joseph!" He looks at me and sighs. He smiles and holds out his hand. "Do trust me, Joshua?" I stare at him for a second then say, "Yes, I trust you, Joseph." I take his hand and he leads me out of the ally and across the street, looking both ways when doing so. I glance back at the robot, who is walking, more like stomping, the opposite way. I look up at Joseph and say, "Was that robot from Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria?" He stops when we get to the sidewalk. He rubs the back of his neck and says, "We should have stayed at the police station . . . This is all my fault." He turns to me, tears pricking his eyes. "I-I'm so s-sorry, Josh. I-" I hug him before he can make me cry. I sniffle and say, "Shut up before you make me cry. Nothing is your fault, ya big goof." He smiles at me and wraps his arm around my waist. He buries his face into my hair. Suddenly, there's a loud chsuuuch and a voice saying, "Joseph! Where are you? You were supposed to be here . . . 6 mins ago! Get yo butt over here, now!" Joseph snags his walkie talkie from his belt and presses the button, "Sorry! Lost track of time. Coming over now. And, I have Joshua with me." He smiles at me and lets go of my waist. "Well, guess we got to go." I look down, cheeks burning. I glance up at him and stutter, "Y-ya . . . Thanks f-for the pizza. I h-had fun." He chuckles and pats my head. "Your welcome. Now, come on. I know a short cut to the pizzeria."