Michael Afton and Mark Smith

Let's start by saying that all the Aftons are dead, along with other known characters (except Gregory, Cassie, and Vanessa). And we won't deviate from the original franchise at all. Michael Schmidt (Afton) and his family are now in their cozy old home. Recently, Mark Smith, Michael's old friend from childhood, moved in with them. Mark is here for a week; he's supposed to meet the other deceased kids from the SB (security breach) who died there. Gregory Schmidt (Afton) (Michael's son) and Cassie Smith (Mark's daughter) are the guides for these kids. Incidentally, Michael himself doesn't know that Gregory is his son. But Greg himself has an idea about this, he can say that he hates him for abandoning him (he does not know when his father died and who he is) even during his mother’s pregnancy, and that she carried the entire burden of responsibility on herself, and blamed him for the fact that after the death of Uncle Mark, he ended up in a shelter where he was treated like an animal, from where he ran away and lived on the street for six months.

Michael isn't particularly tactile; he rarely hugged anyone and often appeared emotionless. But with Mark, he behaves differently. For example, he hugs him quite often and always touches him in some way. Not because he loves him, but because he trusts him. Mark is a calm person, always supportive, giving helpful advice, reassuring. He understands programming and the basics of mechanics, and remembers all the funny and not-so-funny moments in life, making him Michael's best support and best friend.

And so it was. Michael spent the entire morning, from 9:00 AM until 4:30 PM, with the children, with Elizabeth Afton (Michael's younger sister), with Evan Afton (Michael's younger brother), and with the missing children. Basically, he was exhausted. Mark was sitting on the couch, checking the Circle Baby (CB) functionality on a special tablet, while chatting with her. Michael entered the room, sat down on the couch, without saying hello or hello, and lay his head on Mark's lap. Circle Baby was stunned by this turn of events, but Mark wasn't even surprised; he simply placed his hand on Michael's shoulder, and Michael took his hand and pulled it to his face.