Chapter 1: Enter Adam North

--AN--

A single streetlamp illuminated the parking lot, emphasizing its presence in the pitch-blackness of the surrounding area.

Until, of course, that darkness was broken by a car, driving at a speed that was most likely well over the limit on any road in the world, which pulled into the otherwise empty lot and parked in a way which would make any passerby believe that the car had been driven there by a drunken chimpanzee. The dents on the bumpers didn't help the car's case, either.

But, out of the car came, not an ape, but Adam North, the new night guard for Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a mediocre, animatronic-centric pizza joint with a history of crime, health violations, and general lawsuits from employees and customers alike. Really, the whole establishment should have gone under many years prior. It had only avoided that fate due to the work of a particularly sleazy businessman, a few well-placed bribes, a thorough cleaning of the carpets, and a collection of bodies that were personally buried inside of a local garbage dump, never again to see the light of day.

And now, judging by the salary that they were paying their workers, Freddy's was once again just barely scraping by, turning a meager profit as it just kept holding on.

Adam had really only taken a job here because of how low their standards for employment were. It was really one of the only places where he, a seventeen year old boy with almost no qualifications, could get a job at all. At that point, the size of your paycheck doesn't matter, as long as you get one. He was pretty sure he could get one here. The urban legends surrounding the place's night shift meant that the job had been incredibly easy for him to lock down. Nobody else wanted it.

He'd never put too much stake in those old stories. Really, he thought that they were probably just stories someone told around a campfire once, inspired by how scary those robots up on the stage looked.

They really were offputting. They towered above customers, serving pizza or birthday cake or anything else that was needed to the children at the restaurant, while simultaneously seeming like the last things you would ever want a child to come in contact with. And the stench. It was like the pungent smell of rotting meat, and the company seemed to have just sprayed about half a can of Febreze on each robot and called it a day.

Maybe he was just too old for it. He didn't know. It seemed more like a joint aimed at really young children, honestly. Eleven year olds, at the absolute oldest. Maybe it was more tolerable for the children. He hoped so, because otherwise he felt bad for them all. Not only was it not fun, but it was also one of the least safe places they could ever be, just behind being curled up in a trash compactor.

Yeah, he didn't like this place. This hellhole. Really, it was probably linked to a particularly bad memory from his childhood, but he sure as hell wasn't going to admit that something that happened years ago still affected him today. He wasn't weak.

As he thought this to himself, he realized that he was subconsciously stalling. He didn't want to go in there. Not again. But, unfortunately, he supposed that he had to. After a moment of breathing, he checked his watch. The digits '11:16' glew bright red in the dark.

Yeah, if he wanted to get in there, look around, and get settled, he should probably leave. He slowly walked to the door, placing a hand on the cool metal crash bar on the door and pushing it. The rusty hinges creaked as the door swung open.

The smell hit like a wall, a mixture of cheap, horrible pizza and the vomit of children. Adam really wasn't sure which one was worse. The pizza here was pretty bad. He paused for a second to accustom himself to the smell before walking further down the hallway, stopping at the Dining Area and looking at the various sights that the restaurant had to see.

First, the stage, the main attraction. It honestly looked like something straight out of a horror film. A low-budget horror film that was blatantly about Chuck-e-Cheese's, but couldn't afford to pay an actual licensing fee. So, instead, they put a few generic, cheap-looking robots up there and called it a night.

He slowly walked to the stage itself, hesitantly putting a hand on Freddy's stomach. The suit was warm to the touch, in stark contrast to the cold air of the restaurant. He wondered why that was. It definitely wasn't on right now, there was no reason for it to produce heat. After a few seconds of thought, he shook his head and let his hand slide down the robot until it fell off and he dropped it to his side, wiping it on the leg of his pants. He had no idea how many children had touched that bear with their sticky little fingers. He almost puked thinking about it, suddenly regretting touching the thing. He was just gonna walk back to his new office now. He was not dealing with this. Nope. This was not okay.

When he tried to turn on a heel to leave, he realized slightly too late that he wasn't wearing his normal shoes, tripped, slipped, hit the ground with a loud THUD, and slowly stood up again. Ouch. He strung together a few profanities that he would invariably be fired for using if he was on the day shift as he dusted off his uniform.

Finally, after fixing his uniform from the fall, he began the walk back to his security office when he heard the door open.

Wait. Wait, no, nobody was supposed to break in yet. His mind was racing as he looked around wildly before grabbing the nearest thing to him that he could pick up, which ended up being a plastic chair. Good enough. He held it in front of himself like a shield as he walked slowly to the hallway, ready to bludgeon whoever was in the building.

He walked to the corner of the hallway.

He peered around it.

He crept slowly down the hall, headed for the security office.

And, at that moment, he jumped around the corner, swinging a chair at the intruder.

And, with a screech from the man he attacked, followed by a hit on the head, Adam was out like a light.

--

A note from the author:

If you happen to be reading this story, then welcome. Don't expect anything great from it. I plan for this to be relatively straightforward and semi-short. My own personal estimate, from what I've mapped out, is 15 chapters. As of current this story is just supposed to be a simple test for writing characters and such. I'm really just dipping my toe in the fanfiction water on this one.

But, hey, if you enjoyed this single chapter, then feel free to leave a review. Feel free to berate me in a review too if you add something constructive to it, I don't care. Oh, also berate me if I never actually finish this. More plausible than I wish it was. Thanks!