Five costumed machines stood in the lobby, greeting potential guests as they entered. The bear, the chicken, the rabbit, the fox, and the marionette. While some didn't want to stay a night in the eerie hotel, those that did found that these animatronics had a tendency to wander. From midnight to six, they roamed the halls randomly, as if guided by some mysterious force.
It wasn't merely some nightmarish blueprint. But it wasn't paranormal activity either. It was A Night at Freddy's, a very real hotel. And it wouldn't be possible without Tom.
After checking one of the robots to make sure it was working properly, Tom turned it back on. Unlike the rumored freaks of the pizzeria, all that was wrong with his fox was a buggy sense of direction. Still, even Foxy became less intimidating when he was walking straight into walls.
Tom had studied robotics for years, and had decided to put his knowledge to use by building the hotel's animatronics. Even though he never really believed the stories about the "haunted" restaurant, they still won his interest as a child. Now, many years after Freddy Fazbear faded away, he was bringing the tales back for everyone to hear.
Once he had fixed Foxy, Tom went into the storeroom for a routine inventory check. Instantly, a new addition had caught his eye.
He had heard about a bunch of Freddy's props being salvaged and put up for auction. From that failed amusement park attraction, if he remembered correctly. But nothing could have prepared him for THIS.
From a distance, it looked like an old Bonnie costume, golden yellow instead of the purple rabbit he was used to. Getting closer, he could see it was badly singed and falling apart, with something that made the roboticist's heart skip a beat. Tom kneeled next to the suit, feeling a need to get an even closer look. He hoped that what he saw in the suit was just a figment of his imagination.
It wasn't. Inside the suit was a genuine, half-mummified human corpse. Not exactly a pleasant find.
Tom carefully examined the nightmarish costume. Whoever was inside it was mangled beyond recognition. It was almost as if someone had grabbed the poor guy and shoved him into a working animatronic. He tried to find some way to remove it and get the body out, but it didn't seem possible without destroying the artifact entirely. However, he noticed a small dial on the back of the suit's neck, that looked functional. Even though it was stuck, Tom figured out that it was made to make room inside the costume for someone to crawl in.
A rumor about the pizzeria jumped into Tom's mind. They said the restaurant created a number of animatronic/costume "hybrids" that could either be worn or move on their own, to try and attract more business. These hybrid contraptions had a habit of malfunctioning; when they did, it would kill whoever was wearing them, suddenly and painfully. Allegedly, all of the animatronics were recalled... though one disappeared and was never found.
"I guess there's some truth to that one," the mechanic mused. "Damn. Getting into that thing, just for it to crush you to death. Hell of a way to go."
It was at this point that Tom stood up. As he moved across the room, he noticed something moving out of the corner of his eye; but when he turned to look, it was motionless.
Funny... He could have SWORN that dead man was nodding at him, as if he could actually HEAR him.
Probably just his eyes playing tricks on him. He really needed to get some rest.