"Are we there yet"
The young boy draped himself over the front car seat, where his mother sighed and replied, "We'll be there soon"
"But when is soon?" "A few minutes, now put your seatbelt back on!" She shot back.
Dejected Billy slowly sunk back into his seat, only to bounce back in excitement. "I heard you can get prizes by winning games, and theres a pirate fox!" He babbled to his younger sister beside him. "That's sounds nice" she replied barely above a whisper with a small smile. "Which character's your favourite? Mines Foxy" He added before she could answer, "How can you be so sure? We've never see them before" She said quietly. "Cause pirates are cool, duh!" He said with a big grin. "Oh I'm sorry..." She answered.
Billy groaned, he loved his sister, but sometimes he wished she wasn't so shy. Maddie was so terrified of social interaction, that she'd go as far as to hide to avoid it. She'd conceal herself behind anything close such as furniture, walls, and most often, her older brother, While Billy was the virtual opposite, hyperactive, troublemaking and often being unintentionally annoying.
The car began to slow as the siblings mother drove into the car park of FreddyFazbears Pizza. Alive with excitement, Billy jumped from his seat and pressed his face against the window. The place already looked amazing from the outside, With loud music pouring from inside and and a colourful painted entrance.
As soon as the car door opened, Billy became a blur as he sped towards the restaurant leaving his family behind. Bursting through the open doors he gasped in amazement. The place was bursting with movement and excitement, Three animatronics stood onstage, inactive until they're next performance. He readied himself to race to Kids cove when he felt a sudden tight grip on his wrist.
Jumping back in shock, he relaxed when he saw his mothers angry face staring back at him... Well maybe not relaxed. "What have I told you about running off like that, you could have been run over!" She shouted, attracting a few glances. "Sorry Mum" he said, impatient to find Kids cove. "Can I go now" he pleaded, tugging his arm free from her grasp. "Soon, let's find a table first" she answered scanning the pizzeria for free spots.
The restaurant was quite crowded because of it's popularity, but the family managed to find a table at the far end of the pizzeria with only a few soda stains. Once his mother had set her bags down and began reading a newspaper, Billy tugged her arm and once again requested to see Foxy. "Go have fun" she said with a smile, ruffling his thick brown hair.
Pumping his fist in the air, Billy ran until he heard his mothers voice call out to him, "Wait! Take Maddie with you!" She called to him. "Fine" he replied. Running back to the table he grabbed Maddie by the hand and practically pulled her off her feet. "Come on! This is gonna be so fun!" He said as she began to run beside him with only a little anxiety.
It wasn't hard to find Kids cove, it was the most crowded corner of the restaurant. Pushing him and his sister through the horde of kids and parents, Billy finally found himself in the cove.
Huddled around a broken piece of machinery, a crowd of children a little younger then him were tearing apart what appeared to be Foxy the pirate fox. His grin faulted. "What are you doing!" He screamed over the noise. One of the kids turned to him smiling. "It's a game" he said grinning. "But your hurting her" he said sadly, The other boy's grin only grew, "It's okay, we always put her back together again" As if to demonstrate what he meant, the child grabbed a pot of glue and an endoskeleton head, smearing a layer of the sticky substance on the mangled character, and hastily stuck the head onto where an arm should have been.
"See?" He said. "Two heads are always better then one" cackling up at his own joke the child turned back to Foxy, and begin pulling at an endoskeleton leg. Billy winced as the metal was ripped from it's body. Feeling a tug on his shoulder, Billy looked down into his sister wide fearful eyes. "I don't like this game very much" She whispered to him. Looking back at the horrific display, Billy nodded. "Me neither, Come on let's go somewhere else"
Slightly less enthusiastic then when he first entered, Billy lead his sister throughout the packed crowds of people, finding the show stage, where the animatronics were beginning to play. Bonnie strummed his guitar, as Freddy sang and Chica swung her cupcake around. The audience of children who had obviously been here more then a few times sang along. Billy wished he knew the lyrics so he could join in. Quickly growing bored, he and Maddie looked around the pizzeria for something else to do when he remembered. "The Prize corner!" Finding it nestled in a quiet area of the restaurant, Billy was surprised to see the place deserted. They must all be watching the show he thought to himself. Gawking at the display of colourful items to pick, Billy wished right then that he had a whole bag of tickets to pay with.
Hearing a small thump, his sister let out a gasp as a slender black figure emerged from the giant present box. It's face resembled a clown with it's red painted cheeks and open-mouthed smile, from it's blacks eyes cascaded two purple tear tracks, giving the character an eerie presence. It's white pupils locked on the two siblings as it reached into the gift box it resided in and pulled out a small stuffed toy. It was a character Billy had never seen at Freddy's before. Unlike the others, this one was strangely humanoid, with a propeller hat and striped clothes, holding a balloon from a thread. The puppet leaned towards the frightened brother and sister, and gently placed the plushie in Billy's hands.
"For me?" He questioned. The Marionette said nothing as it slinked back into the box, never once did his eyes leave the siblings faces, now filled with confusion. A smile suddenly broke on the young boys face. "A free toy! Gee that puppet thing sure is nice" The tension was broken as Maddie managed a small smile of her own. "Look!" He said giving the toy to Maddie to hold, "We can share him" Maddie giggled as they played with the strange plushie, moving it's arms to make him dance, until a shadow cast over the two.
Looking up the siblings saw an employee of the company, clothed in a purple uniform. In his hand he held a bunch of brightly coloured balloons. Grinning at the children he spoke "I see your having fun" Billy just nodded while Maddie said nothing, both slightly intimidated by his presence. "Do you like balloons?" He asked, sporting a crooked smile. Billy's mood immediately brightened up "Yes!" He replied eagerly. "I have heaps of balloons In the back room" he continued, taking a step closer. "Woah! Even more then you have now?" Nodding the man laughed and cried "Come on, I'll show you!"
Following the man dressed in purple he approached a place Billy hadn't noticed before. The label read "Parts and Services" Wondering what that meant, his curiosity only grew as the employee opened the door and lead them inside. The thick iron door locked behind them. The room was completely dark, until a light switch was flicked and the room was illuminated by an overhead lamp. Adjusting to the brightness, the two children let out a frightened squeal when seeing the broken remnants of the past animatronics, horrifically disfigured and broken apart. And no balloons.
Billy could hear the sharp breathes of his sister, hiding behind him like she always did. The man suddenly didn't seem so friendly. Letting loose the balloons he once held the man drew a sharp dagger from his belt and chuckled as he advanced towards the terrified children. The BB plushie fell from Maddie's hands. With a shaking hand Billy held his sister close, as tears began to roll down his face. Trying to comfort his sobbing sister, but who was there to comfort him? Creating a barrier between the monster and his sister Billy tried for once not to be silly but brave.
The blinding torture of pain, the feeling of warm liquid flowing from your own body. The blurred images of the man who killed you, and your sisters tear stained face, knowing she's lost her brother, and knowing that she's next. Flashes of an open-mouthed grin, those same purple tears. It reached for me, and I felt safe again, but nothing really lasts forever, does it?
When Billy open his eyes again he wasn't Billy, he was Balloon Boy. Flesh replaced by cold plastic. So cold... He never saw Maddie again, she was probably hiding, like she always did. He hoped she wasn't hiding from him. It wasn't easy, helping kill innocent people every night. At least he had met Foxy, but this wasn't what he wanted. As time went on, The man in purple continued his work, and Balloon Boy was joined with spirits like him. The pain never ended, even when dismantled and burned, he never left this world. He envied his friends, who were able to move on, but that wasn't fair of him to think. Even alone in the remnants of a burned pizzeria,
At least he still had his balloons.