Hi, all! This is my first published fanfiction since I've started a new account! I'm sorry if this chapter doesn't have much action. I tried to level out the introductions with action, but I'm not sure how well I did. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: Everything in this story belongs to Scott Cawthon. Did I ever mention how amazing it is that he makes these games solo?
"Ugh, this is disgusting!"
I looked at the horrible mockery of a burger in my hands. The disgusting thing tasted like one of those meat substitutes that vegans eat.
Oh, well, I would be stuck in that office until 6 AM. It was either the totally-not-a-burger or nothing at all.
You see, my job is a little different from your average grocery store clerk job. I'm the night guard at the infamous Freddy Fazbear's Pizza place. Yes, I know, we get next to zero customers after the incident that happened a while back, but some kids still love to see Freddy and his gang. Besides, I'm not here to put smiles on the faces of people.
I'm here to keep them alive.
As I finished my fake fast food and crumpled the wrapper on my desk, I pick up my tablet to check on Freddy's gang on the stage. Yep, all of them were still there, staring curiously at the very camera I was watching them through. I had never seen them move sooner than 2 AM on Monday, but hey, better safe than sorry.
My job isn't just to keep people out of the building. I have to keep the animatronics in at all costs. That's the easy part, though; staying alive is the tricky part. At night, These animatronics try to stuff me into a sharp (and deadly) suit. I have to keep these guys away while watching how much power I consume.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. I can only use so much power every night. Freddy's doesn't have enough customers to comfortably pay the bills, so they have to budget how much power I can use at night. If only they knew how much I needed it...
I checked the clock on my dependable tablet. 1 AM. The games were about to begin. I finished off my drink and prepared for the long night ahead. After working there for a year, you learn to get comfortable in the chair. I had to keep my full focus on the robots so they couldn't sneak up on me.
The alarm I set for 2 AM came to life shortly after my preparations. I was as ready as I ever could be. The first camera I checked was backstage. Bonnie likes to detour there when heading to my office. Unfortunately, my hunch was wrong; nothing but creepy, empty heads of the characters. He was most likely in the dining room.
I was right this time. The purple bunny was halfway through the dining area, heading toward what I can only assume is the west hall. There's one fuzzy friend located, and considering the fact that Freddy and Foxy don't do anything this early in the week, I only had one more to look for: that creepy looking chicken, Chica.
As soon as I came to this conclusion, my question was answered with the sound of pots and pans being thrown and strewn about. Chica was in the kitchen. I've always wondered what she was doing to make so much noise. Only the audio works on the kitchen camera, so there was no way I could check.
After finding everyone I needed to, I powered the cameras back off. Conserving power, y'know? I had figured out that Bonnie and Chica, the only ones active at the time, changed rooms every ten minutes or so. The only thing to do was stare at my watch and wait.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Why would I keep such a dangerous job for so long? Well, I'll put it this way: If I quit, they'll simply replace me with whoever they can find. The manager doesn't even TELL the new employees about the murder-happy robots, let alone train them to survive a single night. Hell, I was lucky to survive this long myself. I had to learn how to survive unbelievably fast, and I don't think the Fazbear gang will be so easy on the next guy after seeing me survive for this long.
Sure, I'm afraid for my life every week and am struggling to live off four bucks an hour, (Have to conserve power back at home, too, heh.) but whenever I think about throwing in the towel, I look at the drawings I've pinned on my wall. The drawings of happy, smiling kids who just had the best day ever with their furry friends. Then, I imagine how traumatized they would be if they saw what these things really do at night.
That gives me more than enough reason to keep going.
5 AM. I turned the tablet back on to see where Bonnie went. He was no longer in the West Hall he was creeping through before, and I had a good idea exactly where he was. I powered the tablet off and wheeled over to the door on my left side to press the light switch. As I expected, the corridor lit up to reveal the disturbing bunny grinning right at me.
"Hah, nice try," I said before closing the door in his face and turning the light off. Hey, if you had to do this job alone for as long as I have, you would talk to them, too. Of course, Bonnie was more interested in staring aimlessly at the door than having a conversation with me, but he couldn't stay there forever; his programming forces him to keep moving when he's offstage.
Not that it mattered. Not even a minute later, that familiar jingle announcing the end of my shift played. All the lights came on, and the animatronics would be heading back to the stage. Another night survived. I pressed the button again to raise the security door to find something that gave me a heart attack and a half.
Bonnie was still there, staring at me with that giant grin on his face.
Panicking, I jumped backward, realizing too late that I just ruined any chance of closing the door in time. However, Bonnie remained still, as if he was thinking about what to do next. I checked my watch. 6:01 AM. Why was he still here?
"Hey there, kiddo!" Bonnie happily shouted.
"Bonnie, why are you standing there?" I asked the machine. "You need to get to the stage before the kids get here."
Bonnie ignored my question and kept talking. "Listen, pal, you're not allowed back here. It's not safe. Wait right here with me until a staff member gets here to take you to the front, okay?"
After he finished that sentence, my tablet went off to alert me of a message. The animatronics can send messages to the employees in case something goes wrong. I checked the message Bonnie sent me:
CHILD FOUND IN RESTRICTED AREA: SECURITY OFFICE
Child? Why doesn't he recognize me as an employee?
"Bonnie, I work here. I'm the night guard, remember?"
"Sorry, buddy, ol' Bonnie knows a lot of words, but that sentence was too complicated for me to understand."
Just as I was about to open my mouth to reply, it hit me: I took my employee card off my neck while I was eating. I grabbed the card from my desk and put it back on. Bonnie made a whirring sound, as if he was trying to figure out exactly what the beaten up card said.
"Hello, Mr. night guard. What can I do for you?"
"Go to the stage, Bonnie. You're going to be late."
Bonnie acknowledged my command and marched down the hall to his designated location. I wiped the sweat off my forehead. I was sure he had malfunctioned and was going to kill me. As I collected myself, the manager walked in.
"Sorry, sir," I explained, "I had some trouble getting Bonnie to go-"
"I need you to see me in my office before you leave," he said coldly. He walked away without saying another word. He wasn't exactly known for his lengthy statements...
After collecting my belongings and getting ready to leave, I headed to the boss's office and sat down.
"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza is closing down." He said bluntly.
"Wait, really!?" I said, trying to mask the sheer joy in my voice.
"Yep. For the past few months, I've been brainstorming with someone who insists on staying anonymous. Basically, we've discovered a way to wipe the Fazbear AI off every network and finally get rid of the animatronics. We're closing next week. That's not why I called you in, though."
"Then why did you call me in?" It couldn't be that bad. After hearing the news that my never ending nightmare would soon be over, nothing could ruin my good mood.
"You're fired."
Except that.
"What!?"
"We will pay you to work the rest of the week. After that, you will be replaced."
"You can't be serious. You can't fire me a week before we close!"
"Do you remember the promise you made a year ago?"
"...What?"
"You promised me that you wouldn't tamper with the animatronics."
Oh, no. He found out.
When I couldn't pay my bills with my current paycheck for one reason or another, I would work overtime. This was very rare, though, because overtime hours are the hardest to survive. However, I found an exploit that allowed me to change the AI level on Sundays only. You can't blame me for setting all of them to zero. I just wanted to live to fight another day.
"What you did was a very dangerous thing, and you know it."
"I just wanted to live. If I die, I can't stop the animatronics anymore."
"That's not an excuse. We don't know much about these things. One wrong move could set them off."
"Set them off?"
"What if tampering with that AI setting made them attack children during the day?"
I went silent. I had never thought of that.
"Now do you see? What you did was a very selfish and inconsiderate thing."
"Selfish and inconsiderate!?" I flew out of my chair. "HOW ABOUT GETTING RID OF THE ONLY PERSON WHO KNOWS HOW TO DEAL WITH THOSE THINGS TO LET SOME POOR SUCKER DIE!? OR LETTING MURDEROUS ROBOTS UP CLOSE TO LITTLE CHILDREN!? HOW'S THAT FOR INCONSIDERATE!?"
"You know as well as I do that they'll go on a killing spree if we mess with their routine. We're lucky we got away with forcing them to stay on the stage. He only has to survive for a week. I expect you to train him. You can leave voicemails for him on the phone in your office while you're on duty and set them to play later. Give him as much information as you can."
"Sir, you can't do this-"
"I can, and I will. I refuse to deal with these robots alongside someone I can't trust."
"But you'll trust some man off the street, right?"
"Better than the man that risked killing a building full of people so he wouldn't have to do his job."
I couldn't take this lunatic's insane rambling anymore. I left Freddy's without saying another word. As much as I hated to admit it, I wouldn't be able to convince the manager to let me stay. Starting tomorrow, I would need to record a message to the guy that would replace me.
I promise that future chapters will be more action-packed. Still, feel free to leave a review to let me know how I did! Expect the next chapter soon.