"...and there's an opening at that warehouse the other side of town for someone to do some heavy lifting, but other than that, nothing." Mike Schmidt groaned and put his head in his hands, cursing his luck and the universe's cruel sense of humour. For the past 2 days he and his room mate, Reece, had been going through dozens of newspapers and websites, searching for something, anything, but the only jobs available in his neighbourhood were hours of manual labour, more suited to people who actually cared about their bodies than lanky 24 year old university drop outs who's weekly exercise consisted of collecting the groceries and walking to the bathroom. Having left university several months ago, Mike had managed to rapidly burn through several jobs (In one case, quite literally) due to a combination of laziness and general incompetence, and now, with every month a struggle to pay rent, he was sorely regretting his poor life choices. With a resigned sigh, he picked up the last newspaper on the pile, The Sax, and began to half-heartedly turn the pages, wearily skimming the contents, not really taking it in. So despondent and doubtful was he, he nearly missed the small advert tucked into the bottom corner of the 7th page, depicting a large animatronic bear doffing his top hat. "Hey Reece, come and look at what I found!" he called, the despair melting from his voice. "What is it?" Reece asked as he wandered over, leaning over the sofa to look at the advert Mike was waving at him. "Hmmmm...Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, huh? Isn't that the place with all those creepy robots where all those kids went missing?" Mike rolled his eyes. "Come on, you don't really believe that, do you? I'm sure that it's just an urban legend, and anyway, even if it did happen, it was years ago. Also, the animatronics aren't that bad. I mean, look at him," Mike said whilst gesturing towards the titular Freddy Fazbear "I think he looks kinda cool." Upon hearing these words, Reece gave Mike a stare that lasted for about 10 seconds and appeared to be a mix of disgust, confusion and pity, but was courteous enough to keep his thoughts to himself. "And besides," Mike added hastily upon seeing the disapproval in his friend's gaze "it's an opening for the night guard, watching cameras and making sure no-one breaks in. I wont even have to look at them." Upon hearing this Reece gave a resigned grunt and walked over to the phone, chucking it over to Mike. "Well," he said, giving Mike a wink "the day ain't getting any shorter."

Several hours later...

Mike stepped out of the car and into the chill November air, taking in the dilapidated Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Graffiti criss-crossed the aged walls, much of it insults directed at the owners of the establishment and their mothers. Many of the windows were boarded-up, and a piece of busted piping lay on the floor, gathering dust. Mike's initial pride at having received the job quickly dissolved as he realised that the owner was probably rather desperate, but the thought of the money he would be earning worked well to soothe his injured pride. Shaking his head, he strode to the door and slipped inside, quickly realising that it was just as cold inside as it was outside. Rubbing his arms, Mike skirted around the tables towards the manager's office, casting an eye towards the show stage and the animatronics standing motionless upon it. Standing close to 7 feet tall, the imposing robots maintained a silent vigil over their pizzeria, their all too human eyes missing nothing. "Well," Mike muttered to himself as he stared "maybe they're a little creepy up close." He had an uncomfortable feeling, that of man being watched, but chalked it up to nerves and pushed it to the back of his mind, but nonetheless quickened his pace towards the manager's office. Taking a breath, he knocked loudly before stepping back to await admission. He could barely make out the sound of papers hurriedly being shuffled and drawers being quickly shut, before a loud throat clearing was heard. "Come in." his boss called, voice strained and tired-sounding, the voice of a defeated man. Mike, however, paid no mind, consumed as he was by nerves, and hurried into the office, quietly shutting the door behind him. As he turned, he was not wholly surprised to see the office in a similar state of disrepair as the outside of the building, with loose floorboards and holes where nails had been torn out of the walls. On his boss's desk were several piles of sheets tallying losses and expenses, income and total profit, with a clear decline on the latter two contrasting the rather shocking rise on the former. A name, Isaac, was printed on a laminated strip of paper pinned to the front of the desk. Isaac himself looked like a reflection of the room, appearing rather dishevelled and wearing cheap clothes. As though sensing this appraisal, Isaac tried to muster a sincere smile, with questionable results. "Hello, Mike," He began, hand extended towards Mike, who shook it and nodded. "Welcome to Freddy's. Please don't mind the mess," He said, gesturing to the room, "we've been having a few...financial problems. Don't worry though," he added hastily "Your job isn't in any danger. Night guard is one of our most important jobs! People always want to know the secret of our animatronics, and we rely on you to keep it safe. Our success depends a fair amount on your competence, so you'll need to learn the game quickly. No pressure of course." He added with a small grin. "I'm sure you'll be fine! Now then, first you'll need this," Reaching behind his desk he produced a grey suit and pressed it into Mike's hands, swiftly followed by a bronze badge depicting a grinning Freddy Fazbear, with the words 'Security' and 'Freddy Fazbear' printed on it. It was cool to the touch and glinted nicely in the light. "Don't worry about it for tonight," Isaac continued after Mike had finished examining his apparel "just make sure you wear it tomorrow. It's for your own good." Mike raised an eyebrow at this, pondering the words, but promptly brushed it aside. "Now then," Isaac gestured at a cheap watch adorning his wrist "It's half 11, so lets get you settled in quickly. I, er, I have to be gone soon, can't stick around, y'know? Let me show you to your office."

2 minutes, 17 seconds and 32 milliseconds later...

Mike couldn't help but feel claustrophobic in the cramped office. The desk in front of him was absolutely cluttered with junk, likely left behind by previous employees. The fan pointed towards him was making his skin numb, but to his horror he discovered that it apparently lacked an 'off' button. A cable led into the desk, but he wasn't about to rip it out, especially with his boss present. Said boss was currently tapping his foot rather quickly, anxiety written upon his face. "Well, here we are. I really don't have a lot of time, so let me give you the basics. Here is your tablet." He said, waving said tablet in Mike's face. "This will allow you to monitor the cameras installed throughout our establishment. These," he gestured towards the pair of buttons on the left door "will allow you to activate the doors and the lights respectively. That's really all there is to it. One of the previous employees recorded a few messages I think, to help you get settled in, y'know? They should kick in at about 12. Other than that, all I can say is 'Good luck'. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow at 6. Alright then, goodnight!" With that, Isaac hurried out of the office before Mike could respond. "Well, he certainly seemed in a hurry." Mike thought to himself. Reaching to the desk, he picked up the tablet and turned it on, immediately being greeted to the sight of three oversized animals staring blankly ahead. "Yeah," Mike muttered "I take back what I said before. These guys really are a bit off." Feeling a little unnerved, Mike swiftly changed the camera to the feed labelled 'CAM 1B' where he saw Isaac fumbling with the door before casting a baleful glance towards the animatronics and hurrying out. Glancing down, Mike was horrified to see a small '100%' in the bottom left of the display, along with a little battery bar that seemed to be empty for the moment. "Wait, I have limited power?" Mike was livid. "What kind of cheap ass pizzeria has limited power? Why the hell didn't Isaac tell me?" Groaning, Mike put down the tablet, leaning back and taking deep breaths. Glancing at his wrist showed the time was 20 to 12. Mike hadn't even brought a book. Glaring at the fan which was still merrily trying to give him hypothermia, he pictured himself tearing it into tiny pieces, which brought a small amount of pleasure, before a particularly cold blast of air hit him in the face, rudely interrupting his thoughts. Another glance at his watch showed that the time was, fortunately, no longer 20 to 12. Unfortunately, it was only 19 to 12. 6 hours and 19 minutes to go. Tonight, Mike decided, was going to be a bloody long night.