A/N: Hello! So, this is a special little story that I've written. There are some disclaimers before you read it, because the FNaF plotline is ever-changing! First: I wrote this BEFORE FNaF 3 came out; therefore, any game-based information that I present in this story is based ONLY on the first two games. Secondly, FNaF 3 happened to come out very soon after I started this story, so obviously my assumption of the game's plot has changed quite a bit... and therefore this story only has two chapters so far (more details about this at the end).

However, I worked really hard on this story and so I decided to post it anyway. I hope you all enjoy it, and even though I know that the storyline may be a bit different than you think it is, I would love to know what you think! Without further ado, here's Chapter 1!

NOTE: I own nothing except the character of Cara Jones and the idea for this story!

Chapter 1

The first time Cara Jones heard that her friend got a job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, she nearly choked on the burger that she had just taken a bite out of.

"You alright, Cara?" her friend asked, raising one eyebrow. Cara nodded and gestured for him to continue, trying to hide the prickling feeling of dread that had begun to creep up her spine. The dark-haired boy turned to the other two people sitting at the rectangular table and smiled.

"So yeah, you know how I've been looking for a job? I just wandered into the place thinking 'eh, what the hell; might as well give it a shot'…and the owner practically begged me to take the night shift!" There was a round of impressed murmurs, though Cara remained uncharacteristically silent, staring down at her plate. "I start tonight; it's not the best paying job, and I'll be dead tired until I can shift my sleep schedule around…but overall it seems pretty easy."

"What exactly do you have to do?" one of the other people at the table asked. "I mean, it's a kid's party place, right? Doesn't it close down at night?"

"The owner just wants me to sit in the office and check the security cameras for 'suspicious activity,'" the boy responded, smirking. "I doubt anything's gonna happen, though…so I'm essentially being paid for sitting on my butt for six hours. Pretty good deal, in my opinion!"

The group laughed; even Cara let out a small, unenthusiastic chuckle. The boy glanced at her and noticed that her face was unnaturally pale. Just as he was about to ask if she was alright, one of the other people at the table stood up and announced that it was time for them to get going.

"Yeah, we should probably head out, too," the dark-haired boy agreed. He waved as his friends grabbed their things and turned towards the door. "See you guys later!"

When the others were out of sight, he stood up and looked back at Cara, who hadn't seemed to move a muscle for the past five minutes. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped, glancing up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"Hey, it's just me!" he exclaimed, holding his hands up non-threateningly. Cara merely stared at him, and to his horror, her eyes began to water.

"Mike…," she began, but had to pause to collect herself. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and locked gazes with the boy. "Do not take this job, Mike. Please."

"Wha-…why not?!" Mike questioned, wrinkling his forehead in confusion. "I think it's a great opportunity to make some cash! Which I desperately need, by the way; I think I'm gonna hurl if I have to eat another bowl of Instant Ramen…"

"Mike Schmidt, I'm being serious." Cara stood up and though she was a few inches shorter, she still gave off a commanding air. Her expression was hard, unwavering; she was deadly serious about her strange request. "Trust me, that place…it's had some bad things happen in the past."

"Like…"

"…Like…just…bad things. I… go read a newspaper from 1987 if you really want to know." Quickly, Cara's whole attitude shifted from commanding to being extremely vague. She grabbed her bag and coat and turned away.

"Uh…okay…" The girl made a move to bolt for the doorway, but Mike grabbed her arm. "Hey, hey! You can't just drop something like that on me and then leave! What happened?! You obviously know something I don't…Please tell me if it's something serious."

Cara bit her lip and stared hard at the floor. She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again, searching for the words. Unfortunately, the right ones never came.

"Just trust me, Mike," she said eventually, looking up at the lanky boy again. "You know I'm not the type of person to joke around; I really think you should find another job…But by the look on your face, you're obviously not going to listen to me. So…just be careful." She grabbed his shoulder, squeezed it, and then abruptly headed for the doorway.

"…That's it?! That's all you're going to tell me?!" Mike called after her. Cara paused, her back still towards him. She stood there for a moment, before shaking her head and walking quickly out of the room. Mike stared into the empty doorway, wondering what the hell that had been about.

Sighing, he figured that Cara must be in one of her weird moods again. After all, Mike realized with a sudden understanding, it was Thursday; she always acted a bit weird on Thursdays.

Still…it wouldn't hurt to brush up on some of the history of this place before he went to work. It was a pretty old establishment, after all, and the more he knew about it, the more he could impress his boss and potentially get a pay raise. Grabbing his coat, Mike Schmidt set off towards the library at a fairly quick pace.

He was expected for his first shift at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria in less than five hours; he certainly couldn't be late on the first day.

Cara walked into the psychiatric hospital and up to the front desk, concealing her increasing distress under a tired smile.

"Oh, Cara! I was wondering where you were," the receptionist said as she placed the desk phone back into its holder, having just finished a phone call.

"Yeah, traffic was bad today," Cara responded vaguely. She glanced down the hallway to her right. "How is he today?"

"As far as I know, he's doing just fine. I'm sure he's very excited to see you!"

"Thanks. I'll see you on my way out."

The receptionist waved, and Cara was once again traveling down the all-too-familiar hallway of the Falling Leaves Psychiatric Hospital. She had walked down this exact hallway every Thursday since she was just over thirteen years old, first with her mother by her side and now all by herself. Soon, she came to the seventh room on the right, number 104. She nodded to a male nurse standing nearby and then knocked three times.

"I bet that's Cara, isn't it?" inquired a soft voice from inside the room. "Come in!"

Tucking a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear, Cara opened the door and stepped into a well-lit, almost blindingly-white room. The bed was white, the dresser was white, the sink and toilet were white…even the loose-fitting clothes that the thin man on the bed was wearing were a dazzling shade of white. The only color in the room besides Cara herself was from a few pictures carefully placed on the dresser…all of which were encased in plastic, white frames, of course.

"It's so good to see you again!" the man on the bed said, smiling broadly and standing to give Cara a small hug. "You know I always look forward to your visits; they're the highlight of my week!"

Cara smiled genuinely for a few seconds, and then her expression quickly changed to a grimace. Staring at the man on the bed, she could picture what he would have looked like twenty-three years ago, clad in a dark purple uniform and surrounded by a horde of screaming children and tired parents, wearing a very different expression than the one he had now. Back then, something had been horribly wrong in that now-calm mind of his…even though no one had realized this fact until it was too late.

Once again, just as she had felt countless times before, Cara's heart went out to the families of the last five children that the man had been with before he… snapped. Additionally, she sent a mental prayer to the children themselves:

May their souls rest in peace.

Quickly collecting her thoughts, she smiled again and grasped the man's hand, temporarily putting the sins of his past behind him. It had been many years since that day in '87, and by now the man had realized that he could never take back what he had done. It was because of this realization that Cara could stand to be in the same room as him now, holding his hand.

She gave the man's hand a tight squeeze and looked him straight in his grey, slightly vacant eyes.

"It's great to see you again, too, dad."

A/N: Chapter 2 should be posted in a few days! In the meantime, I have a question for those of you who read this chapter through to the end: should I continue this story, or should I begin a different FNaF fanfic? If I continue this particular story, it will continue off of the original plotline of FNaF that I created specifically for the story...so it will be very different than the one presented in the game itself.

If I create a new story, it may just be a one-shot/series of one-shots, or I may wait until the final game and create a story based on the actual game plot. Anyway, please let me know what you think, and if you would like to wait until you read the second chapter to respond, that's fine. Every review/reviewer is wonderful, and thanks for reading~