*EXTREMELY LONG FIRST CHAPTER* :)
Freddy Fazbear's Pizzaria.
"A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life."
A once happy place turned into a nightmare-ish hell.
Xerxes pulled on the bottom hem of my shirt, trying to pull me from my stare. We stood in the parking lot, in front of one of many Freddy's Pizzaria's across our planet. It took weeks for both me and my little sister alike to convince our mom to take us. At the time, I had been 12 and Xerxes 7. It was June 27th, 1987 that day, and it was my first time at one of the establishments. Xerxes had been complaining while Mom held her hand to guide her through the passing cars, about the smell of the unkempt sanity conditions and how bored she was. However could she be bored? Such a concept was lost to me in a Freddy Fazbear's. I remember the doors sliding open, technology that was only starting to sweep supermarkets internationally. The vivid smell of stale bread and generic cheese filled my lungs with every breath.
The animatronics characters greeted us at the entrance, and Mom gave the purple bunny her stink eye. I had a deep feeling like something was pulling my stomach towards Earth's core, and that made me aware that Mom felt anxious being here. The bunny's waving movement seemed a bit too... human, although I didn't focus on that much. Mother sat us at a table near the stage's edge, taking the local newspaper out of her purse and ordering each of us two slices. Xerxes gave me one of her slices after seeing I wolfed both of mine down as soon as the paper plates were brought around. Freddy and company sang their songs while Xerxes identified the characters to me.
Pointing from a large yellow chicken to the bunny from before. "That's Chica and over there is Bonnie..." she trailed off with an uneasy tone. I tilted my head in confusion, and poking her cheek. "Xerxes?" she shook her head. "Oh! Sorry. There's also Foxy, who comes out and plays with the kids." I looked around for anyone who would look like a "foxy". "Where is he?" she grinned mischievously, to where I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. "He's back in Pirate Cove," I gulped at her pause. "Wanna go see him?"
I wasn't so sure that place sounded like we weren't allowed back there. For a twelve-year old boy, I was a huge scaredy-cat, unlike my adventerous sister. I nodded slowly with hesitation, Xerxes waiting for me to agree completely before jumping up towards Mom. "Can we use the bathroom?" Mom put down her newspaper and chuckled. "I dunno, can you?" her New-York accent was thick. Xerxes pouted when Mom ruffled her hair and gathered her stuff to stand up. "You don't have to chaperone us, I know where it is. I'm a big girl after all!" Mom frowned in disapproval and sat back down. "Alright, I suppose you are..." she drug out her last sentence with hugged Mom around the neck, and Mom kissed her cheek while patting her back.
"15 minutes." We waved at Mom as we took off. More specifically, I followed Xerxes. My eyes nervously darted around my surroundings and my heart pumped in my chest. There were no security cameras thankfully. A thud came from around us and I yelped, almost screaming. Xerxes laughed and pointed to the ground where her glasses fell out of her dress pockets. "Sh-Shuddap." I choked out, and Xerxes's face turned from its usual cocky grin to a concerned frown. "Sorry." She apologized frankly before pressing onwards. We arrived finally at a tented area with a sign labeled "Keep Out". Xerxes scoffed at it, pushing a curtain aside.
She waved me inside, to see a animatronic within the darkness with its head bowed, as if powered off. If so much as a pebble dropped or a fly landed on me, I would die from fear right on the spot. The fox character donned an eyepatch and a hook where its right paw would be. Xerxes poked it, lifted its eyepatch and danced around it as if it were a rain god. She even gave it a swift kick to its left leg to prove a point. "They must flip a switch to turn it on... But unless its an individual switch to each their own, they all should turn on by one switch..." Xerxes had loudly whispered "boo." into its ear. She looked back to me horrified and with realization. "Unless its on..." she finished my sentence for me. "Or the costume's not an animatronic..."
The suit came to life suddenly, its eyes opening and hook digging into Xerxes's back. Her bloodcurdling scream rang throughout the large darkened area.
-Mom's PoV-
I checked my timer. It read 19 minutes. I strolled up to a worked calmly but quickly. A killer had dressed up as an employee for Freddy's a couple states away just yesterday, and that made me as uneasy as hell to be here with my kids. Good god, 7 kids could've done something with their lives. "Sir, where are your restrooms?" he pointed down a dimly-lit hallway, but could see the end to. "Umm, don't you mean down that way?" I asked, pointing where Dante and Xerxes went towards. He stopped sweeping and leaned on his broom towards me,. "With all due respect Ma'am, but I've been working at this building for six years. I would assume I know where our restrooms are located. That down there is where we keep our animatronics, and Pirate Cove-" he said, deepening the pit in my stomach. I almost puked and was given an adrenaline rush when I heard a pre-pubescent girl scream bloody mary. Xerxes's scream.
-Dante-
Foxy's imposter climbed the rafters while holding Xerxes, whom was turning pale and limp in his grasp. The man found a small escape hole through the ceiling, dropping Xerxes six to nine feet to the ground. I dived for her, and caught her all the while scraping my stomach a good bit. She was coughing blood by then, her eyes turning glassy real quick, accompanied by the life leaving her body at an exhilarating rate. She held on strongly, being the strongest willed sibling, trying to live. She gripped the cloth over my shoulder, smiling up at me. "I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home..." her hand fell down, losing its grip, as she wheezed out one last breath. I turned her over, the back of her beautiful yet expensive yellow dress stained by her own blood. I cried into her neck, hugging her so tightly as if that would bring her back. Mom and an employee ran into the large room, to see me breaking down. Mom gasped, crying and hugging us both while the employee bowed his head silently. "It's all my fault... I could've told her not to go, but I was too scared to tell her..." Mom just assured me it wasn't my fault after all, and that couldn't make me feel better by lying.
