surprised to see me step into the realm of horror for once? Well I can explain. I've noticed that my works are usually too happy-go-lucky, or too sad. I need to spice things up, and I thought delving into the macabre, a personal interest of mine, would be a nice change of pace. For those of you who haven't read my other fanfics, I hope this doesn't color your perception of me, I'm really quite nice. For those who are faint of heart I'd advise you to turn back now. If you don't and read something you don't want to, don't say I didn't warn you. Also to reflect the shift in tone and the novel esc feel I'm going for, this won't follow my usual script format.
Welcome to, "The Heart of Madness"
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown" -H.P. Lovecraft
Jenny POV
I couldn't sleep, I never could after that day. The events of that day saw my childhood innocence, as well as the life of a mere child, lost. November 11th 1987 was a horrid day, the events of which would haunt the few dreams I managed to see, and keep me up at night, shaking in the arms of my boyfriend for many years. The events that occurred on that fateful morning in 1987 should never have happened and never should have been witnessed by the easily traumatized mind of a child. You've probably heard the rumors about the establishment. The killings, the hauntings, and of course the cover ups? Well that morning made me and my small group of friends, true, devoted, believers.
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jennifer Alice Goodwin, better known as "Jenny". I was one of 5 kids who witnessed the horrible event known as the bite of '87. The 5 of us each witnessed the bite, and it traumatized each one of us, leaving us each extremely different than we were before. One of us, Jack Florence, was even thrown into the loony bin. He's currently being treated for an extreme case of PTSD and paranoia. The rest of us however were somehow deemed sane enough to walk amongst the rest of society. Since then we've met every year on the anniversary of the bite in the parking lot of what was once the 1987 Freddy Fazbear location to honor the memory of the life that was lost that day, and catch up. Tonight, the night I'm writing this, was November 10th, the night before the meeting. like many nights before, nightmares kept me from falling asleep. The blood, the screams...and that damn fox...
It all replayed in my head as I tossed and turned in bed. After waking up in a cold sweat, not wanting to wake up my boyfriend of 5 years and now fiancé, I grabbed my laptop and began surfing the web to pass the time.
Tomorrow I meet with my friends a short drive away from my apartment. However this time I feel...afraid...afraid that something evil still lingers there and this might be the year we unleash it. I don't know why this fear had struck my mind, but just in case, I planned to bring my dog Winona, a German Shepard I had gotten as both a companion and as protection. Whenever I headed into a dangerous situation I never had her far behind, and tomorrow wasn't going to be much different.
"Hey, you okay Jen?"
My fiancé Robert tried to console me, his voice soft and hushed from just waking up. I looked over at him. His eyes were heavy and glossy, and his hair tussled. It was a look that I'd woken up to many times and, among other things about him, one of the few things that brought a smile to my face these days.
"It's fine Robby. Go back to sleep sweetheart" I said to him in a loving sweet tone. I had forgotten however that he had a strange way of seeing right through even my most believable lies. He grabbed my hand before it could return to the laptop and stared me straight in the eyes. "Jenny, come on". I sighed and rolled my eyes. I then looked down with the sad eyes I usually showed while talking about this subject. "I-I can't sleep. I had another nightmare...". Robert moved my computer carefully and pulled me into a hug, stroking my hair to make me feel better. "aw, I'm sorry sweetie! what was it about?". That was another thing I loved about him. He usually acted like the strong, tough, silent guy, but when he was with me, he was the sweetest, kindest man you'd ever meet.
I closed my eyes, remembering the events of my nightmare. The blood, the screams, the crying children, the lifeless, remorseless eyes of that goddam fox...It brought a chill to my spine as I remembered it. There was a catch in my throat as I began to speak. "I was a kid again...I was at that pizzeria in...in kids cove...and I saw the bite happen...oh god" I began to sob as I spoke. tears flowing from my eyes, I hugged my fiancé tightly. I quickly felt him hug back, and heard his sweet voice once again. "there there Jenny, It's alright. It was just a dream. The bite happened years ago and that fox isn't going to hurt you or anyone ever again. I promise". sniffling, I smiled at his words and wiped my eyes. After I put my laptop away and called Winona over so she could sleep at the foot of the bed, we spent the rest of the night cuddling and talking, discussing plans for our wedding, until I fell asleep. As I usually did when I fell asleep in someone else's arms, I had a good dream this time, so I stayed asleep this time.
The next morning I woke up and, after throwing on one of Robby's T-shirts, I headed to the kitchen and began cooking breakfast for me and Robby. As I was cooking, I let my mind wander for a little bit. Lost in thought I found myself once again thinking about the meeting I was to attend in 2 and a half hours. I still couldn't shake the feeling that something evil was on the horizon. Maybe it was the lurking memory of what happened, or maybe a faint memory of the previous night's nightmare. Whatever it was, it almost made me afraid to show up this year. However, this was like a tradition for us, and I wouldn't feel right breaking it. Against my better judgement, I decided I had to go. I justified it by telling myself that Winona would be there to protect me, but I still felt scared.
Suddenly I was brought back to reality by a pair of arms wrapping around my waist and a head resting on my shoulder, causing me to jump a little.
"something on your mind hot stuff?" Robby said with a mischievous tone in his voice and a devilish grin reflecting his playful nature, yet another thing I love about him by the way. With a grin and a slight chuckle I replied "only the fact that I almost just hit my fiancé in the face with a frying pan". kissing him on the cheek I finished cooking and bowed out of his grasp before putting the food I had cooked on 2 plates and put them down on our table next to 2 glasses of orange juice I poured earlier. After breakfast I went through my normal morning rituals, put Winona on a leash and got in the car with her. After reassuring myself I drove to the parking lot where the meeting was to take place.
The building was abandoned years ago but was left untouched until 1993 when the sign on the front of the building was taken down and it was finally condemned. It was left old, dusty, rotting, and in terrible shape. To be honest, I was surprised every year I saw it still standing. If you saw the building you'd think it would only take a gust of wind to knock it down, and a wrecking ball would reduce it to a pile of dust. As I pulled up I was surprised to see that unlike the last 3 years I wasn't the first one there. One of my friends, a girl named Suzie, had beaten me there.
Suzie had always been the adventurer of the group, even after the bite. Always getting into trouble, always running off, never really satisfied being in one place. I had always theorized that she did it to keep from dealing with her feelings about what had happened. I thought maybe the thrill of adventure kept her mind busy so she never had to think about the event that had left us all traumatized, however I knew she'd never say weather or not I was right out load. After getting out of my car with Winona I ran up and hugged my friend, happy to see her again. "Jenny! nice to see ya again!" she said, smiling and hugging back. "You too Suzie!" I replied.
To our surprise we heard Winona bark and growl at a tree nearby. She only ever did that when she could smell something hidden nearby. A second later we heard "great to see ya too Winona". This was the voice of the groups resident prankster, Sheen. Sheen walked out from behind the tree. "What were you doing behind a tree Sheen?" I asked. "I was going to jump out and scare you two, but I guess Winona has other plans" Sheen replied, glaring at Winona. "yeah, well I'm sure you would have gotten us" I replied, "anyway, that's 3 of us. should be 1 more coming. Where's Ricky?" I said. Just then we heard a car honk behind us. Turning around we saw a red sports car park and a blonde well dressed man hop out. This was Ricky Smithers, the final member of the group. Despite the trauma of the bite Ricky had managed to become very successful in life. He was class president, he became rich through the stock market, he got a job with the YMCA, he was married to a lovely Canadian woman, and he had 3 kids. If you looked at him, you wouldn't think he even remembered the bite of '87, but he did. The only reason he was able to act so cheerful was because he was on the strongest legal antidepressants out there. He's almost physically unable of feeling or expressing depression. He's just a big ball of joy.
"Ricky!" we all said in unison as we walked over to him. Happy to see him and each other we all joined in a group hug. We proceeded to do our usual mourning ritual, burning a straw doll of that fox on a stick while each saying prayers of good luck for the child's spirit and his family, before sitting down and catching up on the events of the year before. Ricky announced that he was promoted twice, Sheen announced that he found a job making prank gadgets, and Suzie announced that she was hired by a team of archeologists. When it was my turn I announced my engagement to Robby, and was congratulated by the rest of the group (although Suzie sounded a bit half hearted when she said it).
While we were catching up I felt a drop of water hit my face. looking up, we realized a bunch of the rain clouds had rolled in. As the rain started falling we all tried to cover ourselves. "lets take shelter in the pizzeria!" Sheen said. worried I said "The building is condemned!" but Suzie replied "It's either that or run through the rain to our cars and get even more wet! I'll take the pizzeria if you don't mind!". Before I could reply Ricky was headed towards the pizzeria and the other's were getting up to follow. Reluctantly I got up with Winona and followed. As soon as all of us were inside I began to close the door, but as I did there was a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder, and in that instant, for a split second, I saw a black figure with crimson eyes like rubies in a trench coat and hat in the parking lot. wondering if it was actually there or if I was imagining it, I looked out to see if I could spot whatever it was.
"Jenny! you coming?" Ricky said.
"Huh? oh yeah, I'll be right there", I replied. After looking out again, I closed the doors and joined the others in the pizzeria's arcade.
To be continued
You didn't think I'd start the horror show right away did ya? nah, Imma build up to it.
Anyway, if you liked this chapter let me know with a favorite and a review, and maybe even follow me or the fanfic cuz you know I love feedback! I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see ya next time!
PS: I don't own nor claim any ownership or affiliation of the YMCA. I'm just a fanfic writer, not a business man. I'm also not sponsored by the YMCA or at all for that matter.