Lizbeth 'Lizzy' Parker needed money. Badly.
Not so much to pay her apartment rent or any bills she may come across (though it would be necessary), but to also help her parents. They may not have been her birthparents, but seeing how she couldn't even remember a single detail about her birthparents, she considered her adoptive mother and father her real parents. Nothing would ever change that.
She had come to them as a foster child along with two other boys (both of which were adopted by other parents. Where they were now was something Lizzy didn't honestly know) at the age of two after her birthparents died in a car accident. She was officially adopted a few years later when she was six. Lizzy knew that people would say that she didn't owe her parents anything, and her parents themselves would just say she didn't need to pay them back. But Lizzy felt she had to do something to say thank you.
And she had an opportunity now. Her father became deaf sometime before Lizzy began college. It was actually the reason why she picked Sign Language as her minor subject for her course (Major being German). Recently though, there have been talks of him possibly getting surgery to restore his hearing. It was expensive, though it was nothing both her parents couldn't patiently save the cash for. Both her parents had jobs. Her father worked with cars while her mother owned a pharmacy. So money wasn't entirely a major issue. But Lizzy felt the surgery would come sooner if she did her best to contribute to the funds.
Finding a job however was harder than she had anticipated. In the town Lizzy had moved to, it seemed like it was void of open positions. At least ones that were willing to hire a recent college grad, and one where her language skills would have been needed.
It was a bit bitter, but hope wasn't entirely lost. After multiple times spent looking online and reading offers in the paper, she found a job she had every possibility of getting. The description of it seemed simply and didn't require any real skills except observation perhaps. Maybe speed too if anything happened.
A security guard, at Fazbear's Fright.
Lizzy didn't know much about it, but she had heard a few things here and there. Like how there was a pizzeria at one point called Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. It did well at first. But some nut job had tricked a few kids into coming back after dark, and murdered them. While bodies were never found, blood had been found on certain items in his home. Despite DNA evidence against him, the killer (Erik Cawthon, if Lizzy was correct in remembering) had insisted he hadn't done it. Saying it was another being, or other.
But he was dead now. That's what it said when Lizzy looked up his name on Google out of curiosity. Lethal injection after spending nine years in jail.
Serves the bastard right.
There were also some other rumours as well. Something about the animatronics being messed up. She wasn't sure what the full story was, but Lizzy couldn't exactly afford to be picky in her choice of job. Besides, the pay was pretty decent. $250 dollars for five days a week to do watch cameras, at night according to the advertisement. Lizzy didn't think there would be much to worry. Who would want to rob a haunted house for kiddies?
So without any sign of hesitance, Lizzy quickly dialled the contact number. It was only five minutes later that she got through to the Manager (a Mr. Scott Davidson) and an interview was organised. The very same day actually. It had been a light surprise, though apparently she was the first one to call in for the job. It still seemed a little odd. Why exactly, Lizzy couldn't put her finger on it. But she decided not to question potential good luck.
So after looking up directions to the premises, Lizzy drove herself to Fazbear's Fright. It was a bit further away than expected, located just in the outer ring of the town. Taking a look at the place, it was clear they made every effort to make it clear it was a scare house.
The brown bricks of the building looked dirty, and the gravel for the carpark had many weeds sprouting up despite many of them having been crushed by either human feet or wheels. The sign of the building on top was of a mouldy looking pizza with the heads of a bear, chicken and bunny rabbit leering over the pizza, and the bear's hands could be seen holding onto it while 'Fazebar's Fright' was written across in bright red letters. They had the windows boarded up with planks of wood (though it couldn't be said if the windows were actually real) and police tape crisscrossed them. There were various graffiti's against the bricks with messages like 'Ready for Freddy?' or 'Remember dear children, the 'Bite of '87', and some faded and ripped posters that looked just slapped on against the building.
To Lizzy, it didn't look so much like a haunted house than the type of building you'd see in the 'bad side of town' in crappy old movies, or horror movies that were cliché and offered nothing to make up for it. But the sign above the building was a little unsettling. It was mostly the animals' eyes, but other than that Lizzy couldn't say she was too impressed so far.
Though it probably had some popularity since Lizzy saw a line of people slowly disappearing into the building. They could have been locals or tourists, but there was some form of interest in this place. It probably couldn't hurt to actually go through it first though. Just to see if it was really worth whatever was being by the visitors. She had time before the interview anyway.
Joining the line, Lizzy took out her wallet from her pocket and gripped it tightly. The lines moved fast enough, and she was soon at the doors where a man who may have been a couple years younger than Lizzy herself stood. He was dressed like a security guard, a short sleeved purple shirt and security hat with gold badge on the shirt of a bear head in front of partially eaten pizza. He had thick curly blonde hair that had several curls falling in front of his eyes, and Lizzy could spot a black coloured tattoo of a double headed snake running up the side of his forearm. Aztec style if Lizzy was correct. One of her exes had been studying archaeology in college and mentioned the Aztecs here and there. He stood by stand with a box each for flashlights, maps and some sort of pamphlet.
When he looked at Lizzy, he gave a handsome smile.
"Hey there. Anyone else with you?" he asked, a surfer dude style of voice heavily obvious. Lizzy inwardly cringed. She wouldn't say she had very strong anger towards the type of voice. That type of hatred was saved for puns. It was simply something she disliked, but could tolerate very well.
"No, just me," Lizzy answered with a shrug. "I'm actually applying for a job here as night guard and decided to look around before the actual interview."
The guy's smile didn't change, and actually looked a little bigger now.
"That's awesome then! Hope you can join! The last night guard just up and vanished. Don't know where they went, but their loss, right?" the guy laughed before holding his hand out. "I'm Duncan Fisher by the way." Greater and security guard of Fazbear's Fright!"
"Lizzy Parker. Possible future night guard," Lizzy replied as she shook his hand back in return.
"Well good luck with that."
"Thanks. So, how much is…?"
"Wellll… If I could get a date, would you accept that as payment for getting in for free?" Duncan asked. Lizzy chuckled and shook her head.
"Sorry, but I can't say I'm too interested in dating you so I guess I'll just pay the entry fee."
Duncan pouted and even looked a little disappointed. But he had enough grace to accept the decline and answered Lizzy's original question.
"For one adult it's $10. You also get a flashlight, map and a pamphlet explaining some of the sights within."
"And it's all based on truth?" Lizzy asked as she handed over the money.
"Well a couple things are made up here and there," Duncan answered as he took the cash and dropped it in a black money box beside up before picking up some of the items from the boxes. "To make it more exciting. You know how it is, man. But it's still pretty awesome. We even found some stuff about the animatronics original creator; Theodore Sweeney."
"Theodore Sweeney?" Lizzy repeated with a raised brow as she accepted the items from Duncan.
"Yeah. This whole Fazbear thing began as Fredbear, and that was when it was a diner. But you'll find more info on that when you go inside. It'll be worth the money."
"I'll be the judge of that."
"It will be. The animatronics you'll see are like, THE original ones from the seventies and nineties. But anyway, just follow the map and keep going inside. The lighting won't be majorly dark, but the flashlight will help. You'll exit near the security office where there will be other boxes to dump the flashlights and stuff into before you leave. If you're really going to be working here, feel free to say hi to Phil while you're in the office then come back around here. I'll show you to the boss man's office."
"Thanks. See you later, I guess," said Lizzy as she turned the flashlight on and entered the building.
"Laters. Have an awesome time," Duncan told her.
The inside was very dimly lit, with the lights above purposely flickering now and then. The tiled walls were dirty, as were the checker-tiled floors. Cartoonish posters that looked darker than when they were originally made hung on the walls, and what looked like ripped up curtains hung from the ceiling. There were also a few pages (yellow due to age) with kids drawings on the taped to the walls, and there was an open vent that was surprisingly big enough for an adult to crawl through. Lizzy could also hear music playing. From what she could tell, it was probably meant to be one of the songs the animatronics sung in the past.
So far, it didn't seem as poor as Lizzy expected. It actually looked a bit creepy. Looking to the map in one hand for a moment, Lizzy walked down the hallway her walk continued before stopping in a hallway that held more drawings and in one corner dusty looking presents. Near them was a head of an animatronic chicken with a light shining out of both eyes. Seeing a number on the wall above the, Lizzy looked to the pamphlet to see what it had to say.
'Chica the Chicken:
'Backup singer for Freddy and Bonnie's band!
'She loved to cook for boys and girls, but she also loved to torture the night guards!'
"I guess they got their own back since you're a decapitated head now," Lzzy said bluntly before she continued walking down the hallway, seeing what else this place had to offer.
The next hallway had an old looking arcade machine that had a faint glow on its screen, despite the crack on it. There was another old looking arcade machine at the other end of the hallway, with a dirty looking cupcake on top. On the wall, there were several newspaper clippings. They all seemed to be focused on a 'Fredbear Family Diner'. Probably the diner Duncan mentioned. Lizzy looked to her pamphlet to see what they would have to say.
'The original diner as created by Theodore Sweeney. Father of the animatronics:
'Losing his business and work to a series of unfortunate incidents, he is said to have gone insane and cursed whoever took his work to have a business filled with hardships.
'How far did his madness go, however? Original staff members disappeared. Was he behind it? Or was there a conspiracy?'
Lizzy looked back to some of the articles before spotting one with a picture of Theodore Sweeney himself. Kind of handsome for a man possibly in his late forties to early fifties, with brown hair in light curls and a strong jaw. He seemed nice enough as he smiled in the greyscale photo. But with more to see, Lizzy didn't stay long and continued to see what else this spook house held for her to see.
The next hallway had stars hanging from the ceiling, and more posters taped against the wall. A music box was also heard. Playing the tune Lizzy recognised as 'My Grandfather's Clock'. The hallway would have been bare if not for one thing standing in an alcove in the middle of the room.
It looked like some sort of mouldy yellow rabbit, with rips and tears everywhere. Its mouth was ripped up to show the yellow tinted teeth within and one of its ears had been ripped off at some point. Wires poked up from here and there, and its open grey eyes looked glazed and eerie. Checking the number on the wall above it, Lizzy quickly looked to the pamphlet.
'Springtrap, A.K.A, Golden Bonnie:
'An irregular that was never made by an unknown madman. His origins are a mystery, and still we look for an answer.
'Did someone try to make a new suit with Freddy and Bonnie? Or is he Sweeney's curse manifested to make us pay?
'His appearance alone tells us he is not manmade.'
"Of course it isn't," Lizzy muttered as she walked by the animatronic suit, continuing towards a hallway with another flickering arcade machine.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Lizzy jumped back as something swung down from the ceiling toward her, stopping just an inch away from her face. It looked like some sort of tall monochrome puppet with a white mask that had purple stripes running down from the eyes like tears, pupil-less black eyes and smiling open mouth. It also had red cheeks and lips. Calming down a little, Lizzy looked to the pamphlet to see what there was to say about this thing.
'The Marionette:
'A puppet who loves to give gifts to all of the boys and girls!
'However, there are no strings to keep him away from you!'
Lizzy found herself raising a brow as the puppet was slowly pulled back by whatever device it was attached to. Ready to scare the next person coming through.
"Maybe not a string, but whatever that thing is," Lizzy muttered to walk on into the next hallway. Though not before stopping to look at what looked like an earless, legless and armless bunny stuck against the wall with a light in its right eye. Strangely though, its head looked more new compared to the rest of its torso. Were they not able to find its head, or had it been used to make that Springtrap thing? Lizzy took out the pamphlet again to see what it would have to say about this.
'Bonnie the Bunny:
'Guitarist for Freddy and Chica's band!
'Enjoyed playing songs for all the kiddies, but loved the music and pained screams as well!'
"Not the most creative with these descriptions, are they?" Lizzy said to herself before continuing into the hallway with the other flickering screen arcade machine. While that hadn't been interesting, there were some newspaper articles close to it so Lizzy looked over them. One in particular caught her attention.
'Body of Missing Boy Found.
'Yesterday morning at approximately half nine, the body of Toby Mathews was found in an abandoned restroom in the woods.
'While there are no confirmed suspects, it is believed to be the ex-boyfriend of the boy's sister, Emma Mathews.'
Lizzy frowned a little as she reread it. She was pretty sure Mathews was her mother's maiden name. This couldn't be her, could it? Mathews wasn't that uncommon, and Emma was pretty common itself, wasn't it?
It was all probably a coincidence.
Placed on a shelf in the middle of the hallway was an animatronic head of what looked like a little boy. He gave a mocking laughter that just continued in a loop non-stop.
'Balloon Boy:
'A young boy who loved balloons of all kinds, and sharing them with others!
'The only thing he loved more than that was watching night guards bleed!'
At the end of the hallway, there was a head of some sort of red fox with light coming out of its left eye socket. Another number on the wall, another page in the pamphlet to read.
'Captain Foxy:
'Captain of the Fox Pirates, and bravest pirate in the seven seas!
'He held everyone's love until he bit out one poor guard's brain lobe!'
Looking at the fox's teeth, it wasn't a surprise. They did look pretty sharp for an attraction meant for kids after all. If that Sweeney guy really designed it, it was a bit twisted in a way. What exactly was he thinking with that type of design?
Lizzy continued walking until she saw a window and looked through it. A man (probably that Phil guy, Duncan mentioned) a few years older than her with uncombed brown hair dressed in the same uniform as Duncan sat at a desk with two screens. Lizzy looked to the pamphlet to see what it would say.
'The Security Guard:
'One of many poor souls who lives were ended by the animatronics.
'Despite knowing his possible doom, they stay. But why?'
Looking back to the window, Lizzy spotted the guy looking at her. He looked a bit startled, followed by a look of embarrassment before giving a sheepish smile and awkward wave. Lizzy grinned, finding the man a bit adorakable, and waved back before walking around. She stopped just a few feet away from some remains (face and torso) of a bear animatronic left on a stand.
'Freddy Fazbear:
'Leader of Bonnie and Chica's band!
'Raised high after his time at the diner, but maliciousness was always his intent.'
The exit was only a few feet away, but Lizzy decided to say hi to Phil like Duncan suggested.
"Hi there," Lizzy said as she stood in the office doorway. Phil's head shot in her direction.
"Oh, er… Hi. Erm, sorry miss but you're meant to go the other way."
"Don't worry, I know," Lizzy told him. "But Duncan suggested saying hi since I'm possibly going to be your new co-worker."
"Oh? Well, if that's the case, hi," Phil answered as he hel his hand out, a grin coming to hi face. "I'm Phil Ellis."
"Lizzy Parker," Lizzy responded as she shook back. "So, have you worked here long?"
"About a year to be honest," Phil answered. "I used to work at this business building, but I was one of the unlucky guys to get laid off when budget cuts came around."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Tough break."
"It's just how it goes, I guess," Phil shrugged it off. "I'm just glad I was able to get a job here."
"Must be kind of cool being a security guard and character here," Lizzy said as she glanced briefly to the camera screen Phil had been looking at just in time to catch several people walk out of the camera frame.
"It pays well enough, so that's the least I can ask for," Phil answered. "So, you're going to be working here?"
"If I get the job. I thought I'd look around this place first. You know, to see what it was like."
"And?"
"Not really worth the ten bucks I spent."
"You'd be surprised how many people would disagree with that," Phil said. "This place is still sort of a work in progress, but I hear they're still coming up with more ideas for the place."
"It better if this place wants to justify the price," Lizzy said before she checked her watch. "I should probably go, my interview is in a few minutes."
"Good luck with it then. What position are you applying for anyway?"
"Night guard, so I'll probably won't see you that much. But let's talk later, okay?" Lizzy suggested as she began to walk away, missing the look of concern on Phil's face.
"H-hey, you sure you want that job? I'm not sure-."
"I can't really afford to be picky, so I pretty much have to be sure whether I like it or not, sadly," Lizzy answered as she began to leave the office. "But I'll talk to you later."
Dumping the flashlight, map and pamphlet in the boxes that Duncan mentioned earlier, Lizzy left through the exit and swiftly walk around the building to find the other guard. Nearing the entrance again, Lizzy saw Duncan just as he was letting a group of three girls inside.
"Have a good time, ladies," Duncan said cheerfully as he handed them their items. "Come back later and I might be able to give you a personal tour of this spook house~."
"Mmm, we might consider that. Right, girls?" the short brunette girl asked her two friends, another brunette (but taller) and the other with black hair. The latter of whom winked at Duncan.
"I know I want to~." The girls giggled amongst themselves before entering inside.
"I take it that you're a flirt then?" Lizzy spoke up behind him. Duncan yelped and turned around.
"Hey! Don't scare me like that," Duncan told her as he pouted and folded his arms. "It's the customers that are suppose' to be scared, not us workers."
"I'll keep that in mind next time," Lizzy said. "But anyway, I'm done looking around, so where's the Manager's office?"
"It's just this way."
Duncan led her back inside the entrance, but stopped halfway through the hallway and faced the a part of the wall next to a poster of Bonnie and grabbed onto something that Lizzy soon saw was a handle.
"Pretty clever, eh?" Duncan slid the hidden door across and stepped inside into a better lit hallway. "Keeps the place looking spooky without being out of place."
"I guess," Lizzy agreed as she stepped inside, and saw that this hidden hallway was in fact a small room with a door with 'Manager' written on it.
"Alright, so you just go ahead and knock, and I'll be right outside when you're done," Duncan told her. Lizzy looked over his shoulder to the hallway as she spotted two boys walk by.
"I don't think those two kids paid."
"What?!" Duncan turned around just as the two boys began to run, and immediately gave chase. "GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE PUNKS! YOU'LL REGRET IT IF YA DON'T!"
Lizzy was a little amused by this but with her interview in mere seconds, Lizzy went straight for the office door and knocked on it.
"Come in."
Lizzy entered the office (a small room with old posters decorating the walls) and saw Mr. Davidson sitting at his desk. He looked to be in his early fifties with a developing bald patch on top of his greying hair, crinkles around his eyes and smelled strongly of over cologne. Contrasting with the happiness Duncan showed and Phil's somewhat awkward but friendly personality, Mr. Davidson had a more defeated look to him.
"Oh. Hi, er… You're the girl applying for the night guard shift, yes? Lizzy Parker, right?"
"Yeah, that's me," Lizzy nodded with small frown as she came inside and shut the door behind her. The man hadn't sounded very cheerful on the phone, but Lizzy had brushed that off to him being busy. But seeing him in person, Lizzy was starting to wonder if he was doing well emotionally.
"Ah, good, good." Mr. Davidson attempted to give a smile, but even that seemed empty. "Did you bring a resume? Not that you really needed to bring it here, but I wouldn't mind looking at it."
"Sure," said Lizzy as she took it out from inside her jacket and handed it over. "Here you go."
Mr. Davidson murmured a thank you and gestured her to sit down in the worn chair across from his desk, which Lizzy complied to. She sat in silence as she waited for her potential boss to finish reading the resume, humming to himself.
"… Well, everthing seems to be in order here," he said as he handed the resume back to Lizzy. "And… You're sure you want the job."
"Positive," Lizzy simply said, giving a firm nod. Mr. Davidson gave a small nod, but a tiny frown was on his lips. Was something wrong?
"Well then, you get the job."
"Wait, seriously?" Lizzy was rather shocked by this. What about other applicants? Lizzy couldn't honestly have just gotten the job on the spot like that.
"You're the only one that's applied so far," Mr. Davidson shrugged as he pulled a drawer open on his desk and took a page out. "You just have to sign this contract. It's nothing too major. Just a promise not to disclose information about this business to anyone, mandatory five night trial run. It just goes over details such as those."
"R-right."
Lizzy was still rather shocked at her amount of luck, but didn't question it heavily.
She had a job now. And a pretty easy one at that.
That was the main thing.
For those who read 'Third Time's the Charm?', this is an alternate timeline to that story. Here, the pizzeria failed to regain success in the nineties and became a horror attraction in 2014/15, as opposed to the other story where the pizzeria did get back on its in the nineties and stayed strong to the present.
There will be spoilers for that story here, and the story of FNaF 3 will be different here compared to what appears to be canon in the game. You have been warned, but I hope you will enjoy this story :) I don't intend it to be very long. It shouldn't be longer than ten chapters, and might even be less. But I hope you enjoy this nonetheless.