Silence echoes in the empty building. The static on the computer is the only thing I hear. I click the right arrow, switching the screen to the next shaky camera scene. It was dark in all the rooms, only a flashlight on the camera lit up the vacant rooms. Party hats of bright colors and tables covered in shiny covers decorate the large dining room area. The curtains of the two stages were closed, the metallic stars painted on the purple fabric glittered a little in the dim light.
I sigh, boredom sneaking around in the shadows of my mind. A mouse scurries across the black and white tile floor, I watch it blankly. Night one, it's only one in the morning, and I'm bored out of my mind. I look at the screen on my desk and watch it as I go around the camera system. I look at the clock, fifteen minutes after one in the morning. The clock ticking is so slow. I pause, looking at the twitchy green screen, staring at the backstage with the three animatronics. Except, not all three were in their places. One was missing.
According to a big poster on the wall, the one missing is the bunny. Heck, I don't know their names. Hesitation caused my to rethink this job, maybe dealing with animatronics that move and walk around in the middle of the night isn't worth minimum wage. I might deserve a raise after this one night. I relax a little, remembering the training tape I had listened to before my shift.
"Fazzbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage, property, or person. Upon the discovery of the damage or death of the third, a missing person's report will be filled within ninety days or as soon as property and premis have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached and the carpets have been replaced. Blah, blah, blah… Now, that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about. Uhh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night but do I blame them?"
"Quirky isn't exactly the right word for this…" I mutter as I watch to see where the bunny has suddenly ended up. "Oh!" The purple ears and light purple tummy are familiar among the dim background. "There you are you little-" The screen becomes engulfed in black and white static. "Wait, what? What's happening?" I hit the side of the ancient computer a few times and it soon stops after a few hits. The bunny is gone. "Shit."
I find the rabbit again, with a jump and a gasp. The rabbit's lifeless eyes are black, with bright white pupils staring into the camera. This rabbit is getting close and personal now.
"Now concerning your safety: the only real risk to you as the night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters…. uhh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person… They'll-they'll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now, since that's against the rules here at Freddy Fazzbear's Pizza, they'll probably try ta… forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazzbear suit."
"Well that audio was sooo helpful. What am I supposed to do about it?" I look at my power level, I've already used ten percent just staring at the computer screen.
"Remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright."
A groan of exasperation escapes my throat and I give the buttons to my left and right a glance. One red, one green, on both sides of me. I press the green on, the one on top, just to see what happens. A light outside the door turns on, illuminating the hallway beyond the dusty window and cold metal door. I press the button again to turn it off. "Okay, I'm glad I got that right. The red button must be the door then. I'll have to remember that." I lean back in my chair, relaxing a bit, as I flip from camera screen to camera screen to check the other rooms, but something is wrong in Pirate Cove.
The smaller stage had a curtain, just like the other. However, it… looked as though it was slightly open. I look at it carefully for nearly a whole two minutes, when the screen flinches and contorts into black and white static. Buzzing in my ear for only a few moments, it vanishes. Nothing has changed in Pirate Cove, but I honestly don't understand what the static means. Of course, I could barely comprehend what the hell was going on.
A start flipping through again, stopping soon at the backstage. "Oh god." The yellow chicken is gone. It has literally vanished from the stage. "Where did it go?" I flip through more and find the bird in the dining area, standing away from the camera, but staring at it. I look at it blankly, not really knowing what to do. "Well shit…"
Stomping noises come from my left and I cringe at the breaking of the silence. I get up and my feet lead me into the hall, flashlight in hand. This is a horrible, horrible, horrible idea. The light of the torch is dim against the shadows as I take a few steps forward. "Hello?" I look around where the light can reach, a faint figure down the hall can be seen, but it's much too dark to make out. "I know you're there.." The light is shaking with my fearful shivering.
Clanking comes from the end of the hall, I move forward more, the figure is gone. "Where did you go?" I point my light at the small storage closet door, still gently swinging due to being disturbed. "Are you in there?"
Another noise, a very different noise catches my attention. It was faint, but could be heard echoing through the rickety old building. I sigh and turn around, sitting at my desk and turning the computer on once more. The screen is dark on one camera, an error message pops up on the screen. The kitchen camera is out. I groan, the audio of the camera simply repeating the childish banging of pots and pans, metal against metal. I get up and poke my head into the hall, lighting up the hall only to see nothing. "Maybe it left…" I step out and walk down the hall one slow step at a time. "Are you still in there?" I look into the storage closet, finding nothing but a mop and a bucket sitting beside some crates. "Okay good." Without looking behind me, I continue down the hall and into the large dining area, scanning the room with my minimal light source. "It doesn't look like anyone is in here…" A hat on one of the tables has been tipped over, the table moved a noticeable amount. One of the characters must have accidentally bumped it while wandering about the building.
Pirate cove looks normal, though the curtain still appears slightly agape, giving my mind another reason to worry, as if it needed it. The soles of my shoes click and clack against the old tile floors as I continue the search for the yellow robot chicken. They did tell me their names, they really did, I just don't remember who is who, I'm only going to be here for a week or so, I never thought it important to learn their names. But with them stalking me room by room, I probably should know them by name, rather than by species.
"Maybe I should just go back to the off-" I stop myself when I hear a noise coming from the kitchen part of the restaurant. "Yup. Run run run run!" I sprint to the other side of the dining area and leap into my office. "I'll be safe here." I brush myself off and check outside the doors before closing them both. "I'm not risking it though." I push the chair aside and stand at the desk, prepared to run if necessary. "So where are all of them?" I flip between them, keeping mental notes on where they are located currently.
The chicken-duck isn't in sight, but I assume it is in the kitchen. The camera there isn't working but the audio is; and the sound of metal clanking against metal is loud enough to know something is in there. The bear, seemingly per usual, is on the back stage just as he has been all night. All two hours of it thus far, anyways. Yet the purple rabbit is gone. Nowhere to be seen by the low-tech cameras. I hear footsteps to my left and scream when I see a lifeless animatronic staring into me through the window. He rests one of his stiff hands on the pane of glass and begins to tap on it with his thick, nubby fingers; creating a slow rhythm. It was familiar, but my startled brain couldn't put a name to the song. I gulp and shiver feeling those white pupils watching my every move. Yet at the same time, it felt as though the soulless eyes weren't looking directly at me, but rather… through me.
I freeze in my spot as the rodent continues to tap at the frail glass between us. My body refuses to move no matter how badly I beg to hide until the shift is over. This office isn't as safe as I had once believed, the proof is standing right before me in the form of a child-entertaining robot. The computer beside me lets out a few quiet beeps. My eyes move slowly, as I hesitate to take my careful watch off the rabbit. On the screen is a battery symbol with a bold "50%" blinking within it. "That must be my power level." I blink a few times, just staring at the numbers as is flickers on, and off, then on, and off again. Warning me as the amount of hope left begins to waste away. "Shit. I can't keep the doors closed like this. I have to open the other door." I turn my back to the beast the open the other door. I peek around the hall to make sure no other monsters are headed this way before giving the rabbit my attention again. However, it's gone when I look to the glass. The tapping is replaced with the faded echoes of heavy feet on the tile floors.
"He must have gotten bored…" I slowly approach the door and open it. I glance around the corner and see the hall closet door open and close. "I hope he stays in there for a while." I hear more footsteps behind me and I swing around only to smack my flashlight on solid metal. I look at the little dent I left in the yellow surface and look up, only to be face to face with a black eyes, an orange beak, and sharp teeth. The elusive chicken has found me in the safest place I thought I could be in. Now where do I go?
I feel my knees and legs shake with fear, my mind screaming to run but my body rebelling against me. I can hear something coming from within the monster before me. Some kind of breathing noise. But that's not possible. It's a robot, made of bolts and gears, nothing living.. I can hear something though. Words forming in the faintest of breaths, minutely amplified by the metal container. "I don't want to die.."
The eyes of the thing before me remained emotionless, concentrated on me and me alone. Its mouth opened, revealing more teeth and the moving parts inside. There was something else in the back though. Something not made of bolts and gears. Something… organic. Just a little though, only enough for a glimpse before the world goes dark.
The pain ended quickly, thankfully.