PART 2: A GUARD

The sun sank below the horizon. The new guard doesn't start until tomorrow night, so tonight would be another night given up for rest.

Foxy has interacted quite well with the kids today, but when I checked up on him/her after the employees left the cove, he/she looked exhausted. "Toddlers," he/she says, "can't keep hands to themselves. Crowds too big. Old kids scary."

"That's because today was your opening day. Give it some time. Just rest for now. It'll get better as you go," I say.

Heading back over to the show stage, we allowed final checks to sweep through the building. The last of the employees left, and as usual, the lights went out.

Once again, no clattering came from Parts & Service. No one moved an inch. None of the old animatronics left the room—there was no guard to hunt tonight.

Look at us, wasting our time. We could be out finding out more on why the old animatronics behave the way they do at night. We could be looking for reasons why everything that happens at night only happens at night. We could be out accomplishing something, finding reasons why I had that blackout on Kyell's fifth night, why I knew that Mike had worked here fourteen years ago, and why ghost-like things are appearing in the building after hours.

It just annoyed me. I knew that the company would do anything to keep this information away from the officials, and if it did happen to slip out, why should they believe it? Who would ever believe that ghosts roam a building at night? This was practically insoluble!

Waiting out the entire night was the first step. Nothing was going to happen tonight—nothing would happen until the new guard comes in tomorrow night, and even if that person comes in at all, who's to say he or she will side with us?

Still, we all waited for morning to come. It was a long night, but we managed to hold out until the clock struck six. Once it did, all tension left the building, and it continued on its normal way, just like always.

Everyone began pouring into the building again, as they usually did. What else is different today, other than the fact that we have a new guard coming in tonight? Nothing would happen today—I already knew that. I would have to wait this day out before I could start doing anything concerning the older animatronics.

Before the doors opened to the public, I headed down to the office to find Mike Schmidt. "Hey," I say. "You want to have that little talk now?"

Mike sighed. "Sure, while there's still time."

I went on to explain everything that happened in the five nights that Kyell has worked in the pizzeria. I explained to him how every single animatronic worked, including both generations. I explained to him most of the techniques we used to fend off the old animatronics, and I explained to him what eventually lost Kyell his life.

He nodded. "Quite a mouthful," he says, pulling out a ballpoint pen and putting my words on paper. "I'll think about all this and see how it adds up. Maybe use it to help this new guard survive. Until then, off with you! Back to the stage before those doors open!"

I listened to him and left the office, heading back to the show stage. Along the way, I visited the cove to check up on Foxy.

Foxy was not excited for the day at all. He/she was still afraid of the kids, still a bit nervous to be in front of such a large crowd. His/her trepidation did not stop me from just simply telling him/her that he/she would be fine and that he/she just had to let a bit of time pass… again.

The entire day passed. During one of our breaks, they had to close down the cove momentarily due to something about the toddlers 'taking Foxy apart', but he/she was back in action in less than an hour. The employees just had to put the character back together, and he/she was ready to jump straight back into working, much to her dismay.

When the doors locked for the night, a new person came in, wearing a security jacket. It probably wasn't the same one that Kyell wore—that one was probably disposed of when they replaced the suit.

All three of us were backstage while Foxy was at the kid's cove, preparing for the night. Hopefully, the engineers have given him/her a proper night mode.

"Know anything about the new guard?" I ask Freddy. "I would at least like a name."

He shook his head. "I have nothing on him this time."

"Great," I mutter, taking my normal spot on the stage. "Look, there's something I have to find out."

Freddy just groaned. "You're going to talk about this now? Is this really the best time you can do this?"

I continued, ignoring his reluctant comment. "On the fifth night, I came across some weird thing in Parts & Service, something like a shadow. I don't know. All I know was that it was there, and that it wasn't natural. When I looked away and looked back at it, it was gone."

"Well, something's probably going wrong with your cams. Just don't think about it, and it won't be there."

"Impossible orders."

"Fine, then I can't help you with this. Figure it out yourself if you have to," he shoots back.

I sighed. "Look. Just forget about everything I said, okay?"

He grunted. "Fine."

The door slammed shut, meaning the last of the clean-up crew had just left. The lights would go out soon. I left the stage early. It was against the rules, but who's here to tell me I'm breaking the rules? Nobody's here anymore except for the guard, and he was still preparing at the office.

I headed down the main hallway while all the lights were still on. I could still clearly see where I was going without the need of someone to flash a light on the cameras.

To head down to the office before the lights go out, however, would be a really risky move. He knew nothing about us, nothing about how we work, so seeing one of us before the lights go out would probably send him running.

Then the building went dark again. The new guard was probably aware that this would happen, as no screams or panicking sounds seemed to come from the office.

"Hello?" says a voice that I soon recognized as Mike Schmidt's. So he recorded a message. I crept closer so I could hear it better. "Hey, I decided I should probably record a message for you, you know, just to get you through your first week.

"So, uh… first of all, welcome to Freddy Fazbear's pizza, a magical place for both children and adults alike, where fantasy fun come to life. As usual, Fazbear entertainment is not responsible for any death or dismemberment. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person's report will be filed within ninety days, or as soon as property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the walls have been replaced.

"Well, that's that. Now, onto trying to get you through your first week. Uh, I've actually worked in that office before you, but that was fourteen years ago. Now I'm working here on the day shift.

"If you pull up your tablet, you'll be given a live video feed of all of the rooms in the building. Now, some rooms are darker than others, so that's why you have lights on the cameras to help you see everything in each room.

"You probably noticed the two vents on either side of you, and you probably saw the buttons on top of each one. Those are for when you think someone is about to enter the office through one of the vents, as those spots right outside your office are blind spots on your cameras.

"Now, the key here is that you have to know where each of the animatronics are at any given time. If they do happen to see you at night, they'll probably think you're a naked endoskeleton without its costume on. Now, since that's against the rules, they'll probably try to stuff you in a Freddy Fazbear suit, but I won't really go into much detail on what happens when they do. Just know that you won't make it out alive.

"Now, since it's simply impossible to fight off an animatronic, you've been provided you with another way to stop them from reaching you. On your desk is an empty Freddy Fazbear head. Uh… the previous guard had a simple mask that you could strap on and take off in a flash, but that one didn't seem to work…

"But this should actually fool the old ones into thinking you have a suit on. The only problem is that you can't really see anything with the thing on your head, so it is recommended that you only wear it when necessary.

"Well, here's the last thing. If you don't learn anything else about this place and your job, then this is the single most important thing to learn." Mike paused for a moment. "You have to trust the new animatronics. Everything I told you before with the suit and the head only applies to the older ones that are sitting in the back room, and it was taught to me by the newer ones. There's yet to be an explanation as to why the old ones come out at night. But make sure you trust the new ones. They'll give you a few helpful tips for getting through the week. If you don't, then you will have no chance of surviving a week. A night, maybe, but not a week. You'll know who they are, don't worry.

"That's all I have to say for now. If you have any questions, then I'll be here this morning, and you can ask me then. If you want to complain about something, tell me before you tell anyone else. For now, first night should be easy. Okay? You should be fine. Goodnight."

A small click, and then silence filled the building once again. The new guard muttered some unintelligible words beneath his breath. It was obvious that Mike had used his notes to create this message. There was no way he would know all this from working the day shift.

I was now at the entrance to one of the party rooms. None of the older characters moved yet, but I could barely see Freddy down the hallway, closer to Parts & Service. The new guard flashed a light down the hallway for a brief moment before returning to the cameras.

Still nothing. While I still had time, I decided to move down toward Parts & Service, passing by Freddy on the way. He said nothing.

I pulled the handle, and Old Bonnie bolted straight out of the room. I left him alone—Freddy should be able to take care of him should he get too close to the new guard.

Stepping inside, I found nothing unusual, nothing supernatural. At least, not yet. Maybe something will happen later, perhaps later this week or later tonight, if we're lucky. Until then, there's nothing to find out.

The older animatronics were still inactive. Old Freddy and Old Chica both twitched a bit, while Foxy was hiding somewhere in the shadows. When Old Freddy finally came to life, he wandered outside to the main hallway and just stared at the posters on the walls before turning and starting down the office hallway.

A light flashed in the room, providing me a clear view of everything in here for a brief moment. No one else has yet to move, and while Old Freddy was heading down the hallway and my counterpart was somewhere else near the office, I decided I should go ahead and help for now.

Leaving Parts & Service, I found the new Foxy hanging from the ceiling. He/she was in a corner, blocking the camera from giving any live feed of what was going on in this hallway.

I took note, still unsure about how he/she would act. Heading down the hallway, I found Old Freddy already inside the office, watching the new guard. The new guard was wearing the empty Fazbear head, not moving a single inch.

Old Freddy walked right out of the office. The new guard took off the mask and returned to the cameras. I entered one of the party rooms and started through the vent.

Then, as I was about to enter the office, the new guard checked the vent lights. I squinted for a moment, the bright light flashing right in front of me. Then the new guard went on with his business, flashing a light down the hallway again and throwing the Fazbear head back on when he found my counterpart crawling through the other vent. From inside the vent looking into the office, I could see the flicker of lavender on the other side—all obstacles, including the desk, have been moved out of the way.

Old Bonnie entered the office and left, ignoring the new guard. "Huh. That Fazbear head works pretty well," I say to myself, crawling into the office.

The new guard probably heard me, as he kept the head on. He couldn't see, so it made sense for him to keep the head on with something in the office. His breathing was inaudible, his chest unmoving.

"Quiet," I whisper, taking the Fazbear head off his head. "It's me."

He continued to stare down the hallway, eyes wide open and still as a statue. The flashlight he held in his hand dropped to the floor. As I placed the Fazbear head down on the desk, I took a look back toward the hallway. "Trust the new ones," the guard mutters to himself. "Use the head for the old ones."

The guard used the flashlight for a brief moment, and in less than a second, the Fazbear head covered his face again. Old Chica was right outside the office.

I scanned the room, finding a clock on top of one of the monitors. It was 1:14, according to what it said. "What's your name?" I ask, still observing the changes Mike had made to the room.

"My name?" he says shakily. "Uh… Madison Norwell."

Huh. I was always under the impression that Madison was a girl's name. Yet again, what am I to say when my name is Bonnie? It's a feminine name on a masculine character. Then there's the new Foxy, whose gender hasn't even been decided yet! People make weird decisions these days.

"Well, Madison," I start. "You're going to make it through your week. You'll be fine. Just listen to what we say, and you should be okay."

He nodded nervously. In a way, he was like Kyell, but he seemed more collected when around the old ones, judging on how he handled Old Bonnie.

But collectiveness meant close to nothing when it came to working such a job that pushes one's sanity over a cliff.