William groaned, turning over in his bed at the sound of his alarm clock. He flicked it off, yawning as he stepped out onto the carpeted floor. It was really weird getting up at 2:30 in the afternoon. He stood, pulling on a button-up shirt as the sound of muffled crying echoed from down the hall. His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he peered out of the doorway, moving to follow the sound.

He walked into the living room to see Elizabeth sniffling, eyes red and watery as she clutched Michael's arm, who was currently sitting on the couch while Clara cleaned the blood off multiple injuries on his face and limbs. William looked at his wife in confusion, who simply looked at him and shook her head with a small frown.

"What's going on?" The man asked, arms crossed. "M-Mike-e..." Elizabeth sniffled, breath hitching. "H-He got h-hurt t-trying to h-help me," she said, trying to suppress her tears. William sat on the ottoman across from her and put a hand on her knee, peering at her through her messy hair. "What happened?" He asked.

"Mike t-took me to the park and some b-boys w-were being mean to m-me," she continued. She hiccupped, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. "They w-were calling me n-names and Mike told them to s-stop, but they laughed at u-us, a-and...and one of them pulled my h-hair, s-so Mike h-hit him, b-but then they-they-all started hurting h-him," the blonde whimpered, not able to hold back the tears now streaming down her face.

William felt a rush of anger that quickly turned to sadness as he moved to sit next to her, picking her up and setting her in his lap as her shoulders shuddered and shook. She cried fully into his shirt as he held her, all while Michael sat quietly next to them. The man looked over Elizabeth's head at his son, who maintained a stoic mien while Clara rubbed alcohol swabs over bloody scratches and cuts. The teen absentmindedly ran his fingers over a black eye that was becoming more and more colored, not paying much attention to the bandages and wrappings his mother was applying to his injuries.

William looked back down at Elizabeth, who had now fallen asleep and was snoozing peacefully on his lap, an occasional hiccup between breaths. Clara stood with a handful of bloodied tissues and bandage wrappers. "I'm going to go take care of this," she said softly, taking the first-aid bucket in her other hand. "Stay there Mike," she said, moving to the hallway.

The teen leaned over a little, clutching the edge of the couch cushions in silence. Quiet passed for a moment as William peered at him out the corner of his eye. "Michael," he said. The boy glanced his direction, then back to the floor. "Are you okay...?" He asked hesitantly, words he hadn't spoken to his son in months. "I'm fine," he muttered quietly.

William looked at the teen, sighing. "Thank you for taking care of her," he said, running a hand up and down Elizabeth's back. "I had to," Michael replied, looking at his sister. The man nodded in agreement. "How many boys were there?" He questioned. "Four," the boy answered, looking at his hands. "And you got in a fight with them?" William continued.

Michael paused, then nodded. "They your age?" His father asked. The teen shrugged. "A little older...sixteen and seventeen maybe." William listened quietly, looking at the numerous bruises and scratches on his son's arms and face, a few tears in his shirt, hair messy. "Who were they?" He asked. Michael shrugged again carelessly. "Never seen them before. I think they were from another neighborhood or something."

The man nodded, looking back at his daughter. "If you see them again, tell me," he said. The teen nodded, a slight frown on his face. William put a hand on Michael's shoulder, feeling how the boy stiffened under his touch. "That was brave, to stand up to those thugs. I'm proud of you," he said softly. For the first time in weeks, Michael looked his father in the eyes. He nodded hesitantly. "Thanks dad," he said quietly.

Clara came back into the living room, an ice pack in hand. "Here, Mike," she said gently, handing it to her son. He took it, holding it over his eye, standing to move to the kitchen. His mother stopped him, giving him a hug before letting him leave. She moved to sit next to her husband, moving a strand of hair from Elizabeth's face. "I'll take her to her room," William murmured, checking his watch. His wife nodded with a sigh.

"Do you have work tonight?" She asked. He nodded. "Okay," she said, giving his hand a squeeze before letting him stand, Elizabeth in his arms. He carried her down the hallway to her room, setting her gently in her bed, placing a kiss on her forehead before leaving, closing the door quietly behind him.

He didn't notice a puppet peering in through the curtained window.

...

Dana pulled into the Freddy's Pizzeria parking lot, easing into a stall near the entrance. She checked her watch. 11:30 PM-early. She walked to the garbage can outside the glass doors and felt the concrete ground around it before feeling a set of keys. She still thought it somewhat reckless for Allan to just leave them here for her instead of just giving them to her personally, but whatever.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside, ready to look for Ray before remembering his night shifts didn't start until next week. She groaned at that thought...she did not want to have to meet Dave again alone. Just her luck.

She walked down the tiled hallway to the security office where a folded purple button-up shirt, black tie, belt, and badge lay on the desk. She picked up the clothes and made her way to the bathrooms, changing into her uniform. She glanced in the foggy mirror before leaving, making sure everything looked okay-which it did, but the shirt was a little big. She took her other clothes back to her car before settling in one of the chairs in the office, waiting anxiously for her partner to arrive.

Dana picked up a book she brought, checking the time every few minutes before the sound of the front door opening alerted her. 11:58 PM. She stood, setting her book on the desk. She stepped out into the hall, peering down the corridor to the moonlit main-room. "Dave?" She called.

"Hello?" he answered, a hint of suspicion in his voice, coming into view of the hall-light. "Hey, it's Dana," she said, walking forward to meet him. "Oh yes-I remember you. What are you doing here?" He asked, an eyebrow raised. "Allan switched me to night-shift," the woman replied, not hiding her annoyance. "Ah." Dave said, sounding irked.

"Yeah...um...guess we better get started," Dana said awkwardly, walking back to the office. She went back to her seat and picked up her book as her partner pulled a notepad and pen from a briefcase he brought, booting up the security cameras. She glanced at the tablet he held, watching as he toggled the control to face the stage. Dana shuddered at the sight.

"Something wrong?" Dave asked lowly, noticing her movement. "I just never liked how those things look at night...they're creepy," she said, a look of disgust on her face. "Hmm," the man replied, changing the camera to the one observing Pirate Cove. Dana raised her book again and read for nearly two hours in silence while her partner watched the cameras.

She was nearing the end, contently turning the next page when Dave suddenly stood from his seat, causing her to jump in surprise. "What?" She asked anxiously as he looked closely at the cameras. "They moved," he murmured in excitement. "Well, yeah, I mean...they're on free-roam," Dana said obviously. "Yes, but they didn't move at all last night. Now look, these two have gotten off the stage," he said, showing her the tablet.

Sure enough, Bonnie and Chica were standing idly near some of the party tables, emitting strange noises, almost like static. It must be from the camera feed, she thought. The animatronics don't make those sounds. She opened her book, ready to go back to it when Dave started writing furiously on his notepad. "Uh, what's that for?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.

The man paused. "Just...documenting," he muttered. "Documenting what? Not like it matters if they're walking around," Dana continued. Dave took a deep breath, thinking for a moment. "I'm actually into paranormal stuff, uh...thought these creepy robots might...you know..." he mumbled. "What, you think they're haunted or something?" She chuckled. The man shrugged.

"Hey, whatever floats your boat. I used to be into that stuff in high school, used ouija boards every weekend with friends. Maybe I can help you take notes or something," she said with a smile. Dave paused, looking conflicted before he shrugged again and nodded.

"Cool. I'll go take a look," Dana said, grabbing her flashlight from the desk. "Wait, you're going to go in person?" He questioned, surprised. "Why not? Not like they're fast or anything," she laughed. "Be back in a jiffy."

She walked down the hall, shoes clicking on the floor as she aimed her flashlight forward. The light caught the chicken robot with its head upwards, mouth open. The rabbit was closer to the stage, no longer holding its guitar. Dana's sudden confidence flickered out at the sight of the animatronics...man...what kind of programming makes them look up at the cameras like that? Like they're alive, watching you. The woman shook her head vigorously. "You're freaking yourself out, these things aren't haunted, that's ridiculous," she muttered softly to herself.

She looked up to where the chicken had its gaze turned and saw one of the cameras with a red light on, indicating that Dave was looking through it back in the office. Dana walked to the frozen robot and put a hand on its shoulder casually and waved at the screen. She waved a hand in front of the animatronic's face, then shrugged, and went back to the office.

Dave kept his interest low-key while she read her book, waiting until 6:00 came. When it did, the robots had gotten far enough to stand at the hallway entrance, frozen as statues; something her partner made note of.

The two stood and made their way past the figures and to the entrance. "Something smell weird to you?" Dana asked as strange wafts passed under her nose as they walked by the party tables. It was like eggs that were going bad, and she hadn't noticed it until then. Dave shook his head. "Hmm," she said, eyebrows furrowed. Weird.

"Well, uh...see you tomorrow," she said as they left the building, each going different directions to their vehicles. He waved, unlocking his car. Dana watched as he left the lot and drove off, thinking over the night she spent with her new partner. Honestly, not as bad as she predicted.

She hummed to herself and climbed into her car. "Not too bad for a first day."