November 13th, 1987 - 2 AM
Freddy started up confused and disoriented. He felt like he was being weighed down by something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. He looked to his sides and saw Bonnie and Chica hadn't turned on yet. Perhaps he had received repairs during the night without his knowledge. Those always left him feeling strange. He checked the time. 2 AM.
He looked to his left and right and saw Bonnie and Chica staring straight ahead at the wall, eyes wide open.
"Guys?"
November 12th, 1987 - 10:00 AM
16 hours earlier
Gary Franklin stood happily behind his mother as she checked into Freddy Fazbear's Pizza with his slightly older brother, Fred. It was Gary's birthday; he had even been dressed up for the occasion in a suit and bow tie, to match the aesthetic of his favorite animatronic mascot at the restaurant, Freddy Fazbear. He had always loved the restaurant. It was his favorite of all time. It may not have had the best food, but it had something much better - animatronic characters. At the time, his brain hadn't fully processed that the robots were, in fact, robots; he had always considered them people in his mind.
He ran ahead of his mother through the two large glass front doors that led into the main part of the restaurant, and was greeted by his three other friends that his mother had invited. He was actually the youngest person of his friend group. He was turning 7 years old on that day. His friends ranged from anywhere between a few months older than Gary, or a little over a year older. He got teased quite a bit for his young age. He had been looking forward to his birthday for this reason.
The names of Gary's friends were Fred, Bernie, Charlie, and Finn. They had known each other for all their lives, as all their parents became close friends during their time in kindergarten. Even though Gary and Fred were the only true family in the group, they were all like siblings to each other.
"Hey man!" greeted Bernie. "Happy birthday!"
"Yeah!" said Charlie.
"Good to see ya again, mate," said Finn, jokingly imitating the pirate accent of his favorite animatronic, Foxy.
"Thanks, guys," said Gary happily. Fred grinned, he always loved his brother's birthdays because these days his parents thought him too old to be taken to Freddy's on his own, although he still asked each year anyway.
While the group's parents set up their own table, Gary and his friends played with each other, waiting for the animatronics to begin their show. While he was playing hide-and-seek, shortly before the show started, Gary saw a tall, thin man with his back hunched creep over to the backstage door to the left of the show stage. He saw the man's eyes flash over to him and his friends, and they made eye contact for a second. The man then turned his head and shut the door quietly behind him.
While the animatronics were being prepared for their show, the Freddy Fazbear animatronic clumsily strolled over to Gary and his friends and said loudly, "Are you kids having fun?"
"Yeah!" yelled Gary and his friends.
"That's GREAT! Who's the birthday boy?" asked the giant bear. Without waiting for a response, he bent down and his head rotated to face Gary. "Happy birthday, kiddo! Are you ready for the SHOW?"
Gary gave the bear a big smile and nodded. He noticed from the corner of his eye that his brother, Fred, was admiring the bear from a few feet away. He almost looked jealous that the bear wasn't talking to him. He always loved that he and the bear had such similar names. It made him feel connected to the animatronic.
"That's GREAT!" said Freddy again. His eyes lit up and he looked directly at the group's parents, and yelled, "And remember, you can win five dollar coupons from the arcade machine over in the corner! One quarter for every try! Don't forget!" He rotated his body around and greeted the other customers as the animatronics were being readied for the show. Finally, Freddy stepped back onto the stage, and had a short conversation with Bonnie the Bunny and Chica the Chicken, the other two animatronics up on the stage.
"Hey, guys! Are you r-ready for the show?" said Freddy to his friends.
"Yeah! I can't wait to finally try out my new guitar!" said Bonnie, holding up his guitar, which clearly wasn't new.
"I hope you kids have something to eat while watching this show!" said Chica. "Remember, you can get coupons from the arcade in the corner over t-there! One quarter for every try!" she said.
"Remember to eat your vegetables, kids!" said Bonnie. "Stay healthy!"
"And don't forget to visit Foxy the Pirate over at the Pirate Cove after the show!" said Freddy, pointing over at a small stage hidden behind curtains. Foxy's hook hand waved dismissively from behind the curtain.
"Alright gang…in three…two…one…"
Freddy and the band began to sing, much to the delight of the children. Every one of the children had their own favorite animatronic. Fred, of course, loved Freddy. Bernie always admired Bonnie for being what was, in his eyes, the "coolest" of the animatronics, which would often earn a snide remark from Finn about the bunny's vegetable obsession. Charlie seemed to enjoy following Chica around whenever she was off-stage, and felt that she related to the chicken in many ways. Finn, on the other hand, liked Foxy simply because of his love of pirates. He didn't care much for anything else in the restaurant, just the fox, who most of the children considered to be a fantastic entertainer.
Gary, however? Gary loved all the animatronics. To him, they were all important, they were all his friends.
The kids continued like this all day long, listening to the animatronics' songs and playing games with each other. The animatronics provided what was largely the same commentary that they would every other time the kids were there, but they loved it nonetheless. There was an aura of happiness that existed around the animatronics, and it was unexplainable. The kids' parents didn't care much for these robots but were happy as long as their kids were happy and distracted.
The day went and passed. The worst thing about going to Freddy's was the sad inevitability that the kids all tried to stall- the fact that they would have to leave. If they could stay at the place forever, then in their minds, it would be worth it. Being a kid was hard, but not at Freddy's. They loved it.
Gary and Fred's mom walked over from the adults' table. They sighed. They knew they she was about to say the dreaded words.
"10 minutes before the building closes, honey," she said with a smile. "Want me to buy you a pizza for the road?"
"No, Mom, I'm full…" said Gary, slumping down in his chair. Fred stifled a laugh.
Their mom smiled. "Okay, we're going to get ready and wait outside. When the nice man by the door tells you to leave, make sure you come out and join us, alright?". The kids all nodded, and sighed.
"We should do something fun! You know, something short though," said Charlie, trying to lighten the mood before they all had to leave.
They all looked around. Eventually, Finn noticed something and pointed at the backstage door. "Hey guys, check it out! The door's open!"
He was right. The mysterious employee's-only door had been left open, which was strange. The workers in the area always seemed particularly touchy about keeping that door shut.
"I wanna see in there," said Charlie excitedly. Bernie nodded in agreement.
Gary's friends looked over at him. "Come on, bro," said Fred. "Don't you wanna see what's in there?"
"Yeah, man," said Bernie.
"You ain't scared, are you?" said Finn.
"Ok, ok! Let's just go already!" said Gary. He couldn't help but feel that going into the room would be a bad idea. It was employees-only for a reason, right? He looked behind him at his parents while his friends dragged him to the door.
The five of them snuck through the door into the room. It was dark, cramped and...unnaturally cold. As though there was an evil presence in the room with them. Gary felt the wall until he found a light switch. The hangover metal lamp turned on and revealed the room's contents.
They were all around a table with a metal skeleton sitting on it, jaw hanging wide open, blank expression on its face. Surrounding the children were shelves filled with empty masks of the animatronic characters.
Charlie began to scream but Bernie was quick on his feet to stifle it. Their hearts were racing in their chests. The masks' eyeholes, although hollow, seemed to follow them somehow.
Fred and Finn nodded. None of them understood what they had just seen, although they were noticeably less comfortable around the robots after that.
Just then, the metal door creaked open and the kids gasped. It was something new, that they hadn't seen before. The music in the other room stopped. This new figure...it was like Bonnie, but golden and...different. Taller, thinner. Its body shape, while sickly, was more like that of a human's than any of the other animatronics.
"Hey, kids," it said. "My name is...Spring-Bonnie. I heard you scream...Charlie."
"I-I'm so sorry!" the little girl whimpered.
The rabbit looked around at them. "This is a secret room, you know that, don't you?"
"Yes, sir," said Fred. "We're really, REALLY sorry. Please don't tell on us!"
The rabbit's small eyes rolled up in his head, as though thinking hard about something. "Okay...but only if you promise me something."
The kids stayed quiet. "Uh...okay. What is it?" asked Gary.
"I have a friend in this building. He's like me…" he said. His voice slowed down sadly. "The people here...they don't know about him, they don't love him like they love the other ones."
"Aww…" said Charlie.
"He's very sick, and he needs all of your help. Would you help me...please?" he said, holding his hands together and kneeling.
"Okay...if you don't tell," promised Gary.
"Thank you...thank you. If you would follow me, please, kids." Spring-Bonnie opened the metal door, Gary and Fred walking out with him.
Bernie tugged at Charlie's shoulder. "Maybe this isn't a good idea," he whispered.
"He needs help, Bernie! Give him a chance," she said, walking out to join the brothers. Bernie sighed and caught up with her.
Finn stayed quiet during the whole ordeal, and quietly followed his friends. He didn't truly want anything to do with this strange character or his friend, but didn't want to be the odd one out among his friends as he usually was.
As the kids walked out, they noticed that the lights were out all over the building, with only dim overhead lights barely lighting the way. The building had closed down. The kids saw their parents waiting outside by the front entrance. "I hope they won't be mad," whispered Bernie.
Spring-Bonnie led them over to the restrooms, but instead of walking inside either of them, he walked up to the wall left of the women's restroom.
"What are we doing here?" asked Finn.
The rabbit sucked in a heavy breath, and exhaled shakily. "Well, kids, my friend is in another secret room...right here." He pushed on the wall and the kids watched in amazement as it slid out of place. Spring-Bonnie stood by the hole in the wall and waited for the kids to all come inside.
The room was dirty and cluttered with old Freddy's merchandise and equipment. Old folding tables, torn decorations, and broken arcade machines littered the room. In the middle of the room, there was one very rusty metal table with a set of tools on it and a lamp. It was like a workshop. At the other side of the room, the wall was covered with old newspaper clippings and photos. And below that…
"That's my best friend Fredbear, come take a closer look," the bunny whispered.
Gary took a step closer to the suit. He noticed, as he looked at the photos on the walls, that there were photos of him and his friends. He looked behind himand saw that it was hollow, like the masks in the back room. This suit was, too, golden. But it wasn't like Bonnie. It was like, Freddy, except-
He heard a loud clunk behind him, and heard Charlie scream again. He turned around slowly, afraid of what he might see. In place of the friendly yellow rabbit he was just talking to was a man dressed in a purple employee suit. He had a badge on his shirt that read "FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZA - NIGHT SECURITY GUARD".
"Who are you?!" yelled Fred. "You're just a person!"
The man looked around at all of them. "Children like you...are just...horrible...sneaking around all the time…" He took a deep breath, clutching his chest like he was trying to control himself. Gary caught the glimmer of a strange tool in the man's hand.
"We're sorry!" said Bernie. "Really!"
The man took a step forward and raised the tool over Bernie, then stopped himself.
"W-what are you doing?" asked Charlie, backing up.
The man closed his eyes and whispered something indistinctly as he raised the tool again over Charlie's head. "P-please don't hurt me!" Charlie squealed.
The man violently grabbed her by the neck and threw her onto the rusty table. She screamed. Gary didn't see what happened to her, instead listening to her ear-piercing screams transform into a gurgling, uncontrollable sputtering sound, as though her jaw had been split in half.
"Get off of her!" Bernie rushed over to the man but he easily thrashed him with the tool and he fell to the floor. The man shoved Charlie off the table, then turned onto Bernie.
"You're a monster! You're a monster-" Bernie yelled as the man smashed the tool into his face. Bernie's top front teeth were bent backwards. "Maybe," said the man, who smashed Bernie a few more times before deciding he was dead.
"Gary," said Fred quietly, trembling. "Hide, like me, okay?" He backed into a corner and hid in the dark.
Finn attempted to run away and break down the false wall, but to no avail as it would not budge. He screamed and ripped on the door.
Gary found himself unable to move on the spot.
The man turned around and saw Finn trying to tear the door down. The man grabbed Finn by the arm and quickly snapped it back. The child cried out as he found himself looking the man in the eye as he lay on his table. He tried to scratch the man with his free hand and successfully drew blood near his eyelid. The man yelled, sweat and drool dripping from his face, and held the boy's hand down. He grabbed a saw.
Gary cowered on the floor, unable to think as he listened to Finn's earsplitting screams. At that moment, he knew that nothing was going to save him or his brother. He knew he was going to die.
When the man in purple was done with Finn, he shoved him off the table and blood pooled on the floor. There was so much blood- it was everywhere, over the walls and ceiling, over the man and over Gary. The man looked at Gary, but seemed to realize that there was one more he hadn't found. He instinctively looked back at where the false wall was, but it was still in position. He quickly spotted Fred cowering in the corner and grabbed him. Fred gasped and started hyperventilating. The man held Fred up in front of the yellow bear. "You love Freddy, don't you?!" the man screamed. Fred was choking on his tears. The purple man shoved Fred's face into the Fredbear costume's face and slit his throat.
Finally, the man turned away and looked at the carnage, satisfied. Then he looked down at Gary.
"You know, kid, I lost somebody once on his seventh birthday. He was a lot like you."
Gary stared at the man, and felt a strange, unnatural feeling in his chest. Real, true hatred was in his heart. He thought about his mother, waiting outside the restaurant, waiting for her children to come out so they could go home. He knew he was never going to see home again. At that moment, he understood death.
"Your friends...they all had their favorite characters. You could just...tell which ones liked which the most. Children just love to pick favorites...but you…I could never tell. Which one did you love the most?"
Gary scrambled to his feet and ran around the table from the man. "Yeah…" said the man, seemingly disappointed, as he raised the strange tool in his hand. Gary ducked and stepped back, but slipped and fell onto the Fredbear suit. He looked down, and looked one last time at his dead brother and his friends. "I love you, Fred," whispered the child.
He slipped into the Fredbear suit and put it on, then closed his eyes. The purple man just stared at the kid. "You're going to wish you didn't do that," he said.
Gary let out a blood-curdling scream as he felt something unspeakable happen to him inside of the suit. He felt coldness impale his body in some way he couldn't understand. Around those areas of coldness he felt his warm, sticky blood pool around it. His senses were giving away and his limbs were going numb. He just wanted it to be over. He looked up, with what little strength he had, to glare at the man who did this to him and his brother.
"It'll all be over soon," said the man. He slipped back into his rabbit suit, which was now covered in blood. "Shh…" he held the finger up to his mouth, as he stood by the door.
Gary bled to death.
A man walked out of the restaurant, having finished up for the night. He walked out and saw the group of adults waiting outside. "Hey, can I help you guys?"
"Yes, absolutely, we have been waiting for our children to come outside for 20 minutes now. They're still in your restaurant! Gary! Fred!" yelled one of the women.
"Uh...okay. Are you all waiting for your children?" he asked.
"That's right. I don't like them in there by themselves," said another woman. "My little girl, Charlie, is in there. I need to get her!"
The man gulped. "Okay, people, sit tight. Let me just...go back in and look, okay? You just need to relax." He went back into the building and slammed the doors. "Kids? Are you alright?" he yelled out into the darkness.
Nothing but silence greeted him. "Your parents are waiting for you! They're very worried! Come outside, now!" Still nothing.
"Fuck!" He stormed outside. "Call the police, right now. I can't find them."
Gary woke up. He felt empty, as though his insides had been cleared out. The other bodies in the room were gone, along with the man in purple. No matter how much effort and willpower he put into it, he couldn't move his body. Why was he still conscious? Hadn't he died?
He would've given anything to had truly died that day. This...hell that he found himself in, was something worse than death.