07/31/1970 02:48:23am
The top of the box creaked open. Puppet heard a familiar click as the outdoor light shone into its box.
"Today is...Friday, July 31, 1970," came Miss Bonnie's gentle voice. "I had an unexpected discovery with my Protocol Unit for Personality Performance Engagement Test, or P.U.P.P.E.T."
Puppet refused to look at her. It simply stared ahead, only taking in the blue-green wall and its marionette cross angled against the back.
"I recently gave it an update," Miss Bonnie continued.
She made no attempt to touch it, or get its attention as she spoke.
"P.U.P.P.E.T. is far more capable than I initially thought. Over the last few months, I watched it learn and apply its gained knowledge to tested situations. It is aware of its purpose as a gift-giver, and defends that status with diligence. It has learned to read emotional cues, and act in accordance with them. And...last night…"
Puppet turned its head only slightly, a small movement to indicate it was listening.
"...It exceeded my own expectations."
Miss Bonnie paused. Puppet slowly processed her words, then tilted its head up towards the open gap. The back room light poured into the box, some of it blocked by Miss Bonnie's form. One of her hands clung to the edge of the box. The other held the tape recorder. Even with the shadows over her face, it picked up the forced, tightened smile on her lips.
"The upgrade I gave it was to...to ensure the security of my work, and my establishment," Miss Bonnie said, quietly. "I was not...emotionally well last night. P.U.P.P.E.T. recognized I was not in my right mind, and enacted preventative measures without hesitation."
Miss Bonnie reached for Puppet, and gently ran a hand over its cheek.
"It did what was necessary," she continued. "...Even if it meant working against me, the one who gave it life."
Her smile loosened, becoming more sincere.
"I know, without a doubt, that P.U.P.P.E.T. is my greatest success."
Miss Bonnie tapped a button on the tape recorder. It made another soft click as it shut off.
"...Did you get all that, little one?" she asked, quietly.
Puppet slowly nodded.
"Good," Miss Bonnie said, "because you're the only one who has a copy."
She opened the tape recorder to show no cassette tape in the dock. Puppet inspected it curiously, then looked back at her.
Her eyes shone. The shine fell over her cheeks.
It reached up to touch her face, gently pressing against the soft, springiness of her cheek. Miss Bonnie set her hand over its own, then gripped its fingers tightly.
"...Thank you," she whispered.
She let go and gently took its head in her hands, then leaned over to kiss its forehead. Miss Bonnie let it go then.
"I need to get home," she said. "I'll see you in the morning, little one."
Puppet nodded, then watched her go.
Miss Bonnie reached the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open. She then turned to look at it one more time, a contented smile on her lips. She waved, then headed out, gently closing the door behind her.
Puppet waited until it no longer heard her footsteps before it retreated back into its box.
It needed to let the emotional algorithm sort itself out again. Puppet reached up to touch its forehead where Miss Bonnie left her kiss. It only ever saw her do that in pictures with her Freddy.
And in that moment, it knew just how much Miss Bonnie treasured it.
Gwen hung up the phone, then observed the main room. A birthday party was in progress. Franklin and Judy quickly kept the tables cleared, the drinks refilled, and the pizza coming, while simultaneously maintaining the chaos that a room full of laughing, screaming, running kids that these parties always brought about. Waylon was busting his ass as well, rounding up kids for the next show, making sure the games were in proper working order, and breaking up the inevitable fights that came up.
She kept glancing at her watch, until finally, it showed her a time she longed for:
Break time.
Unable to immediately leave her post, Gwen flagged Waylon down so he could watch the front doors and make sure the right child left with the right adult. As soon as she was free, Gwen made her way to the back room.
It remained shut during business hours, which suited her fine. She went inside and shut the door, before she retrieved her purse from underneath one of the spare Chica heads, where a wandering guest would never see it. Above her, she heard the camera whir. She lifted a dark umber hand to wave at Greg, then smiled. The little red light went off, indicating that the day shift guard probably went back to observing the birthday party.
Shouldering her purse, Gwen walked to the back of the room, to a small gap between the furthest shelves. Out of sight of the camera was the exit door, often overshadowed by the surrounding shelves. Waylon kept it locked outside of business hours, but for now, it served as a handy way to get a quick smoke.
A large green truck was parked outside, the bed of it just barely seen around the dumpster. Gwen came over and climbed into the passenger's seat.
"What couldn't you tell me on the phone?" she asked, fishing her cigarette pack from her purse.
Will turned to her.
"I'd rather you not do that in my truck," he said. "I promise, it won't take more'n a moment."
Gwen frowned, but nodded, setting the cigarettes aside for now. She pushed a few microbeads back over her shoulder.
"You know the kids who disappeared here?" Will asked.
"Yeah," Gwen said, giving him a strange look. "One of them was my cousin, remember?"
Will nodded with a frown.
"I know," he said. "S'why I came to you. I think I might have a lead on the one responsible for this mess."
Gwen's heart panged a little.
"You mean...you know what happened?"
"No," Will said softly. "I can't promise anything, but we might have a chance to find out."
He reached down under the seat and pulled out a plastic shopping bag with some small items inside. Will handed it to Gwen.
"That's why I need your help."
Gwen opened the bag to look inside. She found a note sitting on top of a few strange metal objects.
"Why can't you do it?" she asked.
"Because you weren't involved before," Will said. "If they're snoopin' around, they won't pay any attention to you."
Gwen opened the note to read it. After skimming through the first two lines, she quickly realized it was a list of instructions, and more importantly, the purpose of the strange devices Will gave her.
"...What the hell," she whispered, after comprehending its contents.
"Exactly," Will said. "Strange things've been happenin' lately. I gotta hunch somethin' might go down in the next night or two."
"Like what?" Gwen asked.
"That's what I hope to find out," Will said, "and to put a stop to it before anything happens. Call it a feelin' in these old bones that there's trouble afoot."
He made a gesture to the note in her hands.
"I know it's a bit to ask," Will said, "but I need you to do this for me. Please."
Gwen read over the note again, the careful instructions Will left for her.
"...Shouldn't Waylon know about this?" she asked.
"You think I would've come to you if I thought he'd listen to me?" Will asked.
"Point."
Will reached to set a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I'm askin' you because I don't know who else I can trust here," he said, quietly. "Please, Gwen. Just trust me on this one."
Gwen bit her lip, then looked over the note again.
"...Okay," she said at last.
She carefully moved the contents of the shopping bag to her purse.
"Thanks," Will said.
He gave her a soft smile.
"Enjoy the rest of your break."
Gwen nodded to him, and slipped out of the car. She pulled out her pack and lit up as she made her way back to the back door, intending to finish the cigarette quickly before heading back inside. She heard the truck's engine fire up, and the heavy tires scrape against the loose cracks of pavement.
As she took her last drag, Gwen watched the green truck pull away. She snuffed the cigarette against the side of the dumpster before tossing the extinguished butt inside it. She then pulled the back door open, heading back into the back room.
When Gwen came back inside, she glanced up at the camera to make sure the little red light was off.
It hardly took a moment to complete her first task. With the camera still off, Gwen hid her purse under a Bonnie head on a different shelf.
One couldn't be too careful when anyone was a suspect.
07/31/1970 01:34:52pm
Most days, Puppet ignored the backstage door opening and closing as employees came in and out for supplies and breaks. None of them ever knocked on the box, and none of them ever called for it like Miss Bonnie did.
But now, several footsteps and concerned voices entered into its microphones, prompting it to lift the box's lid just enough to peek out.
Puppet watched the commotion as two humans, one tall and wearing a hat, and the other smaller with red hair, brought in a trembling, shaking yellow rabbit. Red oil dripped from its joints, and moist, choked sounds escaped its throat.
"Help me get her over here, then set her down!" the taller human exclaimed.
The voice sounded familiar. Puppet pulled up a file, quickly placing the voice.
It was the man Miss Bonnie argued with the other night.
The man's redheaded partner did as instructed.
They carefully set the rabbit on the floor and helped it lie down. From the angle, its long ears pointed to the box, and its face looked upward. The rabbit twitched and sputtered in a manner unbefitting of its programming. The tall man quickly searched the shelves for a tool. Puppet watched him, trying to get a good look at his face, but the man kept turning his head. When he reached for the shelves, his upper arms covered his face. He finally found what he was looking for, then knelt down beside the rabbit, setting the tool at the base of its neck.
"What are you doing?" his partner asked.
"Getting the damn mask off so she can breathe easier, dumbass!" the taller man exclaimed. "Go do something useful, like keeping the kids out. Call an ambulance. Something!"
Puppet took in the tool he held as much as it could. The taller man leaned forward, with only the top of his ball cap in view, and the brim hiding his face. As he moved the tool, it made a strange ratcheting sound.
The redheaded human stood in befuzzlement for a second, then quickly did as he was told, going into the other room to assist. Once he was gone, the taller man used the tool until a small pop of release sounded, then repeated the action on the other side. After the second soft pop, he carefully pulled off the rabbit's head. He set it aside. Puppet only saw the back shape and the ears now sitting upright, but something else caught its attention.
Under the rabbit's head, it recognized the plastic shine of Miss Bonnie's favorite red headband and her dark hair.
"Hold on, Bon," the man said. "I can't loosen the locks, or you'll bleed out."
Miss Bonnie tried to say something. Only those wet, horrible sounds and a few starts of words came out.
"...Like this."
Puppet caught the change in his tone.
How he sounded almost...happy.
The man moved the tool in front of her neck, and used it to loosen something else. Something moist coiled back, and the sounds Miss Bonnie made momentarily grew stronger. She sucked in a painful, gargled breath, but coughed out a fountain of the red oil.
"Should've taken my offer, Bon," he said, simply. "You've got minutes at best."
Miss Bonnie tried to reach for him. Only another spew of red came out. The darkening pool under her only widened.
Puppet wasted no time. It dove from its box with a chime, and upon hitting the floor, it took another leap at the man. The tall human never saw it coming as its hard mask slammed into his head, the baseball cap almost a perfect target. His neck audibly snapped back, and he tumbled back, away from Miss Bonnie.
Puppet ignored him for the moment and quickly turned to Miss Bonnie, attempting to assess how to help her. The red oil covered her neck and chin. Her green eyes were wide and her cheeks shone. She tried to form a word.
"L...Li…" she managed, before the red oil filled her mouth again. She gagged on it, and another forceful cough spewed it all over Puppet.
Before Puppet could register this new event, something knocked into it from behind. Puppet's internal camera sputtered as it landed on the hard tile. Streaks of red blocked some of its vision.
"Cute watchdog," the man said. "It won't save you, Bon."
Miss Bonnie's sputtering movements slowed with each remaining spasm. Puppet tried to push itself up, in time to see the man's boot swing at it to knock it under the table. Once more, its camera sputtered upon landing.
Now, it only saw the man's back as he went over to one of the shelves. He pulled down a white box with a red cross on it. Puppet's internal memory quickly matched it to a file.
Medical aid being given.
Activating standby.
It could only watch as the man knelt down beside Miss Bonnie, his back still to Puppet. He pulled out several thick pieces of white cloth and began to stash them inside the suit and around Miss Bonnie's neck.
"I tried the nice way," the man said. "I was a gentleman when you got married, and when he disappeared, I stuck around, waiting for my chance."
He wrapped a bit of gauze around her neck, tightening it just hard enough to elicit another painful noise from Miss Bonnie.
"But you hurt me, Bon. You hurt me real good, and I just can't take it anymore. This place reminds me too much of what I could have had..."
Puppet heard the delight creep into his voice.
"...And I'll tear it down through what you love most."
Whatever the man was doing, he wasn't helping. The oil puddle only grew bigger as he worked. Miss Bonnie barely moved anymore.
"Every parent will fear this place. They'll fear for their children. And if there's any such thing as an afterlife, you'll spend yours finally understanding my pain."
Puppet's cameras went out for a moment as it tried to override its system.
Activating bwickes_personal.
ERROR: Cannot activate while medical aid is in progress.
Accessing override.
ERROR: Cannot activate bwickes_personal.
Access code required.
Input operator ID:
Input access code:
ERROR: Unable to input access code.
AI override attempting to access.
Getting username and access code…
Accessing hidden files…
File found.
Input operator ID: fwickes1966
Input access code: OURDREAM_NEVERDIED1967
Would you like to save this username and access code for future use?
Y/N
Y
Username and passcode saving…
Username and passcode saved.
Override in process…
By the time the updates finished, Puppet's screen returned to the camera view. The man now stood over Miss Bonnie, who had gone still. He set the tool down beside her and headed for the door.
Puppet dragged itself over to Miss Bonnie. She stared up at the ceiling, though something about her face looked different. Before it could take in any detail, the sound of retreating footsteps caught its attention then. It turned around in time to see the man pull his hat down over his eyes as he made his way into the dining room.
All it ever saw of his face was his wide, triumphant smile.
Puppet's LED eyes dimmed, then flickered at the man's retreating back.
It heard his breath hitch, then the start of an attempted sob as he approached his colleagues.
Miss Bonnie made a soft sound, forcing Puppet to look back at her. It examined her face carefully. Her cheeks shone with tears and the red oil. The oil itself started to congeal and dry. The skin over her endoskeleton looked lighter. Her lips barely moved, until they stopped on a final word never spoken. And her eyes…
They looked different, as though something in them slowly faded away.
Puppet moved its arms around her shoulders and rested its head against hers, helping her in the only way it knew how.
It waited for her to speak, to move, even for more shine to leave her eyes.
The only movement it took in was the red oil creeping over the black and white tiles.
From the dining room, it faintly heard the man talking to his redheaded partner. It only caught a few words here and there, but the grimness in their tones rang clearly.
Kids stay outside...paramedics...did what I could…
Puppet remained still, its arms still tightly wrapped around Miss Bonnie's shoulders. It lifted its head only enough to stare at the red oil pooling around them.
Oil that once kept Miss Bonnie functioning.
Engage personality_test.
Processing new information.
She stopped functioning, it realized.
No matter how tightly it held her, how it tried to make her smile, it couldn't make her function again.
It couldn't...fix her.
Activating emotional_algorithm.
Determining factors.
Processing emotional output…
ERROR: Unable to determine appropriate output.
Too many competing factors.
Retrying…
ERROR: Unable to determine appropriate output.
Too many competing factors.
Retrying…
ERROR: Emotional output overload.
Shutting down...