When Oswald opened the door, he saw Jeff holding a screwdriver and a toolkit. He was looking at something Oswald couldn't see. At first, Oswald thought Jeff didn't hear him.
"Hey, kid," Jeff grumbled, turning his head to Oswald. He beckoned him to step in. Oswald did so, even though he was a little confused. That's when he saw it.
Jeff was working on a golden rabbit animatronic. It was huge, towering over Oswald and Jeff, its eyes were green and there was a purple bowtie on its neck. The thing's mouth looked like it was stuck in a permanent grin and was slightly hanging open.
"What is that thing?" Oswald asked, staring at the rabbit. Jeff slung his arm around the yellow thing's shoulder.
"I'm trying to refurbish Jeff's Pizza," Jeff revealed. "Those arcade machines outside are part of the refurbishment. I bought 'em in an auction. Super cheap too."
Oswald wondered if Jeff had gotten scammed. Something told him getting arcade machines for a cheap price was too good to be true.
"But what's with the golden rabbit?"
Jeff smiled. It was the only time Oswald saw Jeff smile. "This thing is called Spring Bonnie. It was part of this super popular pizza restaurant back in the 80s. It was called Freddy Fazbear's Pizza." He looked a little uncomfortable, maybe nervous, for a moment. "But it closed down. Fazbear Entertainment released all rights to the animatronics so anyone can use 'em now. I got Spring Bonnie in the auction too. Trying to get him to sing and dance. Maybe even deliver pizza to the tables."
Oswald stared at Spring Bonnie again. He couldn't understand how this thing would be an appealing sight in a pizzeria, or anywhere, as a matter of fact. Something about it was just off. Maybe it was its blank, glassy eyes, maybe it was its creepy, rictus grin, maybe it was just how big it was. Whatever it was, it was uncanny.
Jeff grabbed a remote and flicked a switch on it. "Watch and learn, kid."
A sound rang from a dusty speaker on the wall. It was loud and sounded like something out of a very old video game. Spring Bonnie turned its head in the direction of the speaker, making a slight scraping sound when it did so.
"Well, that's the sound test done," Jeff announced. He flicked another switch. Soft, soothing music came out of the speakers this time. It sounded like the music you could dance to if you wanted to. Spring Bonnie simply sat there, lifeless as the unplugged arcade machines. Jeff narrowed his eyes.
"He's supposed to dance," Jeff growled. "Why isn't he dan-"
Suddenly, all the lights in the building went out and Oswald couldn't see anything. He heard Jeff grumbling and fiddling with something. After a few seconds, the lights went back on. Jeff sighed and looked at Oswald, closing a panel on the wall. "Sorry, kid. Lights go out here all the time. Gotta get that…"
Jeff trailed off and Oswald noticed the distressed look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Spring Bonnie's gone."
"Oswald?!"
Sarah and Millie kept calling Oswald's name in vain as they walked in the pouring rain. They couldn't find him. After they realised Oswald was missing, they began to go around the neighbourhood, desperately trying to find him. They asked other neighbours if they saw him, but they said they didn't. So Sarah and Millie had no idea where he was and they were getting nervous.
Sarah bit her nails. "Oh, God. What if he's lost? What if he got hit by a car?"
Millie placed her hand on Sarah's shoulders and sighed, though she was internally panicking. "I don't think he would get hit by a car. He seems smart. Smart enough to avoid crossing on the road without looking both ways."
The two walked in silence, looking all over the place, trying in vain to find Oswald. And yet, they still couldn't find him.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a house. They were tired, so they took a breather. Sarah looked at the house. It was Oswald's. She could tell by the dirty, faded paint-job on the top half of the house.
Sarah sadly bowed her head. "We've been going in a circle. What now? Think, think…"
Millie thought as well. Soon, a thought crossed her mind.
"The shops," she announced. "He wanted to go to the shops."
Sarah snapped her fingers. "That's it! We need to go there, r-"
Sarah stopped when she heard something. Something inside the house. She looked up at Oswald's window and saw some kind of shadow. It had to be Oswald.
"He's back!" Sarah had never been so relieved. She dashed towards the door, accidentally shoving Millie into the fence, and opening it and running in. Millie, clutching her arm in pain, followed as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Sarah had slammed the door shut. It was a habit of hers, one that could be very inconvenient. Millie slammed into the door and stumbled.
"What?!" She shrieked. She banged on the door. No response.
"Open the door!" Mille banged on the door a few more times. Still nothing. Millie dug her fingernails into her hands. The idiot. She had shut her out in the damp, pouring rain. As she clenched her teeth and pulled her hoodie further over her head, a thought crossed her mind.
Had Sarah shut her out and hurt her on purpose?
In the midst of her rage and misery, she decided 'yes'. Reaching this conclusion only made Millie angrier. Sarah was just like the rest of the people in her school. Just like the people who called her 'Dracula's Daughter'. It was a bit of a shame too. When they talked, despite their differences, Millie was actually considering the possibility of Sarah being a friend. But, she was wrong. She should have seen it coming really. Sarah's obsession with beauty should have tipped Millie off to her shallowness.
Millie soon realised that thinking about this wouldn't get her in the house. There's gotta be a way in the back, she thought. She began to walk to the back of the house, but then heard something. Some kind of giggling. She turned around, a little unnerved. She only saw one thing.
It was so odd that, at first, Millie didn't know what it was. It looked like some bipedal bear, slouched over. It looked like it had seen better days, judging by how bits of its purple and white paint-job were turning grey and old. Even still, there was a creepy smile on its face. Its blue eyes were staring into space, almost looking deep in thought.
Millie felt a little creeped out but quickly calmed herself. It's just some stupid bear. Doesn't explain why it's here, but whatever.
She turned around, but then heard another sound. This one was some kind of scraping. She looked back and saw that the bear was still sitting there, slouched. However, something was wrong. Had it… moved slightly?
Millie decided it wasn't worth getting worried about and continued walking. Finally, she found an unlocked door that, judging by its location and the layout of the house, led to the kitchen. She guessed that's where Oswald got out of the house in the first place.
"Finally." Millie was about to open the door when she heard something else. There was someone behind her. Millie was almost too afraid to look behind her. But she did.
The bear stood behind her, towering over her. Its blue eyes were now permanently fixed on her and its grin was even larger and creepier. Its stomach had opened, revealing what was inside it; something large enough to hold someone in it. Millie wanted to scream, but she couldn't. Her voice felt caught in her throat. She couldn't do anything.
Until the bear grabbed her and threw her into its stomach.
Sarah looked around the house. She couldn't find Oswald anywhere in the house. He must have been hiding, trying very hard not to be found. Once Sarah found him, she was going to send him into his room for the rest of time she and Millie were here.
Come to think of it, where was Millie?
Sarah looked at the door and cursed loudly. She had accidentally locked her out. A stupid habit of hers.
"Don't worry, Millie!" She called. "I'll just unloc-"
She heard the sound of something breaking upstairs in Oswald's parents' room.
Sarah ran up and gasped when she saw what was there.
There, standing in the room, was an animatronic. It towered over Sarah by a few good feet. It was some kind of young woman that looked like a clown. She had a long neck, red ponytails and a red skirt. It looked beautiful, in a strange sort of way. Sarah stared, frightened. What was this thing? After a few seconds of silence, the clown smiled.
"Greetings," she spoke, her metallic voice sounding similar to that of a young woman's. "I am Eleanor."