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MarimbaBuddy: Oh, my. St. Louis. A rather interesting location pick, don't you think? ;)
It's too early in your new work to say for sure, but already you seem to be more comfortable with your new setup. That's the problem with the way TFC ended: it's so open-ended with many unanswered questions that it's difficult to come up with something good that actually makes sense, which is partially why my main focus was on Sammy instead.
Anyway, good luck with your new story.
Yeah, it is interesting, as if Charlie wanted to get as far from Hurricane as possible. Thanks, by the way. I feel a lot more comfortable with this than the last one.
The car drove down the narrow road. There was a sidewalk to the left of the car, where unlit lamp posts stood tall beside a couple of brick houses. There were four people in the car: Carlton, John, Charlie, and Jessica.
"I mean, are you sure this is a good idea?" Charlie asked. "You know, going to this theme park?"
Jessica smiled. "Yeah, of course. Most of us want to go. Think of it this way: if we find anything out of the ordinary, we would be the first to know because we would actually be looking for it," she said.
"Huh, I never thought about it that way." Charlie looked down the road, watching as it slowly widened, and she saw a fork in the road, which only had two directions: forward, and left. "I think we're here." Charlie steered the car to the left, watching it turn and go down a short road before finally entering a large parking lot. In fact, this might have been the largest parking lot she's ever seen. "I don't think I've seen a parking lot this big," Charlie said.
"It must be really popular for it to be this big," John said. The parking lot was filled with cars and trucks. There were motorcycles and bicycles secured to the metal fence that surrounded the parking lot with chains and locks. Charlie drove over to a spot that was open, which was three rows away from the front, and she stopped the car, shutting off the engine. He looked out the window, but he couldn't see much from his angle.
"Alright. If any of you want to bring flashlights or anything else, now is the best time," she said. Charlie opened the glove compartment of the car and took out four flashlights. One of them was dented; they were made of metal and all had bevels at the end. "These flashlights are the heavy-duty ones, the kind that you hit people over the head with," she said.
"Oh dear," Carlton said from the back seat. "I'm starting to think this isn't a good idea."
"You said we should go, so don't give me that," Charlie growled. She then gave a flashlight to John, Jessica, and finally, Carlton. She put the last one in her side pocket. "Those are the only ones I have. Besides, better safe than sorry. Are you all ready?" Charlie asked, having a tint of nervousness in her voice.
"Yeah," John said. The others nodded. Charlie forced a smile as she stepped out of the car, landing on the concrete with her combat boots. She looked down, coughing a little as the dust from the impact went up into the air and she breathed it in. The others got out of the car, closing the doors. John walked over, eyeing Charlie.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, this is our last chance to go back," Charlie said.
John shook his head. "Come on, don't be a wimp," he said. Charlie nodded, reaching for her back pocket and counting her money.
"Okay, so all of you put twenty dollars on the hood of the car," Charlie walked over and placed a $20 bill on the hood of her car.
"What is this for?" Jessica asked.
"It's for the admission tickets," Charlie said. John nodded and he put a $20 note down on top of the bill Charlie placed.
"Oh, that's actually a good idea," Carlton said. "Though, that would leave ten dollars, wouldn't it?"
"Don't worry about it. I'll pay it," Charlie said. Carlton nodded and he placed down a $20 bill. Jessica did as well. Charlie finally put down a $10 bill and bundled up all the money, putting it in her right pocket. "Okay. Let's head on in." The group walked toward the front entrance; the entire park was surrounded with a wall made of offwhite concrete that had a pattern at the top of it that made it seem almost like a castle. This wall formed a large circle that the park was contained in.
"Wow," Carlton remarked in awe. "This park must be huge. Now I really want to check it out," he said. He turned to the front entrance; the wall turned into four arches, with large brick spikes at the top of the arch—spikes that are usually found at the tops of castles. The arches themselves had a checker-like pattern, alternating between white and a desaturated yellow. There stood gates at the arches, where one would presumably buy tickets.
The four walked up to the front gate, where a young man with the name tag "ALAN" stood behind a counter. He turned to them, smiling just faintly. "Hello, welcome to Fredbear's Fun Park. If you would all like tickets, it would cost you all ninety dollars," he said.
Charlie nodded. She dug into her pocket and got out the $90 that she had collected before. "Here," she said, her hand shaking just a little as she handed it over to him. He took the money and put it inside a drawer, and then he handed Charlie four tickets.
"Well, these are tickets. Don't lose them, and have fun," he said. The gate opened up, and Charlie was the first to step inside the park; Carlton, Jessica, and John would then follow her inside. When they stepped inside, they found themselves in a large open area. The floor was made of concrete tiles, having a very similar visual appearance to a sidewalk, just more grey. There were a couple of benches around. Just ahead of them stood a large backlit display of the map of the park. On either side of that display, there were hedges that a tree grew out of, each having patches of grass with flowers. Lamp posts surrounded the hedge.
"I guess we should have a look and see what the park is like," John said. He approached the display and stared at it; the entire park was surrounded by a large forest. A green star showed where he was: the show stage and lobby, which was small compared to the other sections of the park. And it was obvious that the park was massive. To the left of the main area stood what appeared to be one of those towns you would see in those wild west films—dark-colored buildings, the ground made of sand, long dirt pathways. Above that was what looked like a harbor that used a wooden deck. There appeared to be a ship attached to the dock. Just north of that stood what looked like a huge forest that only had three buildings, and a large lake to the right. The other side of the map was quite similar.
"I can't figure out what any of this means," Charlie said. "Want to shoot any guesses?"
"I would love to," Carlton said as he stood up, staring at the huge map. "I'm sure the area that has the big dock and the ship is where we see Foxy," he suggested. Then, he backed away. "Yeah, that's the only thing I can come up with."
"You know what, forget about it," Jessica said. "We are in the park right now. If we want to figure out what the places are, why don't we just go to them?"
"You're right," Charlie said. "Let's go check out this show area first." She turned around and walked to the side, past the hedges. On the other side of the map display was a large open area, and then, several rows of seats with chairs on them. Then, right in front of those chairs, an elevated stage with three animatronics performing a song: Fredbear, who had a purple tie and top hat, and Spring Bonnie. Both of these animatronics were made of the same material that would be found in a plush or doll. Then, there was another dancing animatronic: Chica, though this one was different. For one, her bib seemed to be cut short, as if she wasn't an animatronic but instead some kind of model. Then, there was the actual text on her bib, which no longer read "LET'S EAT!" but instead, "LET'S PARTY!" Her eyes were green, but the most glaring difference was what material she was made of—not fur, but shiny plastic.
They continued their performance. John looked at the seats—several people were seated, some adults, but mostly kids. John then noticed something else, something that he completely missed when he first observed the stage: a huge Freddy head that loomed over the stage. The head's mouth was gaping open, completely hollowed out, and it was from within this mouth that the animatronics performed, with spotlights shining on them and everything else.
"This is so odd," Jessica said. "But I like it. We should have a closer look," she said. Jessica walked over to one of the chairs, watching the movements of the animatronics and listening to their voices. It felt like the animatronics weren't just playing back something that was pre-recorded, but instead, they were actively singing, as if they were in the moment, though their voices felt natural, almost human. She couldn't help but stare, watching their fluid movements. She watched Bonnie play his guitar, she watched Freddy sing a tune she didn't know the name of, and she watched Chica dance around effortlessly and fluidly.
Jessica would have gotten lost if it wasn't for John grabbing her hand and pulling her away. "Jessica? You've been staring at them for several minutes," he said.
"Minutes?" she asked, swinging around and meeting his gaze. She frowned. "I've been watching them for only a few seconds," she said.
"Sure," John said. "I get it—they look impressive." He looked to the left, seeing a small shop next to the stage.
"You don't get it, I'm worried," Jessica said. "The animatronics seem too human," she said. She then turned to Charlie, who seemed to share a similarly grim look.
"I'm worried too," Charlie said.
"What, you aren't suggesting that those animatronics are possessed, are you?" Carlton asked. "Come on, you're just crazy. Take off the tinfoil hat for once, would you two?"
"I'm starting to agree with Carlton," John said. "Just because an animatronic looks advanced doesn't mean it is possessed. I mean, it has been over twelve years since we have been to a place like Freddy's. A lot has changed," he said. He wasn't even sure if he believed what he was saying, but deep down he wanted everything to be fine. All he wanted was to hang around someplace new with his friends, and the worst thing for him would be for them to stumble into a terrible situation. He eyed Charlie again. "Hey, there's a shop over there. Let's check it out," he said. The others followed him into the shop.
The floor had a small checker tile, the walls being plastered in gray and having a blue-and-green checker style, like the one in Freddy's. There were several stands that showed the items on sale: action figures of the animatronics, plushies, vinyl figures of the mascot cupcake Carl. On one shelf, there was a collection of digital media—including VHS copies of the show "Fredbear and Friends." There were posters of the animatronics all over the walls.
"Is this meant to be some sort of nostalgia overload?" Jessica asked. She looked around the shop, glancing at the various items. Charlie walked up to the stand with the plushies and stared at them, searching through the variants of the animatronics. She walked up to one of them and grabbed one—it was of Bonnie.
"They look great, don't they?" John asked, walking up to her. "They cost a bit more then you would expect, but that's probably because they put more work into them. This really seems faithful, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Charlie said. "A bit too faithful, don't you think?" She tried to tune out all the noise of the kids playing outside and all the commotion, and she heard something—something very faint, perhaps a humming noise. So faint that someone might not even notice it if they weren't looking. "Do you hear that?" she asked.
"Hear what?" he asked.
"That humming noise, do you hear it?"
"No, it's probably the fan if you hear it. You've always had better hearing than me," he said. He picked up the Foxy plush and stared at it, feeling how soft it was. "Jason would love to have this."
Charlie just chuckled. "He isn't ten anymore. He's almost a teenager," she said. She looked down, having almost forgotten the Bonnie plush in her hand. "I think this one reminds me of Theodore."
"You mean that old and rotting animatronic doll your father made?" John asked.
"Well, yeah, but I have better memories. It's really the only thing I had left of him after he took his life," she said, her voice muffled a little. She put the plush back and met John's gaze. "I just don't know why he did it."
John gave her a puzzled look. "He said that he wanted to be with you again," he said. "Do you have any idea what that could mean?"
"No," Charlie said, looking away. "I'm just as confused as you are."
"I think he is implying that you died, but then he mentioned you in that letter," he said. "God, it is like trying to understand old English," he remarked.
"It sure is," Charlie said. She walked over to Carlton, who was with Jessica. They were staring at the action figures. They had an unusual amount of detail on them. The eyes were quite glossy, the teeth shiny. The arms and legs moved easily, and if one were to look closely, the joints seemed to be made of metal.
"These things are really detailed. I've never seen better detail work in my life," Carlton said. He picked up a figure of Freddy and handed it to Charlie. "Look at it for yourself."
Charlie grabbed it and had a look at it, though her eyes had trouble focusing on it. It seemed almost blurry to an extent. "I can't really seem to... see it," Charlie said. After a moment, though, her eyes finally managed to focus on the figurine. She smiled. "Yeah, you're right," Charlie said. "This is really detailed. I can't believe it."
John nodded. "I'm impressed with everything here."
"Cool," Jessica said. "So, are you three actually going to buy anything here?"
"I am," John said, holding out the Foxy plush. "I'm gonna give this to Jason on his birthday. I think he'll like it." He then walked over to the counter, and he saw a young woman behind the counter with the name tag 'ALICE.' He placed the plush on the counter. "I would like to buy this." He then reached into his wallet and produced a $5 bill and a $20 bill, placing them on the counter. She took the money and put it in the cash register.
"It's all yours. Have a nice day," Alice said.
"You too," John said as he took back the plush. Then, he turned to Charlie. "Hey, where am I gonna put the stuff I buy?"
"There is a shopping bag in the front," she said.
"Wait, are you serious?"
"Yeah," Charlie said. She walked to the front of the shop and grabbed a vinyl bag. "Here, put it inside here and I'll hold onto it for you."
"Okay," John said. He, as well as Carlton and Jessica, walked to the front of the shop. He dropped the plush into the bag, and Charlie swung the bag over her shoulder and she stepped outside. The others followed her out. "So... what now?"
"I'm not sure," Charlie said. "We have a big day ahead of us." She stood right next to a wall—signaling the border between the stage area and the next section of the park. A large opening was in the wall. Looking up, she saw that there was a sign that read 'VINNIE'S WILD WEST.' She turned to the others, which nodded silently in agreement. "I suppose we should go here."
A police car rolled up to the station. The front door swung open, and Clay Burke stepped out of the vehicle, slamming the door shut behind him. He then walked inside the station. "Hey, Chief Burke," a young woman in a suit greeted her.
"Good afternoon, Delia," he said as he walked over to the water machine and poured out a paper cup. "And before you tell me, yes, I'm extremely late. I just had some family matters that I needed to attend to," he said. "I apologize for the lateness."
"It's fine, it isn't like I'm above you," Delia said. "However, Mark wanted to tell you about something that happened in New Harmony last night," she said. Her voice almost sounded painful, like she was choosing the right words to say.
"New Harmony?" Clay asked, tilting his head. "I haven't heard of that town since..." he almost finished the sentence, but he stopped himself. Fredbear's, he realized. That was where Fredbear's Family Diner was built. A chill traveled down his spine as he realized that what happened last year could be happening all over again in a different town. He swallowed hard as he met her gaze. "I mean, I haven't heard of the town in years." He looked back at the water machine, realizing that he spilled his cup over his sleeve. He sighed, grabbing a paper towel and trying to dry off his sleeve before he took a sip. He then turned to face Delia again. "Hey, where is Mark, anyway?"
"He's in the back. Follow me," she said. She then led Clay into the office room where Mark stood. "I'll leave you both to it," she said as she stepped outside, closing the door.
"Thanks," Clay said before then turning to Mark, the man who was in the office. He wore a business suit, and his skin tone was darker than Clay's. "I'm Clay Burke, the Hurricane Police Chief. What could I do for you?"
"You worked on the Freddy case, didn't you?" Mark asked.
"I did," Clay said. He felt his heart pounding faster and faster. "Hey, who are you, anyway? Are you from another department?"
"No, of course not. I'm just a private detective, a friend of someone who disappeared within the walls of that pizzeria all those years ago,' Mark revealed. He cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "You know about Fredbear's Family Diner, don't you? Well, six months ago, Fazbear Entertainment decided to build a large theme park around the old diner. The company invested millions of dollars into the construction of that park."
"Millions?" Clay asked, intrigued. "I'm sure the company made a bit of revenue from pizza sales, but certainly not that much," he said. "Though, I doubt you brought me here just to talk about the finances of this park. Am I correct?"
Mark sighed. "Unfortunately, you are correct," he said. He handed Clay Burke a newspaper. "Last night, the New Harmony Police Department received a call from a worker named Matthew Stephens, who was unloading a repaired animatronic onto the stage inside the park, but he noticed that the security guard wasn't on duty. When he went to the office, he found a bloody animatronic with the mutilated corpse of the security guard shoved inside the animatronic. I don't know how it is possible to fit someone inside an animatronic. Anyway, another animatronic chased the worker to his death by suffocation."
Clay sighed, looking down at his desk. He finally sat down. "Look, are you suggesting that the animatronics are killing security guards and stuffing their bodies into animatronic suits?" he asked.
"I'm not suggesting that," Mark said. "The company confirmed that one of the animatronics murdered the security guard, and footage from inside the office shows that the workman was also killed by the animatronic. There is no denying it. The company suspects that someone tampered with the animatronic, and so they fired the other security guard. Now, there is a vacancy that the company needs to fill, so they are willing to hire anyone who can handle a weapon."
Clay shook his head, looking back at the desk. "I'm sorry, but I can't do anything. This is Hurricane, not New Harmony. I have absolutely no right to investigate something that is outside my jurisdiction," Clay said.
"Damn it, I'm not asking you to conduct a legal investigation. I'm asking you to figure out what the hell is going on in there. I want answers just as much as you do," Mark said. "Please, you have to understand."
"Fine," Clay Burke said. "I'll consider it. Now, please leave. I have work to do," he finished. He stepped out of the door, keeping it open to allow Mark to leave. He then went to his office, sitting down and picking up the phone, dialing the number to his house. Carlton, you better answer.
However, there was no answer. Great, I guess I'll have to play the waiting game.
The group stepped inside what was called 'Vinnie's Wild West,' and immediately, the atmosphere changed. Instead of them being in a temperate area, they suddenly felt much warmer, like they were in a desert. They stood on a dirt path, and the rest of the ground was just sand. There stood a fake cactus off to the side. There were several buildings to the left and right of them, all of them having the style of buildings, stores, and houses from the Wild West era. "Wow, this just feels so real," Jessica said, feeling the change in temperature almost instantly. "How do they do that?"
"I'm not sure," John said. Several people walked past them, both kids and adults. Carlton, John, Jessica, and Charlie then walked forward, turning at a lamp post. The lamps themselves looked different—powered by oil. He looked down the path, seeing a clock tower ahead of him. "Is this back to the future or something?"
"Maybe," Charlie said. She turned to the other side, seeing a curved path. She saw a couple of kids fighting with toy swords. "So, which way should we go? Should we go down the direction of the clock tower, or should we go straight?"
"I think we should go to the clock tower," Carlton said. Jessica then nodded.
"Then it's decided," Charlie said. They all walked down the path that led to the clock tower. They passed by several shrubs, lamps, fake cacti, and others, and after turning another corner, they found themselves at the front of the clock tower. However, it had no clear entrance. "Oh, that's strange. How do we get inside?"
"Hey look, there's something over there," Jessica said, pointing to a wooden building right next to the clock tower—having a sign at the entrance titled 'VINNIE'S VINDALOO.'
"Let's check it out." They all walked towards the entrance, and right inside, there was a stage with one animatronic on it. The animatronic was plastic, painted in white but having black spots all around it like a cow would. It had a snout similar to the one Freddy had, but the snout was instead pink and had two nostrils that were pronounced and black, and red cheeks similar to those on Chica. It had red and blue eyes, and it had horns on the top of its head. It seemed to wear the outfit of a police officer commonly worn in old western films.
"I'm guessing you're Vinnie?" Charlie asked. The animatronic nodded, stepping closer, finally speaking.
"Yes, I am," the animatronic said, having a clear southwestern American male accent, probably 40 years old. "This town ain't big enough for the two of us," the animatronic said again before raising his hand, and in that hand was what appeared to be a pistol. Charlie jumped backward at the sight of it. "HOLY SHIT!" she shouted out, going to the corner. The animatronic pointed the pistol at her and pulled the trigger, and then a tiny stick popped out of the barrel, unrolling a kind of flag that read the word 'BANG!'
Jessica giggled. "Charlie, it's fine, look!" she said, trying to cover her grin. Charlie opened her eyes, seeing that she obviously was never in danger, and that the animatronic was simply pulling a sort of prank.
"You've got to be kidding me," Charlie said, looking away, gritting her teeth. "I actually fell for that?" she asked.
"You did," John said. "Come on," he said, getting her on her feet again. "The look on your face was funny," he said.
"Shut up!" Charlie growled, furrowing her brows. She turned back to Vinnie, who somehow had managed a smile on his face.
"I wasn't going to kill you. But of course, that doesn't mean I can't!" he said sarcastically.
"Oh, just shut up!" She made a fist, about to punch the animatronic square in the jaw when Jessica grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"Please, don't do that. We are on camera, and if you break the animatronics, we'll probably get banned from the park."
Charlie sighed. "Fine," she said. There were two rooms, one to the left of her, and one to the right. "Which way should we go?"
"Let's go right," John suggested. They all nodded in agreement, and they walked to the room on the right, which was dark. The floor was made of wood. The room they had was small, like they were on a balcony. The area was cut in half by a rail. There was a rack to the side that had a revolver strung to it, as well as a pack of foam darts. On the other side of the room, there were a collection of glowing red targets.
"Do you know how to play this?" Vinnie asked as he stepped inside the room.
"I don't," John said, staring into his eyes. "How do we play?"
"It's simple, you just pick up the gun, and you shoot as many of the targets as you can. If you hit enough of them, you'll win a prize!"
John chuckled. "Oh, that's easy—"
"No," Carlton said, putting his hand down. "This one's for me. You can have your shot next time." He walked over to the rack, but upon closer inspection, it was more like a vending machine, with a slot for money. "It looks like five dollars will give me five of these darts," Carlton said.
"That's a great observation," Vinnie said. "Now, would you like to test your luck?" he asked.
"Of course," Carlton said. He reached into his wallet and produced a $5 bill, putting it into the machine, and then, a cartridge of five darts appeared at the bottom slot. He reached down and picked it up, as well as the revolver. He swung open the revolver like he would with an actual revolver; it felt like a real revolver, having the correct weight and sounds. "Hey, this is like an actual revolver. This is awesome," he said.
"The revolver is real, it has only been modified to shoot darts," Vinnie said.
"That's cool!" He loaded the darts into the drum, and then he closed it and spun it several times. Then, he cocked the hammer with his hands. "I'll show you how it's done." He aimed at one of the targets and pulled the trigger, and then, the dart flew out of the barrel, landing on the target, and the target stopped glowing.
"You got one! Keep it up," Vinnie said, like he was some sort of cheerleader.
"Alright, relax," he said. He cocked his revolver again and aimed at another target, and the target disappeared as it landed. "Wow, look at me."
"Wow, you're good at this. Do you know how to use a gun?" Charlie asked.
"Of course, my dad taught me," Carlton said. He aimed his gun at another target and shot at it, the dart hitting it and causing the target to flicker off.
"You're a natural!" Vinnie exclaimed. "Go on, try another one."
Carlton smiled. He aimed the revolver at another target and pulled the trigger. The dart sprang out of the revolver, slamming into the target.
"You're on a roll. Just one more shot and you'll win the grand prize!" Vinnie exclaimed.
He was now on his last target. He cocked the revolver and aimed at the last target, and he shot a dart at it, but it missed. Then, all the targets started glowing red again. "Shoot!"
"Well, you did a good job. Most people don't earn the grand prize," Vinnie said. "But, since you did so well, I'm going to give you a plush... of myself!" Vinnie exclaimed.
"Really?" Carlton asked. "Well, I'm not really that into plushies, but it would be nice to have one as a reminder of this place."
"Then come with me!" Vinnie said. He walked to the stage and into the backroom, where there were several prizes. He reached into the prize box and pulled out a plush of himself. He turned around and handed it to Carlton. "Here you go. Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Carlton said, smiling. "You know, I've never met an animatronic as alive as you."
"Well, that makes me feel unique and special," Vinnie said. Then, he raised his fake pistol and pulled the trigger, and the little flag popped out from the barrel which read 'BANG!' Carlton just smiled. "Goodbye!"
"I'll see you later," Carlton said. He waved to him before exiting the backstage room, walking up to Charlie and the others.
"Wow, you got a plush of Vinnie? I didn't see that one in the shop," Jessica said.
"Well, I guess it's one of the things that you can only win," Carlton said. "Still, it was a lot of fun."
"I honestly never knew you could use a gun," John said. He then walked out of Vinnie's Vindaloo with the others. "Anyway... who is ready to finish exploring this little place?"
"Little?" Charlie asked. "John, this place is huge! How could you call it small?"
"I'm referring to the area of the park we are in, which is called Vinnie's Wild West," John said.
"Oh," Charlie said. "Well, I'm pretty excited." She smiled, looking at the rest of the area. "Still, I'm really curious about the harbor we saw on the map."
"Oh, you are? I am dying to see that place!" Jessica said. John grabbed Charlie's hand and he walked off into a corner somewhere.
"Hey, Charlie... this place has me worried," he said.
"Oh? I thought you told me that I was all crazy before," she said.
"Yeah..." John said. "That is true, but I don't think we are really safe. When I saw that animatronic, he felt... childish. The way he pulled that prank on you, the way that he is actually able to interact with you?"
Charlie's eyes widened. "Are you saying that Vinnie is possessed?" she asked. "But, the animatronic actually acts like the character, like the animatronic is programmed that way. If Vinnie is possessed, what could that mean?"
'Well," John began, but he felt his heart skip a beat. "Maybe the park is responsible for this. They are obviously programmed to limit the memory of the spirits inside the animatronics," John said. "If that's the case... then we're dealing with something we might not be able to handle.
Charlie backed away, shivering a little. "I don't know what to do."
Thanks for reading this. This chapter was a lot of fun to write, which is why I spent so much time on it. I rewrote many scenes just because I wasn't satisfied with them, but regardless, here is the long-awaited third chapter. Just so you know, I have to give credit where credit is due. The "Fredbear's Fun Park" is actually a map for the game Minecraft released in 2017 by a fellow named The Iron Commander.