Author's note:
Gone for a while now. I've spent sometimes in the countryside, where people doesn't crowd as much as in the city. And you know me, I'm very lazy. So I just used all my time grinding games.
Now that I'm home now, back to writing.
Chapter 14
A Meal At Freddy's
*thump*
Sounded like something heavy dropped on the desk. As Rudy looks up, she sees a dark cyan, thick book, which title labelled "The Legends of The Ancient Greeks". At first, Rudy doesn't seem to pay attention at the book much, untill she notices Houser, who's standing right in front of her, waiting for her to mark the book.
"I didn't know you also read these kinds of books?", she asked.
"I uh...", the boy blushes a bit. "I just find it interesting. Yeah.".
Rudy giggled, while the procedure is being done, she asked Houser some questions.
"So, I heard that your family is planning on visiting your grandma next week.", Rudy said.
"Really? I didn't even know.", Houser seemed surprised, his eyes widened for a short moment. "But I don't want to go yet."
"The countryside is more peaceful than here, in this library. That's why I loved going to the countryside, dear.", she reasoned.
"I know but, grandma is my only acquaintance who lives there.", he said.
"You don't any have friends there?", Rudy asked, concernedly.
"No one besides Jeremy and my new friend Jack.", Houser said, as he looked to the left, where the big and wide entrance can be seen.
"Oh, so you've got a new friend?", she cheerily asked.
Rudy silent for a moment, the procedure is half way done. Thinking about the situation Houser went through at the moment, Rudy has never seen any child like him before. Not because of his introversion, personality, health conditions, but something else that yet cannot understandable. Mind is thinking, but the hands are still doing the procedure. At that moment, Rudy noticed two black circles under the boy's glasses.
Strange, did he stay up late?
A thought rendered in her head. Adding more to the abnormal, those dark circle have been there for years now.
Does he has sleep deprivation?
Kids at this age shouldn't be experiencing that yet.
Why didn't he go to a doctor?
It's been years, it should've disappeared now.
Another question is going to be ask, but only to be interfered by the completion of the procedure.
"Here you go.", Rudy said, as she push the book on the table to Houser. The book is quite heavy for it's typical size.
Houser promptly put the book into his backpack, before waving Rudy goodbye and head outside.
Wait, where's Jeremy? The boy's mind now switched to his friend, who is missing at the moment and can't be found. But before he starts to go and look for his friend, two figures can already be seen at the corner of the library. Seems like they are walking and having a chat with each other, they also seems very familiar too.
"Jeremy? Jack?", Houser shouted in anxiousness.
The two boys stopped, they stared at Houser for a short moment, before broke out a smile and headed towards him.
"Hi Houser.", greeted Jack.
"Uh...Hi Jack!.", Houser replied, then turned to Jeremy."I was just started looking for you Jeremy."
Jeremy realised the situation and apologized his friend. "Oh yeah, sorry for leaving without telling ya. I found Jack in the library, so we headed out for some chit chat. He got this really cool 'magic' book that writes cool things inside.", he said, while doing the quote on quote gesture. "But since it is about magic and strange creatures, I don't think the book fits your scientific taste."
Noticed the coincidence, how both him and Jack have "ancient mythology" books, Houser hesitated to told them how he started to have interest in Mythology. "Oh, I've just been reading some articles about mythic creatures on the library's computer too. I also borrowed a book to read at home, one in my bag right now."
"Awesome! Finally something that is not science you liked.", Jack said in relieve.
"Wow, you really like science, huh.", Jack said, raised on of the eyebrows.
Houser nodded. "Y-Yeah, I realized sometimes science can't always helps you in superstitious and paranormals. Some magic wouldn't affect reality much.", he said while tried to make a giggle.
"Yeah, but you still talk like a scientist. Be normal!", Jeremy exlciamed.
"So, where you guys gonna go now?", Jack wondered.
"I don't know. I'm just following Houser.", Jeremy said, then turned to Houser. "You're not gonna research again?".
"N-No. I'm taking a break. I'll use the book I borrowed for info.", he said.
"It's only 9:17 AM. Still early.", Jeremy said, as he looked at his watch.
"O-Oh."
"Wanna go somewhere?", he asked.
"O-Ok.", Houser replied.
Jeremy turned to Jack. Jack can't disagree, he just shrugged in deafeat, it's his friends after all.
"Cool! We go by bike, Jack you have one?", Jeremy asked again.
"Yeah. I used it to go to the library.", he said
"Neat."
Approximately 30 minutes later...
The three boys stand in front of a building.
"Seriously?", Jack said, somewhat disappointed.
The building looked like a some sort of a restaurant, it was big and wide, so another floor wouldn't be needed. Dark gray exterior, in which a black and white grid in the middle stretches along the wall. Big windows shows tables, props, streamers, party decorations, and of course, kids, lots of kids. Nothing much of an impression, but what really caught their eyes is the big and sturdy sigh, hanging on top of the glass entrance.
"FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZERIA"
"W-Why are we here?", Houser asked, confusedly.
"I've just eaten breakfast this morning.", Jack added.
"Oh come on, the pizzas here are really good!", Jeremy justified. "Aside the bad rumors and those creepy animatronics, it's a fine place for its pizza.".
"But we're not hung-", Houser explained, but only to be interrupted by Jeremy himself.
"Yeah yeah I know. We can still order drinks though, and there's arcade games here! Y'all not excited?"
"Well. I don't have money.", Houser argued.
"So do I.", Jack said.
"Don't worry, my treat. I have enough for three of us.", Jeremy confidently said, as he pointed his index finger at his pants pocket.
"Heh. Rich kid.", Jack chuckled.
Houser smiled with him, while Jeremy just shrugged.
"Let's go.", Jeremy motioned.
The three boys pushed the heavy glass door, letting out all the joyful sound of a not-so-horrible distortion between the kids screaming, the dishes being made and served in the kitchen and the music being played by the animatronics. Feels like being in an amusement park.
In front of them, tables and colorful streamers filled half of the view, another half comprises children eating and running around, the few percentage remaining was the animatronics and the background.
(You know what's the FNAF 2 restaurant looked like, use your head to describe the place ;) )
For Jeremy, this is just fine and normal, being an extrovert is an advantage in socializing. He likes hanging out with people regardless of their age. Sometimes even joining in some neighbor pranks, many of them gone wrong though.
For Houser, his reaction is the complete opposite. Not that he's scared being in crowded place, it's just that he doesn't have anyone social skills at all, even lack of common sense. All his time was spent on studying, not hanging out. But since his friends are here with him, Houser feels more comfortable than before.
For Jack, the atmosphere felt awfully familiar. He passed it on, but kept on getting this weird "stay away from the robots" vibe. It's like his natural instinct, but nothing related to genetic. Fine being in a crowd, just not really interested in starting a conversation.
For all of them, the smell of the pizza really did it's job well.
"On second thought.", Jack reconsidered.
Jeremy knew what Jack was talking about, so they all find themselves a table for them. Took them a while "swimming" through the pile of kids and adults, a horrible nightmare for Houser when he has to say "Sorry!" and "Excuse me!" to almost all the people he encountered. Finally, they find a good spot, both "feng shui" and a good lock at the two stages.
The three boys settle down, one is excited, one is familiarized, and one is worried. Just after they adjusted their seat, a waitress already arrived at the table.
"Can I uh...", the waitress paused, looked at the boys one by one, before finishing the question. "...take your order?".
"A small sized Freddy Fazbear pizza and medium sized soda drink please!", Jeremy ordered.
"I'll have some fries 'mam, medium.", Jack beamed.
The waitress then turned to Houser, who's still looking for something to order. He's having trouble with the tangled list from its undistinguishable color display. So many colors, makes him dizzy and unfocussed.
"I'll have the...uh...", the boy's sweating, seems like any decisions which are made by Houser himself mostly impossible, especially when in public.
"It's just food, it's not poisoned ya know.", Jeremy said with his arm cross, giving out the calm and cool facial expression.
While waiting for the kid to pick his order, the waitress couldn't hold the urge to ask anymore. "Shouldn't you kids be with your parents right now?", she asked.
"We're twelve, old enough to not receive any candies from total strangers.", Jeremy reasoned.
The waitress blinked twice, both bewildered astounded. "Hoho! I'm convinced then. You kids sure are daring."
"My dad won't be mad if I came here by myself.", Jack said.
"Oh really? You two are friends a or something? What about you?", the waitress said, pointed her pen at Houser, who's still staring at the menu.
"He's with us, we're all friends", Jeremy beamed.
"M-Miss...", Houser stuttered.
"Yes honey, I've been standing here forever.", the waitress softly replied, attempted to make them laugh, they did chuckled, while Houser just faked it out.
"I'll have the uh... C-Can I not chose to order?", Houser said.
Well, that was surprising.
"Why? You're not hungry?", Jeremy asked, his excitement reduced a bit.
"I-I wanna eat with you guys without ordering food, t-that way it is more economical. B-Besides, I'm not that hungry, a slice of pizza will be e-enough.", Houser explained.
"Wow. 'Economical' ?", Jack remarked, somewhat stunned.
"No no, it's fine honey, you're able to not order. So a small sized Freddy Fazbear pizza, a medium sized soda drink and medium sized fries. Got it, be right back boys.", the waitress noted the order into a small sheets of paper, before heading back to the kitchen.
"Well, you could've ordered, but since it's your choice so I don't mind.", Jeremy said.
"S-Sorry.", Houser apologized. "I brought some juice with me incase I got hungry too.".
"You have one in your backpack?", Jack asked.
Houser nodded.
"Leave it later for dessert.", he said.
"O-Ok.".
Soon, the scream of the children overcomes the peaceful atmosphere around their table, sounds like something interesting will happen. What they noticed the most, though, were the animatronics, briefly standing on a stage right in front of them.
"Why did those things looked like dolls anyways?", Jack asked annoyingly, a great disturbance from their design.
"Maybe that's why they're called 'Toys' ", Jeremy snorted.
"Heck, some are even walking around the building serving dishes and playing with the kids too! Didn't the people heard about the rumors?" Jack added.
"W-What rumors?", Houser curious.
"Well you know, how some teenagers saw them do their things literally like a human at midnight. Not to mention the originals even have their own backlash at the old pizzeria with five children missing and couldn't be found.", he said.
"That serial killer?", Jeremy remarked. "The case left unsolved and the guy is still out there."
"I know right, why even bringing them here. Wasn't six already enough?".
The fact that there's more than five animatronics in the pizza is already mind blowing and unbelievable. How they act like a human, talk like a human and freely move around doing human activities. But rumors are the main reason that this restaurant got so famous.
Of course, from a nerd perspective, it's hard to believe that such robots like that can exist in this time of current technology.
"They don't act like what an A-AI should be." Houser debated.
The two boys silent, both giving Houser a confused stare, the look of disapproval. They're demanding an explanation.
"W-Well, AI stands for Artificial Intelligence.", he defined.
"And... what's that supposed to be?", Jeremy said, waiting for a clearer and more understandable answer.
"I-It's like a program, a computer, but continuously learning by itself. Everything an AI seen w-will be analyzed and learnt quickly.", Houser said.
"Sounds like a person to me.", Jack commented.
"Same.", Jeremy agreed.
"B-But what I found weird is... these kinds of AI is so advanced for the world to even..."
As the boys are discussing, heavy thumping sound vibrate the chair they're seating on. A tall, big and sturdy animatronic is approaching them. It is now right behind Houser.
Houser slowly makes his head turn around while finishing the sentence.
"... catch up."
In front of him,"a light brown animatronic bear, wears a black bow tie and black top hat, carries a microphone in his right hand that we're sure he'd find a creative way to kill you with."But his imagination isn't always right.
The bear, on the other hand, rather a happy and playful expression, he lowered himself and started scanning at the boys, one by one,with narrowed eyes and serious menacing.
Is he always like this?
Houser and his friends just sit there, petrified, immobilized, no single movement is made. Have they even encountered one in their life? Or they just eat in another restaurant? Aside the questions which might be answered later, what to react when a homicidal robot bear standing right in front of you, with a menacing aura?
This goes on for five solid seconds.
Finally, the bear stands up and moves back with an embracement menance. "Where's your parents?", it asked.
Robotic voice echoed throughout each person's eardrum, vibrate in an eerie sensation. But most important is: who's going to answer that?
Jeremy - a boy who is an extrovert that always excited to talk with, but had no social skills with a robot whatsoever.
Jack - a boy who is thoughtful at the moment but suffer psychological trauma from his nightmare friends who somehow looked like the animatronics in the pizzeria.
Houser - a boy who is smart and conditions similar to Jack, but lacks social skills and common senses.
Jeremy thinks he was going to be the one to answer that, since this whole "my treat" thing is his responsibility after all. While Jack was thinking if his nightmarish "friends" have something related to the brown bear. Which leaves Houser, the boy who's being asked, directly.
OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod... The neurons inside his brain is out of control again. The adrenaline inside his body flooded all over the nervous system. Blood pressure is so high that he can feel every beat of his heart. Houser was thinking if he should answer the robot bear's questions, since this whole "eating at a pizzeria full of animatronics" is Jeremy's idea and he used his pocket money so that his friends can have a meal here.
"I... W-We... Uh... Our m-mom...".
Despite all that stuttering, the brown bear still beamed happily, patiently waiting for an answer.
Definitely not letting Houser handling it, so Jeremy has to act now.
"O-Our mom is in the bathroom right now, and she'll be right back.", Jeremy interupted, tried my his hard to make a grin, a fake smile.
"Oh.", the bear enlightened. "That's good to hear. Don't go anywhere until your mom comes back, alright?".
The boys nodded assertively.
The bear then turned around, the kids sighed in relief, but soon ended when he (it) abruptly turned back at them again.
"Oh and one last thing, don't receive candies from total strangers. See you kids around!", and then finally went away.
The boys nodded simultaneously.
The air once again overcomes by the scream of the kids and the music banging throughout the pizzeria.
"W-What was that all about...?", Jack was the first to react, but no one seemed to have the mood to answer. To him, that experience chilled the hell out of his spine, it shouldn't be like this, because he has already encountered "them" before.
"I-I don't... even know. T-That was... What's it called again?", Jeremy was next to respond. To him, carrying the gang is hard to do and should be practiced more often, especially when encountering the robots.
"Houser?", Jack asked, somewhat worried. He looks at the boy in glasses, who's still petrified at the moment, which makes his dark circles highlighted the whole face.
"Yeah. I need to go to.", Houser said without stuttering, then he stands up and walks away.
"W-Wait! Where are you going?", Jeremy dumbfounded.
"To the restroom of course.", he snapped.
Woah, what's with him? Jeremy mumbled.
"But do you know where the restroom is?", he asked, again.
The boy frozed. Right, where was the map again?
Finding the restroom wasn't that hard if you know the map layout, ignore the fact that Houser still has to say "Sorry!" and "Excuse me!" through the crowd of people again. The boy opens the restroom door and closes it immediately, then leaned at it for a while.
What was that feeling? He wondered. A weird feeling, an itchy sensation, which has been tickling him since that robot bear got near him. The more Houser try to recall the situation, the more familiar the bear looked to him. He sure, he firmly sure, he certainly sure, that he has seen that face somewhere before, not a while ago.
It was rather familiar.
What was the name of the robot bear again?
Freddy Fazbear, wasn't it?
A childhood character of every children, well not for him. That's because he didn't use to watch or go to this place so often back then. It was something which he has forgotten, something made him kick in the natural instinct, alerting him to stay away from them.
A forgotten memory.
Nonetheless, the boy needed some quick water refreshment. Houser walked to the sink near by and continuously splashed water into his face. Cool and calm, that's what he felt. Breathing slowly got harder and heavier. Houser looked up to stare at the mirror, the mirror, which logically reflecting the image of an anxious boy, a face of displeasure and uncomfortable.
Suddenly, a toilet door slam shut behind Houser, making the boy shriek, jumped back, slipped and fell on to the wet and moisture brick floor. The sound was very loud and unpredictably closed without acknowledgement. Fortunately, his back absorbed all the force and impact made with the floor, and not the head.
The gap under the toilet stall was wide enough for Houser to get a good and clear look of what, or who is inside. The boy soullessly stared into the gap, while still struggle to take control of the muscle again, especially the leg.
There was nothing inside but an ordinary toilet. Then... how did... The boy wasted no time, hurriedly stood up, tried to gain balance and headed straight for the toilet door like an athlete.
It was locked.
Seems logic, especially at this moment.
Houser just frozed, death staring at the door knob. "What? Are you kidding me right now!?", he whined, somewhat irritated, while trying as hard as he can turning that knob.
After several attempts, the door is still locked, Houser gave up, leaned at the door, and slowly sits down, hopelessly. The only thing to do is keeping staring at that gap, and hoping someone would come here and open the door.
He couldn't scream, fear overcame his voice, but tried to.
"HELLO! Jeremy! Jack! Anyone?!", he shouted loudly in desperation.
Ligh started to flicker, sound started to fade and the world started to shrink.
Abnormally, a cloud of dark mist slowly expand within the toilet stall, radiate throughout the gap and the top of the stall, towards Houser at an considerable speed. He even assure that there's something inside the stall, standing, breathing sound so clear and heavy that it's presence compressed the boy's own rib cage, reducing the air he breaths in.
It can't be... the boy thought in awe.
What's happening? The bear wondered worriedly.
G-Freddy, who's sitting in the Part and Services room, which is very close to the restroom. He did heard the scream originated within the room, sounded like a boy, and pumped all those precious adrenaline throughout his circuitry. The light on the ceiling suddenly started flickering for no reason, while it is not even turned on at all!
That darkness, that sound, that presence, reminded Houser of that... thing. But hold on, didn't it always appear at midnight? Why now? Why at this moment? Houser hasn't gotten get the hang of it just yet. It still has to be studied and experimented.
As another attempt, he tried to grab the door knob tightly and consecutively turning it to the right. The more of the attempts were made, the faster the mist makes it way closer to him. A foggy tentacle popped out from the mist, squiggling towards Houser like a black snake. When the distance between the tentacle and the tip of the shoes was so close upon touching each other, the knob finally worked and the door ultimately unlocked.
The boy falls backwards with his back once again absorb the impact upon colliding with the floor outside the restroom. Taking the opportunity, Houser hastily straighten up, slam the door shut, and rushed back the to table without hesitation.
This is creeping me out. G-Freddy mumbled. The occurrence was so confused and out of nowhere to process.
He makes a deep breath, slowly stands up and carefully approach the metal door. Half way through the room, he heard a crack, sounded like a door being forced opening, after that, some heavy breathing and another slam. Then nothing happened after that, the flickering stopped as well, letting darkness consumed the atmosphere once again.
G-Freddy carefully pushed the metallic floor, just enough gap for him to peek through. He looked, but there's nothing, neither of the restroom doors opened or shown signs of tampering. But what he did see was a glimpse of a short boy figure bolting away into the main room.
Weird...
"Oh hey, you're back!", Jeremy greeted. "Just in time. What took you so long?"
Houser suprised at the question his friend just asked. "I've been there just two minutes, washing my face, a-and food is already served?", he said, incredulously, ignoring the experience he has just felt back in the restroom.
"What?", Jeremy said. Unconvinced, he raised up his watch for his friend to look, 10:12 AM it pointed.
Houser begins to scratch his head, either his perception of time, or the dark mist itself, or he's been hallucinating all the time.
"O-Oh."
Jeremy sighed. "You're weird Houser, which is why we're best friends. Sit, the pizza is still hot."
The boy just nodded, and sat down, while Jack is dipping multiple fries into ketchup.
"Aside the creepy robots, this place has good fries.", Jack complimented.
"Of course! I usually eat here alone. My mom and dad both very busy so we rarely have dinner outside. At least there's free ticket to watch the show, heh.", Jeremy grinned, as he took some fries to eat.
"You eat here alone?", Houser asked, admirably.
"Duh. Eating at home is boring. Besides, I think I should practice speaking with one of the robots around here.", he said.
"I'm fine with that.", Jack remarked. "But to me, they're just creepy, that's it."
"Children supposed to love those robots, I guess we're just not affected by their influence. Like Houser's jusr laying at home all the time and I'm busy with my baseball matches, well not at the moment. What about you Jack, why you find them so... creepy?", Jeremy turned to his friend, while grabbing a pizza cutter and divided the pizza into eight equal slices.
Jack took a while to think of a question. "I-It's just my opinion, besides, they act exactly like a human does. Creepy how the robots so advanced around this time."
"They're AI, t-that's why they act similar to a human.", Houser explained. "B-But they're just so smart and sentiental since they can perform such complex task."
"AI or not, I say they're worth a shot to talk with.", Jeremy exclaimed.
"N-No! You don't get it.", Houser argued.
"Like I've said, science is not my thing.", Jeremy shrugged.
Jack just into eating the fries too much that he didn't pay attention to what his friends have been saying.
"You guys should be eating the pizza now, not debating.", he interfered, as he took a slice of pizza for himself.
"S-Sorry.", Houser whispered.
...
"I heard that there will be a festival around here few weeks later.", Jeremy reminded.
Houser is distracted with the pizza slice, but didn't seem to care, while Jack seemed to notice.
"You're gonna join the festival?", he asked.
"Duh. Like, every month.", Jeremy rolled his eyes.
"Really? If so, I would've recognised you when we first met though.", Jack wondered. "I've been attending the festival every time it is celebrated. I never missed one."
"Tend to hanging out? You can invite me to join you, if you don't mind of course.", Jeremy said.
"Sure.", Jack was quick to accept the request. More friends, more fun after all. "Houser coming with ya?"
The socially awkward kid focused at him, while chewing the pizza slice. Weird, he's holding a pizza like holding a hamburger. The other two boys noticed the unsettlement, but flattered anyways.
"I... uh. When will the festival start?", he questioned.
"Few more weeks.", Jack answered. "Two more weeks to be precise."
"Fourteen days?", Houser remarked. "I-I'm not sure. I'm going pay a visit to my grandma next week and planning to stay for a week or fewer. I don't think I will make it."
"Don't worry, it's not going to be fourteen days. I think it will take more longer for the festival to occur.", Jack explained.
This actually enlightened Houser a little bit.
"O-Oh. That's good to hear.", the boy relieved.
"You're going to visit your grandma?", Jeremy repeated.
Houser simply nodded.
"Guess no one will be there to hang out with you then.", he sadly responded.
"Wait, Houser doesn't have any friends there?", Jack asked, a new realisation.
"No...", Houser answered, uncomfortably. "T-There are a lot of kids has the same age as me, but... you know."
Jack just gave out a sigh, while Jeremy just patted his friends shoulder.
"In my opinion, you definitely need go outside more. Not just staying at home and study whatever your research is about. Besides, I'm your new friend, you can hang out with me and Jeremy, and we can help you with your social awkward. Trust me, you don't have be a lonely scientist when you grown up.", he adviced, hoping Houser would understand.
Convinced of what his friend has just said, Houser felt optimistic about this.
"Y-You're right.", he quietly said. "That's why me and Jeremy are going to have jogging session tomorrow."
"Wait, you, Jeremy, jogging, together?", he questioned, something shocked.
The two other just nodded.
Interesting, not only his social awkwardness, but also his physical health and fitness. His intelligence was above than most average, but his other stats, average below. Not everyone is perfect it seemed.
"Cool. I really do want to join you guys, but I think I prefer sleeping in than being an early bird.", he casually shrugged.
"Oh. That would've been great though. Though sleep in sounds comfortable, I still have a friend to help with.", Jeremy turned at Houser.
"Yeah man. Whatever suits you.", Jack said.
The unforseeable occurrence terrified the soul out of G-Freddy. Not that he never see a ghost before, it's just terrifying when all of a sudden, lights just started flicking and the restroom door keep slamming it shut. Even more frightening, he can assure that he heard someone screaming for help.
Should I tell everyone about this? He asked himself, who's not gonna answer it anyways.
But by recalling at the moment when he peeked out to look, he sure, definitely sure and certainly sure, that he could've felt something unsettling nearby. A presence, a menacing aura radiated somewhere in the restrooms.
By recalling it, he can even feel goosebumps.
What's with that strange occurrence?
Was it supposed to be a sign?
He might never know. As the strange occurrence shall be listed in "Questions left for an explicit explanation", before returning back to his thought again.
"The answer to all questions was in reach, but never been seen;
I tried to call out, but you ran away, helplessly watch as I made you scream."
Feng shui: (in Chinese thought) a system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy (qi), and whose favorable or unfavorable effects are taken into account when siting and designing buildings.
Lily storyline will be next in the upcoming chapter.
As always, stay tuned!