All the other students got to leave. How long ago was the last bell? I picked up the pencil after catching a gaze from the mathematics teacher. Why did she want just me to stay? Mabel's homework wasn't perfect, either! My head throbbed worse for every second that I squinted at the numbers. The words turned into ones and zeros in my imagination, making the homework appear five hundred thousand times more complicated. What human could process this much? I'm gonna fail this entire grade if a miracle doesn't happen.
I doodled on my papers. Bears with sharp teeth. Foxes. Chickens. Wolves. Children- faces that I knew. Who were they? I could picture ginger hair and cupcake frosting. Bubblegum smell. Mmm. I miss that- Oh! I erased the doodle, forming grey splotches on the paper. I'm not weird, I swear! The teacher leaned over my desk.
"So, Michael, I've heard that you have been helping folks around the neighbourhood. That is awfully sweet of you, but what is the money for?"
I don't remember my response. I wanted to be cool, right? I put my head down to ignore the large presence looming above. Her perfume burned my nostrils, and a lock of her hair fell from her shoulder to mine. Was her hair blonde or brown?
"So… I might have some money to give towards your personal cause. However, only if you might be so kind as to help me with a few housekeeping tasks."
"What is it?" How much money is she talking?
"I assure you, I will pay whatever you need. Also, I have recently discovered why you seem to struggle in school. I had no idea about the troubles you've faced in the past-"
I'm not sure I have an idea, either. It's easier to block it out.
"-so I thought it would be helpful to you if I… perhaps give your grade a little nudge? I may be able to convince your other classes, too. In exchange for… work, of course. If you are willing, that is."
I couldn't hide the shock or the smile. Wow, a real miracle! As I tucked my things away to leave with this teacher, a strange sight caught my eye. Down the side of the pencil in green letters was the word REMEMBER.
01101110 01101001 01101110 01100101 01110100 01111001 00101101 01110100 01110111 01101111
I'd slept for most of the day, safely within the shadows. The nighttime wind numbed my cheekbones and fingertips, so the world falsely felt warm. I looked up at the cheery characters on the entrance sign to Freddy Fazbear's. Tonight, shadows engulfed areas of their faces to where only their eyes gleamed in the moonlight. Was that always like that? I drew my arms together, averting my gaze. Remember… no! Focus on right now. Nothing is going to be here-
Something whisked behind me in my peripheral vision- a blur of black and white. Stripes? I whirled, my hand ready at my hip. The lone streetlamp cast jagged shadows across the dark, empty parking lot. I turned back to the building and set my nervous mind to believe that what I saw was just a trick of the light. I knew it wasn't. I'm being followed again.
Upon unlocking the doors and entering them, I let out an embarrassing yelp. Because Freddy, Foxy, Chica, and Bonnie sat together at a party table, perfectly put together. I clamped my mouth shut with a hand. What the hell is this?! Their silky smooth fur and gleaming, scratch-less plastic made them look brand new. Dotted across the table's surface was a pile of multicoloured sticky notes. THANK YOU, they all read with bold yet unsturdy lettering as if a child had written it.
This can't be real. Ghosts can't interact with real stuff. Not soon after my brain concluded this, the sticky notes burst around the room through a sudden gust of icy-cold wind. The animatronics disappeared. And beyond the table in a neat row stood the children. Except everything about them was wrong. Oh God, the gore. Joseph's chest had been reduced to an array of red slits- not unlike something I've seen before. Susie's intestines piled into her chubby hands as blood trickled down her chin like wet paint. What looked like a tiny charred beast with scattered blonde hair and huge eyes gripped her fingers. Gabriel's head dropped disturbingly far over his shoulder blades, his neck threatening to snap as it had been reduced to red strands of ripped meat. One of Fritz's eyes dangled from his head like a sauce-stained spaghetti meatball; knife wounds stretched all across his gut, quick, violent slashes. The childrens' blood evaporated before it was able to bespeckle the floor. Their sunken, glossy eyes locked onto mine in one simultaneous motion as if they'd choreographed this all before. My throat closed against a lump of horror. I couldn't swallow lest I should feel the urge to puke.
Another child stood at the end of the hallway- about 9 or 10 years old. I'd seen her before. Her stringy, jet-black hair cascaded down her face and shoulders, and her crimson-soaked clothes hung in tattered pieces to scarcely cover her. She held a peculiar-looking balloon, its rubber floating around in jagged pieces to form the shape.
Why are they just standing there?
I blinked, and the five children before me morphed into a pile of withered animatronic scraps. The one at the end of the hallway became Freddy. If his fur was a weird shade of old yellowish-orange. Or was it more of a bronze-yellow? Gold?
A golden Freddy?
One blink, and every entity in the building vanished. The stage stood vacant. Swallowing back dread, I hurried down the hall into the security office.
Someone is trying to "enlighten" me, I knew. Footsteps clanked behind my back. I hunched my shoulders and picked up the pace. Don't look back- don't look back. The carousel started up, creaking as it began to spin and play a crackling, decade-old jingle. My shoes squeaked on the tile. Don't look back- keep moving! There was no time to question what chased me; the clamour hard on my heels rendered focus impossible. I booted up the computer with a shaking hand, for a second staring expectantly at the telephone, and then watched the camera feeds stretch across the display.
The hallway racket stopped abruptly, leaving the desk fan to fill the silence. Not a single thing moved on the cameras- the facility was empty once more. I stuck my jacket strings in my mouth and waited. My eyes darted about, switching between the open doors and the terminal, but they caught nothing. No animatronics. No ghosts.
Am I just being paranoid? I clasped my hands together, shame arching my back. The kids didn't want to hurt me anymore. The bodies are gone. As I wondered if my imagination fabricated everything, a faint ringing sounded in my ears. Meanwhile, the contents of the computer screen dissolved into static. I leaned in, noticing something forming between the racing dots. My breath stopped underneath my hand.
What is-
The Golden Freddy's face flared across the cameras. I flung myself onto the office chair with a yelp, the ringing in my ears evolving into a scream. That same voice billowed throughout the inside of my skull: Afton! Afton! You deserved it! Covering my ears did nothing to muffle the noise but rather amplified it.
There wasn't a yellow bear here! I told myself, then jerked back at a figure sitting in the corner. No! Nothing sat in the corner at all. It's not real! But I couldn't get the shape out of my vision- the outline had pressed through my eyelids. This can't be real- stop acting crazy! Focus! I forced myself upright and stared at the right security door. That's when the footsteps echoed. I felt them approaching, their tremors deep within me as if I were an ant. STEP. My heart beat once with a painful shudder, and I dizzily clutched the chair. STEP. STEP. Every other organ in my body I became hyper-aware of; they squeezed together, tightening my core. STEP. STEP. STEP. I leaned over the desk again after glancing at the computer screen, for he was still there. NO! Something smelled like death. It was suffocating- like hot plastic seeping into my nostrils. I couldn't stop myself- I retched twice. And again. There was nothing inside to throw up. Am I going to throw up my other kidney?! Another retch brought my arms around my stomach. I flung my palm into the door button ages later- perhaps just in time, for the footsteps stopped. I allowed myself to breathe.
Think. There WAS a yellow bear here before. Its face still hadn't faded from the back of my eyelids. In Parts and Service. The corner of the room. It was real. For some reason, I couldn't picture the memory clearly, nor remember there ever being a yellow bear dancing alongside the classic four. My curiosity overruled my fear; I hit the light switch. Only the shadow of the animatronic bear showed itself, stretching ominously across the wall. Did I see white pupils floating, or was that another trick of the light? My stare landed on the power gauge. The numbers plummeted by the millisecond, pausing at 83% for just a moment before resuming. It had never drained this fast before. I snagged a handful of my hair. No, what?! But Electro is dead- how is- what-
Laughter swelled right through the metal security door, and then clusters of whispers followed.
It's me. It's ME. Afton. It's me.
My thoughts scrambled. Oh no- no- this is going to kill me- The power value blurred into the darkening static spots that had begun to fill my vision. I tried to calm myself: I can't be killed- stop acting crazy! Focus, dammit! Nothing is going to kill you! The floor rocked around me as if I were on a boat, so I planted my feet firmly apart and stood as upright as I could. My uneven breath made me sick and energy-deprived, so I stopped it.
I need to run out there and grab that axe. But every molecule of my body told me no. Why is this any different from the others?! And then the door opened to answer my question. The Golden Freddy sat in the corner, a crumpled mess reminiscent of a dismembered corpse. Time stopped moving; every sound came to a sudden halt. I didn't want to look into the bear's eyes. I couldn't. Its fur was matted, spiky in some places, and what little endoskeleton I noticed peeking through decayed away in its own red rust.
After several seconds of a tense silence, I planted myself firmly in the doorway. It's not going to kill you. My jaw clenched as I opened my dry mouth to speak. Words didn't come easy.
"Y-you're… C-Cassidy, aren't you-u?"
The lack of response terrified me. It's just a child. A scared, hurt child. It has to be. I raised my taser- my only defence- and continued, "I'm n-not the one who hurt you. So, you… you can, uh, leave m-me alone." I raised my voice next. "Or I-I'll use this!" Nothing. I let myself blink, and in the millisecond where everything went dark, Golden Freddy snapped to his feet. A single paw swipe flung the taser out of my grasp. My stomach clenched. I took a jerking step away and flinched at the office door's icy metal. Shit! My flashlight found its way into my clammy grasp but soon clanked to the floor, too. When I looked back at this horrible Freddy, its limbs stretched into the ceiling- no, I simply began to shrink. I was a defenceless child. Maroon stains flourished down the massive golden bear's stomach. My fingers dug into my face. The bowtie, the top hat, and that greasy vest- I knew those features.
Fredbear!
The pain in my head was an explosion all-too-familiar. My legs stiffened as I crumpled against the closed door behind me. No, no, NO! Hands tightened around my forearms. NO, NOT AGAIN! All of a sudden, I was babbling incoherently and thrashing about- just like that fateful day. I closed my teeth around not flesh but bitter, crunchy fur.
Stop! Please! Let go! My panicked thoughts ricocheted inside my throbbing brain. I can't die! Golden Freddy split apart his face to reveal a nightmarish grin, thousands of teeth surrounding his gaping maw. Silver bubbles sizzled inside. I lost the ability to move. A crazy part of me longed for a voice or two in my head to intervene- to take control.
Fredbear's voice layered over Cassidy's like a demonic whisper, both ear-splittingly loud yet a quiet hush at the same time. Cranky was certainly an understatement.
"I know who you are. You are just like him."
The hot tips of his teeth pressed into my scalp and neck. All I could do was scream; it rose from deep within my stomach to shred my throat and pierce my eardrums. I heard a 20-year-old man and an 8-year-old boy within the same cry. Please, God! Don't do this! This wasn't how I wanted it to end.
Thankfully, it didn't. In seconds, the world went from black to sideways. My shoulder burned as the tiles pressed against it. Every working muscle in my body shook. In my terrified, darkened gaze, I saw stripes. Golden Freddy dangled above me, held up like a marionette. A twinkly song faded in and out. I don't remember standing. The chequered decor swirled into stripes. My body worked into overdrive to get my tensed-up limbs going. The hallway swayed.
Run, run! I have to get out of here! A bunch of tangled wires curled around my ankle. I caught my fall with my palms, hitting my chin on the floor. My vision focused on a pair of huge pink eyes. What the hell?! In a fluster of pain, fear, and confusion, I rushed underneath the nearest party table. It's all I know how to do. Four pairs of animatronic feet blocked my view past the table's shadow- Bonnie, Chica, Freddy, and Foxy. My eyes bulged. How are they alive?! They hobbled around like zombies, crying out together, "Stop, Cassidy! Stop!" I heard the children's voices layered underneath theirs.
A yellow paw slammed onto the table's edge. I rasped a scream through the skin on my hand and knocked my head on the chair behind me. NO! Like dominoes, the withered animatronics toppled over each other. I saw their wiry arms latching onto Golden Freddy. There went the stripes again to join them in their wrestle. Meanwhile, my lungs spasmed. My breathing was uncontrollable- and unnecessary. Same for my thoughts.
One, two- in, out- it's Fredbear. It's actually Fredbear. Fuck. I can't get out of here. He's gonna kill me. He almost killed me again. I don't wanna die like that. No, no- four, five- I- I'm breathing. Too fast. Can't. Stop. I can't. Stop.
Golden Freddy's hefty body plummeted as twisted wires and stripes lobbed him downwards. The many limbs left my line of sight. Pots and pans clashed and twanged in the kitchen, and then the yellow bear let loose a barbaric cry. Flinching, I clamped my hands over my ears. But then the noises stopped. I still couldn't control my breath. My insides were all shuddering of their own accord.
What just happened, was all I thought. What just happened. I dared to peer out from my hiding place. The kitchen door lit up with a bright, fantastical glow- like some kind of portal? When I squinted to see through the light, it faded away. My lip quivered. What the HELL just happened?! Fredbear tried to kill me- The classic four dropped their broken bodies, sprawling out across the main party room with an echoing crash. Lanky legs hovered in front of the table. I finally comprehend who they belonged to. It's the Puppet. The large robot bent over, its mask meeting my wide-eyed gaze. One glowing pupil scanned me. My breath halted immediately. When I blinked, my body shifted into its soul form. The Puppet's mask broke away and revealed an upside-down face.
Charlotte, I recognised. Her freckled cheeks rose with her smile; I thought I smelled the bubble gum stuck to them, but the scent lingered barely outside of my reach.
"Michael. You're a grown-up now."
I said nothing. I certainly didn't feel like a grown-up- cowering underneath the table with snot on my face. Fredbear tried to kill me again.
"Sorry that I scared you before," Charlotte began, looking away. "I didn't recognise you. You're pretty big, haha… and my memories are… split… sometimes." She rubbed the back of her neck and laughed again. Her joy seemed misplaced. I stared at my hands once she looked back at me. What does she want? Why did she stop him?
"The others were like animals," she continued, "but they meant well. They understand now… what happened to you." In the pause that ensued, I noticed her soul wavering in the darkness. "I was there. Nine years ago- if I'm remembering right- that girl crushed your head in Fredbear's jaws. Your big brother did not mean to hurt you." I didn't believe that last part. Charlotte halted and raised an eyebrow as if she'd sensed my scepticism.
"Cassidy wanted you gone, Michael. She is very angry with your father," she enunciated. I couldn't picture the event anymore, but I still felt the thick heat of Fredbear's throat on my forehead. Where did he go? Meanwhile, my stomach swirled with this awful chill. This girl- this remnant of the past- why did she keep talking? My eyes drifted to the faint outline of the kitchen door. Is he in there? Did she use magic or some shit to lock him inside? Can he get out?
Charlotte's hands around my face snapped me out of my head. With her sudden motion, her brown pigtails swept the floor and her soul shimmered.
"Listen. You have my memories. You should remember me- the other me."
The Puppet's mask began to pour over her desperate countenance. She shook her head, muttering, "Darn it," and then tightened her grasp on me.
"You have to find me, too."