He Always Comes Back
Chapter II
He Always Does
He stared at the monitor, watching…it. The animatronic stood motionless. He felt a bit relaxed at this, knowing that what he experienced yesterday was, well, all in his head. He had to rub his aching eyes. As much as he hated to admit that such an old, worn out animatronic had given him nightmares, well, he didn't get very much sleep. By which, one could say, he didn't sleep at all. He couldn't explain it, but, it felt as if there was…a presence, that just, hung above him. It felt like it was watching him.
He had to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing clearly. The animatronic looked like it was peering at him through the camera, at least, for a second. But, no, it stood still, in place. Maybe it was the camera…he swore, in theory, yes, a lot of old fashioned equipment would look rad as hell, but in practice, it was a terrible idea. He felt paranoid watching the monitors. He couldn't tell if he was merely seeing things or not what with all the static. At times, he'd see the animatronic look at him, at other times, it was as if it was gone from its position, and other times still it looked to be…seizing…convulsing? What was the word, he thought to himself…twitching…and the worst part is, he didn't know if it was static or murky quality or…or if it was him.
Or if it was really…it.
The manager told him how they planned to get an engineer to come in and look at the damn thing sometime next week. Their plan was to get it running, make it interact with all the visitors, just as it would back in the old days. Now that was something he did not want to see…the thing was falling apart as it was and what with what he's been seeing recently…he did not want to see it actually roaming the halls of this place. He honestly thought such a place was pretty stupid, but, having been here for a couple days working the nights, he saw just how scary it can be…
Today, Wednesday, was his third day here. He sighed, looking at the monitor, the thing just…twitching…he was fed up with it. Once and for all, he decided, he would go check it out himself. He stood, making his way out of the office. The lights flickered, the walls were more decorated with even more drawings that the staff had found. These ones looked...different, from the others…
Here and there, he could see amidst all the crude children's work, some…well, he didn't know what to call them…anomalies? Most of them were of the animatronics as well as children, laughing. But there were a couple of ones where…the children were crying…a different kind of animatronic was present, a puppet, it looked like, as well as a man drawn in purple crayon, that, in this light, it looked black and sinister. He could just write this off, but, something told him it was the same man…he was drawn with a hunch and long neck, in each and every one that he was present.
He shook his head, finally reaching the room where it resided. The animatronic towered above him, but, looking at it, he saw that it wasn't moving. A released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He was about to turn back to the office when something caught his attention. What was that smell?
He looked to the animatronic. He inched towards it, sniffing the air. What the hell…
He nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard laughter ring through the room. His eyes opened wide as he looked at the animatronic, but, it made no movement, no sound. And again, the laugh of a child rang. It was then that he realized what it was. It was part of the place, a gimmick of this horror experience. From the monitor where he watched the cameras, he was able to play the sound clip of a child's laughter, meant to spook people who seemed to be taking their time.
Well, it sure as hell works, he thought to himself.
The laughter rang out again, several times in a row. His heart quickened at this, but, he tried taking deep breaths, tried to calm himself. He was already freaked out by the damn thing behind him, wasn't that enough? Calm down, he told himself, it's just the audio systems malfunctioning. He would seriously have to talk to his manager about it, this was just ridiculous.
He stomped out of the room, working his way back to the office. But, as soon as he left the room and entered the hallway, the laughter followed him. He looked behind him, back to the room where IT stood. The laughter could definitely echo throughout the entire place, but, each room had a speaker for it…so why did it suddenly switch to the hallway speaker? He had to cover his ears as the laughter continued rapidly, one laugh started before the previous one could end, and the sound became increasingly more and more distorted. He felt like his heart would burst from his chest as he picked up speed, now running to the office.
Turning the corner, he nearly threw himself into the room, and, all of a sudden, the audio system just…stopped. He was panting, not knowing what the hell just happened.
"He's back!"
He turned, jumping out of his skin at the child's voice right in his ear. What he saw…what the hell was THAT!?
A child's face, but not a human face, burned black with white eyes…the figure lunged at him, causing him to fall backwards into the office. All he could feel was a great pain at the back of his head, unconsciousness quickly taking over as the world seemed to fade into black and nothingness.
And in that nothingness, his eyes opened, only for him to find himself somewhere else entirely. No longer was he at Fazbear's Freight, but a restaurant…a pizzeria. The lights were all off, making it hard to see, but, he didn't need to see. He didn't want to see. He could hear them…the screams of the children, their cries for help and the wet sound of flesh and, the gasps and…and…the silence… He started shaking…what the fuck, what the fuck…what the fuck is going on! The screams, they started again, more and more, but, how? They were silenced, they were…were dead…so why…why were they screaming? All five of them…louder and louder, blaring like a siren, like an…
Alarm.
He sat up quickly, the back of his head feeling wet, but his attention was to the alarms of the ventilation systems, the entire office was cast in a red glow. His trembling hands went for the monitor, bringing it up to his face, but peering over it were cold eyes, his own widening as his heart skipped a beat. He fumbled, quickly pressing the systems reset button, and the monitor dropping as the animatronic loomed over him menacingly.
How the hell did it…it moved…it was moving, he could see it, see the animatronic reach out for him, feel its hand tighten around his neck, feel his body leave the ground…he could see it move…he could see it smile maliciously as it watched him struggle…he could…he could hear it…
Its voice sounded like a whisper, barely heard above the beeping that seemed to be dying off. His vision began to waver, the black coming back to take over him, unconsciousness starting once again to wash over him. And yet…that voice…so dry and soft…
"…it's…me…"
The floor found him quickly as he began to scramble for air, taking in big gasps.
"…yes….yes….breathe…breathe life into this forgotten tale…"
He looked up, only to find…nothing…it was…it was just…gone…
After collecting himself, he dragged himself over to his desk and fought to get into his chair, his body weak. He flipped the monitor on once more…and…there it stood…staring at him…at the camera…
His shift would be ending soon…
He pressed play on the tape recorder, an instructional tape started playing. How to put on a suit…he listened closely, never taking his eyes off of that damn thing…
"I saw him!"
"You WHAT!?"
"I saw him! He's back! He's actually back!" he laughed.
"Oh no…this is not good…"
"Why?"
"Because…it's never good…why won't he…why won't he just…leave us alone…"
"You don't think it'll end? That it would finally end?"
"It hasn't before…again and again…I don't want to hurt anymore…"
"But…but maybe this time…"
"Nothing will change…we are still here…no one will hear us…and…and…he will be back…why don't they…why don't they just run…"