Happy Friday! Almost forgot to upload this chapter...
"My Dad," Gregory starts, feeling his stomach coil at the recent events. "I hadn't seen him since yesterday. Then this policewoman comes to our house and says that he's missing. She was going to send me to some foster home, and I escape her, but she found me, which is probably why you guys saw me getting chased by robots. I escaped through the vents, but I fell because I couldn't see anything and now here we are." He finishes.
"Oh, you poor thing!" Chica squawks, nearly tackling him into the couch when she gave a hug. She'd already forgotten about his injuries, and he squirms in pain. Doesn't help when a nearly 8 ft. chicken robot semi-crushes with just a percentage of her weight.
"Chica please, don't hurt him more than he already is." Freddy reprimands her gently. "Gregory, your father. Where did you see him last?"
"Here, he worked here." He'd ignored the pain in his throat, wanting to cry as he displayed some optimism. "Can any of you access security cameras now?"
"We can't."
"What?! Then what was the point spending money on robots that can't do everything!"
"We can only scan and search within certain limits." Freddy answers. "Although, there may be additional footage in the main office."
"Well then let's go!"
"Hold on kid, you got a load of armies looking for ya," Monty spoke. "Vanessa has the security bots looking from top to bottom. She had us looking too. Ain't getting anywhere without being seen."
"Freddy!" Chica yips exciting, startling all of them. "Gregory can ride in your chest cavity."
"It isn't suitable nor is it safe to transport a human…" Freddy starts but drops the sentence. "It isn't ideal, but it may be the only option to get you across the pizzaplex." Freddy's middle open, allowing for Gregory to slowly climb in. As the hatch close, Gregory mumbles. "You better be careful moving around. I don't want to be crushed and twisted into a meat pretzel. I'm hurting enough as it is."
"We'll get you to a first aid station on the way." Freddy notes. The room door opens and, one by one, the animatronics file out the room. Through Freddy's eyes, Gregory was able to get a glimpse of the place. It's quiet. "What time is it?"
"It's pass closing. Most of the guests should have been gone by now. The Pizzaplex goes into lockdown from midnight until six."
"Seems like a waste of electricity."
"More like safety precautions. We don't want to risk break-ins."
Gregory thought of the archived stories of past security guards risking their lives guarding against animatronics – possessed with bitter spirits of murdered children hunting their killer. Or at least the guys who looked like their killer. For a place like the Mega Pizzaplex, they have White House security. It's adding to the suspicion that they may be hiding something.
He was about to ask Freddy, taking the chance if the leader knew of the nine recent missing children. Then a voice stops them in their tracks. "Where do you four think you're going?" When Freddy turns around, Gregory sees an annoyed Vanessa waving a flashlight in their faces.
"What? Can't we take a walk around the Pizzaplex? We'd been on stage for hours!" Monty complains.
Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "You're robots. Programmed to play music and keep our guests happy. Why on Earth would you think that you need a break?"
Great coverup Monty. Gregory rolls his eyes.
"Because, like humans, we don't wish to grow weary of doing the same thing every day. It messes with our programming." Roxy answers. Gregory hears Freddy sigh silently. These guys were about to blow their cover.
"I swear I don't get paid enough for this," Vanessa mumbles. "Look, I don't need you four giving me trouble. I'm already the one nightguard on call tonight, I got a whole place to spot check every half hour. And there's a kid roaming about that I have to find and keep a hold on him until six!"
"We promise to be on our best behavior officer Vanessa," Freddy says sincerely. Vanessa scoffs, motion for them to step aside as she passes through them.
"Why can't we ask Vanessa to help?" Chica asks. Gregory's eyes widen.
"No, no! I don't trust her."
"Why not?" Freddy inquiries.
"I-I don't know. I just don't." Vanessa's a family friend of Colleen. Surely, she had a hand in his father's disappearance. "Anyways, Freddy looks insane talking out loud and the rest of you guys look like you're talking to Freddy's stomach. Isn't there any other way we can communicate where we're not trying to be obvious?"
Freddy smiles. "I know just the thing!"
At the Prize Counter, Freddy lets Gregory out while the other three stand watch. "Better make this quick." Gregory looks nervously. Freddy instructs him to crane the machine. After a moment, the door chimes, and the counterpart open. An orange bear-shaped watch rests in between two gray bands. "What's this?"
"A Faz-watch." Freddy takes the device and chucks it into his hatch. Several seconds later, a beep was heard, and he pulls it back out, handing it to Gregory. "There, now you can communicate with any one of us. Even in the event that we get separate. As long as there's ample power and a signal, you should be fine. Now climb back in."
When Freddy walks out, Roxy smirks. "Is the kid intact or did you bore him to tears with your never-ending tech talk?"
"Never you mind Roxanne, let's get going." Freddy retorts, walking ahead of them. Reentering the lobby, they find a massive group of security bots. Almost every square inch was covered with bots roaming in different directions.
"Last time this place had this many bots was when President Carnal was in town."
"What about that party last night? That was pretty wild. Who knew teenagers could be rowdy?" Chica says to Roxy. Gregory's ears perked up. "A teen party? Did it happen to be a 16th birthday?"
"Yup, cake looked good too, not that we could have eaten it –"
"Then you guys would have had to see my dad!" Gregory interrupts cheerfully. "Somebody play back the video from the Atrium last night and – OW!" A sharp pain erupts his lower leg.
"I'm taking you to the first aid station." Freddy insists, despite the child's protests. Once the animatronic sought out the well-known first aid station, he enters the room before letting Gregory out of the hatch. To say that he's limping was an understatement. Every step from Freddy to the bench stung with intensity. As soon as Gregory sat on the bench, he pulls back the leg of his pants, revealing a deepen gash that was all sorts of colors.
"This is going to be unpleasant," Freddy stands before him with bandages and a bottle. "But we must take care of that wound – it's infected."
Gregory whimpers but lets out a small "ok". The procedure of adding an antibody liquid to minimize the infection stun had him biting his arm to avoid yelling, though tears did fall. It'd reminding him of his first night in the streets. How one man was aiming to mug the remaining of their belongings. How, even after his father complied wanting no harm to come to his child, the man took a broken beer bottle and slash his face. And when treated at the hospital, the poker face that his dad almost broke on occasion when they'd applied that God-forsaken liquid to his face.
Gregory did see things that no child should ever witness. He'd thought the days of being guarded were over. He wanted to believe that the events leading up to now were just a bad dream. One that he'll wake up from eventually. He'd been native when a stranger approached them on the streets and offered his dad a job right on the spot. An opportunity too good to pass up. He'd been native with the kindness of the town.
"Keep still Gregory," Freddy spoke, keeping his own eyes on the wound. For an 8 foot, almost 2000-pound robot, his handiwork was spiffy and gentle. The boy murmurs an apology, forcing his brain to cease the impending shaking of his leg. Freddy finished dressing the deep wound, as well as other areas in need of attention. Gregory likes to think that Freddy had been a doctor or a nurse in his past life. Not that Freddy has a spirit residing in him. It still weirded him out how sentient the animatronics are.
"I'm sorry Gregory," Freddy apologizes. He'd must have seen the tears of the aftermath of a stinging procedure. Gregory doesn't respond, instead wiping his face which prompt a question from Freddy. "You were thinking about your father, weren't you?"
"Yeah. Last time I saw him, we weren't on good terms. Some words were said…" Tears refilled his eyes. "I'm worried about him. They said that-that he could be…" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Freddy laid a hand on his shoulder, offering a sympathetic smile. He understands the gravity of the situation.
"It will be alright. We will find your dad, safe and sound and in one piece." Freddy states and it brought a small glimmer of hope and comfort to the child. He'd helped Gregory stand up on the bench to easily climb into the chest cavity. "Let's continue to solider on, superstar."