Some Things Are Better Left Buried
By: Miss-DNL
Chapter 14: Old Scars
Mike's eyes regained focused with a start. Bewildered he looked around, trying to regain his bearings, he was in the security office but not the old one. This was the new one, the one that was clean and didn't smell funky. Standing in front of him was a frantic looking Kyle, her eyes were wild and staring at him with desperation. Mike eyed her confusedly for a moment before he spotted the tablet lying forlornly on the desk. It was then he recalled what happened.
He'd had an episode. Mike grumbled irately to himself, he'd told himself he wouldn't let that happen. But saying one thing and actually doing it, those were two entirely different things. Shaking his head, he felt his cheek, it tingled with the familiar sensation of being hit. He tossed a look towards Kyle, not irately just surprised, "Did you just…slap me?"
Kyle let out a relieved sigh, Mike was back in the present. A giant worry had been taken off of her shoulders. Stressed from freaking out, over trying to find a way to snap Mike out of his panic attack, Kyle felt significantly drained. She sat on the metal desk and nodded limply, "Yeah…nothing else seemed to work. So, I just…kind of did it."
Kyle tilted her head slightly, carefully observing her coworker. She worked her lips tentatively, "You okay now?"
"Okay as I can be." Mike half muttered as he held the side of his head. Of all the situations that could have unfolded tonight, Golden Freddy manifesting itself and then immediately after Foxy? What were the chances? Mentally he berated himself, it was Friday, of course there was a chance of Golden showing up.
Once more Mike looked around the office, familiarizing himself with it again. Somehow everything seemed unfamiliar, yet he clearly recognized it. His mind was still clearing up somewhat. He tensed recalling Foxy had been pounding on the door like it was a drum. Things seemed quiet for the moment though. He looked back to Kyle for an update, "How long was I out of it?"
Kyle blinked a few times, surprised by how fast Mike was jumping back on the proverbial saddle. Nonetheless she gave a report, "Not too long a few minutes at best. I shut the other door just to be safe, but it doesn't seem that anything else has shown up. I'm sure I heard footsteps though…" She gave the veteran guard a wry grin and a short lived shaky laugh, "Heh, was kind of more worried about you…"
Mike only gave a disgruntled grunt in response. Kyle offered a small, reassuring smile in turn but the other guard didn't seem to appreciate it. Dropping the expression Kyle looked over to the left window and frowned, noticing the shape that still lingered outside. She was going to point it out to Mike, but halted upon realizing that the fox had been what sent him over the edge. Instead Kyle opted to simply get up and handle the animatronic herself.
"He's still there?" Kyle halted at Mike's sudden question, something was brewing just under his brusque tone.
"Foxy, he's still there?" Mike asked again as he stood up from the chair, strength seeming to have returned from nowhere.
"Uh, yeah…" Kyle answered, as trying to deny it would be pointless with the fox right outside. She was surprised when a look of anger arose in Mike's expression. Before the older guard even had to ask Kyle moved out of his way as he stormed over to the window. She winced and then stared when Mike banged on the glass with the side of his fist. What in the world was he thinking?
"Hey! Hey! Remember me?" Mike demanded loudly through the thick glass that separated him and his long ago attacker. The animatronic jerked its head over to him, the noise snapping it from its stupor. Nearly immediately it's eyes were rekindled with a blazing fury of recognition. Foxy wasn't pleased to see one that had gotten away. The fox's anger caused a taunting grin to break onto Mike's face, "Yeah, that's right. I'm back."
A tone of cold anger burned its way into his voice as he glared at the fox, "You'd better hope you get me. If you don't. I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me! Once you turn off, once your asleep…I'm going to make you choke on your own hook! You hear me? You'll eat it fox!"
If Foxy was going to give any sort of reaction Mike didn't let it, the middle aged man clicked the lights then slumped back into one of the free chairs. Kyle stared at the other guard like he'd just disrupted the natural balance of things. What'd she'd witness was no doubt incredible but also incredibly stupid. Her eyes flited over to the window when she heard the sound of Foxy's paws clomping away from their office.
A long tired sigh wafted from Mike bringing the female guard's attention back to him. She was uncertain what to say about the scene she'd just watched transpire. Kyle instead decided to simply get things back on track. She held up the tablet for him to see, saying, "So…are you good to take back the helm?"
As she asked Kyle noticed the strength he'd mustered from his anger had was no longer present, all had been spent on that moment. It wasn't nearly as bad as his panic attack, but Mike was shaking and wiping sweat off his face. Mike responded to her with a wave of his hand. Kyle was relieved when Mike's voice came steadily from his mouth, "You take the controls. I'll man the doors."
"Sure thing." Kyle answered steadily as she took her seat. She was back on the red upholstered table chair again, the large star decorative center sitting square at the center of her back. Kyle scooted the chair to the center of the desk as Mike moved back. She looked at the tablet screen, it was still on the main stage. Kyle stared when she saw the stage vacant. She glanced over to the camera map to check if she was looking at the right camera. Cam 1A, the main stage.
"Uh, Mike…Freddy's gone." Kyle said, the weight of an ice covered rock making its home in her gut.
On cue the star of the pizzeria, the titular mascot's signature laugh echoed forebodingly through the halls of the building. Mike felt a chill cause his body to shudder at the all too familiar sound. The fact his episode had brought his previous encounter with the bear to his mind's forefront didn't help. Mike buried his face into his hands, "God dammit…"
"What time is it?" Mike asked briskly as he looked carefully to the right door. Freddy's preferred rout, but a few times the bear had taken the left one. The leader of the animatronics was a tricky one. Always best to be on ones toes when Freddy was moving around.
"Three forty-three." Kyle answered automatically, having been looking at the time already.
A tired sigh exited Mike and he sat himself up more straightly, "Least we're half way." He took a deep breath and expended instruction, "Keep your eye on the fox and puppet. I'll tell you when to check the halls, but if you hear the bear's song. Check them both. This bear is a tricky one and we gotta be careful."
"Got it…" Kyle said wearily as the sound of hurried footsteps accompanied by laughter was heard in the background. Kyle hadn't thought there was anything more intimidating than Foxy, but she'd been wrong. The groups ursine leader's laugh was chillingly foreboding, and his hurried footsteps only built on the already present tension. She forced herself to focus on the tablet in front of her. In doing so she gulped, three forty-three and they had forty-one percent power. Because of Mike's episode she had to keep both doors shut draining power fast, she'd also checked cams a couple of times as well. It was going to be a close night.
By the time five am rounded the corner, Kyle was growing rather tired. Freddy had quickly proven himself to be a majorly stressful to deal with. The bear had little to no pattern to its movement. It clearly favored the right hall but if Chica was already heading that way he'd head to the left hall if able. If not, then it was willing to share a hall with the avian animatronic. The lead singer was surprisingly spry on his heavy feet as well, sprinting from one position to the next. Judging by how the brown bear hid it was clear that it was trickier than others making his quick movement all the more dangerous. More than once did the screen cut to static and the bear vanished from sight. If it wasn't for Mike's help Kyle knew she would have panicked and lost focus, something they couldn't afford at this point.
For the two hours since he'd been freed the right door went up and down more times than in the first three. Mike wasn't leaving any openings for the bear to get in. On and off when the door light in hopes of deterring the towering ursine leader. Thus far it had proven effective in keeping the flight-footed Freddy away, but it also proved taxing on their energy reserve.
"This, is why it's best to keep him on stage." Mike stated after raising the right door once again. The veteran guard leaned back in his chair, listening acutely for the slightest sound to indicate what the bear was up to. Didn't seem like anything at the moment. Knowing Freddy, the animatronic was probably back at the hall cam, staring up at it with a death glare. He did; however, hear Chica's clunking feet heading down the hall. The chicken's footsteps were firmer than the others, her feet lacking the padding of her furry counterparts. A trained ear could tell the difference quickly enough.
"Chica's coming." Mike said to Kyle as the other guard checked Foxy for what was probably the twentieth time. He frowned recalling that blasted cupcake Chica had. Damn little gremlin had taken a bite out of him a couple of times. Had it been someone else he'd have been amused by the irony. With the current situation though, he warned his companion, "Keep an ear out for clattering, that'll be her cupcake."
Kyle stopped, put the tablet down, and looked at Mike like he'd at long last lost it. "You're joking right?" She asked incredulously.
Mike shot her an insulted and reprimanding look, "No. I'm not."
Immediately Kyle regretted her previous words and nodded in an admonished manner. She felt like she'd been scolded by her father, and Mike had the age to fill such a role. Kyle had always been the odd tough girl, but overly disobedient to her parents she had not been. She switched her eyes back to camera tablet. Kyle wanted to say something in apology but something told her Mike just wanted her to keep monitoring. Feeling Mike's gaze shift back to the hall Kyle felt minute relief.
A sound similar someone rapidly hitting on a large drum sent both guard's heart rates skyrocketing. Kyle snapped into action and toggled the vent cam. Mangle was in the vent, and soon as the cam showed the fox a blizzard of static dominated the screen. She hadn't even had time to react and hit the seal! Abandoning the tablet, she looked around for the mask. Looking down she found a pair sitting snuggly under the desk. Had Mike put them there?
With no time to think with the white fox charging at them she picked up the Freddy head and tossed it to Mike. The older guard caught the heavy mask with a grunt and shoved it onto his head. Kyle quickly did the same, through the large ocular holes she spotted a chicken's beak sticking out at the front of the mask. Apparently she was wearing an empty Chica mask.
Hearing the gratingly familiar sound of Mangle's radio-like rattling Kyle lifted her head up. The roomy mask slumped back against her face in response to the movement, it felt like the heavy object was pushing her head back, trying get her to lean back further. Kyle stilled herself when a skeletal robotic hand grabbed the edge of the vent. The hissing radio signal grew steadily louder and clearer as Mangle's heads exited the echoing vent. The white fox's two heads pinned down one guard each as it craned its necks out of the vent.
Keeping its phantasmal and plastic eyes on the two figures Mangle twisted its midsection in the vent, hand reaching out for the office's ceiling. By way of some supernatural force Mangle crawled out from the metal tunnel and onto the ceiling's surface. Slowly like a creeping predator the white vulpine slinked out into full view. Aside from the head no other suit pieces decorated Mangle, leaving exposed an unsettling human-like endoskeleton. Each of Mangle's joints were ball joints giving the toy animatronic a very fluid movement, its limbs could twist in any direction it so desired.
Perched like an upside down gargoyle between the ceiling and back wall Mangle's heads closely examined the two masked guards. Kyle didn't dare move, but even if she wanted to her body was too paralyzed with fear. Mangle's true head was mere inches away from the side of the bulbous Chica mask. Kyle cringed at the static hissing, clawing, at her eardrum like an angry animal. It wasn't far from the truth with the glaring look the animatronic was giving her, Mangle's lower jaw quivered as it mulled over what it saw.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Hope you all had a great Christmas, or any other holiday you celebrate. Or just had a good December 25th lol. Sadly I didn't build up many pages, but I still have a good build up to work with. Going to try and get back at it. Little note, the scene with Mangle at the end was meant to happen back in chapter five. Then I ended up changing the length of the story, originally a time skip was supposed to happen, but it felt rushed and I scrapped the idea. That and Mike was added to the story.
Guest Reviews:
Drakeon:Don't worry about it. As I said, I wasn't talking to just you. I just wanted to end the whole SL thing before it became a continual thing, and don't worry about keeping right on time with the updates. Worry about school first.
As always hope you all enjoyed!