Some Things Are Better Left Buried

By: Miss-DNL

Chapter 23: Price to Pay

Hurried footsteps echoed through the dirty, burnt, abandoned halls of a horror attraction that would never be. Isaac felt like his lungs were on fire, he'd been running nonstop since he got thrusted into this latest nightmare. Even after saving the children, during his role as fake nightguard at Fazbear's Fright, he hadn't been spared the unavoidable curse. While he'd appeased the children he certainly hadn't left on good term with their killer, whom he'd taken pleasure in setting the bastard on fire.

The saying "no good deed goes unpunished" came to mind in the results of his act. For a year, he'd tormented by visions and night terrors. Steadily both were getting somehow realer, more vivid and more lasting in impact. If that said anything about it mental state, he should probably should be worried. Isaac was; however, more worried about the unholy monstrosity that was charging down the halls after his blood!

Its thunderous metal footsteps, accompanied by a harsh inhuman roar that shook the very walls, quickened Isaac's heartbeat further. He pumped his legs harder, trying to keep the distance between him and the animatronic beast. Up ahead he spotted the door that lead to the front area, the part that was for the gift shop and eating. Isaac pushed forward and practically slammed himself into the hard-rusted metal door.

The impact resulted in the push door being thrown open with a low moan, the hinges grinding up dirt and rust. Isaac hurried into a torched Freddy Fazbear's party room, everything blackened with ash that was illuminated by weak lighting. He looked around wildly as the sound of a low, nearly demonic, rumble sounded behind him. The beast had stopped charging and now was steadily making its way to him. It knew he'd have a hard time escaping it in this room. There were no actual exits in this nightmare, all of them leading not to safety but a bricked-up wall. Isaac had essentially run himself into a big corner, but he had no other options. The game had gone from cat and mouse to delaying the inevitable.

Isaac looked around, trying to find someplace to hide. He didn't have much in the way of choices. There was the giftshop, the stage curtains, tables, janitor closet, and a couple of registers. One of which led to the kitchen. If memory served correctly, the kitchen had a walk-in freezer. Isaac made a sharp turn and slid behind the counter before the monster even made it to the doorway. If he was lucky the thing wouldn't notice him slip into the kitchen. If it did he could try locking it in the freezer, although the chances of that working were slim. He'd sooner get torn limb from limb than succeed. Which didn't align with his goal: last long as possible. The longer he lasted, the more rested he'd feel when he awoke. Even if only a little more rested.

Isaac pressed his back up against the counter underside to hide himself in the dark. Thankfully with his short stature it was easier to do so. The metal footfalls had reached the doorway. Isaac stiffened when he saw light bleed out from underneath the door. A low rumble came from the other side as the lights swayed from side to side.

What's that monster up to? Isaac questioned as he craned his neck forward to get a look. He immediately recoiled back when the sound of shearing of metal against metal viscously assaulted his ears. He gritted his teeth as the noise became more painful as metal unwillingly crunched and crumpled. On reflex Isaac covered his ears as the door was torn from its hinges and tossed back into the horror attraction.

After a loud crash Isaac's body impulsively readied itself to run, arms and legs coiling. He managed to sit himself still as the monster lumbered into view. Its joints whined and creaked as low ghastly growl came from it. In all purposes, it was Springtrap, only given new form by Isaac's own mind. He knew it wasn't the actual monster, he'd destroyed that when he burned the real Fazbear's Fright to the ground. Even if it was a nightmare the threat felt far too real.

Isaac pressed his back up against the counter and carefully began to inch his way towards the kitchen door. He could feel the dirt, grime, and ash under his fingers and nails as he scooted his way over. The odor of death and decay mingled far too nicely with the already unpleasant aroma of the nightmarish Fazbear Fright. There was also a nauseating touch burnt flesh and building in the air. The former was much fouler than the later and caused Isaac's stomach to twist itself into a nice knot. Isaac kept an even tighter seal on his mouth to keep himself from gagging in response.

While the door was near. Isaac kept his pace nice and slow, moving only whenever Springtrap's nightmare double moved. The monster's metallic footsteps and creaking easily covered up his own movement. By the sound of it Springtrap was slowly patrolling around the edge of the table area, checking if he was hiding under the tables.

"Come out, come out, and make this easy." Isaac inwardly shuddered at Springtrap's unnatural guttural voice. It wasn't something that should come from an animatronic bunny, even in its current state, and carried a rasp that only seemed to accentuate his threat. In the real world, the actual Springtrap has spoken on a few occasions but the wheezing rasp had been much more prevalent. Typically, the ability to speak made things more human, more relatable, but Isaac new real or not both versions were monsters.

Like hell, Isaac growled in his head. He was halfway to the door, nearly there!

Springtrap swung his head from side to side, his left ear nearly gone. Barely having any trace of suit left and wires hung out freely from the side. His prey was near; he could feel it. Where, was the question.

Isaac continued moving as he heard his hunter move further away from his location. His eyes pinned on the doorway, he was only a few inches away from it now. He stopped movement when he heard the monster had gone silent. He turned his eyes away from the door and glanced up towards the top of the counter, waiting for sounds of movement again.

Multiple simultaneous sharp scraping noises cause all of Isaac's hair to stand on ends. He looked up towards the top of the counter at the end of it he saw Springtrap's large looming figure. Quickly Isaac went still, he was so close to the door, and hoped the monster hadn't spotted him just yet. He felt himself begin to sweat as the animatronic started to move towards his location, blade-like claws dragging along the counter top as he neared. Isaac tried to calm himself but Springtrap's blazing eyes sent a tremble through him.

They were the eyes of a monster, bloodthirsty and incapable of empathy, and had been the eyes he'd seen tear him apart for the past year. He'd face him down, and still did, but it was hard to contain all fear after dying so many times to the same creature.

"I smell fear." Isaac's heartrate broke into a panic when Springtrap's eyes locked right onto him. The creature opened its beartrap-like jaws and unleashed a piercing attack shriek. In a movement, far too quick for his large form, Springtrap leapt over the counter and landed with a heavy thud barely a couple feet from Isaac.

With grimace Isaac jumped and backed up towards the door, muttering, "Shit."

A deep laugh came from Springtrap as he slowly stalked up to his now cornered prey. Virtually twice Isaac's size Springtrap loomed over the man with his claws prepared to tear into him. The animatronic nightmare tauntingly splayed out the exposed metal claws, dancing them back and forth with a somehow wider sharp fanged grin.

Springtrap leered at Isaac as he gave him a defiant glare. The notion his prey wasn't going down without a fight amused the monster. With a sharp shove of his shoulder Isaac forced the kitchen door open and ran inside. He ran over to the freezer, now getting the idea to just lock himself into the container. Not like he'd literally die.

Isaac managed to reach the freezer door when Springtrap grabbed ahold of his arm and sharply yanked him back. Now in the hold of the monstrous animatronic struggle was a fruitless endeavor that Isaac perused regardless. If anything, out of sheer stubbornness. The defiance came to an end when the nightmare tore the knives it called claws into his torso. Tearing them from his upper body and down into his stomach. Isaac, stunned from the pain, gasped like a fish out of water, his eyes wide and staring at nothing.

Body over ridden with pain from his guts being torn into Isaac wasn't sure how soon after but his neck was bitten into. He felt the gnarled teeth sinking to his throat and then pull.

Knock. Knock

Isaac's pale blue eyes flew open in a startled panic. Soon after he doubled over in pain, his stomach feeling like it'd actually been flayed open. He knew that this wasn't the case but it sure felt like it was. His throat hurt badly enough that Isaac gripped it with one hand, rubbing his palm against the side to try and ease the tension. As he gasped faintly, Isaac stared up at the darkened ceiling of his apartment with some relief. At the very least he wasn't in that nightmare world with that damned monster, for the time being.

He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead before he turned it to look at the digital clock sitting next to his TV. Isaac was relieved to see he had survived nearly five full hours with the thing. Not his best but it was better than three or less hours. Still he felt drained and sore from his body being tensed up for so long. The fact he'd fallen asleep on his couch didn't help. Although, nowadays, it wasn't so uncommon for him to fall asleep on his couch. He just didn't care if he fell asleep on his bed or couch anymore.

A couple of knocks on his front door got Isaac to lift his head. The tired man grumbled to himself and rolled over on his couch, uninterested in answering the door. The knocks persisted and eventually annoyed Isaac into getting up. With an irate grunt, he pulled himself up from his couch and shambled to the door, muttering, "Alright, damn, I'm coming, I'm coming."

Isaac tried to stretch himself out as he walked over to the door, his neck, back, and shoulders specifically. The morning sun was practically blinding to him, Isaac had to shield his sensitive eyes with a hand. He squinted his eyes and saw there was a woman of African descent standing outside his door, who Isaac couldn't tell if she was older or younger than him. Isaac rubbed an eye, furrowed his brows, and waited for her to state her business.

"Isaac Vargas?" Harriette questioned as she looked over the short male. He seemed to be of some sort of Hispanic decent, least his appearance and surname suggested so. He had thin facial hair, shaggy black unkempt hair, and scars on his face- one being a cut on his upper lip. Isaac wore a wrinkled light grey sleeves top and baggy blue grey pajama pants. By the smell of it he was currently sweaty.

"Yeah?" Isaac grumbled, not caring to put in the effort to fake sounding enthused by the visit. She was probably some reporter or something wanting to know why he burned down the blasted horror attraction. Hallucinations, nightmares, and nosey people were things he had to put up with ever since he got that damn job at that damned place.

"I'm a guard at the current Freddy's…" Harriette's voice died off when Isaac's expression hardened. She pulled back a step when he pointed at her sharply, despite his stature he was surprisingly forceful.

"Look, I told your boss that I'm done with Fazbear bullshit." Isaac snapped. "I don't care what's happening, you and your company can fuck right off. I told him, if he digs himself a grave then it's his own damn fault for bothering the dead!"

Harriette was at a loss for words. She'd thought she might encounter some aggression, the man had burned down a building. She'd also thought she might've been sent away immediately or out right ignored. The aggression she was being shown was more intense than she'd prepared for. His words added to the surprise. Harriette had heard people were upset about the pizzeria being brought back, but she hadn't heard about someone confronting them. No doubt the manager had kept quiet about the visit.

She was jostled from her surprise and swapped to alarm when Isaac moved to shut his front door. In a snap, she held it open and jammed the doorway with her foot. Harriette held her mouth shut when a pained gasp wanted to shoot from it. She swallowed her pain and cut off Isaac before he could protest, "It's about the kids Isaac."

The man's anger cooled and changed to cautious skepticism. He eyed her, carefully reading her expression. After a moment of silent debate Isaac released his hold on the door. His stiffness didn't lighten up; however, and he made no move to invite Harriette into his home. There was a glare of warning in his eyes as he asked, "What kids?"

"The missing kids, the victims." Harriette elaborated. She almost felt dirty, using the kids to keep Isaac's attention to further her revenge scheme. Though, two of them, were her friends, but she felt no better about it.

Isaac continued to examine her, judging if she was up to something or not. He decided to make her explain further, "What about them?"

"A coworker, Mike Schmidt, says the animatronics are still haunted." Harriette answered. She noted a spark of surprise in Isaac's hard light-blue eyes. It was quickly snuffed out by disbelief. The man shook his head, quick to turn down her statement. Harriette was certain she heard concern in his voice, like he didn't want to think the kids were still suffering.

"No, that can't be true." Isaac denied with another shake of his head. He turned to his thoughts, trying to decide if what she was saying was possible. Isaac winced like he'd heard something painful, inside his thoughts. The man muttered to himself, "they were…" He fiercely snapped his attention back to Harriette, "That can't be right!"

"Mike saw it with his own eyes." Harriette insisted carefully, wary of how Isaac would act if he got too upset.

Her words seemed to bring about more of a troubled shift to Isaac's stern expression. He looked off to deliberate with his own thoughts. Concern clashed with his suspicion. Despite the clear worry, his apprehension won out after a couple silent moments. He cut Harriette a sharp look as he questioned her further, "He a night guard?"

Harriette nodded. Isaac continued his interrogation, "And why should I trust you? How do I know this isn't a set up? Too have me show up at night and make me look crazy?"

The almost wild look in Isaac's tired eyes, and unkempt appearance, didn't help his question. Harriette couldn't say she felt safe or comfortable around the man. Wanting to put more distance between them, she took another step back. The small amount of space felt like a whole foot of breathing room. Harriette raised her hands a little, to remind Isaac she wasn't there to fight, just to talk, "Isaac, trust me, I'm not a big fan of Fazbear's. Help me bring it down."

"So you got yourself hired just to be able to get inside at night?" Isaac assumed. Harriette nodded. The man shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He gave her a sideways look, "This Mike, he a friend of yours?"

Harriette shook her head, "No. I only talked to him today to try and get his help."

Isaac tilted his head, "So he's survived a night with them?"

"Several actually," Isaac looked at her with interest now, "He worked at the of the original Fazbear restaurants."

"What's he doing back there?" Isaac questioned, brows furrowed.

Harriette shrugged plainly, "Don't know, I didn't ask, but you can look his name up on the internet. Like you he's pretty known in connection to Fazbear's."

"Good for him." Isaac commented in dry sarcasm. Still he had a touch of curiosity as to why anyone would return to Fazbear's, especially when he knew what waited for him at night. At the same time Isaac was more troubled that the kids were, possibly, still stuck in that damned pizzeria. He remained cautious, he didn't trust anyone affiliated with that place. He needed to be sure before he thought about going back. He questioned the woman further, "He say anything else?"

After thinking back to the conversation that she and Mike had Harriette answered, "Not much. He was more insistent on telling me to quit than talking about his shift."

"You should listen to his advice then." Isaac agreed suddenly. He seemed almost amused by what he'd heard. At the very least, this Mike guy seemed legitimate. Anyone who'd gone up against the animatronics wouldn't want anyone else to suffer through a night shift at that place. Thankfully they'd only hired him at Fazbear's Fright. He'd only had to worry about his survival. Mike didn't seem so lucky.

Harriette wanted to snap a remark back, protest, but instead chose to say something that she felt would catch Isaac's attention-and it did.

"He said the killer is stuck with them too." Isaac looked like a deer stuck in headlights. He just stood there staring at what he'd heard. Harriette could practically feel the underlying anger that emerged in his gaze. Anger was an understatement, not potent enough to match the look as the eyes. Hate was far more accurate.

"Proof, get me proof that he is in there and I'll help you." Isaac stated, voice tempered with a restrained anger.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Harriette questioned. Mike said recording wouldn't work, so what were they supposed to do?

"Find a way." Isaac snapped, his anger beginning to show through.

"Got it…" She said, deciding not to test the man's temperament. Harriette took a step, readying to leave, "I'll let Mike know."

"He tell you why you should quit?" Isaac's sudden question brought Harriette's attention back to him. He was looking at her with a criticalness that made the woman stop. Harriette looked at the scars adorning him. One cut on his jaw; creating a rift between his facial hair, one on the bridge of his nose -possibly from breaking it-, and the one on his lip. The man had certainly been through a lot. Had all that damage been done by the animatronic he'd watched?

"Because I'll be putting my life on the line." Harriette answered. The way Isaac was looking at her though, made her think there was something else to it-but what else could possibly be at risk? Putting your life on the line was the end all thing to put at risk, right?

"He tell you what happens to guards that survive a night?" Isaac questioned. He heard something shifting behind him, right on cue. Isaac didn't expect Harriette to react, he knew she couldn't hear it. The smell of rotting, burnt, flesh wafted into his nose. Rusted mechanical part grinded together, making an aged creaking noise whine through the air.

"No?" Harriett answered with a note of confusion.

Isaac leaned against his doorway, "Your life, isn't the only thing at risk when you work the night shift. That place," He made a tapping motion towards his head, "it affects your mind. Their anger, it clings to you and digs its way in. From my experience, nightmares start right after."

"Nightmares?" Harriette questioned. Mike had looked very drained, and his tired appearance seemed to me a long-term thing. She seen that in her Uncle and grandparents. It was something that wore its away at someone's face. Mike had clearly led a tiring and stressful life. Enough so that he seemed alone and felt no one would care if he was suddenly gone. Harriette wasn't sure how nightmares could've caused such stress, lack of sleep yes but actual strain on mental health? Was that possible? She wasn't so sure. She hadn't heard of anything that severe.

"Doesn't sound like much, but these aren't normal nightmares. They feel real." Harriette felt a chill skitter down her spine at the emphasis Isaac put on the last two words. It was like he'd put all that he'd felt from the night terrors into two words. The point blank look he was giving her told Harriette the man was being completely serious. Isaac wasn't done just yet though and continued, "Think about it. Days, weeks, months, a whole year, with vivid nightmares of being torn apart- limb from limb or guts spilled, by the same monster. Then waking up still feeling that pain."

"How could you…?" Harriette began to question. The rest of her words failed to leave her mouth as she felt daunted by the intensity Isaac was giving off with his own words.

"If the mind thinks it's real, then it'll respond." Isaac answered and as he said it, he felt the pain from his stomach and neck resurface. Not full force, but enough to make itself known. Behind him the sound of metal footsteps on his carpet rug had grown nearer. Ghostly rasps begun to enter his hearing, along with the opening and closing of an animatronic jaw. Isaac could feel lifeless eyes gazing at him, watching him intently.

"As time goes by, then you'll start to see things. Not the ghosts, least I don't think so, but hallucinations. Kind of like, extensions of their emotions." Isaac explained, doing his best to ignore the one behind him. He'd had more than enough time to think his situation over since he'd burned down the attraction. While Isaac didn't know if he was completely correct, he felt it explained what he was going through and that was enough for him.

Harriette didn't know what to say. Mike and Isaac's worn down appearance had a new gravity to them now. It wasn't just because of lack of sleep. The men were being tormented by some form of curse. One both had been stuck with for long lengths of time. It was a surprise that they were still sane as they were, though she couldn't say they were a hundred percent mentally sound. Harriette wasn't certain which concerned her more, Mike's apathy towards himself or Isaac's hostility. Even though Isaac was calmer now she still couldn't decide.

There were plenty of stories of vengeful spirits haunting people and driving them to madness. If that was true, then her friends Cloe and June were angry enough to kill or haunt people until their minds broke. Somehow, that thought hadn't completely occurred to her. The memories she had of her friends had overshadowed any thoughts of how their tragic deaths might have affected them. Now the veil had been torn down and she felt a wave of grief come down on her. At the same time Harriette felt intimidated by the cost it would take to shut down the franchise that caused the grief.

Harriette still couldn't find words to respond to what she'd been told. Her mind was too busy reeling with quickly paced thoughts to work on responding. Right now, she wanted to wrap up this conversation and leave. Now aware of the added risk, Harriette felt unnerved in a way she hadn't experienced before. She didn't know how to handle this. But, from a young age Harriette was stubborn. Once she set her mind to something she'd follow it through, like she had with collecting all the Fazbear dolls, despite any road bumps along the way.

"I'll talk to Mike about getting evidence." Harriette said, not addressing what Isaac had told her about. She turned and began to walk across the outdoor walkway of the apartment complex Isaac lived at. It was still bright and sunny out but it felt gloomy around Isaac's home, like a presence of something was sucking up all the warmth.

Isaac watched the woman leave, when she was more than halfway to the stairs he withdrew into his apartment and shut the door. He was a little curious about why the woman wanted to bring down the new Freddy's. Whatever it was, it had to be personal and it wasn't his place to ask. To him it was unlikely she just thought it was in bad taste, no he'd felt a drive behind her words. He could relate, but he had to be sure. If they brought him evidence, then he'd be more than happy to burn the pizzeria to the ground.

Still worn out Isaac was tempted to return to sleeping, but he didn't want to drop himself into another nightmare. Instead he dragged himself into his kitchen with the intent of getting a soda or making some coffee. His kitchen looked like it needed some cleaning, there were dirty dishes piled in his sink and the garbage needed to be emptied out. With his lack of sleep Isaac's cleaning habits had suffered significantly, but he managed to keep his home from being a complete pigsty.

Isaac pulled a clean glass out of his dishwasher and some premade ice coffee from his fridge. As he poured the liquid from the carton and into the glass he frowned as he heard the phantom creaking in the back ground. Isaac didn't respond to it, telling himself that acknowledging the hallucination would do him no good. Ignoring it didn't seem to do significant good but he was stubborn, refusing to go down without kicking and screaming first.

He then recalled the Fazbear worker had said the kid's killer was trapped with them. Isaac felt himself stiffen at what he'd recalled about the monster. Springtrap had been a vicious, cruel, and foul creature. He wouldn't doubt his attempt to burn him down along with Fazbear's Fright had left him in a livid state. In many ways, the nightmare version of the monster was how he viewed him, it was created by his mind after all. It was hard for him to picture, and at times recall, he'd once been a living person. He, in part, refused to call him anything but a monster-something that needed to be destroyed. Isaac, growing up, had known men like that, or at least somewhat similar, men that did what they wanted regardless of the pain and suffering it caused.

When he was young his family was low-income and he'd lived on the bad part of a city. Life had been a fight for survival to avoid living out on the literal street. There Isaac had seen the worst of people: gangs, prostitution, and death. When his father had gotten lucky they'd moved so fast it'd practically happened over night. It'd taken Isaac a long time to adjust to not having to fight every day. Part of that mentality was still in him today.

Isaac lumbered back to his couch and took a long drink of his coffee. The creaking had followed him, close but not right up to him. He clicked on the TV, just to have the television noise drown out the sound of rasping and old mechanical joints shifting. As the TV droned on Isaac thought about the possibility of what was still going on at the pizzeria.

As if to answer his thoughts the hallucination rasped out, "I'm still here."

"We'll see." Isaac resentfully muttered back in response, "If you are, I'll just have to do a better job of destroying you."

"I always come back."

Isaac was unmoved by the response, "Can't come back if there's nothing left."

Author's Note: Isaac is back! I know a few had been waiting for his return, hope his reintroduction was satisfying. Also hope Nightmare Springtrap was intimidating enough. I actually had my friend look over the nightmare sequence because I wanted it to go the way I intended it to.

This story has also reached 100 reviews! That's a first for me! Really big thanks guys! It's also reached 25 favorites!

Somethings are Better Left Buried is getting close to coming to a close, but there are still a some chapters to go. We have 2 days to go then the finale will begin.

Hope you enjoyed and see you all next time!