"Welcome to Salt Lake City News at 10 and thank you for joining us. For those just tuning in, we've been covering the disappearance of a child from the Little Friends Daycare center in Sunnyvale, Utah. For more on the story, we go to-"
Click.
A man looked blankly at the (now) dark TV screen in front of him. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he choked on his sobs. He'd recorded that broadcast a year ago. Nothing had come of it. Just a few thoughts and prayers on Facebook that amounted to absolutely nothing.
He was alone.
-x-x-x-
Vanessa muttered to herself, filling out an incident report. A wily kid got it into their tiny, underdeveloped brain to climb the statue of Freddy. They fell, but thankfully they hadn't gotten very far up before their grip slipped. Unfortunately, the kid still wound up with a concussion and Vanessa had gotten an earful from their mother.
Incident reports were the least fun part of her job. They took way too much time, and they were just thrown away within the week.
She scribbled down the necessary information. Pushing down with much more pressure than required.
Her pencil-her last pencil-snapped.
"Agh!" She shouted, frustration creeping in.
Behind her the door to one of the many security offices slowly creaked open.
Vanessa swiveled towards the door. "Hello," she called out. "Anyone there?"
No one answered her.
She shivered, some primal part of her brain telling her to shut and lock the door. Goosebumps formed on her skin.
"Hello!?"
Again, no one responded. Even the annoyingly catchy pop songs that play on repeat over the loudspeakers had stopped playing.
Reluctantly, Vanessa stood up.
Slowly, inch by inch, she crept towards the door. Her only weapon was a clipboard, which she raised above her head. With each passing second, her anticipation grew.
The door creaked open…
"Vanessa, hi- What are you doing!?" Her manager, thankfully one of the better ones, looked between Vanessa and the clipboard. "Are you okay? You don't look well."
Vanessa dropped her arms. "Sorry, Muriel…I…think I might have that bug that's been going around."
"Oh, no, that sucks. Well, no sense in keeping you when you don't feel good. Take the rest of the day off."
"Are you-"
Muriel shook her head. "Don't worry about us. The pizza plex will remain standing while you're gone. Just promise to get some rest, alright?"
Mutely, Vanessa nodded.
-x-x-x-
The library in Hurricane was the least visited place in Hurricane. It sat on the edge of town. Some say it was built long before the town was established. Others tell of the many horrors that occurred within its walls; of ghosts that appear and disappear right before patrons' eyes. Not that that makes much sense, but it doesn't stop elementary schoolers with overactive imaginations from circulating the same rumors Luis heard way back when he was in school.
He unbuckled Gregory from his car seat. "This shouldn't take more than five minutes," Luis told him.
The inside smelled the exact same as he last remembered it, like an old house that had been left to sit for decades on end - mildewy. The shelves are covered in a layer of dust, and only the librarian who looked up at them from her desk told Luis that the library hasn't been abandoned yet.
If he remembered correctly, the library had a kiddy corner. Somewhere the adults could drop their children off with kid-friendly material to keep them entertained. His abuela used to take him here all the time as a kid, because the only other form of family-fun entertainment came in the form of Faz-Ent. (and his abuela and extended family could come up with a whole host of reasons why stepping foot in that place was inviting trouble.)
He found the corner, and set Gregory down. "I'll be right over there," he told him, pointing to the display machine on the other side of the library. "I just have to research a couple things, and then we can go get ice cream. How's that sound?"
Gregory gave him a thumbs up.
"Cool." Luis ruffled his hair. "Thanks, bud."
It turned out using the newspaper display machine was a lot harder than his abuela made it look. After fiddling with it for a few minutes more, he did the walk of shame up to the librarian's desk.
"Excuse me, miss," he started, "can you please help me with the newspaper machine?"
"The microform machine has been out of commission for the last decade."
"Oh," Luis said, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "I apologize for bothering you."
The librarian sighed. "Lucky for you, I happen to keep a record of all major in-town events dating back since the early 1900s." She looked at him over her glasses. "At least I hope you're looking for a major event, otherwise you might be out of luck."
"Yes…I mean yes, I'm fairly certain what I'm looking for would constitute a major event."
Ten minutes later, Luis found himself at a table surrounded by newspapers, some older than he himself and others only months old. From here, he could see and hear Gregory - who was having the time of his life, eyes widening with every picture book.
He smiled, sorting through all the dates.
Hurricane Elementary Millage Passes: What Does This Mean for the Future of Our Children? (September 17th, 2019).
Local Hurricane Resident Wins the Jackpot!
(November 1st, 2021).
Grand Opening of a Brand-New Restaurant!
(January 4th, 2023).
His smile dropped, reading the next headline.
Local Woman Found Dead!
(May 2nd, 2023).
…and the next…
New Killer on the Prowl?
(June 11th, 2023).
Killer Claims Another Victim
(August 24th, 2023).
…and the next…
Two More Local Children Go Missing.
(September 23rd, 2023).
Behavioral Therapists Advised Not to Practice in Hurricane or nearby cities.
(September 25th, 2023).
Is This the Work of the Same Killer From the 80s?
(January 29th, 2024).
Luis eyed a different pile, one that looked older. Pulling the pile over to him, he set the papers out in front of him.
Grand Opening! Fredbear's Family Diner: Come One, Come All!
(May 4th, 1979).
He felt his stomach drop upon seeing the next few headlines.
Local Girl, Twelve, is Still Missing!
(November 12th, 1983).
Boy, 8, Nearly Dies After Tragic Accident at Fredbear's Family Diner.
(October 6th, 1983).
Five Children Missing!
(June 27th, 1985).
He recognized his uncle's smiling face on the latter newspaper's front page. Shaking his head to rid himself of any oncoming negative thoughts, Luis turned in his seat to look at the librarian.
"Miss, is it alright if I check all these out? I need to feed my son dinner, and-"
"Sure thing. Just make sure to bring them back in one piece….or else."
He chuckled nervously. "Of…of course."
Once Gregory and the boxes of newspapers had been secured in the backseat, Luis slid into the driver's seat. He sighed, trying to put the headlines out of his mind.
He promised himself he wouldn't bring up the past. That this was all water under the bridge for them.
"Ice cream…?" Gregory asked, eyeing the colorful pages of the book Luis checked out for him.
Luis hummed, straightening up. "Yeah, of course, bud. Do you want-"
His phone buzzed in the cupholder. "Hold that thought." He pressed the answer button. "Hello?"
"Luis, hi! I got sent home-"
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I was wondering if I could come over for a little bit? I haven't seen Gregory all day, and…" Vanessa trailed off.
"No, yeah, that's fine. I'm picking up some ice cream, and then I'll be right there."
They muttered a series of goodbyes before finally hanging up. He looked back at Gregory. "Hey, guess what?"
Gregory looked up from his book.
"'Ness is going to meet us back at the house earlier than expected."
He bounced in his seat, eyes lighting up. "Yay!"
"But first we have to get ice cream." He turned back around, buckling his seatbelt. "How does ice cream sundaes sound?"