"Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, a magical place for kids and grown ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life!"
The overly-enthusiastic voice of a Fazbear employee reached my ears, I rolled my eyes in irritation. The whole vibe of the pizzeria was far too friendly for a grimy kid's restaurant.
My fingers drummed on the plastic table, while my other hand propped my chin up. The headache-inducing black-and-white checkered tiled floor reflected the bright stage lights into my eyes, and the music pounded out from the mounted speakers off to the sides of the platform, playing an upbeat kids song.
With a mild interest, I watched the robotic animals up on stage, who were stiffly moving along to the warbled song, their mouths opening up and down in their weak attempts to lip sync.
I don't understand why everyone else my age thought those animatronics were so cool. In my opinion, they were a little creepy, with their staring eyes and ragged fur. Why would anyone find them entertaining? They were robots . . . they can move . . . yay. There are toys that do that too ya know, and they're much more pleasing to the eye.
Taking a half-hearted bite of pizza, I grimaced as the lukewarm sauce flooded my tongue and slipped down my throat. Annoyed, I flopped the slice back onto the plastic plate and rested my head in my hands.
Yet another headache of having a birthday party at a place that cuts corners in their budget.
Let me make something clear: this isn't my birthday party. Trust me, if it were, we'd be at a theme park or pool. Coming to Freddy Fazbear's would be at the bottom of my list. I was only invited because my friend, Susie, was invited, and she asked if I'd like to tag along. Now, we're not together or anything like that; we're just friends. I want to make sure you understand that. She asked if I wanted to come with her, and I agreed, because we're friends.
"Hey, Gregory."
Turning, I found one of the other kids who was invited to the party. I think his name was Jeremy. His raven curls shook as he turned his head to a doorway behind him, then back at me.
"What do you want?" I asked, folding my arms.
"The rest of us are following a mascot into a backroom for a bit of birthday cake. You wanna come?"
"Strange place for cake. You sure you don't wanna have it out here?" I raised my eyebrows. Jeremy just shrugged.
"Cake is cake," he said. "So, you wanna come?"
"I'm good," I replied, swinging back into my original position. "I don't really want any."
"Suit yourself," Jeremy replied, not trying at all to convince me. I rolled my eyes as I watched him enter a backroom.
I sat for a few minutes, rubbing my eyes. Note to self: the next time a party takes place at a cheap pizzeria, stay at home and watch whatever boring soap opera is on television. It's better than my situation anyday. Plus, I get to learn new words that usually get me into trouble for saying them.
A sudden tap on my shoulder made me jump, and I turned to find myself face to face . . . with a golden rabbit animatronic.
Its metallic casing was a dirty yellow in contrast to its violet bow-tie which was a few sizes too large for its body. A large, comical smile stretched across its face underneath two floppy ears perched on the rabbit's head, waving with every turn of its neck.
I inhaled sharply, but relaxed once I realized that it was only a man dressed in a mascot costume, his purple suit showing through the joins of the costume casing. Sighing, I glared into the mascot's pale, green eyes.
"What do you want?" I ask, a hint of irritation in my voice.
Keeping to its script, the rabbit mascot said nothing, and instead waved its cartoonishly large hand, moving its fingers in a fluttery greeting.
"If you're here to make me feel better, it's not going to work," I muttered, turning away from the rabbit. "You should go waste your time on someone who actually cares."
Intent on making me smile, the rabbit tiptoed to the other end of the table, and sat across from me, copying my pose.
In return, I scowled. "It's not as if I'm the birthday boy," I said, staring into the rabbit's unblinking eyes. "That honor goes to Gabriel. You should go and entertain him, wherever he is."
The rabbit cocked its head, stood up, and exaggeratedly tapped his chin with one, long finger, thinking hard. I watched exasperatedly as the rabbit pointed its finger into the air, as if he got an idea. Running back to my side of the table, he gestured for me to stand up, his foot tapping impatiently.
I twisted in my chair and folded my arms, staring at the mascot distrustfully. "Like I said before, I'm not interested."
The rabbit, in response, pretended to pout, bringing its fists up underneath its unblinking eyes and turned them in a crying motion.
"Fine, fine!" I said, fed up with the mascot, who was obviously trying way too hard to sell himself. The rabbit clapped happily and twirls around, its long, slender arms outstretched grotesquely as it dances. I watched the performance unamused.
Once the rabbit was done with the dance, it sauntered over to an employee's only door. Intrigued, I stood up, watching as the golden rabbit waved its fingers, gesturing me to come over. I walked up to the door and pointed at the employee's only sign.
"Are you sure I'm allowed in here?" I asked, nervously glancing behind me at the party room.
The rabbit nodded his large head, and proceeded to skip down the hallway, casting shadows over the polished walls. Following close behind the mascot, I attempted to make light conversation.
"So, er, what's your name?"
The rabbit looked down at me, its grin seemingly getting impossibly wider. It said nothing, and so the only noise was the small tapping of my shoes against the linoleum tiles as I followed the rabbit.
Glancing around the hallway we were walking, I inwardly cringed as I noticed all the multi-colored kids drawings of the different characters from the pizzeria. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. But as I looked, there wasn't a single drawing of the golden rabbit.
"Why aren't you on the wall?" I asked, gesturing to the pictures. Once again, I was only met with silence. My gaze dropped to the floor, and I didn't say another word.
Once again, from the party room, I heard a Fazbear employee greet a few guests, only this time, they added an additional piece of information.
"Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person."
Okay . . . that was a little weird.
Oblivious to my surroundings, I didn't notice that we'd stopped until I bumped into the rabbit mascot. Looking down, the rabbit patted me on the shoulder as I stumbled back.
"Oh sorry," I apologized, rubbing my neck.
The rabbit waved his hand as if to say don't worry about it. It proceeded to take out a pair of keys from its vest pocket, and bent down to unlock the door we had stopped at. The rabbit held it open, gesturing for me to go first.
Feeling just a bit nervous, I hesitantly took a few steps inside and immediately a coppery smell reached my nose. I coughed as I peered into the darkness.
"Um, sir . . . where-" I started, but froze as the lights snapped on. The room's walls were covered in dark red stains and smears, and the ground was littered with five bodies. Taking a closer look at their faces, I could see it was everyone invited to the birthday party. The blood drained from my face as I registered the situation.
I sprinted over to the nearest person, who just so happened to be the birthday boy himself, Gabriel. Shaking him furiously, my breathing quickened as I frantically searched for signs of life.
"Hey, Gabe, are you-" Shudders ran up my spine as red liquid seeped out from under his form. His unseeing eyes looked into mine, and I screamed as warm blood soaked my hands. Looking at the other kids, my breath shook as I noticed the dark pools under their bodies.
Fear shot through my veins, and I crouched to the floor, holding my mouth and stomach. Bitter bile threatened to come up my throat, but I swallowed it down as the gravity of my situation slammed into me.
Pivoting on my feet, I tried to run out the door, but in a swift motion, the rabbit grabbed me by the collar and threw me back. I crashed painfully into a couple of storage crates, and winced as I fell to the ground.
Scooting back, chills crept up my spine as the door slammed shut and locked behind the mascot. Almost teasingly, the silent rabbit placed a small keyring into his pocket, and produced a long, slender knife from behind its back.
My breath caught in my throat as the weapon gleamed in the dim light.
"N-no," I whispered hoarsely, my heart lurching in my chest as the rabbit advanced towards me with the weapon. "Stay away!"
The rabbit lunged at me, and I dove out of the way. The knife swished through the air, and I felt a fiery sting as it sliced my right cheek. Freely crying, I sprinted to the door and pounded on it, screaming until my throat hurt.
"Help!" I sobbed. "Please, someone get me out of here!"
"They can't hear you," the rabbit's raspy voice said from behind me. It was masculine and deep, keeping me frozen in place.
Before I could turn around, the rabbit shoved me to the ground, and my head cracked against the floor. I landed next to Susie, her blonde curls tangled and strewn out behind her dull, unblinking eyes. She was so sweet and kind; she didn't deserve this.
The rabbit's foot came down on my chest, and I wheezed and coughed as my breath was slowly squeezed out of me.
Bending down, the mascot held the knife mocking above my tear-streaked face.
"You did put up a good fight," the man in the suit said. "Even dragging you in here used up a lot of my patience, so you must bear with me as I savor this moment."
He caressed my face with the knife, grazing my skin as he traced around my head. My heart pounded as fear circulated through my tight chest.
"I won't tell anyone," I begged desperately. "Please, just let me go."
The rabbit clicked its tongue. "That's what they all say. Unfortunately for you, I've learned that it is best to have no witnesses. It's a lot easier for me, understand?"
My skin tingled as the knife grazed my ear, before pressing against my throat.
"You were the most entertaining victim I've had in a long while. So, let's see if you can give me a good scream."
A searing pain ripped through my throat as the knife bit into my flesh. I tried not to cry out; tried not to give in; tried not to give him the pleasure, but I could only keep my mouth shut for a few seconds.
I let loose an agony-filled scream as the ruthless man slit my throat. Blood trickled from the ugly wound and ran down my neck in hot streams. The cut wasn't very deep or life-threatening, but it still felt like I was slowly being torn apart.
"Now that's a scream!" said the man happily once he was finished with his work.
My head hung limply to the side, my breathing growing ragged and slow. "Please . . . make it stop," I begged.
"Okay," said the rabbit.
I could hardly believe my ears. Was he actually going to let me go? But as soon as it rose, my heart sank as the knife hovered above my heart.
"I'll make it stop as thanks for being such a fun victim," said the man in the suit.
"Stop! Please! I don't want to die!" I shouted, grabbing the man's wrists in futile resistance.
"No one does," the man replied. Knocking my hands to the side, he raised the knife above his head, the mask's unblinking eyes meeting mine.
In one last attempt to save my life, I closed my eyes and headbutted the rabbit. While the mask took most of the blow, it still stunned the killer for a few seconds. I took those few seconds and shoved the rabbit off of me, taking the keyring from his vest pocket as I did.
The masked man yelled in anger and reached for me, but I jumped away quickly. Fumbling with the keys, I shakily inserted key after key into the lock.
"Come on, come on, come on," I pleaded under my breath.
Behind me, I could hear the rabbit standing up, and knew I only had a few moments left to live. Only, I still had two keys left to test.
Taking a wild guess as to which key was correct, I chose a small, bronze one and forced it through the lock.
The door miraculously opened, and I tumbled onto the tiled floor as the knife sliced the spot where I was just standing. Without wasting another second, I flew down the hallway, past childrens' drawings of the Fazbear animatronics, which fluttered as I ranby them. A bellow of rage sounded behind me, and I quicked my pace, my heart beating a hundred miles a second, panic the only thing fueling me.
Running down the hall, I turned into a small security office. To the left of the door were two buttons marked "Door" and "Light." I punched the "Door" button and instantly a steel surveillance door slammed down across the entryway. I did the same with the door across from the room, guaranteeing that no one could get inside.
Once I was sure that I was safe for the time being, I sat down, breathing in deep gulps of air like it was water from a cool mountain spring. Brushing back the long strands of chocolate-brown hair from my face, I wiped away the sweat from my forehead, still breathing heavily.
Gingerly, I lifted my fingers to my throat and carefully prodded the jagged scar across my neck. It stung fiercely, and whenever I attempted to move or talk it burned. I pulled my fingers away and pulled my knees close to my chest, suppressing a shiver.
I nearly died.
That thought crashed down on my shoulders like an icy river. Stubborn tears leaked from my eyelids as I remembered Susie's lifeless form next to me, as the rabbit was about to plunge the knife into my chest.
He killed them. As if they were nothing. What sort of sadistic monster would do that? What's worse, we're kids. It's not as if we can fight back.
We're the perfect prey.
A sudden tapping on the glass caught my attention, and my mouth went dry when I looked up.
The rabbit was at the door, waving at me from the double-layered glass window.
"Gregory . . ." he cooed, knocking on the window. "Why don't you come out, and we can have a party?"
"Shut up you psychopath!" I screamed, covering my ears, my voice thick with fear. "Leave me alone!"
"Oh, poor, poor Gregory," the rabbit mocked. "You actually think you're safe? Why don't you take a look at that tablet on the security desk?"
Staring at the rabbit distrustfully, I slowly scooted off the floor and picked up the tablet the rabbit was describing. Turning it on, a password screen appeared.
"It's locked," I timidly told the rabbit, holding the tablet up.
"The password is two, six, nine, six, five," the rabbit replied, leaning against the wall and watching me from behind the mask's eyes.
My hands trembling, I inserted the passcode into the tablet and immediately an image from one of the security cameras popped up on screen. It showed the hallway where the rabbit was. He was looking up at the camera and waving at it.
"It's just security camera feed," I loudly complained. "I don't understand why-"
"Try taking a look at the corner of the screen," the rabbit said, casually flicking his hand.
Following his instructions, I noticed a small percentage at the bottom of the screen.
"One percent?" I said aloud, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing," said the rabbit cheerfully. "It only means that you only have one percent of power left before the doors open and I'm free to kill you."
Terror griped my throat and I threw the tablet at the window that the rabbit was standing at. "Stay away from me!" I choked out, backing up against the opposite door.
"Not an option," the rabbit said cheerfully.
A deep groan echoed around me, and I watched in horror as the door holding the rabbit at bay slid wide open, and he struts in.
"Time's up!" it taunted, leaping forward and missing me by a few inches. I gasped and cowered back, feeling nothing but blind terror.
The security door behind me slides open as all power in the room fizzles out, and before the rabbit could leap at me again, I'm out and dashing into the large pizzeria.
Strangely, the lights were all off, and the pizzeria was oddly devoid of life. No one was in any of the rooms, and the animatronics were deactivated. Everything around me had a strange purple tint to it, as if it were being held under a blacklight.
I ran for the exit doors and frantically wiggled them, but they wouldn't budge. "No, no no!" I screamed, kicking them in anger.
"Gregory, don't try to resist," came the rabbit's voice from down the hallway. "It'll all be over soon. I promise I'll make it quick."
Another wave of panic, I sprinted into the party room, and looked around for a place to hide. Eyeing the purple curtains of Pirate's Cove, I dashed into the small area, closing the curtains as much as possible.
Through a small gap in the fabric, I could see the rabbit entering the room, looking around. "Where are you?" He pinched the corner of a tablecloth between his thumb and pointer finger and playfully lifted it up, peering underneath. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."
I covered my mouth with my hands, and scooted back, pressing against the deactivated animatronic, Foxy. I must have hit a switch or something, because as soon as I touched him, he activated. His jaw snapped, making loud ringing clangs and his gears whirred and his limbs splayed out.
"Got you!" Suddenly a hand grabbed me from my arm and dragged me out from my hiding place, pinning me down. Looking up into the purple eyes of the rabbit, I screamed and cried and begged.
"Let me go! Stop! Please!"
"No one can help you now Gregory," he said. I could imagine his vicious smile on his face, the grin stretching from each cheek, the pearly teeth of the rabbit suit flashing as brightly as the knife in his sweat-slick palm.
Lifting the knife high above his head, I could only let out another desperate plea for my life, before the rabbit proceeded to stab me again and again and again.
Except . . . there was no pain.
Opening my eyes, I found that the costumed man was gone, as well as the whole pizzaria. A single light flickered above me, illuminating only myself and my nearest surroundings, which were a wooden desk, and a swivel chair. Turning in a small circle, my breath quickened as I realized I couldn't see beyond the bulb's dim light. The rest of the room was shrouded in a dark void of black.
Was I dead?
The thought caused terror to stab my heart, and my breathing rapidly increased. Remembering that glinting knife as it cut into my skin sent shivers across my body. I pulled up my shirt, but didn't find any scars. Running my fingers across my throat, I couldn't feel the jagged wound that should be etched permanently across my neck.
That rabbit mascot stabbed me, right? I should be dead.
But for some reason, I was alive and well.
Utterly confused and afraid, I approached the desk, feeling safer underneath the light. As I drew nearer, I found a computer and what seemed to be some sort of old switch stacked on top of the desk.
The switch was there for a reason—it had to be. But for what?
Taking a closer look at it, I noticed it had two sides to it. One one side was a symbol marked with a green arrow. On the other was a similar indication, only that one was red. Currently, the lever was resting on the green side.
Reaching out, I hesitated as my fingers brushed the top of the switch. What would happen if I moved it?
Still, my curiosity got the better of me, and swallowing my doubts in one hard gulp, I flipped the switch.
Then, I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
My senses were on high alert, listening for any click or activation noise. Instead, all I was met with was an unseen wind whistling through the dark expanse. The thump of my heart got louder and louder as silence pierced my eardrums.
As I began to believe nothing would happen, I felt an icy chill run from the base of my neck down to the bottom of my spine, like someone was trickling winter river water down my shirt. My hand automatically went to the back of my neck, only to find my skin was cold and clammy. A newfound fear rose up and grabbed my throat as my blood froze in my veins.
Taking a shaky breath, I turned around, my eyes trying to adjust to the darkness.
"Hello?" I asked, my voice weak. "Is anyone there?"
I stepped back, when suddenly a torrid pain shot through my skull and pulsed behind my eyes. Screaming, I grabbed my head in my hands as my legs gave out from under me. I withered on the floor, shivering as the temperature continued to drop, my throat burning as my cries echoed around the empty room, nausea bubbling in my stomach.
Through half-closed eyes, I caught a flash movement in front of the desk. Lifting my throbbing head, I could make out a shape, distorted by a greenish glow. As I squinted, the shape started to shift, transforming into something a little more human.
Or at least, that's what it would be except for its over-sized head.
Blinking rapidly, the humanoid mass dropped its green tint, and I could make out all of its details.
And when I did, I nearly passed out.
It was another rabbit. However, when I took a good look at it, I realized it wasn't the one that tried to kill me. Instead of a metallic coating, this rabbit costume seemed to be completely made up of fabric and padding. It had the same structure as the previous rabbit, but this one seemed cleaner and newer. It's gray-tan fur wasn't nearly as coarse, and in addition to a purple bowtie, it wore a vest of the same color.
Be that as it may, the barbarous and cartoonish grin it wore was the same as the rabbit in the pizzeria.
I watched in fearful fascination as the rabbit put its hands together, clearly thinking as it eyed me up and down.
Then, to my surprise, the rabbit blinked.
It wasn't a costume.
This . . . thing . . . was alive.
Another round of nausea clouded my senses as the rabbit extended a hand towards my form, almost as if it were inviting me to take hold.
All at once, my vision blurred, and everything around me seemed to be taking on a purplish tint. My vision almost seemed to be "glitching," like a computer.
Looking up, a new wave of panic washed through me.
The rabbit's eyes were glowing a bright and violent purple.
Maybe it was my imagination, or maybe I was hallucinating from the pain, but I swear that those fiendish eyes were glowing.
At this point, the pain was so intense that I began to black out. My vision started to tunnel, and I had a feeling that those cursed eyes would be the last thing I would see.
With that thought, a rush of determination filled my weak body. My hand reached up and caught the lip of the desk, and I clumsily pulled myself up. Nausea washed over me and threatened to delete my progress, but I mustered up all my strength and stood up, using the desk as support.
The rabbit raised a single eyebrow as it watched me resist, its strained smile never once faltering.
My health was still failing, and my head was still spinning. I knew I only had a few seconds of consciousness left, so using what little energy I had, I shoved the desk into the rabbit. The desk crashed into the rabbit, and it stumbled back, its concentration lost.
I couldn't see what happened after. My strength gave out, and I collapsed to the floor, my vision blinking out, before finally turning completely black.
When my eyes finally fluttered open, I found myself staring up at an iron ceiling. A small pain throbbed in the back of my brain, and when I tried to move, my muscles felt heavy, as if I had run a marathon.
Slowly standing up, I gave out a ragged cough as dust invaded my nose. Rubbing my eyes, I looked around the room, confused and disoriented.
It looked to be some sort of small storage room. Cleaning supplies arranged on racks lined the walls, as well as a few buckets filled with dirty rags and stagnant water.
I took a few steps back, and my foot crunched down on something. Looking down, I found a broken VR set, a large crack running down the middle of the white headset. Kneeling, I picked the headset up in my hands, examining it.
A ringing shot through my ears as the pain in my head steadily increased. I groaned, rubbed the side of my head, only to be rewarded with another spike of agony.
"LeT mE oUT!"
A scrambled voice made me jump, and I searched frantically for the source, my heart racing. My eyes rested on the headset in my hands, which seemed to be activated, even though it wasn't being played. A bright light was emitting from the lenses, fluctuating colors until it rested on a deep violet.
Gritting my teeth, I resisted the urge to cry out as the pain heightened, and threw the headset across the room. It bounced off the wall and landed upside down, adding another crack to its casing.
Immediately, the pain stopped. Breathing heavily, I rubbed the back of my neck as I eyed the headset. Trembling, I stepped away from it, as if it were some sort of wild animal. My hand hit a door handle, and I frantically yanked it open.
Taking a step outside, my eyes were met with bright, neon lights, as the shouts of excited cheering reached my ears. Blinking, I looked around my unfamiliar surroundings, deep in shock.
Freddy Fazbear's? That name seemed familiar. But from where?
Searching through my memories, I attempted to remember how and why I was there.
Nothing surfaced. I couldn't recall a thing. I couldn't remember how I got here, or where I was . . . I couldn't even remember my parent's names or faces.
In my mind, I could just barely recall some sort of dream . . . but I couldn't remember what it was about. I had a feeling it related to my memory loss, but other than that, I was clueless. Fear tormented me as I desperately tried to remember something, anything.
Gregory.
A name. That's all I could remember. Was it my name?
The buzz of people chatting around me made it hard to focus on my own thoughts. I swallowed hard and followed the general crowd down onto the main floor. Uncertainty crept into my veins as I passed tables filled with different families, teenagers lounging on chairs, and people milling around near the stage. My eyes searched for familiar faces, but everyone one in the room was a stranger to me.
Suddenly, loud, exciting, rock music played over the speakers as someone announced over a loudspeaker:
"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, Fazbear Entertainment would like you to put your hands together for the one, the only Freddy Fazbear!"
Just then, four animatronics rose from the stage, jumping as the drop of the song hit.
A wolf-like animatronic flipped long, white hair streaked with green played a keyboard with skill as she jumped like a real rock star. Her ears were ringed with multiple piercings and she wore a metallic belly shirt. A name plate flashed under her image on the screens reading: Roxanne Wolf.
Another animatronic, a bright-green gator, played bass with passion, flashing his star-shaped sunglasses and smoothing back his red mohawk. This one was apparently named Montgomery Gator.
The crowd got tighter as each animatronic was named. Uncomfortable, I squeezed through them in a panic. I tried again and again to remember anything that could help me, but I kept turning up empty.
Looking up, another animatronic's name flashed across the screens: Glamrock Chica. Craning my neck, I saw a white-and-pink animatronic chicken rock the sparkly guitar she held, kicking her legs up and down, green triangle earrings jingling as she moved her head to the rhythm.
Climbing up onto a photobooth, I stood amongst an endless crowd, cheering as the final animatronic was announced.
Freddy Fazbear's name exploded on the screen in gold sparkles as he waved a fist in the air, the other clutching a mic. The electronic bear danced across the stage, his glossy metal shining in the bright lights as the crowd screamed in delight.
With all the animatronic's names announced, they started jamming out with each other. I watched as Monty and Freddy went back to back and bopped their heads to the beat, before spinning off to either side. Roxanne stomped her foot and waved her hands as Chica stepped onto a platform that raised her high into the air.
The mood was so electric, and I wanted to join in, but all I could feel was fear and alarm as I struggled to regain my memory. I looked back out across the crowd and the stage as another stab of pain shot through my skull.
Suddenly, Freddy's face changed from one of excitement to confusion, then to concern. Intrigued, I watched as he looked left and right in the crowd, and abruptly dropped his mic. The other animatronics on stage with him looked at each other then back at their friend as Freddy started twitching.
It was only then, when Freddy and I made eye contact, that he collapsed to the stage floor, and the performance screeched to a panicked stop.
Thank you to my editors: ANameToKnow and juniperjellyfishstudios