I stood there in disbelief as the animatronic fell to the floor with a heavy crash, metal scraping on metal, all signs of life disappearing from him. The crowd surrounding the stage erupted into chaos. Confused shouting overtook the monotone voice of an announcer as two workers rushed to carry Freddy offstage. The other animatronics attempted to start the show again, but gave up as the crowd only increased in volume.
A worker dressed in a blue, button-up shirt stepped onstage, and picked up Freddy's discarded microphone, tapping it before speaking into it.
"Attention everyone," he announced, tugging on his sweat-soaked collar. The crowd's noise slowly died until it degraded to muttered whispers.
Sitting down and pulling my legs close to my chest, I watched the employee, biting my lip in anticipation.
"We are sorry for the inconvenience," the worker continued in a low voice, scratching his head and nervously glancing around the audience, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. "Freddy has experienced a slight malfunction and will not be continuing tonight's performance. In order to make up for the disruption, there will be a special meet-and-greet in Rockstar Row with the rest of the band members. In addition, there will be other commodities given at the end of the night as you make your way out. Once again, we apologize, and hope the rest of your night goes smoothly. Just a reminder, our doors close at ten-thirty."
Rushing offstage, the employee gestured for the animatronics to follow. The animatronics followed the man off stage, clearly concerned for their lead singer. The stage went dark, and the crowd began to disperse, many parents complaining about their kid's ruined night.
Watching the fiasco from the top of the photobooth, I felt a wormy curiosity well up inside of me. Freddy collapsed right as he looked at me. He may have been glitching out earlier, but it was only when we made eye contact that he completely stopped working. What exactly went wrong with the show was a mystery to me, but a burning feeling in my chest told me that I had something to do with it.
But what?
"Hey, you! Little boy!"
I jumped as a female voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Looking down, I saw a security guard, tapping the side of the photobooth with a heavy flashlight.
"Please get down from there," she said, exasperatedly tossing her blonde ponytail.
I quickly scrambled off, muttering an apology. "I'm going to have to write this on your Fazbear record you know," the woman said, taking out a pad of paper from her belt. "Name?"
"I-" What was I supposed to tell her? The only name I knew was Gregory, and I didn't even know if it was my own.
The security guard crossed her arms, tapping her foot in annoyance as she waited for my response. I studied her face; her green apple eyes shone brightly in the lights of the mall.
Taking a glance at a name tag pinned to her shirt, I learned her name was Vanessa. Although, something about her seemed . . . off. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't conjure up a memory to go with her.
"Name?" Vanessa asked, snapping her fingers in my face.
"I . . . I don't know," I whispered, mortified. Tears were starting to come to my eyes, but by the way Vanessa eyed me and heatedly clicked her pen, she obviously didn't care.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Vanessa asked, clearly annoyed with me.
"I don't know," I said, backing up against the photobooth, holding my head in my hands. I couldn't deal with her right now. "Please, just leave me alone."
"Where are your parents?" Vanessa snapped looking around before scowling at me. "And don't play dumb this time."
I looked down at my hands, but couldn't remember their names or faces. My words were caught in my throat as fear settled in, twisting my stomach in curly knots that made me feel sick with worry.
"Well," Vanessa said after a minute, "If you don't wanna tell me, why don't you come with me to Lost and Found."
It wasn't a question.
She reached out for me, but I jumped back, like her hand was burning hot.
"Don't touch me!" I yelled, before dashing away. I could hear Vanessa's exasperated sigh from behind me.
"Urg, I hate kids," she groaned, her footsteps adding to the noise of the mall.
Blindly, I sprinted through the shopping center. This place was unfamiliar to me, and with my blank memory, I had no idea what to do or where to go. I was confused, terrified, and admittedly a little hungry, but I wasn't about to stop and get nachos.
Running through the crowded mall, I passed by countless people in a frenzy. Everything about the situation seemed wrong, ever since I woke up from whatever daydream trance I was in. The lights were too bright, the atmosphere too happy, and the people too friendly.
Prerecorded music blared from the speakers, some sort of cheesy electronic-pop, heavy with base. Looking around, bright lights blind me, a blur of clothing crowding my vision.
I jolted back as I bumped into someone, sending me sprawling to the ground. My dark, hazel eyes met a pair of ocean-blue ones.
"Sorry," I mumbled, looking for a different route.
"It's okay sweetie," the woman said, helping me to my feet. "Why are you running?"
"I-" But before I could reply, movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Vanessa is shoving her way towards me.
Murmuring another apology, I dashed around the woman and immediately stumbled into a crowd of teenage guys. Narrowly, I avoided another collision, and didn't try to stop and apologize this time.
"Hey, I'm walking here!" one of them yelled after me before cursing under his breath.
My eyes searched frantically for a familiar face, but as far as I could tell, I was in a sea of strangers. Every light burned my eyes; the world screamed at me; everyone yelling and laughing in a chaotic cacophony of sound.
Pressing my hands to my ears, I fight the urge to give up and turn myself in.
I turned a corner and came to a brightly-lit intersection. Taking a leap of faith, I chose to turn right, and immediately entered a food court, slowing my pace once inside.
Hunkering down, I kept my eyes glued to the ground, trying to blend in. I took a seat at an empty table, watching the entrance to the food court through the leaves of an artificial plant that was conveniently placed next to me.
I thought I had lost her, but a few seconds after I sat down the security guard burst into the area, her face scrunching up when she realized how many people there were. Vanessa started circling around tables, arms crossed in irritation as she looked for me.
Taking this as my opportunity to escape, I slowly got up from my seat, keeping my eyes on her as I retraced my steps to the exit.
Suddenly, I crashed into someone; a cold liquid splattered on my arm as a high shriek rocketed through the air.
"Watch where you're going you little brat!" a shrill voice barked at me at a pitch way too high. The girl that I had crashed into glared at me with angry green eyes, her mouth, smothered in cherry-colored lip-gloss, was pulled into a snarl. Her blueberry smoothie had splashed all across her white, denim jacket. Snatching a few napkins from off of her table, she dabbed at the front of her clothes, trying to salvage them.
Another girl ran up to us, presumably the smoothie-girl's friend. "That was a brand new shirt!" she yelled, crossing her dark arms in front of her.
"I-I'm sorry," I stammered, backing up. "I didn't mean to."
"Sure you didn't," the girl's friend said, rolling her heavily eye-shadowed eyes.
"I-I'm sorry," the smoothie girl mimicked in a drawling, baby-voice. "I didn't mean to." She narrowed her eyes as her voice dripped with sarcasm. "I'm just a little brat who wants to go back to his mommy. Oh, boo hoo."
I clenched my hands into fists, hurt and offended. Everyone's eyes turned towards the commotion as she shoved me into a nearby table. My hand splattered into someone's plate of nachos, its greasy sauce coating my hand in a thin layer of grime. Wishing I could vanish on the spot, I clumsily wiped off the cheese and shake, using up more napkins than I should have.
Before I could leave and save myself from further embarrassment, cold fingers wrapped around my wrist.
"You're going to buy my friend a new drink," smoothie girl's friend commanded, dragging me toward the counter.
"No I'm not," I protested, yanking my arm away. "Let me go!"
"There you are!" A familiar barking voice added to the fray, and I didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
I pushed past the two angry girls and dogged between the tables. Glancing over my shoulder, I could see Vanessa talking with the girls, promising they'd get a full refund, before turning her sights on me.
My heart pounded, hearing her heavy footsteps behind me. I passed a table full of kids, and as I did, one of them tugged at his mothers cardigan, pointing and yelling, "Mommy I wanna play tag too!"
"If only," I said under my breath.
Despite the rush of senses overwhelming me, I noticed a door that led off to the side of the lobby, big white letters spelling out "Employees Only." I raced into it, slamming the door shut behind me. It led to another hallway. A sinking feeling in my chest told me I wasn't allowed in here. I looked around the barren hallway; cold-looking metallic walls a stark contrast to the neon in the shopping mall.
Dashing through the dim hallway as fast as I possibly could, I scraped my hand along the freezing metal, frantically looking for a door or some means of escape.
The bang of the door behind me sent a jolt through my feet. For a moment I couldn't believe it—I could have sworn I'd lost her— but there she was, vigorously pulling back strands of her long, blonde hair.
"You." her voice dripped with venom, her green eyes narrowed into slits. Her long legs carried her toward me with the speed of a marathon runner
Sprinting through the endless corridors, I ignored my burning legs, Vanessa hot on my heels. She was yelling all sorts of things ranging from soft pleas and promises of safety, to profanities and even threats. I paid no attention to her cries, focusing only on my escape.
There was only one problem:
I was tired.
As I ran raggedly through the corridors, my legs were on fire as if knives pricked into my feet. Turning a corner, I slumped over, feeling my heart beating furiously. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I took shallow, rasping gasps, giving an occasional cough as I tried to catch my breath. Vanessa's footsteps got louder, and her distorted shadow flashed across the wall as she came closer.
"Stop hiding," the security guard whined. "I bet your parents are probably worried about you. Come on out."
I wanted to run. I really did . . . but I was so exhausted. I guess I've never run this hard in my life . . . not that I could remember anyway.
Her hand snatched my shirt from behind, tugging me back.
"You're in such big trouble, mister," she told me between sharp breaths. Squirming, pulling and twisting against her sweat slick hand, I halfheartedly listened to the lecture about security, the main office, my parents, the police . . . even something about suing me for all the trouble I caused.
"Let go of me," I protested, stomping down on her foot. Clenching her jaw, she sucked in a breath, her hand tightened before loosening. Ripping out of her grasp, I booked it down the hall, trying my best to ignore the throbbing pain in my legs.
Jiggling the doorknob to each door I tried desperately to force one open. One of them opened partially but not wide enough for me to squeeze through. Others were locked. Warm tears sprang to my eyes as more doors turned out to be nothing but dead ends, Vanessa getting closer with each door I tried. I needed to find a hiding place quickly, or I was going to get caught. Something about her attitude told me I wouldn't escape the next time it happened.
Desperate, I turned towards the closest door. The rusty hinges and uneven frame held firm. I threw my weight against it, praying that it would open. The metallic door screeched against the tiled floor, sending me stumbling into the room. My foot caught the edge of a cardboard box, and I toppled over, only to bolt up and quickly push the door closed. For good measure, I turned the lock, hearing the quiet click of safety.
Sliding down the door, heavy breaths burst into my lungs, each wave of the thick, dusty air soothing every sense. A new layer of catharsis washed over me with each exhale as Vanessa's muffled banging blended in with the low hum of the desk fan.
"There's no way she can get me in here," I whispered to myself, eyes drooping slightly. Despite the raging plea from my aching body, I sat up and immediately froze.
I was face to face with an animatronic. Electric blue paint highlighted his eyes, reaching down his chin to illustrate a lightning bolt on his chest. A black bow-tie rested under his chin, and a top-hat of the same color was perched on its head, right between the stubby ears.
It was Freddy.
The main mascot seemed to be resting; his large eyes were closed, and his hulking form was slumped over.
"You brat!" Vanessa's voice snarled from behind the door. "Open the door, right now!"
I turned back to the door, goosebumps rising on my arms, before turning back to the animatronic. Vanessa's voice faded until it was a mere buzz in the back of my head as I ignored her. Tentatively, I walked up to Freddy, reaching out to him with timid fingers, attempting to wake him up in hopes he'd be able to help me.
A dull, throbbing headache pounded out in an intense rhythm as my fingers grazed along the smooth metal, a high-pitched ringing getting louder and more distorted as I pressed my palm against the cold animatronic.
The headache turned into a ripping pain, digging into my skull like an ice pick to the head. Clutching at my hair, I fell to the floor, biting back screams. Staring up at Freddy, I watched his features blur into a shapeless mass, blending into one another.
Static flooded my vision, every color around me shifting out of its original source. Thin, black bars crawled up and down everything around me, like on an old television screen when the signal is fuzzy.
A faint sound reached my ears; a high-pitched, blood-curdling howl of agony. It took me a few moments to realize that I was the one screaming. My throat burned as I tried and failed to calm down. It was as if my head were slowly being wretched apart, splitting in a cruel fashion.
The ringing shot through my ears, and as I lay there, the sonorous sound twisted into words:
"I aLWayS CoMe baCK. LEt mE oUt!"
I blinked slowly; the ringing had subsided, lost in the sound of my shaky breaths. The cold floor pressed to my cheek, the smell of dust a welcoming embrace, saliva flooding my mouth, giving me some much needed moisture.
Soaked in sweat and shaking, I moaned as I slowly got up, rubbing my temples in an effort to rid myself of the pounding in my head. I propped myself up against the door, feeling the soft vibrations of Vanessa's banging . . .
"Come on kid," Vanessa growled, the door shuddering as she hammered on it. "I don't have all night! Open the door right this instant!"
Vanessa was still on the other side. I jumped up, my headache forgotten. Wiping my brow with a shaky hand, my eyes shifted around the room, looking for a way to escape.
I was cornered. There were no windows or vents I could crawl out of, and the only door was the one Vanessa was blocking, and with the state I was in, I was in no condition to run past her.
A hissing behind me caught my attention. Turning, I found Freddy, his stomach hatch wide open. It was tiny, but as I studied the way the parts folded in on each other, I realized I had a chance of fitting inside.
The idea of crawling into a tight cavity made my skin crawl. For all I knew, as soon as I closed the hatch, I'd be twisted and smashed into an unrecognizable slab of meat.
"Open. The. Door." Outside, I could hear Vanessa messing with some keys, their clinking echoing through my ears.
Looking back at the door, I could see the knob twisting, and the sound of metal screeching along the floor. Freddy sat there, stomach hatch still open, and without thinking, I shoved myself into the animatronic. Slowly, I turned, getting comfortable in the metal enclosure, the stomach hatch sitting wide open. Another terrifying thought overcame me: what if it doesn't shut? Slowly, as if Freddy himself heard me, the hatch started closing.
I could feel the metal cage compress around my small form as I was plunged into darkness. The steel endoskeleton snapped and clicked as it adjusted to me, the steel tightening around me. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought I'd be mashed into a meat pretzel.
Luckily enough, I was not crushed. After a few moments of adjustment, the stretching and compressing stopped. The chest cavity was large enough for me to fit in if I hugged my knees to my chest and didn't move around too much. It was a tight squeeze, but it was comfortable enough for the time being.
The lock turned, and the door to the room flew open. Pressing my hands to my mouth, I watched as Vanessa walked in, a pink tint to her cheeks. She shone her flashlight around the room, red in the face, glaring into every corner.
"Where did you go!?" she growled, mostly to herself. "You were in here a second ago!"
From the small crack in the chestplate, my eyes followed Vanessa as she rifled through a couple of boxes, then cheeked under the security desk, looking in every nook and cranny she thought I'd be in. When she didn't find anything, she sighed angrily before pulling out a walkie-talkie.
"No sign of the boy, but Freddy is ready to be moved to his room in Rockstar Row. Someone get on that please. I'll deal with the kid."
The door slammed behind Vanessa, and I let go of my mouth, listening to my own shaking breaths. Carefully, I stretched, feeling around in the darkness for a way to open the chest. Finding two small buttons on either side of me, I took note of them and pressed. The hatch opened slowly with a hiss, and I started clambering out.
Just then the door started opening again. Noiselessly, I quickly scrambled to get my leg back into Freddy as I watched this beefy man enter the room, staring at the door. Slowly the hatch closed, and if the man heard he made no sign of it.
"This stupid door," he grumbled, shoving it open. He looked Freddy over, calculating his weight, then called over his shoulder, "Hey, Daniel, give me a hand!"
A second employee stalked in, dark circles under his eyes. Together, they hoisted Freddy onto a dolly cart, which seemed to shake, despite being made to carry heavy objects.
"Daaaang, man," the big guy said in a slurred voice. "Is it just me, or does this piece of junk seem heavier to you?"
"Just be quiet," Daniel muttered. "Let's just get him to his room. It's almost closing time, so this'll be our last job of the night."
I stayed silent as the two men talked, trying to curl into a tighter ball inside of Freddy's stomach hatch. Whenever he would move over something bumpy, I'd jolt around inside the chest cavity. When that happened, I'd always be afraid the men would hear me, but their murmur of conversation muffled the small clinks caused by my scuffling.
"The other day," the large man groaned, "I was working in the arcade, and I ended up getting stuck in it. Again! Every time I exit the Security Office, I get locked out. If it's not my low clearance level, then I need a stupid Party Pass." He let go of the dolly momentarily and rubbed the back of his head. "Man it was so embarrassing; you should have seen the look they gave me! I'm on the security team. Shouldn't I have access to everything? I swear, those S.T.A.F.F. bots are messing with me. This place isn't that safe. Give me my one hundred, and I'll go."
His co-worker laughed harshly, his grating voice scraping against my eardrums. "You think that's bad? Let me tell you what Kyle texted me."
Daniel stopped for a moment, and pulled out his cellphone, flipping through messages. "Here it is: 'Last week it was Jenkins forgetting to replace the urinal cakes after a single use, and yesterday it was Elsa for showing up to work early. Today, it was me because Lilly H asked for chicken alfredo. I said we don't make that here. Her father — guy looked like Sasquatch, by the way — demanded to speak to a manager. I get Dennis. Dennis asks me why I don't just get her what she wants. I repeat what I said: we don't have chicken alfredo. Dennis fires me on the spot. Jokes on him though. Turns out our new S.T.A.F.F. bots, also known as the 'better employees,' aren't programmed to make chicken alfredo, so HQ fired him for firing me. Sweet revenge. Thanks, Lilly!'"
The both of them burst into laughter.
"Sweet revenge indeed," the burly man remarked after calming down. "But Kyle has a point though. These S.T.A.F.F. bots are taking over all our jobs. The other night, someone from higher up told us that night time working hours are going to be reduced because the S.T.A.F.F. bots are a success."
"That's horrible," replied Daniel, frowning.
"Yeah, it really is," the man agreed. "Soon, we might not even be employed anymore. I'm looking up a second job in my spare time just in case that happens."
The whoosh of a door sliding open stopped their conversations, and Freddy was wheeled inside a room. Through a small crack in the chestplate, I could see rust-colored walls and bright-orange neon lights.
"Let's go," Daniel said, followed by two pairs of footsteps, a door closing, then silence.
I didn't dare move from my hiding spot for a long time. By the first five minutes, freezing chill was welling up inside of me, but I still didn't move. The claustrophobia of the tight area was starting to get to me, but my fear of being found kept me rooted in place.
In addition to my uneasiness, my confusion was overwhelming. Each second I couldn't remember any details about my life, the more my head felt like it was going to explode. It was as if someone was putting an enormous amount of pressure on my skull, compacting my brain into a tight and narrow space, confining it to emptiness.
A prickling numbness started spreading through my legs, and I flexed my foot to get the pins and needles out. When that didn't work, I held my breath, and started to open the stomach hatch a little, so I could stretch out my legs.
That's when Freddy started moving on his own.
He stood up, the metal around me whirring and clicking as his joints moved about. An electronic buzz hummed from inside the animatronic, and I could see internal flashing lights reading "Starting Up." That text quickly switched to "Safe Mode," as the light inside the animatronic turned a minty green.
Quickly covering my mouth with my hands, I kept still as once again the metal around me compressed and stretched. The cavity I was in had a metal cage, keeping me safe from the many moving joints of the animatronic, but a itching fear of knowing that if you misplaced your foot or hand it could be sawed off in an instant made me shudder.
A bit of binary code flashed across my vision, before it went dark again. Then, Freddy opened his eyes. The bright, golden light flashed around the room, almost like a built-in spotlight. He turned to a mirror in his showroom, blinking and testing his vision in front of it.
From my view point, a small battery symbol blinked off to the side. Originally five bars, it now only showed two full bars, teetering close to low power.
Focusing on Freddy's appearance reflected from the mirror, I watched as he shook his shoulders, loosening the steel joints.
And then, Freddy spoke.
**Important Notice
If you have not read the revised Chapter One, I highly suggest you do, or else the rest of the story will not make sense. Thank you!