"Showtime already?" Freddy asked, studying his flawless copper form with large, yellow eyes. "I seem to be experiencing a malfunction. The recharge cycle is not complete."
"Will you shut up?" I hissed before I could think, glaring into the dim, minty glow of the back of his eyes, my heart bruising the inside of my chest. Freddy's voice may have been low and placid, but it still boomed around the room.
"Who said that?" Freddy inquired, confusion ringing in his voice as he looked around, the metal enclosure snapping and adjusting all around my small body as he bent to look at the ground
My heart jumped into my throat, swallowing. "I did," I replied, blood ringing in my ears rushing far too fast. Swallowing my heart again, I took a shaky breath and started up again "I'm down here."
"Down where? I still do not see you." Freddy said, glancing under his desk and all around himself again.
"Okay, listen," I whispered just loud enough for him to hear. "When you were asleep, I opened your stomach hatch and climbed inside."
"My stomach hatch!?" Freddy exclaimed. "That place is reserved for oversized birthday cakes and piñatas. It is not a safe play area!"
Messing with my fingers, I couldn't even look toward his eyes. My stomach flipping, small beads of sweat layering my forehead. "Sorry," I mumbled, not sure he even heard me. Finding and pressing the small buttons, I spilled out of him, rolling out onto the carpeted ground.
"There you are!"
Heaving myself up, I stood on numb legs and rubbed the back of my head, staring at the patterned carpet. Freddy's heavy metal hands gripped my shoulders, sending me jolting forward, firmly holding me in place.
Up close, the vivid details of his hulking form were more illuminated. The polished metal of the animatronic sparkled in the luminous lights of his showroom, reflecting soft, warm glows.
His glossy nose twitched as he examined me, and the way his eyes moved like a human's seemed almost unnatural for his hulking form. Sharp, white teeth poked out from his snout.
I attempted to squirm out of his grip, my breathing getting faster as he held me, his eyes turned a bluish-white. A small beam of light scanned my face, causing my skin to tingle a little, before his eyes reverted back to yellow.
"How odd. Your guest profile; it's unknown to me," he muttered, setting me down. Stumbling back I stared, watching nervously as he paced circles around me.
"Who are you?" he finally asked in his grumbling voice.
I opened my mouth, the dry air seeing in and out as I considered my answer, I didn't know. Was my name Gregory? Was it something else?
Looking down at the floor, I took a few deep breaths racking my brain for an answer. "I-I..." A lump slowly rose up my throat, which felt like it had been glued shut.
I slid down against the bright-red wall, head in my hands sharp prickling tears gathering in the corners of my eyes.
Freddy tilted his head, his footsteps reverberating around the room. "It's okay," he said, his voice even and soft. Lowering himself onto his knee he tentatively reached out; hand hovering a few centimeters from my face. "I'm not going to hurt you."
My eyes flicker back and forth, searching for any malicious intent, which I find. My shoulders dropped, tension leaking out onto the floor. Carefully pushing myself to my feet, I took a breath, the response already spilling out of me.
"I'm . . . Gregory."
The name slipped from my mouth like melted butter onto popcorn, and heavy weight fell to the floor as the last syllable fell from my lips. That name, my name; or at the very least a name from my past, flooded my body with warmth, confidence freshly flowing within my veins.
"Gregory," the robot said, more to himself than to me, but smiled as he watched me nod "I will notify the main office."
I watched eagerly as Freddy closed his eyes, watching his ears twitch. A chirping beep split the silent air. The bear opened his eyes, a look of concern on his metal face.
"Huh, connection error. My communications are down. I cannot connect to the main network." I stared, ignoring the tears pricking in my eyes instead focusing on my predicament musing over every strange thing that happened to me.
I stopped, the communications error fresh in my mind.
"It's her," I realized. "She cut you off. She's not going to let you call for help until she finds me."
Freddy's metallic head cocked to the side, confused as I pieced together the situation. "Who?" he asked. "Who is looking for you? Your mother?"
"Shh!" I whispered, my attention suddenly towards the curtains at the far end of the room. They obscured the interior of the showroom, probably due to Freddy's malfunction onstage. From the other side, loud footsteps could be heard stomping down the unseen hall. Pulling the cloth aside, I peered out of a large, dirty window, riddled with scratches. Through the glass I could see a large common area, with multiple neon signs and pictures hanging up on the teal walls.
A beam of light appeared on the dark, tiled floors, stretching as the source came closer and closer. My blood turned cold as I realized it was a flashlight beam.
Please don't be her, please don't let it be her, I thought as I waited in fearful anticipation.
A few seconds later, a security guard came into view, her long, blonde ponytail swinging as she briskly walked.
I shrank back from the window, breathing hard.
Vanessa.
"That is the security guard," Freddy helpfully informed me. "She can help you!"
"No!" I shouted, before covering my mouth with my hands and speaking in a hushed whisper. "No, I don't trust her."
I hurriedly pulled the curtains shut and backed away.
"Why not?" Freddy asked, coming up behind me.
"I don't know who she is or what her deal is, but she's trying to get me."
Tugging on the collar of my sapphire-blue shirt, I gulped. I didn't know Vanessa's motives. Maybe she really was just a normal security guard and wants to help me. Maybe she doesn't. One thing's for sure is that Vanessa gave off really weird vibes. Something about her seemed off, and that's what scared me.
I looked into Freddy's eyes, then back toward the window. "Isn't there some other way for you to communicate with me besides talking so loudly?" I asked him.
"Uh, take this," he said. His stomach hatch opened to reveal a small present inside. "It is a novelty Freddy Fazwatch."
Nervously, I reached a hand inside his chest cavity and grabbed the present. I clumsily tugged off the blue ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a square, electronic watch, the outline of it mimicking the top of Freddy's head. As soon as I slipped it on, a series of computerized tones sounded, almost like music or a text notification.
"What was that?" I asked, adjusting the watch.
"I am sending you an encoded message," Freddy calmly replied.
Looking down at the Fazwatch, its bright screen flashed to a message screen. A voice from the Fazwatch read it out in Glamrock Freddy's voice, but much quieter.
"Hello Gregory. It is me, Freddy. I will escort you to the main entrance. However, I am unable to leave this room. You should have no problem. There is a button on the wall that will open the door to the back room. I will make it accessible to you now."
Looking back to Freddy, he gave me a silent thumbs up, grinning. I shyly smiled back.
My gaze drifted across the room, scanning across multiple plushies and other collectables. Near an arcade game in the back corner, a small button in the shape of Freddy's face blinked at me. Walking up next to it, I rested my hand tentatively on its surface, before pressing it.
The metal door off to the side of the room slid open, revealing a dark space, much different in contrast to the bright showroom.
"Well done Gregory," Freddy said as I peered into the darkness. "There is an open air vent inside the maintenance room. You will have to climb through the ventilation system and release me from the outside."
Taking a step inside, I shuddered as the light from the showroom barely illuminated the interior. I glanced around, squinting to see into the dim room. Spiderwebs wrapped the corners of metal shelves, bins of stuff collected dust at the top, and a dark, chain link fence was barely visible in the gloom.
"I-It's pretty dark in there," I stuttered, shaking my head and looking back at Freddy. "Are you sure there's not another way out?"
Our eyes met, the soft warm glow strangely comforting "I am afraid there is not, but there is nothing to be scared of," he said, placing one of his big paws on my shoulder "I may not know you well, but something tells me you are a resourceful boy. I believe in you and you should believe in yourself. You can do this Gregory."
Taking a breath, I smiled. "I'll try my best, thank you."
Turning back to the maintenance room, I stepped further inside, looking around.
"Good luck, Superstar," Freddy called as the door closed behind me. Trailing my hand along one of the bookshelves, my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. A faint light came from one of the corners in the small room, using that to see, I examined my surroundings.
Cans of paint sat on the shelves, big barrels of oil sitting just across from them; probably to keep Freddy's joints from collapsing or grinding together.
I walked to the back, slowly pushed the chain link fence open and carefully stepped over a few small boxes. I winced as I stubbed my toe on something, instinctively I looked down to find huge circuit board looking cubes, the buttons glowing with faint neon colors.
Freddy said something about an air vent, but I didn't see anything down there. Maybe . . .
Looking up, I found the vent Freddy was talking about, illuminated by the soft glow of a tube-like structure with a lightning bolt painted on the outside of its red shell, which I presumed to be some sort of charging station.
The only issue: there was no way I could reach that high.
A few boxes lay scattered around the small storage room, and I scrounged them up, pushing them over to the wall, the movement kicked up a flurry of dust. Heaving a few of the largest boxes up, I carefully placed them on top of each other, my box tower just barely able to reach the vent.
I scrambled inside, the metal already bending under my weight, slowly I shifted myself in the dust and started down the vent.
As soon as I got inside, I could hear all sorts of noises coming from various places inside the Pizzaplex: the distant clanging of kitchen pans, quiet, foreboding music coming from some sort of eight-bit arcade game, a soft hum of air as the vents circulated kicking up the smallest bit of dust, and the strange, hair-raising screech of metal being scratched and scraped.
Cold air surrounded me as I crawled my way through. Shifting I pulled my shirt over my nose, the dust kicking up the more I moved. My hands softly padded along the vent; a thin layer of grim already covering my hands, helping to conceal the sound. The tunnel wasn't too hard to navigate; it was only a one-way passage.
"Your performance was perfect tonight!"
Freezing, I listened closely as a rough voice up ahead spouted out bursts of compliments to someone. Crawling forward quietly, I came to a grating in the vent, in which I could peer into another showroom. It was decorated in a punk-rock style, and mimed the layout of Freddy's room. Below me, the animatronic wolf that I remembered to be Roxy sat at what I presumed to be a mirror.
"Thank you," she said, and it took me a moment to realize she was talking to herself. "Your hair is beautiful, your tail is beautiful. Everyone was watching you. Everyone loves you." She stared at herself admiringly. "Everyone wants to be you."
I watched in fascination as Roxy stood up, hands on her hips.
"You are the best," she said with resolution. "Thank you. I am the best."
Positive affirmations . . . that's not something you see every day, especially from an animatronic. This was very strange . . . like Freddy, Roxy acted more human than robot.
With one last fleeting glance, I continued through the vent.
As I grew closer to the next showroom, all I could hear was deep roaring, and the sound of objects smashing against walls. Unlike Roxy's room, I could not see into this one. Glass shattered and wood splintered, all combined with a deafening growl that echoed through the vent.
Assuming that this noise could only be coming from Monty, I quickly rushed past the area until the sound was far behind me. Fans in the duct creaked as they spun, casting moving shadows on the walls, wiggling like snakes. Shuddering, I kept crawling, wondering in desperation how much farther I had to go.
After a minute or so, music began drifting through the vents; sharp notes coming from an electrical guitar. Stopping at another grating, I watched Chica shred guitar amongst the empty pizza boxes that were strewn around her room.
She seemed so happy as she played; her passion radiated with the music. My fingers drummed against the metal that lined the vents, quietly tapping out the beat without alerting her to my presence. When she strummed the final note in the song, I wanted to clap, but knowing that it would give me away, I just gave a silent applause in my head and moved on.
I didn't realize I was at the end of the vent until I nearly fell out into open air. My arm scratched down the side of the wall as a sudden jolt of fear rushed through me as my body started falling. I pulled back quickly, scrambling back into the dark recesses of the vent, wincing as a stinging pain flashed through my arm that had slid out. I ran my thumb up the cut I'd gotten from the sharp corners of the grating, wiping off the thin streak of blood and this time — more cautiously — peered outside.
The hallway, which I believed to be Rockstar Row, was pretty dim; the only light sources were those of decorative neon signs hanging on the walls. There wasn't any noise, and as far as I could tell, no people. Looking down, the drop wasn't too far, and I quickly climbed out of the duct, landing roughly on my hands and knees.
Climbing to my feet, I started walking out into the center of the hallway when a voice started speaking on an unseen intercom.
"Ladies and gentlemen," it said. "Thank you for visiting, and we hope you enjoyed the show. Freddy and the gang are pretty tired, but they'll be back again next week after a few days of scheduled maintenance. Please make your way to the front of the building where you will be given novelty glasses, a voucher for one free soda refill, and where you will sign a legal disclaimer releasing us of all liability for anything that might have happened during your visit. Have an awesome night, and we'll see you again soon."
I stood in the empty Rockstar Row, gazing at the many different sights. There were many cardboard cutouts of animatronics standing around — the kind that kids can stick their heads through and pretend to be the character — as well as other ones which included comical scenes of the animatronics going on adventures. Glass cases were also scattered around the hallway, and they held ancient-looking props from who knows where, giving me an eerie sense that I was in some sort of mystery shack or curio museum. There were all sorts of objects, from a chipped, star-shaped guitar, to a mini cupcake animatronic who's eyes seemed to follow me.
A soft pinkish light bathed the floor in front of me, and familiar guitar music echoed in my ears. Curious, I ran up ahead and found myself staring into a window allowing me to see into Chica's room, and I watched the animatronic shredding her guitar, eyes closed in passionate concentration.
Smiling, I crept past her window, trying not to break her absorption, quietly looking at the opposite wall. Clumsy kids drawings hung, the crayon scribbles crudely representing the animatronics they're based after. I admired the drawings from afar, giggling at the stick figures whose heads were a bit too big.
The next showroom I passed was Monty's, but like in the vent, I couldn't see into the room. Signs were posted around the attraction that were saying things like, "Off Limits," and, "Sorry Folks, No Autographs." I could hear the animatronic though, his roaring reminding me of some prehistoric reptile. Coughing awkwardly, I shuffled away, steaming by Roxy's room and heading to Freddy's.
As I passed by a golden statue of Freddy, I suddenly heard a series of melodic beeps coming from my Fazwatch. I tapped the screen and noticed a red notification at the top right corner. Clicking it, I was brought to the message screen that I'd used with Freddy a couple of minutes ago, but this time there were two messages. The new message was titled "Customer Complaint." I read it, frowning as I scanned the angry words.
We paid for the Glam Freddy Mega Deluxe Party Package and Freddy broke down as soon as he got onstage. We paid to have him at the table and sing happy birthday. He was supposed to give her the cake! My daughter's birthday has been ruined. I demand a refund.
"Um, Freddy?" I asked into the watch.
"Yeah?"
"What is this . . . customer complaint . . . message that I just got?"
"Oh? You got that? Interesting. The Fazwatch that I gave you is a new model that has not been released to the public. I believe that your Fazwatch is connected to the main server, and not the guest server, allowing you to receive private messages. I bet you could even gain access to security cameras if you had a security badge. I will notify the main office tomorrow of the bugs that need to be fixed in the watch. In the meantime, just ignore any report logs or other messages like that."
"Okay," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
I quickly made my way to Freddy's greenroom door, and tugged on the handle a few times, but it wouldn't open.
"The stupid door won't budge," I hissed as I tried to force the door open again.
Freddy's muffled voice came through the door. "Oh? You are going to need a photopass to open the door. Apologies, I assumed you had one already."
"So, how do I get in?" I asked, trying to force open the door without much luck.
"Well you should be able to find one at a convenience counter," Freddy advised.
"Where's that?"
"Off to the side of my greenroom, there's a shutter gate. I will give you security access in order to open all the gates such as that one. All you will need to do is hold your Fazwatch up to the door, and a wireless sensor will open it for you. Once you're inside, there should be a counter at the back of the room. If you get lost, I'll guide you."
"Right," I said, a new wave of enthusiasm coursing through my veins. "Thanks. I'll try to find it quickly."
The flap wasn't too far away, and following Freddy's instructions, I raised my wrist up to the door.
A small beep sounded from my watch, and the gate started rising. A horrible grinding reached my ears, and the flap started rattling, before stopping completely.
Groaning, I tried lifting my watch to the security door again, but nothing happened. Crouching down, I peered through the gap, finding nothing that could be stopping it. Though, I realized the gate was high enough that I could crawl through.
I bent down and started making my way under, when my brain decided to give me a friendly reminder that the shutter could fall on top of me at any second. Shuddering at the thought, I quickly crawled through, brushing myself off on the other side.
Like Freddy had said, there was a convenience counter at the back, which I made my way to without any trouble. At any moment, I expected to be caught by Vanessa or another employee, but the mall seemed deserted.
The convenience counter was very unorganized, paper and unused wristbands strewn all over the top. A phone hung off its stand, its buttons glowing faintly, and there was a single bag of El's Chips, opened off to the right.
Looking from side to side, I hoisted myself over the counter, landing with an, "omf," on the other end. Paper slowly floated down next to me, making more of a mess that I wasn't about to clean up.
"Okay," I muttered, standing up and looking at the filing cabinets under the counter. "Photo pass, photo pass . . . ah ha!"
Yanking open the drawer, I pulled out one of the plastic cards and tucked it into my pocket. I climbed over the counter again, and made my way to the security door when I heard approaching voices. Sucking in a breath, I dashed behind a cardboard cutout of Freddy, just as a door to the far side of the room swung open.
"I don't have time for this!" a gruff voice muttered in annoyance.
"Neither do I!" a shrill, female voice hissed back, "but the manager is going to have our heads if we can't find this kid."
Covering my mouth with my hands, I tried to slow my breathing as I recognized Vanessa's voice.
"What the heck was Jerry thinking when he took over this desk?" the gruff voice complained. "Can't find anything in this dump."
"Just look for the records," Vanessa grumbled.
After a few moments, there was a loud bang, as if someone slammed their fists on the desk. The gruff voice cursed before saying, "Jerry must've moved the guest records to the file room downstairs for the weekend. I'll go-"
"No!" Vanessa shouted. "I-I mean, no," she said, more quietly. "I'll go and get them. You just finish locking up. I'll let you know what I find."
"Are you sure? I can-"
"No, John, it's fine. Let's just go. Also, you mind telling Jerry to clean up his desk on the way out?"
John sighed. "Okay," he said, his footsteps getting further away. "If you need any help, give me a call."
"Thanks," Vanessa sighed.
I sat very still, listening as Vanessa's shoes tapped through the room, heading to the door. As soon the door clicked into place, I darted out from my hiding spot, ducked under the flap, and raced over to Freddy's door. I fished the photo pass out of my pocket and held it up to the little sensor off to the side of the door. It immediately slid open, and Freddy trotted over to me.
"Way to go Superstar!" Freddy said, smiling with his pearly teeth. "I knew you could do it."
I smiled shyly, rubbing my arm. "Thanks," I said. "But now what do we do?"
"I will escort you to the main entrance via the utility tunnels. However, to avoid the possibility of being caught, you will need to hide in my stomach hatch again. There is still time to get you out, but we'd better hurry. If I am spotted, I'll most certainly be taken back to my room."
With a hiss, the two metal chest plates on Freddy opened, leaving the small enclosure.
"Oh, okay," I said. "Just be careful while moving around. I don't want to be crushed and twisted into a meat pretzel."
"I would never hurt you," Freddy promised in his low voice.
With a deep breath, I clambered back into the tight compartment inside of Freddy. The plates closed, plunging me into darkness. There was a thin crack between the two chest plates, allowing me to see outside.
"If for any reason you need to get out, press those two buttons at the bottom of the cavity," Freddy instructed. "Of course, I believe you might know that already."
Freddy's metal feet stomped loudly around Rockstar Row as he made his way to a security door. As he pushed it open, I could see a long flight of stairs leading down into a dark basement, only illuminated by Freddy's eyes.
The ambience immediately got a little more eerie, the bright, teal walls replaced by pasty green and gray brick. At one point, I could have sworn I'd seen some sort of spindly animatronic climbing down the wall, though Freddy brushed me off with a chuckle, muttering something about nerves.
As we neared a sign that said B-1, we came across a chained-off gate, where a strange animatronic was mopping the floor. The animatronic had wheels for feet, but a humanoid structure from the waist up. It's face only had two, black eyes; no mouth or nose.
"What are those?" I asked.
"Those are S.T.A.F.F. bots," Freddy explained. "They can be found all over the Mega Pizzaplex. Some of them are security guards, janitors, cooks, and the rest are attraction managers."
"Why isn't it reacting to you?" I asked as Freddy's eyes illuminated the pale figure.
"That is because I am authorized in nearly all areas of the Pizzaplex. But if you were walking around without me, then most likely the S.T.A.F.F. bots would alert someone."
After we'd only taken a few steps, a voice drifted up from the bottom of the starwell.
"Hello, little boy? If you're down here, say something!"
I gripped the top of my shirt, biting my lip. "Vanessa's down here," I said to Freddy in a whisper, even though I doubt she could've heard me. "We have to go back."
"Do not worry, Gregory," Freddy responded, tromping down the stairs. "Even if we're spotted, you are safe with me. She would never suspect that we are traveling together. However, we should still do our best to avoid her. If I am sent back to my room, we won't get to the lobby by midnight."
We reached the bottom of the stairs, and the dust noticeably got thicker as Freddy walked down the passageway. We passed a yellow sign that read B-2, which I assumed meant Basement Two. With a sudden jolt, Freddy turned a corner, whamming me against the side of the chest cavity.
"Ow!" I shouted before I could stop myself. The cut on my arm buzzed with pain as it banged against Freddy's endoskeleton.
"Gregory?" Freddy's concerned voice asked. "Are you okay? I am detecting blood."
"It's just a scratch from the vent," I explained quickly. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."
"No," Freddy said. "You are injured. I am taking you to the first aid station."
The animatronic quickened his pace while I quietly protested. "Really, it's okay," I whined. "It doesn't hurt much and I don't want you to waste time because of me."
"You are worth it," Freddy said, and I shut my mouth, tongue-tied after that touching statement.
Freddy turned another corner, stopping in front of a small booth I assumed was the first aid station. The stomach hatch opened with a hiss, and Freddy gently set me down. Taking my arm he examined it for a moment, before reaching up and grabbing a bottle of ointment from the shelf in the station.
"We will put antiseptic on your injury before we wrap it up," he said, skillfully unscrewing the cap and squeezing a bit of the ointment onto his metal fingertips. He spread it across the cut, before taking a band-aid and ever so carefully applying it.
"There," Freddy said as he let go of my arm. "Good as new."
"Wow," I said. "That was pretty impressive, for being a robot."
Freddy gave a little chuckle. "I am trained in all areas of basic first aid," he said, smiling. "And while I may be big, you could say I am very nimble."
I grinned back at the gentle giant. "Thanks Freddy."
The animatronic nodded. "It was no problem. Now, let us-"
Freddy's ear twitched as he cut off, his yellow eyes searching the area. "Someone is coming," he said. He pushed me softly into the first aid station, grabbing the curtains with his massive hands. "Stay here, and don't move," he instructed.
He started drawing the curtains, but I stopped him. "What about you?" I asked.
"I will be okay," Freddy said with a smile. "Wait here until I say you are free to come out."
I nodded my head and let him slide the curtain shut. Peeking through a small gap, I watched as a bright light shone over Freddy's face. Freddy blinked a couple of times, half-closing his eyes, as he took a step back.
"Freddy!" an annoyed, female voice muttered. "You're supposed to be on lockdown!"
With a gasp, my eyes widened as a familiar blonde ponytail came swinging into view.
Vanessa.
Hey, sorry for the wait. School and stuff kept me from writing. But now it's summer, so hopefully chapters will come out faster! Thanks for your patience!
Thank you to my editors: Kieran Elliott and juniperjellyfishstudios