A day at school felt like a year to Ethan. It always had. But today it zipped by. Ethan hardly knew what was happening, and before he knew it, his respite from thinking about his nightmare of employment crashed and burned, the fire growing around him and threatening to burn him if his excessive hubris and nosiness continued to get the better of him.

Ethan also felt like hell. He was tired, sore, he had a headache, and the consistent amount of sugar and caffeine he had been intaking had now taken its toll and worn off, causing Ethan to crash harder than the stock market during the Great Depression.

A lunchtime nap also didn't help, instead causing Ethan to become even more miserable and energy sapped. The rest of the day went about as well as one could expect; sleeping, trudging around, and hardly aware of his surroundings.

Ethan was glad that the end of the day had come. Even though he was completely sapped of energy, he knew all he needed was to rest in his own bed, with his dog by his side, and a good meal before he went back to his living nightmare of a job. That's what he needed. That and a whole lot of more caffeine.

Emma lightly shoved Ethan as they walked from the school campus to Emma's car. 'Hey, mister, are you even listening?'

Ethan shrugged. 'I kinda tuned you out when I heard "if you keep doing this, I'll-" Ethan stopped and smiled. 'Something like that.'

Emma sighed in exasperation. 'Jeez, just ignore your friend, why don't you?'

Ethan scoffed. 'I will if they consistently try to act like she's my mother.'

'Maybe a motherly figure would help keep you from acting like a moody teenager.' Emma blurted out before she considered her words.

Ethan whirled around like a hurricane, what could only be described as a snarl coming from his lips and he got up in Emma's face. 'I'm going to give you one chance to rethink those words. Just one.' Ethan's eyes lit up with anger as he said the words.

Emma didn't back down, despite how scared she was getting, knowing Ethan wouldn't do anything past trying to intimidate her. 'Do I need to rehash our conversation this morning? You're acting like a toddler, Gunner, and a pissy one at that.' Emma glared daggers at her friend, trying her best to counteract his intimidation.

'Maybe if I didn't have such a nosey friend I wouldn't be acting like one.' Ethan shot back. 'As much as I appreciate the thought, I don't need a babysitter.'

Emma shrugged. 'Fine. I won't babysit you. I'll mother you until you get it through your head that the job you currently occupy is detrimental to your health.'

Ethan scoffed and threw his arms up, turning away from Emma. 'I don't need this right now. I'm going home.' He started to walk away.

Emma called out. 'Yeah, real mature of you, Gunner. Just walk away like a-'

Ethan cut her off. 'Piss off.' He picked up his pace.

Emma stood there in the parking lot, watching her friend walk away in a huff. She teared up slightly, but huffing in frustration, she got into her car and started to make her way home. If Ethan was going to be like this, then so be it.

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Night quickly came, and Ethan finally felt well rested and awake. Tonight would be his fifth night, and Ethan had a feeling that tonight wouldn't be a walk in the park. More like a walk into hell.

Ethan came well stocked with snacks and drinks; plenty of energy drinks, jerky, and his usual protein shake. He also grabbed extra batteries for his issued flashlight, a taser that his uncle had loaned him, and a camera so he could catch everything that might, no, WOULD happen, just to make sure that he wasn't going crazy.

Ethan hopped into his truck, freshly showered and shaved, and drove slowly to Freddy's, thinking about what his final night of week might throw at him to try and kill him.

Firstly, he knew had gotten lucky the last night or two leaving the office and running around in the dark restaurant. He knew that leaving the room that had the two blast doors meant risking his life, and Ethan felt that his luck would run out tonight if he tried.

Secondly, Foxy seemed to be his biggest threat. The fox was persistent in his attempts to get into the office and murder Ethan, so Ethan knew that he would have to keep Foxy at the top of his list of priorities.

Third and finally, that golden bear he encountered under the stage. It looked like an old Freddy suit, other than the color. Ethan ruminated about the suit's existence. He had no memory of a golden Freddy suit ever being in the Parts and Service, or anywhere in the restaurant for that matter. Ethan knew the place like the back of his hand, but in just one night, he found a secret area under the stage and another suit that was somehow floating and making vague suggestions of him being something special and not dead.

Overall, not a fun list.

The truck slowly rolled into the parking lot, the headlights piercing the suffocating darkness that hugged the restaurant, light streaming into the windows. Ethan caught a glimpse of the trio of animatronics on the main stage, seemingly powered down for the night. Ethan pulled his truck into the parking space directly in front of the main entrance.

Ethan turned his truck off, flinging the door shut behind him with his fingers, cautiously walking toward the door. Something felt off, but Ethan couldn't put a finger on it. He pulled on the door.

Locked.

Ethan was concerned. Usually, the front was left open for him, and the responsibility of making sure it was locked, despite how much of a bad idea Ethan thought it was. Ethan was given keys to the building, but something stopped him from taking the front door. No, instinct screamed at him not to take the front door.

Ethan listened to his gut, instead opting to use the parts and service backdoor. He entered the room as quietly as he could. He clicked his flashlight on, the bright light piercing the darkness that had enveloped the room. The usual array of spare animatronic parts lined the shelves, inanimate. Ethan looked toward the table.

For some reason, the metal endoskeleton that usually rested there was not there.

Ethan's heart skipped a beat. 'The hell?' The staff had never used the spare skeleton, leaving it to sit alone in the darkness of the Parts and Service. The fact that it was gone raised even more alarms in Ethan's mind. Still, he pressed on.

It was pitch black inside of the restaurant, even more suffocating than in Parts and Service. Ethan shivered. The place was cold, freezing even. Ethan's flashlight pierced through the void of dark, casting the bright white light on the wall across the room. The crayon drawings stared back eerily at him.

Ethan made his way forward with caution, stepping heel to toe to try and quiet his footsteps. He turned off his flashlight as well, not wanting to draw anymore attention. He knew that if they were awake, they'd know he was here. But maybe they could see in the dark.

Maybe.

His boot soles squeaked quietly on the linoleum, not enough to be heard more than three feet away from him, but still able to be heard. Ethan turned on his flashlight for the briefest of moments, the quick flash of light allowing him to see the hallway in front of him.

He made it to the office after what felt like eternity, the atmosphere inside dead. The power was out, which meant the lights, doors, and cameras were as well. 'Well shit.' Ethan muttered. 'This ain't good.'

Something was afoot, Ethan knew for a certainty. The situation at hand was somehow both the most obvious thing ever, but the most vague at the same moment. The building was dark, which meant that someone shut off the power, but the employee's wouldn't have cut the office power, which meant the mascot's would have had to, but as far as Ethan knew, they were somehow restricted from going outside the restaurant.

In other words, Ethan had no idea what was in store for him in the coming moments.

Ethan panned his flashlight around the office again, finding the office chair that he was so familiar with. The laptop was where it usually was, sitting on the desk, closed. The lockers at the back of the office were also untouched.

Ethan walked over to the lockers and slung the backpack off of his shoulders, setting it down on the floor as he dug through it for a second. A meat stick, an energy drink, and some extra batteries for his flashlights came out of the pack before it was hung up neatly in the locker.

Ethan turned back toward the desk, cracking open his drink as he sat down and waited for twelve a.m to hit. He had about twenty minutes, which left time for him to rethink his life decisions one more time before his shift officially started.

Ethan's thoughts drifted from a multitude of topics, from school to his work. Ethan had no idea how the next week would work for him. More of the same "try to not get killed by murderous mascots" game? Possibly. A raise? Definitely. An answer as to why Sinclair was acting so weird? Probably not.

Emma still being pissed at him? Check. The boys wanting their friend back and acting normal? Check. His dog still loving him unconditionally? Check and check. Ethan smiled at the thoughts of his canine companion and his friends. They dealt with his BS, and still they treated him like family. Ethan didn't deserve it. He was a headache, and he was proud of it. All it proved was that his friend group was loyal.

Or maybe they felt bad for him. Who knows.

Ethan checked his watch. Eleven fifty five. Five minutes to hell. Ethan chuckled ruefully. Another nightmare was about to commence.

Right in front of his face, that was.

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A quick update. Got stuck on this story for a bit. Gonna try and keep this consistent as possible.