I'm back, even if it's only for one chapter.
No, seriously, the FNaF updates will be scarce until the release of Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, as Security Breach is supposed to be featured in this story. I had hoped that the game would've been released at this point, but unfortunately, we had a few posts telling us that it would be delayed until further notice. I'm sure that the game will be awesome, going by the trailers, but it will take a bit more time for it to be fully developed.
The same goes for this story. While one half of the story revolves around Help Wanted, the other half was supposed to be about Security Breach, but in order to set up those chapters, I still need to know what will happen in Security Breach. While I do have some information, it's still not enough, meaning that this story won't have regularly scheduled updates like I did with my past stories.
Nevertheless, if you want to know what the next update will be, you can always check my Profile. On the top is a message that states: Next Update: Name Of Story, Chapter X, Chapter Title. Updates are every Thursday/Friday and if you guys are interested in a Digimon story or a story based on the Miraculous Ladybug PV Trailer, you can also check Digimon Tamers: Cyber Battles and Up Ladybug.
I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!
Night 3
We're Not Monsters
''We promise we're not monsters, we're not monsters; Hope we're not monsters to you. You will be just fine and you won't die. The lies that we told you weren't true. We promise we're not monsters, we're not monsters; Hope we're not monsters to you. You will be just fine and you won't die. The lies that we told you weren't true.''
– Monsters by Kyle Allen Music ft. Tohru, JT Machinima & Swiblet
xXxXxXx
It was cold, rain washing over her, the droplets trickling down her head, her arms, dropping from her fingers and soaking the ground. She was barefoot, wearing only a black T-shirt and grey shorts. As she looked around, she realized that she was in a forest, completely confused and lost.
Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her hand, noticing a vine covered in thorns digging into it, dragging her down. Blood and rain mixed as the sharp thorns dug into her skin, slicing it. Sam struggled, trying to pry off the thorns, but the more she fought back, the tighter the vines became.
She tried to step back, but more vines sprung from the ground, wrapping around her legs. She cried in pain, watching the blood and rain mix and trickle down her body. She kicked and pulled, waves of pain washing over her. She couldn't move at all, she couldn't escape the agony.
''Let go!'' she yelled in frustration.
She could hear a thunder above her, her skin crawling in dread. Looking at the grass, she saw that it was turning red. She looked up, her eyes widening when she realized that it was raining blood. The black clouds turned to an orange-red colour, swirling above her.
What is going on?!
She panicked, crying out when another vine wrapped around her other hand, the thorns tearing into her flesh. She gritted her teeth, realizing that, whatever was going on, this was not her reality. She knew that she needed to escape, but she had no idea how to do that.
Suddenly, the vines pulled her down, causing to Sam fall on the ground. She was on her knees, feeling as if the vines attempted to pull her directly into the ground, into her grave. She tried to push herself off, but she slipped on the blood and raindrops, falling over.
One more vine shot out of the ground, wrapping around her neck. Sam gasped for air, but tasted only blood. She could see pieces of her own flesh being torn away by the thorns. She wanted to cry, to scream, but her voice was gone.
Tears trickled down her cheeks and she closed her eyes, finally succumbing to the darkness.
xXx
Sam's eyes opened widely and she sat up, gasping for air. Her whole body was in pain and she felt as if she had been hit by a truck. However, the pain that pulsed through her body subsided, being replaced by a feeling of wetness in her right hand. Panicking, she looked down at her hand, shocked to see a narrow and deep cut in her palm, blood dripping down her fingers.
She cried in surprise and jumped off her bed, her blanket having fallen on the floor, kicked down by Sam during her nightmare. Sam held her hand up, trying to prevent the blood from flowing down on her bed and on the floor, searching for something that would stop the bleeding. Stumbling, she ran out of her room and went to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and pressing it against her wound.
Then, as quietly as possible, she returned back to her room, praying that her mother didn't hear her. She closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths and gritting her teeth as she removed the towel and looked at the wound. There was still blood, but it didn't seem to be as bad as before. However, Sam couldn't understand how she managed to cut herself.
Her heart was still racing as she tried to calm herself down and gather her thoughts. She walked over to the desk, picking her smartphone up and checking the time.
3:35 AM – the witching hour, or the Devil's hour, as they call it.
Sam felt chills flowing down her spine and shook her head, taking a deep breath. She had enough experience with the supernatural to understand that this situation was bad and that she needed to find a logical explanation for what happened to her, as well as a solution.
She reached for the drawer and pulled it out, taking the first aid kit that she kept in it. After she had made her decision to keep working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, she got herself her personal first aid kit, aware that, sooner or later, she might suffer from an unfortunate injury. Despite all the safety precautions, she knew that death was only one accident away.
She sat on the corner of her bed, cleaning her wound with the towel and placing the gauze on it, then wrapped it up with bandages, making sure they were layered as thinly as possible. She then returned the first aid kit into the drawer and reached for the purple and black stripped fingerless gloves, placing one on her wounded hand and hiding the bandages. She winced in pain, but still managed to pull it on.
This should do.
She then lifted the blanket from the floor, only to hearing something metallic fall over. Puzzled, she threw the blanket on her bed and knelt down, looking under her bed for whatever had made that sound. She noticed something gleam under the moonlight and she reached for it, shocked to see that it was a large kitchen knife. The blade was stained with her blood.
''Damn it,'' she hissed.
Sam realized that she had been sleepwalking again and took a knife from her kitchen, then brought it back to her room, accidentally grabbing it by the blade and cutting herself. She was relieved that the source of her problem was herself, rather than, as she feared, a spirit who held a grudge against her and trapped her inside a nightmare, transferring the pain and injuries from her nightmare to her actual body. After all, it happened before.
Sam took a while to calm down, then checked her bed for any bloodstains, finding them only on the blanket and the floor, which she wiped clean, along with the kitchen knife. She grabbed the bloody towel and blanket, then exited her room once again, sneaking past her mother's room, and cleaned the blanket and towel under running water in the bathroom before tossing them into the basket with the dirty clothes.
She hoped that her mother wouldn't ask too many questions about it.
Returning back to her room, she put the cleaned knife into the drawer and took out a spare blanket from her closet. She shivered as she sat down on her bed, covering herself with the blanket and lying down. She felt tired, but she couldn't fall asleep, still disturbed out by what had happened.
She stared at the ceiling, wishing to be freed from this agony. She didn't want to suffer anymore, aware that, mentally and emotionally, she was in a bad place. She may have managed to keep herself together, having not suffered from a mental breakdown yet, but she felt worn out. She knew that there was no amount of therapy that would help her heal and recover from the terrors she had experienced. She had been haunted by the past, having the knowledge of dark secrets she would take to her grave.
I'm the only one left, the only one alive who knows the truth of what had happened. Even if I wanted to leave, I would only end up being drawn into this horror story again.
Feeling drained, she glanced at the corner of her room, where the box with the VR set was. She knew that she would still have to play the game and try to solve the mysteries Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted offered, even though she had her doubts.
What could Fazbear Entertainment possibly put into the game that she had no knowledge of?
xXx
That morning, Sam had tried to leave as early as possible, hoping that Emma wouldn't get suspicious and start questioning her. She had noticed the look of concern her mother had during breakfast, but she didn't ask her anything. Sam was relieved that Emma kept quiet, but she did feel bad about making her mother feel so worried.
Frankly, she didn't want to talk about her condition. Instead, she wanted to act, she wanted to do something that would help her improve her situation. However, that also meant dealing with the agony that she had attempted to ignore all this time. She glanced down at her injured hand, the bandages being covered by the glove.
Fine, I get it. Sam took a deep breath, feeling rather frustrated. She was well aware that, instead of a spirit, it was her subconscious leaving her a message, albeit a painful one. If she wanted for the nightmares to stop, she would have to finally confront what she tried to avoid so desperately.
So, the current plan would be to finally play that game. She rubbed her head, feeling an oncoming headache. I should also check on the Nightmare Animatronics while I'm at it. I haven't been at the Sister Location at all.
Sam's lips curved into a tiny smile as she remembered an accident from about a month or two ago. It had been about a week since the fire at the warehouse and she had been trying to figure out how to move on while also dealing with the frustrating sense of abandonment. Rest assured, she was in no mood for any funny business. Unfortunately for her, it seemed as if someone had decided that they could add another problem to the pile.
He still meant it well, though…
That morning, Sam had been awakened by a shrill scream coming from downstairs. Startled and dazed, she ran downstairs, ready to fight off whoever had freaked out her mother. To her shock, the intruder was actually an animatronic bear, Nightmare Freddy, to be precise, who was standing on the front porch and shielding himself from Emma's assault, who appeared to have acquired her ex-husband's baseball bat, which Sam had last seen in the attic.
This is not what I had expected. Sam could only stare in disbelief as Emma screamed at Nightmare Freddy about invading their home and threatening to turn him into scrap metal. While she did feel bad for Nightmare Freddy, she had to admit that it was quite amusing to see the intimidating animatronic being terrorized by her mother. It then hit her. I totally forgot that I haven't told Mum about the Nightmare Animatronics yet.
She sighed tiredly, approaching the two.
''What's going on?''
Sam already knew that the question was redundant, but she saw no harm in asking. Emma and Nightmare Freddy gave her a surprised, if questioning look, as if expecting her to explain everything.
''That's what I'd like to know as well,'' Emma said, pointing the baseball bat at Nightmare Freddy to keep him at a distance. The animatronic bear held his clawed hands up at chest height, indicating that he wasn't here to cause any harm. Sam stepped between the two, moving the baseball bat out of her way and turned towards Nightmare Freddy.
''Why are you here?''
''I have been tasked to keep an eye on you,'' Nightmare Freddy replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Sam rose an eyebrow, but before she could ask anything, Emma interrupted.
''By whom?''
''William Afton, our creator. Consider it his last request,'' Nightmare Freddy explained. Sam suddenly felt the anxiety rising within her, clenching her fist, something that Nightmare Freddy had noticed, as he quickly added, ''Of course, you are now our new owner and we'll follow your every order.''
''Right…'' Sam muttered, falling silent for a moment. She had almost forgotten about the legacy William had left behind for her. ''I want you and the rest to stay at the Sister Location unless told otherwise.''
''Understood.'' Nightmare Freddy nodded. Sam stepped away and pointed inside the house.
''However, you'll be going back at night, when there's less people around,'' she added, trying to avoid eye-contact with Emma. Nightmare Freddy simply nodded again and entered the hallway, with Sam gesturing at the stairs. She observed the Nightmare Animatronic as he made his way upstairs, then turned to her mother, who looked quite annoyed.
''What did you get yourself into this time?'' Emma asked her, her arms crossed.
''Nothing,'' Sam replied in a dry tone, going upstairs. ''It's just something I forgot to take care of.''
If she had to be honest with herself, at that point, she just wanted to go back to bed and forget everything that had happened.
Unfortunately, that wish cannot be granted, unless I want a brain injury that would give me permanent memory loss. Sam massaged her temple, trying to stave off the headache that was slowly growing stronger. Admittedly, she didn't plan to do anything with the Nightmare Animatronics, but there were several times she was tempted to send them after her bullies. She smiled at the thought of seeing Tessa or anyone else who'd bother her freak out at the sight of a nightmarish robot going after them.
However, she never went through with that idea, as she didn't want the Nightmare Animatronics to roam around the town unsupervised. That, and she figured that scaring her bullies to death, while deserved, wasn't something she would do. She gave Tessa a piece of her mind the last time she visited and sending the Nightmare Animatronics would just be unnecessarily cruel.
Not that she cared whether she was cruel to me or not, Sam thought bitterly. On the other hand, I am past that. I have other things to worry about now. She sighed. It doesn't make me feel less trapped in this mess, though.
xXx
'''Top 10 Gruesome Medieval Torture Devices'…'' She stared at the screen as she clicked on the link, noticing another list below it. '''10 Gruesome Torture Devices Used In Modern Times'…''
She furrowed an eyebrow at the images presented. There was nothing gruesome shown, but the descriptions were quite disturbing. She scrolled down, noting how none of the results were what she had been searching for. Frustrated, she reached for a cupcake on the nearby plate and took a bite out of it, then clicked on another tab she had opened earlier.
'''How far can a human being be cut in half before losing consciousness?','' she mouthed, taking another bite out of the homemade cupcake. Streaks of hair fell over her face and she lifted her hand to move it away, trailing with her fingers across her head and hitting the hair clips that kept her rainbow-coloured hair extensions in place. Frankly, it had been between that and dying her hair in bright colours, but she decided against the latter, opting for something temporary and easily removable. Her co-worker did like the change, though.
''I thought your hair looked nice today, the rainbow streaks brightened up the office – and the office is always in desperate need of some brightening!''
He wasn't technically wrong, as the place really needed some kind of change. If necessary, she would've brought some of her own decorations, even set off a glitter bomb just to give the office some spark and colour. At least her workplace desk had been decorated with glittery notebooks, pictures of cute puppies and kittens, and one of those fake plastic flowers on spring-like stems and googly eyes. She would also eagerly share her recipes for cupcakes that would be covered in so much sugar and cream, that they would turn into a complete nightmare for those who had a sweet tooth, let alone those who didn't want to die from a sugar overdose.
In short, she loved everything that was cute, adorable and sweet. So, why was she searching for something morbid like torture devices?
For that, she did have an answer, but at the same time, she had trouble finding an actual explanation. It just happened. Somehow, she was compelled to search for that stuff, but at the same time, it was her own decision. It felt as if a voice in her head was telling her what to do, but at the same time, she had control over her own actions.
Not to mention, there were also those strange blackouts, where she would temporarily lose track of what she had been doing, only to find out that her search history consisted of stuff she had never heard of.
She briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose to calm herself down. After waiting for a few seconds, she opened them again and glanced down at the cupcake, planning to take another bite. To her horror, blood was spilling out of the pastry. She screamed and threw it across the room, the remains of the cupcake smashing on the floor.
Her heart was racing as she tried to gather her thoughts, suddenly realizing that she was an idiot. What she had seen wasn't blood, but the strawberry jam she used as a filling for the cupcakes. She looked back at the monitor, staring at the screen and feeling stunned to see something else typed in the search engine, something she didn't remember typing.
Help me Help me Help me HeLp Me HeLp Me HELP ME HELPMEHELPMEHELPME
When did she write that?
xXx
Mercifully, the school day had passed faster than expected and, during classes, Sam had managed to recover from her experience and do some proper planning. She wanted to go to Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental right away after classes have ended, only for Matt to accompany her on her way there. He knew where she lived and the path she took was obviously going in a different direction, yet he didn't ask anything about the change, opting to simply follow her.
''Something happened,'' Matt told Sam, giving her a knowing look. Sam snorted, but she wasn't really surprised that Matt had figured out that something was wrong.
''I just injured my hand during another sleepwalking accident,'' Sam explained, showing him the bandages under the glove. ''It's nothing serious, though.''
''This is not what I meant, but I'm glad that you didn't get seriously injured,'' Matt replied, with Sam rising an eyebrow. ''I know that there's something dark constantly accompanying you, waiting for you to falter, and that sleepwalking accident is probably part of it.''
''Really?'' Sam rose an eyebrow.
''I might be wrong, though,'' Matt added, shrugging. ''However, you should remain careful.''
''I know,'' Sam muttered, falling silent for a moment. She then looked up at him, giving him a determined look. ''You know, I had figured that I should finally deal with this issue and put this nightmare to an end.''
''I see,'' Matt said, tilting his head. He and Sam stopped at the corner of a street. ''Do you need any support?''
''No, I'll be fine on my own,'' Sam replied. Matt just nodded in acknowledgement.
''I wish you luck with it,'' he replied, walking away. Sam idled for a while, curious to see whether Matt would turn around and follow her, simply to make sure that she'd be fine. Once she realized that he wouldn't, she kept walking towards the building that used to be Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental.
She had to admit that it was quite nice having Matt around. She could understand that it was a little weird that he immediately sensed that something was off and telling her all that ominous stuff, but she was used to weird stuff. She wasn't alarmed by Matt's behavior and she was glad that he didn't ask too many questions, leaving her to do her own thing, while at the same time making sure that she was fine.
Eventually, she had arrived at the old rental building, going inside. She looked around, noticing that, so far, nothing looked different from how she had remembered it. She tried the lights, flicking them off and on, making sure that the power is still on.
''Let's see…'' Sam muttered, crossing her arms on her back and entering the elevator. She wasn't really sure what exactly she wanted to do, but figured that she would just check on the animatronics and make sure everything was in order.
However, as the elevator closed, she had a strange, sinking feeling in her stomach. She couldn't really explain the sensation, but she was fairly certain that something was amiss, despite the fact that, when she entered the building, nothing was out of the ordinary. She could feel chills flowing down her spine, the feeling growing stronger the further she went down.
Once she arrived in the underground facility, she was fully alert. She exited the elevator, deciding to take a look at the Funtime Auditorium first and hoping that the feeling of dread was just a false alarm. Unfortunately, she was wrong.
What awaited her was a room full of scattered animatronic parts, either torn apart or hacked into pieces. All of the doors were wide open and the boxes that were stored in the room were flipped over. It was a horrible scene and it took Sam a moment to register that the Nightmare Animatronics were gone.
''Wh-What happened here?!''
She looked around in shock at the scattered animatronic parts, slowly recognizing the remains of Nightmare Freddy and the Freddles, Nightmare Bonnie, Nightmare Chica, Nightmare Foxy and Nightmare Fredbear. They were all completely destroyed.
Is that my punishment for not checking on this place regularly?
She slowly walked around, trying to process what might've happened. Someone had entered the building and dismantled the animatronics; perhaps, they have been attacked by the Nightmare Animatronics, but nevertheless, they came here with the intent to dismantle them, as Sam had noticed that some parts were missing. Not only that, but it seemed that, whoever did it, they wanted to make sure that the Nightmare Animatronics couldn't be rebuilt, as the endoskeletons were snapped in half.
Well, I'd say they were rather hacked or otherwise cut with some sort of sharp tool, but the results are the same. Sam crouched down, examining the remains of Nightmare Bonnie's endoskeleton. His head was a few feet away, while one of his arms was on the other side of the room. She had no idea where the legs or the other arm were. As she brushed with her fingers across the fur, she had noticed that it was quite dusty. This had to have happened days or weeks ago for the dust to settle.
She placed the head down, looking around again. Even though there was no way for her to know that this would happen, she still felt guilty about letting the Nightmare Animatronics get massacred. After all, she was the one who was supposed to look after them and now they were gone, with no way for her to be able to repair them.
This was the legacy William left for her and she knew that she could've done with it as she pleased, her ultimate decision being to leave the Nightmare Animatronics in the underground, unless she needed their assistance. She wasn't sure whether she would ever let them out of the facility, wanting to keep the past buried, but even then, she felt that she wouldn't have let them suffer from such a horrifying fate. This was not what she wanted to happen.
After contemplating for a moment in silence, Sam suddenly got up and walked over to the hidden area, not surprised that the door that led to the hallways and the bedroom was also open. She took a look at it, noting that, save for Nightmare Chica's cupcake, which had been snapped in half, nothing was out of the ordinary. She then left, checking the other areas of the building.
Since when have I become so careless and ignorant?!
The exhaustion and frustration she had felt during the past days was replaced by the familiar feeling of determination and the desire to uncover this mystery. This was what she was used to do, solve cases that she had a personal connection to, cases that she knew were connected to Freddy's. She knew that she had to find out who had destroyed the Nightmare Animatronics, who were the only remains of the past tragedy, left in-tact for over 30 years. The Classic Animatronics had been dismantled by William, the Toy Animatronics were scrapped, Circus Baby and the Funtimes became Ennard and were burned to ashes thanks to Henry, meaning that no animatronic used by Fazbear Entertainment before the fire that ultimately sealed the fate of everyone involved in the tragedy was left.
They're all gone now. Sam's eyes narrowed as she picked up a box and started to throw the scattered animatronic parts into it. I guess that one would hope for them to all perish, so nothing was left behind. It would be justified, but still, who would do this? Who would have the knowledge of the existence of this location and the Nightmare Animatronics still being in function?
She knew that Fazbear Entertainment was aware that Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental was still here, but she sincerely doubted that they would bother to check on it. When it came to old locations, their modus operandi was to put everything under lock and key and forget about it. In addition, they also had a brand new location to focus on, so why would they care to check on this place.
If Fazbear Entertainment isn't behind this, then who is?
Sam bit her lip as she continued to clean the room, examining each animatronic part and trying to remember what the intruder may have attempted to take and why, but she had no clear answer. Everything was a complete mess, leaving her with more questions than answers.
Nevertheless, someone knows. Someone might be in on the secret. Sam frowned. But, who would that be? I doubt it's anyone I know. Besides, what kind of motive would they have? All they did was destroy the Nightmare Animatronics and take a few parts, nothing else.
She felt her hands shaking. Even though she knew anyone had access to this place, it felt like someone intruded on something private. She had been working here, learning how to repair the animatronics, the very same animatronics that had been torn apart. It felt like a personal attack.
Challenge accepted, then.
Sam had checked the entire facility, making sure that she had gathered every missing part and realizing that one animatronic was missing – Plushtrap was gone. She couldn't find the toy animatronic anywhere, let alone any pieces of him. In the end, she assumed that he had been taken by the intruder.
She took a sharp breath, taking one final look at the room, frowning.
''Whoever did this, I will find them.''
xXx
Sam was in a visibly bad mood at work. She was still rattled by what had happened at Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, but the event also had snapped her out of her melancholy. She had now a solid reason to involve herself with whatever was going on at Freddy's, even though she wasn't sure what exactly she was searching for.
Speaking of work, Sam had been talking with her manager, Anthelm, about her work hours during the school year. Anthelm had planned to hire another technician who would work full time, different than Sam, who was only working part time, but no one wanted the job. Sam had figured that they were intimidated by the animatronics, who were quite civil towards Sam.
''Is there something I should know?'' Sam, who had been tasked with filling the prize corner with plush toys and other prizes, asked the Puppet. ''No one is willing to work with you guys; I'm the only animatronic technician here.'' Puppet turned towards her, tilting her head. ''So, what's your deal?''
''He never left…'' Puppet told her, with Sam giving her a questioning look. ''You know that…''
''Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about,'' Sam replied. For some reason, the sounds around her grew fainter the more she focused on Puppet. She noticed her pin-prick eyes glowing as she rose from the box, towering over Sam.
''Don't hold it against us, we are not monsters,'' Puppet added. ''But, we are under the influence of a monster.''
''W-Wait, what do you mean?'' Sam asked, then looked around frantically as her surroundings grew darker. She realized that the entire restaurant had vanished, leaving her trapped inside a void. She heard a screeching noise, causing her to close her eyes and cover her ears.
She suddenly felt cold, almost freezing, forcing her to take a look at her surroundings.
''Huh?''
Sam suddenly opened her eyes, realizing that she wasn't at the restaurant. Instead, it was nighttime and she was in her PJs, standing on the porch. As she looked down at her injured hand, she noticed that she was holding the kitchen knife, her hand wrapped around the handle instead of the blade. As the shock passed and the realization hit her, she frowned.
Damn it.