Notes
Hello, my little faeries! I know it's been almost three months since I last posted and I apologize for it but I wasn't kidding that I'm a slow writer. This chapter I wrote is too long so I had to cut it down and I was able to get it down to at least twenty pages(according to a Word document) so other stuff will be in the next chapter.
I should add that I've been pretty busy during the summer. I was involved in some gaming collaborations with my friends on Discord like VR Chat, Lethal Company, etc. I recorded some of them and since it's just me, I had to do the editing and then post it on my gaming channel on YouTube. I'm also writing two other fanfics which is also taking up my time. I'm still working on my Care Bears Crystal Hearts fanfic and currently working on my other one which is G1 My Little Pony/Fnaf crossover fanfic. Of course, I still need to get around to finishing drawing the cover art of my fanfics(they're still in WIP so they're not ready yet). I have way too much on my plate so now you know why I'm slow on things.
Another warning; this chapter will mention drugs and sex(do not worry, there are not going to be any sex scenes as I'm not too comfortable writing them anyway).
Important note: I know some of you are wondering when they'll get to the factory. The Afton siblings will get there in three chapters as I want to build up the story as well as incorporating other things such as the Catnap's recall and the rumors of the toy factory before they get there.
Chapter 3
The school bell rang at noon on Friday as it was the last day of Hurricane High School. All the high school students cheered and threw school papers in the hallway as soon as they exited their classrooms.
Michael was eager to leave school and quickly headed over to his locker to clean it out. Jeremy's locker was next to Michael's as he turned to his friend and grinned.
"Yo, Mike," said Jeremy. "Ready for the summer of our lifetime?"
"Hell yeah, I am!" said Michael as they both high-fived each other. "I thought the bell would never ring. I am so over this place."
They quickly empty their lockers as their school janitor empties all the lockers to clean and will throw out anything that is left behind. Both Michael's and Jermey's lockers are filled with old-school papers and metal band posters. Michael grabbed the drawings he kept in his notebook to take home.
After they finished cleaning, they went outside along with other students as they were cheering and tossing their old school papers aside. They met up with their other friends and high-fived each other, cheering happily as they were glad they finished their sophomore year. Jake drove over with his light blue 1978 Dodge Ram Van so they could hitch a ride and drove over to McDonalds for lunch. They arrived and went inside to order. They saw other classmates who had the same ideas as they did. Michael and Jeremy both ordered themselves Cheddar Melts burgers, Jake got himself a Chicken Nuggets, Mark's is a Filet-O-Fish sandwich, and Tito and David had both Big Macs. They all sat down in a corner of the booth, stuffing their faces.
"We need to make plans for this summer," said Jeremy. "Since some of us have part-time jobs, we need to set our fun schedule so we can all have some fun."
"My schedule as a car mechanic is that I'll work on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday but I'm off on weekends," said Jake.
"Mine is morning to early afternoon during the weekday at the arcade," said Tito. "I'm free in the late afternoon and off on weekends."
"I'm off on weekends too," said Michael. "But since I'm working more hours, I'll be working during the week but free in the mornings until lunchtime."
"Mine too," said Jeremy as he too works at the same place as Michael does.
"Working on a weekday too," said Mark. "At least get some tan to impress the ladies as a lifeguard at the community pool."
"Since I'm working at a grocery store as a cashier," said David. "I'm working during the weekend but off on weekends too."
"So basically, we're all free on the weekends to hang out," said Jeremy.
"That sounds about right," said Michael as he took a bite out of his burger.
They finished eating their lunch and Jake dropped Michael off at his house as he had to be home in time for his father to drive over to the locations with Henry Emily. Fifteen minutes after he arrived home, he heard the front door unlocking and his family entered in. Evan and Elizabeth ran inside excitedly as they were carrying their backpacks, school supplies, and notebooks.
"Welcome home, Michael," said William.
"Hi Michael," said Evan as he ran over to hug him. Michael hugged him back and ruffled his little brother's hair while smiling at him.
"Hey little buddy," he said. "How was your last day of school?"
"It was good. We had a party and they had cupcakes and cookies and fruit punch; it was yummy! We cleaned out our desks and played some games and drew on the chalkboard," said Evan happily. He then showed Michael the artwork he made. It showed the stick figures of his whole family.
"That's a pretty rad drawing you made there, Evan," said Michael, and Evan smiled even brighter at his older brother's approval.
"My class threw the best party ever! We got pizza and ice cream sandwiches! Miss Turner even says I'm the best-behaved student and have all the gold stars!" Elizabeth bragged as she shoved the paper to Michael's face as it had a lot of gold star stickers with the teacher's signature on the bottom. "See? Isn't it awesome, Mikey? I even got straight A's on my report card!"
"You did a wonderful job, princess. And I'm also proud of you too, Evan," said William.
"Yeah, I'm sure your 'best' behaved in your class," Michael said with a sarcastic tone.
"You're just jealous because I'm better and smarter than you," Elizabeth shot back.
"Oh please, jealous? Don't make me laugh! At least I'm not an egghead like you," he said while smirking at her and lightly bopped her nose with his finger, causing his younger sister an angry scowl.
"At least I'm not dumb and skipping school like you do!" she shouted at him angrily.
"Ok you two, I don't want any fighting in this house," William said sternly.
"Yes Daddy," said Elizabeth.
"Speaking of grades," said William as he was looking at his eldest with a stern look on his face. Michael always dreaded the look of his father when it came to his school grades. He has never been the best student due to him ditching classes and not doing any schoolwork or turning in his assignments on time. Most of the time, he'll cheat by looking over at other students or swiping the answer sheets without teachers looking.
"Your school called me this morning to say that you barely passed 10th grade and while you have stayed in school for the last two months, your grades are still low," said William. "I am expecting you to pull your grades up when you start your junior year this fall if you want to go to your concert. I know you're smart, son. I just wish you would put your mind into school so you can have a better future."
Michael just sighed and brushed his hair back with his hand. He knew deep down, he had to take it seriously as he wanted to go to the Scorpions concert more than anything else and cannot screw this up in his junior year. He was lucky that his friends were understanding but staying in school and paying attention for classes was difficult. He had trouble paying attention and would doodle in his schoolbooks to keep himself from being bored. He often would get in trouble for that as well.
"Yes Dad, I'll try my best to do better this year," said Michael.
"Daddy!" said Elizabeth. "You said you're going to take us somewhere. When are we going to go?"
"We'll leave as soon as you kids drop off your stuff in your rooms," their father said. "Henry and Charlotte are going to meet us at the new locations there."
"YAY!" shouted Elizabeth as she and Evan ran upstairs to their bedrooms to drop off their school stuff. They then ran back downstairs in less than a few minutes. "We're ready to go!"
"Great," said William. "Let's head to my car."
They entered their father's car and he drove them over to the first location where they met Henry and his ten-year-old dark-haired daughter, Charlotte, although she preferred her nickname, Charlie. Michael enjoyed being around her as she too likes playing arcade, Atari, and heavy metal/rock music. He often wishes that she was the little sister instead of Elizabeth. Charlie is way cooler, laid back, and fun than his little sister's bossy princess attitude. Charlie's hair was pulled to a side ponytail with a green hair scrunchie and is wearing an oversized black T-shirt that had neon shapes of circles, squares, and triangles on the front and yellow pants with green Converse sneakers. She ran over to give each Afton a hug.
"Hey guys!" shouted Charlie. "I'm so glad you're all here!"
"Hello everyone," said Henry. Michael has always loved Henry as he's more relaxed and understanding than his overly strict father. He sometimes wishes that his dad would be more like Henry. His unofficial uncle is a few inches taller than his father, has bushy reddish-brown hair and beard, wears glasses, and has a big bear-built body. He's always known as a big softie, like a Teddy Bear (hence why he loves Fredbear) and rarely gets angry. His father once told him back in college (where they met as roommates), that he has the anger of the grizzly bear if someone steals his projects or his friends and anyone else he cares about.
"Let's go inside, everyone!" said Henry. "Your father and I wanted to show you kids what the inside looks like."
He ushered them inside and turned on the lights. They can see the layout of drywalls, concrete floors, and some exposed wires. The workers left an hour ago as Michael can see they left behind their tools and equipment on the floor, along with the fold-up tables and chairs. The building that Henry and William bought used to be a bar restaurant that closed three years ago. They had to strip down walls and remove bar areas to make room for a stage for the animatronics to perform as well as make spaces for a large party room.
William and Henry showed the kids the kitchen, restrooms, arcade room, employees break room, supplies closet, and security room. Michael noticed that the pizza place was smaller than their diner.
They then all left to go to another building which is Circus Baby's Pizza World which is further away from Freddy's Fazbear's Pizza Place. The original site used to be an office building and the big warehouse next to it. They had to demolish the office building as it's been abandoned since the mid-60s, and it was falling apart. The warehouse was in good condition, and it was sold so they could use it for rental.
They went inside and saw some workers were still there, working on the walls. Michael learned that the Circus Baby's place is much bigger than the first and it's almost bigger than the diner.
The main dining area was ridiculously huge, and the stage was set up for Circus Baby and other animatronics to perform. There are two more stage showrooms besides the main one; a dancing stage room for Ballora, the dancing animatronic and the other is a party cove for Funtime Foxy. The place has a backstage, kitchen, security office, play area, arcade room, electrical room, and restrooms.
"I love this place!" said Elizabeth excitedly. "I can't wait to see Circus Baby and the circus crew!" She then turned to her dad and gave him her puppy look eyes.
"Daddy? Can I have my birthday there after it opens? Please? Please? PLEASE!? PPPPPPLLLLLLEEEEEEEEASSE?!" she begged.
"Of course you can," William said with a smile.
"And can Circus Baby be here too? With cake and ice cream?" she asked excitedly.
"Yes, honey. Anything for my little princess," he said as he patted her head. Michael couldn't help but roll his eyes. Elizabeth always gets what she wants and of course, his dad would always give in.
"She might as well get a royal carriage for her birthday," Michael whispered to Charlie, causing her to giggle quietly so as not to alert Elizabeth nor his father as he knew he'd get in trouble for making sarcastic comments towards his sister.
"YAY!" Elizabeth jumped up excitedly. William smiled as he and Henry walked away to talk to one of the contractors, leaving the kids alone.
"So, what do you guys think?" Charlie asked while grinning. "Both of those looked cool but I wanted to see what it looks like when they're open."
"I agree," said Michael. "They both looked pretty great, but I'll wait to view my opinions on opening day."
"I say the Circus Baby's Pizza World is going to be the best!" said Elizabeth proudly. "Daddy based Baby off of me!"
Michael couldn't help but snort a laugh at her comment. It got his sister's attention as she turned her head toward him, frowning.
"Yeah," said Michael with a smirk. "It's caused you're a clown."
"AM NOT!" Elizabeth shouted in protest as she stomped her foot in anger.
"Sure, you're not," said Michael. "All you need is a clown nose and a wig."
"Stop making fun of me!" his sister shrieked.
"Kids are you fighting again?" said William as he walked towards them.
"Daddy! Michael called me a clown!" Elizabeth whined.
"Tattletale," said Michael.
"Don't start, young man," his father warned, giving Michael a stern look.
"I was just messing around because clowns love jokes since my sister loves them," said Michael.
"You were not! You were making fun of me!" Elizabeth shot back, glaring at him.
"Oh, for the love of…" said William as he rubbed his temples of frustration. He was about to say something but then Henry arrived in time to defuse the situation.
"Hey everyone, now that we're done checking those two out, how about we go eat dinner at Farell's Parlour?" Henry said with a smile.
"Yes! I am hungry!" Michael said quickly. "Plus, I heard they served the ice cream deserts there for my sweet little sister, right Liz?"
She scowled at him at first but after Michael mentioned ice cream, she suddenly forgot her anger and was overjoyed at eating her favorite dessert.
"You're right, Mikey! They make the best ice cream there! Oh Daddy, please say yes!" said Elizabeth happily. Michael knew he got her as mentioning or bribing her with ice cream is her sister's biggest weakness. She would never turn down any opportunity if it meant getting her favorite treat.
"Yeah! We all want to go!" said Charlie while Evan nodded excitedly.
"All right, we will all go. Let's head to the cars and meet up at the restaurant," William said to Henry.
"Hooray!" the kids yelled in excitement as they quickly ran toward the exit of the building. They arrived at Farrell's to eat dinner and dessert then went home.
Saturday arrived as Michael woke up and headed downstairs. He can see his family are up and eating their breakfast. His father was drinking coffee and he looked up to see his eldest.
"Oh Michael," he said. "Don't forget, I need you to take Evan, Elizabeth, and Charlotte to the mall today. Your siblings need new shoes and some clothes, so I'll give you money for that. Charlotte wants to come along so Henry will drop her off here so you can all go together. He and I will be at Fazbear's to discuss other matters with the workers."
"Okay Dad," said Michael. He was not looking forward to taking Elizabeth but with Charlie around, she keeps his sister in check despite their differences. He doesn't know how she does it but if it keeps Lizzie under control, he's not complaining. Evan will be no problem as he'll just go quietly and go along without trouble and is easier to handle.
He decided to call Jeremy to see if he wanted to come along as they're both on days off. He went over to the phone that was attached to the wall in the kitchen to call his best friend. He dialed it before it rang twice till someone answered.
"Hello?" said Jeremy.
"Yo Jere! What's up? It's Michael," he said.
"Hey, man!" his best friend said. "What's up?"
"I was wondering if you want to come to the mall with me, Charlie, and my siblings today. We are going there at 10:30," said Michael.
"Heck yeah!" said Jeremy. "Also, is it okay for Vanessa to come along? She's going to a mall with her little sister, Susy. She told me last night and wanted to know if I could meet up later."
"Sure, if she's okay with it," said Michael.
"Okay, let me call her real quick then I'll call you back," said Jeremy. He then hung and Michael waited while sitting on a kitchen table, eating toast with beans. Ten minutes later, the phone rang again. He quickly got up and grabbed the phone to answer it.
"Hello?" said Michael, hoping it was Jeremy.
"Yo Mike, it's Jeremy," he said. "Vanessa agrees to tag along and her sister."
"Great!" said Michael. "Henry is coming by to drop off Charlie so once she's here, we'll leave. We can meet up at the food court where the fountain is."
"Awesome! I'll see you guys later!" said Jeremy.
Michael hung up and finished eating his breakfast. Henry later arrived to drop off Charlie then he and his father left. All four kids left the house to walk over to the Hurricane Mall.
They entered the food court and headed over to the fountain where they spotted Jeremy, Vanessa, and Susy waiting for them. Michael waved at them to get their attention.
"Hey, Jeremy! Vanessa! We're here!" Michael shouted. The other teens and child turned to him and waved back.
"Hey everyone!" said Vanessa.
"Hi! Hi!" said Susy, an eight-year-old with short blonde curly hair who waved back excitedly.
"Susy!" Elizabeth shouted as she ran over to greet her. She and Susy are best friends and are in the same grade. Michael was glad that she was here as she'd keep his sister busy.
After they finished greeting each other, all seven grouped and Vanessa suggested that they all should go to Montgomery Ward, a large department store that carries about anything from clothes to appliances much like Sears does.
They all went to the department store and headed towards the children's section to shop for clothes for the younger kids. Michael lets Vanessa help the girls out while he takes care of Evan. After they found the clothes they wanted, they headed over to the shoe section to get the kids new shoes. Evan found the white Nike sneakers with yellow striped markings on them, Charlie got herself a pair of blue Converse shoes, and Susy and Elizabeth got a new black Mary Jane shoes.
They purchased the items and left Montgomery Ward. They went to Sam Goody, a music shop that sells records, CDs, cassette tapes, posters, Walkman's, etc. Jeremy and Vanessa were browsing through the vinyl records, while Charlie was showing Susy and Elizabeth the headphones to listen some music. Michael was looking around the store when he spotted the poster ads above the cashier's head. He walked over to the counter and Evan was following Michael.
"Excuse me, sir? Do you know when the Scorpion tickets will be available for purchasing?" he asked.
"Those tickets will be available on April 15th," said the cashier.
"Got it, thanks!" said Michael as he grabbed Evan to run back to let Jeremy know.
"Hey Jere!" he yelled as he approached him. "The cashier just told me that the Scorpions tickets will be available on April 15th, so we got to remember that."
"Oh awesome!" said Jeremy. "I'll keep that in mind, and we should tell our other friends so we can be prepared to buy the tickets."
"Mikey," said Evan. "Can we go to the arcade?"
"Sure thing, Evan," said Michael. "I'm feeling in a mood to play some games for a bit. I'm sure the girls will want to play them too."
"Okay, just let me buy those two tapes then we'll go to the arcade," said Jeremy as he held two cassette tapes that he was about to buy: Twisted Sister and Judas Priest.
Jeremy, Vanessa, and Charlie went to the counter to pay for their stuff then they headed to Aladdin's Arcade to play some arcade games. They greeted Tito who was covering his coworker's shift that day and grabbed themselves some tokens. They hung out for an hour after they ran out of tokens and the kids wanted to go to the KB Toystore.
They arrived at the toy store and let the kids wander around. Evan decided to pick Bron the Dinosaur as he always loved dinosaurs. Charlotte got herself a Cat-a-Bee, a yellow cat toy with bee wings and antennas. Elizabeth and Susy were still browsing around as they wanted to check out other toys they wanted to see before deciding what to get with their limited allowance.
Elizabeth looked up to see an ad poster of the Smiling Critters plush toys, showing all eight characters lineup. She and Susy looked at each other, smiling wide like the Critters as they both loved the cartoon show.
"Mikey! Mikey!" Elizabeth shouted. "There's going to be a Smiling Critters toys coming out!"
Michael looked at the ad and can see that the plush toys will be released in time for the holiday season. Evan looked excited as he's looking at the ad.
"I know what I'm asking Santa for," said Evan.
"Me too!" said Susy. "I want Craftycorn for Christmas!"
"I want Bobby Bearhug!" said Elizabeth.
"I want Catnap," said Evan.
"I definitely want Dogday or Hoppy," said Charlie.
"The toys look cute," said Vanessa.
"To be honest with you," Michael whispered to Jeremy. "I thought their big ass smiles look creepy as hell, what is up with that? I'm shocked that it doesn't scare Evan. Those things will give anyone a nightmare."
"They do look creepy, and their black eyes don't help much. Hell, I wouldn't feel comfortable sleeping next to me with them staring deep into my soul," Jeremy agreed as he whispered back.
"Just never tell my sister because once she knows and gets her hand on those abominations, she'll most likely use it against me to get what she wants. No way in hell I want to give her the satisfaction of torturing me," said Michael. "She'll probably put that ugly thing on my bed while I'm asleep and wait for me to wake up for that thing to stare right back at me."
"No worries, man. My lips are sealed," said Jeremy, making a zipping sound hand gesture in his mouth.
They both chuckled at each other and looked back to see Elizabeth deciding to get herself a My Little Pony toy; a light blue unicorn pony with rainbow hair and tail. Susy got a Strawberry Shortcake doll along with the sticker sets. The kids paid for their toys and were getting hungry, even the teens were hungry. The group went to the food court to eat lunch.
Jeremy got himself a Hot Dog on a stick with Coke, Charlie got a pepperoni pizza slice with Pepsi, Evan and Elizabeth, both got themselves cheeseburgers with fries and Coke, and Michael and Vanessa both got cheesesteak sandwiches with fries and Pepsi. They all sat down at a big table to eat their lunch. After they finished their lunches, they grabbed themselves an ice cream for treats then they went separate ways and head home for the day.
Three weeks later after their trip to the mall, Michael and his friends are at the lake to go swimming as it's a hot day. They got there early to grab themselves a spot before more people arrived.
Jake's cousin, Eddie Munson is a college student and was hanging out with them along with his two friends; Billy Hargrove and Patrick McKinney. Eddie has the messiest big brown hair as it was styled like the heavy metal band member's hairstyle, due to him being the biggest Metal Head. Billy has the look of a 'bad boy' with dirty blonde mullet hair while Patrick is an African American with short black hair who was a former high school basketball star before attending the same college with them. Their college is off for the semester so they're just hanging out.
"So, Eddie," said Jake. "What are your plans for this summer?"
"My friends and I are going camping in the woods to smoke, do some drugs, and have wild sex with our girlfriends," Eddie said with a grin while Billy and Patrick high-fived each other. "We're going to take our van and bring our tents; it's going to be so fucking rad!"
After he said that, Eddie's three more friends arrived. Jason Carver, an athlete with dirty blonde hair has arrived from his Jeep Cherokee. He's also a former high school basketball star and is on the same team as Patrick is hence how they met and became friends. The two girls emerged from his car and one of them are his girlfriend, Chrissy Cunningham who was a former cheerleader on his basketball team, and her best friend (who is Billy's girlfriend), Heather Holloway. They joined with others by jumping into the lake and enjoying everyone's company.
They hung around at the beach area to eat their lunch (packed sandwiches) and the college students chatted about their upcoming trip.
"So guys, you excited for the trip we're taking this weekend?" Jason asked.
"Yep," said Eddie.
"Where in the woods you guys are camping out? Bryce Canyon? Zion?" Michael asked.
"Neither," said Eddie. "We're going to the woods that are next to the Playtime Co. Factory."
"Why go there?" Jeremy asked, looking confused.
"That area is so secluded, it makes it easier to have the woods to ourselves and not have to worry about others or the rangers who love to bitch at us for smoking and being too loud and all that shit," said Eddie.
"Makes sense," said Jake.
"Speaking of the factory," said Billy. "Have you guys ever wondered why the factory's location is many miles away from the nearest town? Why they are so secluded and secretive? And why do they have a super tight security as if they're guarding the dangerous criminals?"
"Maybe they just don't want any chemicals stuff blowing near towns or something like that," said Tito.
"Perhaps," said Billy. "Have you noticed that they're such uptight assholes when it comes to factory tours?"
"Don't they normally have the factory tours?" Heather asked.
"Yes, but have you noticed that it's not an everyday tour like what other toy factories do? Why are there so very few tours on certain days instead of every day?" said Billy.
"That is pretty weird," said Michael. "Even their ads mentioned that getting their tickets as if you are earning a golden ticket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory rather than just buying the regular tickets."
"What is the deal with their security anyway?" Jake asked. "It's not like they're guarding prisoners unless the workers are."
"Maybe it's because they don't want anyone who's going undercover to steal their new ideas for their toys and report it back to whatever toy company they work at before Playtime releases theirs," said Jeremy. "I mean they do have competition with Hasbro, Mattel, and others since Playtime Co. wasn't doing too well until Huggy Wuggy became a popular selling toy along with the Smiling Critters and their cartoon. I mean it makes sense when you think about it, that's probably why they had to beef up with the security to prevent any spies from stealing their ideas."
"That may be so, but here's something interesting I've learned about the original founder," said Billy. "Have you guys heard about Elliot Ludwig, the one who created the Playtime Co.?"
"What about him?" said Michael. "Isn't that guy dead or something?"
"Yes, he passed away back in 78," said Billy. "Everyone in this town knew who he was. We all know that this guy is a big family man. He's a toy factory version of Walt Disney who loves kids. He would donate money to children's hospitals and orphanages to give the kids a better life. He also had a family with a wife and an adopted daughter. But she passed away due to an illness in the 60's and his wife left him, causing him to become a different person."
"What do you mean, different person?" Heather asked.
"Well," said Billy as he leaned over with a grin, urging everyone to gather closer as they did. "Have you guys heard the news about the body that was found at Ludwig's house?"
"Wait, what?!" Michael cried out as he was shocked and had never heard about it before. The others also freaked out as well and looked horrified.
"Yeah, but it was the body of a little boy in his upstairs bedroom and the police found him in a large duffel bag," said Billy. "Now here's what's really fucked up."
They all leaned closer to hear better while still reeling in shock.
"The officers report where the kid's remains were gutted like a pig," said Billy.
"What do you mean, gutted?" Jeremy asked nervously.
"The kid's organs including some of his bones were missing," said Billy with a serious look on his face.
"Oh gross!" Chrissy cried out in horror.
"That's disgusting! What does he need the organs and bones for?" said Jake.
"There's many rumors about it," said Billy. "Some say he's a cannibal. Others say he's using them for their ritual sacrifice for Satan in exchange for bringing his dead adopted daughter back to life. But some say the current CEO, Leith Pierre planted the body there to frame Ludwig due to their disagreements and conflicts before his passing."
"That is so messed up!" said Heather.
"Did they identify the kid?" Patrick asked.
"They did but they wouldn't release it to the public for whatever reason. All we know is that the kid was not on a reported missing children list so it's probably just an unknown orphan that no one knows of," said Billy.
"That's really sad for the kid," said Jeremy while others nodded in agreement.
"That's not all of it," said Billy.
"Oh geez, there's more?" Heather asked, looking disturbed.
"Oh yes," said Billy. "There's been rumors that Playtime Co. is doing some illegal shady shit according to some employees."
"Like what?" Michael asked.
"One of them mentioned they spotted something under the gate that wasn't closed all the way and he claimed he saw something that wasn't human or people. He says it was fifty feet long with a thousand legs," said Billy.
"You think Playtime Co. is keeping monsters down there or something crazy shit?" Eddie asked with a grin.
"Other employees claimed that the toys are 'alive' and move on their own without batteries," Billy continued with a story.
"Get out!" said Jason. "How the hell can they move without batteries? Or that they're 'alive'? That is not possible for them to do that, it sounds bullshit to me."
"Remember I told you about the boy's body and his missing organs?" said Billy. "There's a rumor that they put the human organs into the toys to make them alive and moving."
"Oh, I'm going to be sick!" said Heather as her face is turning green.
"Oh please, that sounds something like out of a horror movie," said Jason. "What's next? Transferring souls into dolls?"
"If they made a movie like that, I would love to see that," said Eddie as he's a big horror movie fan.
"As for the employees who saw something they shouldn't have," said Billy. "They were never seen again."
"What happened to them?" Jeremy asked.
"They say they were killed off. Some say their organs were taken out and turned into toys and are still locked down deep somewhere in the factory where no one can see them again," said Billy.
"Okay, can we please stop talking about it? I'm like freaking out," said Chrissy.
"She's right," Heather agreed. "I don't want to hear any more about murders or anything like that. Let's talk something else."
"Hey!" said Eddie. "I have an idea!"
"What is it?" Patrick asked.
"When we go to the woods and set up the campsite," said Eddie while grinning. "We all should sneak into the Playtime Co. at night to see if those stories that Billy told us are true and all that crazy shit."
"What?! Absolutely not!" Heather cried out. "That is a bad idea!"
"I agree!" said Chrissy. "What if it is true of what the factory is doing?"
"Oh babe," said Jason as he leaned his arm around her for comfort. "I highly doubt any of those are true. It's just some rumors that are made up by disgruntled employees who are not getting paid enough. They probably got fired or something. Besides, Billy is trying to scare you guys, right Billy?"
"I am," said Billy grinning but his face turned serious. "Or am I?" Then he pulled back to laugh, causing the other group to laugh alongside.
After they swam for two hours, it was time to go as Eddie's friends needed to head home to finish packing as they were leaving tomorrow morning. Michael and his friends parted ways as they headed home.
Michael took a quick shower and then got dressed as he was waiting for his siblings to come home from their friends so he could take them along with Charlie to see a movie, Karate Kid. While he was on his way to his bedroom, he walked past his younger brother's bedroom before stopping to see Huggy Wuggy on the bed. He walked towards the toy and picked it up, thinking about the stories that Billy told them at the lake. He couldn't help but wonder if any of those rumors about Playtime Co. were true or not and he couldn't get any idea about the boy's murder and his missing organs. He had to find out about the founder at the library as they have the newspaper archives, so he had to get around to doing that when he got a chance.
Saturday morning came as Michael and his friends were up to see Eddie and his friends off. They were loading up their stuff and a couple of coolers in his 1971 Chevrolet Van. The other two friends who couldn't come to the lake were Barbara Holland and Fred Benson. Barbara has short curly red hair, wears glasses, and is best friends with Heather and Chrissy. Fred has brown hair parted on a side, also wears glasses, and used to be a reporter for a high school newspaper where he and Barbara met (she's a photographer).
"Hey guys!" said Eddie. "Just in time. We're almost ready to leave!"
"Yo!" said Michael and his friends.
"I'm surprised that Fred and Barb are coming along," said Jake. "They don't seem to be the wild types."
"Fred came to us for help as he and Barb both wanted to lose their virginities together before the semester started," said Eddie. "But he was too scared and doesn't know how so that's why he came to us for help."
"How are you guys going to help with that?" Michael asked.
"We are going to give them drugs and booze to loosen up their nerves," said Eddie. "Then we'll leave those two alone in their tent for their privacy while we do our own thing. That way, they'll both emerge proud that they have the greatest sex ever and everyone is happy!"
"Uh, okay then," said Michael.
"After that, we are going to sneak into the Playtime Co. and maybe steal some toys for ourselves. We can probably make a buck or more," Eddie said with a grin.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," said Jeremy. "After what Billy said, what if the stories about the factory are true?"
"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you believed all that shit," said Eddie as he laughed. "Billy is just trying to scare you and it's working. What's the worst that'll happen? The only thing we should be scared of is not getting caught and thrown into jail."
"He's right, Jere," Jake agreed. "Billy always likes to exaggerate the rumors just for shits and giggles."
"You're probably right," said Jeremy as he sighed.
The group finished loading and went inside the van. Eddie started up and gave Michael and his friends a wave goodbye.
"Later dudes!" Eddie shouted through his rolled-down window.
"Bye Eddie!" Jake shouted back. "Don't forget, bring your van back in one piece so we can all go to the Scorpions concert together!"
"Oh, hell yeah, I won't forget!" said Eddie. "Bye, guys! We'll be back on Sunday at twelve!" Then he turned on the radio to blast the heavy metal rock music that was blaring out.
"Bye!" they said as they watched Eddie's van drive out of the neighborhood then turning left to head to the main road, disappearing out of sight.
The weekend came by fast as Michael was working hard at the diner helping his father and his unofficial uncle at the other locations. Sunday arrived as Michael and Jeremy headed over to meet up with Tito, Mark, and David. The only person who hasn't arrived is Jake.
"Yo man, where's Jake?" Michael asked. "He's supposed to meet us here so we can all head over to Eddie's house."
"I don't know," said Mark. "I called his house before I left but there's no answer so I left a message."
"I hope he got the message," said David as he looked at his watch. "It's almost time that Eddie and his friends are coming home from camping. Maybe we can try calling Jake again to let him know we'll go on ahead to Eddie's place and he can meet us there."
"Good idea," said Michael. "Let's find the nearest payphone to call him before heading over. I still got my change left in my pocket."
They all agreed and walked around till they found the payphone. Micheal picked up the phone, put the quarters in, and dialed Jake's number. The phone rang and rang until it went to the answering machine. Michael sighed and left the message, hoping Jake was home in time to listen then he hung up. He then turned to his friends.
"Jake's still not answering?" Jeremy asked.
"Nope but I did leave him the message," said Michael.
"I'm even surprised his parents aren't answering," said David. "Don't they normally stay home on Sunday afternoon? They hardly go out on Sundays except for church but it should have been over as it's past twelve."
"Yeah, that is weird," said Tito.
"We'll worry about that later," said Michael. "Let's go to Eddie's. Maybe Jake already went ahead of us and probably left a message for us while we were already out."
The friends agreed and walked towards Eddie's house. While they were on their way to the destination, they spotted the cop cars and news crew at the nearby hospital and police station. Michael spotted Jake and his family there, including Eddie's uncle as his parents passed away when he was young and was living with his uncle. He did not see Eddie anywhere with them. The family was distraught, and Michael knew that something was clearly wrong.
"I see Jake!" he said.
"I see him too and his family!" said Jeremy. "But what is going on"? Why are there so many cops and news crews? And where is Eddie?"
"I have a bad feeling about this, and something tells me that it involves Eddie," said Michael. "Let's go over there and find out what the hell is going on here."
They quickly walked over to approach Jake's family but were stopped by the cops as the family was being interviewed by the news. The sheriff told Michael and his friends that they'd talk to them once the interview was over, leaving the group dejected.
Michael turned to look as more crowds were gathering around the area. He can see that some of them are college students and recognized a couple of them as they knew Eddie and his friends. He approached one of them and tapped on the guy's shoulder to get his attention. He turned around to see Michael standing behind him.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, Steve," said Michael. "Can you tell us what's going on here?"
"You guys haven't heard what happened?" Steven asked, looking surprised.
"Heard about what? What happened?" Michael asked looking annoyed. He turned to look to see others who were crying and looking horrified.
"It's Eddie and his friends," said Steve, his face looking forlorn. "Eddie and the others were attacked by something last night. Eddie barely escaped but the others…" Steve trailed off as he was barely holding himself together.
"What? What happened to the others?!" Michael demanded.
Steve composed himself and looked at Michael and his friends.
"They were all killed by some wild animal," he said solemnly. "Their bodies were mutilated and didn't make it. They were all dead, Michael."
Notes
Hope you guys enjoy this cliffhanger since that part I had to cut off due to this chapter becoming too long and figured this will be good for chapter 4 instead.
Some of you may be wondering that college student's names are familiar to you like Eddie, Billy, etc. That's because I got them from Stranger Things and they were based on them as I was too lazy to come up with my own since I've already done on Michael's friends(their names were randomly I picked out). Some of the other 80s stuff like the mall is based on Starcourt Mall also from the Stranger Things season 3(the show takes place in the 80s era).
How many of you guys remembered KB Toystore? The mall in my area used to have one and I used to love going there when I was a kid but it was closed down sadly. The ad that the kids see is the Smiling Critters plush toys based on this pic. . /revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20231103153426 By the way, Mob just recently announced that they're releasing Kicken Chicken so only two more Critters remain to be available; Hoppy and Picky. I already ordered Craftycorn but sadly, she won't arrive till late July/early August. Once she's here, I'll post a pic link from my Tumblr on my next chapter. I am planning to order Bobby Bearhug next.
When Billy was sharing the stories about the Playtime Co, one of them he mentioned about Elliot Ludwig, the founder of Playtime Co, and the murder of a little boy where his organs are missing. It was based on this radio from Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 when your under the red smoke(causing you to sleep and hallucinate) and learn more about him. watch?v=L0PMX76vgcw
Another mention about one employee seeing something that is a fifty feet long with a thousand legs was based on this video starring our favorite YouTubers, Jackscepticeye. watch?v=oGAj_Lurgb8 I heard that he's coming back again to play as Marcus again, probably for another tape on Poppy's Playtime Chapter 4. I really looked forward for that to happen.
The mention of souls transferring to dolls, I was referring to the movie, Child's Play which the movie will not be released in November 1988(this chapter still takes place in summer 84). I do wonder if Mob Entertainment was inspired by it due to similarities except they put body parts in toys instead of souls.
As for the ending of this chapter of Eddie's friends being killed, I followed the typical 80s movie horror tropes:
late teens/young adults traveling on their own
stay somewhere far away from the nearby town(camping in woods, staying in abandoned places, etc.)
they would do crazy things that they enjoy doing such as sex, drugs, booze, and so forth
they learned about the stories/myths/legends/rumors of whatever destination they're at
some would get curious and wanted to check it out to see if it's true or not(of course, some would say it's a bad idea but they ended up following them anyways and we all know what happens next)
then they get hunted down one by one of a mysterious killer/slasher
be killed in the most gruesome ways
last person barely escapes
the movie ends with no happy ending
So, who killed Eddie's friends? Find out in the next chapter!
I know you guys are waiting for the factory tour trap but as I mentioned before, I want to build up the story before they get there so please be patient. There is so much stuff I wanted to add before they get there as they would add the plot to the story.