CHAPTER NINE: UTILITY TUNNELS
I arrived at the Mega Pizzaplex, the parking lot looking absolutely deserted. A chill went down my spine upon seeing that. I'd seen the parking lot full so many times over the last two years that I never realized how creepy it could be when empty. In my eyes, it looked very similar to the parking lot of an abandoned store.
I pulled into the parking lot, looking for a good place to park the truck. As I searched, my headlights reflected off of something shiny. I squinted my eyes, the brightness almost blinding me. I parked the truck as close to the entrance as possible. I turned off the truck, leaving the keys in the ignition.
'Why bring the dam things when I plan to come back here when I find Lisa?' I thought to myself as I stepped out of the truck, slamming the door shut behind me.
I looked around the parking lot for a moment before my eyes caught sight of a car just a few spots away from my truck. It was a black 2026 Mercedes. I had a feeling I knew who the Mercedes belonged to; a woman named Vanessa, who happened to be the security guard of the Pizzaplex.
Vanessa was an intriguing sort. I never came face-to-face with the woman herself nor had I ever interacted with her in any way, but I'd seen her a few times during my times coming to the Pizzaplex with my family. To put it very bluntly, Vanessa wasn't the friendly type. Bossy with a slightly rude attitude, gets frustrated with the kids that come here, and is always so serious. Overall, Vanessa was an unpleasant person to be around.
I walked over to the front entrance doors leading into the Mega Pizzaplex. I began to reach out for the handle before pausing and staring at the door. Something within my gut was warning me to not open the door. I wanted to get in to find Lisa, but it was like my body was refusing to obey.
I thought about it for a minute. What if this place had a security system that would set off if I opened this door, which would alert the police? In all honesty, I didn't know if this place had one or not. Now thinking about it, it wouldn't be smart to get in via the entrance doors even if the Pizzaplex didn't have one.
'There has to be another way to get inside without setting off anything,' I thought to myself. 'But what? It's not like there can be an entrance up on the roof.'
A lightbulb went off in my head. I backed away from the entrance doors and looked up at the roof. I didn't know the full layout of the Mega Pizzaplex, but if I was lucky, there could be a way to get inside if I checked the roof.
'It's worth a shot,' I thought to myself, full of determination. Without a moment to lose, I headed straight for the back of the building, running at full speed.
I felt the cold night air whipping past my face as I ran, inching closer to the back of the Pizzaplex. It felt nice, though it would be a big pain in the ass once I made it to my destination. The rise in body heat that would flare up was going to make me sweat, which I wasn't looking forward to.
I ran around the side of the building and continued running. The moon provided enough light for me to see where I was going. I was very thankful for it. Somehow, it never occurred to me to grab a flashlight before leaving the house until I was halfway there. I didn't bother to turn around as I didn't want to waste any more of the time I had to find Lisa.
I ran around the corner, checking to see if I reached the back. I did. I sighed, my heart pounding in my chest from all of the running I just did. The back of the Pizzaplex wasn't anything very special; just 2 massive containers containing trash, no doubt.
I scanned the area before catching sight of something attached to the wall. It was a large metal stairway that led up to the roof of the Pizzaplex. I smiled at the sight, thanking luck for being on my side.
I ran over to the stairway without a moment of hesitation. I grabbed onto the metal railing and began to run up the stairs, loud metallic thuds echoing from each step. The icy coldness of the metal almost made me let go of the railing, but I held onto it.
I climbed the last step and hopped onto the roof. I scanned the area, looking for any signs of an entrance. I found two of them, an emergency exit and an open-air shaft that no doubt led into the air vents of the Pizzaplex.
I focused my attention on the emergency exit, the door beaconing me to come use it. The idea came flooding my head before I mentally slapped myself for even considering it.
'I can't use that,' I thought to myself. 'It's a God damn exit and usually, they are used to leave a building in case of emergencies.'
I aimed my attention at the open-air ventilation shaft. I shivered involuntarily. As much as the idea didn't sound pleasing, I knew it was the only way to get into the Pizzaplex without using the same old entryways. I had no idea how clean the air vents were, but I could only hope that they weren't filthy as hell.
I sighed. "If I want to get into the Mega Pizzaplex without being detected, it's the only way."
I walked over to the open-air shaft and peeked my head enough to see inside. There was a decent drop, but nothing I didn't have to be concerned about. The only concerns I had was if the air vents could withstand my weight and the chances of stumbling into spiders or rodents.
I shivered at the very thought of spiders. I was deeply afraid of spiders, seeing those damn things as miniature demons sent straight from the pits of Hell. To be frank, I wasn't afraid of spiders back then. It was what happened when I was 12 that sparked it.
Lisa, who was 7 years old at the time, had invited some of her best friends over for a sleepover one day. For some reason, one of her friends, a 9-year-old girl named Rachel Bell, came up with the brilliant idea of bringing over her pet spider with her, which turned out to be a Goddamn tarantula that she had in a glass case. If I had to guess, she wanted to impress her friends by showing it to them. It did impress some, including Lisa, but not me. I was a little creeped out by it.
At some point in the night, while we were sleeping in the living room, it somehow got out and did God knows what. I woke up the next morning to the damn thing crawling all over my face. I screamed so loud that it woke up the whole household. Needless to say, none of her friends were allowed to bring pets over.
"Let's hope they can hold," I said to myself. I took a deep breath and crawled inside, my hands and feet pressed up against the metal walls.
I made my way to the bottom, making sure to take it nice and slow. If I lost my grip and fell, I had no doubt that the fall would be enough for me to break through and fall to my death. The thought of that made my heart ache. It was bad enough to lose a daughter, but it was another thing to lose both a daughter and a son.
That made me pause. Not once since deciding to break into the Mega Pizzaplex did I ever consider how my mother and father would feel if they found out something happened to me. It was bad enough that Lisa has gone missing. Now that I'm here, probably doing something very stupid, I couldn't imagine what would go through their heads if they found out about this.
I shook my head and continued my way down to the bottom. 'It's too late to turn back. I have to find Lisa. I have to.'
After what felt like an eternity, I made it to the bottom. I got on my hands and knees and looked around. The vents were big enough for me to walk around via crouching, which was a good thing in my eyes. The last thing I needed was to get stuck and never be found in here. There were no signs of any spider webs, which was a huge plus for me.
'Better get moving,' I thought to myself. With that, I began to crawl through the vents.
"My God, this is ridiculous," I mumbled under my breath as I took a turn, pins and needles riddling my legs and feet.
As I continued to make my way through the vents, I began to regret going through with the idea. At the moment, it sounded like a good idea as it seemed like the way to not trigger anything. What I should've realized was that went it came to ventilation systems, they also happened to be a huge maze, only you couldn't get to the top to cheat your way out or anything.
I had no idea how long I had been in the vents, but if I had to guess, I say at the very least 20 minutes. Even if that was a small amount of time lost, to me, it was a big deal. I had no idea when the Pizzaplex truly closes, but once it did, I probably would be trapped here for the whole night unless I found another exit. The vents would be out of the question as some of the paths I took had a semi-deep drop and I wasn't good enough to climb that.
I stopped in my tracks upon seeing a split in the path. One that went straight and the other went right. I debated on which path I should take. Each one of them could lead me deeper and further into the ventilation, something I wasn't looking forward to dealing with at all. All I wanted was to get out.
'Maybe, I will go right,' I thought to myself. I began to make my down the right path. Once I did, I noticed something that sent a wave of relief throughout my body.
At the end was what looked to be a dimly lit room of some kind. There were a few neon signs in the shape of musical notes, a small lightning bolt, and a few stars.
A wave of familiarity washed over me. I couldn't help but feel like I knew this room. The problem was that I couldn't put my damn finger on it. I knew plenty of places in the Pizzaplex that were littered with bright, shapely neon lights that hung on the walls and ceiling. The only way I would know was by exiting the vents.
I began to crawl towards the exit, some of the details of the room coming into view. I noticed a few palm trees at the far end of the room and the flooring to be made out of tiles.
'Wait… is this…' I began to think when I felt my body suddenly began plummeting down. "AHHH! SHITSHITSHIT! NO!" I fell on my ass, the impact making me grunt. A wave of pain washed over me, making me squirm where I was. "Ouch…"
I groaned for a moment before looking behind me. I looked up to see the ventilation shaft that I just crawled out of just a few feet up. I glared at the damn thing. The height of the shaft was high enough for where if someone were to crawl out of it, they could end up hurting themselves, breaking a leg, or even an arm if they landed on either one awkwardly. At the same time, I had to admit, it was a little clever. If I was unlucky, I could've ended up with a broken bone.
I slowly get back on my feet, the pins and needles not making it any easier. I began shaking my legs one by one in an attempt to wake them up. This was one of the many things that I hated the most in life. It was getting pins and needles or what very few people call it 'paresthesia'. It's an abnormal sensation of the skin, that being either a tingling, prickling sensation or feeling as though there are insects crawling all over your skin with no apparent cause.
Once the sensation left, I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but I didn't get a chance to. A series of rapid thunking sounds echoed loudly all throughout the room made me tense up. From what I could tell, the sounds were coming from my right. I turned my head in the direction of the sounds, my right hand on the holster to whip out the gun, readying myself to shoot whoever it was coming my way.
My eyes widened at the sight. Coming my way was a familiar orange bear with a top hat. He stopped about 2 feet away from me. I could see the slight shock in his eyes, no doubt not expecting me to be here as we stared at each other.
"Freddy?!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Mihael?!" he exclaimed in the same manner. "What are you doing here?! You shouldn't be here! It's late!"
I calmed myself down, lowering my hand away from the holster and straightening my posture. I cleared my throat before looking Freddy in the eye.
"I already know it's late, Freddy, and I shouldn't be here, but I have a reason for being here," I said, my voice calm.
"And what's that?" Freddy asked, his tone both calm and curious. I took a deep breath to steady myself. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry again.
"I came here to find Lisa, my little sister," I replied. "She went missing earlier today and I couldn't wait until morning for my dad to continue the search for her so I decided to sneak out and find her myself."
I watched the shock return to Freddy's face, a tiny hint of horror mixed in with it. I guess the animatronic bear had no clue about my sister's disappearance. Thinking about that, I couldn't help but wonder a bit if Chica, Montgomery, or Roxanne knew anything about Lisa going missing.
As I did, I couldn't help but think about the note Roxanne left behind on the table back in the Atrium. The words that stuck with me the most echoed in my head loudly.
"I have a very special performance planned out for Lisa. I can't wait to see you two, especially you, Mihael. Keep your eyes out for me when we appear on stage."
I felt my heart ache remembering those words. I had no idea when the performance took place. If I had to guess, it must've happened while I was taking Lisa to the bathroom. I couldn't even imagine what went through her head when she saw I wasn't there. I could only hope that Roxanne didn't believe I missed out on the show on purpose.
"Your sister went missing?!" he exclaimed in shock and horror, the shout snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked away, aiming my eyes at the floor. I nodded my head. "How did that happen?!"
I didn't say anything. All I could do was look down at the floor. The memories of the event flashed through my mind, making me cringe a little bit. I could the tears threatening to break free. It took everything I had to keep them from falling.
"I took her to the bathroom and waited for her to do her business in there," I began. "After a while, I called out to her. When I got nothing in response after a few attempts, I went in there to go see what was going on… to find nothing but an empty bathroom. It took me a moment to realize this before I went to tell my dad. He and his fellow officers went to look for her… to no avail. I didn't want to wait so I snuck out and came here to find her."
I waited for him to say nothing. Nothing. Silence filled the room. I looked at him to see a sympathetic look plastered on his face. I didn't know if robots could cry, but if they did, Freddy would be doing so because he looked like he was going to.
"I'm so sorry, Mihael," Freddy said apologetically. "I can't even imagine how you must be feeling right now. Your sister is lucky to have-"
I raised a hand to stop him. I knew what he was going to say, but I didn't want to hear it. It wasn't his fault that Lisa had gone missing. It was mine. Plus, I had a feeling that I was going to get a good amount of sympathy from a lot of people once I go back to school. I could only hope the kids won't say anything nasty about Lisa about it too.
"You don't have to apologize, Freddy," I said softly. "It's not your fault she disappeared. I should've paid more attention. I'm going to set things right."
Freddy stared at me, not saying anything. The silence of the room was deafening. Speaking of the room, I surveyed my surroundings. My eyes widened slightly upon realizing where I was; Rockstar Row. By some stroke of luck, I managed to find my way to this room. It was much better than finding myself in an area of the Pizzaplex I was not familiar with and end up lost.
Something clicked in my head. I aimed my attention back at Freddy, who was still staring.
"Anyways, what are you doing, Freddy?" I asked, now curious as to what he was up to.
"I'm taking Gregory to the main Lobby," he replied without so much as a hint of hesitation. "I found him a few moments ago and he let me out of my green room so I can take him to the exit."
I arched an eyebrow at him. I looked around for any signs of this 'Gregory', but I found nobody. It was just me and Freddy. I aimed my attention back at him.
"Gregory? Who the hell is Gregory?" I asked.
"I'm Gregory," I heard a kid's voice say out of nowhere. I perked and looked around once more but found nobody.
"What the heck?!" I exclaimed loudly, confusion taking over me. "Where are you? I don't see you."
I looked back at Freddy, who had an awkward look on his face. My confusion grew some more. I was about to say something when his chest cavity opened suddenly. My right hand quickly grabbed hold of the holster, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. My eyes widened at the sight, making me remove my hand away from the holster.
"HUH?!" I exclaimed. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Inside the cavity was a young boy, probably around middle school aged from the looks of it, with light skin, brown hair, and eyes. He was wearing a dark blue polo shirt with two white rings around the torso, beige shorts, and a pair of red sneakers.
He stared at me for a moment before waving a hand slowly. I didn't do anything. All I could do was stare in shock, trying to process how the hell he was able to fit in there. I mentally slapped myself for trying. It was probably best to not try to.
"Well, you see-" was all Freddy was able to say before I cut him off again with a raised hand.
"Don't even, Freddy," I said plainly. "I'm not even going to comment or ask how or why the fuck he's in there because I don't even want to know." I cleared my throat, gathering myself. "Did you say that you were taking Gregory to the main Lobby so that he can leave this place?"
"That's correct," he said. "There is still time, but we have to hurry. I was going to get him there using the utility tunnels. It's the safest path."
I thought about what he just said. The utility tunnels? I never even knew that there were tunnels in the Mega Pizzaplex. Probably there to carry utility lines for electricity, water, sewer pipes, and the like. Definitely not a place for guests or even kids for that matter to go into.
While Freddy said it was the safest path, I had my doubts. For all we knew, something wrong could go down in the tunnels. While the kid hiding in Freddy's chest cavity was none of my concern, I still felt obligated to help. It was the least I could do before I went to go look for Lisa.
"Well, you're not going alone," I said firmly. Freddy looked at me curiously. "I'm coming with you guys."
Freddy's eyes widened a bit and was about to say something, but I cut him off for a 3rd time.
"And I know what you're going to say, Freddy," I said quickly. "Don't worry about me. I know how to take care of and protect myself. And besides, I want to make sure he gets out of here safely. When that's all said and done, I'm going to stay and look for my sister. Now, lead the way to the tunnels, Freddy."
"Now, wait a minute," the boy named Gregory said, suspicion clear in his tone. "How do we even know we can trust you? How do we know you're not working for that security guard?"
Freddy looked at me expectantly. I just looked at Gregory with a deadpan expression. I didn't want to believe the words that came out of that kid's mouth, but why was I even bothering? Of course, he said them. At the same time, I couldn't blame him. He looked like the type that didn't trust people easily.
Now thinking about it, it also made me suspicious. Was he hiding from Vanessa? If so, why? Something clearly wasn't right and I had a feeling this kid knew something we didn't. Something big. I felt the need to get the answers out of him, but right now wasn't the time for any sort of interrogation.
"Do I look like someone who would work for a security guard, kid?" I said sarcastically. "I only came here to look for Lisa and bring her home safely. And keep in mind, I just got here via the vents. I have no reason to work for someone like Vanessa. I don't even trust her at best. Whether you like it or not, I'm going to help you get out of here. Right now, we need to get going. We're wasting time."
Gregory opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. I could tell he wanted to argue, but deep down, he knew I was right 100%. I didn't know what time it was. I didn't even bother to check the time when I got in the truck and drove all the way here.
"Fine, let's go," he said angrily. "But I'm watching you."
With that, Freddy closed his chest cavity, but not before Gregory made the motion with his right hand that said 'I've got my eye on you, pal'. He looked at me for a moment before he began moving. I followed after him to wherever the entrance to the utility tunnels were.
As I followed, I looked around Rockstar Row. It still surprised me that I somehow ended up here. At the same time, I was grateful that I didn't have to spend another minute in those vents. Navigating through the damn things was like trying to find the exit to a maze, which I wasn't good at.
We got to the end of Rockstar Row, stopping about a foot away from a red door that had an impression of Freddy above it with a sign at the side of the door saying 'Utility Tunnels: Staff Only'. Freddy opened the door and stepped into a dark corridor. I followed behind him, mentally scolding myself for not bringing a flashlight.
We went down the small corridor before going down the first flight of stairs that led into the utility tunnels. I surveyed my surroundings as we went down.
The walls started off at a light green color before being nothing but concrete. The stairs were strangely a light green color as well and made soft clanking noises as we went down them, giving me the impression they were made of metal or something. The area itself gave off the feeling that outsiders weren't allowed here, a warning of certain doom.
We went down more and more flights of stairs, taking us deeper into the Pizzaplex. The only good side of it was that we could see where we were going thanks to the light being bright enough for us to see. However, the bad side to it was that when it came to places like this, sound carried. I had no doubt that if we made a noise loud enough to where anyone could hear it, it would give us away to whoever could be down here.
'Jeez, how many flights are there?' I thought to myself, annoyed as we went down another flight.
"Hello? Little boy?" called out a familiar voice that almost made us stop in our tracks, the voice making my very blood run cold. "If you're down here, say something!"
"You got to be kidding me, bro," I said in a deadpan tone.
"She's down here!" Gregory cried out from inside the chest cavity. "We have to go back."
"Do not worry, Gregory," Freddy said in a reassuring tone. "Even if we are spotted, you are safe with me. She would never suspect we are traveling together."
'Lucky kid,' I thought to myself enviously, knowing that I would have to find a place to hide if she ever gets close or if I was spotted, I would be the one to get caught.
"However, we should still do our best to avoid her," Freddy continued as we finally made it to the bottom of the stairs. "If I am sent back to my room, we will never get to the Lobby before midnight."
That instantly caught my attention. The way he said it gave off the impression that something bad would happen if we didn't get the kid out before that time. Would he be stuck here if that happened? I had to find out.
"Why?" I asked as we went down a small corridor, looking at him curiously. "What happens at midnight?"
Freddy turned his head to look at me for a moment before looking in front of him so as to not bump into anything.
"At midnight, the Lobby doors are sealed up by security doors," he replied. "Once that happens, both you and Gregory would be stuck here for the whole night."
"What?!" Gregory cried out, almost too loudly. I kept my composure as best as possible.
To say that scared me would be an understatement. The idea of the boy being trapped here was both a terrifying and unexpected turn of events. I had no idea what happens at night, but something told me that was when the security for the place was at its highest. And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.
"A whole other reason to get Gregory out of here," I said plainly. Freddy didn't say anything to me as we both turned the corner into a small room with a large metal door in the way with equipment at the far corner of the room.
We walked over to the door. We only got about halfway before the door slid up. Once it fully opened, I surveyed what was on the other side. It was a large corridor that was barely lit by the lights on the walls. The walls were concrete with the bottom part being a dark green color. There were wires and pipes on the ceiling that were used for different purposes. There was a doorway on the right wall that led somewhere within the Pizzaplex.
I knew right away what it was; the utility tunnels. Freddy and I began walking down the tunnel before the bear suddenly stopped in his tracks. I looked at him, curious as to what was going on right now.
"I feel you are broken," Freddy suddenly said, his voice filled with concern.
"Don't worry about it," Gregory said, brushing the bear's concern aside. "I'm fine."
"No, I feel that something is wrong," Freddy said strongly. "I am taking you to the first aid station."
"There's no time!" Gregory insisted. "I'm fine!"
Freddy paid it no mind as he turned and ran down the corridor on the right. I immediately followed after him. We went right, left, and straight before Freddy turned left and stopped in his tracks in front of a doorway. I took a peek to see it was another room with two large orange barrels of some kind with pipes connected on the top. At the far end of the room was a small station with a red curtain, no doubt the first aid station that Freddy mentioned.
I looked at Freddy in time to see his chest cavity open. There was a moment before Gregory hopped out.
Now that he was out, I got a good look at him. From his height, he had to be around Lisa's height. Shouldn't be surprised by it since he had to be a middle school kid at that.
Gregory looked at Freddy for a moment before he walked over to the small station with the red curtain and went inside. As if on cue, a sound echoed throughout the room. It took me a moment to realize that they were footsteps. I hid behind a small chunk of the wall, pressing my arms and legs together.
The footsteps came into the room, a small light breaking through the darkness. They came to where Freddy was and stopped.
"Freddy!" exclaimed the surprised voice of the security guard, Vanessa. "You're supposed to be on lockdown."
That caught me by surprise. Freddy on lockdown? What did she mean by that? I couldn't help but wonder what might've happened before I entered the Atrium to inform my father of my sister's disappearance and the chaos that folded.
I paid attention.
"Officer Vanessa, I-I do not know how I got here," Freddy said, his tone sounding confused.
"Well, you totally blew it tonight, you know," Vanessa said in a scolding tone as if she were berating some kid for doing something they weren't supposed to. "Your system crashed and you ruined the show. Now, Parts and Service have you on reduced power. They said it's a safety precaution. Just one more thing to deal with…"
To say I was shocked would be a huge understatement. To put it bluntly, I was horrified. I had no idea something like that even happened in the first place. I couldn't even imagine how the kids must've felt upon seeing that. And to make it worse, I had to come in and inform my father about Lisa going missing, loud enough for all to hear.
'That must've put a damper on things that had gone horribly wrong as it did,' I thought to myself guiltily. I returned my attention to the conversation that was taking place.
"I apologize," Freddy said in an apologetic tone.
"Ok…" Vanessa sighed, her tone sounding annoyed and tired. "Look, we're like 15 minutes from closing and some kid is sneaking around backstage. And just a few hours ago, a little girl went missing and could be anywhere in the Pizzaplex."
I felt my heart skip a beat upon hearing that. 15 minutes?! That sure as hell wasn't enough time to get Gregory the hell out before those security doors closed. In fact, the only way we were going to make it was by making a run for it. It would take a great amount of luck to make it in time.
"If you see anything, notify me immediately," Vanessa ordered. "I already alerted the others. Now, go back to your room."
With that said and done, I heard Vanessa walking away, going back in the direction she came from. I processed everything that came out of that woman's mouth. I couldn't believe it was that late. If I had to guess, I must've woken up at around 11 PM or something like that.
I suddenly remembered what else Vanessa said. If it was true that she alerted the others, that wasn't a good sign. That meant only one thing; we would have to be careful as to not bump into any of them. I didn't know why, but something told me to stay as far away from them as possible.
"I told you she was after me," Gregory said in a tone when your point was proven, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"I said nothing," Freddy said quickly. "I will keep you safe. Let us go."
"Yeah, let's," I said urgently. Freddy and Gregory quickly turned their heads in my direction as if I suddenly scared the crap out of them. It was like they had forgotten I was here.
It took a moment for them to collect themselves. It wasn't long before Freddy opened his chest cavity and Gregory hopped in without hesitation. Freddy began walking down the hallway leading back to the utility tunnels. I followed behind him. As we walked, I checked behind me occasionally, checking to make sure Vanessa didn't show up. Thankfully, she didn't.
We exited the hallway and began walking down the tunnel, the lights barely lighting up the place. If there was any time to use a flashlight, it would've been now.
"Where are we?" Gregory asked as we walked down the tunnel, which was littered with boxes and construction equipment. Some of them were being covered by orange clothes of some kind.
"We are now under the Pizzplex," Freddy replied. "These utility tunnels connect all the attractions."
"We can go anywhere in the building, Freddy?" I asked, curious and surprised by this revelation.
"Correct," Freddy said. "Fazer Blast, Monty Golf, Roxy Raceway: they are all accessible to S.T.A.F.F. - with high enough clearance, of course. Guests are never allowed down here, but this is a…" He hesitated. "…special situation."
"Doesn't feel special," I said plainly. Freddy didn't say anything as we continued down the tunnel.
Eventually, we reached what appeared to be the end of the tunnel. I said that because the other part of it was blocked off by a gate. I was about to say something when the bear mascot turned to the right and began walking down a corridor, the place better lit than the tunnel itself, which was a shocker to me. I followed after him, hoping it was going to get us out of this place and back to the surface.
As if life decided to play a sick, cruel joke, my eyes caught sight of a flight of stairs ahead at the far end of the corridor, the darn things the same light green color as the last flight of stairs we went down earlier. I felt the urge to groan loudly, but I resisted it.
'Great, another flight of stairs,' I thought to myself. 'Just what I needed.'
Freddy began to climb up the stairs with me following after him. I felt my agitation grow as we climbed up.
And up…
And up…
'God damn it, so many FUCKING stairs!' I shouted mentally in my head as we went up. 'Make this end!'
As if my prayers were answered, we climbed up the last flight of those damn things. Freddy continued before going right. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. I wiped my forehead with my right hand before going after Freddy.
"No more… fucking… stairs…" I said to myself before entering a strange room with a red metal door and forklift at the far end, a few wooden boxes, and metal canisters just in time to see Gregory hop out of Freddy's chest cavity.
I walked over to Gregory, the boy looking at him with a blank look on his face. I looked at Freddy to see a tired expression on his face. I tilted my head to the side, curious as to what the heck was going on.
"Freddy, what's wrong?" I asked.
"I'm terribly sorry," he said, his voice strained. "The recharge cycle had not yet completed when I found Gregory. You two must continue without me." Freddy turned his attention to me before an expression of what seemed to be realization formed on his face. "But before you go, I have something to give you, Mihael."
"And what's that?" I asked, arching my right eyebrow.
"It's a novelty Freddy Fazwatch," he replied. "I can communicate with you through the watch. Take it."
As if on cue, his chest cavity opened slowly, revealing a gift box sitting inside. A wave of dread washed over me. I absolutely hated those damn boxes. They reminded me of those Jack-in-the-Box toys, which dated back to the early 1500s when the first one was made by a German clockmaster known as Claus before they were improved in the early 18th century. Just like the toys, a melody plays for a certain amount of time before the box suddenly jumps up and the lid comes flying off. They always scared the hell out of me.
I walked over to Freddy, my hand reaching for the handle on the side of the box. I grabbed hold of it and began to turn it slowly. A melody slowly began to play. I felt my heart pounding rapidly in my chest as it played.
Just then, the gift box hopped into the air and the lid blew off. Confetti shot out from the box and a celebratory tune emitted from the box.
"AHHH!" I cried out as I jumped, shielding my face with my arms as if it was going to protect me. It didn't help matters when I heard Gregory laughing behind me. I whipped my head around to glare at him. "It's not funny! I hate those Jack-in-the-Box wannabes!"
"That's enough," Freddy said firmly. "Mihael, take the watch."
I looked back at Freddy before nodding and grabbing the box from inside the chest cavity. I reached inside to grab its contents. I wiped out a small watch that was Freddy-themed. I strapped it onto my right wrist, making sure it was secured.
"Got it," I said.
"That's good," Freddy said. "Good luck you two. I will guide you on your Fazwatches in case any of you get into any trouble."
"You got it, Freddy," I said as the bear walked over to a large red cylinder with a window, a light-blue lightning bolt underneath it, and checkered tiles aligning the top. He entered inside, the door closing behind him.
I stared at the bear for a moment before turning my attention to Gregory. I gestured to the metal doors with my head. Gregory looked at the doors for a moment before turning to me and nodding his head firmly.
We walked over to the doors, pushing them open. We entered another hallway, which was thankfully well-lit unlike most parts of the Pizzaplex that we went through. We walked down the hallway before I noticed a table with what looked to be paint cans and plastic boxes blocking the path just a few feet away.
"That's just great," Gregory said, sounding annoyed. "Whose the genius for putting that in our way?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, kiddo," I said as we continued down the hallway.
We got about 3 feet away from the table when I heard a noise that made me stop in my tracks. Curiosity surged through me, wondering what it could be. I listened closely to determine what it was. My curiosity turned to confusion when I determined it to be… chewing?
"What's that noise?" I asked.
"It seems to be coming from the other side of that door," Gregory said, pointing to a door to my right. I walked over to it, slowly opening it so as to not alert whoever was making those noises.
I peeked inside. The other side turned out to be a bathroom that was absolutely disgusting. The walls were smeared with grime and other dirty residue, the floors looked as though they hadn't been mopped in a very long time, and the stalls desperately needed a very good cleaning.
I aimed my attention to the far end of the room… and I felt my blood turn to ice at the mere sight. Chica was there, the chicken towering over a large heap of trash. The chewing was her eating away at the heap. Vanessa wasn't lying when she said that she alerted the others. Chica must've found her way here before getting distracted for some reason.
"Mihael, is anyone in there?" Gregory asked.
"Yeah, Chica is in there," I said, my fear skyrocketing. "She's, for some reason, eating away at garbage."
Gregory must've not believed me because he walked over to me. I instinctively moved aside so he could take a good look at it himself. There was a short pause, the only sound being Chica's chewing.
"That's just great," he whispered annoyingly. "Now what? We have to get her out of the way."
I turned my attention to the paint cans that were sitting on the table. That's when I notice a doorway just on the other side. A lightbulb lit up in my head. It was a long shot, but it was one we had to take. If we tried to sneak over to the doorway, all Chica would have to do was look in our direction. I didn't want to know what would happen if she caught us.
"Gregory, hold the door open," I whispered. "I've got an idea."
"What?" Gregory asked, turning his head to look at me. I pointed to the paint cans.
"Do you see those paint cans?" I asked. He nodded. "I'm going to hit those cans hard enough to draw Chica out of the bathroom. If we are swift enough, we can sneak past her without her noticing. But we would have to be quick though. The loud noise won't keep her distracted for long."
Gregory nodded. He pressed his hands on the door, making sure it stayed open. I crouch walked over to the table, balling my right hand into a fist. With one swift motion, I struck the paint cans. A loud bang echoed throughout the hallway. A quawk quickly followed it.
I immediately crouched walked back to Gregory. We both entered the bathroom and crouched walked as fast as we could, watching Chica leaving the bathroom to investigate the noise I just made. I felt my heart pounding rapidly in my chest, the organ feeling as though it was going to burst. The fear was intensifying, though I did my best to keep it under control.
We exited the bathroom, closing the door as quietly as possible behind us. I looked to see Chica checking the table.
"This area is off limits," Chica said in a creepy, sweet tone that sent shivers down my spine.
'Yeah, we know, Chica,' I thought to myself. 'You don't need to say it like that. That's just plain creepy. I just hope I don't get any nightmares from that.'
We continued crouch walking away until we rounded a corner. I straightened out my posture, the action catching Gregory off guard. I gestured to a doorway at the far end of the hallway. He seemed to get the message because he followed my lead without a bit of thought.
"How much farther?" Gregory asked as we rounded a corner. It was a moment ago that we snuck past Chica. I was happy my plan worked. I didn't want to think about what happen if it didn't.
"I don't even know, Gregory," I said tiredly. "Hopefully not much farther."
He groaned but didn't say anything. I couldn't blame him. I didn't know if the 15 minutes that we had left were up. On top of that, I knew he wanted to get out badly, not wanting to be trapped here for the whole night. If I was in his shoes, I would be just as annoyed as he was.
I looked ahead to see another section of a hallway, which was dimly lit by ominous red lights. Something deep within me told me to not go down there. However, there were no other options. I had to get Gregory out of here before midnight.
We walked to the doorway before I stopped, stopping Gregory in his tracks with my left arm. I poked my head, surveying the place very closely. It was indeed a hallway with different electrical devices on each wall. To my left was a metal gate. I couldn't see what was on the other side due to a large smoke cloud.
I looked at Gregory and motioned for him to follow me. We entered the hallway, the red lighting not helping with calming any of our nerves. As we walked, I couldn't help but the feeling that we were not alone.
"There you are!" boomed a voice, the intensity of it almost making me jump out of my skin. I looked behind me in time to see the gate being bashed open. Horror flowed throughout my body when I saw who the culprit was.
Montgomery Gator stood before us just a few feet away, his hands balled into fists. He looked in our direction, his posture very threatening. I felt my fight-or-flight instincts kick in. He slowly began walking over to us.
"SHIT!" I exclaimed. "GREGORY, RUN!"
He didn't hesitate. We ran as fast as we could down the hallway. I felt the ground shaking underneath my feet from the intensity of Montgomery's stomping footsteps. I looked behind me and almost lost my shit upon seeing the gator charging at us.
We reached the end of the hallway, the thing split into two paths. I looked to my right to see two metal doors at the far end of the hall.
"This way, Gregory!" I said urgently. We went down the hallway in the direction of the double doors.
"Are you lost?" I heard a voice ask behind us. I took a quick look and felt my heart skip a beat.
Roxanne Wolf was standing on the other side of a metal gate, her fingers scratching at it. I felt my heart threaten to shatter at the sight. Even by just looking at her, I knew that this wasn't the Roxanne Wolf I knew for a short time. There was an aura that was emitting from her, one of certain danger.
We reached the end of the hallway, the metal doors being the only thing blocking our path. I grasped the handles and swung the doors open forcefully. We ran down a strange corridor until we rounded the corner. At the far end was… a flight of stairs?!
"GOD DAMN IT!" I exclaimed. "NO MORE WITH THE FUCKING STAIRS!" I looked at Gregory. "Up those stairs!"
We were about to go down the corridor when I heard a noise from behind us. We looked to see a bunch of locked crates being knocked over. The culprit turned out to be Chica, who somehow got here very quickly. Just like Roxanne, she had an aura emitting from her, one of danger. Her right eye began twitching violently before she focused her attention on us.
"Lost kids over here!" Chica proclaimed loudly before charging at us. I looked to see Montgomery Gator gaining up on us.
"SON OF A BITCH!" I exclaimed. "MOVE!"
We ran down the corridor and up the stairs. I prayed that there was a safe place for us at the top of those damn stairs. If not, Gregory and I were screwed. As we ran up the stairs, I occasionally checked to see both Chica and Montgomery slowly gaining up on us. Every time they gained, I picked up my speed. Gregory did the same, quickly noticing what I was noticing.
We reached the top of the stairs and ran down a small corridor. A tiny wave of relief washed over me when I saw a doorway at the far end to the right. I grabbed Gregory and dove for the room just as Montgomery reached out to grab us. A loud bang echoed behind me as we fell on our sides, which was quickly followed by loud and vicious pounding.
I groaned before slowly getting back onto my feet. Gregory did the same. I surveyed the surroundings. The room was relatively small with a few red filing cabinets, a large desk with two monitors, a keyboard, a large screen TV attached to the wall, a billboard on the left wall, and a security door on the right wall.
'An office of some kind,' I thought to myself.
"Well done, boys," I suddenly heard Freddy's voice, which was coming from our Fazwatches, sounding very relieved. "You found a security office. You should be quite safe in there. The doors were designed to keep our highly-trained staff safe in the event of an emergency. As long as the doors stay closed, which they will, as long as there is ample power…"
It didn't take me long to notice a battery icon to the right of the door we just came from. I felt my heart skip a beat. As if life decided to play a sick joke on us, the battery icon wasn't full at all. I guess Gregory noticed because I heard him gasp in horror.
"Freddy," Gregory began, his voice filled with terror. "The power is only at 15% and they're pounding on the door! How are we going to get out of here?"
"Don't panic," Freddy said, his tone trying to sound reassuring. "You both should see an interface on the security desk. Do you both see it?"
I looked to see what looked to be the interface that Freddy just mentioned. There was a glowing red button on it. How I didn't see it the first time was beyond me.
"I see it, Freddy," I said. "Now what?"
"Hold on a minute while I make it accessible to you both," Freddy said. We waited, anxiety washing over me.
I checked the battery icon to see how much power was left. I felt my heart skip when I saw that only 8% was left. I could only hope that Freddy would make it before the power went out. Once it did, I knew that the door would open, allowing Chica and Montgomery to get inside and get us. If it came down to it, I wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"There," Freddy said suddenly. "Press the button and you can now activate security protocols."
I looked to see the button flash green. I washed to the desk and pressed the button as instructed. Two beeps quickly followed after that.
"Okay, it's done," I said.
"Your Fazwatches are now connected to the Pizzaplex's security camera system," Freddy said. "Check the maps on your Fazwatches."
I did as I was told. I tapped on the icon that said 'Cameras'. I was greeted with a view of a room I wasn't familiar with. It was simply filled with metal cabinets filled with boxes and such.
"Okay, so what are we looking at?" Gregory asked, his tone both curious and fearful.
"Those boxes on your mini-maps are nearby security cameras," Freddy informed. "When movement is detected on the camera's motion sensors, you should see red alert icons. Switch between the cameras to find a safe path out of the office and into the main Lobby."
"Understood," I said. I immediately began to check for a safe path for us to use.
It didn't take me long to find a safe path. I was relieved to find out that the room I was greeted with happened to be connected to the Lobby, which also happened to be connected to the office. I was also relieved to find no signs of anyone in the room. I looked to see that only 2% remained.
"Gregory, I know where to go," I said calmly. "Follow me."
"Mihael, are you sure?" he asked, the fear still present in his tone.
"I'm sure," I replied softly. "I wouldn't be saying so if that was not the case. Now, we need to go. We probably only have at the very least 30 seconds before that door opens. Let's get you out of here, Gregory."
He quickly checked to see that only 1% remained. That was all the motivation Gregory needed to storm out of the office. The door opened as he charged out. I followed after him, the door slamming shut behind us.
I pushed open a set of metal double doors and was greeted with a familiar sight. Gregory followed after me as we entered the Lobby. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I had no doubt the same thing was happening with Gregory. It was over.
"We made it," I sighed, trying to catch my breath. Gregory stood beside me.
"What a relief," Gregory sighed as he did the same thing. "I can't believe we did it."
I looked at him, feeling a bit prideful. It looked like things were going to be okay for him. Soon, he was going to be out of here and be safe at home, sleeping the night away.
"Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex is now closed," something announced loudly. "Initiating nighttime protocols."
We both looked at each other, horror washing over the both of us. I knew that we both knew what that meant. It was midnight and the security doors were about to close. We immediately ran over to the entrance doors, watching in horror as a large metal door began to seal off the entrance.
"SHIT! NO! NO!" I shouted as we reached the doors too late. "WAIT! THERE'S A KID STILL HERE!"
I began banging on the security doors, trying in vain to get them to open. I stopped after the 10th time. I looked at Gregory, who had an expression of frustration and defeat plastered on his face. I couldn't even imagine what was going through his head right now. We were so close. Unfortunately, time and luck weren't on our side. This meant that Gregory was going to be stuck here with me for the entire night, but for how long was the question?
"Now, what are we supposed to do?" Gregory asked. I thought about it for a moment before I looked at my Fazwatch. I tapped a button on it.
"Freddy, I'm afraid I have bad news," I began to say. I hesitated for a moment before I sighed. "We both made it to the Lobby, but we didn't make it to the exit in time. Gregory is now stuck here and I don't know what to do next."
"How unfortunate," Freddy said, sympathy present in his tone. "You missed your chance. I'm really sorry."
None of us said anything. The weight of the situation hit me like a freight train, no doubt the same thing happening to Gregory. Out of all the times for something bad to happen, it had to be now. Of course, it happened as soon as I felt as though I accomplished my goal of getting Gregory out of here before the place closed. I felt pity for the poor boy. He didn't deserve to have something like this happen to him.
"But, there is still hope," Freddy said suddenly, snapping us out of our thoughts.
"What kind of hope?" I asked, curious as to what he meant by that.
"Gregory should be able to escape the Pizzaplex when the security doors reopen at 6 AM," Freddy replied. "Until then, keep moving and try not to draw attention to yourselves. If there is another way out, I will help you both find it. And Mihael?"
"Yeah?" I asked.
"I will help you find Lisa," Freddy reassured. "I promise."
I felt my eyes water at that. Here we were, trapped in the Mega Pizzaplex, and here was Freddy, promising Gregory that he will help him find another way out if there was one and helping me find Lisa. That bear was a fucking saint.
"Thanks, Freddy," I said. "Talk to you later."
A beep sound followed after. Just like that, we were alone. It took a moment for it to click in on what Freddy just said about the security doors. I suddenly felt dizzy. It took everything I had to keep myself balanced.
'We're stuck here for 6 hours?!' I thought to myself.
Author's Note:
Here it is; Chapter Nine! The start of Security Breach! :D
This has to be the longest chapter I've written so far with a total of 9,597 words. That's an insane amount, even for a chapter. The reason was that it turned out to be a lot bigger than I planned for it to be. In all honesty, I don't regret a thing.
I hope did well on this chapter. I may have failed with keeping the intensity of some of the parts that happened in the game. I still hope it was still good nonetheless. And don't worry, Roxanne will be joining their side very soon. I can't say when, but who knows, it might be sooner than you think. ;)
That's all for now. Keep an eye for Chapter Ten. Constructive criticism is appreciated and I will see you guys next time! :)