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The Nightshift

"This is sooooo booooring..." Nathan said as he slumped into the chair in the dingy box room that was the security office of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. Staring into space he found himself doing nothing but breathing, his lost gaze being returned by a pink, plastic cupcake. Peering at him from the top of its video recorder/monitor throne, Nathanael picked up a musty old cloth from the dirty chequered floor and successfully threw it over the cupcake. The dirty yellow rag settling over it like a disappointing Halloween ghost costume, he noticed. "Speaking of costumes..."

Nathan checked his watch, noting it was ten minutes to midnight, and stood up stretching, disappointed that time was not progressing as he would like, having been there since six in the evening.

Stepping out of the unkempt office into the east corridor, the night watchman strolled along the unlit corridor, making a mental note to check inside the broom closet in the west hall for lamps or starters to try and fix the light with. Apparently they had been running the pizzeria on a generator at night instead of from the grid, but reconnected the power at night after an anonymous investor recently bought out the dying restaurant. The rest of the pizzeria was fully lit, which would only be like that until around midnight when he was told to make sure all of the lights were turned off from the office to discourage people from approaching the place during the inhospitable dark hours, thinking it may be open. He was also told to sit in the office, with both doors closed from no later than midnight and to remain inside until 'no earlier than six in the morning' the guard from the evening shift explained in a very stern manner. Nathan could have sworn that staying put for those six whole hours was the difference between life and death, the way it was put to him.

"Daft old crone," Nathan muttered at the expense of the day guard, Jeremiah, as he walked around the tables in the dining room of the restaurant and straight into the restroom for a piss. Nathan paid no mind as to which bathroom he used as there was nobody around to tell him he'd gone into the 'ladies' by mistake. He went in, used a cubicle, flushed it and strolled straight back into the dining room again. At first he was surprised to see the three animatronic characters of Freddy the bear, Bonny the purple rabbit and the feathery yellow chicken, Chica standing still on the stage, but all three were staring at him. The old goat on the previous watch told him they moved on their own, so he felt there was nothing to worry about, putting it down to some kind of sensor within the animatronic devices to make them appear more lifelike and real.

Temptation for amusement crept in and he found himself walking around the tables to the front of the stage, watching as their gaze followed him from across the room. In the working lights of the pizzeria they looked slightly unsettling making Nathan wonder just how creepy they would appear to be with nothing to see by but the lights from the street outside streaming in. Standing there wondering about the clown from It but with fur did little to ease the sense of isolation from reality that began to gnaw away at him, so Nathan clapped his hands once and gave out a loud "Ow!" before turning sideways and poorly moonwalking past the stage under the watchful eyes of Freddy's band. When he reached the end of the last table, Nathan turned away from the stage and waltzed carefree past the curtained off area of Pirate Cove and down the west hallway. Another glance at his watch along the way told him it was almost midnight.

Deciding the light in the opposite hall was not his problem to bother about Nathan sat in the chair in the office and leaned each side of where he sat to close the doors. They came down with such ferocity that Nathan almost stood up in surprise. After his heart stopped pounding in his chest from the fright, the new security guard took off his cap and tossed it onto the desk. He then turned the lights off for the pizzeria and put his feet up as he turned the monitor on to check the feed from the security cameras was working. The kitchen was offline, showing nothing but blackness and a message stating "AUDIO ONLY!" but other than that every other camera was working.

"Finally," he said as he took his phone out of his pocket and set the alarm for '5.55 a.m.' so he had time to wake up properly before the cleaners came knocking on the door at five past six. With a yawn, Nathan settled down into the chair and put his feet up, gently tossing his phone onto the desk next to his feet. If every night was going to be this easy he could see himself volunteering to work here at night more often. Satisfied that he was comfortable Nathan closed his eyes and waited to sleep.

***

Despite being behind two firmly shut doors, Nathan started to feel more and more uneasy as the night rolled on. He woke up frequently, checking the monitor for signs of life after constantly hearing noises. Shuffling was the most common one, but when he checked the feed, nothing was out of place. Every now and then he heard the tune of a music box playing, which he was told was Freddy's theme tune. Nathan knew it from an opera called Carmen that his grandparents once dragged him to. If he had been paying attention he would have known it was "Les Toreodors", but he did his best to pretend he was enjoying the opera and, as such, this information was lost to him.

Once, when he was on the verge of drifting into unconsciousness, he could have sworn he heard the most inhuman scream. By the time Nathan fell out of the chair, the sound had subsided and he was left panting in shock at the surprise. A look out of both office windows and a flick through the security feed showed not a speck of dust was out of place. Placing it down to his unease of the daunting and unfamiliar environment, Nathan rested back into the chair feeling more embarrassed and sheepish than anything else as he went back to sleep until more shuffling coaxed him out of his slumber.

Five thirty a.m. was when he next checked his watch. No significant sleep was his reward for a disturbing night shift. He was feeling it and it did not feel good.

Given the fact his shift was almost finished, Nathan reached over to each of the light switches and turned them on, the east hall remaining in darkness as the light in the west corridor flickered to life-...

A shadow passed by the window to his left!

"Shit!" he gasped as the figure disappeared away. So fast it was that he never even got so much as a glimpse of any detail. If someone had broken in he did not want to get too involved. Save for an old wooden nightstick Nathan was completely unarmed, not to mention unwilling to put himself in harm's way. Turning the lights on he then counted to ten, hoping it would give the intruder enough time to make their escape, spooked into running by the lights coming on.

Quickly pressing the buttons to open the doors each side of him, Nathan stood and snatched his phone up off the desk, making his way into the eerie light of the west hallway. Down the corridor he could hear the musical notes of the song from Carmen chiming away in the dining room. Slowly, taking each deliberate step to the eating area, Nathan glanced into the cleaning cupboard as he passed by making sure the trespasser was not hiding away. Satisfied it was empty he moved on.

Apart from the curtain around the Pirate Cove section nothing appeared to be out of place. The three animatronic characters on the stage moved their gaze to him as he entered the dining room. In an act of nervous bravery he stepped over and snatched at the curtain to reveal the display. Except for the unmoving, tattered looking Foxy the fox robot staring blankly and open-mouthed out at the restaurant, there was nothing there. Giggling as he blew out a sigh of relief when he realised his mind had been playing tricks on him, Nathan looked up to Foxy and noticed the pirate patch for its right eye was up, revealing an eye that appeared to be as serviceable as the one in the other socket. Nathan knew he was not supposed to touch any of the robots, but he found himself reaching slowly up to it. Foxy continued to stare lifelessly, clearly deactivated after the 'OUT OF ORDER' sign was placed before the apparently entertaining exhibit. Nathan pulled down on the eye patch, covering the eye once more.

"That's bette-"The arm snapped up causing Nathan to fall back in fright, landing painfully on his backside. "Fucking hell man!" he yelled in fear. The arm had a rather sharp looking hook on the end of its arm, a hook that came up next to its face before stopping there for a moment. Nathan groaned and fell onto his back as Foxy lowered its arm from the fear inducing salute it gave to him. "Is it six yet?"

Fed up from lack of sleep and the paranoia causing hallucinations it had given to him, Nathan stood up, dusted himself down and strode to the front door between the stage and the backstage room. Ignoring the following gazes of the other three robots he turned the knob on the lock and pushed the door open, stepping into the car park of the pizzeria. 'Screw it,' he thought, making the decision to wait outside for the cleaners for the following thirty minutes.

Sure enough, when five past six came, the first cleaner arrived and looked at Nathan with bemusement.

"Rough night?" she asked, though she said it more like a statement than a question.

"Not really," Nathan lied, although Emily, as the nametag over her left breast told him, seemed to know he was not being particularly honest. Picking up on this Nathan tried to qualify it further. "Just not used to working alone at night is all."

"I see..." Emily said as she passed him. "Good luck with the next shift."

"Thanks," Nathan responded, dipping his hands into his pockets. A few moments later the daytime security guard showed up for work. The old gent who went home at six the night before got out of his old sedan and walked over to Nathan putting his 'security' baseball cap on as he strolled across the pizzeria's car park.

"See you made it through your first night watch safe enough," Jeremiah said. "No problems?"

"Thought someone had broken in about half an hour ago," Nathan told him. "Had a look around but saw nothing." He deliberately left out the part about the Foxy exhibit almost taking his face out with its hook.

"Well it don't get no easier as the week goes on," the grey haired senior chuckled. "Most people can't take it. They just up and leave in the middle of a shift, never coming back. Last guy was the same."

"I'll bear that in mind," Nathan smiled, wondering if the creepy goings on he had already experienced first-hand were what made his predecessor leave and if that's what he had to look forward to on his next shift. "Have a good day, Jeremiah."

"Sleep well," Jeremiah said as he entered the restaurant. Nathan looked at his watch, despite knowing roughly what the time was. Fatigued by his first night he longed for his bed and set off in search of the nearest bus stop to head back home.

***

The same evening, sitting back inside the office after Jeremiah went home, Nathan watched the customers eating away. Children's parties were the usual order of the day, the joyous screaming and noises of parents pretending that they too were having fun (until the bill arrived) came down both hallways. Nathan wasn't particularly enjoying himself, the continual racket coming at him in stereo only made his desire for closing time all the more welcome. Looking at the time on the security feeds he could see he still had a couple of hours before the nine pm lockup time. The kitchen staff would let themselves out by the emergency exit and he would be alone with nothing but the darkness and the robots for company.

When nine o' clock did come, Nathan found a lamp to replace the broken one in the east hall and got on with that. He later wandered into the kitchen and helped himself to a pizza the kitchen staff had made for him, as well as making sure the emergency exit was closed. The dining area, however....

"Hello you three creepy bastards," Nathan greeted the three robots on stage as their gaze located him in the empty restaurant. They continued to track him as he closed the front doors and locked them before heading past their silently following faces all the way to the backstage room.

The backstage was actually a small storage and repair room for the entertainment animatronics on display at Freddy's. Nathan's purpose here was to check on the new arrival that had been brought in to accompany Foxy when Pirate Cove was refurbished, up and running again in the coming weeks. What he sought, after turning the light on, was sat on the end of the table facing away from him.

"There you are." Walking around the table to stand in front of it, Nathan looked it up and down. The robot had already been placed inside the suit and switched on. It didn't move its head to constantly look at him like Freddy, Chica or Bonny. It just sat there watching the wall behind Nathan, just like Foxy did. "Looks like an otter."

Satisfied, Nathan left the backstage room and checked behind the Pirate Cove curtain. Foxy stared out as it did the night before, gawping wide and lifeless at the open air. The eye patch was up again and Nathan, remembering the salute that almost caught him with the hook, stood to one side when he put the patch down again.

"Looks better like that, Foxy," Nathan told the robot. It did not move this time, much to his relief, so he stepped back and closed the curtain once again. "Goodnight all," he said as he went back into the office and turned the lights to the dining area off, closing the doors when he sat down. With his feet up he closed his eyes to try and catch up on the sleep he had struggled to get during the day and sighed. "Just another night alone with my thoughts..."

***

Nathan had no idea why he woke up. The buzz from the security camera feed buzzed away, the light overhead adding to the noise, but other than that there was nothing to see or hear. Picking up the monitor to look at the cameras, noting the time was almost two in the morning, nothing appeared out of place until he checked the stage.

The rabbit had been moved from the stage, standing on the dining room floor in front of where it was supposed to be. The yellow chicken had also moved, but Nathan could not find it anywhere on any of the feeds. The Freddy robot was still on the stage, staring at the camera making Nathan feel as if he was being scrutinised down the lens. Pirate cove appeared to be untouched.

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath, knowing exactly what the occurrence meant. If someone came back and found the robots out of position someone would think he had been moving them himself and his job would be in jeopardy. Standing up and opening the door to his left, Nathan set off down the hallway. "Very funny Jeremiah, put all that shit into my head about keeping the doors closed after midnight and then coming in and moving the animatronics around. Real funny... I'll admit, I was sleeping on the job, you caught me. Won't happen again," he continued to talk loudly as he entered the dining area and stopped dead. All three of the robots were on the stage. Nathan ran past the robots, checking the door was still locked, which it was. Into the bathroom which was empty, the kitchen too and the emergency exit within. The pizzeria was desolate.

"Yep," he said to the robots as he came back into the dining area, forlornly walking past their following gazes. "I'm going bat shit crazy, loopy, whacko. I've completely lost the fucking plot."

Nathan never even noticed the fox's hook opening the curtain to Pirate cove as he passed by the robot and its exhibit. The tattered fur covered robot tilted its head awkwardly and watched him head back down the hallway. So wrapped up in ranting and raving at his growing insanity that when Nathan heard the rapid thumping of footsteps he did not even have time to turn around.

When the hook reached over and buried itself into the flesh of his right shoulder, Nathan grabbed at it with his free hand and screamed. Yanked off his feet like a caught fish, Nathan flopped around on the floor as he was dragged back up the hallway.

"No, please!" the human pleaded to the uncaring robot that pulled him along. It lowered its head as it continued dragging and let out such an inhuman scream, the same noise that had woken him in fright the previous night. A noise that he believed he had imagined but now knew to be so frightfully real.

Any attempt he made to free himself from the hook in his shoulder sent waves of pain through his torso. Resigning himself to enduring the punishment Nathan held on to the arm as he slid across the dining room floor.

"People will know!" he shouted, looking to Freddy, Chica and Bonny as they came from the stage and followed their fox compatriot and its human catch into the backstage room. "You can't do this! Please! Don't kill me!"

"We have no intention of killing you," the bear said as it lay the otter down on the table and turned the robot over, pulling open the costume. The fox lifted Nathan up, causing the human to yell out in pain at the movement. The robot held him there, allowing him to see the workings of the robot within the animatronic otter. "Our new friend needs a body to live, that's all."

"No!" Nathan struggled as they closed in on him, taking hold of a limb each and lifting his body up, holding him over the open back of the otter robot. They lowered him down and started to push on his body to fit him inside the suit.

Before long, Nathan stopped screaming and remained still as they pulled the fur back over his body and buttoned the otter up, lifting the robot and the human up and placing them both facing up at the ceiling. Nathan held his breath until he heard them leave the room. He swore blind that they were going to kill him, nearly succeeding with how rough they were at stuffing him into the suit.

"Fucking hell," he breathed, daring not to move as he tried to comprehend exactly what had just happened to him. 'Our new friend needs a body to live.' That is what Nathan heard before they rammed him in there, thinking the words over and over again to try and comprehend what had occurred.

Satisfied that they were not going to come back, Nathan tried to pull his arm out of the suit. They had put him in there pretty tight; he knew that he was not going anywhere until help arrived later in the morning. The robot inside the suit was too heavy to move, preventing him from getting off the table, or even sitting up.

The lights inside the robot's head, inside its eyes, lit up. Nathan could hear the robot powering up. He had to get out of the suit right away and make a break for the emergency exit in the kitchen.

"No, no, no!" he hissed when the robot inside with him sat up slowly. For what felt like an eternity to Nathan it sat there, and sat there, and sat there... Completely unmoving, as if waiting patiently for something to happen. And happen it did.

What little movement Nathan had quickly became non-existent as the mechanics inside seemed to grip at his entire body. Even his mouth stuck open, fixed into place by an unseen force. He remained like this for a few moments until his eyes eventually snapped open, staying wide and staring.

All at once the pain hit him from everywhere. Something started to burrow into the skin at his shoulder where Foxy had impaled him, digging deep into the flesh. Nathan's screams were muffled by something else boring its way down his throat, his nose, his eyes... All at once he was being invaded by small unseen slithers, causing him pain as they started to spark, electricity flowing through the copper wires that continued to snake their way into his body. Blinded by the strands of brown metal fibres that went in around his eyeballs, Nathan panicked as his body continued to shudder from the current coming through the wires that attacked his body simultaneously.

Every muscle, every organ, every fibre of his being was being invaded, taken over by an unseen force that was harboured within the robot. The pain Nathan felt slowly turned into a cold numbness as his body was consumed by the supernatural force within.

When the pain subsided, Nathan slowly opened his eyes to see the robotic otter staring back at him. He wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, do something to shake off the nightmare he'd just woken up from, but found that he could not breathe, nor could he feel. Everything felt...like nothing.

Confused and disorientated, Nathan got off the table and stared at the otter. It too came closer as he walked to it. When he realised it was a mirror he was staring at, Nathan believed the nightmare was continuing on, it made sense to him, waking up in the backstage room instead of the office where he had originally fallen asleep.

Still fixated on the mirror, Nathan leaned in to it for further inspection, reaching up with an inhuman hand, a robotic paw. He tried to feel the stubby snout of the aquatic animatronic but his paw just lumped against fleece covered plastic. Opening his mouth to scream, the shuddering, distorted screech he had heard too often came from his own mouth.