FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A/N: Hey Welcome back to another Chapter! ** On to the story! Shoo! Scat! Scram! Read! Why are you still here!? The story is down below you fool!**

Chapter 2

New Job New Problems

---

"This is not what I expected," I muttered to myself, standing outside in the small parking lot of _Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. _The building looked as if it was one health inspection away from being condemned. The once lustrous-red brick walls were now a brown, dirty, cracked, ugly mess. A few windows were boarded up, cracked, or missing completely. The large billboard sign above the entrance, that had the faces of their 'famous' animatronics on it, was peeling away and looked as if it was about to fall. Neon lights below the sign and right above the double glass doors spelled, "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza" in, fancy pink cursive. A few of the letters were flickering and sputtering, sparks flying out of loose wires, and some of the letters not even illuminated. The remaining lit lettering spelling out: "F-e-d-y -a-z-e-r-s -i-z-a."

Before I left my apartment I changed into a clean black shirt, with a red hoodie and blue jeans, my sneakers staying the same red and black torn up pieces of rubber and fabric that they were. On my way over here I stopped by the post office and sent my application letter to Ralf's Robotic WonderWorld of Technology off back to wherever they are located in West Virginia.

As I made my way up to the extremely dirty, and finger smudged glass doors, I noticed tons of trash everywhere consisting of, but not limited to Cigarette butts, beer and soda cans, plastic bags, and what looked to be condoms as well. This place was just slightly better than most of the city of WaterField, a small town 'city' located somewhere far north in Maine. WaterField was an absolute shit hole for everyone except the rich and prosperous. If you had the money you could easily pay off the authorities to an extent, buy your way into any college, *cough* Eric *cough*, and do almost anything you want.

Pushing open the double glass doors I was greeted with the typical electronic ding, except the speaker had worn away and corroded so badly the once cheerful ding was replaced with a high pitched crackling sound. The sound of screaming, laughing, and crying children also permeated the building. The smell of pizza laced the air and I instantly started to drool at the thought of being able to eat freshly cooked pizza, hell freshly cooked anything would be welcomed. Quickly regaining myself I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth with my sleeve and walked up to the front counter. A young woman with outrageously pink and purple waist-length hair, dressed in a dull red shirt with golden letters printed on it reading: "Fazbear Employee" with a nametag pinned to her left shoulder containing the name "Jessica" printed on the cheap plastic. She was sitting on a tall stool behind the counter, her arm propped up on the counter at the elbow and her head in her hand as she read a magazine.

As I reached the counter she spoke, "Hello, and welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life," drawled Jessica, her gaze never leaving the magazine she was reading.

"Ahh... Hi, I'm here about the job advertisement in the newspaper," I said tentatively, stepping up to the counter. I could already tell this lady was not in a good mood and I did not want to make her day worse by being an asshole.

Jessica finally looked up from her magazine and raised an eyebrow, looking me up and down, which made me feel really uncomfortable. Her expression seemed to be one of curiosity, like why-would-anyone-want-to-work-here curiosity.

She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, pointing at a hallway, and said: "Down the hall, first door on your left."

"Thanks," I replied, making my way towards the hall entrance.

Before I headed for the hallway to find the manager's office I took a look around, taking in the rest of the pizzeria. Black and white cracked, and dirty checkered linoleum floor, disgusting grey walls with a single checkered pattern stripe running horizontally all around the room, and a large wooden show stage with red curtains. On the stage were 3 animatronics that took the shape of anthropomorphic animals. The first of which is a large purple bunny with a rose-red bowtie, holding a V-shaped red and white electric guitar. Standing on the bunny's left in the middle was a large brown bear, holding a microphone, and wearing a black top hat and bow tie. The last animatronic was a large yellow... duck? No, I think it's a chicken. Hard to tell. Anyway, this animatronic wore nothing but a white bib with a confetti pattern print on it, and large yellow letters saying "Let's Eat!" outlined in purple.

The sight of the animatronics was not what I was expecting. Where I expected to see: large, box-shaped, jerky, hardly functioning, ugly, cheap animatronics. I saw: large, human-shaped, slightly jerky, hardly functioning, and for lack of a better word, cute, animatronics. Albeit they were all pretty dirty and disgusting looking even from here.

"Least they could do is give the poor things a bath," I mumbled to myself as I watched the animatronics perform.

The bunny was making jerky up and down motions on her guitar, which was playing pre-recorded chords. The bear was spouting more pre-recorded lyrics into her microphone. And the duck... chicken... whatever was trying to be a backup singer but seemed to be drowned out by the bear and bunny.

For some reason, I felt saddened at the fact that almost, if not all, of the children, were not even paying attention to them. Sure, they are just animatronics, they're not alive. But still, it's sad to see them being ignored like that. Tearing my gaze from the animatronics, I turned and headed down the hall behind me to find the manager's office.

Walking down the empty hallway, my feet slapping against the linoleum and echoing off the walls, I noticed most of the walls are covered in child-like drawings of the animatronics. One drawing had a figure that seemed to be the bear animatronic, judging by the black blobby top hat and bow tie it wore. The strangest thing about it though was that whatever kid drew this, they had obviously gotten the color brown mixed up with gold. Eh, kids are kids, let them have fun I guess.

Finding the first door on the left, a sign was hanging in the middle reading "Manager's Office." I knocked on the door and heard a cheery voice respond and tell me to come in. I pushed the door open and stepped inside a tiny office. In the middle of the room was a short and slightly pudgy man, dressed in a tacky brown suit and red tie, sitting behind a small oak desk in a crusty, and worn out black leather swivel chair.

"Hello there young man, what can I do for you?" asked the man, clasping his hands together and leaning forward so his elbows rested on the desk. He nodded for me to take a seat in the small wooden chair in front of the desk. I obliged and took the seat.

"Hello, my name is Zee Phillips and I'm here about the job opening I saw in the paper. Is it still available?" I asked politely. With this being my first real job interview I was feeling really nervous, and as usual, when I get nervous my silly little tick starts to set in. I start cracking my fingers by pulling them inwards towards the palm of my hand using my thumb, even if they didn't crack I would keep doing it, going over each finger again and again, until I either calmed down or got out of the situation that was making me nervous and anxious.

On hearing my question the man's smile turned into a beaming grin. "Yes, it is still open! The position is night guard, you'll be working every night from 12 am to 6 am. You'll be paid $120 a week and everything is on the house for the day. How does that sound?" asked the manager rather rapidly, now leaning over his desk seeming very excited and relieved.

"Uh... That sounds good, I guess?" I respond by saying it more like a question. I leaned back in my chair away from the over-excited manager. I was not expecting him to be so eager. "I do have one request though."

The manager relaxed back into his swivel armchair, beaming brightly. "And that would be?" he asked, his smile never wavering.

"I want to keep these on at all times, it shouldn't affect how I work but it's for a personal reason," I stated, tapping the side of my blacked-out circular sunglasses.

"Not a problem! Not a problem!" exclaimed the manager. "All I need you to do is sign this and you've got the job!" He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a slip of paper, placing it down in front of me, along with a pen. Not once during all of this did his smile waver or shrink. It was kind of disturbing actually.

"What's this?" I questioned, scooting closer to the desk and looking down at the compact mess of black and white. I could hardly understand it, the writing was so small and in such fancy cursive, my head started to spin.

"Oh, nothing serious, just your employment contract. You know, the usual: I accept I'll work these hours, and that these are the duties I must uphold, blah blah blah. Nothing to worry about, just sign your name at the bottom and I'll get you sorted out with a uniform," explained the manager, his now creepy smile still plastered proudly across his face, and his hands clasped together. Seeming as excited as a kid at Christmas.

I hesitated at first due to not being able to even read the contract, but it's not like this is some kind of pact with the devil. So, shrugging off the weird feeling I had, I pressed the pen to the paper and signed, then slid the paper back over to the manager. He read it over for a second making sure I signed everything properly and then he looked up and held out his hand. "Welcome to the Fazbear Family Mr. Phillips!"

"Thank you, Mister...?"

"Charles! James Charles! Sorry for not introducing myself sooner, I was just very excited to finally have a nightguard."

I looked at his hand hesitantly. _Come on Zee! It's just a handshake! You can deal with that much physical contact... can't you? Yes! I can do this! _I clasped his hand in mine and shook it, a slight smile coming to my face. And of course, at that moment is when my stomach decided to betray me. My stomach rumbled loudly, and I felt the heat rising on my cheeks from embarrassment.

Mister Charles just laughed and shook his head. "Please Mr. Phillips, go get something to eat. Everything's on the house today."

Sighing in relief that he didn't take my body demanding sustenance as an insult, which I've found out some people seem to get insulted by for some reason, I thanked him again and left the cramped office. Once back out in the hallway I leaned against the wall and rubbed my temples. "Ugh... maybe I'm getting a weird headache or something," I muttered to myself.

Ever since I entered the pizzeria there has been this slight hum in the back of my head, but now at this point, it seems to have grown into an incessant buzzing within my skull. Shaking my head I started making my way back up the hallway. I stopped and looked at the wall to my right, noticing a blank rectangular patch among the wall plaster of children's drawings. Where the blank patch of gray was located among the colorful sheets of paper, I knew I had seen something in its place. Wasn't that where I passed that drawing of the bear animatronic, where some kid mixed up brown with gold? I shrugged, guessing I probably just missed it and headed out into the main party room.

Looking around I spotted the restrooms near the front doors and made a beeline for the men's room. Entering the restroom, the stench wasn't too bad but it was still awful nonetheless. After using one of the urinals, I washed my hands in the sink. After taking off my glasses I cupped my hands under the stream of water and splashed some water into my face, and looked back up into the mirror. What I saw made me jump out of my skin. There was a shadowy figure standing in the corner of the restroom. I swiped my glasses up off the counter and slammed them back on my face. Looking back up into the mirror, I saw the figure still there. Due to the shadows obscuring almost all their features I couldn't make out who they were, all I knew was whoever they were, they were tall, standing at somewhere around 6 feet.

I slowly turn towards the dark corner of the restroom, to come face to face with... a wall. I looked back into the mirror at the same spot where the figure was and there was nobody there. "Okay, nothing unusual, I'm just hallucinating. Probably because I haven't eaten in a long time," I reassured myself. I smiled at myself in the mirror and let out a small chuckle. Seriously? I'm getting worked up over a couple of hallucinations? I saw the same thing back at the University. I've had a few hallucinations from malnutrition before, nothing to get worked up about. Soon I'll be able to get something to eat.

---

Sitting at a booth I read over the menu, and to my great surprise, I found they served much more than just pizza. I looked down the long list of fancy-sounding Italian food, there was so much I was overwhelmed and settled to order the _Meat Explosion _Pizza, which consisted of Pepperoni, bacon, ham, sausage, salami, and chicken.

"Welcome to Fazbear's Pizza! May I take your order?" asked a very bubbly and excited voice. I looked up from the menu to lay eyes on a young woman who looked to be 18 or 19. Her raven-black hair fell down to the middle of her back, her figure was slim and athletic like she went on a jog every morning, and she had pretty green eyes. On her body, she wore a Fazbear Uniform, consisting of Black knee-length shorts, and a dull red shirt with golden letters on it spelling out "Fazbear Employee." And upon seeing this person in front of me my jaw dropped.

"Lucy?" I asked in confusion. The girl standing in front of me is the one and only, Lucy Marigold. She was a fellow student at my university and my best friend! Well... my only friend actually. Due to school and her saying she got a job, which I had no idea was here, we haven't had much time to hang out.

"Zee? What are you doing here?" she asked bewildered, taking the liberty to sit down in my booth across from me.

"You first! Why are you here?" I exclaimed, half confused as to why she was here of all places, and the other half, excited that I got to see my best friend.

She just rolled her eyes and leaned across the table flicking me on the forehead before settling back down. "Duh, I work here you dunce," she said in a mock-annoyed tone. She tugged at the collar of her work shirt to drive home the fact she's an employee. "Now it's your turn, what are you doing here, Agent Z?"

Ah yes, Agent Z, a nickname she gave me back when we used to go to high school together. She called me that because of the dark sunglasses I wear all the time and the first letter of my somewhat strange name. She said I look like some kind of secret agent, and so the name stuck and it's what she calls me on occasions.

I smirked at her and leaned across the table and returned what she did to me, and flicked her on her forehead before settling back down to my seat. "Duh, I work here you dunce," I said in the same mock-annoyed tone she used.

"What do you mean you work here?" she asked inquisitively.

"I just got done signing a contract for the night guard position here," I replied, folding my arms and smirking at her. "And as a bonus, I get all the food on the house for the day! And seeing as you are currently working here and are probably still on the clock, I would like to order a large _Meat Explosion _pizza and a large root-beer, thank you very much!"

She scribbled everything down in her notepad and stood up. "Well, I'll get right on that, Monsieur Phillips," she smiled and gave me a mock-bow before turning and walking to a pair of double swinging doors on the far left of the main room.

I smiled to myself, feeling happy for the first time in a long while. I've got a job, I'm pretty certain I'll pass my school test of building my own robot, I just got to spend some time with my best friend, I'll be able to get food, and pay Mr. Robinson back. Yeah... Things seem to be getting better. Sure this morning was a fiasco, and I still need to figure out how the hell Eric knew my secret. But still, I'll deal with that when the time comes. Right now I just feel rather happy, asides the incessant buzzing that sounds like static in my head. God, I think I might be getting sick.

Sitting here and waiting for my food to arrive, I watched the animatronics on stage to pass the time. They were playing another cheesy song, something about pizza and friendship. It was nothing but pre-recorded lyrics and tunes that they had to repeat over and over and over, for years. And like before, not one single child was paying them any attention, they were either running around playing with their friends, eating, or playing on the old arcade machines in the corner.

Looking around the pizzeria I gained a sense of deja vu and nostalgia. _Have I ever been here before? _I thought, looking for something that seemed familiar. But sadly nothing seemed to jump out and register any forgotten memories. _Maybe I came here before the accident? It makes sense, seeing as I lost about 10 years of memories. _7 years ago I had some kind of accident (at least that's what the doctors said) and I was diagnosed with amnesia. I couldn't remember anything from before waking up in the hospital. Now that I think about it, no one ever told me what kind of accident I was in, and I never really bothered to find out, I was only 10... I think.

"You're still doing that, huh?" asked a slightly saddened Lucy, she placed a large red and white striped cup with a blue straw down on my right, and then placed a large steaming hot pizza in the middle of the table.

I looked at her eyes and followed her gaze to my right hand that I had resting on the table, my pointer finger was being pulled inwards towards my palm by my thumb. My tick had subconsciously started up. I pulled my finger downwards quickly, the sound that followed was a sharp and deep crack that caused Lucy to flinch.

"Yeah, I guess I am," I responded, reaching for a slice of pizza.

"I thought you told me you were over it, Zee," frowned Lucy.

"I was, just... something about this place makes me really nervous. I don't know what it is, but it feels so familiar yet foreboding at the same time."

She sighed and placed a hand on my head and ruffled my hair a bit. "Just make sure you take care of yourself Lil bro, you don't look too good," she said, and then walked off to continue her job.

'Lil bro' it's been so long since she called me that. In truth, Lucy was like an older sister to me, she has been since high school, always looking out for my well being and trying to keep other kids off my back. But then school, and her parents, drove us apart till we finally met back up in college, only to be driven apart once again by school and of course, her parents. Maybe we can hang out sometime soon, I'd like that, and I'm pretty sure she would be ecstatic about it.

Holding up the slice of pizza I snagged, I took a large bit and instantly melted into bliss. Either it's because I haven't eaten in several weeks, or the pizza is really just that good, I didn't care, all I knew was that this was the best-tasting pizza I had ever eaten. The warm gooey cheese and the delicious combinations of meats was pure heaven for my tastebuds. Finishing off that slice I took a sip from my drink and then eyed the rest of the pizza. I pounced on it like a starving wolf.

---

Judging by the position of the sun I would say it's probably around 4:00 or 5:00 pm. After finishing my pizza Mr. Charles popped by and informed me that he did not have any more night guard uniforms in stock, so I would just have to wear normal clothes till he gets some in, not that I'm complaining. After that, he told me to be back here by 10:00 pm so he can give me the rundown of what to do. And that leads me here, I'm currently walking back to my apartment to get some rest before my first shift starts.

Suddenly I felt a large hand cover my mouth muffling my yelp of surprise, and before I knew what was happening I was being dragged into an alleyway. I could smell the heavy layer of alcohol that was coming from the person who just grabbed me. _Oh god! I'm going to die here, aren't I? _I mentally yelled at myself. And just as suddenly as I was grabbed I was being thrown against the alley's disgusting brick wall. I struggled to my feet and turned around to face my attacker, and then I felt confusion rush over me, followed by fear, only to be replaced with anger.

"Eric? What the hell are you doing?! Haven't you done enough already!" I yelled at him. Standing in front of me was a disgruntled and obviously drunk, Eric Venhieser.

"It's your fault! It's all your fault you son of a bitch!" screamed Eric, as he slammed his fist into my stomach and knocked the wind out of me, causing my still sore stomach and ribs from this morning to flare up with newfound pain.

"W-What a-are you talking about?!" I wheezed, trying my utmost hardest to regain the flow of oxygen to my lungs. What have I ever done to him? I never even knew him till I arrived at WaterField University! I thought as he punched me again, sending me to the ground. My glasses flying off my face and, of course, once again shattering on the ground.

"I-It's your f-fault Phillips! *Hiccup* You k-killed her! She's dead because of y-y-you! *Hiccup* YOU MURDERING BASTARD!" slurred Eric, he brought his foot back and swung it at my ribcage. Thankfully I was already curled up trying to protect myself and so his kick bounced off my arms.

"I don't even know what you're talking about! I've never killed anyone!" I yelled back at him. _Albeit, if the police reports are correct then... No! It's impossible! I've never hurt anyone in my life! _I thought as Eric continued his assault on my body.

It seemed Eric couldn't hear me, and even if he could he didn't show any signs of caring. What took me by surprise however was that Eric's kicks were becoming slow and weak, and when I looked up at him, tears were streaming down his face.

"I-It's... Y-Your fault... *Hiccup* Y-You... K-Killed my sister, P-Phillips!" sobbed Eric. He fell to his knees letting go of the beer bottle he held and let it roll away from his grasp, the bottle spilling its remaining contents across the mucky, trash-filled alley floor.

"W-What?" I asked, pushing myself up off the ground to sit up and lean against the wall. "What are you talking about?"

He looked up at me with tear-filled eyes that contained utter rage and hatred. "You! You are the reason my little sister is dead! You killed her! YOU KILLED HER YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he screamed, and then lunged at me, his hands outstretched. He found his target and gripped his meaty fingers around my neck and started to squeeze.

I clawed at his hands trying to pry them from my throat so I could breathe. "P-Please... S-S-Stop!" I wheezed, trying my best to get him off me. I brought my right hand down and started to scan the ground for something I could use. My hand brushed against something cylindrical and cold, my hand snapped out, grabbed it and smashed whatever it was against the side of Eric's head. Whatever it was that I used seemed to work because Eric was laying on his side unconscious, a slight trickle of blood falling from the side of his head down to his chin. Little bits of brown something, it looked like glass, glinted in the afternoon sun. I looked over at my right hand and at what I held in it. I was gripping the neck of the beer bottle Eric had let go of, half the bottle had shattered on impact with his skull.

I looked at the bottle in my hand then back to Eric. My hands started to shake, and then my entire body followed suit. Images started to flash into my head, an image of red walls flashed across my vision and I started to shake even more. And then I screamed, I screamed because instead of seeing a broken bottle in my hand I saw a blood-covered knife, I could hear whispering inside my head and then that horrible buzzing static sound! It's going to drive me crazy! I held the knife out an arm's length away as I shook violently, but then I blinked and the knife morphed back into a broken bottle. I tossed it against the opposite alley wall where the rest of it shattered on impact. I scrambled to my feet, my hand pressed against my now injured neck.

Scrambling to the other side of the alley I threw up, emptying my stomach of all the food I had eaten earlier. I stumbled to the alley entrance, taking a quick glance back at the still-breathing body of Eric sprawled out on the ground. After everything Eric had done to me, I still harbored no ill will towards him. I returned my gaze forward and started to stumble and trip my way back towards my apartment. Pushing through the pain that riddled my body, and trying to hold back the tears that were forming in the corners of my eyes.

---

"Help! Please, somebody, help me!" I cried, banging against the cold metal door. "I don't want to die!"

"Where do you think you're going?" whispered a cold deadly voice into my ear. Then blinding pain erupted through my body, starting from my lower back. I looked down and saw the glint of metal amongst the red. A blood-covered blade of a knife sticking out of my stomach. And just as fast as it had appeared it was withdrawn and sent new waves of pain stampeding throughout my body.

"AAAHHH!" I shot up from my sleep screaming my head off as phantom pain riddled my body. I could feel a faint painful tingling coming from my stomach and lower back, at first it was blinding pain, but it very quickly faded away to nothingness. I was drenched in sweat and shaking violently. Looking over to my clock I read the time. It was 9:25 pm, better get ready for work.

Throwing my sheets off my body I slid out of bed and made my way into the bathroom, where I took a quick shower to freshen myself up and get ready for the night. After showering I started brushing my teeth. Spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing my mouth out I looked up at myself in the mirror. I cringed at the sight of my neck. My neck was a cringe-worthy shade of black and purple. I touched it slightly and felt a twinge of pain run through my neck, no wonder it was rather painful to shower. I left the bathroom and headed back into my room to get changed. I threw on a simple dark-green button up long sleeve shirt, my white hoodie, my only pair of black jeans, and of course, my red and black tennis shoes, which were the only pair of shoes I owned. And to top off my look, I put on the only winter wear that I owned, a white scarf, to hide the large bruise that covered my neck, and of course a new pair of blacked-out circular sunglasses.

Looking at myself in the mirror I now understood why Lucy gave me the nickname 'Agent Z.' I did kind of look like some kind of secret agent going undercover. I smiled, turned on my heel and left heading for my front door. Opening it up to leave I came face to face with Mr. Robinson.

"Mr. Robinson?" I choked out through my sore throat, slightly shocked the old man was up at this time, he was usually asleep by now.

"Mr. Phillips, are you alright? I heard screaming," asked Mr. Robinson, worry plastering his kind old face.

"Don't worry sir. It was nothing, just a... really bad nightmare is all," I reassured him in my newfound raspy voice. _Yeah, a nightmare I've had every night for the past 7 years! _I thought to myself.

"Hmm... If you say so," said the old man, not believing a word I said. He's a wise old man, he picks up on when something is wrong. "What's with the attire? And your voice? Are you sick?"

"Oh, well I got a job today so I'll be able to pay you for this month and last month's rent soon!" I exclaim excitedly, "And as for this," I say tugging slightly on the scarf, "It's a bit chilly out is all, it's January after all." I hate lying to the old man, he's so nice to me and I try to repay him as much as possible, but I don't think he needs to know I almost got choked to death. "And no, no. I'm not sick, just a bit under the weather with a sore throat is all."

"Hmm... Well, make sure you take care of that throat of yours and drink plenty of liquids. So where are you working now lad?" smiled Mr. Robinson.

"Nowhere special, just someplace called "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza" is all," I replied, "Small Pizzeria with a few animatronics, you can probably guess why I decided to work there," I chuckled a bit at the inside joke I shared with my landlord. He knows all about how much I love robots.

Mr. Robinson's smile got a little bit bigger after hearing the news and he said, "Really? Freddy's? I haven't been there in a long while. And yes I can see why you decided to work there," Mr. Robinson let out a small chuckle. "What position did you obtain lad?"

"Oh, um, night guard. It doesn't sound too hard honestly. I doubt anyone would want to rob that place."

Mr. Robinson's smile grew into a smirk and he replied with, " Yes, I'm sure it'll be easy. And I bet those animatronics will provide some sort of entertainment," he said all of this as if he knew something I didn't. "Well, you better get going now, you don't want to be late on your first night."

"Oh, right! I should get going. I'm sorry I haven't been able to fix anything around the building lately if there is anything you need me to fix or clean please make a list and slip it into my mail slot and I'll take care of it tomorrow," I said, stepping out of my doorway and into the hall, closing my apartment door behind me.

"Will do, Mr. Phillips. Have a goodnight," And with that, he turned and hobbled back towards his room.

---

Pushing the smudged glass doors open, a crackling chime rang throughout the building, alerting anyone else that was left inside the pizzeria to my presence. I walked into the main room to find a few employees left sweeping and rubbing down the tables. The person sweeping the floor was none other than my best friend and older-sister-figure, Lucy. While the other person who was cleaning the tables was a mid-sized man with brown hair, brown eyes, and wearing a white apron stained with flecks of dough and pizza sauce. As Well as a chef's hat, the top being comically slumped to one side.

Lucy waved to me enthusiastically and after giving a small wave back she resumed her work.

"Ah! Mr. Phillips! You're right on time, if not a few minutes late but those are small details that we don't need to dwell on," stated Mr. Charles rather rapidly as he entered the room from the hallway.

"Sorry Sir, I got held up by my landlord before I left," I explained, turning to face him.

"Like I said, Mr. Phillips, we don't need to dwell on a few minutes of lateness. Now! Let's get you acquainted with your office and I'll show you the ropes!"

"Sounds good boss."

"Please Mr. Phillips, Boss is too formal for me. Mr. Charles or even James will do just fine! Now follow me," he smiled and turned leading me down the hallway he just came from. But as we passed that empty rectangular spot on the wall where I knew a drawing had been, I stopped in my tracks.

"Mr. Charles?" I asked, still keeping my gaze on the small patch of gray wall as if just staring at it would make the drawing from earlier reappear.

"Hm? What is it Mr. Phillips?" replied the manager, stopping and turning to see what it was I needed.

"Wasn't there a picture here before? I could have sworn I saw one when I came here the first time," I explained, voicing my confusion.

He looked at me with a mix of shock and curiosity. "There hasn't been a picture there for years Mr. Phillips. It fell down and someone threw it away and no one bothered to cover up that small patch. Are you feeling well?" said Mr. Charles before voicing his concern over my health.

"Y-Yeah... I guess my mind was just playing tricks on me earlier," I said rubbing the back of my head. That goddamn buzzing was back and if it didn't stop soon it would drive me insane.

"Very well, let's continue on," said Mr. Charles, resuming his walk towards the back of the pizzeria.

Leading me just past his office we came to another small office, this one much more strange than any I've ever seen. There was an ugly red carpet laid out on the floor, with a black leather swivel chair sitting behind a wooden desk that was bolted to the wall. A few decade old monitors sat on the desk with a single rusty desk fan sitting on the far right side blowing a cool breeze throughout the office. But that wasn't what made it strange, no. What made the office strange were the 2 bulletproof glass windows on either side showing both hallways on the left and the right, and the old industrial level steel doorways that allowed entrance from both the left and right halls.

"Umm... What's with the heavy-duty equipment?" I asked, entering the office and looking around. The only modern thing I could find in the office was the single black tablet that lay on the desk and a couple of buttons on the wall.

"Oh, it's nothing! Just protection for you in case anyone breaks in with a weapon. We had that happen once a long time ago... The person sued and we nearly got shut down because of it," explained the manager, dabbing at his forehead with a white handkerchief.

"Uh-huh, well seems a little over the top for a kids pizza restaurant," I said, not entirely believing what he said.

"Anyways! This is your office for the foreseeable future, and that tablet there gives you access to the cameras throughout the entire building. All you gotta do is sit back, check the cameras, make sure no one gets in and relax! Easy peasy!" grinned Mr. Charles, "I'll let you get to it then, your shift starts in about an hour so I'll let you get acquainted with everything. Oh and there's a message on the phone to help you through your first night. I have to go now so I'll see you in the morning... hopefully," he said before trailing off and muttering something at the end that I couldn't quite hear.

And with that, he turned and left me standing there with many questions and a lot of confusion. _Phone? What phone? What is he talking about? _I thought to myself as I pulled out the chair and sat down. The desk was piled high with trash and old newspapers. Clearing it off and dumping it all into the small trash bin under the desk I saw what he was talking about. Hidden underneath all the junk was an old black corded phone, with a single red light blinking at the top alerting me that there was a new message.

Sitting down in the surprisingly comfortable leather chair and scooting myself closer to the desk, I scanned the old phone keypad for the play message button. Finding it at the top right I pressed it, relaxing my sore body into the cushioning leather of the office chair I was sat in.

"Hello? Hello, hello? Uh... Right! Welcome to your first night at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza," started a rather annoying and nervous sounding voice from the telephone. "Uh... So you're the nightguard, right? I mean if you're listening to this you've got to be. Unless you're not... t-then I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the building, you're not supposed to be here. B-But if you are the nightguard, well then um... welcome... again. R-Right, your job is rather simple really! You see that tablet in front of you?"

I picked up the tablet as the guy on the phone spoke, wanting to make sure I got everything down to the letter. I've always been like that, trying to make sure I get everything done right on the first try.

"Y-You'll probably notice that the tablet is really the only functioning piece of equipment in there... haha... Uh... Anyways, turn it on and a camera feed should pop up displaying the animatronics on stage."

Doing as he instructed I found the power button and booted up the tablet, and as he said a live camera feed of the animatronics on stage blinked into existence. _They look kind of creepy in the dark. _I thought as I continued to listen to the pre-recorded message.

"Use these cameras to take a look throughout the building, uh... the kitchen camera was supposed to be fixed but I don't think anyone got around to it... d-don't worry though, there is still audio so you can still hear anything that happens in there! Umm... So yeah, that's basically it! Just sit back, relax and make sure no one breaks in! If someone does happen to get into the building, there is a provided security taser strapped to the underside of the desk."

Bending over and looking under the desk there sure was a small little black box strapped to the underside of the desk, I grabbed it and pulled it off of its velcro strapping, and sat it next to me on the desk so I could reach it better just in case.

"Right, um... I just wanted to let you know that they turn off the power at night to save a few extra bucks, ya know? But don't worry! There's a backup generator, so you're all set on power! Except the generator is kind of old... and doesn't really last all night. So you only got a limited amount of power to use."

_Well, that's fine, it's not like I need to turn on any lights or anything. I should be fine if I just use the tablet to keep an eye on things. _I thought, resting my elbow on the desk and placing my head in my hand as I listened to the recording.

"Now you're probably thinking that you'll be fine, right? It's not like you need to use anything but the tablet correct? Well... About that... You see, the animatronic characters tend to wander a bit at night..."

"Excuse me, what?" I asked sitting up and staring at the phone.

"We think this is due to a glitch in their programming, having not been built with a proper 'night mode'. So when it's all quiet and no people are around, they... Well, go looking for the people. Which just so happens to be you in your office! Now, this wouldn't be too bad if that was it, but sadly these things are rather old and haven't had any maintenance in years. Uh... So here's the bad news, d-due to some malfunction and possibly corrupted software, the animatronics will more than likely see you as a naked endoskeleton without its suit on, which here at Freddy's is against the rules. I-In any case if they do get to you, they'll most likely try to... forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, springs, and other mechanical oddities that could cause injury... or death..." continued the phone guy, trying to sound less nervous then he was.

"What the fuck!" I exclaimed loudly, hurting my already injured throat more. "There is no way all of this is all because of some glitchy corrupted software! Why don't they just turn off the damn things if this is what happens?!"

At this point I was standing up, my hands clenched into fists on the desk, my eyes staring daggers at the phone as if I could somehow transfer the fear and rage that was boiling inside me, to the guy who left the message.

"But hey! Lucky I'm here to help you get through your first night!" said the annoying phone guy. "If you look to your left and right, you'll find two buttons next to each door."

Glancing to the right I did indeed see two buttons on the wall next to the strange industrial style metal doorway. There was a red button labeled "door" and underneath that, a white button labeled "light", the left doorway mirroring the right.

"If you press the big red button it should close the door and keep the animatronics out of your office and away from you! The white button allows you to turn on the hall light to check the blind spots that the cameras can't pick up. So if you can't find any of the animatronics on the cameras make sure to check the hall with the lights."

Pressing the red buttoned marked "door" to test out if what he said was true, instantly the sound of hydraulics pumping accompanied the loud clang as a large, thick industrial-grade metal door slammed down and blocked access from the hall to my office.

"Wow... that's impressive I'll give them that," I said to myself, gawking at the rather over the top door. I re-opened the door and went back to listening to the recorded message that was there to help me survive the night with murderous animatronics.

"The doors and lights drain a lot of power, so only use them when absolutely necessary. Uh... That's about it! So umm... Good luck! Make sure to check those cameras, don't run out of power, and whatever you do! Do NOT leave your office! Alrighty then, I hope to see you tomorrow night. Good luck!" And with the last line of the message coming to an end, the guy on the phone hung up with a click and the flashing red light at the top of the phone blinked off.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into!" I exclaimed, running my hands through my hair and gripping it tightly in my fist. What made this whole situation worse was the fact that the static-like buzzing in my head had only grown in intensity, enwrapping my skull in a stinging sensation.

"I should have known better. No wonder Mr. Charles was so eager to get a new night guard," I mumbled to myself, sitting back down in the swivel chair and picking up the tablet. "At least these guys aren't moving," I said looking at the main stage camera.

Taking a deep breath, which shot stinging pain through my bruised throat, I started flipping through the other cameras to better my knowledge of the building's layout. The power meter in the top left of the screen showed I had 78% power left, and the digital clock in the top right part of the screen read 2:45 am. At least I had enough power to last the night.

Switching back to the main stage screen my heart stopped and my eyes widened. The bunny was gone, I didn't know their names so I just referred to them as their respective animal.

"No! No, no, no, no! This is not happening! There is no way in hell this is happening!" I said, gritting my teeth and frantically flipping through the cameras. Pressing on the camera that was right outside my door and feeding me a live feed of the west hallway, I saw it. The bunny was standing still right in the hall, the light above it flickering, slightly obscuring half its body in shadows. My stomach dropped into my feet and I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. In all honesty, it wasn't that scary since you couldn't see even half the animatronic, but what did make this terrifying, was the 2 marble-sized white dots emanating from where the face should be if it weren't for the shadows obscuring its head. Both dots seemed to be fixated at the camera as if they were looking through the camera at me.

I was too scared to switch the camera away, fearing that if I took my eyes off the animatronic it would disappear instantly and re-appear right in front of me. Thankfully I didn't have to take my eyes off it, instead, it took my eyes off it for me. The screen broke into a mass of black and white static, white noise filling the small office.

"Gahh!" I yelped, falling out of my chair, the tablet flying into the air and then landing back in my lap. My breath quickened, my heart pounded, and sweat poured down my face, not from the office being too hot, but from sheer terror. I grabbed the tablet again as I sat on the floor, too concentrated on finding that damn bunny to think about getting up. I looked back at the screen only to find nothing there but the west hall being illuminated by a flickering white ceiling light. Quickly I flipped through the other cameras searching the building for the killer robot. Thankfully as I was switching through cameras I switched back to the main stage and felt a little bit of relief when I discovered none of the other animatronics had moved.

Once I checked all the cameras, I felt confused. "Where are you?" I muttered, starting to check the cameras again. The white button allows you to turn on the hall light to check the blind spots that the cameras can't pick up. The instructions the phone guy gave me echoed in my head, and my body froze. I slowly turned my head and looked at the door on my left. Slowly and cautiously, as if trying not to disturb a wild animal, I stood up and crept to the doorway. I reached my shaking hand out, my fingers millimeters away from pressing the button to turn on the light in the hall. Slowly, as if some invisible force was forcing my hand forward, I pressed the button.

The hall became illuminated in dim white light, and standing just outside the window, looking in with those creepy white eyes surrounded by a void of black. Was the bunny. We just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, the rabbits face somehow showed an expression of both disgust, hate, and curiosity. Then it lurched forward, the sound of grating gears, and the whirr of a motor being accompanied by the thunking sound of hydraulics. Instantly, as if someone else was controlling my body, I pounded my fist against the door button, the heavy-duty slab of metal instantly slamming down between me and certain death.

I stood there staring at the door, my breathing fast and erratic, my hands clenched into fists so tight my nails sliced into my skin and caused my palms to start to bleed. Then came a resounding clang which more than likely meant the animatronic either ran into the door or hit it trying to break it down. At the sound I jumped backward, tripping over the ugly red carpet and falling back into my chair. Slowly I reached out and pressed the light button again. The purple face of the bunny popped into view as it stared into the office at me. This time I left the light on and scooted closer to the window. I looked at the animatronic, this being the first time I saw a real animatronic up close. For a moment, just this one singular blissful moment, I felt excited and full of wonder. I studied the animatronic, looking at the visible joints around its elbows, hips, ankles, shoulders, and neck. The fur the animatronic wore, although extremely grimy and filthy, looked real. But then I noticed something that I hadn't noticed before. The two lumps on the animatronics chest. I raised an eyebrow as I looked the animatronic over once more, and to my surprise, it did seem to be female. Its waist was slim and curved to suit a more feminine design, it had the two mid-sized breasts, the neck was slimmer than I thought when I saw her on stage, and the head was smaller and more feminine than I had first assumed. How I hadn't noticed this earlier I had no idea, maybe I need glasses.

All in all, despite her desperately needing a wash she looked rather... well, cute. "Wow... Now that I can see you better, you look less scary and more cute," I said, looking at the animatronic bunny right in those empty glowing white pupils. After saying that the bunny pulled back from the window slightly, its expression of disgust and hatred turning to shock. It seemed to be... flustered? Then before I knew what was happening she was gone, having run down the hall much quicker than I thought an animatronic should be able to move.

"Uhh... What just happened?" I asked myself, sitting there dumbfounded. I opened the door back up to conserve power and shut off the light. Pushing myself back over to the desk I picked up the tablet once again and switched to the camera viewing the main stage. The bunny was back in her place next to the other two animatronics who still hadn't moved at all. After my strange little 'conversation' with the bunny, I felt a lot calmer, at least as calm as you can be with 3 killer robots wanting to stuff you inside an animal suit. I looked over the other animatronics, the bear and duck, I mean chicken. They were all designed similarly to the bunny. All 3 of them had the slender curvy frames of females, the relatively averaged sized 'assets', except for the chicken whose breasts were a bit larger than the others, and the feminine shaped craniums. If it weren't for the awful state their fur or feathers in the chickens' case were in, and if they would just be washed up and given some maintenance to fix some problems like the loose wires sticking out from around their joints, and the fucking glitch in their system that caused them to kill anyone here after hours, they would look rather beautiful. At least that's my opinion.

Sitting back in my chair I looked at the time, it was 4:34 am. "Just 1 and a half hours left and I'm out of this restaurant from hell," I said aloud, flicking through the cameras once again.

---

It's been about an hour now and the bunny has moved again, now she's standing in the supplies closet staring up into the camera with those creepy white eyes. Switching over to the kitchen camera, which was as the phone guy said, broken asides from audio, I heard the clanging of metal come through the tablet speakers.

"What in the world?" I said, looking confused at the tablet. There was silence for a moment and I was about to write it off as my mind playing tricks on me when more clanging and then an ear-piercing static-filled shriek emanated from the tablet. I winced and nearly dropped the tablet. "Well looks like someone is in the kitchen, I wonder who," I switched over to the main stage and discovered the yellow chicken missing from the stage. "Well, that explains the who," I switched over to the supplies closet to find the bunny missing, flicking through the cameras I rediscovered her back in the main party room looking like her usual creepy yet cute self, staring into the camera as if she was staring into my soul. I switched back to the kitchen to still hear what sounded like the attempts to cook something ring out through the speakers.

I switched back to the main party room and found the bunny gone once again. Flicking through the cameras I started to panic as I couldn't find her. Once I had gone through all the cameras I looked at the time left till 6:00 am, just 10 more minutes till I go home! But then I glanced at my power bar and noticed it was at twenty-percent.

"What the hell! Twenty-percent? O-Okay that's fine, I'll make it! Nothing to worry about!" I said, trying to reassure myself. Then I remembered I had forgotten about the bunny, I launched myself at the left door slamming my hand against the door button. The large red button clicked and the heavy metal door slammed shut. Only seconds later did I hear a loud bang, and see the slab of metal tremble slightly. I pressed the light button and the bunny's face appeared looking irritated as if she just had a present taken away from her.

"Ha! Not tonight!" I said, adrenaline flowing through my veins yet my body still gripped in fear. I glanced at the tablet once more and the power meter had dropped to thirteen-percent and the clock read: 5:55 am. "5 more minutes and I'm out of here. I'm going to have a few choice words with Mr. Charles when this is all over!" I snarled, feeling absolute hate towards the man that I felt tricked me into this deadly situation.

I sat in my comfortable leather office chair, keeping both doors shut, and watching the minutes tick by, and the power drain little by little. Finally, I sighed in relief as the final minute flipped over and the time switched to 6:00 am. I had only one-percent power left when the time switched over, and I knew that I was lucky. As soon as the time changed I could hear a grandfather clock ringing out through the building, signaling the end of my shift, and the building's power getting restored as the backup generator shut off. The flow of electricity from the power grid revived the dead building, casting soft comforting white light throughout the structure.

Almost instantly I shot out of my chair, opened the doors, and rushed out into the main part room just in time to see Mr. Charles walking in the front door, replacing his keys back into his pocket. Thankfully all the animatronics were also back on stage.

"Ahh, Mr. Phillips! I'm glad to see you're alright!" beamed Mr. Charles as he walked up to me. "How was your first night on the job?"

The relief that had once washed over me when my shift ended was replaced with pure, uncontrollable rage as I glared at Mr. Charles. Albeit he had no idea I was glaring at him so intensely due to my glasses obscuring my eyes and keeping ninety-percent of my facial expressions hidden.

"How was it? How was it?!" I said, raising my voice each time I spoke. "You could have told me the damned things walked around during the night! Or perhaps the small, tiny, insignificant detail that they want to shove me inside a fucking animatronic suit that would crush me to death!" I started to half scream, as I stepped closer to the man before me.

This entire time Mr. Charles' smile did not waver, he did not step back, and he did not react in any way to show that he felt threatened or upset. He acted as if this was completely normal.

"Yes, I do apologize for the inconvenience of certain... problems, I was unfortunate enough to forget," he said calmly, his smile still big and bright as always.

"Forget? You forgot that you owned killer animatronics?" I asked, extremely peeved at his calmness of the situation.

"Of course not, because *I * don't own killer animatronics," he replied walking over to the stage and the animatronics. "Come let me introduce you to them!"

I followed him over to the stage albeit reluctantly. Once we stepped up on stage he gestured with his hand towards the purple bunny.

"This here is Bonnie, our greatest guitarist!" He said, then gestured to the other two. "That is Chica over on the end, our beautiful pizza-loving chicken. And this here is, of course, the star of the show, Freddy! Our famous singing bear that all the kids love!" He exclaimed, introducing them all like they were famous celebrities.

"Nice to finally put a name to my tormentors," I mumbled, looking each one over. Bonnie looked the same as last night, Freddy had about the same make-up as Bonnie, albeit a few inches taller than the others. Chica was the shortest of the 3, probably being around five-foot-nine or five-foot-ten, with her 'assets' being just a bit bigger than the other 2. Bonnie was around six feet tall, with her ears adding an extra foot to her already tall build.

"You know you should get them fixed and they'll probably bring in more people, and the next night guard won't have to worry about being stuffed into a Freddy Fazbear suit," I said, still looking at the animatronics. Even though they seemed to want to kill me, I still couldn't help but have childlike wonder and excitement being near them. They were just so amazing looking, that is they would be if they weren't so dirty and broken.

"Next nightguard? What do you mean?" Asked Mr. Charles, turning to face me, his face full of panic and concern.

"You really expect me to stay here another night after learning these things want to kill me due to some fucking hardware glitch?" I said, starting to raise my voice once again, annoyed that he would even consider my staying.

"What?! You can't leave! It's in your contract!"

"Oh really? The same contract that wasn't even legible? Which I'm pretty sure is illegal for someone to have their employees sign an illegible contract," I stated, not knowing if that was actually an illegal thing.

"You're the one who didn't read it!" He argued back, getting slightly angered.

"And you are the one who made it so I was unable to read it," I countered, watching his face fall. "I could just report you to the authorities and be done with this."

"I'll pay you double!" He exclaimed, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. He really needed a night guard huh? "I have an inspection coming in a month or so and if I don't have all my employee positions filled they'll shut me down! And I promised an old friend that I wouldn't let this place go under no matter what."

Double? That's more money than I see in a month. I thought as I looked at the disheveled animatronics, wondering why anyone would stay here. Even though I just had one of these guys try to get me last night, I can't help but want to stay. It's not like I'm some kind of thrill-seeker, but this was my first time seeing real animatronics. Sure they weren't the best animatronics in the world like at, Ralf's Robotic WonderWorld of Technology, _but they were the closest thing to my dream. _"Triple, and one more request," I said looking at him.

"Deal, you can have anything you want!" He said, sounding relieved.

"I want you to keep the power on during the night so I can keep the doors shut!" I demanded, my mouth turning downwards in a slight frown, showing I was still very peeved at my recent discovery of murderous animatronic animals.

"Ahh..." sighed Mr. Charles, "Well... You see, I can't really do that. The company has been losing money a lot recently and almost all the sister locations have been shut down, so to save costs the CEO has made it so we shut the power off at night."

"Company? Sister locations? CEO?" I asked, taking a seat on the edge of the stage as the buzzing in the back of my head took a front-row seat.

"Mr. Phillips are you alright?" asked Mr. Charles, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine, just a headache is all. Please continue."

"Very well, you at least deserve to know everything. It most likely isn't clear but Freddy's is a -or use to be- a large corporation of entertainment restaurants, mainly pizzerias, and diners. This is actually the only place with the animatronic mascots, for some reason the CEO only managed to get the 3 animatronics you see here." He said, waving a hand behind him at Bonnie, Chica, and Freddy. "We used to be huge! But then '87 came around and the business fell into dire and troublesome times. After that, people stopped coming and not just to here but in other states as well. Soon almost all sister locations had been shut down, and this is the only place that has remained open." Mr. Charles sighed.

"Listen, Zee." Said Mr. Charles, dropping all formalities. I could hear the desperation in his voice as he spoke. "I know you probably hate me right now, hell, I would too if I were in your shoes, but the thing is I promised my friend that I wouldn't let this place go down."

"Why? Why is this place so important to your friend?" I asked looking over to him, a single eyebrow raised above the rim of my glasses.

"Well, it isn't actually this place he cares about," He said looking over his shoulder at the idle animatronics. "It's these guys he cared so much about, but if this place goes down then they'll be sent off to be scrapped and I can't allow that."

"Then why don't clean them and get them fixed up?!" I asked, almost yelling as the irritation in my voice became prominent.

"We simply don't have the funds, the CEO refuses to dish out any more money to keep this place afloat and would rather have it shut down." He explained as I pondered on what to do.

"Okay... I'll stay. But only because I'm getting paid triple!" I said, glancing at the animatronics. Apparently, I did something to cause the manager to chuckle as he watched me looking at the animatronics. "What? What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Just kind of strange... Your posture and the way you act. I would think you would rather be far away from these things after having them try to kill you last night. But you're a lot more relaxed around these guys more than anyone I've ever seen," He said, explaining why he found me amusing. "It's just like how my old friend acted."

I blushed from embarrassment, not because he thought me strange, but because what he said was true. "R-Right... I better get going, I don't want to be late for my classes."

I stood up and bid Mr. Charles farewell as he made his way down the hall and into his office. As I was about to exit the building I heard a creak from behind me. I turned to find the source of the noise, yet I didn't see anything. Until I looked up on stage at the animatronics. All 3 of them were looking at me. Bonnie, looked... embarrassed? Freddy seemed to be glaring daggers at me, emitting an aura of hatred. And Chica, who's eyes were darting between me and Freddy, looked like she was worried and ready to jump in to stop the large angry bear if she got out of hand.

Feeling bolder now that the sun was up, and that they couldn't do anything to me during the day, I waved to them and said, "See you tonight! Have a good day!" And walked out the building into the cool morning air. The sun warming my skin as I walked across the parking lot.