The Article

The nightguard finds a strange article in his office

 I pulled the top drawer open with a loud creak and looked inside.  There were a few folders, so I pulled them out and sat down.  One was labeled “Doors” so I decided to read that one.  I flipped the folder open and stared to read.  It turned out to be an instruction manual for the operation of the doors, but it proved to be interesting enough and I figured I would want to know how to use the doors in case an emergency came up.  I also read a manual on the camera system and found out that I could move the cameras to look around the room with a remote control, which I thought was pretty cool.  I glanced at my watch again, 10:39.  Just a little more than an hour to go before my shift started.  I flipped through a few more manuals, and then came across one labeled “Animatronics”.  Intrigued, I decided to read it.  Inside was a detailed manual for each of the animatronics.  The manual included operation instructions, maintenance guides, cleaning tips, and a guide for replacing worn out or damaged parts. 

I opened it up and my attention was immediately drawn to a handwritten note.  “Do not under any circumstances attempt to turn off the animatronics.  Their servos will lock up and possibly become damaged, as well as potentially causing the animatronic to behave erratically and unpredictably.”  I guessed that they had some kind of quality control issue and discovered that the animatronics were better left on at night than risk having to close for a few days to repair them.  I continued to read through the manual and discovered another note.  “Need to get Foxy repaired, he is behaving in really bizarre ways and frightening some of the children.”  Well that explained why the Pirate Cove along with Foxy had been out of order.  Some careless worker must have turned him off and damaged his servos, causing him to behave erratically.  

I turned the page and something dropped out and fell underneath my desk.  As I leaned over to grab it, there was a loud pounding at the door. Startled, I jumped in my chair and pushed hard away from my desk.  I spun to look at the door and saw my manager standing there.  When he saw the look on my face he burst out laughing.  “I am sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” 

“No problem, guess I am just on edge and a bit nervous about the night shift.” I replied. 

“Well that is understandable, but you will be perfectly safe here, and I will have one of the previous guards give you a call and walk you through the duties you have here, but don’t worry, there isn’t that much to keep in mind.” 

“Ok, thanks, that would be a big help.” I answered. 

“Alright, well I am heading home, see ya tomorrow, have a good night.”  

“Thanks, you too.” I said. 

Once he left, I turned back to my desk and retrieved the paper that had fallen from the manual.  It was a newspaper clipping from a couple years before, about an old establishment by the name of “Fredbear’s Diner”.  This place had apparently been the original Fazbear’s Pizza, before it was owned by Fazbear Entertainment.  According to the clipping, there had been a murder at that diner, the murder of a child.  Shortly after, the diner was closed down and later bought out by Fazbear Entertainment.  I leaned back in my chair and wondered why this article had been placed in the manual, and why the manual for animatronics specifically.  I glanced at my watch, which now read 11:04.  My mind was racing as I tried to take in all the information that I had found in the past few hours.  There was so much, and yet….what if I was making it out to be more than it actually was?  What if the notes were just more pranks from coworkers? What if the notes in the manual were left there by the crazy night guard from before?  I couldn’t help but think that there could be something to this, but rational thinking told me there was nothing to be worried about, and so I went with my rational thoughts.  I put all the manuals back together in the folders and dropped them in the file cabinet, closing the drawer with a resolute slam.

I decided to walk around the place one last time to stretch my legs before starting my shift for the night.  I walked past the party rooms, which were now empty, and even the cleaning staff were going to the kitchen to put away cleaning supplies, wash their hands, grab their things and go home.  Soon I would be the only one here for the night, which might not be so bad; I could get some reading done, maybe listen to some music, and possibly take another walk around the place.  I looked in on the main party room with the stage and animatronics as I passed by.  They were still on, and moving about as if they were still entertaining the kids, but of course the music was turned off for the night.  I watched for a minute, as they looked around over the chairs and tables where the kids and parents would be seated.  Just then the lights flickered, just for a second or two.  I was taken by surprise and found that my heart rate picked up.  When the lights came back on, I looked back into the party room.  Chica was looking right back at me.  I gasped in surprise and my throat tightened.  I stared for a few seconds and then blinked hard a few times.  Chica resumed the entertainment with the other animatronics.  I tried to push that image from my mind as I walked around and looked in on the other party rooms to make sure that no one else was still inside, then went to the front doors and locked up for the nights.  

Once I locked up, I looked at my watch.  11:53. I made one more round of the last couple of party rooms, and then headed back to my office.  I checked the power doors and made sure they worked by testing them out a few times, then went inside and pulled a couple of books from my backpack.  I sat them out on my desk and looked at the monitors.  Everything looked clear, or as clear as possible on the somewhat fuzzy screens.  Just as I was sitting down, the clock struck 12:00.  My first shift had begun.

Author's Note

The fan fiction continues even further!

Reviews

[~*~Peace Keeper~*~]

I enjoyed reading it, can't wait to read more. There was one line that was kind of confusing at least for me lol "Well that explained why the pirate cove along with Foxy had been out of order." I thought the fox was the pirate, is there two out of order? But I might have misread something XD I also thought you could add a little more suspense when Chica was looking at him, maybe him being freaked out for a moment, even if it was just being startled by the lights going off and then coming back on and not being prepared for it to look at him. It just makes him seem to calm but that could just be me lol

[Jeremy Hiles]

Glad you enjoyed it! Yes the Fox is the pirate, and the room he was in is called the pirate cove, which was described as being out of order in the 2nd chapter. Maybe I could clarify it more lol. Yeah ok, I can go back and edit that part with the lights and Chica lol, thank you for the tips and for your review!

[~*~Peace Keeper~*~]

XD oh I see, that makes sense now, it was just a little confusing maybe you should capitalize the name or something, I guess I forgot what it was called lol ^^ You're welcome!

[Jeremy Hiles]

lol ok that is a good idea, thank you for the suggestion!

[~*~Peace Keeper~*~]

^^ You're welcome!

[Peach]

Oh snap! It's really terrifying and amazing. It's a great cliffhanger!

[Jeremy Hiles]

Thank you for your review! Glad you enjoyed it! The next chapter is already posted, and there is another chapter well underway and I should be posting it soon!

[Peach]

Well, your submission to the contest, "Cliffhanger", is one of the finalists and it's gonna be pretty hard deciding the final results. Good luck and keep up the great work!

[Jeremy Hiles]

Haha, oh wow, I didn't know it was one of the finalists! And thank you!