I was in a long and dark hallway. I looked around and saw nothing but a golden-looking bear. Its mouth dangled open, and there were hints of blood near its robotic jawline. The golden bear sat at the end of the hallway, a light shining on it. The golden bear seemed to be malfunctioning since it was violently twitching from time to time.
"Who are you?" I asked. My voice bounced off the walls, making an echo. The golden bear's empty eye sockets were now filled with white eye dots, indicating it was aware of me.
"The better question is, how did you get here?" The golden bear said distortedly.
"What do you mean, how did I get here? You are part of my dream," I replied.
"Don't you remember me?" The golden bear asked. I was confused. Was I expected to recognize this particular robot?
"No, I don't. Who or what are you?" I asked. The room began to spin; it was getting heavier by the second.
"Leave," the golden bear whispered.
"What?" I asked. I suddenly felt chills down my spine. Something wasn't right. Whatever it was, it felt dreadful.
"Get out," the golden bear said quietly. His eye sockets suddenly turned black, like someone flipped a switch to turn off the lights.
"I'm trying to understand what is going o-"
"GET OUT!" The gold bear's eye sockets turned white, but with much more intensity. The golden bear produced a deep, ear-piercing scream, causing me to cover my ears on instinct. The golden bear's head suddenly levitated and sped towards me at a rapid pace.
I suddenly woke up, gasping for breath. That wasn't any ordinary dream. It resembled a nightmare of some kind. What or who is that robot? I came to my senses and noticed myself covered with sweat.
"Great, now I have to wash my sheets," I muttered. I groaned and laid back down on my sweat-covered bedsheets. It was better than peeing the bed. I closed my eyes, hoping for a better dream than whatever the fuck that was.
Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... Click.
Well, so much for sleep. I sat up from my bed and rubbed my face, staring blindly into the dark. What does "Do you remember me?" mean? I glanced over to my bedside table and read the clock. It displayed in neon red: "11:50 PM." My head and eyes already started to hurt, but I countered them with some ibuprofen and water. Hopefully, I can even make it to class on time tomorrow. I stood up from the edge of the bed and began preparing for my new job. After my much-needed shower, I put on some dark pants, a black shirt, a sweater, and running shoes. I walked outside my dorm, locked the door, and headed to the parking lot.
Hopefully, the campus guard will let me out this late at night. But if I recall correctly, there shouldn't be any problem. Many people had gone out during the night. I got inside my car and started it, letting it warm up before I drove it to the campus gates. I stopped right in front of the campus gates, where I met the campus guard on patrol. The campus guard motioned for me to roll down my window, and I naturally obliged.
"What are you doing out late, son?" the campus guard asked. I analyzed him, looking at his nametag labeled "Bob." He was much larger than the first time I saw him on campus. The sleep bags were visible beneath his eyes. I think he was 25 years old, based on the rumors. Bob wore the standard uniform and hat with the Stanford University insignia placed in the front.
"I'm heading to my job. I work the midnight shift at a restaurant, Mr. Bob, sir," I replied nervously. A certain feeling in my stomach told me he might not let me out because of my nervousness. Stanford had been cracking down on security lately. Bob looked at me for a brief moment before pressing a button on his dashboard. The gate creaked and groaned as it opened.
"Be careful during graveyard shifts; they get to you sometimes." He said. I thanked him and drove my car past the campus's gate, heading for the restaurant. Luckily, it was a couple of minutes away from the college.
At the Restaurant
I took my key out of the ignition and got out of the car. The air around me was chilly, and the place seemed pretty deserted; no person or car was in sight. But then again, it was almost midnight. I walked away from my car, heading towards the entrance to the pizzeria. The pizzeria looks nothing like the ad listing. The pizzeria did have a cartoonish bear in the front with the words "Freddy Fazbear's Pizzaria." However, the place appeared abandoned and run-down. The windows had wooden boards plastered over them, moss was growing on the red bricks, and the grass direly needed a haircut. Unfortunately, when I attempted to open the door, I found it locked. So, I waited for about 5 minutes. I looked around but couldn't see anyone coming to my aid; in fact, I couldn't see anything at all because it was so foggy. Just then, a purple car entered the parking lot and parked right next to my car. Out of all places. A man in a purple suit emerged from the car next to mine and walked towards me, introducing himself.
"Hello, my name is William Afton. I'm pretty sure that Henry has already introduced me during your interview." William Afton said. William Afton stuck out his hand for a polite handshake, which I naturally shook.
"Yes, he did; I'm the new night guard for today. Mike Schmidt is my name," I replied. I jumbled my words because this was my first real job, and I was a nervous wreck.
"Ahh yes, Mr. Sch-." William Afton paused for a second. He examined me closely for a good second before speaking again. "Schmidt, you can just call me Afton," Afton said.
"Okay, Afton," I said. It was only day one, and something seems off about him. It was odd that he abruptly paused in mid-sentence to "inspect" me.
"Well, enough of the introductions, I'll show you the inside," Afton said. He took out a set of keys and opened the restaurant doors. As he pushed it open, the door creaked and squealed. Both I and Afton went inside. The temperature was much warmer inside. The first thing that caught my eye was a booth with a sign labeled "Prize Corner." There were different types of stuffed animals: a bluish-purple rabbit with a red guitar, a fox with an eye patch and a hook, and a brown bear with a black top hat and black bowtie.
"Is that a duck or a chicken?" I asked Afton, pointing at the yellow plush that held a pink cupcake.
Afton groaned. "I swear to God, it's a fucking chicken, not a duck!" he said, clearly annoyed.
"Oh, sorry," I said apologetically.
"Don't even ask me if Bonnie is blue or purple; it's indigo! Like, don't people know their colors?!" Afton said with frustration.
Afton then continued ranting about not being British or something like that. However, something drew my gaze to the prize corner for a brief moment. It was a gold plush bear that looked identical to the golden bear I'd seen in my dream. It had the same white eyes, but I couldn't remember what color its hat or bow was. It felt familiar, like I had owned this specific plushie at some point.
"I am from the United States. I even have the birth certificate to prove it! Are you even listening to me?" Afton asked. I quickly switched my attention back to Afton.
"What? Oh, I'm sorry, what were you saying, sir?" I replied. It's only day one, and I already have a feeling I'm going to get fired for daydreaming.
"Never mind, it's not relevant," Afton said. "You know, his name was Fredbear before I had to unfortunately scrap him," Afton said, pointing to the golden bear plush.
"Fredbear?" I inquired, surprised by the name. I looked at the plush once more for a brief moment. "Why did you scrap him?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Afton replied coldly. His expression changed like he had a flashback or a PTSD trigger.
"Oh, um, okay," I said. Yeah, I'm getting fired.
His mood quickly changed, and he excitedly went, "This way!" motioning for me to follow him. I obeyed and followed him into the dining room, still curious about this 'Fredbear' character. We entered a room that seemed to be the dining room. It was quite spacious, which was shocking as the outside looked smaller. The dining tables, adorned with randomized colorful polka dots, exuded a childish charm while remaining organized and clean. The chairs resembled the neck of a rock star's guitar, and stars hung from the ceiling. You could say this is a perfect place to host a birthday party.
"Come meet the band!" Afton called out, interrupting my inspection of the place. I turned around to see three giant characters on the stage behind me. They looked identical to the plushies from the prize corner. "Their names are Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica," Afton said, like he was showing off his collection of toys. The characters looked adorable and cuddly, but something told me they had a different story. The way they stood there motionless gave me chills. There was a dreadful feeling about them. A feeling of danger.
"They look scary," I said. The way they stared felt as though they were gazing deep into your soul. I could've sworn their eyes were following me.
"I designed them myself," Afton said. "Well, the robotics part. Henry designed the exterior." Afton said.
"They're robots?" I asked.
"Yes, well, we call them animatronics around here, but yeah, it's one of my most beautiful creations," Afton replied, looking at his animatronics with pride. Afton had a prideful tone, but he still felt off; I couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. "Oh, before I forget!" He added, switching his attention to the table. "Here is your security vest, the keys to the place, and a badge. I accepted the items he gave me, putting on the vest, then the badge, and putting the keys in my pocket. Afton smiled as I put on the badge. "Well, you look good. You look just like him," he muttered.
"What was that?" I asked, putting up the last button on my vest.
"Nothing! Now, I don't have much time since I spent most of it ranting, so I'll show you the office before I take my leave." Afton said. He got down from the stage and started walking towards a dark hallway; I followed right behind him. We kept walking until we reached what seemed like a security office. The difference was that there were no doors.
"As you can tell, I'm a busy man, so before I go, I want to say good luck on the first night. The pre-recorded calls should inform you what to do," Afton said hastily.
"Oh, alright," I said, acknowledging
"The first night is always the toughest, but you'll pull through," he said. A smile crept from lips. "But I think you'll do just fine," he said, leaving the office. "I think you'll do better than the rest of them," Afton muttered.
Afton sure was a weird guy, but what did he mean by "I think you'll do better than the rest of them?" Have there been other night guards before me? I sat down on the security office chair and rolled it forward to reach the table in front of me. The table had a rectangular object that was rather bulky when I picked it up. It was a tablet. I searched around and found the button to turn it on. It took a few seconds before it booted up and showed the layout of the pizzeria and a camera feed. I flipped through the cameras and saw Afton walking to the prize corner before disappearing around the corner where the entrance was. I glanced at the clock, and it read 11:59 PM in white. It's almost midnight. What could go wrong? I sat down, waiting for my shift to start. As it struck midnight, the phone started ringing instantly. Not wasting a second, I pressed the speaker button. Suddenly, I felt my eyes become pressurized. The room around me began to distort. My stomach twisted. My headache has tripled in intensity. Everything isn't...
That's when I blacked out.