The blaring alarm yanked my attention from the security monitors. I pressed mute. The camera screen displayed Freddy gone. I tapped the main stage feed. All the animatronics were still there -- unmoved, just like before. Then I spotted Henry casually walking across the dining tables. He held what looked like a large stack of flat and rolled-up papers in his arms. I set the security tablet down and got up from the chair. I stretched my arms and legs before stepping out of the office. Instead of going down the left hallway, I went down the right one this time. Each hallway felt like a coffin -- still, cold, and waiting to shut. I wanted to check out the posters of the crying children that I saw earlier during the night. But now, they'd reverted to their original colorful designs. The posters that were now in front of me had Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica's faces plastered on the front with their catchphrases. Freddy's catchphrase was "FUN TIME!" Bonnie's poster was "PARTY TIME!" Chica's poster had "EATING TIME!" written on it. If you ask me, Chica needs a new catchphrase; she looks like she needs it.
I looked to my left, expecting Henry to be there. However, he wasn't. I walked to the end of the hallway and looked around the dining area to find Henry, but it's like he disappeared. Maybe he's already at the office? I turned and headed back to the office. As I came near the security door, I spotted a newspaper that I hadn't noticed until now. It must've been tucked in the corner—easy to overlook. I tore the newspaper off the wall for a better look. The newspaper read:
"Kids vanish at local pizzeria—bodies not found."
"Two local children were reportedly lured into a back room during the late hours of operation at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza on the night of June 26th. While video surveillance identified the man responsible and led to his capture the following morning, the children themselves were never found and are presumed dead.
Police think that the suspect dressed as a company mascot to earn the children's trust."
My stomach became sickened reading the headline. It made me so infuriated that I had to reread the newspaper to believe it. Who could do something like this? Suddenly, I felt a hand pat my arm. I jumped, quickly turning around to find myself face-to-face with Henry. This is the second time Henry scared me.
"Are you alright?" Henry asked, looking confused and concerned. Probably because of my sudden behavior.
"Yes sir, I'm alright," I replied nervously. "Just caught me off guard, that's all," I added with a sheepish smile.
"Good to know," Henry nodded, then glanced at the newspaper in my hands. "I see you have one of our old newspapers from back in the day." I didn't realize it at the time, but I was gripping the newspaper too tightly. Now it looked like a scrunched-up mess.
"Uh... yeah! I just, uh, found it lying around." I laughed nervously as I folded and stuffed the newspaper into my pocket. Henry sighed and took off his glasses to clean them with his shirt.
"That happened a really long time ago... People try to forget. But the past sticks around, especially here," A glint flashed in Henry's eyes -- one he clearly wished he could forget. "It's the same disaster that happened back at our old restaurant in '87 all over again."
"What happened in '87?" I asked.
"Uh... nothing important!" He waved the question off a little too quickly. "I ranted too much. You should go home and get some sleep—your face says you had a rough night." Henry's abrupt tone switch told me there was much more going on. It's best not to push it.
"Yes, sir," I acknowledged.
"For God's sake, call me Henry," Henry replied with slight annoyance evident in his voice. Henry repositioned his glasses and returned to the security chair. Henry started searching through the thick stack of papers he had placed on the security desk in front of him. They looked like blueprints for a new project -- But I knew better than to ask.
"Y-yes, Henry," I said. "I'll be off then." I turned to my right and made my way to the exit of the pizzeria. As I walked past the silent animatronics, something heavy shifted in my pocket—the VHS tape. I still hadn't watched it. And after tonight, I wasn't sure I wanted to. After reading the newspaper, I realized that this tape might reveal more than the first. Who knows? Maybe it'll reveal the face of the killer himself.
* * *
On my way back to the college dorm, I managed to find a VHS player. I discovered that there was a garage sale nearby. Although it looked shady, 200 dollars for a conversion from AV to HDMI might save me a lot of time. Plus, it came with a remote and other converters. The seller even said it could play on laptops. It was probably the "play on laptops" part that made it expensive. But this is an investment that'll save me if Cassidy decides to take a 'break.' I still hope she's okay. Closing the door to the dorm, I unpacked the bulky VCR player and set it on the coffee table. After taking a couple of minutes to configure the converter, I managed to get it working on the TV. Fifteen minutes later, the setup finally worked. I felt through my pockets and located the VHS tape. I inserted it in the VCR player carefully. The TV turned on and prompted the words "ready to play."
I felt hesitant as my finger neared the "play" button on the remote. What horrors could I possibly see in this tape? Whatever it is, I need to stomach it. I pressed play on the VCR remote, and the TV screen first played a scatter of green letters and symbols. It looks similar to the symbols I saw in my dream when Afton had a VHS tape plugged into the security office computer. The green symbols eventually cleared up and began playing a video.
"I'm getting too old for this," Gabriel said with his cheek placed snugly on his palm. He sat at one of the party tables from the popular pizzeria named Freddy Fazbear's. Although it wouldn't be a place Gabriel would hang out at, he still came because of a girl's birthday party. He couldn't exactly remember the girl's name; maybe it was Cassy? Gabriel didn't really pay attention. A girl in his class invited him to a birthday party, and that's all he remembers. He still enjoyed what the place had to offer. The arcades were enough to keep him entertained for a bit, but there was only so much money he could spend on coins. At this point, it was more beneficial to buy the damn prizes themselves instead of wasting hundreds of coins on games that average around 15 tickets or so.
Gabriel sighed and got up from his seat. He might as well do something to pass the time. At that moment, Gabriel came up with a brilliant idea. What if he checked out the office? Nobody is allowed there, but who is going to stop a 9-year-old from doing stupid things? Gabriel smiled mischievously and walked in the direction of the security office. Walking past the grown-ups was a piece of cake since they were more focused on those "animatronics." If you ask Gabriel, they're pretty creepy and weird. However, Gabriel liked Freddy the most because he was the singer of the band. In fact, Gabriel wanted to be just like Freddy. A singer!
He began humming his favorite orchestral tune and skipped his way through the hallways until he reached the door of the security office. Gabriel peeked through the office window and found it empty. He smiled happily and entered the office. The security office had posters of the animatronics with their catchphrases spelled out in bold, colorful words. Small, static-filled monitors lined the office. Gabriel found it odd that the many monitors didn't display anything other than white static. However, one item caught Gabriel's eye. It was a tablet that sat on the metal table in front of him. Naturally, he picked it up. It was heavy at first, but adjusting his strength, Gabriel kept it steady. Gabriel looked for the power button for a minute until he found it and powered it on. The display flashed on, showcasing the Freddy Fazbear's logo before showing what looked like a camera system.
"Whoa... I can see everything," Gabriel whispered. His fingers bounced across the tablet, flipping through camera feeds like pages in a book. Each room revealed more silence. More emptiness. It felt like exploring a tomb, not a pizzeria. Gabriel started to get bored. Looking at the empty places where no action was happening. One thing did concern him. Why was there a camera near the bathrooms? The thought of that sickens Gabriel. People are watching when I go in and out of a bathroom? talk about creeps. There was one more place he hadn't explored yet. The backstage room.
"Saved the best one for last," Gabriel muttered happily. He pressed the backstage camera, and immediately, his smile disappeared. A horrified face took its place. The screen displayed a yellow rabbit standing over a little girl—stabbing her over and over. A giant puddle of blood began to spread across the tile floor. The little girl's arm twitched once, then stopped. What Gabriel witnessed scarred him for life. Why would that rabbit do that? The rabbit stopped and turned its head slowly towards the camera. Its eyes did not glow. It wasn't robotic. It was alive. The yellow rabbit knew Gabriel was watching it. Its eyes pierced through the screen, through the wires, and through Gabriel. He dropped the tablet. His hands were trembling in fear, and his chest began to tighten. Gabriel must leave.
"Thank you for choosing Freddy Fazbear's Pizza! We hope you had a wonderful time today!"
Gabriel froze. They were closing? Already?
He sprinted to the dining room. The room, which was once filled with music and people, had now fallen silent. Standing in the middle of the room was the yellow rabbit. This time, its eyes weren't just watching. They were hunting. Gabriel turned and ran.
"Come back here, you brat!" The yellow rabbit roared. Gabriel made it back to the security office. There wasn't time to think or many places to hide. The table. He could hide under the table. He curled under the table, heart hammering against his ribs. Soft footsteps, muffled by fabric, brushed against the tile as they came closer. The rubbery scrape of the rabbit's footsteps was louder than his heartbeat. Eventually, the rabbit entered. It stood there. Waiting. Breathing. Then slowly, the rabbit left.
"you can run and hide...but you can't escape me."
Hearing the fabric footsteps walk away from the office, Gabriel came out of his hiding spot. He needed to find a way to escape quickly. He went to the opposite door and walked down the hall cautiously. Reaching the end of the hallway, Gabriel peeped his head out and scouted the dining room area. The yellow rabbit wasn't there. He could see the exit sign in bright red. All Gabriel had to do was make it across the dining room area. After confirming that the area was clear, Gabriel bolted to the exit. He was inches from the exit -- then a cry froze him in place.
"Someone! Help me! Is anyone there?!" The voice cried out. The door connecting to the backstage room made a weak banging noise. Could it be the girl? Did she survive? Gabriel paused momentarily, weighing his options. Does he save the girl or leave? Gabriel had to make a tough decision. The yellow rabbit was still nearby somewhere, but if he could save the girl, they could both escape! But if he got caught, who knows what the rabbit could do to him?
"Can someone help me, please!" The voice cried out again. The door to the backstage room emitted a weak banging noise again. The voice also echoed across the room. Gabriel couldn't do it; he couldn't leave the girl by herself. He wouldn't know how to cope with himself if he left her behind. He dashed to the backstage room and opened the door. The door creaked open--only the girl's corpse lay inside. If it wasn't her, then who was calling for help?
Suddenly, something or someone pulled Gabriel forcefully into the backstage room. Whatever pulled him forced him to the floor, causing Gabriel to wince in pain. He opened his eyes to find himself face-to-face with the yellow rabbit. Its penetrating purple stare sent goosebumps down his spine. The fear was immeasurable. The yellow rabbit then pulled out a knife.
"There you are. Watching, weren't you?" The yellow rabbit spoke. "After all, you did witness me kill this little girl." The yellow rabbit walked closer to Gabriel, cornering him. "And I can't have any witnesses, can I?" The yellow rabbit continued. Gabriel felt tears stream down his face as the yellow rabbit came closer.
"W-Wait! I-I promise not t-to tell anyone! I swear!" Gabriel sobbed, voice breaking.
The yellow rabbit didn't slow. It loomed closer, dragging the knife against the wall -- the screech of metal against tile like a scream with no mouth.
"I'm s-sorry! Please!" Gabriel cried.
The rabbit chuckled. It was a cruel chuckle.
"Children lie," It hissed. Gabriel then felt the sharp pain inflicted by the knife, and blood filled his lungs, making him unable to breathe. He twitched uncontrollably, but it stopped soon enough.
"It'll all be over soon, so just accept your death," The yellow rabbit said. Gabriel felt more sharp pains enter his body as the yellow rabbit laughed manically. He began bleeding out profusely from his stab wounds, and his breath became weak. It was a trap. There was never a girl calling for help. He had been tricked. Fear swallowed him. Then sorrow. Afterwards came nothing but the cold. The room around him became darker, and color became duller. Pure darkness soon enveloped Gabriel. He soon found himself immersed in his final thoughts.
"I don't want to die. I don't want to die here. Not in the dark. Not alone." Gabriel thought. He'd wished he had seen his family again. He harbors a fear of the dark. He was scared of dying. Instead, the last image he would ever have was the yellow rabbit's purple eyes...
"I told you," The yellow rabbit whispered, his breath cold and inhuman. "You can't escape me."
* * *
The tape stopped playing and produced a blue light with the word "play" in the corner. My stomach turned, throat dry. I hadn't realized I'd been holding my breath. My hands trembled as I reached for the tape eject button. How could someone do this? Who would do this and why? I could hear Gabriel's cries replaying in my head over and over again.
Cassidy was right. I could feel everything Gabriel felt. It is a weird phenomenon that can't be explained. How am I able to feel how the last two children felt? I took out the newspaper that I had taken from the pizzeria. The story makes sense now. Those two children who went missing, they were Cassidy and Gabriel. They all had one thing in common. Someone with purple eyes murdered them both. Cassidy did get mad at me when I mentioned Afton during our first confrontation. I don't remember Afton having purple eyes. If I was correct, he had blue eyes.
I sighed and scrunched my eyes with my fingers. All this excessive thinking is making me feel exhausted. I should prepare for tomorrow. I got up from the couch and walked to my bed, throwing myself on top of it. I lay there with my mind occupied by many unanswered questions. Either way, I needed to find out the truth. The truth of what happened at Freddy's. I closed my eyes and engulfed myself in a deep slumber.
* * *
Henry sat at the security office, looking over the blueprints he spent the last night on. Henry scrunched his eyes with his glasses lifted before they dropped to their original spot. Henry couldn't believe how long ago those "incidents" happened. Henry and Afton were under so much pressure that they almost went bankrupt. Luckily, Afton managed to get out of legal trouble and still operate many of his businesses. Henry doesn't know how he did it, but he won't ask questions. If he did, his family was at risk. Henry just needed to do his work and get out of there.
"How's the project doing, Henry?" Afton said. Henry was startled at Afton's random appearance but calmed himself.
"U-uh, doing good... I thought it was my turn, no?" Henry nervously said. Afton smiled and walked into the light.
"Yes, it is your turn, but I came anyway. I'm assuming the nightguard is still alive?" Afton asked.
"Yes, Mike is still alive," Henry replied. He swallowed nervously, hoping that Afton wouldn't comment about the blueprints that were in front of him.
"Most nightguards don't last this long," Afton murmured, examining the cameras. "But then again... he is my son." Hearing that sent a shock of surprise.
"Your s-son is still alive?" Henry asked. Afton smiled devilishly.
"Yes... Yes, he is," Afton replied. Then, with a wild laugh, Afton exited the office. Henry couldn't believe it. He believed he had died back in '87. How is he alive?