I sat in the chair behind my desk. The only noise was coming from the fan. I had to admit, this was a pretty fancy office. Nice, open space, plenty of overhead light, and free leftover soda sitting on the desk. On second thought, maybe that last one isn't that nice.

I looked at one of the posters and saw the characters of the building. Their names were right under them. Apparently they were Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the Bunny, and Chica the Chicken. Those names actually do sound a bit familiar.

I then tapped on a button on the screen in front of me. The whole screen turned on and it revealed the 3 animatronic characters on stage. It was so dark, though, that it was hard to see much other than their silhouettes.

I then noticed a button in front of the screen labeled 'LIGHT'. I tapped it and saw the whole screen grow brighter. I looked and saw all 3 characters lit up. This would be useful, I'm sure.

Suddenly, a phone rang! I looked and saw it was coming from a phone I hadn't seen on the desk. After I got over the shock, I picked up the receiver and put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Uh, hello? Um, is this...Jeremy Fitzgerald?"

"It is."

"Then hello and welcome to your new summer job at the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza," the man on the other end said. "I'm here to talk you through some of the things you can expect to see during your first week here and to help you get started down this new and exciting career path."

"Ok, then."

This must be the assistant manager. Although I don't exactly plan for this to be my CAREER.

"Now, I want you to forget anything you may have heard about the old location," he continued. "Uh, some people still have a somewhat negative impression of the company. That old restaurant was kind of left to rot for quite a while, but I want to reassure you that Fazbear Entertainment is committed to family fun and above all, safety."

"That's good to hear!"

Is he referring to the missing children Mom was talking about? Did that even happen?

"They've spent a small fortune on these new animatronics. Facial recognition, advanced mobility, they even let them walk around during the day. Isn't that neat?"

"Yeah, that's pretty cool, I guess."

"But most importantly, they're all tied into some kind of criminal database so they can detect a predator a mile away. Heck, we should be paying them to guard you!"

I gave a small chuckle at that last line.

"Now that being said, no new system is without its...kinks."

That certainly got my attention.

"Kinks?" I asked. "What kind of kinks?"

"Well, you're only the second guard to work at that location," he explained. "The first guy finished his week, but complained about...conditions."

Conditions?

"We switched him over to the day shift, though, so hey, lucky you, right?"

"Sorry for interrupting," I said, "but what kind of 'conditions' did he complain about?"

"Uh, mainly he expressed concern that certain characters seemed to move around at night and even attempted to get into his office."

"What??"

"Now, from what we know, that should be impossible. That restaurant should be the safest place on Earth!"

"I would think so."

"So while our engineers don't really have an explanation for this, the working theory is that the robots were never given a proper 'night mode'."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, when it gets quiet, they think they're in the wrong room, so then they go try to find where the people are, and in this case, that's your office."

Why did I suddenly feel uneasy?

"So our temporary solution is this: there's a music box over by the Prize Counter, and it's rigged to be wound up remotely. So just every once in a while, switch over to the Prize Counter video feed and wind it up for a few seconds."

I then looked at the screen and saw a layout of the building in the bottom right corner. It looked like I could touch it to change screens, which was actually pretty cool!

I tapped where I believed the Prize Counter was, and sure enough, there it was. On the screen, in the mid bottom, was a giant rectangle that read "WIND UP MUSIC BOX", as well as a giant white circle above it. The circle started to slowly grow smaller, though, as if it was a clock. I tapped and held my finger on the rectangle and the circle started growing big again.

"It doesn't seem to affect all of the animatronics," he admitted, "but it does affect...one of them." He then cleared his throat a bit.

It only affects one of them? I wonder which one...

"And as for the rest of them, we have an even easier solution."

"What's that?"

"You see, there may be a minor glitch in the system. Something about the robots seeing you as an endoskeleton without its costume on and wanting to stuff you in a suit, or something like that."

"Wait, WHAT?!"

"It's probably nothing, but our engineers claim it might be possible. So we've given you an empty Freddy Fazbear head. Problem solved! You can put it on anytime and leave it on for as long as you want. Eventually, anything that wandered in will wander back out."

I looked at the empty head by the desk. Would this thing really work? Would they even stuff me in a suit at all?

"Uh, something else worth mentioning is the kind of modern design of the building. You may have noticed there are no doors for you to close, heh."

"Yeah, I've noticed."

I didn't want to say it, but the lack of doors made me feel less safe.

"But hey, you have a light! And even though your flashlight can run out of power, the building cannot. So don't worry about the place going dark."

I guess that was good news. Was there ever a possibility of an entire building running out of power...?

"Well, I think that's it; you should be golden!" He concluded. "Check the lights, put on the Freddy head if you need to, keep the music box wound up, piece of cake."

I hoped it was that simple.

"Have a good night, and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay, thanks! Goodnight."

He then hung up, and I did the same. When I did, I noticed how rapid my heart was beating. Why was I just now being informed of all this??

I turned the camera back onto the Show Stage. All 3 characters were still there, staring blankly into the empty Game Area. I scoffed a little bit with a smile.

'There's no way these guys will move,' I thought to myself. 'They've been programmed with the best technology we have! Surely there's SOME sort of a 'night mode' on there. And even if they move, there's no way they'll put me into a suit if they get in here. No way...'

I then took a look at my flashlight. I then glanced down the pitch black hallway. I then picked up the light, aimed it at the hallway, and turned it on. The whole hallway lit up, revealing the entrances to the 4 Party Rooms and the doorway to the Main Hall. All empty, nobody inside.

I turned the light off and placed it back on my desk. I then took a glance at the empty head by the desk. Just out of curiosity, I picked it up and put in on my head like a helmet.

First off, it was REALLY big for my head, so I couldn't see much out of the eye holes. I tried looking at the screen through them, but I just couldn't see it clearly. What's worse is the fact it was staring to get a bit hot in this thing...

I took the mask off and took a deep breath of air. I thought I could feel sweat on my face! I put the mask back on the floor and wiped my forehead with my sleeve.

I suddenly saw an orange triangle flash next to the Prize Counter cam on the screen. I pulled up the feed and saw the music box was about to run out! I rewound it through the screen and turned back to the Show Stage feed. They were all still there. Good.

I then looked at the clock. 12:15 am. I had a long 5 hours and 45 minutes ahead of me. Fortunately, I prepared for this.

I pulled out my pocket sudoku book and a pencil and began working on a random puzzle. Let's see, did 9 go in this box or this one...?

Soon, the orange triangle flashed again. I went back to the Prize Counter and rewound it. I don't know why I kept winding it, but it might have been because I was scared to find out what would happen if I didn't. Just out of curiosity, I pressed the 'LIGHT' button. Sure enough, the whole room lit up, revealing the purple gift box I had seen earlier. I wonder what was inside that thing...

I switched back to the Show Stage. All 3 still accounted for. I smiled and went back to my sudoku.

It was literally just that for the longest time. Solve a puzzle, wind the music box, check the stage, repeat.  It was just that...until 3:30 am.

That's when I checked the Show Stage and noticed something. There was a chubby brown bear, a feminine yellow chicken...but not a goofy blue bunny! Where's Bonnie??

I put my book down on the desk and flipped through the cameras, turning on the lights as I did. He wasn't in the Main Hall, or the Game Area, although I did see that creepy balloon kid.

I finally went to Party Room 3 and found him in the room holding his guitar. He wasn't moving or anything, he was just...standing there.

I asked myself how he could've possibly gotten there. Then a thought hit me: the guy on the phone said they had advanced mobility...could that affect how fast they move??

Well, Party Room 3 was still a bit away from my office. As long as he stayed there I'd be fine.

I went back to the Show Stage feed. Freddy and Chica were still there. At least there was that spark of optimism.

I wound up the music box and flipped back to Party Room 3. Bonnie was still standing there, although I could swear he moved towards the exit a little bit.

I decided to flip through all the cameras, just to see what all was there. The only other rooms were the remaining Party Rooms (all empty), Kids Cove (the only thing there was that mangled robot. I could've sworn I heard radio static coming from it), the Air Vents on either side of me (why would there be cameras in the vents?), and the Parts and Services closet. The closet was completely dark, but I shone the light and was quite shocked as to what I saw.

Sitting in the closet were 3 animatronics, but they all looked broken beyond repair. There was a purple bunny with a missing face and left arm, a yellow chicken-duck thing with a busted jaw and missing hands, and a brown bear with ripped fabric and a missing eye.

My best guess based on this was that these robots were older versions of the ones I'm guarding! But it's like they've just been left to rot.

I suddenly heard movement in the hallway in front of me. I pulled out my flashlight and lit up the hallway. I gasped a little when I did. Standing in the hallway, holding a pink cupcake, was Chica! But something didn't look right; it's like she was missing her orange beak and purple eyes!

I turned the light off and breathed slowly. There was nothing to worry about. Not even the possibly that they might kill me! On second thought...

I then heard what sounded like metal thumping. Kind of like if someone was in...the air vents!

I pulled up the Left Air Vent feed and turned the light on. Nothing there. I then pulled up the Right Air Vent feed and turned the light on. Instead of nothing, like I hoped there would be, there was a blue bunny on its hands and knees!

The assistant manager said if I wore the Freddy head, anything that wandered in would wander back out again. I prayed to God he was right.

I turned the hall light back on again. Chica was still there. She was staring creepily at me, but hey, she was there!

The orange triangle lit up again. I quickly wound up the music box and looked back in the hallway. Oh, crap; she was gone!

Before I could check to see where she was, I heard even louder clanking noise! It was definitely coming from my right. I reached for the light above the right vent and pressed down. When I did, I was greeted by a blue bunny with big, green eyes looking at me!

I pulled my hand back, gave a small scream, and grabbed the Freddy head. It was stupid, I know, but it was better to be safe than sorry!

I put the empty head on and held my breath. Was it gone? Did it go in my room at all?

I could then see the lights flicker a little bit.  They then went dark completely! I froze; the Phone Guy said the power wouldn't go out!!

The lights then went back on and I saw Bonnie in the room, staring at me. Did his irises and pupils get smaller?? The lights flickered and turned off again. They then slowly turned back on, and he was gone.

I took the head off and took a deep but quiet breath. I can't believe that actually worked! That would really work for all of them??

I then gasped; CHICA! I pulled up the camera and tried looking for her. I finally found her in Party Room 1, bent down in front of an open vent, as if she was about to...shit.

I put the camera away and, for the heck of it, looked down the hallway again. I was expecting Bonnie to be there, or maybe even nothing at all, but standing in the hall was Freddy Fazbear in the shiny flesh! He looked like he was at the far end of the hall, so I think I was safe...for now.

I heard clanking metal again. I looked at the screen and checked the Left Air Vent feed. Sure enough, Chica was in the vent, staring at the camera!

I quickly went back to the music box and wound it up. I was proud of myself for keeping up on this thing. I hoped I'd never know why I had to do this.

I turned on my light again in the hallway. Freddy was still there, but he was even closer! I really needed to keep my eye on him...

The clanking to my left got closer. I turned on the light in the left vent and there was a yellow chicken in there! I put the mask on and waited. I was expecting the lights to flicker again; however, there was just clanking again. I snuck the mask off a bit and looked down the vent. I could see orange feet go down it. I exhaled a bit with relief.

I took it off completely and wiped my face again. I was really getting nervous. I then gasped when I saw the orange triangle. I quickly rewound the box and looked away from the screen.

When I did, I saw a chubby brown bear standing in my room! He was staring at me with black, soulless eyes. I quickly put on my mask and waited. The lights then flickered and turned off again. I held all the breath I could manage to hold. They then turned back on and he was gone. I took it off and the office was completely empty.

I found myself breathing really hard. I looked at the clock. 5:41 am. How did time go that fast?? Well, I guess it was actually good for me. I looked at the cameras and saw Chica in the Main Hall, Bonnie in Party Room 4, and Freddy in the Game Area.

I kept a close eye on them. I didn't seem to be having any more problems. I just watched them and kept winding up the music box every now and then and I had no troubles.

Suddenly, after what seemed like a year, I heard coming above me. I looked at the clock and it read 6:00 am. I sighed with relief. It was over! My first night was over!

I looked at the cameras and saw all 3 animatronics go back towards the main area. They then climbed back onto the stage and froze. I sighed with relief.

The manager is definitely going to hear some harsh words from me.