Day One

I couldn't breathe. All I could see was pure, utter darkness. All of my senses seemed to have been taken away from me. All but one. An assortment of bizarre sounds surrounded me, even more so than the darkness. Footsteps, seemingly coming from nowhere, enclosed me. Deep, distorted laughter came closer and closer to wherever I was. It was coming towards me, but I couldn't see from where. At least… until I caught a glimpse of two, small white lights. They shined bright in the blackness, and they only drew near. I blinked my eyes, and they were gone.

MIKE

MIKEY

"MICHAEL!" I jumped from my slumber, startled and confused. I woke up in a hot, sweaty mess. My heart thudded against my chest, just screaming to get out. I never have nightmares, especially not ones that feel so… real. I opened my tired eyes to see my mom standing above me, the house phone in hand. I rubbed the sand from the corners of my eyes. "It's the manager at that Fredbear place."

She shoved to phone into my hand, catching me off-guard. I can't believe they actually called!

"Hello?" I yawned. There was no response at first, which worried me. "Hello?"

"Yes, hello, Schmidt? Mike Schmidt?" A husky, monotonous voice answered. There were static noises as he spoke.

"Yes, that's me!" I gleefully admitted. Does this mean I got the job?

"Hi, I was wondering if you were available to come in for a one-on-one interview today, around say, noon?"

I looked at the alarm clock next to my bed. It was so dusty. I never used it. It was already eleven.

"Yeah, uh, I think I can make that," I nodded my head, as I leapt from the bed and into my closet.

"Great. We'll see you then!" The manager, presumably, hung up after that sentence. I tossed the phone over to my mom, who fumbled trying to catch it.

"Mom, can you leave? I gotta get dressed," I asked as I tore my shirt off. My mom's nostrils flared.

"Mike, when was the last time you showered?" She questioned nasally, holding her nose.

"I don't know, maybe like a week ago?"

"Michael J. Schmidt! You get in the shower right now like I told you to! And make sure you dress appropriately. Business casual," she screamed as she started to exit the room. "What would you do without me?"

I rolled my eyes and walked out of my room with her, taking a left turn to the bathroom. I removed my clothes, hopped in the shower and turned on the water. It was boiling but it felt nice. The entire room was engulfed in steam as the hot water rolled down my back. I didn't have time to enjoy it, however. I needed to rush through this shower, despite how fantastic it is. I hurriedly shampooed my hair and scrubbed my body off. When I felt that I was clean enough, I turned off the water and snatched a nearby towel.

I ran the cloth down every crease of my figure, making sure it was all dry. My hair wouldn't dry right away, but I didn't really care. I jumped from the soaked shower, putting my towel on the rack. I noticed something strange in the fogged mirror. There was writing… it read:

IT'S ME.

What the fuck?

I shook my head and looked again. The writing was gone. First my dream and now this. Maybe it was a sign. I shrugged it off and dashed to my room, unclothed. I searched for my best pair of slacks and the only nice button-up that I owned and threw them on the minute I found them. I gotta hurry to the pizzeria.

"Yo, ma, can you give me a ride to the restaurant?" I called, buttoning up my shirt.

"Sure, dear," she replied. I walked to the front door and stared at the mirror on the wall. I looked rather spiffy. I tousled my soft, chestnut hair, making it look almost Ivy League. My freckles, normally hidden from my pale complexion, seemed to sparkle today. Sadly there was nothing I could do about the scar on my eyebrow. I studied my average build and then I realized something was missing. Ah, shit. I don't have any dress shoes. Oh well, I don't think he'll notice. It's a family diner, not a high-class restaurant. "Wow, look at my handsome man."

Mom came from behind me, waving the car keys in her frail hand. I blushed and thanked her.

Mom pulled into the nearly vacant lot of the pizzeria. There were only about four cars; two in the employee parking section and two in the guest lot.

"Hm, must not be too busy," mom noted as she parked the car. "Good luck, sweetie. Mama loves you."

"Love you too, mom," I smirked, slamming the car door. I looked up at the sign that hung above the doorway.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria; A Magical Place for Kids and Grown Ups Alike!

Didn't look very magical. I took in a deep breath and opened the front doors. A bored, young female sat drearily at the front desk. She blew a bubble and immediately popped it. I walked towards her.

"Uh, hi, I'm here for a job interview?" She looked up at me. Her grey eyes dull with confusion.

"Why would you wanna work in this dump?" She scoffed, blowing another bubble.

"Where's the manager's office?" I ignored her attitude. Her bubble popped.

"Take a right out of here, all the way down the hallway with the flickering lights, and to your left," she resumed chewing her gum, as the scent of strawberry wafted into my nose. Sweet, but it came from a bitter host.

I went through the doors that led to the show stage. I was greeted by the sound of a child screaming they wanted to go home and the stuttering sounds of the animatronic characters as they tried to sing a tune. I glanced at them, their seemingly harmless forms dancing robotically. There was a purple-colored rabbit that held a guitar to the left of the stage. He creeped me out the most, with his vacant red eyes staring at the three children in the audience. Then there was a duck… maybe a chicken… animatronic to the right, holding a pink cupcake with menacing eyes and donning a bib that read: Let's Eat!

Then there was the man himself. Freddy Fazbear, at least that's what the namesake of the dinner was. I assumed it was him, considering he was the only bear of the group. He wore a shiny black tophat and a bowtie to match. He was attempting to sing into his microphone, as his eyes flashed wildly. I think he was broken.

As I continued along, I passed by a small little stage that was shrouded by a violet, star-covered curtain. A sign reading: Sorry! Out of Order stood in front of it. I wonder what it was hiding. I went to take a little peek, and saw nothing but black.

The girl at the front desk was right, these lights in the hallway were flickering on and off. It was haunting. Through a glass window at the side of the wall, I spotted a man sitting in the singular chair. He was balding and had a curly, black mustache. He must be the manager.

I knocked on the glass.

"Uh, hello?"

"Ah, Schmidt, right? You're right on time. Come on in," the husky man called, motioning his hands towards me. I did as he asked and wandered inside. "Sorry there aren't any other chairs."

"It's no problem," I lied, as my back screamed out for a chair.

"So, Schmidt. I don't have too many questions for you, because just looking at you, I know that you're perfect for this job."

"Really?" I was stunned.

"Yeah! You're submissive, but brave," he boasted, twirling his mustache. What did he mean by brave? "So, question one, do you have any fear of the dark or animatronic animals?"

"Uh, no sir, I can't say that I do."

"Good. Question two, are you willing to work all night and even overtime if asked?"

"Absolutely! I'm a night owl."

"Perfect. Now, last question. Do you take any drugs or have any heart conditions?"

"Uh, no to both of those," I hesitantly responded. What a strange slew questions…

"Excellent!" He stood up, and stuck out his hand. "Can you start tonight?!"

"T-tonight?!" My eyes lit up, astounded by the instantaneous hiring. Are all job interviews this easy and this quick? I grabbed his hand and shook it. "Yes, yes I can."

"See you tonight at 12?" His smile widened happily, letting go of my hand.

"See you tonight at 12!" I repeated back to him, smiling back.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Let me grab your uniform. Are you a medium or a large?"

"Medium works fine," I nodded. He went under the desk that held a whole bunch of monitors. He pulled out a box and dug through it. I looked up at the wall. There was a big poster featuring all of the animatronics with the word "Celebrate!" above them. There were also a few children's drawings, scribbled in crayon. They creeped me out.

"Here ya go," the manager said as he pulled out a packaged uniform and hat. It was a light purple color with a black collar.

"Awesome, thank you!" I smiled as he handed me the uniform. I thought it was strange that he didn't ask for my social security number, or a resume, or anything like that. But I disregarded that and walked out of the office. He waved goodbye and plopped back into his chair.

I had the biggest smile plastered on my face. My first job. Wow.

As I skipped down the flickering hallway, not a single noise was heard. The animatronics weren't singing anymore, the children and their parents were gone, and there wasn't even any upbeat music playing. It was like everything shut off. The lifeless robots stood on the stage, staring straight ahead. I glanced at the purple, out-of-order curtain and saw something sharp poking out from it. Was someone spying on me?

I rolled my eyes and ignored the unusual stillness. As I exited through the doors leading to the front of the building, I could swear that their eyes were following me.