XI. The Beginning

Ring! Ring!

Click.

"Uh, hello? Well, if you're hearing this…chances are you've just made a very poor career choice…kidding! It's a joke. I do that. Just ask Fred—well, ok don't ask him, since they really aren't speaking right now…or. Active at all." A tired sigh.

"Listen, there's something bad going on. This message is only as a last resort. Heh, looks like I finally found my curtain call, huh?"

Glass shattered, and plastic squeaked in feeble protest just as a body darted under a table. He was trying to hide, for all the good it did.

The music was getting closer.

"I've been working around the clock to get my latest project up. But I can't keep these things off my tail any longer. The key's in my locker, my locker is under my desk, and you need to get some back up before you go any farther.

And for fuck's sake, I hope you know what you're getting into."

Metal came down horrifically close to his ankle, but he pulled it out just in time to hear the banging start down at the end of the crawlspace.

It was getting louder.

"I can't believe how long I've been doing this now. 10 years, sheesh. Where has my life gone?"

"W-what are you?!"

"What was I is a more appropriate question. How odd. Do you know what this means?"

"No, what?"

"It means Mr. Schmidt lost."

"Imagine having to hold onto a secret that big for so long…and not having anyone listen?"

"Take a look around." A ragged clawed hand gestured, and they both turned to look across the dark room where the ballerina posed, frozen.

"Now, you tell me, Fitzgerald. Who is more welcome here…The living? Or the dead?"

A scuffle of noise, and dull banging that grew rapidly. "Listen, I gotta go. Just, just follow my directions, and everything will be fine. Find Freddy and the others, that very important! They'll know what to do, they can stop her from—ah, shit—"

The line went dead.

"You don't know what we've been through."

The Knight Guard Part 4
The Circus Opens February