Author Notes:

[Sorry for any mistakes, uploaded on short notice with some basic spell and syntax checking]

Short story time! But this isn't a lemon nor a heart warmer. It's the complete opposite of all that. This will also get so disturbing, I have to leave a warning: There will be strong blood and gore along with disturbing scenes... But no swearing, surprisingly. Enjoy!

"Realism, it's a great idea, at least I think so"

"But, like, the cost is just a minor setback, repairs cost more, but we can bypass that"

"Easily, this establishment needs some improvements anyway"

"Murdered kids and '87 were some hefty blows for this place, it's in due for some improvement, you're right"

"Shouldn't mention that"

"Yeah, I know, just saying, though"

"Yeah, It's fine, what are you up to anyway?"

"I'm on break, man, how about you?"

"Repairing more robots, kids stuffed 'er up pretty good"

"Let me guess, Vixey? The pirate fox? Wouldn't exactly look a fox anymore"

"Yeah, it's just a mangle of parts, I don't know why the establishment even bothers anymore, kids will be kids, this thing's just a mangle at the end of the day"

"The Mangle"

"Come again?"

"Mangle, call it The Mangle, practically what it is anyway"

"Haha, I like that, The Mangle"

"So how close are you to finishing up your shift?"

"Just have to get this thing's arm back on, everything else is already repaired"

"Nice, see you at the pub?"

"Yeah man, I'll catch up with you then"

"Alrighty, bye"

"Bye"

Loudspeaker. The repairman's favourite way to talk to friends. The phone rested on the bench beside me as he worked away at my mangled body. I feel like I've got some sort of personal connection to this guy, 4th time I've been with him this week, 17th time my life. We've spent some time together, 16 hours and 12 minutes to be exact. Although we've never had any conversations, I've just been in the middle of ones between him and his friend, Jake. A daytime worker here, has a girlfriend named Claire. I've overheard it during one of their conversations. The repairman was nice, his name was Miles, lives in an apartment in the heart of the city, seeing a girl named Chloe that he claims is his best friend, but I knew he secretly likes her, he talks to himself sometimes. He was also gentle while he was repairing me, which I'm grateful for, but I'm more than sure it was because that was his job. Repairing me, not damaging me more.

"Nighty-night Mangle, off to get wasted" Miles smiled, sarcastically, of course, he doesn't know I can talk. He cleaned his tools back into their designated draws before turning his back and walking towards the exit of the Parts and Service, the door lit up with a green exit sign. He was always the last person to leave, he always stayed back to fix me, he didn't have to, pointless it was, I'd just get ripped apart by the children tomorrow. It was just a matter of time before they gave up, leave me. Maybe then, Miles wouldn't have to be the last one out every night. I watched as he left the room, I usually wave, but I didn't this time. He would be back. He forgot his phone. I felt over my repaired arm, testing it out, moving it back and forth.

"Damn, forgot my phone" I heard a muffled voice say from outside the room. Right on cue. I watched as he walked back into the room, grabbing his phone and tapping it on his palm before pocketing it. He exited the room again, for good this time. But this time I waved, a small wave, hardly moving my hand. The light above the workspace I sat flickered to darkness, the glass doors closing as the last human left the presence. Silence now. But it wasn't. When the clock struck 12 a car would pull up, a white sedan with a slightly cracked windshield. Out would step a man in a uniform, a light blue polo shirt and black jeans. A night guard, one in his early 20s, one that keeps coming back for whatever reason. The other animatronics, they're dead set on killing him, I've never had an interest in hurting the guards, I just hid away in my room, Kids Cove the manager called it.

I slowly climbed off the bench, walking towards the green exit sign. I had to step over various parts scattered along the floor along with the thick patches of oil that stained my feet and soaked into my fur. I hated this, it stained my feet, but there was no use in cleaning it off after, it'll just get stained tomorrow night. I reached the door, the top half lit up with a dim green light. I slowly pushed the door open, easily noticing the animatronics on stage as they quickly snapped their attention away from the door. I wanted to avoid them as much as they wanted to avoid me, but I had no choice but to pass them. I walked slowly yet quickly, the entire time peeking up at them. They watched, hesitantly watched. Peeking up and watching as I walked across the room. I hated being the main centre of attention for all the wrong reasons, they saw me as an outcast, someone they never saw. They only avoided me, never talked to me, never made direct eye contact. I hated it.

We used to talk, sometimes, but after the kids took an interest in my soft fur and saw me more as a play equipment then a performer, they avoided me. I didn't know why, was it because I fell into a state of depression after that? I was too much to care for? Was that why? I might ask them one day, maybe when they stop avoiding me. Before I knew it I reached the door, relief as I walked inside, the animatronics still watching me as I turned back to close the door. I walked over to the corner, sitting down and resting my head against the brick wall. I wanted to rest, but I won't, I never do. The night guard's screams of fear kept me up, but maybe tonight it'll be screams of pain. It's happened before, night guards murdered, stuffed into the suits in the Parts and Service. Sometimes, while I'm being repaired in the back, I can't help but watch the suits that sat to the side, sometimes I even see blood oozing out of the connectors. It's disturbing to know that I live in the same building countless people have breathed their last breath.

But, out of everything that happened today, one thing stood out the most. What Miles called me, Mangle? Is that my new name? I didn't know why I had to suffer for something I didn't choose, I didn't want any of this, I wanted to impress the kids, make them happy. I don't know why I had to suffer for it. A chime echoed through the building, the clock struck 12. Right on time, I heard a car pull up. A white car, the one with the slightly cracked windshield. I heard the front doors open, soft footsteps walking through the building. I didn't see him, but he was terrified. They always were.

The Next Night...

Here I was again, strapped to a trolly, getting pushed towards the Parts and Service room. I turned my head to look at the animatronics on stage, still watching me as I was pushed to the repair room for the 5th time this week, but it was then I felt something I've never felt before... Anger. I was angry at them for avoiding me, never giving me the support I needed, never comforting me when I was crying to myself at night. Never even tried to stop the kids from ripping me apart. I couldn't help but blame them for this, they could stop it, but they didn't. My vision was replaced by darkness as I was pushed into the Parts and Service room, as I was pushed towards the bench once more.

"Kids mess you up again, Mangle?" Miles asked as he lifted me up onto the bench, it was a rhetorical question, but I couldn't help but mouth his final words under my breath. Mangle. It had to be official, give it a week or less, my new nickname will spread, before I know it my real name will be lost. Nothing but history. I heard Mile's phone vibrate from his pocket before playing a cheerful tune, it wasn't the first time I've heard his ringtone, I've heard it so much I couldn't help but hum along to it. He finally got me on the bench before checking his phone, by the look on his face I could easily see it was Chloe, he answered the phone before tapping it onto loudspeaker.

"Chloe, how's it going?" I was right.

Later...

"So, Miles, I've been wondering"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go out for dinner Tuesday night? I'm a bit busy over the weekend and working late on Monday"

"D-dinner, l-like a, uh-"

"Like a date, whatcha say?"

"Y-yes, okay, I leave around 10 on Tuesday, guessing I'll have to fix Mangle first, though, so how about we go out around 11?"

"11. Sounds like a plan, see you in... 4 days then?"

"Yeah, see you later, uh, lo-l- C-Chloe"

"Okay, bye"

A soft beep followed by a burst of excitement from Miles. I wasn't exactly surprised, I saw it coming. He typed away on his phone before holding it to his ear, this time he wasn't on loudspeaker, it was almost strange to see him like this.

"Yeah, Jake, you ain't going to believe this," he said as he walked out of the room, I heard the front doors open before a car left the parking lot a couple of seconds later. I sighed, feeling over my right arm, still endoskeleton. He was too caught up in his own life to fix me, but he did agree to fix me for free, so he couldn't get in trouble for not doing voluntary work. I climbed off the bench and cleaned away his tools, once again leaving the room, once again getting my feet stained with oil, once again getting glares from the others as I walked past, once again walking into the dark and empty room I called home. Once again sitting in the corner.

This was like every other night, except this time Miles couldn't even be bothered to finish fixing me, not that it mattered. I looked over my body before looking back at my endoskeleton arm, moving it back and forth, a soft buzz as it moved. I sighed, recently, I couldn't help but focus on the bad things, everything wrong with this world, there was something wrong with me. But I could still smile, it was the weekend, no more kids to rip at my fur, Miles doesn't have to devote his spare time to fixing me, the night guard can finally have a rest from this endless nightmare- the night guard.

I climbed to my feet and walked through the thick darkness, out into the main room. I walked towards the glass front doors, they were foggy, probably because of the difference in temperature between outside and in. I wiped the glass and peered outside, sitting in the nearest parking space was the white sedan. I sighed, it was only his 2nd day on the job, and now his decomposing body was rotting in the Parts and Service. I dropped my hand from the window, leaving a print in the glass, before turning back, the animatronics on stage snapping their vision back to the ground.

"I GET IT, I'M A DAMN OUTCAST, DON'T HAVE TO CONSTANTLY REMIND ME!" I unintentionally screamed at them, making them flinch from the sudden outburst. My eyes widened as I gently covered my mouth with my hand, confused as to where the hell that came from. I dropped my hand back to my side before walking to the parts and Service, I don't know why I wanted to investigate, I've never wanted to, I always left it as it was, the night guard's dead and there's nothing I could do, but before I knew it I found myself walking into the repair room, the one place I hated being in. I walked into the darkness, the only light being the one above the bench, Miles forgot to turn it off when he left. I walked around the corner, my feet cold and soaked once more.

I looked around at the old animatronic suits, the ones the guards get stuffed into. The establishment usually empties them out before hiding the bodies in the forest, trying to save the tiny bit of reputation this place still has with the public. I noticed an old suit to the side, a gold spring lock one. I walked up to it, resting my left hand on the suit's shoulder before peering through the holes on the face. Surely enough, sitting inside was the body of the guard, but I wasn't as shocked as I thought I'd be, being the first time I've ever seen a body.

I moved my face a bit closer before quickly stumbling back, the smell was unbearable, if I could spew, I feel as though I would be right now. I shook my head, what the hell was I doing in here? I backed up before turning around and running to the door, trying not to slip on the oil. I walked back into the main room, not at all caring about the other animatronics anymore. I shivered before holding my endoskeleton arm with my left hand.

"The hell is wrong with me?" I was feeling like I was about to tear up. I walked back to my room, still holding my endoskeleton arm, I don't know how it soothed me, it just did. I walked back into Kid's Cove and sat back down in the corner, now holding my hands together on my lap. I was losing it. I didn't want to, though, I wanted to hold my composure, I wanted to stay the slightest bit of normal I was. I sighed once more before leaning my head against the cold brick wall, wiping my tears with my left hand.

As I did so, I felt something cold rub against my face, feeling sort of like oil. I wiped my face again, only putting more of it on me. I realised that whatever it was, it was coming from my hand. I looked down at my palms, a splotch of fresh blood on each one. I felt over my face with my fingertips. Blood... lots of it too, I just smeared my face with blood, I must've got it on my hands. But I didn't wipe it off, I didn't even try. I just leant my head back against the brick wall, crossed my arms to keep my warmth before closing my eyes. For the first time in ever, I felt as though I could finally rest, and that I could do it with a smile.

Later...

I gently opened my eyes, I felt disturbed, disturbed and still tired. I rubbed my eyes, feeling my fur as I did so. It was dry and stuck together in some places, but it wasn't only on my face, my hands and chest too. I looked down at my hands, dried blood, human blood. I gasped before I scraped my hand against the wall, trying to rub it off, but it wasn't working. I climbed to my feet and moved through the darkness of the cove before coming to the exit. I pulled the door open and stumbled into the light of the main room, no lights, just the beams of the sun shining through the misty windows.

I looked around the room quickly, I felt turned around, I wasn't thinking properly. I finally managed to regain my composure, I took a deep breath and looked at the signs on the wall. The bathroom, down the small hallway. I was trembling a lot as I walked through the room, quickly catching the animatronics attention on stage with the dried blood all over my face and hands, I looked like a fricken cannibal. I pushed into one of the bathrooms, not worrying which one it was. I hit the light switch before moving over to the sink, the lights finally reacted to the switch and flickered to life as I turned the sink on, myself trying to rub the dried blood off my hands. I splashed a handful of water on my face using my left hand before grabbing a handful of tissue from the dispenser, vigorously rubbing at my face with it.

I slammed my hand down on the table along with the tissues before looking at myself in the mirror, I was a mess, my fur was dirty and messy and my face was stained with blood, I didn't even know who I was looking at anymore. I grabbed the tissues again and continued to scrub at my face, trying to get the stained blood out, it wasn't working, it was as thought it was stained. I slowed before dropping the tissues to the ground, collapsing to my knees and losing it. I rested my hands on the edge of the sink with my head resting on it, sobbing into my arms, loud enough that I knew for certain that everyone in the pizzeria heard, I was breaking down, not caring about anything anymore.

"Excuse me?" I heard a concerned voice echo from the door. I jumped to the side and snapped my vision to the figure, a blue rabbit. I was too turned around to remember her name.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" I screamed louder than anticipated at her, making her flinch.

"It's okay, I just want to know what's wrong" she replied calmly.

"Don't you act like you don't know me, we used to be friends 'till you and your buddies abandoned me" I growled as I climbed to my feet.

"I-I know, that was a mistake, I just want to make sure you're alright" she replied as she walked forward.

"You don't care about me, none of you do" I growled.

"I can help you, Mangle" she smiled as she walked forward. I just stared blankly, my eyes void of emotion. I slowly shook my head before a grin grew on my face.

"Mangle..." I said under my breath. I let out a loud growl as I sent my fist to her face, making her stumble back to the tiles below.

"No, wait, please" she stuttered out, turning from caring to terrified of me now. She held her face where I hit her before starting to whimper, here eyes tearing up. I smiled again before jumping on top of her, pinning her to the ground and stopping her from crawling away. I raised my fist and sent another punch to her face, and another, and another followed by countless more.

"DON'T. CALL. ME. MANGLE!" I screamed in her face as I continued hitting her, she was absolutely terrified of me, I loved it. Another hit followed by another, every contact felt like joy over my body. I heard someone burst through the door, but I didn't care, I was too focused on making her suffer. I felt two hands grab me, throwing me off her and onto my back. I hit my head on the tiles hard before looking up, the two other animatronics comforting the rabbit, the bear keeping his eye on me.

I was shocked, unable to comprehend the situation, shaking like a maniac. I looked at the animatronics before laying my eyes on the rabbit's face, it was bent in, wires exposed and her jaw broken... I did that. I looked down at my hands before I started hyperventilating, scurrying backwards before I hit the furthest bathroom wall, all I did was hug my knees as I started crying again, shaking uncontrollably. I've finally lost it, I wasn't thinking straight.

"She just attacked me"

"I told you to stay away from her"

"She was crying, I had to"

"Well look who's crying now, I told you it was a terrible idea, she's unstable"

"Can we get out of here, Freddy? I think I need to get these wounds cleaned up"

"Sure, let's go, Bonnie. I don't want to stick around her, you're lucky she didn't kill you"

A soft patter of footsteps as the room cleared, the bear turning the lights out before leaving alongside the rest of them. The room flickered to darkness, I just fell to my side, laying on the cold and dirty tiles, hugging my knees as tears rolled down my cheek. I think I've finally lost it...

Later...

I slowly opened my eyes, my breathing was heavy and there was a hard pain in my side. I looked around through the darkness, panicking slightly as I was unaware where I was. As the memories flooded back into my head, I slowly climbed to my feet, the tiles cold under my feet as I walked towards the light switch. I felt around on the wall, trying to feel for it. As my hand moved over the switch, I clicked it, the lights overhead flickering to life making me squint my eyes as they adjusted to the light. I rubbed the back of my head as I walked over to the mirror.

Looking back at me was a white figure, blood stains on their face and their fur messed up with stains and oil marks. I sighed, I was looking at myself, the mess I've become... the mess those kids made me, the mess I didn't want to admit was me. I closed my eyes and wished it was a dream, a nightmare, that all of this would just go away. I opened my eyes, staring back at me was still the reflection of the monster I've grown into. I wiped the tears swelling in my eyes before turning to the exit, slowly leaving the bathroom.

As I walked into the hall, I found that I couldn't stop myself from shivering, as if I was cold, but this place was well heated and I couldn't tell what was causing it. I slowly walked down the hall and into the main room, looking up at the animatronics as I moved slowly through the room. I could now think clearly, now able to remember their names. Freddy watched me from the stage with anger on his face, Chica, fear. Bonnie didn't even look at me. As I found myself smirking at them, I closed my eyes and quickly shook my head, opening them to my feet.

"Vix?" I heard a male voice say from behind me. I turned around to see a night guard in a torn up uniform, blood over his face.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"You need to follow me" he replied, backing off as he said so.

"What? Where are you going?" I asked. No response. I turned back around, I was about halfway in the room. I sighed before turning back, following the wounded guard.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I caught up with him. Still no response. "Why won't you answer me?!" I asked, raising my voice a bit.

"Follow" he replied as we reached the hallway. I continued following him, unaware as to why I still was. We passed the bathroom before coming to the Parts and Service room, the door slightly open. I watched as the guard slowly moved inside before opened the door the rest of the way and hesitantly following him inside. The room was dark, the only light being from above the bench. The guard walked further into the room before disappearing into the darkness. I continued to follow him, trying to see where he went.

"Wait, where are you?" I asked as I turned the corner. With the only light being the one from overhead the bench, I walked forward, my eyes landing on the suit.

"Vixey... don't you like the bloodshed?" a voice said from behind me, I turned around to see the night guard, smiling.

"What? No!" I called back.

"Bloodshed, the feeling of it oozing over your face" the grin grew as he stepped closer.

"Stay away," I said as I stepped back.

"Blood, gore, the thirst to kill" another step forward.

"N-no, I'm not like that" I whimpered.

"But you are, you want to know the feeling of murder, the feeling of shedding blood, the feeling of splattering fresh blood over your body" another step forward as the guard seemed to jolt left and right, like a glitch.

"No, you're not even real, don't do this to me" I whimpered as I stepped back again.

"You want to feel the blood drip down your face" the voice cut off with what seemed as million of others, all chanting like some sort of ritual. I covered my ears, but the voices were in my head. I took another step back before slipping on a patch of oil, falling back and stumbling on top of something. As quick as it started the voices stopped, silence, even the guard was gone, the hallucination.

I started sobbing to myself, my body going cold as something oozed into my back. I rolled to the side and pushed myself up, my hands breaking through the suit with a sickening crunch. My eyes widened as I stared down, my hands in the guts of the rotting night guard. I felt a mix of emotions, a mix of happiness and fear. The smell grew unbearable and I felt something crawl on my hands. I ripped them out before stumbling back, petrified.

"Nononono" I kept repeating to myself as I tried to wipe the blood off, making the mistake of using my chest to do so. I fell back and caught myself on the wall, leaving a bloody handprint in its place. I slowly walked back before I hit the wall, catching my breath as the events ran over my head. A loud buzz made me jump as I snapped my vision to the bench, the light blowing with a soft pop as I laid my eyes on it, plunging the room into darkness. I stood there, faster than I expected my breathing returned to normal, going back to calm. I was in pitch black, my body cold and my hands constantly slipping from the wall due to the amount of blood.

I tightly closed my eyes, trying to keep my breathing steady. I slowly opened them again, opening them back to the darkness. I took a deep breath before I finally felt calm. Through the darkness I laid my eyes on the suit, from the dim outline I could see the chest part of the suit ripped open, I just broke my hands through the rotting skin of a corpse, and the sickening crunch must've been his ribcage breaking. I slowly pulled my left hand from the wall before looking down, I could still feel the cold blood soaking into my fur. A couple of seconds passed as I stared at my hand through the darkness. I slowly raised my hand to my face before licking the palm of my hand, tasting the blood. The taste rested in my mouth for a couple of seconds before I smiled... I liked the taste, it was sweet, a taste that stayed in my mouth. I dropped my hand back to my side before looking blankly into the darkness.

The Next Day...

Monday. A new day, a new day of torture. I sat in the corner, my face stained with a faded red along with a lighter one on my back and hands. My right arm still an endoskeleton with patches of faded blood, my fur messy and dirty and my feet stained black from oil. I just stared blankly into the opposite corner of the room, hugging my knees. The first few kids came inside, but they didn't want to play with me, they just... stared. Some parents took their kids away, others unaware of it. Some kids left on their own while others went to play with the other equipment scattered around the room. But none came near me, the toys near me left untouched.

But some still stared, just stood at the doorway and stared at me with shocked and scared looks on their faces. I just stared as well. Stared at the opposite corner of the room, not moving my eyes one inch. But one came near me, one curious kid that looked no older than 8. He approached slowly and cautiously. As he neared me I moved my eyes onto him, not my body, just my eyes. He stopped as I unintentionally let out a growl. I've never seen a kid so petrified in their life. They ran as fast as they could, tears coming from their eyes. I just went back to staring. I don't know why I did. I just did.

Later...

Strapped to the trolley, but this time I wasn't a mangle of parts, all that was missing was my arm. Miles pushed me in, he wasn't afraid of me, everyone was afraid of me except him. He pushed me into the Parts and Service before hitting the light switch to the side, the light didn't turn on, it was blown.

He mumbled to himself as he pulled his phone from his pocket, turning on a built-in flashlight, he leant it against the side of the bench, facing inwards. He unstrapped me from the trolly before lifting me onto the bench. He grabbed his torch and shined it around me, looking at my body. He pulled my hand out and shined his torch around it, looking at the dried blood. He turned me around and checked my back before turning me back.

"Jesus, where'd all the paint come from?" He asked as he placed the torch back down on the bench. I sighed before peering at the suit, like I assumed, the suit was sitting up in the corner, the chest broken open but nothing inside. I remember back to when my hands broke through his rotting chest, the cold blood, the guts... the maggots that crawled over my hands. I shivered before turning my vision back to Miles. He stood there, thinking.

"I'm going to get that paint cleared up, then I'm going to fix your arm. Okay, Mangle?" He asked. I unintentionally growled at him, getting a confused look in return. He left the room, grabbing a bucket as he did so. This left me with my thoughts. I knew he wasn't going to leave, he never leaves without his phone, I don't know why phones are so important to humans.

A couple of seconds passed before Miles came back, a bucket now full of water in his right hand, a cloth in his left. He dropped the bucket down in front of the bench before drenching the cloth in water. He pulled my left arm outwards before scrubbing at the patches of blood. A couple of seconds passed before he stopped, pulling the cloth to his face.

"Stained," he said under his breath. He dropped the cloth into the bucket before moving it to the side. He grabbed the outer layer of my right arm from the bench before going to work. He grabbed a screwdriver and unscrewed my endoskeleton before grabbing a new one from one of the shelves, screwing it onto my arm. He then went to work on getting the outer layer on my arm which should take no longer than 10 minutes.

As he worked, everything was normal, just like the previous nights, except tonight he didn't get a phone call, it was just me and him. A few minutes passed before he fixed my arm, good as new, the only difference being it wasn't as messed up as the rest of my body. He stood back and admired his work as I reached the new arm out, moving it back and forth.

"I don't think there's much we can do about the stains, I guess it'll have to do," he said with a smile as he stepped forward again, looking at the stains on my body. "I still don't get where the paint could've come from, there's just so much" he added under his breath. I looked down at my lap before peering back over at the suit, he followed my vision, looking at the suit for a couple of seconds before looking back at me.

"A damaged suit?" He asked. He didn't know what happened here at night, he was just a repairman that worked on stuff during the day. He looked at me for a couple of seconds before grabbing his phone.

"Man, I remember when you were new here, I was just a little boy then" I peered up at him, his words taking me by surprise. "Can't believe kids can be so destructive, I'd hate to see you put out of order... don't go out of order, Mangle" he turned around and walked towards the exit, turning the torch off as he exited the room. I usually wave, but I didn't this time. I just didn't.

Later...

I sat in the corner of the room, staring blankly at the opposite corner of the room. Thinking. How easily my hands broke through the dead guard's flesh, how easily his ribcage cracked, how cold his blood was. It made me wonder how the place manages to hide all the bodies after the others kill them, do they bury them, burn them, chop them up into little pieces or just leave them in a pile in some place no one will ever find them.

The smell there must be unbearable, the amount of bodies that were piled up. But somewhere, deep down, I wanted blood, fresh blood. I hated it, my jump between personalities, my mood swings from violence to fear to depression, my urge to... kill. But I didn't, I didn't want to be like the establishment that's trapped me here for years, the animatronics that ignored me and turned a blind eye as I was ripped apart, the kids that tortured me day after day. I wanted to be a good person. I still am, I'm still me... right?

The Next Day...

I didn't get any sleep, I didn't move the entire night. Just stared at the corner of the room. I stared as the employees come in to set everything up before opening, as they made sure everything was in working order, as the janitor mopped the floor. I just stared at the corner, trapped in my thoughts. The clock passed 8 am and the doors opened, the kids slowly coming in. By midday, there were about 7 kids, all ranging from six to thirteen. It was just a repeat of yesterday, the kids trying their best to avoid me as they played with the other equipment. All except one child, the oldest, about 13 years old, probably older.

"Why are you kiddies so scared of it?" He asked to no one in particular as he walked over to me, as he neared I unintentionally let out a growl, getting a chuckle in return.

"It's probably just broken, it's not like it can hurt me" he smiled as he gave me a soft kick in the leg. "The manager probably doesn't want to fix it" he added. "Mangle won't hurt me, won't ya?" He chuckled as he felt over the fur on my arm. Once more I growled, the word Mangle repeating in my head. I slowly climbed to my feet before standing over the kid.

"Whoah... you're taller then I thought," he said as he stepped back a bit, seemingly now nervous. He was only up to my chest. I let out another growl as he backed off before making a run for the door, pushing a kid out of the way as he did so. I slowly sat back down, going back to the same position. I liked the feeling of fear I put into these kids, the feeling of power over them after the years of torture they've given me. The kids in the room stared at me in shock, most of them leaving the room. A small grin grew on my face as I stared at the wall, hugging my knees as I did so.

Later...

"Yeah, I'll get it scrubbed up, but I've got something I have to go to tonight... yes, okay sir," Miles said into the phone as he held it against his head and shoulder, pushing me into the Parts and Service. "Alrighty, I'll get it done," he said into the phone as we came to a stop next to the bench. "Alright, will do, goodnight," he said into his phone as he grabbed it in his hand, hanging it up before pocketing it. He unstrapped me from the trolly and pulled me up onto the bench, whistling a tune to himself as he did so. As he gathered his tools I could hear a voice, a quiet and indistinguishable. It slowly grew louder, accompanied by various other voices. I grunted before letting out a growl, making Miles jump.

"Mangle, what's gotten into you?" He asked as he looked up from the drawers, his voice barely audible over the others. I started twitching before covering my ears, trying to get the voices out of my head.

"Mangle?" He asked, only sounding like a static whisper. A loud screech echoed through the building before everything went black. It was only a couple of seconds before I woke up, at least it felt like it. I laid on the ground, resting on my back, my body shaking and cold. I turned myself around before I pushed myself up with my hands, looking down as I did so. Miles. His uniform torn, his face bloodied, his chest ripped open, his eyes lifeless. My eyes widened as I climbed off him before crawling back against the bench, the light above illuminating the blood splattered over the wall, the ground... me.

My body was covered in blood, fresh, warm blood. My face, covered with blood with what I assumed were chunks of skin and guts hanging from my teeth. I felt cold. I hugged my knees as I stared at the body, but I wasn't disturbed by it, I felt... normal. I hugged my knees tighter before a tear rolled down my cheek. Brr Brr. Mile's phone lit up and vibrated, it was sitting on the ground next to him, the screen cracked and bloodied. The screen dimmed away before lighting up again with another vibration. I still sat there, staring at the body. A couple of seconds passed before the phone lit up once more, Mile's ringtone playing. I couldn't help but hum along with it, but this was the first time I've heard it all the way through, Mile's always answered it. The ringtone finished before I heard Mile's voice.

"You've reached Miles, I can't get to the phone right now, probably at work or playing video games, heh, just leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as I can" a loud beep played, Chloe's voice on the other end.

"Miles... where are you? I'm at the restaurant right now, at the table you booked. It's been half an hour, if you really wanted to ditch you could've just said so... I thought we had a thing for each other... but I guess not... can you please pick up the phone? Text me at least? I won't be mad if you ditched, I promise... just pick up... please" It ended with a beep before the phone dimmed out once more. I just sat there. I didn't feel remorse, I didn't feel bad. I didn't feel as though I made a mistake... I felt... fulfilled.

•••

I sat there all night, the phone continuing to go off for about half an hour before it stopped, either the battery died or Chloe gave up. The employees found me the next day, they tried to revive Miles, but they failed, he was long gone. They kept it secret, never telling the public what happened. And I sat in Kid's Cove, I heard the kids outside, but none came in.

The room was dark and boarded off with caution tape and an 'Out of Order' sign over the door. I just sat there, hugging my knees and staring at the corner. Everyone I knew only being a distant memory. But maybe it was for the better, maybe I deserved this. A tear rolled down my cheek as I thought about the pain I've caused, how I killed the only person that cared for me.

"What have I done..." I whispered under my breath.