Susie grumbled awake, stretching as she covered herself more with the blanket. It was a beautiful day as the birds chirped their songs and a gentle, warm summer breeze blew, swaying the curtains to the left or right. Susie didn't bother getting up from bed because it was a Saturday, which meant no school. She'd planned on sleeping in. After all, she had been missing her sleep hours this week.
Susie placed a pillow over her eyes to block out the sunlight shining through the open, windy window. It only took a few moments before everything around her began to fade and turn silent, leaving her to sleep peacefully.
"Susie! Get up! We gotta go soon!" A voice called, disturbing Susie from sleeping. It was her mother.
"But mom, I don't wanna go to school..." Susie grumbled, turning to her side.
"I waited a long time to get a reservation for you! I'll be damned if you miss your birthday party!" Susie's mother said.
"I don't careeee, just let me sl—"
Wait, birthday party? Whose birthday is it today?
Susie gasped awake. It was her birthday!
"Today's my birthday!" She shouted, zooming from the bed and into the bathroom. Susie was so busy at school yesterday that she had forgotten about her birthday. School really was a chore.
Thirty minutes later, Susie rushed down the stairs where her mother sat, eating the breakfast she prepared earlier. Like normal, her father wasn't present—a normal occurrence that stung a bit every day.
"Good morning, honey," Susie's mom said, kissing Susie on the cheek and plopping herself next to her mother. Susie took a quick bite of her breakfast so quickly that her mother wondered if she was starving herself.
"Wow, someone's hungry!" Susie's mom said, taking a bite of her crispy bacon.
"We gotta hurry and get to Freddy's!" Susie said with a mouthful of scrambled eggs. Her mother giggled softly.
"Silly! " We've still got an hour left before we have to go," Susie's mother said. "If anything, you should take your time eating. You're already messing up your hair!" she said, laughing wholeheartedly. Susie stopped and took a moment touch her hair, finding parts of it frizzing up.
"Oh no! You're right!" Susie said, abruptly leaving her seat and striding quickly to the stairway. "I can't go looking like this!" Susie shouted while stomping upstairs.
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It was about an hour before Susie and her mother made it to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza—" where fantasies came to life," as Susie remembered from the commercial. It was Susie's first time coming to Freddy's, with it being the talk of the town ever since their commercial gained attention. Robotic stuffed animals moving like a living being? Seems almost impossible!
For a while, Susie had been trying to go to Freddy's for a long time, but would occasionally be told to wait until her birthday. Susie never understood why she couldn't just go later, until her mother explained that the place had initially been a walk-in arcade but, due to popular demand, had transformed into a venue reserved for many parties.
You were lucky if you got invited.
With that in mind, Susie invited a few of her friends, along with two classmates—Jeremy and Gabriel.
Jeremy was invited because he defended Susie from some bullies who had been picking on her until the teachers arrived and broke them up. She thought it was very noble and brave of him to do that, especially for a classmate he hardly knew. Susie asked Jeremy to join her for her birthday party, and he accepted. Susie thought inviting him would be beneficial, since he could protect her from anyone who tried to ruin her big day.
Gabriel was a popular boy in Susie's class whom she thought was cute. Every girl would invite him to their house, mall, and even to restaurants, but he would respectfully decline—Until today. Susie wondered what made him come to her party? Maybe Freddy's really was a place where fantasies came to life.
Aside from them, Susie asked the entire class to see if they liked to come, but most of them couldn't because their parents were busy, despite offering to pick them up. So, Susie branched out and asked a couple of her girl friends and a couple of boys from her previous school the week before the party.
Now, Susie stood in front of the doors leading into the pizzeria. She could hear the muffled arcade gameplay and music behind the doors, inviting her inside. However, a wave of timidity and nervousness suddenly hit her harder than a truck.
"No! Don't get scared now! This is your party. It's about you today!" Susie thought. Now she was doubting whether her work actually paid off. If anything, her girl-friends would be there, right?
Suddenly, Susie felt a hand on her shoulder—she snapped her neck to the source. It was her mother. She was smiling warmly.
"It's okay, honey, don't overthink it. I'm sure there will be plenty of your friends here!" Susie's mom said calmly. "Even if there aren't, you still have me, isn't that right?"
Susie nodded in response.
"Now, don't be shy and go have some fun!" Susie's mom said, slightly gripping Susie's shoulder before letting go. Susie stared at the entrance for a moment before pushing it open, revealing the colorful inside. The first thing Susie spotted was the prize corner, where they stored cute plush toys on sale for tickets. The plush toys looked like the characters in the commercial.
Susie walked forward, observing the long, black-and-white tile hallway with posters of the popular animatronics and sparkly stars hanging from above. If Susie had to say, it looked suitable for a party.
Soon, Susie turned the corner, revealing the spacious dining area. The pizzeria tables were decorated with a white polka-dotted sheet with striped, colorful party hats. Even the floor was different, switching from black-and-white tiles to white-and-red tiles, adding personality to the area. The only thing that unsettled Susie was the absence of anyone. However, that didn't distract from the most eye-catching thing: the showstage.
The show stage contained the popular trio—Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica—Just like in the commercial. Each animatronic was lit up in its respective color and held items it was known for. Bonnie for his guitar, Freddy for his mic, and Chica with her cute cupcake. But where was Foxy? Susie remembered seeing him in the commercial.
Suddenly, Susie was lifted into the air. Something swiftly turned her to face the culprit, who was her father. Immediately, Susie felt surreal and surprised.
"Daddy! You came?!" Susie shouted, hugging her father with no tomorrow in mind.
"Yes. I couldn't bear not coming to your awesome birthday party!" Susie's father said, kissing her on the cheek. Susie's father set her down and stroked her beautiful blonde hair. "I wouldn't miss it for anything," he said, smiling warmly.
"But there's also another thing..." Susie's father said, carefully turning her around.
"Happy Birthday, Susie!" Out of nowhere, a crowd of kids and parents was between the previously empty tables. Susie couldn't help but feel herself fill with so much excitement that she could burst. Everyone came to the party! Just like Susie had planned.
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Hours later, after the party had started, Susie took a seat, taking a breather from the chaos that the restaurant enveloped into. Kids screamed, arcades echoed, the animatronics sang loudly, and the parents were busying themselves talking to each other or admiring the animatronics' movements, too busy even to bother calling their kids down. The tables were a different story, containing enough pizza sauce to make a table pizza.
Despite all the commotion, Susie had a great time at Freddy's. The arcade games, pizza, lively atmosphere, the animatronics... It was almost like the perfect birthday. However, it became redundant quickly as there was really nothing to do when you've just about explored everything.
Susie sat at one of the party tables, showing clear signs of boredom. Until she felt a tap on her shoulder, she quickly spun around to find her girlfriends from her previous school standing before her. Sally, Angel, and ₴₳₥₳₮Ⱨ₳
Immediately, Susie smiled.
"Hey, guys! I see you've made it! Pretty neat party, am I right?" Susie asked.
"Yeah! I had so much fun today!" Sally giggled.
"I liked it when the animatronics started to move around the room and gave out pizza. It was awesome!" Angel said, with inspiring eyes.
Did you forget me already?
"Not sure about you guys, but I enjoyed Foxy's show. Especially when he swung his hook out!" ₴₳₥₳₮Ⱨ₳ said, giggling.
Have you really forgotten the lullaby I used to hum when you couldn't sleep?
"I like it when Chica started singing! She has such a nice voice," Susie said.
"Nuh uh! Freddy was the star; he had the mic!" Angel bickered.
"I think Bonnie did better than all of them. He had the guitar, so he basically created most of the music!" Sally said.
"Well, aren't they all together as a band? So technically, they all made the music?" ₴₳₥₳₮Ⱨ₳ said.
You do remember me. Your eyes can't tell lies.
"Hey, you're right ₴₳₥₳₮Ⱨ₳!, they all made it in some way, and because they're a band!" Angel said, expressing her hands outwards playfully.
The four girls continued talking throughout the night with no end in sight.
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Slowly, people turned in for the night as the hours of joy gave way to eerie silence with a subtle remembrance of the band of animal animatronics playing in the background. There were only a handful of people still at the birthday party, who were really just parents reminiscing with their old friends or making new ones.
Susie finally came out of the restroom, cleaning herself up. Her girlfriends and friends she knew well were all gone, leaving her with only her current classmates, whom she barely knew. Was it better than nothing, right?
Like Gabriel and Jeremy.
With nothing better to do, Susie decided to head to the arcade when something caught her eye. There was a yellow bunny in the corner who just stood around. The bunny looked creepy, but Susie couldn't help but wonder what the yellow bunny was doing. It looked almost as if it were searching for something.
Curiosity getting the best of her, Susie instead approached the tall bunny and tapped its hand. Immediately, the bunny looked down at Susie with bright, purple eyes.
"Um...Hi...Are you looking for something?" Susie asked.
The bunny stared at her intently for a moment, making her question if she had done something wrong.
"Yes! I was!" The bunny replied. "In fact, I was looking for the birthday girl!"
Susie smiled cheekily.
"I am!" Susie said ecstatically.
Don't ignore me. Don't you love me?
"Is that right?" the bunny said, placing his hands on his hips. "Well, since I found you! I have a present for you!" the bunny pointed at a door labelled "employees-only."
"That's where I can work my magic!"
"Wait, but it says for employees only. I can't go in," Susie said with a frown.
"That's okay! Today is a special day, so as the own- I mean special bunny, I'll let you in!"
"Special bunny?" Susie asked.
"Yes! I'm a bunny who can do magic and do anything impossible possible!"
No... Don't go
"Really??" Susie said, widening her eyes. The bunny nodded.
"All you have to do is follow me. And you shall see."
"Okay!" Susie said. The bunny gestured for Susie to hold its hand, which Susie happily did. Then, they both walked towards the employees-only door. That's when Susie had an important question.
"Hey, Mr. Bunny?" Susie spoke.
"Yes, little one?" the bunny replied.
"I was wondering...Can you bring stuff back?" Susie asked with hopefulness. The bunny was speechless for a moment before replying.
"No, I can't, unfortunately, despite my saying I can do anything impossible. However, I do know what you want."
"Oh... Well, what do I want?" Susie asked.
"You uh... want a dog?" the bunny said with uncertainty. Susie smiled at the mention of a dog. Reminding her of the dog she lost.
"Yes! My dog ꄞ?ꈼ!ꋖ$ꀯ*ꍩ!" Susie said. She was surprised that the bunny knew about her dog.
"Of course! You should know he's not really gone, I can show you when we get to the room!" the bunny said, walking a bit faster.
"Okay!" Susie said, matching his speed.
You remember having a dog, but you don't remember his name...Just like me?
Finally, Susie and the bunny reached the employees-only door. The bunny placed his hand on the door and opened it. The door squealed open as both Susie and the bunny went inside, closing the door behind them. At first, the room was dark until the bunny flipped the lights on, revealing it.
Susie jumped at the sight of the animatronic heads on the shelves, not to mention the big metal robot on the table.
"Oh, don't worry about those guys, they are my friends!" the bunny said, reassuringly. Susie became a little concerned. Something told her something wasn't right.
"Now, about that dog. You want to see him again, don't you?" the bunny asked. Susie nodded.
"You can do it, right?" Susie asked pleadingly.
"Why of course I can! I am the magical bunny after all!" the bunny said, waving his hands. "However, I need you to do one thing for me!"
"Okay!" Susie nodded.
"First things first, cover your eyes. Under any circumstance, you are not to sneak a peek or else the magic won't work!" the bunny said. "Lastly, count to ten, and you'll meet your dog!"
Run!
Susie's smile grew wider with each word the bunny said.
"Okay!" Susie said, covering her eyes as the bunny instructed. Susie began counting to ten, her excitement growing as she thought about seeing her beloved dog again.
Click!
"1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10!" Susie shouted, opening her eyes. However, there was no dog. Instead, Susie was suddenly hit on the head and plummeted to the ground. Immediately, pain engulfed Susie's head, and streams of tears came down her face. Susie lay crying on the floor, confused about what happened.
Susie looked up to find the bunny laughing.
"You really believe I can do that?" the bunny said. "You believed me, and now you are going to die because of it." The bunny now held a knife in its furry hand. Terrified and disoriented, Susie backed away from the bunny as far as she could.
"Please stop! You're scaring me!" Susie screamed. The bunny laughed again.
"Oh, please, don't make this more complicated than it has to be. Just come here, little one!" the bunny snarled, approaching Susie predator-like. Susie cried harder as she tried to get away from the bunny. Susie tried the door but found it locked. She had nowhere to go.
"Sorry, kid, but I'm afraid you won't be getting out," the bunny said coldly. With no other choice, Susie began to bang on the door and shout.
"Help! Help me, please!" Susie cried out.
Nothing. In fact, the music playing in the background made her screams and shouts go unheard. Suddenly, Susie felt herself yanked back to the ground again. Susie winced in pain as the yellow rabbit cackled.
"It doesn't matter, they won't hear you!" the bunny said deviously.
"Please stop! I don't like this!" Susie begged. The yellow rabbit only returned a cruel laugh.
"I thought you wanted to meet your dog?" The yellow rabbit said sarcastically before piercing Susie's shoulder. Due to the sheer pain in her body, Susie passed out.
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Susie woke up to find herself in a secluded room. It was too dark to make out anything, but the area reeked of the familiar scent of bleach that stung Susie's eyes and throat, coated with a metallic smell. Susie placed her hands on the floor with the intention of pushing herself up, but instead, she was met with a sharp pain in her shoulder, causing her immediately to fall to the floor again. The room began to feel chilly as more of Susie's senses came back to her. That's when she subtly noticed her hands were wet, including her clothes.
Was that why she was so cold?
Get out of there...
Once again, Susie tried to stand up from the floor. Biting through the sheer pain, Susie stood from the floor. Susie then began to feel where she was, touching various things around the room. The first thing she could tell was how the unknown room felt spacious yet so shallow. The next thing she felt was a rough, thick brush of soft paintbrushes. Susie felt around the room some more, even going down to the floor for general guidance, only to find it was wet. Susie was scared when she touched the wet floor, not knowing what it was.
Susie continued to blindly scan the room for anything else before she felt a cold, hard, familiar shape in her palm. It was a doorknob! Susie became excited and quickly turned it. However, it wouldn't budge. Immediately, Susie became disappointed.
"All of that work just to still be cold and have icky wet stuff on me," Susie grumbled, sitting back on the floor. Susie rubbed her stinging arm. Susie sat in silence for a moment, with nothing but the lingering pain keeping her company. That's when she got the bright idea to knock on the door.
Please don't...
Susie got up from the floor once more and made her way back to the door. However, it took a while because it was dark, and she didn't remember exactly where the door had been. With enough effort, Susie managed to reach the door. Susie raised her hand and formed a fist, knocking on the door.
"Hello?" she called out.
No response.
This time, Susie spoke louder and knocked harder.
"Hello?" Susie shouted. Again, no response.
Stop!Stop!Stop!Stop!Stop!Stop!
Susie sighed and decided to try again later, making her way back to where she was originally. Suddenly, the door clicked open, and light shone through, brightening the room. Susie turned her attention back to the door, finding a man standing in the doorway.
The man wore a yellow long-sleeve dress shirt, brown pants, and a dark yellow tie, with vintage gold glasses. Susie smiled upon seeing the man. Excitedly, she strode closer to the man with relief.
Don't trust him...
"Hi, Mister!" Susie said. "Could you help me? I need to see a doctor because my arm was cut up by a bunny that wanted to kill me!" Susie said. The man didn't respond. Instead, he stared blankly at Susie.
"Um, Mister, can you help me?" Susie asked again. This time, the man responded, but with a slight smile—A smile chilling Susie's spine.
"Sure, I can!" The man said. "However, I'm afraid I can't help your friends behind you."
Don't Look...
"Friends?" Susie asked. Susie briefly looked back and saw Gabriel and Jeremy lying on the floor, along with two other kids. Gabriel and Jeremy looked fine, but the other kids were putrid. The unknown kids had dark green skin with some areas of their bodies being darker. Flies surrounded their bodies, and larvae could be seen protruding from the stomach, the nails, and the hair. The floor was covered by a dark liquid that Susie realized, upon raising her hands to inspect it, was blood.
Susie was covered in her friend's blood.
Susie let out a blood-curdling scream that echoed across the room—a scream of anguish. It only took a second before her mouth was covered by the man's hand. Susie tried to scream louder, but it had no effect. The man clenched Susie in his grasp and dragged her out of the room.
"It's okay, don't cry," the man shushed. The man dragged Susie to a nearby table, where he reached for a knife. Susie tried to wriggle out of the man's grasp, but her weakened state wouldn't allow it. Susie tried to scream louder, but it didn't work. The man then placed his palm around Susie's neck and tightened his grip, making it hard for Susie to breathe.
"You're a troublesome one," The man said, tilting his head curiously.
Susie gasped for air, frantically trying to pry the man's grip from her neck, but the man was too strong. Just as it felt like Susie was going pass out, the man loosened his grip, dropping Susie to the floor—wheezing for air.
"I'd say you're pretty stubborn, for a girl," the man said. The man crouched to Susie's weakened state and laughed demonically.
"It's so interesting seeing things so powerless," The man said. "With humans, it's different..."
Susie gathered her remaining strength and began to back up slowly to get as far from the man as possible.
"Where are you going?" the man said, grabbing Susie by her foot and dragging her closer to him.
"I just want you to smile, please," the man pleaded. Susie's eyes turned watery as tears began to well up.
"Smile!" he said furiously. Susie began to cry at the tone of the man's voice. The man only cackled.
"Fine then..." He said, smiling menacingly.
"I'll do it myself."
The man held the knife close to Susie's face, rubbing it softly on her face before cutting deeply in the corner of her mouth. Susie wailed with every swipe of the knife, loosening the muscle and skin that once kept it intact.
She screamed. She cried.
But it didn't matter as the man kept going until finally Susie was "smiling."
"See? Now you're smiling!" the man said, smiling very keenly.
"It hurts..." Susie whispered. Susie's throat was tired from the screaming, and her cheeks burned from the tears that ran out. The man's smile slowly faded.
"It's okay, little one, your doggy will be happy to see you." The man said coldly.
Susie watched as the man slowly lowered the knife. Susie felt her heart pound with fear as she felt the sharp, cold metal edge of the blade touch the skin of her throat.
"Stop crying," The man said, sliding the knife.
Silence enveloped the room.
Why didn't you listen to me?
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I opened my eyes, finding myself in the dark. I was lying down on the floor—wherever I was. I sat up and found myself in the dark hallway from the first night. Like the first night, the hallway walls were made of black-and-white bricks with two red stripes, both placed at the top and bottom—just like the pizzeria. Of course, there was the light at the end of the hallway, but the only difference was that instead of Cassidy's Golden Freddy animatronic suit, there was a black Freddy animatronic that sat on the floor.
I stood on the floor and began to walk towards the mysterious animatronic. As I got closer, the animatronic's color became more transparent—It wasn't black but a really dark purple. Upon closer inspection, a purple silhouette radiated from the outer edge of its suit. As much as I wanted to look at it more, I was interrupted by the sudden activation of the animatronic. I backed up a bit as it stood almost immediately and looked down on me with those familiar white eyes.
"Hello, Michael," The animatronic spoke. "You found all of them, at last..." The animatronic's voice felt like a whisper, soothing in a way.
"Follow me..." The purple animatronic began walking back to where I had been. Not quite sure on what to do, I followed the purple animatronic without hesitation—which is unexpected, especially since I usually question things. Still, somehow, the purple animatronic seemed trustworthy in an unexplainable way. Maybe I knew, subconsciously, to do as I was told to get the answers I sought?
"Um, where exactly are we going?" I asked. "Or better yet, who are you?"
No response.
The light from the hallway soon began to fade as we walked deeper into the pitch-black void that surrounded the now open hallway—almost like an optical illusion. Thank goodness for the purple animatronic's bright purple silhouette, I would've lost it by now.
It was a while we walked. I wasn't sure where we were headed, or even the fact that you were able to go past the hallway, or into the dark, for that matter. Every step I took was like uncovering a room with nothing to explore. Thinking the entire trip would be silent, the animatronic spoke once more.
"Shadow Freddy..." the purple animatronic blurted. Odd.
"Is that your name?" I asked.
"Yes..." Shadow Freddy confirmed. Well, that's a start.
"Okay... Next question. Where the hell are you taking me?" I asked.
"Cassidy," Shadow Freddy replied. That's weird. Cassidy usually teleports me to her or something like that, but why didn't she do it this time?
"I know what you're thinking about, Michael. Yes, I would teleport you to me to make things more convenient. However, this time, we are going to meet the real Cassidy," Shadow Freddy said.
I stopped in my tracks at this sudden revelation. What was Shadow Freddy talking about? What did it mean when it said it would teleport me to it for convenience?
"What? What are you talking about?" I said. Shadow Freddy stopped a few feet ahead and slowly turned, facing me.
"Yes. I was impersonating Cassidy for the time being."
"Okay...So who really are you?" I asked. Now, something told me there was something off about this purple animatronic.
"I am neither friend nor foe—only a shadow that whispers forgotten secrets, hoping someone will piece them together again," Shadow Freddy replied.
"So...you were Cassidy this entire time? That's why you knew my name when you first activated?" I asked.
"Correct." Shadow Freddy said. "The first time you met her, it wasn't pleasant, was it?"
That's true. The first time I met Cassidy, she was hostile, and the second time wasn't any better, especially when Cassidy threatened to kill me. Then, the third time...It felt like she was more knowledgeable and open to me.
"Question, Shadow Freddy...Did you take Cassidy's spot in the third meeting?" I asked.
"Correct," Shadow Freddy replied. "I took over her role because she was unstable...Unfit for the task. But now, you have a reason...A reason to face her."
A reason to face Cassidy?
"With your help, you uncovered lost memories...without knowing the consequences..." Shadow Freddy continued.
"What are the consequences?" I asked. Shadow Freddy didn't respond. Instead, it turned around and continued its path.
"Follow me..." Shadow Freddy whispered. Without hesitation, I followed.
A few minutes of walking blind and silent later, we spotted a yellow object in the distance. It stood out like a sore thumb because of its yellow color. As we got closer, it took on the shape of an animatronic and seemed to move. The closer we got, the more we could see what the object in question was. It was Cassidy's Golden Freddy suit. Turns out the movement was just her occasional twitching.
Shadow Freddy then stopped at a certain distance from the animatronic. It then faced me once more.
"There she is...It's your turn now," Shadow Freddy spoke.
"My turn for what?" I asked.
"Your turn to set the path...To uncover the horrors of what began with you," Shadow Freddy replied. "Only you can set things right..."
"But what does Cassidy have to do with it?" I asked. Before I knew it, Shadow Freddy disappeared into thin air as I looked away for one second.
It just left me here? Just like that?
I turned my attention to Cassidy, who was still twitching like she was malfunctioning. I took a few steps forward, getting closer to her to let her know I was near. Immediately, Cassidy activated.
"Um...Hi?" I spoke nervously. I didn't know what to say or do from here on out, but I figured small talk might help ease the situation. Cassidy didn't respond; she just stared at me with her piercing white eyes.
"Hello, Michael," Cassidy finally spoke. "Finally, we can talk."