006: Freak Show

            I pulled up on the sixteenth of October, dressed up and ready for my first real shift as a security guard. Everything had been practice up until now. I didn't bring much with me besides my wallet, keys, and phone. This was either going to be really good, or an absolute shitshow.

            There were already cars in the parking lot at three in the afternoon. People were already in line. Thank God I didn't see any kids. It looked like teenagers and young adults, most of them men. They stared at me as I walked past, pulling my coat over the front of my clothes. I really, really didn't want men staring at me. When I got inside, everything was set up and already functioning.

            I swung into the locker room to clock in, looking at Amanda who was eating in there again. I waved at her before leaving the room, shutting the door on the way out. The building was so dark, and when I turned the first corner, I was greeted by phantom Freddy. He didn't do much, but his eyes pretty much stared into my soul. I stared back for a few moments before sliding past him. Adam wasn't far behind.

            "Yo, you ready for today?"

            I sighed. "I guess so."

            Adam motioned toward the vent behind me. "He's been in there all day."

            It earned him an eyeroll. "He's probably waiting for me."

            "He is."

            I sighed again and kept moving. When I got past Freddy, the next thing I was met with was phantom Puppet. It was standing there, motionless. I stood, half expecting it to jump at me, but it never did. Behind it was Jayden, with an AirPod in. He was at least dressed in all black for the occasion. I just said, "Hey."

            It startled him. "Oh, hey."

            I looked at Marionette, who was still standing there. "She giving you any problems?"

            "Nah." I had no idea what he was listening to, but he was really into it. "She crawls into that hallway sometimes, but not too much."

            "That's good." He really was cute, but I doubted I would see him past this job.

            I kept moving, immediately faced with Michael and phantom Chica. Michael was actually messing with an arcade machine and his back was turned toward me, so I just kept moving. When it was quiet, I noticed the music playing. It wasn't stereotypical haunted house music, just old tunes that sounded like they were from the 40s and 50s, and then some music from the 80s. It was an interesting choice, but it fit.

            When I turned the corner into the hall with camera five, I could've sworn I saw something peeking out of the vent for a split second. I looked again, only to see nothing. Chris was sitting, watching phantom Balloon Boy wobble around and laugh. He at least smiled at me when I walked past. That hallway was actually pretty, which stars hanging from the ceiling and posters on the walls. There were even "pizzas" that they must've put up the day before. I didn't notice them prior.

            In phantom Foxy's area, he was doing his normal activities. When I walked past him, he lunged toward me, but I was used to it. Jason, who didn't even look up from his phone when it happened, must've been used to it too. Foxy was at least working properly. He hadn't needed maintenance since the first time his jaw stopped moving. On the other end of the hall was phantom Mangle, who was hanging from the ceiling. When I walked past her, she made this God-awful screeching noise just like the games. Her jaw moved a little and I jumped, not wanting my frontal lobe to be lunch.

            In the next hall was lonely, withered Bonnie. He was still standing there, twitching and moving just enough for it to be noticeable. I stared at him for a moment. I kind of wished he could at least move. If he could, he would be scary. However, the glowing red eyes he had were just about terrifying enough to unnerve someone without him having to take even a step forward. I tapped his finger just slightly, and he didn't move. He really was just a basic animatronic. Then, I heard movement to my left.

            My head turned slowly. To my horror and delight, Springtrap was standing in the office hallway. It was just staring at me without saying a word. "What?"

            "You disappeared again."

            I walked closer to it, looking into the office. People would really be able to see me sitting there, and I could set off the ventilation alarm as soon as I caught sight of them. "I missed you too."

            I passed it, turning the corner into the office. I immediately took off my coat, throwing it onto the chair. I was hot. Sam kept the building warm. From behind me, I heard, "What the hell are you dressed like that for?"

            I looked over my shoulder. I was surprised a robot could even tell the difference. Granted, I did have makeup on, but still. "Work?"

            The animatronic was just peeking around the doorway. "You work all the time and you don't dress like that."

            I managed to laugh. "What are you, my dad?"

            "That wouldn't end well for you."

            I raised an eyebrow. I didn't get it at first, but when I did, I laughed again. I didn't know it was programmed to make jokes about Afton. I just sat down and powered on the security system. "Funny, funny."

            I squinted when I noticed an extra camera. It was pointing to the line from the entrance. There were more people now, all impatiently waiting to get in. More guys, probably all waiting to see which one of them would piss their pants like Chris. "What is that?"

            I jumped. It'd snuck behind me again. I clicked on the camera, which maximized it. "People. You know, the people you're supposed to scare. Not me."

            Its head tilted. I could see the ear flop around above my head. "But I enjoy scaring you."

            "Well, you get to scare all those people just like you scare me." It laughed. It was a deep, menacing laugh. Like it had plans of its own. I sighed and quickly added, "But you can't kill them."

            It made some pouty noise. It was ridiculous, given its size and scare factor. "Where is the fun in that?"

            I turned around, looking up at the eight-foot-tall robot. I seriously said, "Do not kill any of them. Do you understand me?"

            "I like when you get serious."

            "Do you understand me?"

            It looked around the room for a moment. "Fine, fine."

            I quickly turned the chair back around. "Good."

            "But," it leaned over my shoulder, "only because you told me."

            I sighed. It was very apparent Springtrap was not fond of Sam at all. I understood, partially because Sam was way too positive for it. Way too loud. And probably in a higher place of authority. "That's great. You'd better listen."

            It waved a hand passively. "I will, I will."

            I smirked. This would be fun.

            At five, the attraction opened.

            I'd watched the line pile up through the cameras, and my coworkers looked anxious. I saw Chris pacing back and forth, and the guys were unusually quiet. The building's lights were even more dim than before. You could barely see. I could hear various noises coming from the halls, mostly from Mangle, whose phantom screeching was enough to make me nauseous. Every now and then, I heard movement in the vents. I would see Springtrap popping from one vent entrance to the other, mostly watching everyone else.

            When the first group of people came through, he quite literally followed them through the vents. The first group, two guys and one girl, seemed to find the place entertaining. They would point at different things with awe, and it was obvious they were long-time fans of the game. It made me smile, but I also remembered that I was there to wipe the grins off their faces. Marionette at least managed to scare them a little, making the girl jump backwards like I did the one day. The guys were also psyched out over Foxy, and Mangle's voicebox made all of them yell.

            Then, I heard thumping in the vents close by. It was my turn. When I saw the group in camera two, I set off the ventilation alarm.

            I heard a male voice through the window. "Oh hell no! Is that the fucking ventilation error?"

            They were lingering right in front of me, and right in front of the vent entrance. They turned to look at me, and I smirked at them. Then, I heard the girl scream. From outside, I heard the deep, demonic, "I see you."

            Springtrap emerged from the vent, and the three were pretty much too terrified to move. Springtrap was looking down at them, its eyes glowing even brighter in the dark of the office hallway. It looked back and forth at all three of them, and one of the guys tried to back away toward the exit.

            Springtrap's head twitched to the side. "Do you think I'm going to let you leave?"

            It stepped toward them, which made all three of them scream and run around the corner. One of the guys stopped to look at me and yelled, "Yo, night guard, you're next!"

            I giggled. It was cute, seeing a buff guy so terrified. I just said, "Am I?"

            I saw Springtrap reach for the same guy, and they all screamed bloody murder. I just heard the robot laughing. "You're all pathetic."

            They ran for their life to the exit, and Springtrap remained in front of the office doorway. It looked at me, and I gave it a thumbs up. I wasn't sure what sound it made, whether it was a grunt, sigh, or something else, but it made that sound and turned to walk back to the vent. I leaned my head against my hand. Either it wasn't satisfied with its performance, or the people were boring. It could've been both, too.

            For the rest of the night, it pretty much went the same. People would get scared over certain animatronics like Freddy, Marionette, Mangle, and Springtrap, and the others people would just kind of look at. Balloon Boy had a few scares too. Some of the groups of stupid teenagers were the loudest and most entertaining to watch, especially when it came to Springtrap. At one point, when I set off the ventilation alarm, Springtrap emerged behind me. All I could see was the pale, ghostly faces of four teenagers. I was confused until I heard the deep laughter in the room. From there, he chased after them and they screamed as they ran past him to get out. He would reach for people, dangerously closely, but he would never touch them. He would also get very close to people, which was honestly more terrifying than anything.

            Toward the end of the night, a guy who was obviously a little drunk came in with his friends. When he caught sight of me, for some reason, his first action was to flirt with me. I scowled at him, immediately pressing the ventilation error button just to drown out his voice. However, he was being way too loud, asking for my number and asking 'what angel dropped me off from heaven' for me to handle.

            That's when my savior appeared, who terrified all the people except for the drunk guy. They were all still until one of them tapped his shoulder. He turned around and immediately said, "Oh, fuck! A rabbit!"

            To my surprise, Springtrap walked toward the guy, and the guy's back was plastered against the window. Springtrap was just staring down at him and said, "You're quite a loud one."

            The guy said, "You trying to scare me?"

            "Is it working?"

            The guy paused. "No?"

            "Is that so?" Springtrap leaned down close to the man's face. "Then, why are you shaking so badly?"

            The guy had nothing to say.

            Springtrap's head tilted. "Ah, you had so much to say to her a moment ago. Yet you're so quiet when I'm here? What a pity."

            There was something laced in its voice that I personally hadn't heard before. It wasn't anger. It was more pure annoyance, like it had a personal issue with the man. The drunk guy just pushed himself from the window and stumbled toward the exit, and his friends followed. The girl when them looked at me and mouthed 'sorry' before quickly walking out.

            Springtrap stomped into the office, dragging its metal feet along with it. "Nice job. That was a good show."

            All it said was, "You're lucky I didn't put his head through the window."

            I spun my chair a bit. "Someone's in a bad mood."

            "He annoyed me."

            I sighed and spun back around to watch the next group of people. What a pity. It was playing over and over in my head, like a song I couldn't stop listening to. As Springtrap moved itself into the vents to stalk its next group, I rapped my nails on the desk.

            Looking at the cameras, something occurred to me. For someone who was so enthusiastic about the project, Sam was nowhere to be found.