The Fifth Night

Night Five - part two

"S- so w- what's the first thing that needs to be fixed?" Mark stammered nervously, sidestepping against the wall so Phone Guy wasn't cornering him.

Phone Guy took a step back, a smile turning up the edges of his lips, "Well, it's late. Wouldn't you rather sleep?"

Something about this seemed odd to Mark, so he answered half-honestly, "U- uh... I- I'm used to the nightshift, s- so n- not really..." He wasn't lying about being used to the nightshift, but what he didn't mention was that he would rather be sleeping. It had been a long, stressful day, but there was no way he'd let down his guard around this psychopath.

"H- how about I take the animatronics back to their stage before it turns six," Mark offered cautiously.

The Phone Guy sighed and shrugged, "Sure."

"O- ok, come on guys," Mark said quietly, gesturing for the four animatronics to follow him.

"You better come back though, I'm watching you..." Phone Guy said, pointing to the cameras.

Mark nodded slowly, then pressed the button to open the door. He honestly wasn't even thinking about escape. Well, technically he had, but none of the scenarios he made in his head ended with him leaving the pizzeria alive or unharmed.

He let out the breath he had been holding once he reached the hallway outside. He could hear the animatronics following behind him, but didn't have the energy to look back.

Something soft touched his hand gently and Mark looked down, slightly surprised.

"Are you alright?" Freddy asked, his paw resting on the back of Mark's hand.

Mark shrugged, "As alright as I can be, I guess."

Chica popped up next to Freddy, "You didn't have to do that you know, I'm sure there was a way you could have all gotten out."

"I- I don't know. Probably..." Mark muttered. She was right, he definitely could have changed something. He could be back at home under his covers, trying to hide from the trauma, instead of walking down a cold, dark hallway.

But it was too late now. He was stuck here, with hopefully a way out, once he helped get this restaurant up and running again.

They reached the stage and Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie all took their places.

"Sorry we can't help you Mark, we'll see you tomorrow night..." Chica said sadly.

"It's alright..." Mark responded, "Bye."

He left and started on his way to Pirate's Cove, with Foxy following close behind. Foxy took his place behind the curtain and waved. Mark waved back, and dejectedly started making his way back to the office. He tried to not show how tired and scared he was, knowing he was being watched by each camera that he passed.

Soon he reached the warm, brightly lit office that he once considered as "safe".

"I'm back," He said quietly.

Phone Guy turned around in the desk chair he was sitting in as he watched the cameras, "Aw see, I knew you'd be back."

"It's kind of hard to leave when you don't give me a choice..." Mark muttered, leaning against the wall at the back.

Phone Guy giggled, "Yeah, well, if I gave you a choice, you'd be outta here in less than a second."

Mark shrugged, holding his hand up to his mouth to suppress a yawn.

"So uh- What do I call you?" He asked, gesturing to the man in front of him.

He mimicked Mark's shrug, "Most people call me Madpat, but you can call me Mad."

"Wait, but I thought you said your name was Matpat, a few minutes ago," Mark pointed out.

"Oh no, those were just names I go by, none of those were my real name," Mad said, unhelpfully.

"I- o- oh..." Mark said, still confused, but didn't want to ask any further, lest he annoyed Mad.

"How about you go home for the day, come back tomorrow night and we can start there," Mad suggested, much to Mark's surprise.

"H- how do you know I won't just leave?" Mark asked, although he knew he was too scared to actually try anything, he just wanted to know.

"Well, I installed trackers in each of the animatronics, and I know they were at your house, so I have your address. And since I know where you live, I know where to find you if you don't show up at midnight tomorrow," Mad said, grinning.

"O- oh..." Mark muttered, "R- right..."

"Alright, see you tomorrow then," Mad said, dismissing Mark.

Mark wanted to run out of there as fast as he could, but he had a feeling that Mad would be watching him over the cameras, so he walked at a normal pace to the office door.

Once he reached it, he hesitated in the doorway, turning around slightly, "U- uh... b- bye..." He said, timidly.

"Bye cutie!" Mad said, oddly cheerfully.

Mark reached the doors to the Pizzeria after what felt like forever, pushing them open and exiting into the cool dawn. The sun was peeking over the horizon, casting a golden light over everything. It annoyed Mark. How could it be so pretty outside when something so horribly terrifying had just happened to him? People were going about their early morning routines as if nothing had happened, as if Mark hadn't just stopped two people from getting murdered and practically selling his soul to the devil that was the deranged owner of a restaurant.

Mark finally made it home, slamming his front door and immediately heading to his bedroom, face-planting on the bed, falling asleep almost immediately. 

(short chapter but I'm tired and I'm trying to fix my sleep schedule lol
also idk where i'm going with this, so i'm kinda just going with it-)