Til 6am (A Hermitcraft/FNaF Anthology)

Happiest Day (1)

(It's FNaF so... expect blood, violence, cursing, and all that)

"Alright EX, you can open your eyes."

"My eyes are open. Was it really necessary to blindfold me for the entire drive?"

"Absolutely, yes."

'Idiot,' EX signed and pulled the blindfold off his head in the same motion. The sun was directly in his eyes and he had to squint at the short building in front of him.

"It's a pizzeria," he said simply.

"Yeah!" Xisuma looked proud of himself. "Happy birthday, we're having pizza."

As they approached the restaurant, it blocked the sun and EX got a better look at the large colorful sign above the door. He frowned as he read it.

"Wait, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzaria?" He looked at his brother quizzically. "Didn't a bunch of kids get murdered here back in the 80's? Are you planning to murder me?"

Xisuma laughed. "Oh come on. Weren't you obsessed with this place when you were little?"

"Most twelve year-olds like pizza and arcade games, Suma."

"And you're saying you don't still like those?"

EX sighed. "Fair enough. But my point still stands."

"Yeah, well that was decades ago," Xisuma said, pulling the glass door open by a handle shaped like a slice of pizza.

The air inside the pizzeria was warmer than it was outside. It also felt still, by comparison. The only sounds were their shoes on the checkerboard tiled floor and old sounding music coming from a grainy speaker somewhere.

Across the dining area there was a slightly raised platform for a stage. There were heavy curtains on either side, but they looked to be more for decoration, without any way for them to close. Standing on top of the stage was an animatronic. It was a purple rabbit, well over two meters tall and it wore a red bowtie.

"Well, we found Bonnie," Xisuma said, half to himself. "I wonder where the rest of the band is?"

EX walked up to the stage and stared up at the robot. Its lifeless pink eyes looked forward, and its mouth hung open as if in mid-speak.

"Damn, these things are even creepier in person," EX laughed.

"Don't get too close," Xisuma teased. "He might bite you."

"Yeah right." EX reached up, holding his hand between the robot's twin sets of blunt teeth. "It's not even turned on right now."

"Alright, stop messing with the animatronic. It's probably old, and we don't want to break it." Xisuma had selected one of the many empty tables and had sat down.

EX went to join him. "Maybe it's the same one they had when the murders happened," he said in a spooky voice, curling his fingers to look like claws.

"Probably not."

EX sat down, looking around the dining area as he did so. "Hey Suma, don't you find it odd that there's no one here?"

Xisuma shrugged. "Not really. This isn't the kind of place most people would go to for dinner, and they haven't had as much business in recent years."

EX took a deep breath before responding. "I mean, don't you think it's even a bit strange that no one's here? Like, not even employees?"

That caught Xisuma's attention and he looked around. "Huh, that is strange."

EX was about to suggest they try and find someone when the lights went out. There should have been light coming through the windows, but it was just dark. It wasn't a power outage, because the music was still playing.

After maybe thirty seconds, the lights came back on.

"Ok, what the hell was that?" EX asked.

Xisuma was looking around, as if he'd be able to see what caused the lights to turn off. Suddenly he froze, staring past EX, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"EX," he whispered frantically. "EX, the rabbit's gone."

"What?" EX turned in his seat to see the stage.

It was empty.

They both stared at where the animatronic had been until EX eventually turned back to face his brother.

"Alright, I see what's going on here."

"You do?" Xisuma asked. "Well that's a relief, 'cause I sure don't."

"Yep, this is all just some elaborate prank to scare me, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Oh come on," EX said. "You do this every year; some elaborate prank masquerading as a birthday celebration. Once I'm thoroughly freaked out, whichever of your friends turned off the lights and moved Bonnie will jump out and yell 'April fools!'" He crossed his arms, grinning smugly. "And I'm not falling for it this year."

"Yeah well, it isn't this time," Xisuma said, standing up. "I don't know what's going on, and I'm not sticking around to find out."

"I have to admit though," EX continued. "This is probably your best one yet. A pizzeria that's rumored to be haunted is a pretty good setting for this kind of prank. Kudos to you."

Xisuma made his way to the doors and pushed against them. They didn't budge.

"It's locked!" he exclaimed.

"Well of course it is. I assume now we have no choice but to look for another, spookier exit?"

"...Why is it dark outside? How is it dark outside?"

EX hadn't noticed it before, but it was dark out.

"We haven't been here that long," he muttered.

Xisuma pulled out his phone, looked at it for a few seconds, and threw his hands up in confused exasperation. "No signal. And it's midnight!"

"Alright then," EX said calmly. "We're trapped here and time is weird." At that moment something sounding like pots and pans rattling came echoing from down a hallway. "And there's that unexplained noise," he added. "I'm guessing you'll suggest we follow it?"

"Absolutely not-"

"Too late, already following it. Come on!" EX was walking confidently towards the hallway.