Help Needed

Chapter One: A Frosty Evening

Droplets twirled in the brisk wind, spattering over cars, umbrellas, hooded jackets, and the hair and clothes of anyone unprepared for the weather. Bodies cloaked in thick fabric of every color scuttled through the bloated parking lot and to a beacon of light and heat. Four cartoon characters behind big neon icons and words stared down at the cold soon-to-be patrons, the bear's hand extended out beyond the lights, its cardboard outline rimmed in a halo of pink and blue.

A young, lone boy approached the entrance, his thin frame engulfed in a thick orange jacket and pants that reached his old orange and white sneakers with blue lightning bolts on the outward-facing sides. A thick, knitted cap with long ear flaps and a pom-pom on top and dangling from long strings pressed down on his short, wavy hair. He wrapped his arms tight around himself and an old red, blue, and cyan plush bunny pressed tight to his chest, hidden from the inconsistent, sharp drops by his jacket. After a quick glance around, he spotted one adult and two teens swarmed by twelve children his age. Despite them all being clustered together, the only thing they had in common was their age. Even then, of the eleven and twelve-year-old kids, one was seven at most.

Gregory snuck forward further until he was close enough to gain the attention of two of them.

The girl in front of him looked back. "Hey, uh, hi."

"Hello." Gregory returned. "You guys are in a party?"

"Mhm! It's my cousin's birthday!" she answered cheerfully. "What about you?"

The boy beside her asked, "Yeah, uh, why are you over here?"

"Oh, I had to go back to the car to get my little sister's toy." Gregory indicated the bunny toy with his chin. "Have you been here before? I know all the best places." He glanced at the adult with an exaggerated tilt of his head to be sure the two saw the action. He lowered his voice, "And how to make the machines give you tokens back."

The dubious boy's eyes brightened. "Really?"

Gregory nodded. "Yep. See, if you put four quarters into one of the soda machines and then press the return button, sometimes they'll give you five quarters back. And there's a machine in the East Arcade that doesn't work right. If you kick it in the right spot, you'll get extra tickets and sometimes get your tokens back!"

Gregory chatted with the two birthday party kids as they pushed their way through the line of glass double doors. Four neon heads of the band members stared down at them as they passed.

They wove through the crowd directly toward the entrance stands, skipping the ticket lines entirely. The two teenagers walked around them like border collies, ordering kids together. A girl with short, spiky pink hair tipped red and wearing a leather jacket looked Gregory over. "Where are you supposed to be?"

The girl he talked to, Amanda, said, "Oh, his parents are inside! He was just getting his little sister's bunny."

"...okay. Just don't run off or whatever."

When the teen left, Gregory threw a quick glance around. Two adults with a little girl stood near the golden fountain. The girl sat on the man's shoulders, head tipped back as she admired the golden statue of Freddy.

Someone in a neon orange uniform with a winking Glamrock Freddy on the back stood by the ticket gate in front of them, a tablet in their hands. A second uniformed employee–another teenager barely older than the pink-haired one that scrutinized Gregory–stood on the other side with a handful of bracelets. One of the kids held up a wrist and received a bright blue wristband. The second kid–a girl with a Roxy sweater–gained a purple one and a crown. A once-shiny orange wristband hugged the thinnest point of Gregory's wrist.