Born To Die | Vanessa Afton

2

Vanessa hadn't been that bad these two weeks, it was quite the bit more enjoyable than you thought it would be, she was very nice. Although, some things she says about herself is a bit... suspicious. She disliked you using her last name and said to call her by her first when possible. She seemed to tense up at any mention of family or any opportunity for it to occur in the conversation. She commented when you first met that she didn't particularly like her dad but a few days later, she had said he was a good person and there was nothing to not like about him.

Of course this sprung up red flags in your mind but you concluded that she just didn't want to talk about her relationship with him or anyone in her family for that matter. So, you had let it go.

It was a typical Wednesday night shift, around twelve AM and both you and Vanessa had about two hours left on your shift since the patrol scheduled after you was sick. You sighed, leaning back in the police car. You were starting to get uncomfortable and tired. Hardly anything happened at this time on a Wednesday, the crime rate was super low as it was.

"Can we stop somewhere for a while?" Vanessa finally spoke up, it took you out of your thoughts and looked at her from previously looking out of the window. She hadn't asked this before. Well, while you are on patrol you aren't supposed to stop anywhere except the occational trip for food every few hours, but you had gotten food an hour ago. You were bored, so you shrugged.

"Sure. Any reason why?" You asked. Now curious. It must have been something important to her since she seemed like the one to always follow orders.

"The nightguard for this place. He quit. I just want to make sure no one has broken in and destroyed the place." Vanessa mentioned with a small smile. You didn't think anymore of it. Why would you? As you pulled into the place, you saw a knocked down sign saying closed. Then, you saw the name.

"Hey! I went there as a kid." You called out with a small chuckle as Vanessa parked her car and you looked at how run down it had become. Vines were growing, you could see little sparks in the sign where the electricity wires had become disconnected.

"I did too. Shame the place shut down." Vanessa said, stepping out of the car. She hadn't told you to stay in the car so you stepped out as well. The place now didn't look as vibrant as you remember, well, it has been shut for over fifteen years now, you'd be more concerned if it looked the same.

You watched as she pulled out some keys, ones you didn't recognise. You wondered where she got them from, she could have stolen them? Or maybe this was a place she is allowed to check often. Finally, the slightly rusted lock pops open, allowing the gate to be opened. She then unlocked the door and entered, you following behind her.

Glass shards were scattered on the floor to your left, tables and chairs seemed to randomly thrown. I hadn't looked like someone had broken in, it just looked a bit messy. Obviously, you were cautious and kept quite close to Vanessa since she seemed to know where she was going. She entered a security room and you watched from the door as she flipped on a breaker. Suddenly the lights turned on.

"Why did this place shut down in the end?" You asked, your hands traced the chairs that were lined up in an odd fashion as you looked around the place. You were around nine or ten when this place had shut down but all you had were fun experiences and memories from that time, nothing bad ever seemed to happen. You saw a wall on pictures, you remembered the one you had drawn but it wasn't there. You didn't think about it too much, your parents had dragged you away before you could ask for it to be put on there.

"Bunch of kids went missing in the 80s. They were never found, no evidence, nothing, and they were all seen in one place last. Here." Vanessa said, you hummed lightly at the response, unsure of what to reply with. You had heard that some kids went missing, but the story stopped showing on the news after a week so you assumed the case had come to a close and they knew more information or they found them. "The animatronics still work."

"Do they? It's been almost two decades." You said, turning around to see Vanessa approach the showtime button and pressed it. A small smile crept on your face as you watched the animatronics dance and sing, moving just how you remembered back in 1983. It was odd to be here again and, to be honest, it freaked you out that everything seemed to work, although the electricity seemed slightly dodgy. The song came to an end and the curtains closed.

"I told you. Anyway, we should go, everything's still in tact, it looks like no one has even attempted to break in." Vanessa said, her shoulders seemed to relax a bit as she turned off the breaker, taking one last look at the place before leaving out the door. After a few seconds, you went to follow before a loud crash was heard. You turned around to see that a speaker that was right night to the curtain had fell. You shrugged and followed her out. She locked both the door and the gates behind you.

"Do you do that a lot?" You asked, walking towards her police car, her eyebrows furrowed at you in confusion.

"Do I do what?" She questioned, getting into the car, you quickly followed, also getting into the car.

"Visit that place often. I just thought it would be restricted due to... you know, the machinery." You finished, wondering what would happen if the wrong people got ahold of those animatronics. You were sure they could do a lot more than sing and dance if some person reprogramed them or something.

"That's why we usually have a night guard. My parents were close with the previous owners, that's why I have the keys." She didn't seem confident in her answer, but you weren't going to question her. You just nodded as the she drove the car, going back on patrol again.