Five Nights at Freddy's: The Lost Souls [Reboot Book 1]

Chapter 1: Mike

"You need to get a job and stop wasting your life drawing monsters," my father's voice said through the speaker on my phone. He was surprisingly calm despite the severity of this discussion.

I let out a sigh. "I know dad. I know..."

He was right. I graduated from highschool for almost a year ago. Despite that, I hadn't started working or even applied to a college. Not that I really wanted to. I preferred spending my days drawing. I'd spend hours sketching. I thought practicing was a practical way of spending my time, but it didn't pay.

"Hey, I know you're a bit of an introvert, I understand," he said calmly. "Do you remember Henry?"

Henry was someone I knew decently well. I was friends with his daughter, Charlie, when we were young. I called him Uncle Henry, due to my dad and him being old college roommates. "Of course I remember Uncle Henry," I replied.

"He used to own a restaurant in Hurricane. It's like a 15 minute drive away," dad explained. "His business partner, William, runs it now. I bet you could get a job there. There's always a night guard position that's open there."

"Doesn't an always open position seem...concerning?" I asked.

"Listen, it's a solitary job. It's the best you're going to find around here," He answered.

I sighed once again. "Yeah, go ahead then."

"I'll give him a call," my dad stated before hanging up.

I slumped in my office chair. I looked at my sketch book. My current drawing was of a creepy marionette creature. Horror was something I loved, and drawing monsters was always on my mind.

-3 days later-

I stood outside of a dilapidated old pizzeria. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The parking lot was filled with potholes, the front sign was bent, the lights flickered. It had definitely seen better days. As far as I could tell, it was no longer an actual restaurant, but operated more as a suit and animatronics rental place now. That's what my dad explained on the phone at least.

I felt overwhelmed by this. I wasn't expecting a night guard position to feel so intimidating. Not to mention how quick it was for me to get to this point. I looked at my phone. It was 11:45. I pushed open the front door. "Hello?" I called out.

The ceiling lights emanated an annoying buzz as they flickered on and off. The wallpaper was peeling. The tiles were cracked. All the tables and chairs were set up for customers that would never come again.

I walked deeper into the restaurant, looking left and right. The whole place gave me an unsettling feeling. Up at the center of the room was a stage with its curtains closed.

Suddenly, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. "Mike?" A raspy voice asked.

I jumped and turned around quickly. My heart was racing. A man stood there, his hand retracting a bit. He looked...unwell. His skin was pale, his eyes sunken in. His face was clean shaven. His hair was combed back, nearly perfectly. He had a wide grin I could only compare to the Joker. He wore a purple shirt and tie and wore a security badge. His name tag read, William.

"You scared the shit out of me," I said as I grasped my chest.

He just grinned. "I have that effect on people. My apologies young man." He had a heavy British accent and his voice felt sinister. I felt like there was a lie behind every word.

"It's fine," I replied and held my hand out. "I'm Mike."

He gripped my hand hard. Too hard. He shook it with vigor. "William. William Afton," He greeted me.

Afton. I knew the name. Somehow I'd heard it before. I thought about the name a bit. There was a girl that I'd met once with that name. What was it though?

There was an awkward silence before he released my hand. As he pulled his arm back, I noticed a scar on his wrist, going up his arm. I couldn't really figure out what it was from.

"Your job here will be simple," he said as he turned towards the stage. "You only need to do one thing. Keep your eye on the cameras."

He turned to face me. "And you know, keep the place tidy."

"That's two things," I replied.

William almost glared at me, but his grin never faltered.

He walked towards the stage and pulled back the curtain, revealing three animatronic robots. A bear, rabbit and chicken. "Meet the gang. These are Freddy, Bonnie and Chica."

I looked at the animatronics. Freddy was a brown bear who stood center stage wearing a hat and bow tie. He held a microphone in his right hand. Beside him was Bonnie, a blue rabbit with a red guitar. And to the right was Chica, the yellow chicken. She wore a bib that read Let's Eat. In her hand was a cupcake with eyes. It gave me the creeps personally.

"What do you think?" William asked.

"If I'm to be honest, they're kind of creepy," I answered.

"I guess they may be a little creepy compared to the modern animatronics you've seen around nowadays," he grinned. "They're harmless really. Not even a spark of power in them since we repurposed it as a rental place."

He led me over to a smaller side stage. He pulled back the curtain on that one next. Behind it was an animatronic fox that was far more battered than the rest. In front of the stage was a sign that read Out of Order.

"This last one is Foxy," William explained. "He's been out of order for a while now."

Finally, he led me to the office in the back of the old restaurant. There was a set of monitors and two doors. One on either side. "This is your home away from home," William stated. "Just watch the monitors and make sure no one tries to break in. You leave at 6:00 AM. Be sure to lock up before you go."

"Got it," I replied.

He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it tight. Too tight. "I have high hopes for you, Mike."

He then left the office. Before he was fully out, he turned back with a wicked grin. "Good luck."

Willam then left the restaurant. I heard the front door shut and lock. I plopped in the office chair and leaned up to the monitors. The front stage was on screen, as well as the Pirate's Cove stage on the other. I clicked a button that flipped to the different cameras. It seemed simple enough.

The phone suddenly began to ring. I quickly picked it up. Did William have one last thing to tell me? The voice spoke.

"Hello? Hello hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you, to help you get settled in on your first night."