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

Chapter 6: Third Night

I entered Freddy's for my third night. As I stepped in, I could see the animatronics were all waiting for me. They all crowded around me, grabbing me into a group hug.

“Oh geez!” I gasped.

“You're back!” Bonnie exclaimed.

“Uh yeah, I'm gonna be back every night,” I said with an awkward chuckle.

“Sorry,” Chica replied. “You're just so nice and we really like you.”

“I like all of you a lot too,” I said. “I consider you all good friends.”

I looked over past them at Foxy and grinned. “You too Foxy.”

He grumbled. “Yeah yeah, we're friends.”

His reaction made the others laugh. I chuckled a little as well. However, this meeting had to take a back seat. I had records to find.

“Guys, I promise I'll hang out with you, but I need to go and find something,” I explained.

They all seemed bummed, but they let me go. I walked to the office and began looking for the records. I knew it would be some sort of binder. Likely with some sort of label saying it was a guest list.

I searched for what felt like hours. I turned the office over completely. Every drawer, every box. There was no sign of it.

“You're not going to find what you're looking for here,” a voice suddenly chimed in behind me.

I turned around quickly and was met face to face with a ghastly sight. The white face of some sort of marionette animatronic was staring at me. It had red, rosy cheeks and purple tear stains, as well as an eternal smile on its face. Its body was solid black with some white stripes in its arms and legs. The voice was that of a young boy, filtered through static.

“You're the fifth,” I stated.

The puppet nodded and floated around the room. I realized it was suspended by strings attached to a rail system on the ceiling.

“You are correct in that observation,” he stated. “Though, I think the first would be a better title. I was the first one killed.”

“Why have you kept yourself hidden for so long?” I asked.

“To put it simply, I don't like you,” he stated. “Well, it's not a grudge with you specifically. I don't trust anyone who's not one of my friends.”

“I can respect that,” I said. “You're protective of them.”

“That's another accurate observation,” he stated. “However, I can see now that you're trying to help. I asked Foxy to keep an eye on you. So, I guess that if he trusts you, I do too, for now.”

“I appreciate the trust,” I sighed with relief.

“It doesn't make us friends though,” he stated. “Nonetheless, you're looking for the records. They're not here.”

“Where are they?” I asked.

He scratched the back of his head and then folded his arms. “William has them. I don't know why, maybe just for his own records, but he has them.”

“It makes sense, he's the owner,” I replied. “Though I can't outright ask him.”

There was a stone cold silence. We were both lost in thought. The puppet looked at the monitors, keeping an eye on his friends.

I suddenly remembered a question thst may be relevant. “Do you remember a sixth victim?” I asked.

He looked at me. He tilted his head. “No, I don't recall a sixth murder. It was just us five as far as I'm aware.”

“Damn, well, I think there's someone else here,” I explained. “I saw a vision of…a Golden Freddy suit.”

“There does exist a suit like that, but it's not Freddy,” he stated. “It's Fredbear.”

“Fredbear?” I asked.

“I don't think it's important right now,” he said. “It's just another character that also doubled as a costume.”

“That seems extremely relevant!” I shouted.

He seemed taken aback. He looked away and sighed.

“Some suits double as costumes,” he explained. “I believe whoever killed us used one of those. However this spirit in the Fredbear costume? I have no idea. Maybe the killer killed a final person later and hid them in that suit.”

I sighed. “I feel like I'm going in circles.”

“That's how I've felt for fifteen years,” he replied. “It's been so long that I don't think it's solvable.”

“I'm going to solve it,” I said as I clenched my fists.

He looked at me. He seemed surprised, but also intrigued. “What's got you so determined?”

“I just feel like I have to,” I explained. “There's six souls who can't go to heaven because of a killer that's still out there. I have to save you all.”

He was silent for several moments before nodding. “You have my full support.”

We left the office. As we exited the stage, I felt as if I was being watched. I looked over my shoulder to see the Fredbear suit, slumped in the hall. The silver eyes stared at me. For some reason, I felt a great sadness from it. It felt like I was looking at someone I'd personally lost. The despair of this soul was far beyond that of the others.

“Cassidy,” I muttered.

We rejoined the rest of the gang. Freddy noticed the marionette with me and folded his arms. “Look who's come out of his box!”

Chica and Bonnie looked and walked up to the puppet. “Wow, you really came out!” Chica exclaimed.

“Please don't smother me,” the puppet said, moving back a bit.

“Sorry, we just miss seeing you,” Bonnie stated.

He grumbled and folded his arms. I walked over to Foxy while the rest of the group talked to the puppet. I looked at Foxy and smirked. “You told him about me, didn't you,” I said.

He sighed. “Yeah. Sorry for being so cold, but the last night guard was…” he trailed off as if he regretted saying something.

“No worries,” I replied. “I plan on helping you guys, no matter what, ok?”

He nodded. “Ok.”

Despite the dark background of this situation, I felt uplifted seeing the others so happy. They were children who lost their lives too early. They weren't monsters. As sad as it was, they needed to move on. I knew that even in the short time I've known them, I'd be sad whenever they passed on. However, it was better that these spirits could rest. In fact, it was necessary. No one should be damned to live eternally as an animatronic.

I would enjoy the time I still had with them, though. I hadn't solved the mystery, so I'd try to give them their happiest days, to make up for what they lost.