A Child Smile - FNaF Fanfic [+14]

Chapter 9

  The dark night sky was finally consumed by the sunrise, just minutes before William heard a phone ring in the house. He didn't want to wake his wife, so he ran to his office and put the phone to his ear.

  – Hello?
  – Great, you're already up!
  – What's the problem?
  – Some employees have mentioned some problems with the robots. Do you think you can come to the pizzeria soon?
  – I don't know, man. The sun just rose, I'm far from ready. Can't you figure this out yourself? You're the builder, after all.
  – I really need you here and now, Will. Just brush your teeth and put on anything.
  – Okay, I won't take long.

  He hung up the phone and turned to leave the room, but ended up running right into his wife.

  – What happened? – the woman asked, taking short steps towards William.
  – Henry needs me at the pizzeria. It's urgent – he replied as he went to his room and looked for something to wear other than his pajamas.
  – That doesn't answer my question. What happened? – she followed him.
  – Something about the robots having some issue – his tone of voice might not have shown much emotion, but the redness on his cheeks and the sweat running down his forehead were proof enough that he felt something more about it.
  – Okay, we'll come with you – Margaret took a sweater and pants from the closet and started to change, not even noticing when her husband stopped doing the same thing.
  – I'm sorry, us?
  – Yeah, me and Michael.
  – What makes you think I'm going to take you both?
  – The fact that I am your wife, that I am trying to inform myself about the pizzeria and that I want to support my husband.
  – And why does Michael need to go along?
  – I won't leave him alone at home, William.
  – He's fifteen, Meg. He can be alone for a few minutes.
  – It doesn't matter. I said we're going, so we're going.

 

 

  The family arrived at the place quickly, at least compared to the other times they all drove to the pizzeria.
  William was the first to get out of the car, then Margaret got out right after. While the woman waited for her son to do the same, Will took quick steps inside.

  – Okay, I'm here. What's the problem?
  – The robots aren't working as they should – Henry said as he got close enough to his partner. – They are aggressive with adults, overprotective with children and rustles don't seem to stop coming from them. And I know this is going to sound weird, but it's almost like they are actually alive.
  – No, not at all. I understand perfectly what you mean – he replied, without taking his eyes off the trio on the main stage for a moment. – Did you ask the guards if they saw anyone tampering with the robots? – his question was thrown along with a look that pierced Michael.
  – The day guard saw nothing.
  – And the night guard?
  – He said he can't remember the night before they started acting like this. All he remembers is feeling a sharp pain in his head.
  – And there's nothing on the security cameras?
  – No, the files were deleted. In any case, the only one that shows signs of having been tampered with is Foxy.

  William looked at Michael once more, this time not with an accusatory or angry look, but rather with one of doubt and curiosity.
  He approached the teenager and stopped right in front of him.

  – Who were you with that night?
  – Hm?
  – You heard me.
  – I was alone.
  – Did you mess with the animatronics? Or at least Foxy?
  – No.
  – Stop lying, kid. The robots have been acting strange ever since that night, and Foxy even shows signs of having been tampered with. If you didn't touch them, someone else did, which means you weren't alone.
  – I didn't touch them, okay? I don't know what to tell you other than that.
  – Hm. What about the guard? Do you know what happened to him that night?
  – Do you think I would have made it home if I had met with him? I don't know!
  – Oh, sure. Because you're just an innocent little boy, right? Why the fuck did you break into the pizzeria if you weren't going to do anything, then?
  – ...I-I just wanted to see how hard it is to break into a place in the middle of the night.

  William rolled his eyes. No matter how many questions he asked or how many times he forced into the boy the ones he already did, Michael would not budge. Knowing this, the man returned to his partner and continued talking to him.

  – It must just be a small problem in the programming, nothing that needs all this fuss.
  – This doesn't seem like a bug, Will.
  – Of course it is! What else could it be?
  – Okay, m-maybe I can take a look at their programming.
  – And the pizzeria can continue working, right?
  – I think so...
  – Great!

  With that, William left the pizzeria and got into his car. Michael, seeing this, quickly got up and went to his mother, who was asking several questions to the employees, and said that they were already leaving. The woman said goodbye to the employees and accompanied her son to the car, then they both got into the vehicle and the family could finally return home.

 

 

  For the second time that week, Michael had left home in the dead of night. The clock read just after two in the morning when he arrived at the same destination as before: the pizzeria.
  With the same caution as the other night, the boy crept through the camera's blind spots towards the security room. He knew he needed to be sure where the guard was before he did what he came to do.
  When he arrived in the room, he was taken by surprise by the simple fact that the night guard was not there. Letting his curiosity speak louder than reason, he entered the room and went to the camera monitor, then looked for the night guard, but couldn't find him. Well, this makes things easier, he thought. With that, he headed for the old storage room.
  Walking to the area, the boy ended up passing near the Pirate Cove. Out of service... Maybe we damaged him more than necessary. Without him even realizing it, his body was now much closer to the shimmering curtain, then his hand was extended to the opening of the purple fabric, making it seem as if he was being moved by a force much greater than his own. A small gap opened and thus his eyes sought to analyze all the details of the animatronic.
  The first thing to catch his attention was the fox's head. It looked out of place, being slightly tilted to the right, and the eyepatch was now lifted, revealing a missing eyeball on the left side. Additionally, the metal jaw appeared to have been slightly dislocated, but nothing that would be easily noticed by an inattentive observer.
  It was when he heard a voice emanating from the hall that Michael came out of his trance. He recognized the voice, but was in no condition to know exactly who it belonged to. All he knew was that he needed to hide, so he jumped into the Pirate Cove, curled up between Foxy's legs and moved back until he felt his back touch the robot's belly.
  When he heard the sound of footsteps stop, Michael decided to leave the small stage. However, when the boy tried to move away from the robot, he felt something stopping him from leaving. He looked down and saw Foxy's hand on his chest, then he looked back and saw the robot staring back at his violet eyes. Mike tried to scream, but Foxy covered his mouth in time.
  Soon the footsteps returned. With his hook over his mouth, the robot signaled to Michael to be quiet, but the boy didn't seem to pay any attention. He was much more concerned about the fact that a giant machine with sharp hook and teeth was interacting with him, as what was happening at that moment.
  After a few minutes, now certain that there was no one else in the main hall, Foxy released Mike, who then ran away from the stage until he was a safe distance away, now standing in the middle of the room. He looked at the Pirate Cove, terrified and just waiting until the bloodthirsty metallic beast chased him for the second time, but was surprised to see that that was not the case.

  – Are you afraid of me? – a sad voice echoed in a whisper through the main room.
  – I don't know who you are – Michael replied, looking around in an attempt to discover the origin of the voice.
  – We used to be friends. Why don't you trust me?

  It was with that sentence that Mike saw, through the gap in the curtain, Foxy's face approaching. The boy swallowed hard, not knowing how to respond, and took a few more steps back.

  – If I was going to hurt you, I would have already done it.

  With that being said, Foxy began to leave the stage and then approached Michael.
  It was the third time the boy had tried to escape and the second time he had failed. He was so focused on the fox that he didn't even see the other three animatronics position themselves around him. Having nowhere else to run, he decided to face the imminent danger and turn back to Foxy.

  – Come closer, we won't bite.