Five Nights At Freddy's: Clawmarks

CHAPTER TWO

"Hey kids! I'm Freddy Fazbear, and welcome to my pizzeria! I sure missed having all you boys and girls around after such a long night. But now that you're here, I'm gonna sing a happy song!" the animatronic bear laughed. His friends started playing bouncy, upbeat music as the children near the stage cheered.

Max smiled. Leaning over to William, he said, "I wouldn't mind having one of those someday." Afton was too being fumbling with a springlock to pay much attention to what his co-worker told him. "Hmm? What? A robot?" he mumbled, trying to carefully free one pinky. "No, a kid. I wish I had a kid of my own..." Max replied, evidently annoyed.

"Guess you better get married then," Will replied. Max looked down at the floor, shuffling from one foot to the other. It had been many years since he was married, but his wife was amazing. Martha defined everything that made a wife...well, a wife, and a good one at that. She cared for Max, listening to his problems and being there for him. That only lasted for three years before she died. Since then, Max never really considered marrying anyone else.

The engineer was startled out of his thoughts by the loud snap of the springlock. Thankfully, Will had yanked his finger out of the way in time. "You gave me a heart attack!" Max snarled, elbowing Afton, who only laughed. Soon, the loudspeaker came on overhead, silencing the whole pizzeria. It was Henry's: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, today we have a new friend joining the band! Put your hands together for Vicky!" Max whispered, "You did remember to debug her, right?" William nodded, "Yes...don't worry. I've even made some improvements."

Everyone watched in a mixture of curiousity and terror as Vicky walked up onstage, a few of the other engineers whispering prayers under their breaths. Freddy and the others turned to watch her. Facing the audience, Vicky held up three balls in her paws and started to juggle them. "I just hope it works," Afton murmured. "Because if it doesn't," Max responded, "Vicky's decommissioned and you're fired."

Thankfully, the animatronic did all her tricks without mishap. Freddy seemed to be the most focused on her, something intriguing glittering in his baby blue eyes, not moving an inch. The employees could breathe a bit easier now. Even the children were no longer scooting back in their seats. Instead, they were all trying to get closer. Max joined them, hoping that in the event of another "incident" he could try to protect them.

Freddy's eyes clicked, staring at him. Max waved his fingers at the bear, who returned his gaze to Vicky, intently studying her. Max didn't know why. Soon, closing time came. All of the families filed out one by one, and most of the employees went home. Vicky was taken backstage again while Max, Henry, and Willaim were left to clean up. Afton was in a particularly good mood, since Vicky seemed to be quite a success. And yet...it also seemed like he had something to hide.

Larry Gibson, the current night guard, came in as soon as the sun set. Henry shook his hand. "Hey, Larry. You ready for your second night here?" The guard had a worried look on his face. "Yes, sir..." he said. "But...I've got a question..." Henry replied, "Fire away." Larry twirled his fingers. "Uh...how come the robots...move around at night?" Max looked up in surprise.

William pat Larry on the back. "It's so their servos won't lock up," he said. "They're never turned off, just put in some kind of sleep mode. It's relatively harmless. Nothing to worry about." Larry still didn't look sure, but he shrugged. "Yeah, the guy on the phone said something about that." Henry slipped on his black jacket and started buttoning it up. He said, "Just be sure to lock up the place after your shift, Larry. This place is going downhill as it is without a robbery."

"Got it boss." the guard said.

William and Max followed Henry outside. Each man parted ways his own vehicle, driving off into the direction of their homes as Larry was left to keep an eye on things.