Not by the Strings, Please.

The Bite

I awoke to the sound of jingling keys and low murmuring. My limbs were stiff, and I could not force myself to move. It was too comfortable. I heard the door open, then footsteps, then the light sound of their fingers getting a grip on my box. When my box lid was opened, my eyes were assaulted by light. The sudden beam hurt my eyes, but I wasn't allowed to move in the daytime or risk being scrapped. Without showing signs of life, I scanned each of the three men that had come and opened my box. Three employees.

The men stared at me, and I stared back, keeping my "inside the box" pose. They stared and stared and stared, until a voice from behind caused them to step back to allow another man in a night guard's uniform to step up.

A different set of staring eyes came upon me that made me shift my fingers uncomfortably. The oddly alive green pearls stuck in his skull stared at me with a suspicious look for a long while. My sensory was overloaded with his apprehension as he watched me charily. It felt as if someone had dropped a heavy weight on me. It was suffocating.

"Er...Jeremy-?" One of the other men spoke. The night guard turned his head. "I think you might have been hallucinating. That one don't move unless it's music box goes out." The man explained. The night guard glared at him dubiously.

"No. I swear, I saw it move. It looked right at me!" The guard exclaimed. The men shook their heads.

"I dunno, Jeremy. If it happens again, maybe we'll look into it. For now, there's nothing we can do. Go home, get some sleep, and we'll take it from here." One of the men said, pointing at the door. The guard waited a moment before he turned his head backwards to glance at me one more time before he stomped out of the room.

"Poor guy. I'd never take the night shift in this place." One of the men sighed as he closed my box lid. The darkness filed back into the enclosed space as I heard footsteps then the closing of the door.

They were talking about me. Did I get the night guard in trouble? I certainly hope not. After all, I didn't know trying to be friendly had consequences. Well, now I know. I won't do it again.

In one of the other rooms, an animatronic's voice spoke up, signaling a new day.

"Hey, everyone! And welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza! So let's strike up the band! One...two..." Toy Freddy's voice sounded out. Then there was singing. Followed by cheering. Followed by laughing. My hollow body filled with a warm feeling. It certainly sounded like fun. All that music and partying and eating. All I ever got to do was give the children gifts. Never got to see what goes on in the other rooms during the day. But that doesn't mean I want to quit my job. I'm just as important as any of them. Aren't I?

Yes. Yes, I am. After all, what would Freddy Fazbear's be without prizes? It was like the foundation of a building. Take away one part, the whole thing falls down. It was a good philosophy to live by. At least I think so.

I sighed to myself, listening closely for the sounds of someone approaching. I wouldn't repeat yesterday. I promised myself I wouldn't.

Moments became minutes. Minutes became hours. No one came. I wouldn't let it dispirit me. Maybe the ticket machines were out of order. That's a possibility, isn't it? Or maybe the games were broken. Or maybe the men that printed the tickets were off today. I kept leading myself back to the same end with a different possibility. No one was going to come. I forced a smile and continued to wait, only able to keep myself happy by listening to the sounds of the laughing children and the songs of the Freddy Fazbear gang.

Hours and hours and hours went by, and it seemed like I had been waiting a full year. Never before have I felt so abandoned here in the day. It was like I had been forsaken. Forsaken by those who once were my friends. At least I think we were friends. The children always seemed to like to see me. They would come in smiling with bundles of tickets in their small fists. They would give their valueless paper to the employee, wind up my box, and I would pop out with their rewards in my hands. They would always laugh. Every time. It was something I could count on.

Maybe I had ruined it for myself. Maybe people will stop coming. Maybe my purpose will die. Maybe they'll stop making money off me. Maybe they'll take away the Prize Corner. Maybe they'll scrap me!

My heart began to race. The realization came upon me so quickly. Too quickly. It was too abrupt. It...it can't happen. What would I do? I would break down...my heart would shatter. No one would like me anymore. No more laughing. No more children. No more smiles. My hands began to tremble. It would be dark all the time. I'd be alone. Derelict and mistreated. I wouldn't feel safe anymore. No more sanctuary. No more music box. I would fall into disrepair and be like the others. It would be over. I would fade from existence in the snap of someone's fingers.

I pressed my shivering hands to my cheeks and felt about for tears. There were none. There should be some. My heart was crushed. I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry a long, doleful sob. Maybe everyone would know how I felt if they heard. Maybe they'd understand me as something more than a plaything. A doll. A puppet.

Then, a terrible shrieking almost made me claw into my own eyes. There was a rapid shuffling immediately after.

"What in the world?!" The employee in the room exclaimed. Shuffling. Footsteps. Slamming. Screaming. Something was very wrong. Putting my sorrow to the side, I threw the lid open and darted my gaze around warily. The employee had left the door wide open, giving me a perfect view of the hallway. A river of horrified children ran down the halls, followed by their terrified mothers and fathers, followed by alarmed employees. More screaming.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" A woman's voice screeched from one of the other rooms. It made my ears ring.

"CLEAR OUT! EVERYONE CLEAR OUT!" A man's voice shouted.

"THAT THING IS A DEMON! YOU HEAR ME?! A DEMON!" The woman's voice shouted between sobs. I could not pinpoint where these voices were coming from. And god, did it bother me. I needed to know just what happened and where. It was nagging me so terribly, and knowing I couldn't leave to investigate made it worse. All I can do is listen.

Screaming. Sobbing. Shouting.

A mess of different emotions. Rage. Sorrow. Grief. It was painful to listen to. In my background sensory, I heard the sirens of help vehicles used by the men and women rushing towards the restaurant. It had been a long time since I had heard them, and if I remember correctly, the issue that had summoned them was simply a carousel accident. This certainly sounded like no accident.

I watched the door as a group of men in white and red outfits dashed down the hall dragging a white bed on wheels behind them. Not even a minute later, the same men ran down the halls again with the same white bed. Except this time, a child lay upon the bed, his skull bloody and crushed. A weeping mother followed close behind, his claret on her hands. Long after the child was taken back outside, the image still burned brightly in my mind. It made me dizzy. A child was hurt. Perhaps beyond repair. Would he die? Could he be saved? Thinking about it made me sick.

After I heard the skidding of tires outside, there was silence. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. The world was locked in stillness. I waited and waited and waited, all the way to the point where the lights automatically shut off and engulfed the place in darkness. The employees must have left. I could walk now. I needed to see what happened.

Slowly and quietly, I stepped out of my box and began towards the door. When I reached it, another sound besides that of my own shaky breathing made me freeze. I sharpened my hearing down to the single sound, wanting to pinpoint this foreign noise.

Crying. Electronic crying. Static electronic crying. It couldn't be...

At this I ran. Out the door and down the hall as quickly as I could, stopping in the doorway to the Kid's Corner. And what I saw made my heart skip.

Mangle lay upon the floor with her hands on her face, and her teeth coated with fresh crimson blood.