The New Guy

         “I’m glad you could come on such short notice Vargas, you wouldn’t believe how hard it has been to find a… replacement.”

         Focusing on fumbling with the lock to the old building, Henry found it hard to listen to his new employer. He never kept up to date with technology—a necessity when one lacks the funds for even a college-grade ramen—but his last job had included a cell phone in his severance package. “O-oh, no problem!” The brunette smiled despite the fact that he was alone. The ring of keys rattled as Henry struggled to find the right one; there certainly were a lot of locks on the door, how many did a Pizzeria need?

         “We’ve had a bit of trouble finding someone to take the job after the… accident. Nothing but a bit of legal jarble I assure you, but as it is you can imagine an empty building attracts all sorts of undue attention. We simply wish to make sure the building and its contents are safe and—are you inside yet?”

         “Of course!” At least, he /would/ be in a manner of moments, he just had the door handle to contend with. Did it not unlock with that last key? Perhaps the door was still—
The gangly youth nearly fell on his face as the doors suddenly gave way, causing Henry to struggle madly to maintain his balance.

         “Good, good. Just got to walk you through the basics, get you acquainted with the old place. Now you should see the old security office just to the left of where you came in. Or right if you came through the other door—” Henry peaked inside, noticing nothing much but a dusty metallic fan and some faded coloring pages held on the wall with worn tape. “—Of course, you won’t be working from there. We had the boys rig a video feed up to the loft on the second floor where you’ll be staying. Make it a bit easier on you seeing as you’ve signed on for the foreseeable future, at least until we can get this mess straightened out.” There was a slight pause on the other end, before his boss quickly resumed. “Anyway, are you familiar with the Fazbear Entertainment Franchise?”

         Henry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, another of his many bad habits. “’Fraid not sir, I was living a few hours away from here when I took this job. I only heard about Teddy Fazbear when I applied for the position.”

         “…You mean Freddy?”

         “R-right, Freddy!”

         “Yes, well, Freddy and the other animatronics are usually off during the day unless you interact with them directly. The tech team’s tried to shut them down completely after the… incident… but something’s up with their processing cores. This shouldn’t be a problem until after dark; that’s when their free-roaming mode kicks in.”

         Henry had wandered down the halls, flicking lights on as he entered rooms or explored the different areas. It was a deceivingly large establishment; one would hardly think it was so huge from the outside. Private party rooms, pirate’s cove, a game room; it was going to take him a while to learn all the rooms and keep from getting lost. He wandered into the dining hall just as his employer was finishing up. “Free-roaming mode?”

         “Yes… Something the techs developed to keep their survos from locking up since they don’t get to wander around during the day.”

         Henry wandered up to the edge of the stage, looking up at the old animatronics. They certainly looked as though they had seen better days, though the lack of dust was a surprise; did they really get off that stage? He’d been to a similarly themed pizzeria when he was a child, but it was always someone in a costume, not a robot. Their eyes shifted as he moved from one side of the stage to the other, though nothing else stirred, just those large, multicolored eyes. He lifted his free hand to wave and almost immediately all three followed suite, though a bit rigid and jerky. It was… just a little unsettling. “So… Uhh, d-do they think?”

         A chuckle was heard on the other end. “Worried about a robot apocalypse, eh? Think you’ve been watching a few too many of those sci-fi movies Vargas; like I said, the only real threat—and I use the word threat only as a precaution I assure you—is if you run into them after dark.”

“…Wh-what happens after dark?”

         “Oh you’ll find a full explanation of your duties in the packet we left on your desk upstairs, I—hmm? Yes, what?—Look son I’m afraid I have some other business to attend to.” Henry had heard the faint sound of a woman’s voice on the other side of the line speaking with his employer, though he couldn’t make out what she was saying. “If you have any more questions, just reference the old phone recordings they should answer any queries you have. I’ll give you a call in the morning to see how you’re holding up, and remember: Make sure you are on the second floor after dark and don’t, under any circumstances, let the animatronics out of the building.”

         “Sir, w-wait I still have—!”

Click.

         The receiver went dead before Henry could finish his statement. He lowered the phone, looking around the empty room. Threat? he thought, looking back at the animatronics on the stage above him.