I may have dozed off. . .again. The next time I woke up, a dim fluorescent light was the only one on. I gasped and looked at the clock. Twelve o' clock.
I got up and headed towards the door, but Mike, sitting behind the monitor, stopped me.
"You are not going out there."
"Why?" I asked.
"The animatronics are roaming the hallways."
"So?"
Mike got up. "So the animatronics are programmed to recognize children by day, and by night. . .they also work as security. That means if you go out, they're forced to think your a stranger or a bare animatronic endoskeleton."
"And what will they do if they find a bare animatronic endo-thingy?"
"They'll probably try to stuff you into a suit."
"Has that ever happened before?"
"No."
"Them I'm leaving," I repeated.
Mike looked at the monitor and shrieked, scaring the wits out of me.
"What?" I asked, rushing towards the monitor and looking at the screen.
"Bonnie's missing. In fact, he's right. . .there."
He pointed towards the door. I smirked. "Oh, really?"
I walked towards the door and pushed the LIGHT button. Sure enough, it illuminated Bonnie's blue and white face, exaggerated bunny ears and sinister eyes. I pressed LIGHT again, and his face vanished in the darkness.
"I believe you," I said, and then quickly flew across, the room, back to the desk. "Close the door."
Mike chuckled. "Don't have to tell me twice."
"You're laughing?" I asked in exasperation. "Why, oh why would the company do that to the night security guard?"
"I have no idea," Mike replied. The recording! Mike hasn't listened to the tape yet. I stopped behind the desk and started fumbling around for the recording device. There it was.
"Here," I said and tossed the device to Mike. "Listen to this."
Mike pressed play, and Waldo's staticky voice filled the room. Mike listened, nodding, sucking everything in. Once the recording finished, he left it on the desk.
"What'd you think?" I asked.
Mike shivered. "Not exactly reassuring, even with all the sugar coating."
"I agree. My mom told me that this place had a creepy history."
Mike stared at the monitor screen again. "Ah!"
"What?" I asked. "Did one of the animatronics leave?"
"No! Look!"
I stared into the screen. My friends were dashing down the hallways, there fuzzy black-and-white image popping in camera screens.
"Wait!" I exclaimed. "What about the animatronics? You know, the stuff-you-into-a-suit business and all that crap!"
Mike's eyebrows shot upwards. "Those idiots!"
He turned on the light. Bonnie was gone. Mike clicked furiously, trying to find him. He was nowhere to be seen.
Thump-thump. Something was at the door, but it wasn't Bonnie.
"Whose there?" I called out.
"Us! You know, the ones you abandoned at the hotel!"
Alex and Rachel. I sighed in relief. They were safe.
I opened the door and let them in. Rachel's face was bent into a scowl, furious with me for ditching them at the hotel room.
"Are we gonna' stay here all night?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, I agree," Alex complained behind her.
I turned around to face Mike. "You gonna' be alright?"
Rachel glared at me. "He's the security guard. Why wouldn't he be fine?"
Mike nodded. "Yes. I'm pretty sure I can handle it. Besides, I called in backup."
"When?"
"When you were asleep. Did you know that you drool when you sleep? Also, who's Rachel? You talk about her when you-"
"Okay! Time to go," I interrupted, my face reddening. I dragged my friends out of the office. Rachel was as red as I was, while Alex stood behind us.
"Rachel and Ethan, sitting on a tree/K-I-S-S-I-N-G," he mocked.
"Oh, shut up!" I said, my face reddening a deeper shade. Alex giggled all the way down the hallway.
