DISCLAIMER: Copyright of the FNAF universe goes to Scott Cawthon, and the particular canon in which this story takes place was created by him and Kira Breed-Wrisley in the original novel trilogy. This story, despite its novel-like length and appearance, is nothing more than an unmonetized fanfiction continuation of that series by a fan and aspiring writer. (See the end of chapters for references; the end of the story will contain a full list of credits once written)
A/N: Originally, upon the completion of The Nightmare House, I intended to be done and move onto something else, but a reviewer on Fanfiction encouraged me to keep adding to the fandom. After some consideration, I came up with a plot I found interesting enough to try out. As of right now (this first chapter being posted), the story is not quite complete but is getting close. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to wait until I finished before I started posting here, but I decided that since I've already posted my other stories, I might as well begin posting this one too in case anyone has any feedback.
To give a little bit of background: although a few familiar characters and ideas do make an appearance, this story does NOT take place in any settings from the new Fazbear Frights series. Rather, it is actually a continuation of my previous stories, which themselves are continuations of the original novel series . While I wanted to go in a new direction and write something that features a mostly original cast of characters, I figured it would be more fun to have it still take place in a familiar setting, so there WILL be Easter eggs!
As always, happy reading!
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MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2017, 4:46 PM
"Hi, you've reached Chris. I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you whenever I can. Thank you."
BEEP.
"Hey, it's me. I got your message. Um, are you really sure that it's actually still there? Nobody's set foot in that place...or at least what's left of it...for almost twenty years. Remember, I was there when it happened. Everything's been burned up and swept away. I can't see how anyone could find anything in that wreckage. Last I heard, all of it had been collected and secured in a high-tech vault somewhere for analysis. But I know you've been working hard and based on what you told me, it does sound like something fishy is going on, so I trust your judgment. If you're right and there's still some out there, then I completely agree: they absolutely cannot get their hands on it. You've put way too much effort into this to let all of your hard work be ruined. I'd love to help you, but I know exactly what you'd say: 'You had your mission. This is my mission.' Besides, I can't get away right now. Not with the holiday weekend coming up. Business, you know? Besides, I don't even know what to look for. My wife does, but she just left for Arizona for a few weeks to cover for a colleague, not that she'd want to go back there ever again, either. I know we talked about not calling on your cell because it risks blowing your cover, but I really want to check in with you one last time before you do this, but knowing you, you've probably already left by now and it doesn't matter, but in case I can't reach you...please be careful, no matter what happens . You're playing a dangerous game that I know well. Best of luck. We'll talk when you get back."
END OF MESSAGE.
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"Are we there yet?"
"Not yet, 'Liv."
Olivia made a pouting face at her mother and crossed her arms. "You said we'd be there by now!"
"Just a little bit longer, sweetheart."
"You said that last time when we crossed that bridge!"
"Ugh! Mom, are you sure we can't tie her to the roof of the car?" came her brother's irritated voice from the other side of the backseat.
"Josh, knock it off."
"Well, I'm sorry, but she's been talking nonstop ever since we crossed into this-"
"Josh!" his father barked from the driver's seat.
Josh fell silent and continued scrolling through his phone, checking to see if his girlfriend back home had responded to his last text. He still couldn't believe that they were actually moving. What was wrong with Minnesota? It was a beautiful state, lots of fun activities for a fifteen-year-old boy to do with his friends and girlfriend like hiking, sneaking into R-rated movies, going to the park, and just being stupid and idiotic for laughs. Now, he and his relationship had to suffer for it. He was certain that was the true job of every parent...to do everything possible to make their children's lives miserable. So far, his own deserved an award. No, it was actually his dad's boss's fault for relocating the job.
"Well, kids, welcome to St. Louis!" announced their father.
"I wanna go see the park!" Olivia exclaimed, turning her attention once more to the surroundings outside as they passed. "I wanna go visit all of the playgrounds! I wanna-!"
"Calm down, darling," said their mother. "There'll be plenty of time to do all of that once we get settled in."
"Yay!" she screeched, causing the others to flinch.
Josh grunted. It wasn't that impressive. St. Louis, a very wannabe city in his opinion, with the only notable landmark being a giant arch that did little to symbolize the city. They should've learned from masters like New York and Paris. Meanwhile, Olivia practically had her nose and hands glued to the window, watching every single tree and house go by as if it were a candy shop. She was so excited to explore every nook and cranny of this new, exciting place that she could hardly keep herself from shaking.
"Kendall, you've been awfully quiet. How are you feeling?" asked their mother.
Kendall said nothing. Sandwiched awkwardly between his ecstatic younger sister and irritable older brother, he kept his gaze focused on the road ahead of them, trying his best not to get involved in the tension mounting around him. He felt like Switzerland caught between the allied and axis forces.
"I'm okay," he said softly. "Just tired."
"Didn't sleep well?" asked their father. Kendall shook his head.
"What's the matter? Too many fantasies about being a space pirate exploring all of Mom's stolen treasures?"
Kendall gave his brother a death glare. He'd grown out of that years ago. As soon as he grew old enough to realize that he didn't know how to build a spaceship, he figured he would settle for learning about other things instead, how real-world contraptions worked. It fascinated him to learn about the inner workings of things as simple as a doorknob, how it was craftily designed to lock and unlock as opposed to simply deciding when and for whom it wanted to open. He wasn't sure where such an interest would lead him in life, but one thing was for certain: no matter what, he didn't want to grow up to be the self-absorbed jerk that his brother was.
"Ooh, look!" Olivia shouted, pointing frantically out the window. "Look at that!"
The five family members looked out the window. They were driving through the outskirts of the city toward their new home, passing by the tall buildings of downtown St. Louis.
"Yeah, it's amazing, isn't it?" said Josh flatly. "I've never seen skyscrapers before. Let's all admire the wonderful creations of civilized society. Ooh, ahh!"
His mother gave him an irritated look as he tried reburying himself into his phone. She turned to her daughter. "What is it, sweetie?"
"Right there! That place with the pretty colors!"
With the new description, a building near one of the towers caught everyone's attention. It was a very futuristic looking building standing about five stories tall with heavily tinted windows completely covering the front and sides. The front doors were almost completely obscured by the heavy traffic of people flocking in and out. Above the door was a very large sign featuring the face of a smiling brown bear. On either side of the face were a pair of words illuminated in bold, neon blue.
"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza World?" their father read aloud.
"Is that like some pizza place for kids?" asked Josh.
"I don't know."
"I wanna go!" shouted Olivia, bouncing up and down in her seat. "Can we go, please? Can we? Can we? Can we?"
"Not today," said their father, "but soon. Now, please sit still, sweetheart. You're rocking the car."
Olivia wanted to say something else, but she did as she was told, her long, brown bangs spilling onto her face.
The drive continued for another fifteen minutes before they finally pulled onto a side street. Something that immediately stuck out was the trees. They were everywhere. It seemed like every front yard had two trees. Kendall pondered how annoying it would be to have to mow around those all the time.
Maybe if the wheels had enough traction and mobility, it wouldn't really be a problem, he thought.
Josh stared at the houses as they passed. Many of them were much bigger than he thought. They'd lived in a simple two-story house back home, and some of these had three stories. He fell back against the seat and breathed a sigh of amazement. Perhaps if their new house was large enough, this may not be quite as bad as he thought.
After another minute of driving through the subdivision, answering no to all of Olivia's guesses at which house was theirs, they pulled up into the driveway.
"And here we are!" their father announced proudly.
Before them stood a large house, the outer wall consisting of stone which boasted large windows and mulberry bushes lining the outside stopping at the adjoined garage. The second level was almost as wide as the ground level, with two evenly-spaced windows within the sea of stones.
"It's so big!" said Olivia with a squeal.
"Indeed it is," said their father with a smile. "Welcome to your new home."
The car stopped and Olivia threw open the door and hopped outside, running into the front yard and jumping up and down with glee. She loved it here already. She was still sad that they had to move away from her old house and friends, but she was too excited about the new adventures she would have here. It made her joyful.
The others exited the car much slower. As their father watched his daughter play in the yard excitedly, he heard a small breath from behind him. He turned to see his wife leaning against the car, her face staring down at the ground. He approached her slowly.
"Emma. What's wrong?"
After a few moments, she turned to look at him with pure fear in her eyes.
"Richard..." she said in a soft voice. "That restaurant we passed back there. Isn't that the same place with those singing animatronics? The place where those poor kids were K-I-L-L-E-D?"
Josh huffed, slamming his car door. He hated when his parents lamely tried to act secretive as if he didn't know how to spell.
"The name sounds familiar," he said, "but it can't be the same. That place went out of business thirty years ago. I'm sure it's just a coincidence."
"Did you say singing?" Olivia asked loudly, causing both of them to jump. "Who's singing?"
"Just some animals, darling," said Richard.
"Ooh, singing animals? Where?"
"In a restaurant," said Emma.
"I wanna go! Can we go now?"
"No, honey. We need to unpack first. We'll explore later on. I promise. Now go grab your bag."
"Aww!" she cried, stomping away. Josh practically threw her light suitcase onto the ground in front of her in an effort to find his own. She grabbed it and trotted inside as best as she could, nearly tripping over the front step in the process.
Kendall stood motionless near the car's side door, watching his parents give each other worried looks. Something was wrong, he could tell. At only eleven years old, he wasn't yet the brightest bulb, like he one day aspired to be, but he could tell when something wasn't right. It started when they passed that restaurant. Could that be it?
"Hey!" came his brother's startling voice. "Didn't you hear me, Kendork? Your suitcase is right there!"
Kendall turned to his old brother, who was pointing at the suitcase lying lopsided on the ground.
"I'm not your bellhop. You're in charge of your own suitcase...and all those geeky books you've got in them!"
Kendall rolled his eyes and went to grab his suitcase from the ground, but he couldn't stop looking back at his parents. Though his father didn't seem to take much notice, his mother looked more worried than he'd ever seen. He pulled his suitcase upward and the unmistakable noise of books falling onto the ground came from beside him.
"Uh-oh. Cleanup in aisle eleven!" Josh announced in a voice of mock concern as he walked toward the house with his own bag.
"Do you need help there, sport?" Richard asked. Kendall shook his head.
"I'm okay."
Richard nodded and grabbed his and Emma's suitcases from the car. Taking her silence as a cue, he walked passed her toward the house. Emma continued staring off into the distance, hand clutching at her chest. As he began picking up his books, Kendall watched her with keen interest. He couldn't put a finger on it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was holding something back.
"Mom?"
She blinked and turned to her son.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Are you okay?"
She nodded and put on a sad smile. "Yes, I'm fine. Just...getting used to everything. That's all. Need help?"
"I'm fine."
"Okay. Let me know if you change your mind." She turned and followed the rest of the family inside the house.
Kendall turned and resumed picking up the clutter of books on the ground. Some of them remained shut, others had fallen open. He picked up his copy of Electricity and Magnetism and saw that one of the pages was bent and torn. He groaned. It was his favorite chapter on fluorescent bulbs. He reached out a hand and began smoothing the page.
"Hey!"
Kendall perked his head up. Turning, he was startled by a face peering at him between two bushes that separated him from the neighbor's. It was a boy who looked to be around the same age. His hair was blond and disheveled, his eyes bright blue and his cheeks peppered with freckles atop a large, amused smile.
"Do you need any help?" he asked.
"No," said Kendall. "I'm okay."
"Are you sure? 'Cause I can help! I'm bored!"
"I'm fine."
"Come on! I've been waiting to see the new neighbors all week! My mom and dad have been talking about it."
Kendall couldn't help but notice his head bouncing up and down when he spoke, perhaps a result from rocking back and forth on his heels. The boy sounded like he had a very excitable nature that Kendall wasn't sure he found interesting or annoying.
"Ok."
"Cool!" He disappeared from in between the bushes. About ten seconds later, he slowly reappeared around the edge of the divider, limping slowly into view with a small walking cane. "Sorry," he said. "I woulda been here sooner, but...you know..." He gestured to his right leg, which looked noticeably thinner than his other.
Kendall was always told not to make fun of or stare at people with disabilities. He didn't intend to do it, but before he could stop himself, he bluntly asked, "What happened to your leg?"
"It's always been like that," said the boy as he finally made it over to him. "I'm disabled."
"That's too bad," said Kendall, beginning to regret his feelings of annoyance earlier.
"It's ok," said the boy with a smile. "A lot of the other kids make fun of me, but the adults are always very nice. My dad even gets discounts offa me in restaurants, too. I'm Cameron, by the way. Cameron Wilde."
"Kendall Philips."
"Where are you from?"
"Minnesota."
"Cool! I'm from...well...here!" He pointed at the ground. "Lived here my whole life."
"That's nice," said Kendall, trying to sound interested while he continued picking up his books.
"Here, let me help," said Cameron, plopping himself down and reaching for some of the books. He picked one up and looked at the cover. "Ooh, you like lawnmowers?"
"Not really," said Kendall, "but I think they're interesting."
"Me, too," said Cameron. "Every time our contractor comes over to cut our grass, I always like watching him. It looks so easy on some of these new machines."
"Yeah, it does," Kendall agreed, and then realized something. "Wait, so you just sit up in your room and watch him?"
Cameron nodded. "Yeah, I don't really get out all that much 'cause of my leg. No one really wants to play with me, and I don't have any siblings. Do you?"
"Yeah," said Kendall. "A brother and a sister."
Cameron huffed. "You're lucky."
"I don't always feel lucky," said Kendall.
"Well, you are. At least you don't get bored."
"Don't be on that," said Kendall.
"Kendall?" called a voice from the doorway of the house. It was his mother. "Who are you talking to?"
"One of the neighbors," said Kendall.
"The neighbors?" Emma came into view, expecting to see an adult talking to one of her children, but was surprised and a little relieved to see that it was another child. "Oh, hello. What's your name?"
"I'm Cameron! I live next door!" Cameron replied happily.
Emma opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a gust of wind blowing past her leg.
"Hi! I'm Olivia!"
"I'm Cameron!"
"Do you want to play?"
"Why would a ten-year-old want to play with someone who's only six?" came Josh's voice from behind Emma.
"I'm eleven," said Cameron.
"Still a kid to me," said Josh as he turned and walked right back into the house.
"Sorry about him," said Kendall. "He's always made fun of us, and it's been even worse since he found out we were moving."
"You're still lucky," said Cameron, watching Olivia as she eyed him like candy.
"You're cute!" she said, making Kendall snicker and Cameron raise his eyebrows.
"Olivia! Let's not scare our new neighbors right off the bat!" said Emma.
"It's okay, ma'am," said Cameron. "I don't mind." Olivia giggled.
"Do you want to play?" she asked him again.
"Sorry, 'Liv, but you still have to unpack," said Emma.
"Yeah, I should be getting home anyway," said Cameron. "It's good to meet you."
"Good to meet you, too, Cameron," said Emma as she guided her pouting daughter back into the house. Cameron turned back to Kendall, who had just finished putting all of his books back into his bag.
"Your family's really nice," he said.
"Yeah, they can be," said Kendall. "Sorry about my sister."
"Don't be. I like her. I was beginning to think I wasn't that good looking," said Cameron, giving his hair a quick brush, making both of them laugh. "Well, I gotta go. See you guys around!" He picked up his cane and slowly limped back around the driveway divider.
Kendall stared after him for a few moments, pondering his thoughts, before turning to take his bag into the house.
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Where is it?
As his dirty, rough hands scoured through the last of the burned remains, the thought occurred to him that it may not be there at all. His heart sank at the thought. Perhaps their intel was wrong and it wasn't there, to begin with. Had he been tricked? Ever since he overheard that conversation between his bosses, his mind had been in a constant state of fear and panic. They'd mentioned in unusually excited voices that they'd finally tracked down what would finally "make things right." He never trusted them, and given his knowledge, he knew precisely what they were referring to. He had to get to it first or everything would be ruined.
Now here he was standing in the ruins of a long-forgotten remnant of the past, a place or horror and trauma that no one would ever fall victim to again, desperately searching for what he hoped would still be there, some justification for traveling to the other side of the country and potentially arousing suspicion. If they really knew where it was like they said, that was dangerous. Everything was at stake. He'd briefly considered whether it was even true.
Perhaps they're wrong. Perhaps nothing is here at all and I'm getting all worked up for nothing. But he knew deep down that it was true. They sounded too confident.
As he continued rummaging through burned metal, something caught his eye. It was something blackened but clear and slightly curved. As he leaned in closer to examine it further, an undeniable stench filled his nostrils. He smiled. He'd finally found it.
His relief was so great that he didn't notice a shadowy figure approaching him from behind. As he began to reach for the object, a sudden burst of pain in the back of his head made his world go black.