Mary
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Mary had spent the last seventy-two hours telling herself that what happened during the storm wasn’t a big deal.
That Michael giving her his jacket, carrying her through the rain, and making her sit next to him in a warm bar while she melted into a puddle of embarrassment—none of that meant anything.
It was just a thing that happened.
It wasn’t weird. She wasn’t weird.
And then Michael showed up, acting like absolutely nothing had happened, and Mary realized—
Oh no. I am definitely weird about this.
She spotted him waiting for her near Sparky’s Diner, hands in his jacket pockets, looking completely and utterly fine.
Not awkward. Not weird. Not even a little bit flustered.
Just Michael. Same as always.
Mary felt a tiny spark of frustration.
He was supposed to be acting weird.
Instead, he gave her a nod and a lazy smirk. “You actually showed up. Thought you’d be too busy drowning in regret over losing our ‘worst weather experience’ competition.”
Mary scoffed, crossing her arms. “Please. If anything, that just proved I could survive anything.”
Michael arched an eyebrow. “Survive anything? Mary, you screamed when the tree got struck by lightning.”
Mary gasped, shoving his shoulder. “I did not scream.”
Michael tilted his head slightly like he was thinking. “You… very loudly gasped in terror.”
“Oh my god, shut up.”
Michael smirked. “See? This is why I won´t carry you again today. Your attitude is a liability.”
Mary froze.
Because there it was—just casual joking, the same as always—except her brain wouldn’t let it be normal anymore.
She heard the words differently now.
Felt them differently.
And Michael? He was just standing there, completely fine, while she was internally screaming.
It hit her like a ton of bricks.
This?
This wasn’t just friends.
When did she stop ignoring the things Michael said?
When had she stopped ignoring how she felt her stomach flip when he smirked at her?
When had she stopped ignoring how close he stood, or how his jacket smelled faintly like cheap cologne and something warm?
Oh no.
Oh no, oh no, oh no.
She was not okay.
Michael was still talking, completely unaware that her entire worldview was collapsing in real-time.
“…so yeah, safe to say my life hasn’t exactly gotten easier,” he was saying, scratching the back of his neck. “Even with Foxy and the Toys gone, the others are just working harder to kill me. Real inspiring teamwork.”
Mary forced herself to focus. “Right. That’s… great?”
Michael squinted at her. “You okay?”
NO.
“Yeah,” she said way too fast. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Michael gave her a look but didn’t push. “Anyway, what about you? When’s your shift start back up?”
Mary latched onto the topic like a lifeline.
“Tonight,” she said, sighing dramatically. “That will be super fun.”
Michael nodded. “Guess that means we won’t be hanging out for a while.”
Mary’s stomach sank a little and she tried to ignore it.
Instead, she smirked. “You gonna miss me?”
Michael rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll be real broken up about it.”
Mary huffed. “Well, I’ll miss this.”
Michael blinked. “What?”
She shrugged, pretending it wasn’t a big deal. “Our dumb hangouts. They’ve been fun.”
Michael stared at her for a second, like he hadn’t expected her to say that.
Then, softly, he said, “Yeah. They have.”
And just like that, she felt like an idiot again.
She needed to end this conversation before she did something incredibly stupid—like blush again, or think about how nice Michael’s voice sounded when he wasn’t being sarcastic.
So she cleared her throat, rolling her shoulders. “Welp. Guess I should go mentally prepare for my shift.”
Michael smirked. “Yeah, wouldn’t want you scaring the new guy off too soon.”
Mary scoffed. “Excuse you, I’m an excellent teacher.”
Michael raised an eyebrow. “You told me last week that if a coworker annoyed you, you’d shove them in the supply closet and leave them there.”
Mary grinned. “Exactly. Tough love, Mike.”
Michael shook his head, amused. “God help this new guy.”
Mary turned to leave, but—hesitated.
Just for a second.
“…I’ll see you when we both have nights off again,” she said, voice a little quieter than before.
Michael’s expression softened just slightly.
“Yeah,” he said. “See you then.”
As she walked off, she could feel his eyes on her back.
She didn’t turn around.
Because she wasn’t sure if she could hide the stupid grin on her face.
And that?
That was definitely a problem.
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12:00 AM
Mary wasn’t sure if it was the dim lighting, the stale air, or the fact that she was back in this godforsaken restaurant, but she already regretted everything.
“Excited for your first night back?” Carl asked dryly, leaning against the desk.
Mary shot him a look. “Yeah, thrilled. I was really missing the constant near-death experiences.”
Carl smirked, flipping through a crinkled employee manual like it was a light bedtime read. “Well, lucky you. I’m sure they missed you too.”
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Mary groaned, kicking her feet up on the desk. “Oh, I bet they did.”
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12:30 AM
“You’re weirdly calm about all this,” Mary noted, eyeing Carl suspiciously.
Carl snorted. “Would you rather I be screaming in terror?”
“No, but… you act like you’ve done this before.”
Carl leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. “I was told what to expect before I got this job. That’s why I didn’t run screaming the moment the animatronics left the stage. By the way Candy is outside the window.”
Mary blinked. “Wait. Someone actually told you the truth?”
Carl shrugged. “Not officially. But my boss figured I deserved a heads-up.”
That was… surprising.
No one had warned her until the night shift began.
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1:20 AM
“So… why exactly did they give you this job?” Mary asked, watching Carl mess with the security feed as she closed the door in Chester's face.
Carl sighed. “Parents found out I was ace. Didn’t like that.”
Mary frowned. “That’s—”
“Bullshit? Yeah, I know.” Carl flipped a switch on the console. “Boss didn’t want to fire me for it, but figured sticking me in a shift with no kids and lots of night-moving animatronics was a solid compromise.”
Mary exhaled. “Jesus.”
Carl smirked. “Yeah, welcome to 1987. Discrimination is totally illegal, unless you pretend it’s not happening.”
She had no response to that.
Mostly because he wasn’t wrong.
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2:10 AM
“Okay, I know it's your first time here during the night but is it just me, or are they being extra tonight?”
Mary’s voice was flat, but her pulse was picking up.
Carl flicked through the cameras, watching as Cindy twitched unnaturally near the stage.
“Well,” Carl said, “you did say you were worried they didn’t miss you.”
Mary huffed. “I was being sarcastic.”
The static on one of the monitors glitched for a second.
When it cleared, Cindy had moved.
Carl and Mary both went silent.
Carl slowly reached for the manual. “Page sixty-seven says if you make eye contact, you should look away immediately.”
Mary didn’t blink. “Page sixty-seven can go to hell.”
Carl hummed. “Solid plan.”
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3:35 AM
Between flipping through the cameras and occasionally swearing at the Animatronics, the conversation drifted.
Mary had no idea how, but at some point, it landed on their love lives and then on Michael.
Carl was far too amused by this.
“So, let me get this straight,” Carl said, watching the monitors. “You’re mad because he’s acting normal?”
Mary scowled. “No, I’m mad because he’s acting normal after—”
She stopped.
Because what was she even going to say?
After carrying her through a storm? After letting her wear his jacket? After looking at her like she mattered? After confessing their worst sins?!
Carl raised an eyebrow. “After…?”
Mary gritted her teeth. “Shut up.”
Carl sighed as he closed the window so Blank wouldn't break through it. “Listen, from what you’ve told me, this doesn’t sound like an ‘idiot’ situation. It sounds like a guy who probably doesn’t even realize friendship and romance are different things.”
Mary stared at him. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Carl shrugged. “It makes sense. If his parents are crap as I am getting from what you said, and he never really had good relationships, why would he know the difference?”
Mary hated how that actually made sense.
She didn’t respond.
Because she knew things Carl didn’t.
Like the fact that Michael’s home life wasn’t just bad—it was horrifying.
Like the fact that he’d been at the center of something awful back in 1983.
Like the fact that his own father barely acknowledged him.
She swallowed hard. “Okay, but what if he’s actually just stupid?”
Carl snorted. “Then you're previous complaining about your ex lands me on one conclusion. You have a type.”
Mary threw a pen at him as she closed the door in Candy's face.
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4:00 AM
Carl was still messing with the monitors when he suddenly stopped.
His entire body went rigid.
Mary glanced at him. “What?”
Carl didn’t answer.
Slowly, she followed his gaze to the screen.
And froze.
The Rat was there.
Not moving.
Not rushing toward the office.
Just staring into the camera.
Something tightened in her chest.
Her breathing hitched.
“Hey.” Carl’s voice was steady but low. “Mary. Breathe.”
She hadn’t even noticed she was holding her breath.
She forced herself to exhale, gripping the desk hard.
The Rat didn’t move.
Didn’t twitch.
Didn’t blink.
Mary’s heart pounded.
Carl’s hand hovered near the console. “What’s the plan?”
Mary swallowed. “We don’t let it in.”
Carl nodded. “Got it.”
The screen glitched again.
Then The Rat was gone.
And suddenly, the last two hours felt like they would last forever.
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Something was wrong.
Mary could feel it—that prickling, crawling sense of impending disaster.
It wasn’t just one or two animatronics acting up. It was all of them.
As if the Rat made them go insane.
“Carl,” she said slowly, staring at the monitors.
Carl, flipping through the cameras, stopped breathing for a second.
Because there they were.
All of them.
Candy. Cindy. Blank. Chester. The Penguin. Old Candy.
And in the back—half-hidden peaking through the door—
The Rat.
Moving.
Coming.
Carl’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“…We’re so fucking dead.”
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Mary slammed one of the office doors shut, locking out Blank, just as Carl threw the other one closed.
Something slammed against it immediately.
Carl swore. “This is so much worse than I was warned about.”
Mary didn’t respond—she was too busy checking the window.
Candy was there, staring through the glass.
Eyes glowing. Unblinking.
No. No, no, no.
“They’re working together,” she muttered, heart pounding.
Carl flicked through the cameras, hands shaking. “They’re not supposed to do that.”
“Well,” Mary said, watching the window as Candy tilted his head unnaturally, “they’re doing it anyway.”
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The power was draining fast.
Every time they closed the doors, every flicker of the cameras, every split-second delay in reaction—it all chipped away at their survival time.
Carl slammed his fist against the desk. “They’re learning.”
Mary didn’t like that word.
But she knew he was right.
The Penguin was bait. Blank distracted them long enough for Old Candy to try to rush one of their doors.
Cindy and Chester took turns hammering the doors.
It wasn’t random.
It was a coordinated attack.
Mary was sweating. “No sabotage should make this possible.”
Carl shot her a look. “Gee, you think?!”
Something banged against the window.
They both flinched.
Carl swore. “How the hell is this fair?!"
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They were surviving by inches.
The cameras glitched—and then, suddenly, he was there.
The Rat.
Standing in the hallway, completely still.
Mary felt her chest tighten.
Carl didn’t move. “Close the doors.”
Mary didn’t hesitate.
She slammed the left door shut. Carl hit the right.
They turned to the window—
The Rat was gone.
Mary’s stomach dropped.
“Where—”
The lights flickered violently.
The monitors cut out.
Carl was breathing hard, scanning the room. “No way. There’s no vents big enough for it to crawl through. No way in. He can’t be in here.”
And yet—
They could feel IT.
Mary’s hands clenched into fists.
“This isn’t sabotage,” she whispered.
Carl didn’t argue.
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They were out of options.
They had minutes left before the power failed completely and the clock for some goddamed reason stopped working a while ago!
The doors were shaking under the force of impact.
Carl’s hands hovered over the controls, eyes wild with adrenaline.
“Any brilliant ideas?”
Mary exhaled shakily. “Yeah. Don’t die.”
Carl scoffed. “Solid plan.”
The monitors flickered again—Candy, Cindy, and Blank were all at the doors now.
Carl braced himself.
“Hold on,” he muttered. “Just hold on.”
And then—
"Ding Dong!"
The second the power turned on, the animatronics stopped.
One by one, they turned away.
Walked back into the darkness.
Like nothing ever happened.
Carl let out a choked breath, hands still shaking.
“We made it,” he muttered, voice hollow with disbelief.
Mary didn’t answer.
Because something still felt wrong.
She didn’t trust it.
Didn’t believe it.
They stood there for a long moment, waiting for something else to happen.
But nothing did.
It was over.
Mary let out a long breath. “Okay. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Carl nodded, still looking like he might pass out on the spot.
They grabbed their stuff, moving toward the exit hallway.
It was too quiet now.
Mary felt her stomach twist.
She didn’t like this.
Didn’t trust it.
Then, just as they reached the door—
A loud, mechanical SCREECH tore through the air.
Carl barely had time to yell—
THE RAT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE.
It lunged, impossibly fast, metal jaws wide—
Mary didn’t think.
Didn’t breathe.
She grabbed Carl’s wrist and RAN.
They barely made it out the door before it slammed shut behind them.
They didn’t stop running.
Not until they were well away from the restaurant, breathing hard, hands shaking.
Carl finally turned to Mary, completely losing his shit.
“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!”
Mary, still trying to catch her breath, had no answer.
Because she had seen impossible things tonight.
And she didn’t know what was real anymore.