The soft hum of the fan kept me on the verge of waking and dreaming. From under my closed eyelids, I could see the warm light of an old light bulb hanging from the ceiling. I was back in the office, lying on the ground, cuddled with my sweatshirt. "Again?" I was surprised by my own thoughts. I knew this had already happened, something strange would happen, and then I would wake up in my office.

— Something. — I whispered, barely opening my mouth at all. — I think? — I wasn’t so sure of it all of a sudden. Did anything actually happen? Was I just dreaming? Or maybe I was just influenced by the atmosphere in the location and made myself think that something was wrong?

Slowly I sat on the ground, letting my blouse fall to the ground noiselessly. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. The air was warm and full of the scent of burnt pizza and dust, nothing special. My office looked exactly like when I came here, full of stuff just laying about. And from the top shelf a pair of masks - Freddy’s and Bonnie’s looked at me with their empty eye sockets. I got up, while trying to recall what I was doing for the past three hours here. My mind seemed to grab pieces of memories, but they all dissolved like candle smoke as quickly as they appeared.

Feeling the effects of laying on the cold tiles, I sat in the chair, which creaked under my weight. Like asleep I was staring at the scratched tablet’s screen that lay in front of me on the desk. It reflected the digital clock’s greenish light. Three in the morning. Something about this scene didn’t sit right with me. I tried to think of a reason for this feeling but I couldn’t find a definitive answer. Mindlessly I moved the tablet to the edge of the desk and without moving any muscles looked as it balanced over the hard floor which meant snuffing out the candle light of its life.

I took a deep breath, rubbing off the rest of sleep from my eyes. Doing that awoke me enough to remember that I was in my job and not on some really weird vacation.

— Step one. — I muttered to myself, saving the tablet from the edge of its life and death and clicking its power on button. It didn’t work. I held the button a little longer, frowning. It hummed softly, getting back to life and I put it back in its place and leaned back in the chair. Before it showed me its desktop I had already done the second task on the list. — Keeping the office clean. — I commented, scratching off the paraffin wax of the tabletop. Rest of the office was in the same condition as I met it when I came here so I didn’t feel a need of cleaning up hundreds of loosely thrown Freddy merch and other trash.

“Less than 4 percent of battery” said the dialog option on the screen gathering my attention. — Ah so that’s why you turned off. Great, just wait a moment longer. — I looked around for some charger, hoping that it wouldn't die before I checked every camera.

— Kitchen. Isn’t working. — I started looking through the cameras one by one. — Corridors, empty, the broom closet in a pristine condition. — The sound of my voice echoed around in the empty pizzeria. It somehow sounded almost pleasant, making me feel a bit better. — No one’s behind the stage and near the tables. — I commented while almost putting back my tablet. “What about the stage?” asked a quiet voice in my brain, imitating the echo I got so used to at this point. I froze with the tablet just over the table. I forgot to check the main stage, even though my main objective was to guard the animatronics. If any single one of them had any accidents or started to work weirdly after my shift, I would never be able to pay it off.

— Damn it — I cursed under my breath, looking blankly at a rotating circle and a text: “shutting off”. The battery had run off. I could have just plugged the tablet in and then look again, but I felt that every second wasted on searching for the charger got me closer and closer to my demise. My only way of monitoring the pizzeria without the need of leaving the only place I felt safe in just failed. Forcing me to leave my shelter or lose the job. “Or life”. I shuddered despite not having any reason to be afraid of being alone here. I wasn’t scared of the darkness and the doors were locked tight and solid. No one would be able to break in without making a sound and I was pretty sure I didn’t hear any intruders.

And yet I was afraid of something. Something that could have been out there in the darkness. Waiting for me to leave the office. I looked into the darkness behind the door. It was far too dark considering the fact that the light in the room should at least light up a bit of the corridor. But there was nothing. Despite that the abyss before me was complete and without any sign of light. It called for me. I stood up, leaving the tablet in the middle of the table.

Slowly I looked out on the corridor. Nothing. Empty. I looked back into the office trying to figure out where I had left my flashlight, but I felt as if I couldn’t just go back and try to find it, as if me leaving the safe desk was a death sentence that I could not go back on. I made a decision.

First steps brought nothing. The darkness was impenetrable, and with each step seemed to get just darker and darker. The cold wall under my fingers also seemed to lose temperature with every passing second. I felt as if my senses were covered with a thick black veil. I reached out in front of me, my hand touching a spider’s web. I pushed delicately and my ears were attacked by a sound of metal scratching metal. I grabbed it strongly.

The curtain I had mistaken for a spider’s web moved aside, showing me the west corridor, leading up to the dining area. At the end of it was the door leading to my goal, it was closed. My way to it was well lit. I looked at the floor.

Rows of lit candles, with fires flickering with every step made the space look eere like from some kind of a movie. I felt like a tomb raider, entering abandoned chambers of some ancient king, left completely alone for thousands of years. I rubbed my eyes which started to stung from the powerful scent of roses and an oily smoke filling up the air. I walked forward, on the path of fairy tale-like lights in the middle of barely standing location, with dust particles floating lazily ahead of me like some tiny animals. My steps seemed to slow down, the closer to the exit I got.

The doors leading to the closet on my left opened agap, I felt something staring at me. Something just outside of my field of vision, hiding in the blind spot of my eyes. Before I decided what to do - the door closed with a bang and the candles flickered. That wasn’t the right way.

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The dining area caused me to make a step back. It wasn’t at all like I remembered it, it was filled with rose petals and candles. “It can’t possibly be safe to have so many petals near candles”. From the speakers on the stage a soft, romantic music started playing.

The Stage. I held my breath. In the dimly candlelit area it was clearly cutting off out the background with a strong light hidden behind the curtain and a giant shadow of a over two meters tall bear. It stood without moving and yet I felt as if he was twisting with every blink of my sore eyes. “This has to be a dream.” I encouraged myself while backing away. The doors didn’t let me go back. “Closed?” I turn around and noticed that both wings were held together by a chain and a big padlock. It didn’t seem very sturdy but just the fact of it existing in the place where there was nothing just seconds before, scared me to my very core. I moved back, trying to make sense of this situation, when the music stopped.

I froze, seeing as the dining area got darker. The darkness reached its tentacles for me, spinning around me, holding me, trying to choke me.

— Y/N. — I heard a whisper behind me. Shocked, I blinked and turned around suddenly. I stood just before the stage, looking at a giant silhouette of a bear above me. He was a little tilted, making me think as if the tophat was about to fall down from the giant robot’s head. I made a step back, and this thing moved up its hands without any noise. The shadow made it look as if its limbs were thin and long, like weird sticks. I held my breath when the beast grabbed its head and tore it clean off. A scream grew in my chest but I couldn’t make a noise. I was glad for that because just a second later I sighed a sigh of relief.

— Is everything all right Y/N? — Freddy asked me from behind the curtain. He was holding the animatronic head in his hands.

— I… oh… I thought… — I didn’t know how to answer.

— What, you didn’t expect me here? — He chuckled, putting down the mask. He reached out his hand to me in between the folds of the fabric. It looked so real and yet made me feel uneasy. Just a disembodied hand from behind a thick purple veil, calling for me. — Come on, I was waiting for you and almost thought you weren’t coming. You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago already! — His voice sounded a little hurt.

— Really?

— Being late to a date isn’t very nice, you know? — He ignored my questioning and without even letting me think about his words I felt a strong pull. I jumped behind the curtain, barely keeping balance. He was strong.

I found myself on a light-filled stage, at the center of which stood a big bed, covered in red fabric and rose petals, with bottles of champagne or some other alcohol underneath it. Behind the bed was an old fashioned phonograph, the source of the slow music which I wasn’t able to identify. And behind me stood him. Smelling pleasantly of sweat and perfumes.

— You look stressed, is everything okay? — I heard his worried voice. — Come here, I have an idea what to do.

He pushed me gently towards the bed, I didn’t want to turn around cause he would have noticed how red I was at this point, but finally as I reached the bed I had to sit down and finally look at him.

— Woah! Didn’t know people can get so red! Do you like what you see? — He drilled his eyes into me, chuckling, while I was dying inside. Because right in front of me stood a tall, well built man, with nothing but a pair of boxer briefs with the logo of Fazbear Entertainment on. His ripped muscles moved as he breathed. He looked like one of those firemen from the calendars that I used to stash in my room to look at from time to time. I didn’t think I was gay but holy shit.

— Yes. — I answered in a blink of an eye “SHUT UP”. — I mean, you are well built and well, I'm sure you are proud of it.. must have been a lot of work and… — “YOU ARE NOT HELPING!” Yelled my inside-voice, desperately trying to save the situation while my heart started to come to terms with the fact of me being gay.

He smiled at me charismatically, bending his knees, to get on the level of my face. — My eyes are here, handsome. — His eyes finally freed me from this transe.

— Do… Do I know you? — Despite how handsome his face looked, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I saw him for the first time in my life and definitely did not get invited to a date with. Freddy looked disappointed with my answer, hurt even.

— Um… Yeah, we talked an hour ago… — He answered bewildered. — I am Freddy, your coworker. — I blinked a couple of times “Oh right, I did know his name when I saw him, but why don’t I remember anything from the past hour?”. I was searching my mind for any kind of answer, still looking at his beautiful unshaven face. Suddenly his expression lit up. — Oh, you don’t remember?

I nodded my head, still a bit shy in the presence of such a hot cake.

— Yeah, that makes sense… — He sighed and sat next to me, cuddling me delicately. — It was a nasty accident, should be more careful next time.

— Accident?

— Yeah, when I asked you out on a date, you agreed at first and then ran out on me, face completely red! Next thing I heard was some rumble and I found you on the floor.

— Did I Pass out? — I asked, completely not understanding how this could have happened.

He just nodded his head in answer and leaned onto me. — Yeah, for a second there I thought you died, but luckily you were breathing. Then I just took you to the office and um, well… Anyway, it doesn't matter. — He straightened up and I heard some sadness in his voice. — I’m sorry for this.. situation. I’ll just put on my clothes and please, forget about this.

— No, wait! — “AND WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?” Asked my inside voice, completely shocked by what I just said. Freddy looked at me almost as surprised. — Well uh, if I agreed before, I agree now too… I have this weird feeling like I know you already. Like an old friend! — “That’s a bunch of bullshit and you know it” commented the little voice, completely done with my bullshit.

— Really?

I just nodded my head, hesitantly touching his cheek. He instantly lit up and delicatly moved his head to rub against my fingers, lifting up his own hand. Slowly he moved his long fingers along my arm, until he got to the shirt I got from my new employer a couple of days ago in the mail.

— You can’t be comfortable in this cheap thing, maybe you should take it off?

I once again froze, turning completely red.

— Apologies, I misspoke. — He smiled while reaching for the bottom of my stomach. — Maybe I should take it off?

I didn’t protest. Everything happened so quickly and in the next second I found myself underneath him in only my pants. He seemed to admire me from above, but I just felt trapped. I didn’t know what to do, just sinking in the soft mattress under the weight of his chiseled body. He was touching me, going lower and lower and I liked that. I liked that a lot. But something was wrong…

Lights turned off. I stared into the darkness right where his face used to be. A pair of silver points stared back. The silence fell around us, only me, mattress, strong scent of roses and sweat. And him. Getting bigger, heavier.

— Stop… — I gasped for air. But it was a mistake, I started to choke under the weight of this thing. I couldn’t lift up my chest to get another breath, I just kept losing oxygen and my consciousness, crushed by a heavy machine covered in sticky fur. I was helpless.

“Help”