Behind Those Eyes

Hearing the word "Norman" sent a shock through me. Was that my name? What was my last name? How did Golden Freddy know? Who even is this version of Golden Freddy?

"W-who are you?" I asked. Golden Freddy didn't speak. Instead, he rose slowly, towering over me with a cold, hollow stare that sent chills down my spine. I had to crane my neck to meet his gaze.

"I think the better question is, why are you still here?" Golden Freddy asked. This voice -- it wasn't Cassidy's. This voice was deeper, darker, and more distorted.

"Because Cassidy needs my help," I replied. 

"Is that so?" Golden Freddy said. "I thought it was your lack of self-preservation. Your need to play the hero makes you look weak," Golden Freddy remarked.

"You could be right," I said. "So, 'brother,' got a name?" 

"That is irrelevant to why I am here." 

"Then why are you here?" 

"To help you, of course. However, you don't seem truly grateful." 

That's when I noticed his purple bowtie and top hat; it was just like the Fredbear plush. Cassidy wore black. This meant I wasn't interacting with Cassidy; it was someone or something else.

"I was fine on my own," I muttered, narrowing my eyes.

"Oh please, you were all curled up like a scared little child just moments ago." 

"Okay, fine, I do admit you saved me. But what's the purpose of you doing so?" I asked. 

Golden Freddy tilted his head, and his voice dropped an octave.

"I thought you'd like to know your real name before you died,"

"What do you mean by before I died?" I asked. Golden Freddy didn't answer. Instead, the Golden Bear let out a soul-rattling scream and lunged at me. Instinctually, I shut my eyes, covered my ears, and braced for impact. Instead, it became silent. I opened my eyes and found myself back in the office. The doors were open, and after checking, the animatronics still stood at the stage. Was that another hallucination? Or could it be another dream or a trick Cassidy pulled? This restaurant is going to drive me insane.

I must've jinxed it, because right then, the animatronics started moving again. However, they weren't aggressive this time. Maybe Cassidy was right: Don't trust everything you see. Bonnie and Chica were both off the stage and were soon found in the dining area. Freddy stayed on stage, while Foxy appeared to be inactive. I felt worried about Cassidy. Hopefully she didn't run into trouble. The camera in the dining room suddenly went offline and turned back on, revealing Bonnie had moved to another room. Chica remained where she was. 

I flipped through the cameras to find Bonnie, who was in the backstage room. A soft musical hum played in the halls. That meant that Foxy was activated. I came back to the dining room camera to find Chica had disappeared. After flipping through countless cameras, I located Chica in the bathrooms. When I noticed the strange movements of the animatronics last night, I recognized a pattern. Bonnie strictly moved to the left hallway and Chica to the right. Last time, Freddy went to the left hallway when the power went out, and I think Foxy went left too. So three animatronics go to the left hallway, and only one goes right? That's not very strategic. I snapped out of my deep thought and realized Chica had already moved from her position. I searched camera after camera to find Chica. As expected, Chica was in the right hallway. So I was correct about the animatronics movement behaviors, at least for Chica; we haven't seen Bonnie move yet. Speaking of Bonnie, I searched the backstage area again and found him missing. I switched to the left hallway camera, and bingo, there was Bonnie. Freddy's laugh echoed, signaling he was active. I quickly switched the camera view to the dining room. However, Freddy wasn't there. I switched to the main stage camera and saw Freddy menacingly staring directly into it. Freddy's white eyes twinkled with mischief— mischief that might make my night harder. 

I heard metallic footsteps outside the left door and immediately switched the camera to view the left hallway corner. As expected, Bonnie was present. I didn't hear anything to my right, but I checked anyway. I changed the camera's view and saw that Chica was still in the right hallway.

"De de dum dum de dum dum do do."

Foxy hummed again. If I am correct, he's preparing to run. I immediately switched the camera to the pirates cove and observed Foxy separating the purple curtain with his shiny metal hook. Foxy appeared to be preparing to run. Seeing Foxy's one white ghost eye staring into the camera was a chilling sight. I turned my attention to the door to my left and pressed the white button. As I predicted, Bonnie was at the door. This time, it wasn't a shock he was there because I knew what to do in this situation. I pushed the red button, slamming the metal door on Bonnie. I heard sturdy footsteps to my right, so I inspected the right hallway camera and found Chica missing. I located her at the right hallway corner. So far, everything seemed to run smoothly. As I used the camera and shut the door, the power slowly drained. Every 1–2 seconds, a percent of the power drops. That's when I realized that next to the power percentage meter, there was a display for power usage, showing how much was being used. At the moment, two bars are in use. However, if I closed the right door where Chica was located, it probably would be three. But how much power is used without the camera and all the doors? 

I pressed the white button again to see Bonnie no longer being at the door. To make sure Bonnie wasn't at the door anymore, I flipped through the cameras. I finally found him in the dining room area. I pushed the red button to open the door, which resulted in the removal of one green bar from the power usage display. Without using both doors or the camera, one bar of power usage remained. Perhaps the office lights were the source of that one bar of power, but I'm not aware of the actual purpose. Metal footsteps played again to my right, and I instinctively pressed the white button. I immediately pushed the red button upon seeing Chica. I was right; every time I close one of the doors, a bar pops up in the power usage display. I'm pretty sure if I closed both doors, two bars would show up. The camera also takes up one bar.

After a minute, I examined the right door again, and Chica was no longer there, so I opened it. I investigated the dining room area and found Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica were all there. Their piercing white ghoulish eyes stared at the camera with unsettling and sinister looks. They all looked filled with rage and hatred, as if directed solely at me. Just then, Freddy laughed again, and the camera became disabled for a moment. This time, Freddy's laugh was filled with abhorrence and ghoulishness. I glanced at the clock to see it was 3 AM. There were 3 more hours until it was 6 AM. I also had 70 percent power, which wasn't terrible. The camera finally came back on, showing the animatronics no longer in the dining area. One by one, I located each of the animatronics. Bonnie was in the backstage room, Chica was in the kitchen, and Freddy was in the right hallway. I initially thought Freddy went left. However, Freddy goes to the right of the hallway instead of the left. It was only when the power went out that Freddy went to the left hallway. The conclusion is that only Foxy and Bonnie went to the left hallway, while Freddy and Chica went to the right hallway. Once again, Freddy laughed. This time, the sound was closer. I check the door corner camera to find Freddy there, staring at the camera with his ghoul eyes. Something felt off about Freddy. His attack seemed likely to happen soon. Without taking any chances, I decided to close the right door early rather than wait. 

"De de dum dum de dum dum do do,"

When I checked the pirate's cove, Foxy began humming again. Foxy was fully outside his cove this time. Foxy was on the verge of running. I checked the cameras to locate Bonnie and found him in the corner of the left hallway. How did he get there so quickly? How did I not hear him? I checked around for Chica and found her in the right hallway. Were the animatronics that intelligent to work together? Could it be that Foxy hummed to cover the sound of Bonnie approaching the corner of the hallway? I started to panic. If they all teamed up and stayed at the doors all night, I'd run out of power. I'm sure this time they won't forget to make sure I'm dead in the suit. The night continues to worsen with each passing minute.

Suddenly, I heard the pitter-patter of a rapidly approaching object at the left door. I almost trampled over myself trying to shut the left door. If I hadn't closed the left door, I would likely be dead. The approaching object stopped in front of the door and started banging on it. After 2–3 bangs, it was gone. I reviewed the camera footage and saw Foxy running back to his cove. Foxy was the one running to my door and banging on it. I couldn't open it yet because Bonnie was also there, looking at me through the small office window with his mouth dangling open. Freddy laughed again and banged on the right door. Chica was present at the door, looking through the office window. The power level decreased rapidly. I slowly watched it go from 70 to 50 in a matter of minutes. At this rate, if all three animatronics didn't move from the doors, I was going to lose power. I can't die, not like this. Not again. Honestly, the animatronics don't seem to be leaving anytime soon. It's like they're intelligent enough to know something is wrong. It's like they're human in some way. They could sense my fear.

It was barely 4 AM, and the power level was 48%. Finally, Bonnie stopped banging on the door and left. After checking Bonnie was gone, I opened the door, and it alleviated the power usage slightly. I looked through the right door window and discovered Chica had disappeared. Before I opened the door, a thought struck me. Was Freddy still there? I didn't hear him laugh or indicate he moved at all. I flipped through the cameras again and found both Freddy and Chica in the bathrooms. Perverts. This was odd because I didn't hear either Chica or Freddy move, but I wasn't complaining since I could open the door. Finally, the power usage bar was back to one bar. In just two hours, the power level dropped from 70 to 45%, a significant decrease. It might have been quicker last time.

"De de dum dum de dum dum do do." 

Didn't Foxy just leave his cove for a moment awhile back? Well, it doesn't matter because it only takes him a few seconds before he returns to his cove. I believe I have identified a pattern among the animatronics. The sound was crucial as it enabled me to identify the footsteps of Chica and Bonnie, as well as the sounds of Foxy humming and Freddy laughing. However, I needed them to make sounds more often so I could accurately recognize their sound patterns. If I could identify their sound patterns, it would help in energy conservation and better equip me for the upcoming two nights. Also, it would cut my camera power use.

Freddy started laughing again. I checked the cameras to find the animatronics again. Bonnie was in the backstage room, Chica was in the dining room, and Freddy was now in the right hallway. Strange changes occurred to the posters on the right side of the area where Freddy stood. The posters switched from the regular Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica posters to three ghostly crying children posters. The sight was rather terrifying to view, and it felt as if I could hear children screaming and crying when I observed the posters. Freddy's laugh suddenly snapped me out of my deep thought, and he stared at the camera once more. Freddy laughed again, and I had a feeling that he was trying to communicate with me, even though he couldn't speak.

ring dong ding dong, ring dong ding dong  

6 AM...