The Week Before, page 13
They’ll be back. Probably soon. You hope if you keep this up, you can keep them busy chasing the ringing away from the office.
You notice the red light blinking on the phone. That wasn’t there earlier, you’re pretty sure. It could be an automated announcement from Management—they try to avoid direct conversations whenever possible. Or maybe someone has sent you a message.
You dial into the Voicemail system. It prompts you for a four-digit passcode.
IF YOU TRY DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS, tap/touch here
IF YOU ENTER 1-9-8-3, tap/touch here
IF YOU ENTER 1-9-8-7, tap/touch here
IF YOU HAVE A TICKET, YOU MAY CHECK IT tap/touch here
HANG UP AND WAIT OUT THE END OF YOUR SHIFT tap/touch here
You punch in the numbers 1-2-3-4 and the recorded voice says, “Incorrect passcode.” You didn’t expect it would be a combination an idiot would have on their luggage, but you never know.
Next you try 0-0-0-0, then 1-1-1-1, all the way through 9-9-9-9, but no dice. You might as well be rolling dice since there are 10,000 possible combinations, and the chances of you happening across the correct one before your shift ends are slim.
You shrug. It’s not like you have anything better to do, and it’s a fine way to kill time.
In frustration, you start typing numbers randomly. Amazingly, one of these attempts works. “Voicemail. You have one new message. Press 1 to play—”
Unfortunately, you were so engrossed in trying out different combinations, you forgot to continue calling around the restaurant. Something grabs you and pulls you backward, kicking and screaming, toward the vent. The phone handset clatters to the floor. A tinny voice comes out of the speaker, “You don’t know me, but this is really important. Freddy and the others will …”
You’ll never know who left the message or what was so important, but you’re also not in much of a position to care anymore.
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TO TRY THIS NIGHT AGAIN, tap/touch here
Four digits … Could be a year, you think. You can’t remember what year the first Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza opened, or its predecessor, Fredbear’s Family Diner, but one year does stick out. It was known as “the Big Bite” until it happened again four years later, kind of like how World War I was just “the Great War” until another one came along.
Speaking of tragedies that could have been avoided.
You punch in the numbers 1-9-8-3 and the phone line crackles. Then you hear … a sobbing child?
There’s definitely a little boy crying on the other end of the line. He’s shouting, “No! Let me go!”
You lean forward. “Hello? Hello? Are you there? Talk to me, kid!”
“No! Please, I don’t want to!”
Your skin prickles. You realize you’re listening to a recording. You can’t help anyone.
“… give you a closer look,” another boy says, his voice mean and hard. You hear children’s laughter and bubbly pop music, one of Fredbear’s original hits, “The Secret Ingredient Is You,” which you haven’t heard in years.
“Hey, stop that! Put him down!” a man shouts. “Get back from the stage! Do not touch the bear.”
People start shouting and screaming. The music plays on. The boy cries on.
Until—
Crunch.
You hang up the phone. But you can still hear a child crying. You twist around in your seat and see—
Crunch.
TO START FROM THE BEGINNING, tap/touch here
TO TRY THIS NIGHT AGAIN, tap/touch here
Four digits … Could be a year, you think. You can’t remember what year the first Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza opened, or its predecessor, Fredbear’s Family Diner, but one year does stick out. Who could forget the so-called “Bite of ’87”?
You shudder. It’s amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe.
You punch in the numbers 1-9-8-7 and there’s a long pause before you hear two garbled words, slowed down: “Edocssap tcerrocni.”
It takes you a moment to understand that it said “Incorrect passcode” in reverse. The Voicemail system is glitching out.
You try typing the numbers again. Or should you enter in 7-8-9-1 instead to get it back to normal? This time, you hear a series of clicks and the whir of a tape deck being rewound. Then a voice speaks.
It sounds familiar, then you recognize it as your own voice. You’re listening to a recording you made some time ago for new employees. Someone has edited it.
“Hey, good job, night five! Um, hey, um, keep a close eye on things tonight, okay? Uh, we don’t have a replacement for your shift yet, but we’re working on it. Well, just get through one more night! Uh, hang in there! Good night!”
Thanks for the words of encouragement, past me. You wish you could leave a recording for that guy.
KEEP DIALING TO THE END OF YOUR SHIFT AND tap/touch here
You reach deep down into your pocket and fish out the prize ticket you found in Foxy’s Pirate Cove. Now that you look at it in better light, you’re not positive that those dark stains are from food at all.
You check the back of it, and just like you thought, there are four numbers written there in pen: 2, 0, 1, and 4.
“I wonder …” You punch them into the phone’s keypad.
“Voicemail. You have one new message. Press 1 to play it, press 2 to listen to saved messages, press 3 to record a message for another extension.”
You tap 1. “Message 1. Received five minutes ago.” The line clicks and you hear a woman’s voice, whispering.
“Ralph, if you’re hearing this, you’ve probably realized by now that something is going on with the animatronics. They aren’t acting normally, even for them—and it’s because of you.”
Who is this? How does she know my name? you think. And how is any of this my fault?
“You’re probably wondering who I am. I bet you don’t remember me, but you interviewed me for a summer job at Freddy’s—and you decided not to hire me. Ralph, you saved my life.”
Management often invites you to screen applicants to see if they’ve got “the right stuff” for the job when there’s more than one person interviewing. It isn’t often that a woman wants to work here. So you do remember her now. Her name was Bronwen something. Only thing is, you gave her a glowing recommendation and were surprised when Management didn’t hire her.
You might have been influenced because Bronwen reminded you of your daughter. She came across as smart, capable, and dependable—all the qualities you need to be a good security guard. She asked all the right questions, had all the right answers. If anything, she was too good for this place.
Maybe that’s why they didn’t hire her.
“My name is Bronwen Light. That summer I took a newspaper internship instead, and now I’m a reporter.” She hesitates. “Junior reporter. I’ve been fascinated with Freddy’s for years, though, and when we started hearing about … things … happening there, I made it my business to dig into the truth.
“I’ve found out so much, but my editor won’t let me print any of it. I can’t let it go. I just learned something, don’t ask me how, that means you’re in danger. We all are.” She takes a deep breath. “Especially Coppelia.”
Why does she know about your daughter? This is venturing into stalker territory. What’s Bronwen’s angle?
“You have to trust me, Ralph. My sources say that the animatronics are planning something. That’s right. They aren’t just mindless puppets. You may not believe any of this.
“If you take a moment to think about it, you know it’s true. They’ve been getting bored of night after night being the same, same, same. This whole week, they’ve been doing more and more than they used to—testing their limits, as well as yours. See, since you decided to leave, they started thinking about how they could leave, too.”
That’s impossible, you think.
“It’s not impossible,” she continues. “They’ve been messing with the power in the restaurant, redirecting it to their charging platforms. Storing up extra energy, so they can travel farther. One more night, and they’ll be able to leave Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and terrorize people outside. And there’ll be no stopping them.
“I know this is your last night on the job, but you have to come back tomorrow. You’re the only one who can prevent them from escaping. If you can get under the stage, you can fix the charging platforms so they can’t power up enough to leave.”
“I bet you’re wondering, Well, why doesn’t she do something? I did. I tried. I broke into the restaurant a few nights ago. Jeremy got me. I mean, Bonnie. Sorry about that mess.”
“I’ve held on as long as I can, but I can’t make it any longer.” She laughs, bitterly. “So this is my last night, too. Don’t worry about trying to save me. It’s too late. Just worry about saving your daughter. Save everyone else. Please, Ralph.
“If you find my phone in the restaurant, do me a favor. Call my mother, let her know what happened to me. She’ll know what to do, and if we’re lucky, she’ll find my research and the stories I’ve written, and we’ll be able to make sure that Fazbear Entertainment never— Oh.”
You hear a child’s laughter and then a monstrous, mechanical roar.
The line crackles and you hear strange tones and noise. Then Bronwen speaks again, but her voice is garbled and low: “It’s me.”
Click.
“End of message.”
You sit for a moment in silence, watching the clock tick over to 6:00 a.m. When you try to play Bronwen’s message again, it’s gone, as if it had never happened.
You could have hallucinated it, you think. That would be the easy way out. You survived your fifth and final night at Freddy’s. You never have to come back here again. You get to leave and go home to your daughter and put this place behind you.
Bronwen was practically a stranger; you don’t owe her anything. But she chose to run to danger, to give up her life to protect other people.
You were right about her.
You sigh. “It’s not over.”
tap/touch here
Management approved your request for overtime without asking any questions. They let you know they’re still looking for your replacement, as there haven’t been any responses to their advertisement yet. “We’ll see how it goes tonight,” you told them.
If you fail tonight, they won’t need a night watchman, and they’ll have a much bigger problem on their hands.
If you succeed, Management won’t be so enthusiastic about welcoming you back.
You check the cameras like you always do. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy are where they’re supposed to be, and they’re staying put. That alone seems suspicious, especially after they were so active last night.
Maybe they’re tired. You laugh.
If you believe Bronwen Light, the animatronics are storing up all the power they can before they leave the restaurant. In that case, you should head out now while they’re dormant.
You’ve already consulted with your friend Dave in Maintenance: You can’t just switch off the power from the Breaker Room this time because the charging platforms are on their own power supply with a backup generator. So you have to find some way to disrupt them.
The fastest way to the stage is through the West Hall. But if the animatronics realize what you’re doing, the safest way is through the vents.
IF YOU GET INTO THE VENTILATION SHAFT, tap/touch here
IF YOU TAKE THE DIRECT ROUTE TO THE DINING AREA, tap/touch here
IF YOU WATCH THE CAMERAS AND WAIT A WHILE, tap/touch here
“Better safe than sorry,” you say as you crawl into the Security Office vent. Somewhere along the way, these narrow passageways became less frightening. At least you only need to watch in two directions for anyone attacking you, forward and behind, and you can tell if an animatronic is in the vents with you.
Unfortunately, something smells terrible inside. Probably a dead rat. There are poison traps hidden all over the restaurant, but the critters still crawl into the walls and vents to die. You cover your nose and press on.
You know your way around these corridors now, so it’s no problem getting to the Dining Area. Before you pop out, you take a quick peek—and you see two big, blue rabbit feet right in front of the vent opening.
Is Bonnie standing watch? It looks like Freddy and Chica have wandered off as well. If you can fix the charging platforms on the stage, you’ll have to lure them back somehow.
You swallow. That won’t be easy.
It also won’t be easy getting to the stage with Bonnie in the way. You either have to find a way around him or a way to distract him.
IF YOU WAIT FOR BONNIE TO LEAVE, tap/touch here
IF YOU GO BACKSTAGE TO CAUSE A DISTRACTION, tap/touch here
IF YOU TRY CRAWLING TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DINING AREA, tap/touch here
You turn on the lights in the West Hall to check for Bonnie before you peer out the door, but the way looks clear. You even check the Supply Closet camera to be extra sure, though all the animatronics are still on the stage. Then you walk cautiously down the West Hall toward the Dining Area, stopping and listening every few feet.
Nothing.
Your experiences this week have conditioned you to fear the worst, to jump at every sound and shadow. By the time you get to the Dining Area and see Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica in their usual positions, with no signs of movement, you’re starting to feel a little silly about it all.
“Well, let’s get this over with,” you say. Your voice echoes in the empty space. You watch the animatronics, but they don’t react to your presence at all.
It’s hard to believe they could be “planning” to escape the restaurant. Where would they go? What’s their goal?
You walk around the stage to the access panel near the back. This is where the staff selects the songs the trio performs. The lights, sound, and choreography are programmed for each of their thirty-something musical numbers, but there are manual overrides in case something happens. You should be able to use it to manage their power usage.
There’s also a hatch beside the panel that opens into the crawlspace under the stage.
IF YOU CLIMB INTO THE CRAWLSPACE, tap/touch here
IF YOU OPEN THE ACCESS PANEL, tap/touch here
You decide to wait a little longer and watch the animatronics before you sabotage the restaurant. Bronwen might have been telling the truth, but her suspicions could be wrong.
You alternate between the cameras for the Show Stage and Pirate Cove. After two hours, none of the animatronics have so much as moved. You guess this is what the job would be like if the animatronics didn’t roam around at night.
It’s kind of boring.
You’re again starting to think that perhaps you imagined everything this week. The best evidence that Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy didn’t really try to kill you is the fact that you’re still here. What chance would you have against all four of them? You’re just one person, without a weapon.
If the animatronics aren’t a threat tonight, then you should keep an eye out for intruders. You click through the other cameras, but everything is quiet. The way it’s supposed to be.
You yawn. You click back to the Show Stage—and suddenly you’re wide-awake.
Freddy’s gone!
Where did he go, though? You didn’t see him on any of the cameras just now. You cycle through them again. No sign of Freddy. You listen. You can’t hear his creepy music, either.
You click back on the Show Stage. Now Bonnie’s gone!
Oh no.
They aren’t coming after you, which means … they’ve left. You’re too late.
TO START FROM THE BEGINNING, tap/touch here
TO TRY THIS NIGHT AGAIN, tap/touch here
By 3:00 a.m., you have to accept the fact that Bonnie is not budging. He must know you’re in the vent, but he doesn’t seem interested in coming after you.
He’s distracting me, you think. So the others can leave.
You may already be too late to stop them. Then you hear the phone ring back in the Security Office. No one ever calls you here. No one ever calls anyone in the middle of the night unless there’s an emergency.
It will take you too long to crawl through the vents back to the Security Office, so you decide to test your theory. You slip out of the vent. Bonnie watches you, but he doesn’t move.
Is he broken?
But no, his eyelids blink, and his mouth … He’s smiling. A shiver runs down your spine.
Then you turn and run to the Security Office. The phone continues ringing, and a child’s laugh follows you from the Dining Area.
You dash into the office and answer the phone. “Hello?”
“Hi, Daddy.” It’s Coppelia.
“Pel! Honey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing! Your friends came over and woke me up.”
“Someone’s there?”
The phone gets muffled as she covers the handset. “You want to talk to him?” she says.
You squeeze the handset as she hands the phone to someone. “Who is this?” you whisper. The connection crackles.
“It’s me.” Freddy Fazbear laughs and hangs up.
TO START FROM THE BEGINNING, tap/touch here
TO TRY THIS NIGHT AGAIN, tap/touch here
You leave Bonnie behind and make your way through the vents to the Backstage opening. The stench is coming from the small room. It’s strong enough to make you gag as you crawl out of the shaft.
What died in here?
You look around, feeling unsettled. You know what you’re looking for. That empty Freddy suit you saw earlier.
It’s in a different position from what you remembered, now hunched over in the corner of the room next to some storage shelves. Someone has attached a spare Freddy head, one of the earlier models from the Fredbear days, only twisted around backward so it’s facing the wall. The air is thick with flies swarming around it, crawling over it. Something is in its right hand.
