Chapter Text
“Welcome! Welcome, one and all! Here, at Iplier’s Pizzeria, we make sure that you’ll never.. want to leave! Where you can have fun, eat pizza, play games, and so much more! And.. We are hiring nightguards! Starting at minimum wage per week! Apply no-”
The small TV shut off with a small click. As Mark groaned of annoyance, he tossed the remote to the side. He pushed away from the desk as the chair rolled towards the cameras. He entered through the backdoor this time; Despite weeks before, when he started the job, he was specifically told not to. I mean, who’s gonna stop him? It’s not that big of a deal after all, right?
Mark clicked a pen he was holding, while the other hand rested on his chin. His eyes droopy and tired, as he stared at the bright screen of the cameras. He removed his hand from his chin when he began to flip through the different cameras. The silence was filled with the sounds of the pen clicking.
The Main Stage, Detective’s Corner, Invincible Space Prize Counter –The second one to be exact–, Backstage, main hallways, yada yada.. same old, same old, for Mark at least.
The place was massive, well.. at least it felt like it. Especially from the amount of damned animatronics that stay inside this one building he's stuck in for the next few hours. Mark, after indecisively switching through every camera, ended up just leaving it on the Main Stage. This job was boring as hell, the animatronics didn’t move or anything. He just had to patrol every so often, check the cameras, that's it. It’s been the same way for the past few weeks. The only thing Mark ever needs to worry about is the generator breaking or overheating. Then he’d need to make a note about that, and go fix it himself.
Mark silently stared into the eyes of the main characters. The Actor, Date Mark, and Heist Mark (though he’s actually called Heist— for some reason. Same for Date Mark, that one’s just called ‘Date’). Who would’ve known Mark would sign up for this.. crappy job for a couple bucks to pay his rent?
Mark stared blankly at the camera. The eerie darkness, which makes this place creepy knowing it's alive and full of joy when open. He could’ve sworn the eyes of the damned hunks of metal were staring right at the camera, but then—
Ring—Ring
The phone started to ring, and Mark raised an eyebrow. He stared down at it for a bit, thinking about picking it up. But.. then declined the call. Most likely, it was just the same pre-recorded message that repeats every week, at the same exact time, which would be the beginning of his shift. He turned his gaze back towards the security footage.
Mark watched as the camera glitched, which made his expression turn puzzled. He leaned forward, closer to the desk as he stared into the static. The static remained for only a few moments, filling the silence rather than the clicking of the pen. Although, the camera suddenly switched back to normal. Mark stared with a now, bored expression, and shrugged the weird phenomenon off. Must’ve been just a small glitch.
At least he thought it was until he looked closely at the Main Stage. It looked normal, at first, yes. Due to the camera being just a bit of a distance from the camera, it was hard to see what's going on, especially with the lights out. Something felt off, no doubt about that.
Upon leaning forward, Mark could notice that..
One of the animatronics were missing.
Date and Actor were still on the stage,.. but Heist was missing.
“What the hell..” Mark quietly muttered, as he frowned.
It’s probably just the camera glitching, right? Probably just another malfunction, the cameras here have always been crappy and out-dated. He switched the camera to the backstage, then back to the main stage.
Still gone.
This was when Mark started to internally panic, as he switched through each camera. He was a bit frantic in trying to find where Heist went, because, let's be honest. Those things aren't supposed to move at night, and right now one of them is roaming somewhere.
He eventually found Heist in one of the hallways, standing as still as a statue. It made Mark relieved, but those lifeless eyes of the animatronic stared into the camera. As if it wasn't Mark watching it, but it was watching him. It's nice to know where it is, but there’s another problem in Mark's hands. That problem, is that Heist is moving. Those things aren’t supposed to move around at night. Mark was told those damned things wouldn’t move.
Mark let out a breath he wasn’t aware of holding. His gaze darted over to a drawer, quickly opening it while rummaging through in an attempt to find the guide. Despite the fact he assumed he threw that manual out, or whatever it was, some sort of guidebook.. There's a chance he probably threw it out weeks ago. The drawer was an absolute mess. There were pencils, random papers and documents, useless stuff to Mark.
The camera glitched, which made Mark jump and look up at the static filled screen. The camera stopped glitching after a few moments, everything was normal. Except for the fact that Heist is gone again. Mark huffed, his lips pressed together as he stood up. His hands on the desk as he flipped through the cameras. He couldn’t find Heist, the damned cameras were basically useless.. where the hell did it go?
He tried to access the hallway cameras that led to the office he sits in, but those are both broken. Right. Great. Fantastic. Why, out of all cameras, must those cameras be broken? Mark grabbed the flashlight beside him, his grip tight as his knuckles turned white. He used the flashlight as a way to relieve a bit of stress,.. maybe as a weapon as well.
Mark began to hesitantly walk towards one of the doors. As his flashlight turned on with a click, he poked his head out of the office. The flashlight illuminated the hallway, the silence deafeningly eerie. Empty. The only things that showed were the closed doors of the closets. Mark let out a small sigh of relief, lowering the flashlight. He turned around, facing the dim-lit empty office. Just a little bit less tense than before, but still tense nonetheless.
Then, he began to walk towards the other hallway. He slowly poked his head out after a bit of convincing himself, lifting the flashlight. The light of the flashlight illuminated the hallway, hitting against a humanoid figure of metal. The dark clothing and hands being visible, reflecting off the light slightly. Mark’s eyes widened, the flashlight very slowly went up to the robot’s face. The robot stared right back, the atmosphere thick. It’s soulless eyes gleaming in the light, and the uncannily-close-to-a-human body, maybe 15-20 feet away from Mark. His breath quickened, and the robot suddenly started to walk closer, with a quick pace, nearly a run.
Mark flinched and almost screamed, quickly backing up into the office as he frantically hit a button. The metal door slammed shut, with a loud thump. Mark could hear another thump, it had followed with a voice, a robotic, “Ah-“
He could care less, Mark quickly backed up from the door, as panic filled his mind. Mark almost wanted to scream again, of both confusion and fear. It was silent, the silence was uncomfortable now.
Mark could hear the metal hitting against the ground, the whirling of the machine close to the door, a voice box activated with lines that were never pre-recorded.. He steadied his breath, listening as the silence of the office was slowly killing Mark’s sanity. The minutes dragged, it felt like time slowed in these few moments.
After what felt like forever, finally, footsteps broke the silence. Metal clanking on the ground, as the sounds slowly faded.
Mark gulped, his hands shaking, his mind petrified by what happened. He was holding the flashlight so tightly, he thought it was going to break under his grip. The ground made light tap noises when Mark slowly made his way towards the closed door. He stared at the two buttons. One to open, one to close. Mark took in a deep breath, as he hit the red button. The door sliding up, opening the black void of darkness into Mark’s sight. He lifted the flashlight, and with a click, it illuminated the darkness.
Nothing. Only the blank walls and flooring.
Mark even poked his head out and looked around with his flashlight. Paranoia flowing through Mark’s very soul. He thought this was going to just be a normal night shift job.
He leaned back into the office, backing up as the cameras were back in his vision.
This place was only about to get a whole lot weirder..