There's a faint squishing noise as you peek around the corner, just in time to see the man finish adjusting the head of one of the animatronic suits. He starts, and turns to face you.
"Oh, hello, hello!" he says, smiling wide as you step further into the room. It's dark, and it's hard to see exactly what it is he's wiping off of his hands, "I wasn't expecting you! You really should knock before you come in!"
Quickly, well...as quickly as he can considering the weight of the thing, he grabs the man-sized stuffed bear under the arms and tries to lift it. He grunts and struggles, then looks up at you with an embarrassed expression, "Uh, little help here?" he pleads. You roll your eyes but move to assist him.
The bear is heavy, heavier than it ought to be even considering the thick metal endoskeleton and all of the wiring inside, but together to two of you manage to lift it and set it back on the rack next to the others. It sits there, slumped over, the whole band looking dejected and unloved, "They smell bad," you say, idly, "Like mildew or something."
The man puts his purple cap back on and grins, a little too wide you think, "Uh, yeah, I was just trying to clean that one," he says, giving a nervous chuckle, "Darn things get so filthy, covered in kid-spit and having pizza jammed into their mouths. They're a heck of a job to clean."
You know you shouldn't look closer. You know you aren't going to like what you see. But you do it anyway, "I don't think that's pizza," you say, leaning closer to the bear, sniffing and trying to get a better look. You can almost see something...leaking out of it's opened mouth. Something red, that stains the fur.
"Oh, yeah," the man with the purple cap says hurriedly, ushering you away from the thing, "Ole Freddie here's had so much pizza, ha ha, I wouldn't be surprised if it's rotten pepperoni and sauce you're smelling!"
You let him push you backward. The man doesn't take his hand off of you at first, and looks back at Freddie, letting out another nervous chuckle. At this point you're certain he's hiding something, but you really aren't sure how much you want to know. Finally his hands drop, and he turns back to face you.
"So, uh, what did you need?" he asks you.
You cock your thumb behind you, "Fred sent me back here," you say, referring to the owner/manager, "He said one of the moms is freaking out, thought she saw her kid come this way."
The man's eyes widen, and then quickly narrow, darting around, "She did, did she?" he asks, looking behind you suddenly, "Yeah, I think I saw a kid come this way. He might have found his way into the Safety Room. Why don't we check in there?"
You nod, just ready to be done, to find the little snot-nose and get him back to his mother so you can get back to making pizzas and maybe finish your shift, "Sure," you say, "Lead the way."
The weasel with the purple hat nods and makes his way towards the Safety Room, right past the racks of animatronics. You shrug and follow, but not before stopping to look at Freddie and the gang again. That's when you spot it.
It isn't on Freddie, like you thought at first, but on Chica the Chicken. You would have noticed it earlier if you had been paying more attention. Dark red sticks out like a sore thumb against the bright yellow of the chicken costume. It sure as hell doesn't look like old pizza sauce, but you lean in closer just to be sure, and that's when you hear it.
"Help...me..." it says, a faint voice from...inside the chicken suit, "I want...my...mommy..."
Your eyes widen and your mouth opens to say something, to call for help, but you aren't faster than the Purple Man. The knife slides neatly between your ribs and stops just short of your heart, "Just had to be curious, didn't you?" he hisses from behind you as your vision starts to blur, "That's fine, I know just what to do with curious kids. Wanna help me put on a puppet show?"
"So, uh, what did you need?" he asks you.
You cock your thumb behind you, "Fred sent me back here," you say, referring to the owner/manager, "He said one of the moms is freaking out, thought she saw her kid come this way."
The man's eyes widen, and then quickly narrow, darting around, "She did, did she?" he asks, looking behind you suddenly, "Yeah, I think I saw a kid come this way. He might have found his way into the Safety Room. Why don't we check in there?"
You nod, just ready to be done, to find the little snot-nose and get him back to his mother so you can get back to making pizzas and maybe finish your shift, "Sure," you say, "Lead the way."
The weasel with the purple hat nods and makes his way towards the Safety Room, right past the racks of animatronics. You shrug and follow, but not before stopping to look at Freddie and the gang again. That's when you spot it.
It isn't on Freddie, like you thought at first, but on Chica the Chicken. You would have noticed it earlier if you had been paying more attention. Dark red sticks out like a sore thumb against the bright yellow of the chicken costume. It sure as hell doesn't look like old pizza sauce, but you lean in closer just to be sure, and that's when you hear it.
"Help...me..." it says, a faint voice from...inside the chicken suit, "I want...my...mommy..."
Your eyes widen and your mouth opens to say something, to call for help, but you aren't faster than the Purple Man. The knife slides neatly between your ribs and stops just short of your heart, "Just had to be curious, didn't you?" he hisses from behind you as your vision starts to blur, "That's fine, I know just what to do with curious kids. Wanna help me put on a puppet show?"
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