Chapter Text
11:59pm. Power 100%
An office door closes, a rolly chair is sat on, a monitor is turned on.
12:00am. Power 100%
A digital ringing cuts through the security office air, after two and half rings someone picks it up.
“Hello? Hello, hello?” the voice crackled through the phone as the new pizzeria security guard put it up to his ear, “..hello?”
“Yeah, is this Tyler Galpin?”
“Oh- yes! Who-”
A failed attempt to keep a laugh in can be heard on the other end “Sorry- sorry- I can’t actually hear you. This is a recording!”
Tyler rolls his eyes, and the recording continues.
“Anyway, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night. I actually worked in that office before you- I’m finishing up my last week now as a matter of fact- so I know that it can be a bit overwhelming but I’m here to tell you there’s nothing to worry about you’ll do fine. So let’s just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay. Let’s see first there’s an introductory greeting from the company I’m supposed to read. It’s kinda a legal thing, y’know. Uhh.. welcome to the Nevermore’s Outcast Diner, a macabre place for kids and grown-ups alike”
‘Wow this guy seems bored ,’ Tyler thinks to himself, he decides to start flipping through the cameras as the message drolls on.
“Where fantasy and fun come to life Outcast Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person upon discovering that damage or death has occurred-”
“Death!?” the guard whips his head toward the phone after hearing something that was definitely not covered on the job interview.
“A missing person’s report will be filled within 90 days or as soon as property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached and the carpets have been replaced blah blah blah now that might sound bad I know…”
Tyler frantically nods his head toward the phone speaker.
“But there’s really nothing to worry about. The animatronics characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No! If I were forced to sing those same songs for 20 years and I never got a bath? I’d probably get irritable at night too.”
‘“Irritable????” Tyler questioned. He doesn’t get a response.
“So remember that these characters hold a special place in the hearts of our customers- however kooky they may be- and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay. So just be aware that the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uhh they’re left in some kind of free-roaming mode at night uhh something about their joints locking up if they get turned off for too long. They used to be allowed to walk around during the day too! But then there was the Garlic Bread Incident of ‘87. Yeah. It’s amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know-”
His eyes metaphorically bulge out of his skull.
“Now concerning YOUR safety, the only real risk to you as a Night Guard here, if any, is uhh the fact that these characters if they happen to see you after hours they probably won’t recognize you as a person. They’ll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now since that’s against the rules here at Nevermore’s Outcast Diner they’ll probably try toooo forcefully stuff you inside a Beastly Hyde suit..um.. now that wouldn’t be so bad if the suits themselves weren’t filled with crossbeam wires and animatronic devices- specifically around the facial area. I’m sure you can imagine how your head being forcefully stuffed into one of those could cause some discomfort..and death. Yeah they don’t tell you these things when you sign up.”
“No shit! I wouldn’t have taken this job if I knew they were murderous!” he places his head in his hands as he listens to the rest of the tape.
“First day should be a breeze, I’ll chat with you tomorrow. Check those cameras and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary to conserve power. All right, end of my spiel. Good night, Galpin.”
Click. The phone finally goes quiet.
12:05 am. Power 100%
Great.
The first hour goes smoothly as the guy on the phone- Phone Guy?- said it would. No animatronics have left their stage…yet. Tyler begins to bounce his leg nervously as he replays the phone message in his head and thinks aloud, “what did he mean by wander? He was probably fucking with me. Yeah, he was fucking with me.” Almost as if on cue he switches to the front stage camera. Only to notice that the lead singer is missing.
“Shit!” He quickly flips through every camera until he lands on the view facing where the customers would sit had it been during hours. It’s dark, but he swears he can make out an outline of a…human? Where are they going? Maybe he’s seeing things. No, he knows better. That’s when he hears it. At first, it’s farther away. Click. Click. Click.
Then he hears it coming down the Edenvale hallway. Click. Click. Click.
Then he hears it stop. Right outside his left doorway.
He’s too afraid to look, he knows what he’ll see, he knows that he shouldn’t be scared- they’re just ROBOTS- but… no! This is his job. He’ll be fine.
‘It’s just a robot. It’s just a robot. A freaky, tall, lifeless, clicky-shoed robot. ’ he tells himself as he cranes his neck to look at the door. As he expected there she was, a hauntingly hollow humanoid. The Siren, or also affectionately known as, Bianca.
He doesn’t speak to her, he doesn’t want her to know his voice, he slowly creeps his way toward the button trying not to set off her motion sensors.
Whoosh . And the door is shut. He doesn't let his breath out until he hears the clicks again.
Click. Click. Farther away now. Click. Click. Even further now…..? He can’t hear them anymore, so he opens the door and goes back to his desk.
Tyler pulls the cameras back up then selects the main stage, Bianca is back where’s she supposed to be.
1:30am. Power 90%
Nothing this hour. A couple of movements in the cameras, but no unsolicited visits.
2:50am. Power 82%
‘Least the guy could do is tell me that the microwave takes 5% of my power, I just wanted some chicken rame-’ The newbie’s thoughts are interrupted by a noise from above.
Thunk. Pitpitpitpit, a pause, pitpitpit
“What the..” He looks up to find possible sources, the only thing he finds is a vent directly above the desk. “There’s no way. Nope. No. If I ignore it, then there’s nothing in there.” Surely enough, there’s one more set of pitpitpit ’s before the noises are gone.
3:30am. Power 78%
Tyler Galpin, Nevermore’s most professional nighttime security guard, decides to start spinning as fast as he can in his rolling chair.
4:00am. Power 76%
The spinning has ceased, he’s laid back in the chair with his face towards the ceiling.
“Man I knew this would be easy money but I didn’t think boring easy…I wonder if I can blind myself”
FlickFlickFlickFlickFlickFlick There’s rapid on-and-off of light with a silhouette of Tyler in the middle of it on the back wall of the office.
4:02am. Power 72%
The light finally ceases, but the FlickFlickFlickFlick s continue for a few more seconds before ceasing as well.
“Oh no. I thought this flashlight had fresh batteries??? Dammit.” The half-witted guard decides to look for fresh batteries, ”Hmmm where would the new ones be…” he says as he begins to rifle through the desk drawers looking for the replacements. He soon realizes that it’s difficult to do so when there are dancing color spots burned into his retinas.
Giggling erupts from the hallway, freezing every molecule he had in motion.
A robotic voice laced with laughter cuts it off “Shh!! He doesn't know we’re here-”
The sound of metal smacking against metal rings out, then another voice speaks in a hushed gleeful tone, “shhh!!!!- hahahah- Kent he can’t know we’re here…”
‘ I can’t believe this is happening again already, I thought tonight was supposed to be a breeze- well I guess it has- that’s not the point. Ok. If I just say still…they shouldn’t be able to see me.’ He stays entirely still other than his eyes that flick to the side to confirm his thoughts. It’s hard to tell due to the color spots, but if he remembers the “Job Orientation” correctly, he sees the Siren Twins, Divinia and Kent, looming in the Edenvale hallway. By the office lights reaching into the hallway he can make out two sets of eyes, but only one set of glowing blue circles. They’re facing each other but glancing at him in awe like an animal in an exhibit. Divina’s left hand is covering Kent’s mouth, her right hand shielding her mouth as if she’s telling her brother a secret.
“Uh oh Div, I think he hears us, he’s shivering like a leaf”
“Maybe he’s just cold?”
The rhythm guitarist lowers his voice, “If Bianca finds out that we came down here and the Guard saw us she’ll be sooo madddd. We should sneak back!!”
She matches his volume, “...You’re right, let’s go!!!”
Far too slowly in Tyler’s opinion- they start to back away down the hallway. As soon as they are out of view Tyler can hear their footsteps become more rapid and their giggles fade away.
4:45am. Power 40%
Both office doors have been shut since the Twins made their appearance. Tyler decided to sit on the ground under the desk with his knees to his chest. He gave up on his flashlight since he wasn’t able to find any new batteries.
Thoughts as well as his heartbeat are racing. ‘ How long were they there? Why didn’t they come in? Why were they talking so freely? Do they have conscious thoughts? What are they, AI??’
Tap Tap Tap Tyler’s head snaps toward the left door. A piece of paper slides under it. It’s written in green crayon.
It reads:
We ArE soRry :^)
- K&D
Included with the apology note is a cartoon sticker of the Siren Twins. Instead of reaching out for it, Tyler decides to stare at it as if it might explode.
5:30am. Power 25%
Both the doors are reopened now, the power got too low and there’s nothing scarier to Tyler than being left in the dark with zero signals to interpret his surroundings with.
“Thirty more minutes…thirty more minutes..” he mutters to himself as he flips through the cameras to pass the rest of the time. Everyone is where they should be. There are no noises in the hallway- or the vents for that matter. Everything is in order. Maybe the rest of the night will be a breeze.
5:59am. Power 4%
“Come on come on come on com- ON YES” The alarm clock on the desk switches to 6:00:am, triggering a buzzing sound. Tyler books it out of the office all the way outside of the restaurant as fast as he can, personal items already prepared for his shift end.
When he reaches his faded blue Toyota he looks back at the restaurant. He knows he’ll be back tomorrow, he can’t wait to see what horrors await.
He drives off into the dawn.