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You hated this job. It sucked, there was no other way to say it. Being haunted by ghostly animatronics that aren’t even there, all while being taunted by the one animatronic that is.
The other guards called him “Springbonnie”. For them, he was just another hallucination, albeit a very realistic one. From what they described, he smelled like old carpet and rotting corpses. Smells were something that phantom animatronics did not possess in any capacity. He also made very realistic human-like sounds when he moved, something most of the phantoms weren’t capable of either. The other guards didn’t realize he was a real animatronic because of his lack of appearances, but you knew he was real. That’s because most of the time, you were the only person he actually attempted to attack. None of the other employees had ever experienced him trying to break into the office, but you had. None of them had ever seen him move to another camera after a first sighting, but he always moved for you. He was only acknowledged as an actual threat on your fifth shift, where calls were pre-recorded to each guard, explaining to them he was actually real and just suffering from some major technological impairments. When you originally took this job, you thought security devices placed in your camera and inside of the vents were for burglars; only to find out that they were pretty useful in deterring the stalking of a nearly destroyed animatronic.
This was your fourth shift at Fazbear’s Frights, and you were on high alert for Springbonnie, who seemed to move faster every night you returned. It was extremely hot in the building, which only triggered more intense phantom experiences. After getting jumpscared about ten times before 2am, you were terrified in a way you had never been terrified before. You closed the door to the vent, curled under the desk, and sobbed as the entire building just seemed to devolve into chaos around you.
It was just then that you heard soft thunks on the vent door, each coming at about two seconds apart.
“Please go away!” You half-cried, half-shouted at the vent door. “Why do you keep trying to get in here!? You’re nothing but a goddamned springtrapped animatronic! I’m not a guest! You don’t have to meet me, you don’t have to talk to me! Please, just go away…”
A surprising response emanated from the vents. “But you seem so sad…”
You looked at the vent door in shocked confusion. “Y-you talk? How can you talk? Only Balloon Boy can talk, and that’s only because he isn’t rea-”
“How do you know that I’m real?” said the voice from the vent.
You paused before coming up with an answer. “Because the guy on the phone… Our manager… He checked you out and he said-“
“You see hallucinations every time you’re on shift and you think you have solid, undeniable proof that I’m real?”
You couldn’t respond to that one. He was right; you had been seeing hallucinations every single time you had worked at this location. You didn’t know what was real anymore. “W-well… You’re the only animatronic I know who tries to get through the vents… So there’s no way it’s not you.”
“Who is ‘you’”? The voice responded.
“Springbonnie….” You said meekly.
“Yes, and how do you know that I’m the actual Springbonnie? Seems as if Springbonnie is kind of clunky… And can’t really talk that well, I assume?” The voice grew clearer, emanating from behind the vent door.
“So you’re saying there is a real Springbonnie, you’re just not him? You’re a hallucination of the Springbonnie I’ve been seeing?” You asked the strange, disembodied voice.
“I guess you could say that. And if you simply open the vent door, I could come and help you-“
“No. Absolutely not.” You stared angrily at the vent, regardless of whether he was actually in there. “This is a trick. I’m going insane. I need to get out of here.”
“Ok, that’s fine. I can do my work from here, being a hallucination and all that. I just figured that maybe seeing somebody talk to you might ease your mind a bit.” The voice says.
“Your… Work?”
“Yes! Remember how I told you that you sounded sad? Well, I’m in your head, sweetheart! It’s my job to help you feel better.”
You looked back down at the floor in front of you, and you noticed that the red flashing lights that typically signaled a vent failure had stopped without your maintenance. Weird, but you’d take the moment of peace. “O-ok… How are you going to make me feel better?”
“Well, I figured we could talk it out.” The voice paused for a moment. “Springtrapped… How’d you come up with that one? That’s a funny name.”
“Well, I was told that the Springbonnie model was a hybrid of both an animatronic and a wearable suit. When the person takes off the suit, ‘traps’ come out and hold the adjustable springs in place, so that the animatronic can continue to function on its own…”
“Springtrapped… That’s a cool name. Do you mind calling me Springtrap instead? Works much better than Springbonnie.”
“I mean, you’re the voice in my head; you can be called whatever you want.” You said back to the voice.
“Wow, smart and nice. How did you ever wind up in a dump like this?” Springtrap asked.
“Well, I wanted to go to university for something cool, but uh… This is going to sound pathetic… Even the lowest level courses intimidated me, so I dropped out.”
“And I bet everyone told you to stick it out, huh?” Springtrap replied.
”Yeah, they did. Which made me kind of sad because it feels like I’m failing at something that everyone else finds super easy…” You said to Springtrap.
“I wouldn’t say you’re a quitter. I mean, look at what you’re doing right now! You’re battling hallucinations, closing doors, playing sounds, messing around with the maintenance doohickeys… And you’ve done this for what, four nights in a row now? I’d say you’re quite the capable individual.” Springtrap said.
You climb out from under the desk and drag yourself towards the vent door. “This job’s only hard because no one wants to work nights. The rest of the job is just pushing buttons and trying to keep cool.”
“And you do it well.” Springtrap replied.
You paused for a moment. The voice in your head was surprisingly comforting and made you see things in a new light. You weren’t frustrated with Springtrap at all, but that raised some suspicions. “How come you wanted to get in through the vent earlier?”
“Well, I’m a part of your subconscious. Your brain is a powerful organ, but it sometimes needs… Physical manifestations to work at its peak. I’m using the vent door as a metaphor for letting me in. You open that vent door. My positive energy weaves its way into your consciousness.”
“Is this my only chance to open the vent door?” You ask.
”No, you can open it at any time. Until you do, I won’t be permanently present in your mind - I’ll only be here to help you at Fazbear’s.” Springtrap responds.
”I understand. I’m sorry, I just don’t think I’m ready to do that yet… I’m still having trouble convincing myself that I didn’t accidentally take some sort of drug before this shift started…” You said to Springtrap.
“That’s ok. Take all the time you need. I’ll be here night after night, as long as you’re at Fazbear’s.”
“You’re surprisingly reassuring for an auditory hallucination of a fifty-or-so-year-old rabbit costume that I completely made up in my head.” You lie down, getting as close to the vent door as possible.
“What can I say? It’s all you, sweetheart. The brain is a powerful thing, and yours is definitely one of the more powerful ones.”
“That’s sweet. Y’know, I think you do your job well.” You say to Springtrap.
'“Oh?”
”Yeah, I’m definitely not as sad as I was… You know, I’ve always had trouble letting people in.”
“I figured as such.” Springtrap says, still behind the door. “But you should probably start doing that more often. Letting people in… Letting people help you…”
“I know. I’m just afraid that they’re going to run away, y’know? What if my problems are like, stupid compared to other people’s? What if they’re too much and I just don’t know it?”
“Let me guess, you think your problems are ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’; but you’d listen to anyone else’s problems without complaint?” Springtrap’s voice changed, as if he was sporting a smile behind the door. “It would be very disappointing if nobody gave you the same respect that you showed others.”
“I guess you’re right. That makes me thankful that you’re here.” You paused. “You really want to be stuck in my brain for the rest of my life?”
Springtrap’s voice emanated from the vent. “I already am. I just want to talk to you more often.”
You look at the vent door. “And all I have to do is… Open the door?”
“You got it, sweetheart, just one push of the button, and I’ll be yours forever.”
You look at your control center, getting up off the floor. You take a deep breath.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”