Chapter Text
Avid had just applied for this new job at a run down, old pizzeria. It was called Goldsmith’s, it was up and running in the 70’s. No one but security guards and maintenance people now, if they even came anymore.
Avid had an old 2012 Impala he drove; it wasn't in the best condition. Avid looked at the clock in the car. It was 8:00. The shift started at 8:30. He had been driving for a while.
The pizzeria finally came into view. It was in a small town called Oakhurst, about an hour out from the big city. Avid pulled into the empty parking lot, and carefully parked his car. The parking lot had a lot of overgrown weeds sticking out of cracks in the cement.
Avid turned off the car, grabbed his bag, and the car keys and stepped out of the car. He shut the door behind him with a loud thud. He could finally get a good look at the place.
It was a dark brick building with red accents. There was a big fluorescent sign on the front that read Goldsmith’s, it had a big bat behind the red letters. The door was closed off by a gate that Avid had been given the key to. He unlocked the gate and pulled it back. It had a wretched loud metal squeaking noise to it. Then Avid unlocked the building, then he walked in.
It was dark, he couldn't see a thing. He bumped into an object.
“Damn it! Why do people just leave stuff in a walkway? I think it said the lights were behind the prize counter,” Avid said, walking around with his hands out in front of him.
There was a small glow out of the darkness. Avid slowly made it towards the light. It was the breaker box. He opened the metal cover and switched on all the lights.
“Finally,” Avid huffed.
He looked around. There were a lot of dark colors like black and other dark colors, but it was mainly red and black. There were long wooden tables that stretched out in the party room; each had a red table runner. The room had tall ceilings. There were multiple old arcade games. Then Avid spotted the animatronics. Three on the main stage and one off to the side saying it was out of order.
Looking around more he found a poster with all their names on it. Pyro had an old rusty guitar, Shelby held a bottle of what he guessed was blood, Owen was the one that needed major repairs, and then Scott Goldsmith. Scott was the best kept animatronic. He was the center of attention and Avid could tell why, Avid walked over to get a good look at Scott.
He had white hair with the slightest hint of teal. His eyes were deep red but they shined that intoxicating metal shine. He had a red waistcoat with gold buttons, and a frilly white undershirt. He had a long black cape with red and gold trim around the edges that went down to his ankles. He had on sleek grey trousers with black boots that went just to the lower half of his shins. He also had long sharp nails.
Avid smiled looking up at the freakishly tall animatronic. Then he heard a phone ring in the back. Avid broke his gaze and looked around to where it could be ringing from. A hall. It was long and the lights flickered just the slightest bit. Avid approached the hall, he looked back at the vampire animatronics on stage, then headed down towards the ringing.
The ringing came from the small security office. Avid stepped in, there were big metal doors on each side that folded up into the walls. They had big buttons by them, one that turned on a light and one that closed the door. The room was small but it had a good chair in it, but like that mattered. The cams were on an old TV that somehow still worked. The phone started getting annoying so Avid answered.
“Hello? Hello hello?
Uh, I wanted to record a message for you, to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you, I’m finishing up my last week now as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I’m here to tell you there’s nothing to worry about, Uh, you’ll do fine. So, let’s just focus on getting you through your first week, okay?”
Avid started to zone out not paying attention to the recording. He checked his watch. It was 11:30 already.
“Crap, I must have been looking around for a long time. It’s almost midnight,” Avid said, walking back to the prize counter where he left his stuff.
Avid shuffled through his bag, and pulled out a manual. It was an old and faded yellow color. Avid opened it, flipping through pages until he landed on page 57.
“Ok it says here I have to turn off all the power and turn on the backup generator for the office. Then it says to stay on cams all night. Sounds easy enough,” Avid says as he puts away the old manual.
Avid pulls out his phone, turns on the flashlight, then turns off all the lights. He grabs his bag and pulls it over his shoulder. It was a big crossbody tan canvas bag he carried everywhere with him. His older sister Elle gave him last year. He had covered it in vinyl pins of all sizes. Some of the pins meant stuff others he just liked.
He headed back to the maintenance closet to start the generator. Using his phone for light he started the generator. Avid headed back to the security office. His phone had run out of battery.
“Why? Just why? Why my first night of all things?” Avid was frustrated, and he didn’t have his charger.
The clock in the office chimed to midnight. Avid set his bag down under the wobbly desk, and sat in the chair. It was a spinny chair on wheels. Avid was going to get in trouble with this thing.
Nothing had happened for three hours until he heard a clank out in the main party room. Avid pulled up the cams. Pyro was off the stage. He was amongst the tables.
“What is going on?” Avid looked around then to the clock. It was 3am, but the clock didn’t show minutes and his phone was dead.
“Ok this is all in my imagination. Right? I mean it has to be a prank or something.” Avid was looking at all the cameras at rapid speed.
He had to stay here for a week so he brought clothes and his belongings. How was he going to survive a week if he was already going insane? The clock switched to 4am. Pyro didn’t move from his spot. That meant it had to be a prank right? It had to be.
Avid checked cams again. Now Shelby was gone, great. Either some kids had gotten in and were somehow moving around hundreds of pounds of steel, or the rumors were true this place was haunted.
Scott nor Owen had moved. What was going on in this place?
It was 5am. One more hour till Avid could turn power back on again. He looked back at the mainstage on cams. Scott was moving like a normal person. He was looking around the room and talking to one of the others. Then he looked at the camera and winked at Avid, or at least he probably was. Again this could be all in Avid’s head.
Avid was spinning around on the chair and looking at the cams every once and a while. The animatronics were having conversations, Owen had popped his head out of his curtain to talk to them but still stayed on his stage.
The clock hit 6am with an alarm going off. Avid rushed to turn the lights on; he didn't care if he got chased down by potential ghosts. He ran past the party room not even checking if the animatronics had moved. He made it to the prize counter huffing he opened the breaker box and flipped on all the lights.
He slowly crept around the corner looking to see if he was just hallucinating. It looked like the animatronics hadn’t even moved. He headed back to the office to take a nap after the eventful night.