Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes(29)

There was no obvious switch, but as Jason scanned the walls, he became distracted by the children’s drawings taped in clusters across the walls. Jason was too young to have any memories of his own from being at Freddy’s: even Hurricane itself was no more than a hazy set of impressions. But something about the pictures brought up a sense of nostalgia. They were all the same, really, the kinds of drawings he and every other kid had done—figures with circles for bodies and sticks for arms, in a multitude of colors. Only a few details showed which figures were the animals: Chica with her beak, and Bonnie with his ears. It seemed like there had been a bit more attention paid to the drawings of Freddy Fazbear; they were a little better, the children had been a little more careful to make the details right. Jason found himself looking at one drawing in particular. It was the same as the others, maybe a little better: Bonnie the Bunny hugging a child. There was no name at the bottom. Jason took the picture off the wall, uncertain why this one in particular had interested him so much.

John burst his head into the room with a wide grin and deep breath, but then seeing that it was only Jason inside he quickly returned to a stoic demeanor. “What’s up?” He nodded his head, playing it cool, then casually stepped away before silently returning to a sprint.

Playing hide-and-seek like babies, Jason thought, I hope I never fall in love.

He looked back down at the drawing, and squinted as though not seeing correctly.

The child was now facing away from Bonnie. Jason stared for a long moment. Wasn’t he hugging Bonnie? He looked out at the main room, but Marla was out of sight, looking for the control room. Jason folded the drawing carefully and put it in his pocket. It was suddenly apparent how quiet it had become outside. Jason stepped out timidly and peeked into the dining room. “Guys?” He whispered, looking back once, then ventured out to find the group.



Jessica, Lamar, Carlton, and Marla were still creeping slowly through the other half of the building. The spotlights from the dining room didn’t reach this far, only accenting edges and corners, or specks of glitter. Jessica scanned the wall with her flashlight, looking for breaks in the plaster, and motioned to Marla to do the same.

“We have to check for a hidden door,” she said.

“The last one wasn’t really hidden,” Carlton pointed out.

“Yeah,” Jessica conceded, but she kept her light on the wall, clearly not ready to give up the hunt. They passed two bathrooms they had not noticed the night before.

“Do you think the plumbing still works?” Carlton said. “I really need to pee.”

“What are you five years old? I don’t want to hear that.” Jessica rolled her eyes and walked faster.

When they got to the room with the little stage, everyone stopped. Marla and Lamar went closer to the stage, drawing together slightly as if unaware they were doing it. Even though Carlton and Jessica had been here the night before, it was as though they were seeing it anew through Marla and Lamar’s eyes. They still had not seen what was behind the curtain, Carlton realized suddenly.

“I remember these posters,” Lamar said.

“I remember this too,” Marla said, pointing to the sign that read “Out of Order” strung across the stage. “My whole life I’ve felt uneasy when I’ve seen that phrase, even if it’s just at a vending machine.” She laughed insincerely.

“I know what you mean,” Lamar said softly, but before he could go on, Carlton interrupted.

“Found it.”

“Maybe,” Jessica amended. There was a door, close-set into the wall like the one below the stage—not quite hidden, but not meant to be noticed. It was painted black, like the walls of the room. Jessica turned the knob and pulled, but it was stuck tight.

“Locked?” Lamar said.

“I don’t think so.”

“Let me try,” Marla said. She grabbed the knob and yanked, and it came open, sending her stumbling back.

“Impressive!” Lamar said.

“Yeah, well, taking care of Jason makes me tough.” Marla grinned, as she knelt down to squeeze through the small door.

It was almost the same as the first room: a set of eight TV screens, and a large panel of unmarked black buttons. Carlton fumbled to find the master switch, reaching his hand into a dark corner. Then, with a click, the power came on and a soft buzzing sound filled the room. Rich, bizarre reds and blues began streaming in under the door from the stage lights outside. Jessica and Carlton began switching the televisions on; they fiddled with the knobs until they were showing pictures, though most were very dark. From here, they could see a long shot of the main stage, just as in the other room, but the rest of the cameras were showing other places and angles. While the first control room had only had shots of the main dining room, here they could see into other areas of the restaurant—the private party rooms, which were set up with glittery decorations for events that would never happen; hallways; an office; and even what looked like a storage closet. The room behind them was visible as well, the camera trained on the “Out of Order” sign, now lit with otherworldly shades, and the curtain behind it. On one screen they could see Jason, ducking back into the arcade.

“Maybe I should go get him,” Marla said, but no one responded.

Carlton started pressing buttons. Spotlights appeared and vanished on the stage in the main dining room as he did, illuminating first one animal and then another, lighting up empty spaces where someone once might have stood. He flipped a switch and it seemed, for a moment, that nothing happened, then Lamar started laughing, pointing at one of the screens. The pizza decorations lining the walls were spinning wildly, as though they might leap off and go rolling away.