Fragmented Realities

Fragmented Realities is a story created by Aldrasos. It is the second installment of The Redd Herring Trilogy. While the story still revolves around the main protagonist, Jace Redd, this installment is now told from a third-person perspective.

Prologue
Will checked the cameras for the third time that night. It was a few hours past midnight, and he felt the drowsiness of sleep creeping up on him, closer and closer every time he closed his eyes to merely blink. He looked at the clock - 2AM. He still had four hours left of his shift, but from the ways things were going it looked like he wasn't going to stay awake that long. As he scrolled through the cameras he gazed upon the main stage, where there stood three silent, motionless figures. They weren't humans. They were robots. Animatronics, as they were called by staff. At least, whenever a customer wasn't around.

He couldn't lie - they did kind of freak him out. The way they just stood their, heads bowed and instruments by their side. God, the thought of them suddenly turning on sent shivers down his back. That being said, nothing ever happened here. No-one would bother breaking into a pizzeria in the middle of the night, especially after what happened a few days back...

Will looked down at the Notice of Termination slip on the desk in front of him. It wasn't because he was doing a bad job or anything, but ever since those children disappeared the restaurant fell into a downwards spiral which there was no hope of returning from. Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, so it would seem, was doomed to close eventually. Well, it just seemed that tomorrow would be the day it finally happens.

Not that Will cared. The job payed poorly and the shifts were boring as hell. Sometimes he even wished that the animatronics came to life, just so that he had something to do. He shifted through these repetitive thoughts and kicked his feet up on his desk, leaning back and closing his eyes. If something happened, he'd hear it. But for now at least, he wanted to catch a bit of sleep - however brief.

Will's eyes snapped open to a sound. It was faint but...he definitely heard something moving inside the restaurant. He took his feet off the desk and rolled his chair forward. Picking up the camera viewing monitor. Ah, that was the problem - he forgot to turn it off when he fell asleep, and now it was down to just 50% battery. Speaking of sleep, Will glanced at the clock again, and was shocked at what he saw - it was 5AM, but the glass of the clock face...

It was shattered.

Will looked at the monitor again just as he heard a crashing sound somewhere around the other side of the restaurant. He jumped at the sudden blast of audio through the monitor, quickly switching to the main stage.

Freddy was gone.

Just as he lowered the monitor he heard frantic footsteps charging forward in his direction. Not bothering to check the cameras, he quickly lunged forward and slammed his palm onto the door button. The solid metal door grated horrifically slowly close. But just before it could close a large, metal hand shot forward through the gap, jamming the door and stopping it from closing properly. Will scampered away from the door hurriedly, unable to perceive what was happening. He could only watch in horror as a red-ringed artificial eye peered through the doorway, the iris flicking around the room until it locked onto him, to which his sharp-toothed jaw fell open and the room was filled with a ear-splitting scream. Will clamped his hands over his ears and shut his eyes, the inhuman sound echoing through his mind.

And then he heard the terrifying sound of the door being forced open.

Will barely managed to stumble to his feet before Foxy already had his hook through the door, the gap of which was slowly getting wider and wider. With his mind screaming at him to do something and Foxy's shrieks penetrating his thoughts, Will could only stand and watch Foxy lunge into the room, bearing down on him with his hook raised high but his jaw now shut, as if he were savoring the moment. Will stepped backwards in a frantic panic to get away, but bumped into something soft and cushioned standing behind him. Before he could turn to look, the same soft material clamped around the sides of his face, and in a bone-crunching second his vision was turned 180 degrees round. His body fell forward but his view fell back, and the last waning thoughts that drifted through Will's dying mind were of a murderous brown bear and a furious red fox.