Chapter Text
Stifling yet another yawn, you steadied your hands on the wheel, blinking blearily through tired eyes. The warm beams of your headlights illuminated the pavement and the edges of the cracked asphalt in front of you, and the monotony of it all was making it difficult to focus. They should really repave this road out here, you thought absently as your tire dipped into yet another shallow pothole, jostling you slightly. Though, maybe the occasional bump and shake would help to keep you awake. A blessing in disguise, maybe?
You’d been driving for about four hours now, but too late you realized perhaps you should’ve stayed in Salt Lake City for one more night and begun your long journey home in the morning. You’d driven all the way down from Texas just a few days to attend a funeral for a distant relative in Utah. When you’d heard the news from your mother, you really hadn’t planned on going, but she insisted you show your face. “It’s the least you can do, (y/n).” she’d chided over the phone.
Sure, driving twenty hours from your cozy home in Austin to go pay respects to someone you probably hadn’t seen since you were a baby certainly was the least. But, you weren’t opposed to a good road trip. Driving wasn’t your favorite, but being able to stop at a few tourist attractions on the way there made up for it.
You’d made your boyfriend promise to babysit your cat at your shared apartment back home, and though he was reluctant to care for your fur baby, he agreed. You’d assured him you’d only be gone for a week at most, anyway.
Your eyes flicked to your dashboard, and widened slightly when you realized your tank was nearing empty. Shit. You recalled with an irritable huff that you’d forgotten to fill up before you left. “Dumbass.” you scolded yourself.
Taking one hand off the steering wheel to grab your phone, you opened your maps app to check where the nearest gas station was. Glancing between your phone and the road, you were pleasantly surprised to see that the next town, St. George, was only a few minutes down the way you were already headed.
Setting your phone back on the center console with a pleased, ‘hmph,’ you trekked onwards.
The town was tucked into a little valley, shielded by plateaus on each side. As the lights came into view against the rocky landscape, a towering billboard caught your attention. It’s not like this was the only billboard on the road, but it was pretty hard to miss. ’Come on down to ‘Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex!’ it read. It featured four cartoony characters — what looked like a chicken, a wolf, some lizard thing with a mohawk, and a bow tie-clad bear front and center — smiling down at you. They were certainly very inviting.
“Hmm..” you hummed as you drove past the advertisement. The name sounded vaguely familiar.
You slowed as you entered the city limits, your eyes scanning the lit buildings. At the first sight of an Exxon station, you made a beeline to turn in and pull beside one of the pumps. You picked up your phone again to pause your music and killed your engine.
Getting out of your car, you grumbled at the price, but relented and inserted the pump.
As you waited, leaning your back against the car, your curiosity got the better of you. Opening your phone, you typed ‘freddy fazbears mega pixxaplex’ into the search bar. Despite the typo, you got the results you were looking for.
Your suspicion has been correct — you’d heard of this place before. However, being so far out of your way, you’d never put much thought into visiting.
The Mega Pizzaplex was a mere two minutes from your current location. Maybe I should drop by for a visit? you thought jokingly to yourself. What with the time being a little past one in the morning, the place was surely closed. That, and you figured you were a bit older than the target audience. Not that that meant you couldn’t enjoy some good old pizza and arcade games.
Scrolling through the images, you realized it was basically a glorified Chuck E. Cheese, complete with singing animatronics. Though, unlike what you grew up on, these animatronics looked far more realistic. “Freddy Fazbear, Roxanne Wolf, Glamrock Chica, and Montgomery Gator..” you mumbled to yourself as you read their names. Ohh, so the lizard was an alligator. They’re definitely creative with the names, you thought with mirth. You supposed Chuck E. Cheese and whatever his friends’ names were weren’t much better.
These animatronics were certainly fun-looking. They were bright and eye-catching, perfect for entertaining children. You appreciated the prevalent 80s theme in their designs. They seemed a lot friendlier than the stiff, dingy robots you grew up on. You recalled that as children, you and your old friends would dare one another to touch them, always jumping back with a delighted squeal as if they would leap out and grab you if you stayed too close for too long.
You were busy reading through reviews of the Plex when your gas pump clicked, rousing you from your research. People seemed to love the place. It had been around for a good bit longer than you would’ve guessed, and appeared to be a local treasure. They were certainly renowned for their pizza — “the perfect mix of cheese and sauce,” one enthusiastic dad wrote. You were surprised to find that this seemed to be their only location. One would assume that with this kind of popularity, the company would expand at least outside of this humble town. St. George wasn’t teensy, but it wasn’t exactly a bustling metropolitan are.
You shoved your phone in your shorts pocket, unhooking the gas pump from your car and closing the little door. Again, you huffed at the price.
You were about to hop back into your car when you stopped, glancing back at the building. Your stomach grumbled. You could spare a few more bucks on road snacks.
Slipping in and out to snag yourself some chips, candy, and a large cup of coffee, you were satisfied with your forage and were ready to be on your way. Feeling a little more energized — and perhaps a bit jittery — from the caffeine, you were confident in your abilities to push through the night.
You had briefly considered snagging a hotel, but with it being the middle of the summer, it was prime roadtrip season, and most hotels would be fully booked. You decided to save yourself the stress of scrounging for an available room. Besides, you were going to try to drive through the night, but if it seriously came down to it, sleeping in your car wouldn’t kill you.
Taking another sip from your coffee and opening your candy to greedily shovel some in your mouth, you pulled out of the Exxon and back onto the main road.
However, a brightly lit sign above the roofs of neighboring buildings caught your attention. Freddy Fazbear and friends grinned back at you, welcoming you. You pursed your lips, thinking for a moment. Eh, why the hell not? It was only a couple minutes out of your way, what was the harm in driving by? You wanted to see what all the hype was about.
It wasn’t hard to find, and you easily maneuvered your way through the mostly-empty streets to satiate your curiosity.
It would be a lie to say you weren’t surprised by the sheer size of this place. You expected a Main Event type deal, but the Mega Pizzaplex put to shame every entertainment center you’d ever been to. It was humongous. Certainly ‘mega.’ No wonder kids and adults alike went batshit over this place. You slowed your car and cruised alongside the sidewalk separating the road from the enormous parking lot, peering out your passenger side window.
Neon lights illuminated the building from seemingly all angles, and even from the outside, the 80s theme was readily apparent.
You hadn’t even stepped foot through the doors, but you knew that you would’ve gone feral for this place as a kid. Hell, you probably still would. Grabbing some friends and making a day of it sounded like fun.
But your attention was drawn away from ogling at the size of the building to a commotion at its entrance. There were two cop cars parked out front. Their sirens were off but the red and blue alternating lights flashed angrily. Two officers stood outside talking to a blonde-haired woman, who was gesturing wildly between them and a sheepish looking man in what looked like a security guard’s uniform.
It was a little hard to see from your distance, but the woman’s hair was slightly tousled, and she wore a loose shirt and pajama shorts. It seemed like she’d just rolled out of bed, and the look on her face had you thinking she’d woken up on the wrong side of it.
One of the officers seemed to perk up, and turned to look in the direction of your vehicle. Embarrassed to be caught staring, you gave a half-hearted wave, not entirely sure if he could even see you, and drove off. “Not my business..” you breathed.
You continued on down the road, your phone interrupting you with a sharp, “turn left at the next intersection.” It almost sounded irritated, as if exasperated with your detour. She’d been barking orders at you ever since you’d veered off to get gas, orders you’d been promptly ignoring. “Yes, ma’am.” you replied haughtily, but did as you were told.
You fumbled with your phone’s bluetooth connection to your car, cursing the finicky device before it finally cooperated, and started up your roadtrip playlist yet again.
The strange situation at the Pizzaplex now forgotten, you refocused on the task at hand. It wasn’t long before you were speeding away from the town and its esteemed Freddy Fazbear and Co.
Though you never liked the way caffeine made your stomach twist and turn anxiously, it was worth the extra boost of energy. And it sure did taste good right now, especially for gas station coffee. Between that and your candy keeping you occupied, it was much easier to remain alert.
And alertness was certainly what you needed on this dark desert road. During your journey, you’d already had a few animals dart out in front of you, and had narrowly missed having a deer crash through your windshield. That didn’t even account for all the roadkill you felt thump under your tire. You cringed each time, but if you swerved every time a dead rabbit crossed your path, your car would probably be in the ditch.
Thankfully, though, there weren’t many other drivers out on the road at this hour, so you had one less thing to worry about.
You hummed along to your music, idly tapping your pointer finger against the steering wheel. Now that you were all set, you could relax.
Unfortunately for you, it wouldn’t last long.
A flash of color against your headlights had you violently jerking your steering wheel to the left to avoid whatever the hell had streaked out in front of you. You let out a yelp, your tires screeching across the asphalt in tandem. You car spun, and you gripped the wheel for dear life, frozen in your seat. Your coffee and snacks were sent flying, spilling onto the passenger seat and the floor.
You didn’t even have time to think, time for your life to flash before your eyes, before your car came to a halt across the center line, facing the wrong direction.
You sat there, wide-eyed, chest heaving and staring blankly in front of you. Your knuckles were white, and your legs stiff. What the hell was that.
You couldn’t even process what you had seen. Initially you thought it was another car that had somehow materialized in front of you. You could swear you saw a glint of metal.
Was it an animal? A person? God, you hoped it wasn’t a person. You weren’t even sure if you felt a thump against the front of your car or not, and that thought had an inky glob of anxiety settling in the pit of your stomach.
As you blinked at the road in front of you, now quiet and still and lit only by your headlights, you saw…nothing.
Had you imagined the whole thing?
No, you weren’t that tired. In fact, you’d been feeling good!
But you realized, perhaps whatever you potentially hit had been knocked into the ditch on the side of the road. And if it was a person, you sure as shit wanted to know. You weren’t going to abandon someone to bleed out.
Steeling your courage, your hands shakily unbuckled your seatbelt, and you opened your car door to step out onto the road, legs feeling like jelly. The bitter smell of burnt rubber tainted your nostrils.
You slowly crossed the right lane to the edge of the road, peeking off into the ditch. “Hel-hello??” you shakily called into the shadows. It was difficult to see anything on this cloudy night. Where had that thing disappeared to?
When you received no response, you simultaneously felt relief and dread pricking at your skin. Maybe it really was an animal? Of course. A deer had darted out, you swerved and successfully missed it, and it had bounded off into the Utah desert, unharmed.
But what kind of deer was green??
Had your phone not been sent flying somewhere on the floorboards, you would’ve grabbed it to use as a flashlight. Though, your brain was likely too scrambled to even think of that at the moment.
Adrenaline was still pumping in your veins, and the sound of your roaring heartbeat in your ears overpowered the idling rumble of your car, accompanied by the faint lull of your music still playing.
You carefully picked your way down into the ditch, holding your arms out for balance as you wobbled. It was steeper than expected, and your foot slipped on the loose dirt, sending you plopping down on your butt with an “oh!” Your stumble had half surprised you and half scared you.
You quickly got to your feet, brushing dust off yourself and squinting in the dark, looking down the ditch towards the way you came from. You held yourself, trying to steady your breathing.
You were about to turn around to look the other way when something stopped you cold.
“Lookin’ fer someone?” a deep voice broke through the quiet.
You heard soft footsteps in the dirt behind you, threateningly close, and yet again your adrenaline kicked into overdrive, sending tiny shocks of electricity through your whole body. The voice was strange; low and rumbling, with a robotic twang. But you didn’t have time to ponder over it.
In a split second, you knew you had two options; fight or flight.
And being a woman, alone, on a dark, deserted road, with nothing to defend herself, the answer was pretty clear.
You bolted.
Not back up the ditch and onto the road to your car, like a rational person would do, but out into the wilderness. Unfortunately, your mind was not running on rationality — you were working on pure instinct.
You heard a growl behind you, and your frazzled mind managed to wonder if this was a man or a beast who had snuck up on you. More concerning though, was the sound of heavy footsteps advancing at an alarming rate. Running was not your strong suit, but in this moment, you might as well have been a track star.
Your arms pumped furiously, and you blinked through fearful tears and ignored the burning in your thighs. You weren’t sure where you were going, the only thing ahead of you was naked stretch of desert, with mountains far off in the distance. You couldn’t hide even if you tried.
That thought sent you into a panic, and you felt the hot, salty tears break free and stream down your cheeks.
You were horrifyingly aware of the crashing steps getting closer and closer to you, and with each millisecond that passed, your hope of escape dwindled more and more. That hope was quickly snuffed out as you felt large arms encircle your torso, effectively bringing you to a halt.
But your feet were still moving, scrambling desperately against the unforgiving ground, and had it not been for your attacker holding you still with terrifying strength, you surely would’ve fallen flat an your face.
“You done?” that same horrible, taunting voice snarled in your ear. You couldn’t see whatever had grabbed you, but you could feel him. Your back was pressed tightly against a hard, metallic chest as his body curled over yours, and you could feel all his angles and edges. He was warm — no, hot. Perhaps it was partially your own overwhelming body temperature, but this thing holding you emitted heat like a car engine.
You struggled against him, trying not to sob as you kicked and flailed. But his arms kept your hands at your sides, and any other efforts to free yourself seemed to have zero effect. The only thing you were accomplishing was wearing yourself out.
So you switched to begging.
“Let-let me go!” you choked out, “Please! Just let me go!”
You continued to blubber, but whoever it was holding you remained unfazed. You were effectively silenced as a large hand clamped over your mouth and pressed against your cheeks, turning your pleading to a muffled whimper. You felt hot breath against the back of your neck.
Your eyes shot down to look at the hand over your face, and your eyes widened. From what you could see in the poor lighting, it was a vibrant green, with sharp, dangerous-looking black claws and purple fingerless gloves made of a sleek fabric. What. The fuck.
“I said, are you done?” the gruff voice came again from above you.
Your gaze darted upwards to try to get a look at your captor, and you almost lost your mind more than you already had. The only thing keeping you from screaming was the clawed hand over your mouth, allowing only a defeated cry to slip through.
Staring back at you was a pair of glowing red eyes behind star-shaped glasses. The face towering above you was in no way human. It was green and reptilian, with yellow and purple accents and a vibrant red mohawk. It was..a lizard?
No, you realized. Not a lizard. Alligator.
“Do what I tell ya, little lady, and you might jus’ get outta this alive.”