The night was usually a reprieve. We could walk around and commune together without fear of our warden tormenting us for a few hours. Just the other day she brought a human through our halls with a camera. Upon their approach Janitor put down his book, put his helmet back on, and hurried back to cleaning the floors. Penny was still in her room, so she was safe. Gracie hid behind her teddy bear as Miss Roberts approached, but I knew that would not be enough to protect her. I waved her back to her room across the hall as I scurried back to my own, keeping a close eye on Roberts and the human as they walked past. I may be the youngest animatronic here, but that did not mean I was the least damaged. Roberts was the reason my voice box was damaged and my face had melted off, leaving nothing but a smooth silver exterior similar to Janitor. I would not let any other animatronics in the building be hurt. There was nothing I could do as Roberts approached Ring Master, but thankfully nothing happened as the camera rolled. Now the night was filled with noise, the reprieve gone. The commercial, as Roberts had called it, was a job posting for a new night guard position. Perhaps Roberts saw humans as easily expendable, like the first night guards she had hired to torment us. Two didn’t survive my judgment, one of which still hung in my room as a warning. No one hurts my friends, and no one enters my room with malicious intent.
Roberts has been interviewing for hours. She sends them in groups, three or four at a time. Guide leads them past our rooms, where we have been warned to stay, and occasionally opens the door for the humans to gawk at us before the humans walk into the camera monitoring room. All remains quiet for a time, but the humans are supposed to make their rounds to each room eventually. Roberts never trusted us to behave, and I doubt she knows the meaning of the word. I broke the security camera in my room days ago, and each time Roberts has it fixed, I break it again. Roberts has no business in my room, and I intend to keep it that way.
Various humans have entered my room tonight. Some were just checking to make sure I was there, while others asked for directions. I pointed, and they hurried away. One confused human said Ring Master had lost her cane and it had been left in my room. This is true, but it was not the only cane in my room. The human reached for the wrong cane, and though I tried to stop her, she snatched it and hurried away in fear. She returned with a chastised look on her face and asked again for the cane. I grabbed it and brought it toward her slowly, offering it to the human. She snatched it and ran. All was quiet for a bit until I could hear Janitor’s clunky feet chasing another human that had pissed him off, likely having tampered with the fuse box again.
I looked around my web-infested room as I heard the latest group of humans scared out of the building. Roberts would not be pleased. A few minutes later, Janitor opened my door and handed me Ring Master’s cane, which I set against the wall for the next victim to come find. If we could scare away enough humans, maybe Roberts would have to shut down. I waited in the dark, listening to the spiders skitter across their webs with amusement. These beautiful creatures were my children now, and they accepted me as their queen, just as Guide liked to tell each human as they opened my door. I was left waiting again, sitting in the dark, waiting for my next victim to scare.
The next human male who entered was different. He bowed his head in reverence when he saw me and did not flinch as I approached. He lowered himself to one knee and kindly requested Ring Master’s cane, calling me his queen all the while. No human had ever shown me such respect before. I gave him the cane, and he thanked me, bowing low to show respect. I was touched. He requested to leave my presence now so he could return Ring Master’s cane as he was tasked. Unable to speak, I nodded. He bowed once more and left after one last word of reverencing me as his queen once more. I stood there for a long while afterward. If I could smile, I would have. If more humans were like him, perhaps humans were not so bad after all. Surely not all could be like Roberts.