23 February 2023
Dysis lay on the bed staring up at the ceiling, trying to detangle her thoughts. The longer she dwelled, the stronger her memory of Ciaran's confession became.
I remember him telling me about the ARG. That all my friends and family had been informed and were playing along. I couldn't have dreamt that, could I?
She briefly considered that possibility. The memories were so surreal and foggy, it definitely felt outlandish enough to be fiction. However, her instincts screamed at her that it had happened. The facts were too specific, the story too nightmarish, for her to have conjured up independently.
Even more confusing still, fragments of memories of other conversations began to surface.
Ciaran visiting to finish her briefing and disclosing some even more shocking revelations.
Another day where Ciaran and Ben jointly gave her amended instructions.
Years-old memories of a Christmas when Ciaran admitted Dad made the Five Nights at Freddy's games.
Most recently, a brief moment where Ciaran rolled his eyes and said "You were right about Dad."
Her eyes widened when she realised, with shock and horror, that she recalled not just one detailed conversation but four and change. Four times she'd been given information pertinent to the ARG and games. All of them varying in the details given and contradicting previous ones, muddying the waters and confusing her. She couldn't even remember all the specifics, giving her only a partial picture.
And to top it all off, every single fact had the potential to be misinformation within the game.
Dysis let out a groan. Her head hurt just thinking about it. She couldn't have fabricated multiple detailed conversations, could she? But… if it was true, how could she have forgotten them?
Then, like a lightning bolt, a thought struck her.
Crap, I wasn't supposed to talk about the fact there is an ARG! And others can't talk about it either. I hope I didn't screw anything up!
She hurriedly typed back.
Dysis: Oh! Fair enough. I do remember chatting about the books and my theory that Gregory was Patient 46 though.
She hoped her deflection was enough to save her. Thankfully, it seemed so because she received a reply seconds later.
Ciaran: Ah, I remember that theory! Others have picked up on that too. Did you see Dawko leaked the movie sign?
Dysis: Yes! Very obvious Disney parallels with the white gloves.
Ciaran: Yeah, controversial! What do you think of the gloves?
Dysis smiled. Despite her confusion, she couldn't help but theorise. She did so as naturally as breathing. No one she was close to ever wanted to talk about Five Nights At Freddy's so she leapt at the opportunity.
Dysis: I think Fazbear Entertainment is trying to take over the world. They are involved in more than just fast food - healthcare, retail and fuel too. The brand is just a front to cover up for their shady dealings, which includes human trafficking. Criminals often use gloves to cover up their tracks.
Ciaran: Hrm, I like your thinking! Do you think they will keep the gloves on the actual animatronics?
Dysis: Not sure. Ultimately, the animatronics are not the bad guys, the people who run Fazbear Entertainment are. They're the ones doing experiments on people.
Ciaran: I mean just from an aesthetics point of view. I don't like the gloves haha!
Dysis: Lmao yeah, I think its a bit... Off-looking. I hope they aren't on the animatronics.
Ciaran: I really need to catch up on FNAF. I'm so behind, with uni and everything.
Dysis stared at the message, suspicious. She supposed that made sense but… if Ciaran really was helping run this game like she suspected, it felt like a very convenient excuse.
Dysis: Ciaran, the mega fnaf fan, behind?! I am surprised
Ciaran: Life is very rude, there isn't much time for deep dives. How are you anyway?
And just like that, the conversation turned to mundane things. Dysis didn't push it. She didn't want to upset anything behind the scenes if her memories were true.
After a few personal updates, the conversation came to a halt just moments before Ben came through the door.
Exhausted from his day at work, Ben stopped only briefly to give her a kiss before collapsing on the sofa. Concerned, Dysis asked him how his day had been and he let out a small groan.
"Tiring." He admitted, "Naomi just wouldn't stop complaining! And the management was breathing down our necks again. I wish they'd just let us get on with what we need to do."
"Oof, that sucks," Dysis commiserated. She knew from experience that Ben didn't appreciate empty platitudes so she kept her comments to a minimum. Ben often came home from his IT job fired up and annoyed. A creative soul at heart, he longed to be able to focus on his passions of music and writing instead. He'd dabbled in both on occasion but, with work and their dog Neo to look after, he wasn't left with a lot of time.
"How was your day?" Ben asked gently.
"Well… it's been a bit of an odd one," Dysis said, a smile playing on her lips. "It's gonna sound really weird but I think I might have found a FNAF ARG!"
Far from being impressed, Dysis was down-hearted to see Ben's expression become unreadable. Despite knowing he wasn't a fan of the series, Dysis was disappointed that he didn't seem at all happy for her.
"Oh?" he said, "What makes you think that?"
"Ok so, I couldn't sleep the night before last and I clicked on one of the Security Breach videos and the whole thing was totally different! It was like all the assets had changed or something. And it happened after I posted about my theories on the Freddit-"
"Freddit?"
"FNAF reddit," Dysis said without missing a beat, "Except they kind of personality trolled me because I tried to share it with someone else and they changed it back. But last night, I looked again and it was back!"
"Huh," Ben said, sounding far from impressed. "Can I see?"
"Sure, here's hoping they don't mess with me again," Dysis said with an anxious laugh.
She dug out her phone and casted an episode of a Security Breach Let's Play to their TV. She immediately let out a laugh.
"Well, shoot! I knew it. Looks like they did it again!" she squeaked, "How the heck are they managing that?"
Ben gave her a dry look, pinching his forehead.
"Dysis, I love you but do you know how insane you sound right now? I don't think what you are saying is even possible."
Dysis' laughter died in her throat. Despite her affection for the man sat in front of her, she felt a pang of annoyance.
"Well, I know what I saw! It did happen."
"Really? You told me you haven't been sleeping recently. Are you sure it wasn't just your mind playing tricks on you?"
Dysis felt her heart sink. It hurt that the love of her life was dismissing her experiences, even if she could see where he was coming from.
"It happened. I don't have any evidence to prove it to you but something weird is going on."
Ben exhaled silently and looked lost for what to say for a moment. Then, he looked her in the eye kindly but sternly.
"Well, I want to believe you but if you have no evidence, I hope you'll excuse me for not believing you."
Dysis sighed. However, given the circumstances she had to give it to him. He wasn't being unreasonable, just not particularly supportive.
"Well, fine," she said, a touch tetchily, "I was excited about it, anyway. For what it's worth."
"I don't know why you waste so much time on that series," Ben said tiredly. "It's pretty dumb."
"Yeah, I know you don't like it," Dysis said, deflated. "Sorry I bought it up. Anyway, what do you fancy for dinner?"
As expected, Ben thankfully accepted her diversion and the conversation came to an end.
Note to self, don't bring FNAF up with Ben again. Dysis thought bitterly.
It was strange, his rude reaction was quite unlike him. Normally he wasn't quite so dismissive of her interests. Nevertheless, she shrugged it off. It wasn't a big deal, anyway. It didn't matter if he didn't believe her, she knew her experiences and she wasn't going to give up. If there really was an ARG, she was going to find it.
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