Welcome to the circus of the dead

The siren and the fox

(Florence's POV )

I opened my eyes standing in the middle of my room, with a flashlight in my hand. I seemed awfully short compared to the bed and other things in my room. I looked at the alarm clock, to see it was 12 am. I heard a deep laugh, followed by footsteps and a creak. I looked back at the room, and the closet door was wide open. I cautiously walked over to it, and looked inside. A giant, torn up yellow bear animatronic snapped at me, so I quickly closed the door.
"Phew, that was close." I told myself. Then there was another deep laugh, coming from the hallway to my right. I creeped towards the door to the hallway, and peeked outside the room. The yellow bear was walking down the hall, closing in on the entrance. I slammed the door shut, holding the handle as my fox ears picked up the sound of scratching on the door. The scratching stopped, and I heard footsteps walking away from me. I walked back to the foot of my bed, and sat down on the floor.
An abrupt roar pierced my eardrums, and a huge clawed hand grabbed my leg and pulled me under the bed.
*
I woke up in a cold sweat, inside my actual bedroom. Just a bad dream. It was 3:45 pm on the clock, meaning that I got plenty of sleep before my shift. Y'know what, I'm gonna go watch the show. Maybe hang out with Mike if he's there. I thought to myself.
I got up and changed into my security guard outfit, which is kind of uncomfortable on my tail. I have to squeeze my tail between the shirt and pants, which isn't the best, but it'll do.

It was 4 pm by the time I got to the pizzaria, and I walked inside. It was just as magical as I remembered it, though there were less kids than usual.
"You're here early." Mr. Carmine's voice spoke. I turned to face him, and his expression went from surprised to apologetic. "Look, Florence. Mike told me everything, and I'm sorry that happened to you."
"It's fine really. Now that I know my friends are okay." I replied, trying to smile. "I just feel guilty that they're forced to play the same songs every day.."
"I found a way to change that, it could also help bring more customers in." Mike said, walking up to us. "They could be able to play the kinds of songs kids are more into nowadays."

That sparked an actual smile in me.
"You're a genius! If only there was someone here who could program..." Mr. Carmine said.
"I know someone. Remember how my sister possessed Bonnie?" I responded.
"Yeah?" Mike replied.
"She was the best at coding, while I was awesome at hardware. Rachel made several really well made video games, and I had to fix the computer all the time. It was kinda funny, not gonna lie." I explained.
"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Mike asked playfully.
"We could ask Bonnie to help us with coding new software for the new songs!" I exclaimed.
"Sounds like a plan! You two can ask her when she's done with giving hugs." Mr. Carmine replied before walking away.

I looked over at my animatronic sister, who was giving a cupcake to a little girl. It was adorable to say the least.
"Hey Florence?" Mike asked, catching my attention.
"Hm?"
"I wanted to tell you something, something I only tell people I really trust."
"Well, that's a big compliment considering I'm a fox.. not a lot of people trust foxes." I replied, blushing.
"I'm a siren.." he told me. That caught me off guard.
"Really? You don't look like one. Usually siren hybrids have fins on the side of their face." I replied. He moved his hair to show two faint scars on the sides of his face.
"My dad cut my fins off. He hates hybrids for some reason." He said sadly. "I really wish he wasn't my dad."
"Oh... that's horrible." I uttered.

"It's okay! It doesn't hurt anymore now that I've moved out." He responded in an upbeat attitude.
My smile returned, and my ears perked up.
"do you have any other siren traits?" I asked.
"I mean, I'm good at singing and swimming. But that's pretty typical for a mermaid." He replied.

"Hey, y'all! Whatcha talking about?" I heard Carson exclaim.
"Oh, hey Freddy/Carson." Mike said.
"Pick one, Mike!" He responded.
"Sorry. Still adjusting." Mike replied. "Anyway, we were talking about giving you guys some new songs. Y'know, so you won't get bored!"
"That sounds awesome! I'm actually already pretty tired of the same songs we play every day." Carson mentioned.

"Don't you have to get back to the band?" I asked.
"No, the show itself ends at 5. Only then can we step off the stage. Think it had to do with.. what was it.. bite of 83?"