It's been a long week almost. Not just learning how to handle her new job on the Day shift that she works three times a week, but also the days off, trying to gather funds up while searching for a place to live on the off-chance there is something within her budget she can go for with the limited money she has left till she starts receiving regular pay checks from work.
"The park is closing in 15 minutes. Can all guests please make their way to the lobby." A voice over a loudspeaker speaks and she sees some guests beginning to move.
It takes a while, but eventually the place is cleared out, the entrance doors locked to guests so none can come back in and the entire crew still in the building can properly begin pack up for the day while waiting for the night crew to come on shift.
The clock slowly heads towards 5:30 p.m and Jessie is in the android warehouse that they are held in overnight for charging till morning.
It's not huge, but it's bigger than just a room and while she is just a security guard, she is helping out two other employees who work for android maintenance out with some boxes that had to be moved off the main floor of the centre.
They approached her, asking for help. She obliged because her supervisor, Bella Day seems a tad mad with her over the whole not speaking much thing.
Have to score brownie points where she can and maybe just maybe, these two guys might mention her help to someone else and word makes it back to Bella.
"Last one?" Asks one of the guys at the door, his friend still inside a small store room in the centre of the warehouse for androids. "Nah, Security Girl has the last one." And he steps outside, having placed a box down and waits with his friend.
Jessie heads inside with the last box, placing it down when the whole room goes dark and she hears the sound of the door slamming shut behind her.
"Hey! No, no, no!" She panics, running to the door, trying to press down on the handle from the inside which doesn't even begin to budge.
She can hear snickering from the outside, the two guys. "Is this meant to be a joke? Because it's not funny!
I don't even know you two! I haven't done anything! Are you hazing me? Is this what this is?!"
She keeps pleading with them and then begins to hear their footsteps trail away.
"Stop! Come back, please!" She screams, banging her fists against the door and then she sees through a small, scratched up window that the lights outside the room in the main warehouse go out.
"You have got to be kidding me!" She screams and then sinks down, crying.
The reality of the situation and the fear it brings with it, she realizes how cold it is in here and while the park is thankfully open on weekends, it opens late rather than early like it does on weekdays.
It's going to be a long night before she's found. She reaches for her walkie talkie, but it's static on the line, no one.
So she pulls out her personal cell phone and seems it has no signal. Great, no way to call for help.
She shivers, laying on the floor in a ball, her only real protection against the cold being her security jacket.
Damn warehouse, but then again... Androids don't need heating like people do so the company doesn't have heating installed in this part of the centre.
She manages to nod off for a bit and then feels like something snaps her out of it. Primarily the cold temperature.
Tap, tap, tap.
She can hear a slight tap on the door. Night crew, Security? Did she trigger an alarm in the room? Scrambling to her feet, she heads to the door, pushing and turning the handle.
"Hello? I'm trapped in here! I got locked in!" She calls out, banging on the door.
She hears the sound of someone standing right outside the door, their feet adjusting a bit. Their footsteps are heavy.
"Hello?! Can you let me out?!"
"It'll be okay." A voice says back, female, gentle and sweet. "I'm here now, you're not alone."
"Can you let me out of here, please?"
"How?"
"I don't know! Find something! Maybe someone left a tool or something laying around. Can you look?"
"Okay."
And she hears her walk away, there is some further noise outside, her obviously looking and then they return.
"Take a step back and shield your face. I'm going to try the window."
And Jessie steps back, covering her face with her arms and can see what looks like a pole, mental clangs sounding off the window as the person tries over and over again to break it.
It's not even shattering in the slightest.
"I don't think this is going to work!" Jessie calls out to her.
"I'm sorry." She returns.
"It's okay, you did your best." Jessie tells her. "You don't have a key for this door? There isn't someone else you can call?"
"No, sorry. But I can stay with you till morning? I'm not going anywhere.
What's your position, and name? Do you have a flashlight?"
"Uh- I-I'm Jessie Thompson. I'm one of the Day shift Security Guards. Yeah, I have a flashlight, but I don't want to waste the entire battery.
It's not designed to be on for hours on end, overnight."
"It's okay. Use it if you need it though. Sometimes shadows in dark places can turn into things that go bump in the night."
"I know."
"I'm still here with you." And Jessie hears her sit down, leaning against the door on the other-side.
"I like being called Jess actually. Can you call me, Jess?"
"Sure, Jess. Do you feel sick in there?"
"I'm hungry, I'm cold. But other than that, not really."
"If you really start to feel unwell, let me know. I'll see if I can trigger the fire alarm as that unlocks all doors automatically.
I'd rather it not come down to that though, as that is an expensive fix and call-out. The fire department would be dispatched by the alarm system..."
"Yeah, don't do that unless we have to. It would come out of both our pay checks."
"I wish I could give you a hug, hold you close and make it all better."
"Thanks, but at-least you are here and can talk to me."
"Yes."
"....."
"Do you want me to tell you a story? Or I could sing a lullaby. It's after dark, lights out, Jess."
"Uh, story. Just keep talking to me."
"Sure."
And soon enough, the temperature drops colder and Jess falls sideways, slipping into unconsciousness.
"Jess? Are you there?"
And the female on the other-side stands up. "I need to find another way to get this door open. I sense she is in trouble."
---
The night becomes morning, and the day crew come on duty, night crew heading to bed when the door to the warehouse opens.
"So, what do I have to do, Joe?" Asks a man, coming down a few stairs beside Joe.
"Just help me activate all the androids. Unplug them from their charging cords first though."
"Got it- What the actual... Is that-"
"No, that is not normal." Joe says, both men approaching the centre room in the middle of the warehouse and see one of the androids lying against the door. The round icon around the ear is glowing yellow.
Joe slowly reaches a hand out, shaking it's shoulder gently and it opens it eyes.
"What are you doing here and not on your charging port? Did no one deactivate you yesterday?"
"She passed out at 8 p.m."
"Who did?" Joe questions back and it looks to the door. "Okay, Greg. Get it out of the way while I find a key. Be prepared to call Security down here too." Joe orders, flicking through his keys as Greg moves the android aside. It obeys, standing up to move so he doesn't have to struggle.
Joe manages to open the door and she falls out slowly, lips a slight blue color.
"Oh, shit!" Joe panics. "Did she get locked in here last night? This is one of the new day security part-timers. I actually scolded her earlier in the week for dropping a cup of water on the android we just moved out the way."
He bends down to Jess, firmly curling his hand into a fist and presses down on the centre of her chest, firmly giving it a little rub.
His girlfriend taught him out. "Can you hear me?"
And she takes a gaspy breath, eyes flying open and gasping for breath. "I got you." He says, sliding an arm around her back to sit up slightly.
"Your name was Jessie, right?"
"Y-yeah, b-but call me J-Jess." She chokes out, still trying to catch her breath."
"Don't try to speak much. Conserve your breath. Have you been in here all night, Jess? Give me a nod or head shake."
Jess slowly nods her head.
"Oh, shit. Someone's getting fired." Greg says. Joe reaches for his walkie talkie.
"Can I have paramedics to the android warehouse and the Day shift Security supervisor?" He asks.
"Medical, you're presence is requested in the android warehouse." Relays a voice.
"Joe, what's going on?" Bella Day comes through. "Uh, she got locked in the warehouse by accident last night I think?" He responds when Jessie pushes him away and climbs to her feet suddenly.
The android Greg pulled away, turns to look at Jessie, but sees right through her, indicator light blue.
"Hey! Come back!" Joe yells, but Jessie takes of sprinting, albeit slowly and Joe struggles to run after her, his tool-belt heavy. The exit door to the warehouse opens with ease as Jessie rushes through it, making it onto the main plaza floor where the stage, soundbooth, food court, gift shop and reception is located before the area splits off to other areas or even the elevators.
"What the actual fuck? You're not meant to be here." Bella curses, seeing Jessie sprint right past here, Joe appearing out of the warehouse, albeit slowly.
Jessie runs straight to the employee bathrooms, slipping inside and heads into one of the shower stalls beside the toilet ones, hitting the hot water.
She sinks to her knees, crying hard and letting the water fall over her as she continues to shiver slightly.
"Hello? Are you in here? Are you okay?" A voice calls out, the CEO - Maggie finding Jessie lying on the tiled floor, water running over her.
She heads right inside, letting herself become completely soaked, helping Jessie to sit up. "Day! In here!" She calls out, Bella Day heading inside quickly, followed by Brianna and Joe, and a guy she doesn't know. But he has the same paramedic uniform on as Brianna.
Brianna and the unknown guy slip inside as well to attend to Jessie, Maggie turning off the water while Bella stands there, mouth agape.
"Joe, what happened?" Maggie snaps.
"Uh, she got locked in the android warehouse last night by accident. Well, maybe it wasn't... She was in the centre store room in there."
"Is she okay?" Asks a familiar voice. "I tried to break the window on the door, attempts we're not successful."
"Why didn't you go find help?" Jessie says weakly, eyes closed and she feels someone remove her glasses from her face as they are covered in water and steam.
"What kind of night shift security guard are you? You we're in the warehouse so clearly you had a key and could have gone and found a phone.
My radio and my personal cell didn't work in there." Jessie adds on.
"Jessie, open your eyes. That's..." Joe speaks slowly and Jessie pry's open her eyes slightly, Brianna supporting Jess's head.
She sees everyone is blurry, but it's not hard to make out the additional person standing with them isn't a person.
Long purple hair in pigtails, silver eyes, no face-paint and their clothing a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt shirt with Ugg boots.
"What?"
"I am not a member of the night shift security team. I am Princess, the Princess Quest Virtual Reality Role-playing Game and the entire parks popstar."
"But he- I mean it- It sat with me... All night long, keeping me company."
"You passed out at 8 p.m. and was locked in at 6:00 p.m." The android, Princess responds, indicator icon still blue.
"But-You- It sounded human."
"Jessie, look at me. You passed out from the cold, there is no heat in that part of the building and you're likely in shock.
That android isn't human. Someone seems to have forgotten to deactivate it last night." Joe speaks up.
"Jessie Thompson, I am so sorry on behalf of the company. I will see to it that this problem is rectified immediately. Heating installed in the warehouse, locks manually undoeable without a key from the inside and walkie talkie and cell signal extended to the warehouse." Maggie says.
"Are you going to sue us?" Bella asks. "Bella." Brianna snaps at her.
"Too broke for that." Jessie laughs weakly, her breathing still patchy.
"Bella, is an ambulance on the way?" Maggie asks.
"Yes, they have been called." She responds.
"No!" Jessie screams in panic, sitting up and Brianna and the other paramedic sit up with her, afraid she will fall back from passing out or something.
"We have to-" Bella begins.
"I don't have insurance! I just moved-" But Jess starts coughing, unable to form anymore words.
"Adam, get the BVM!" Brianna yells at him, and he pulls it out of his bag as Brianna lays Jessie down completley, now out cold worryingly, her condition worse to before.
Princess' indicator turns yellow and the expression on it's face slightly turns to that of worried, but it's only mimicking that expression.
"Those idiots." Joe says, knowing who is responsible in Maintenance for messing with new hires from any department.
"Joe, tell them they've gone too far this time. They're fired. Bella, have them escorted to the security office.
If Jessie here dies, call the police. They're being charged." Maggie Stiefvater demands as Brianna squeezes the BMV and Adam presses down on Jessie's chest with his hands.
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