The Night Guard

Sunset booked into to her car, not stopping to look back. Once inside, she peeled out of the parking lot. Speeding as she went, but the streets were so quiet. The sun barely dared show its face on the horizon. The sky was just waking up.

Sunset ran up the stairs to her apartment, latching the door securely, and propping a chair up against it. She’d like to believe nothing was chasing her, but after being rag-dolled by a life-size pony animatronic and subsequently being saved by a presumably haunted marionette, she could not be sure.

She rolled up her pants leg to assess the damage, it was a bit scratched, but it mostly seemed like rug burn. The rest of her body too, had a stripe of red scratches from being dragged. Her largest injury was, again, her arm, where the animatronic has wrapped its wires around her wrist. Divots in her skin outlines the shape of the wires, but they were not deep enough to break.

Throwing her body down on the bed, she breathed a sigh of disbelief. She couldn’t rationalize continuing to work at the pizzeria. Whatever was going on there, she needed to stay far away from it.

As the sun made its way to the mid-point of the sky, Sunset finally awoke again. It was time.

It was a simple text. “Hey Lyra, I’m going to have to resign.”

But, the reply was almost instantaneous. “Oh no! Is there anything we can do to convince you to stay?”

Sunset skimmed the text. Pooling at the word ‘we’, only she knew Lyra didn’t mean it royally. She meant ‘we’ as in the grand plural. She, and the animatronics. “No, sorry. I’ve made my decision.”

“Well, come down at about six, I will cut you a check for the four days you’ve worked.”

Sunset stared at the request. The check would be for upwards of $900. The trip would only be 30 minutes, at most. She needed to rationalize returning. She needed the money. “Right, okay.”

Sunset parked her car, her phone screen glowed with the time: 5:50. No problem, early is better.

Her phone buzzed, rumbling in her hand. The call was from Lyra.

“Hey, Lyra. I just got here… want to meet me outside?”

Lyra chuckled nonchalantly. “Come on in,
I’m in the office.”

“I’d really rather not.” Sunset said hesitantly.

“Don’t be silly, I’ve been cleaning up today. The pink pony animatronic somehow got down off the stage. Just come in and I’ll cut you the check.”

Sunset signed, relenting. “Okay, coming.”

Rushing through the stage room, she refused to make eye contact. Her footsteps were soft, perhaps, she thought, the animatronics wouldn’t notice her.

Once she had reach the office, she took note of Lyra at the desk. She didn’t turn her attention toward her right away. Instead, staring intently at the monitors. “It’s really a shame, we just can’t keep a night guard. I’ve only owned this place a little after graduation…” she turned to face the other girl now. “You’re the first one to quit, though, so I appreciate you for being forthcoming. Better than job abandonment, I’d say.”

Sunset hummed a tune of disinterest. “Yeah, it’s just that I got another job lined up and they asked me to start right away.” Sunset lied.

Lyra could tell. “And their pay exceeds ours?” She asked, seeming genuinely interested in the answer.

Sunset grumbled, more so at the idea of being jobless. “Just closer to my place, save me on travel.”

Lyra nodded, though they both knew her true reason for leaving. “Well, I guess that’s for the best.” She stood from her seat, “let me get that check for you.”

Sunset eased up a bit, stepping into the office. Lyra walked over to the book shelf and rifled through her things. Inside was a small check book. Behind her, the door eased itself shut.

As Lyra searched for her pen, a strange metallic banging came from above them. “New Air Conditioning, just had it installed.” Lyra excused. “The ducting makes noise I guess. When we have the place up and running the music will cover the sound.”

Sunset peaked up at the vent above her. Scraps of fabric hanging between the blades. “Looks like somethings blocking the vent here.” She said casually.

Lyra looked up, and back at Sunset. “Ah- here’s that pen.”

Sunset returned her attention to Lyra. As she clicked the end of the pen, the vent cover peeled open. A rag doll fell from the now open spot on the ceiling. It hit Sunset on the head like it was made of brick. She stumbled to the ground, grabbing at the top of her head. Making sure it hadn’t, in fact, busted her head open.

The pain in her head swelled, but there was no abrasion. “Ow, what the heck.” She fell to her knees, holding her head with one hand. Using the other to grab the flimsy, yet heavy doll. It had a small mesh panel on its face. It wasn’t immediately obvious what it was supposed to be. A purple body with no face. Green flaps of fabric hastily sewn in with the wrong color thread. It dawned on her, that this was some janky version of Spike.

Lyra approached her, looking down on her from where she stood. “Man, I’d really hoped that would knock you out.” She said before swiftly kneeing her squarely in the forehead.

Sunset reached for her face, feeling for damage, but before she could recieved confirmation, she had begun to lose consciousness. “Why?”

Lyra only looked over her as she shut her eyes.