Gavin Ashford stood before the mirror in his dimly lit bathroom. The light bulb kept flickering, and he kept on forgetting to fix it. Even forgot to get a new one. The bathroom, just like the rest of his apartment, was a mess, with various items strewn about seemingly at random. After he lost his last job, he had spiraled into a vicious circle of anxiety and depression. It was hard for him to get motivation to do anything at all. But tonight, he was hoping to change that. He had put on his favorite shirt and tie, jeans and now he was working on his hair in the weakly illuminated room. He wanted to look sharp for his first shift at this new job he had recently landed, and make a good impression on the people he would be working with. He felt a little twinge of excitement in his stomach, but that was to be expected, new job and all.

As he was combing his hair, his thoughts wandered back to his old job. He had been a warehouse foreman, and he had followed every instruction he got to the letter. His world came crashing down when he had been accused of stealing. Of course, he had denied the claims, but to no avail. He had been fired. Shortly after, his anxiety got worse, as did his depression. He had trouble sleeping. Then, one day, he saw an opening for a security guard at The Nexus, a big mall nearby. He had made a halfhearted attempt at an application for it. Even though he hadn’t expected it, he got a reply and an interview. A few days after the interview, he received a message. He had gotten the job. He was so excited, he hadn’t thought he would be back on his feet so soon. And the pay was unbelievable. He finished combing his hair, looked straight into the eyes of his mirror image, and said softly, “You got this, big boy.“

It was something his late father used to say to him. Every time he said it, he could almost see the image of his father standing proudly behind him, cheering him on. He smiled to his reflection, got out into the hallway, got his jacket and went outside.

As he got outside, he was greeted by the cool evening air. The sky was clear, air was cool and he took in a deep breath. The city had been enveloped in darkness as the evening went on, and he could see a few stars in the sky. He felt calm, yet excited. He started his walk at a brisk pace, knowing that the mall was about thirty minutes walk from his place. He let his thoughts wander as he walked toward The Nexus. As usual, his thoughts were all over the place, but a few minutes into the stroll, his thoughts ended up surrounding his last job, how he lost it and his previous boss.

In his role as a warehouse foreman, he assigned the shifts to the workers and trained the new employees, amongst other important duties. He had really enjoyed it, and felt it was what he was made for. When he started noticing dwindling stock, he had called the warehouse manager, and they looked through videos in order to try to find the culprit. Some video footage had been missing though. As if someone with inside knowledge had been in on it. The warehouse manager fumed and accused Gavin of stealing. They started a heated argument, ending in the warehouse manager hitting Gavin. Gavin felt rage surge through him every time he thought about the fight, about the scene in general.

The next day, Gavin had been told he would be relieved of his duties. He remembered how shattered he felt. He had given so much to this job, and had been sent away like an unwanted child. He didn’t fight it, because his anxiety had spiked. He couldn’t sleep, could barely eat, and he had this bad feeling in his stomach constantly.

That was until he saw that ad in the newspaper. Security guard wanted, it said. The Nexus mall is looking for an experienced security guard. Law enforcement experience is good, but not needed. Apply here, followed by an email. He hardheartedly wrote an application and sent it. Better to get used to send those out, he thought. He didn’t expect a reply. But he quickly got one.

In the reply, they thanked him for applying, talked about his impressive merits and gave him a number to call. He quickly made the call, explained his situation and got a meeting with the recruiter. It all culminated in him being asked to arrive at eleven in the evening, to get his uniform and to get shown around for his first shift. He thanked the recruiter, and left feeling gobsmacked. He hadn’t expected to land on his feet so soon.

As he started seeing the lights of The Nexus, his thoughts turned on him. What if this was an elaborate hoax? What if it was a plan from his previous workplace to get back at him for the perceived slight? His heart started racing, and he began getting a familiar feeling in his stomach. The anxiety was rearing its ugly head. He shook his head. He didn’t need these unwanted thoughts. All was going to be good. He stopped, took a deep breath, tried to steer his thoughts in a better direction and said quietly to himself, “You got this, big boy.”

It calmed him a bit, as it usually did. He knew his father was watching over him. He started his walk again, and started humming a tune, trying to clear his head of thoughts as best he could. The few remaining minutes of the walk went by quickly and smoothly. When he got to The Nexus, he went to the side door he had been told he should use. He looked apprehensively at the red metal door. A few unwanted thoughts were lingering in the back of his mind. After a few hesitant moments he knocked. He fidgeted with his fingers as he anxiously awaited for someone to answer. It felt like hours. Maybe he should just go back home. Forget about this, don’t take the risk of being humiliated. Then he heard someone on the other side unlock the door, and it was opened. Too late for escape now. An older gentleman had opened the door just a smidge, just enough for him to peek his head through. He looked at Gavin, and asked, “Mr. Ashford?”

Gavin slowly nodded, then followed up with, “Yes sir.”

“All right,” The man said. “Follow me.”

Gavin entered through the door, into a tight, brightly lit, service corridor. There was just about enough space for the two of them to walk side by side. The walls where painted white, and the fluorescent lights above gave a good amount of lighting. As they started walking down the service corridor, the older gentleman asked, “So Gavin, this your first shift?”

Gavin nodded, and said, “Yeah, I applied recently and quickly got hired. It’s been a blessing, I’ve had a few hard weeks.”

The older gentleman grunted and said, “Jeez, calm yer tits, boy. I didn’t ask for your life story.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow at the hostile remark. Would he be spending the shift with this old fart? They walked in silence for a bit, when the old man sighed and said, “Sorry about that. Name’s Jack. We’ve been understaffed for a while now, lack of sleep makes me moody sometimes. No hard feelings, I trust?”

Gavin pursed his lips, then said, “All good. I’ve met all sorts of characters while I was working as a warehouse foreman. I can adapt.”

Jack snorted. “That is a good quality to have around here.”

They came to a stop in front of a solid, metal white door. On it’s right was a keypad, with a digital monitor and rubber keys with the numbers 0 through 9 beneath the monitor. Jack stopped and said to Gavin, “Hold on.”

Gavin could hear six beeps as Jack pressed the buttons, then a clicking sound as the door unlocked. “You got a pen?” Jack asked.

Gavin shook his head. “No, sorry. Hadn’t occurred to me that I might need to write something down.”

Jack smacked his lips. “Hmm, OK then. Are you good with numbers? The code is six three five one seven four. I even made a little song to remind me.”

Jack hummed the song. Gavin looked at him, almost as confused as he was irritated. He felt like Jack was treating him like a baby. If this was so important, why hadn’t Jack written it down beforehand?

Gavin closed his eyes, and drew in a deep breath. He needed to focus, and not let this get too him. “Still with us?” Jack said sarcastically. “We don’t sleep while on duty.”

“I wasn’t sleeping,” Jack said in a cold voice. “Just trying to remember the code you gave me. Not succeeding at it though. I can remember six five seven, but that’s about it.”

“Never mind,” Jack said. “I’ll write it down for you once we get to the guard room.”

After that exchange, Jack opened the door, and they stepped into the concourse of the Mall. It was pitch dark, but Jack had his flashlight on him. “Just follow me, Gavin.” Jack said. “We are going to a second backway, from which we will get to the SOC.”

Gavin frowned. “SOC?” He asked.

Jack smiled. “Security Operations Center. That’s where we spend most of our time. Checking monitors mostly. But every hour, on the hour, you are expected to make the rounds. Walk through the mall, to make sure no one is trying to get in and that everything is going smoothly.”

Gavin nodded. “That’s about what I expected.”

They walked through the dark concourse, with Jack’s flashlight illuminating their way. They got to another white, metal door, and a keypad was on the right side to it. Jack stopped and pointed his flashlight on the keypad. “Your turn,” he said, smiling wryly.

Gavin coughed, and slowly stepped up to the keypad. He could feel his stomach starting to complain about this. Anxiety was trying to get to him. He took a deep breath, and tried to hum the song Jack had taught him. It started with six, he thought to himself. That much I can remember. Was it five? Or four? His hand hovered indecisively over the keypad, his fingers lingering over the keys. After a few hesitant moments, Gavin blurted out, “Sorry Jack, I can’t seem to remember it. I’m like pretty sure it started with six, but after that, it gets all hazy.”

Jack sighed, then started humming the tune once again. “Six three five one seven four.”

Gavin turned his head toward the keypad and rolled his eyes. No way this guy was serious. The song sounded so childish, like a children’s program theme. But he pressed the keys, and when he was done he heard a click. Jack opened the door and they stepped into another backway, and as they entered, Jack’s tone shifted. Now his voice was stern. “There are some things you have to know when you are on this job. A few rules, if you will.” Jack said. “First, you make your rounds on the hour, every hour. No exceptions.”

Gavin nodded. “Understood.”

Jack continued, “Second, any items you may find while doing your rounds must be taken to the storage room.”

Gavin narrowed his eyes. What did he mean by that? Surely people had cleaned up after themselves before leaving, he thought to himself. But then he remembered how he had been as a teenager in a mall. “Fair enough. Where’s the storage room, if I may ask?”

Jack put up his hand, and said sharply, “Later. Third, and this is very important. If you hear anyone, do not follow. Do. Not. I can’t stress how important this is.”

Gavin shook his head. This was it. Now he was about to be humiliated somehow, by them either having a microphone system set up somewhere, or someone hiding in the mall to scare him. “If this is about some ghost shit-“

“Shut up!” Jack roared. “Do not mock this. Do not underestimate this. If you hear someone, get back to the SOC ASAP. No questions. No hesitation.”

Gavin narrowed his eyes. Was he…was he actually being serious? He opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it. Finally he just said, “All right. I hear someone, I run. Got it.”

Jack shook his head and said, “No, you don’t got it. You don’t run. You don’t head toward the sound. You get back to the SOC. Walking at a brisk pace is what keeps you alive.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” He said. “I hear a sound, I go back to the SOC.”

“Good,” Jack said. “Now let’s get to the SOC, so you can have your uniform and I can finally get home and get some rest. God knows I need it.”

They walked in silence the rest of the way. At the end of the backway was another white, metal door. As usual the keypad was on the right. “Whenever you are ready, chief.” Jack said.

Gavin walked up to the keypad, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and tried to remember the song Jack had sung, two times now. Six three five…four seven four? He thought to himself. He pressed the buttons and a red light appeared on the monitor. “No, no, no, no.” Jack said. Then he hummed the song once again. “Six three five one seven four.”

Gavin grimaced. He had been close. Soon he would remember it. He punched in the numbers, and the door unlocked. Jack opened it, and they stepped into a corridor with doors on the far right and far left. “Now we go to the door to the left, Gavin.” Jack said. “That’s the changing room. There’s also a shower in there, if you want to get freshened up after a shift.”

They got to the door on the left, and it was unlocked. It reminded him of a school locker room, only smaller. A single bench with hangers sat near a row of metal lockers on one side. The shower was in the far corner. On the bench was a uniform, folded. The shirt was light-blue, while the jacket and pants were dark blue. There was also a matching cap. “All right, while you are getting ready, I’m going to get some essentials for you. I’ll also write down the code to the system. You seem to need it.” Jack chuckled.

Gavin got undressed, then got in the uniform. As he put the cap on, he thought what a waste it was to do my hair. Then he heard a cough behind him. It was Jack, trying to get his attention. As he turned, Jack smiled and handed him a flashlight, a small note with the six digit code, as well as a larger piece of paper, stating the three rules he had been told. Written in all caps. This guy took the rules way too serious. But this was not the time to get into arguments about rules and how they are perceived. Gavin took the items and thanked Jack. “Now, should you for some reason run into trouble, I have written my number down on one of the papers. Just in case. Now, we have to make the first round together, I’ll show you the important areas.”

Gavin looked at his watch. It was midnight, on the dot. Just like Jack said. They made their way back through the backways, through the white, metal door, onto the pitch-black concourse. They both turned their flashlights on, and Gavin tried to follow Jack’s lead. Jack pointed his flashlight onto the security grille behind them. “That’s the main entrance, chief. When the mall is open, it is busy. But as you can see, during night, well, hopefully it stays quiet.”

Gavin furrowed his brow. Hopefully? What the hell did he mean by that? Gavin opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Jack chuckled to himself, turned and continued the other way. “Get movin’, chief,” he yelled. The empty mall echoed back. Gavin let out a hrmf, then followed. As they got to the center of the mall, Jack said, “This is the central plaza, Gavin. Food courts to our right and left, with a lot of tables and chairs for customers. Should you see a rat, take a picture, if you can. And report it immediately. Write it down for next shift’s supervisor.”

Gavin’s stomach turned. Rats? He didn’t sign up for that. Those bastards are full of disease and God knows what. Again, he opened his mouth to speak up, but Jack continued on his way, saying, “Lastly, we need to get to the storage room. It’s the last spot on your round. Just make sure all is good, then get back to SOC and watch the monitors.”

Gavin said, “OK.”

Jack got to the far side of the food court, up to a familiar white, metal door. He punched in the code and opened the door. As they got in, Jack said, “I would have let you enter the code, but I really want to get home before dawn.” He chuckled after that, finding himself hilarious. Jack grumbled and they walked down the backway. After a few turns, they got to the storage room, and Jack said, “We don’t need to open it. Just make sure things around here are going smoothly. The code to the storage room is the same as to the other keypads.” Then Jack started humming his blasted song once again. “Six three five one seven four.”

Gavin grumbled quietly, as Jack pointed at a red door opposite of the storage room. “Emergency exit. You know, in case of…fires, or other emergencies. You shouldn’t need it, but it’s good to know it’s there. Now, let’s head back to the changing room.”

They made their way back through the backways, through the food court and concourse, more backways, until they were back at the changing room. Jack walked straight up to one of the metal lockers, got his key and opened it. He took out his clothes, and laid them on the bench. He looked at Gavin and said, “Well Gavin, that’s the end of the tour. Now your job is to watch the monitors, until you need to make the next rounds. I’m heading home, I need some sleep. See you later, and have a good shift.” Jack smiled as he started taking his uniform off.

Gavin said goodbye, turned and headed to the SOC. He felt that the tour around the mall had felt a bit… surreal. Such a big mall, devoid of any life and light. He sat down in front of the monitors, yawned and watched all the different monitors. A short time later, Gavin started to feel bored. And tired. He shook his head, and then stood up. He would keep in motion for a bit, to try to wake himself a bit more up. Nothing was happening on the monitors. After a few minutes of walking around the room, he sat down again. He looked at his watch. 00:31. Still 29 minutes until he had to make the rounds.

He took a deep breath, then forced himself to look at the monitors. He looked at the monitor in the food court. Blinked. Looked at the monitor for the parking lot. Blinked. Looked at the monitor for the storage room. There was nothing going on. Easy shift, he thought. But every time he blinked, he could feel his eyelids getting heavier. He shook his head. He rested his right elbow on the table, his hand grabbing his chin. Then it slowly crawled up to his temple, and he was holding his head. His heavy, tired head. His thoughts started wandering.

In his mind’s eye, he could see a white, metal door, and he was looking at the keypad on it’s right. He didn’t know why, but he felt he needed to open that door. Some grunts came from behind him. Dread washed over him, as he desperately tried to remember the code Jack had given him. He tried humming the song, but it was all wrong. The sounds were getting closer. He could feel sweat break on his brow. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. Wait. On the back of his hand was the code. But it was all smudged because of the sweat. His eyes opened wide. He tried making out the numbers on the back of his hand. But it wasn’t numbers. It was letters. He thought he could glean the word…storage. Then he looked at the keypad. Instead of numbers, there were symbols. Triangles, squares, circles. He tried to scream, but no sound came. He started pounding anxiously at the keys, but he kept getting a red light. Suddenly he felt calm. He instinctively knew the code, he felt. No, not felt. He was sure. He pounded the code in, and heard a familiar click. He felt a rush of adrenaline going through his body, as he opened the door. But the door only opened into a dark room. He tried to glean anything from inside the room, nothing. Then he thought he could see a faint outline of a shape. He craned his neck forward, and squinted his eyes. What was it-

Then he felt something graze against his shoulder, and he jolted awake. It took him a few seconds to shake the grogginess off, and as he looked around, he remembered where he was. It was his shift. He had dozed off. Goddammit. He looked at his watch. 01:10. Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He was late. He quickly stood up, gathered his flashlight and rushed out the backway.

He got to the door to the concourse, and for a moment he had to think. He knew the code. He hummed the stupid song to himself, then punched the code in. Click. He felt good about himself, remembering that code. He was usually pretty bad with numbers. He opened the door and walked into the concourse. Still pitch-black. He turned his flashlight on. Now that he was alone, it all felt a bit…bigger. Scarier. The flashlight could only illuminate so much. The rest was pitch-black. Who knew what sort of creatures could hide in the darkness?

He shook his head. Time to stay cool, Gavin. Then he said to himself in a low voice, “You got this, big boy.“

He took a deep breath. His anxiety was spiking. He did not like unfamiliar places. Especially unfamiliar places enveloped in darkness. He slowly made his way forward, heading to the door on the far wall. What was that sound? He listened carefully. He heard something again. A sound of…small feet? Running around? His hand was shaking badly as he tried to catch whatever was in the darkness in the beam of his light. The beam moved from side to side, showing the tables in the food court, as well as the two restaurants. He made a larger arch, desperately trying to illuminate the thing that was running in the mall. As his beam started illuminating the restaurant on his left, he thought he saw something. “You there, freeze.” He shouted, his pitch way higher than he liked.

The shape wasn’t moving. Gavin kept his beam trained on it with his left hand, his right hand just near the holster of his gun, ready to dish out some lead to any mischievous soul trying to scare him…or worse. “Come on out,” He shouted again, this time the tone was a little bit more…acceptable. He swallowed hard, as he inched his way forward. So much for an easy shift. As he neared, he could see human features. A human shape. “All right, hands up. And slowly stand up.” He shouted.

His shout echoed, and gave this scene an even more surreal feel to it. He moved past a table that was in his way, still keeping the beam trained on the perpetrator. “You daft or something? I said get up.” He shouted, feeling a bit more manly this time. He made his way past more tables, finally getting close to the mysterious figure. His light illuminated it. He cursed out loud, as his light illuminated a blank, white mannequin. He took a few, deep breaths, as he chuckled to himself. That mannequin looked so oddly…terrifying, just lying there, hunched up against the wall of the restaurant. As the echoes of his laughter died out, he looked at the mannequin. He also realized how quiet it was. No more running of small feet. Had someone seriously been trying to steal this mannequin?

He kept his beam trained on the frightening, blank mannequin. Well, Jack said that if I find anything unusual, I should take it to the storage area, he thought to himself. It was so quiet, that the thought almost echoed in his mind. His left hand kept the beam trained on the mannequin, while he picked it up with his right. Goddamn, he thought. This bastard is heavy. He had his arm under the mannequin’s arms, barely managing to hold it. He stumbled toward the far door. As he got there, he put the mannequin down. His light was now trained on the keypad. As he moved in to punch in the code, a searing pain coursed through his shin. He yelped out in equal part shock and fear. He must have smashed his shin into the mannequin. He shook his leg, as if that would somehow remove the pain. Then he punched the code in and opened the door. He picked the mannequin up again, and moved into the backway leading to the storage room.

He awkwardly made his way, and when he finally got to the storage room, he put the mannequin down, this time a bit further away from his shins. He punched in the code, and the door opened. His right hand fumbled as he tried to find the light switch. He moved it up, down, to the right and left, all the while trying to press a button to switch on the light. Finally he found it and pressed it. The light blinked a few times, then the whole room was illuminated. Gavin gasped and jumped backwards. The room…it was full of mannequins, in all sizes. Some had only the torso, like his friend from the restaurant. Others had a full body. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” Gavin quietly said to himself. He looked at the mannequin he had found, and walked up to it, picked it up and went inside the storage room. He found a spot where he could put it down. He then went out, turned the light off, closed the door and heard the click of the lock. He looked at the locked door for a moment. That room was pure nightmare fuel. He let out a deep breath, then went back to the SOC.

He sat down, fully awake now. He didn’t need such excitement on his shift. As he sat in front of the monitors, a thought hit him. Who had moved the mannequin to that restaurant? He blinked a few times as the realization crept in. There was a chance that he wasn’t alone in the mall. His heart started pounding, and he could feel sweat begin to drip down his chin. He grabbed his phone, thought about calling Jack.

Then he started thinking. Who knew he was here? Jack. Who had access to the mall? Jack. Was this a case of some twisted form of a hazing ritual? The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. But then again. Jack didn’t know him at all. And he had already left. Hadn’t he? Gavin rested his elbows on the table, and rested his head in his hands. Did his old boss have some sort of a connection to Jack? Were there more collaborators tied to this insidious prank? He let out a long sigh. He started watching the monitors. Still nothing going on on them. Obviously. Jack knew the blind spots. He wouldn’t be caught so easily.

His thoughts started going in circles. After a little bit of thinking, he looked at his watch. 3:11. What? Had he really missed a whole hour? How long did his adventure with the mannequin take? How long had he been sitting here, looking at monitors? Had he fallen asleep again? No time for these questions.

He stood up, grabbed his flashlight, rushed out the backway and back into the concourse. Even though it seemed impossible, the mall seemed even darker this time. Gavin started moving the beam and trying to see anything out of the ordinary. As he was moving his beam around, he was sure he heard…a laughter? A child’s laughter, he was sure of that. I am going insane, he thought. He let his beam run across the whole room. Empty spaces, tables and chairs without customers, nothing on the far wall. Then his beam reached the right restaurant. As he moved it to the left restaurant, he could see something in the beam. A human form. He stopped, focused the beam on the shape and gulped. He couldn’t quite make out what it was. But it did have a striking resemblance to that mannequin he had seen earlier. What the fuck is going on here? He thought. Am I going crazy? Or is Jack doing something with these mannequins? He slowly approached the shape, and when he got close enough he got a better look. Another of those creepy mannequins. He stood in front of the mannequin for a few moments, thinking about several things. What should he do with it? Who kept bringing these mannequins out here? How was Jack tied to all of this? Because, thinking logically, Jack was the only one who knew he was here at this moment, and had access to the mall. If there had been any intruders, the alarm would have gone off. And he would have seen them on the monitor. Gavin was both terrified and angry. Terrified of the creepy looking mannequin. Angry at Jack, or whoever was doing this sick prank.

Finally, he decided the mannequin needed to go back to the storage room. This time it was a full-size mannequin, with legs as well as torso. He picked it up, legs sticking out in front of him. He hurried all he could to the far door. He practically threw the mannequin to the floor when he arrived at the door, so desperate was he to open it. He quickly punched the code in, grabbed the mannequin again, opened the door and went inside the backway. Great, he thought. Now the light in here is flickering. And the flickering light didn’t help that well with the lighting, instead of light everywhere, now there were long shadows.

His heart was pounding, his brow sweating, and his right arm ached from holding the mannequin. Just a little more, he thought to himself. As he rounded a corner and could see the door to the storage room, he quickened his pace. After a few steps, he felt a searing pain crashing through the back of his head. He dropped the mannequin, and stumbled over. Ouch. What the fuck was that? He said to himself. He felt the back of his head with his right hand. He could feel a thick liquid. He brought the hand back. It was red. Someone had hit him so hard in the back of the head that he was bleeding now. This prank was getting out of hand. He turned around and said,”You piece of shi-” He stopped when he realised that he was alone back here, with the mannequin. He felt a chill run down his spine. Only one thing to do. He had to call Jack. Let him know the jig was up. This prank had gone way too far now. He grabbed his phone, and found Jack’s number. It rang a few times, before Gavin heard him pick up. Jack’s groggy voice came through. “Yes?” Jack said, sounding like someone who had just been visiting the dreamlands. Gavin couldn’t hold back any more. He yelled into the phone, “You piece of shit! Why are you doing this? What possible motive do you have to put these creepy ass mannequins out into the food court?”

There was silence on the other end. Finally, Jack spoke up. “Gavin? You sound paranoid, what is going on?”

Gavin almost screamed. “You know goddamn well what is going on. You are behind it. You are the only one who knows I’m here tonight.”

Another pause from Jack. When he spoke, he spoke with authority. “You are fucking mental. Do not ever contact me again, do you hear me. Good night.”

There was a click after that. Gavin looked at his phone and screamed. The scream echoed in the empty mall. Gavin was terrified, and close to tears now. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Jack didn’t have anything to do with the prank. But who could have, other than him? He got to the door to the storage room, punched the code in, and opened the door. Again, he fumbled for a while to try to get the lights on. Click. The lights turned on. Gavin screamed. The storage room, that before had had a full stock of mannequins, now was almost empty. Just a few strewn about here and there. After the initial shock of the discovery, Gavin looked at the almost empty room. No way a single person could have cleared those damn mannequins out so fast. He didn’t believe in some supernatural voodoo mumbo-jumbo. However…seeing the empty storage room…thinking about the hit to the back of his head…thinking about how he hadn’t seen anyone on any monitor, nor had there been any alarm going off. The somewhat logical conclusion to it must be…the mannequins. They are moving on their own.

His eyes widened, his heart raced even more. He remembered that there was an emergency exit here close by. He scanned the surroundings, until he saw the exit. He sprinted towards it, desperately hoping that he would make it. He fumbled the keypad at first. Got a red light. He tried again. Click. He opened the door, and felt a wave of ecstasy coursing through his body as the cool air brushed against his cheeks and smothered his body in its cold embrace. He smiled as he moved outside, right foot first. Before he could register anything else, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He cried out in pain and terror. Before he could reach safety, something had grabbed him.