Poppy's Angel
"Hi! My name is Leith Pierre.."
Leith Pierre..
I shivered, damn has it been a long time since I've heard that voice and name.
"And I'm ahead of innovation here at the Playtime.Co toy factory. If you're seeing this.. Then you're trespassing!"
"Oh, how peachy." I muttered, remembering how his lip always twitched when he had to fake that golly voice of his.
I looked around, almost laughing at the depressing state in front of me. The once high and mighty Playcare now brought to a state of ruin.. The reason? No one really knows, and no one wants to find out.
"Yeah we played this little tape on loop whenever we close the factory for the day. So, trespasser, just to make you aware while we pride ourselves primarily on our high quality toys and excellent childcare—"
I wasn't even facing the TV and I already got irritated.
"Anddddd his voice is pissing me off." I sang in the tone they made us do when greeting the customers in the gift shop.
I walked to the box and only half listened to what he was saying before I reached for the button. Then I heard a shuffle behind me.
I turned around faster then what I was used to, staring wide eyed at the vent near the door. Pierres voice continued to talk about his amazing security before something he said caught my attention for once, "So, you've got my warning, it's not too late to turn around, I just hope that you're certain whatever you're doing is worth it."
His words dangled in front of me like a warning sign. His condescending tone just as infuriating as I remember.
"I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for that letter." I spat, talking to the television like it could talk back.
FIND THE FLOWER
I flinched at the memory, but quickly dismissed it. I forgot how much I hated it here.
The kids and the toys from the Big Body Initiative made it better I guess. The kids were just kids and acted as such, and the Big Body toys were friendly enough. Although for some reason we were kept from the critters. I was a bit disappointed, as embarrassing as it is to admit the designs and show was cute, I became a fan at the age sixteen.
I sighed, "Forget it, the security here is gone anyway." I reassured myself, walking toward the turnstile before jumping the metal bars to get to the other side.
I then looked to where the opening was meant to be, but was met with a large door.
"The fuck." I muttered, stepping back.
They never told us that this opening could close. I looked around and found nothing but dust and rust and possibly a little pile of dirt. I turned back around and jumped the turnstile again before looking to my left and noticing a glass door. I hummed, walked over to it and tried to push it open, but to no avail, it was locked.
Soon my attention went to the bright colored pad next to it. Some of the colors seemed familiar..
I stared at it before walking back to the right side. The poster of Brow still somehow stuck to the wall, glass on the floor that took up one side of the hallway, and the rattling of the toy train going around in an endless red circle above me was almost nostalgic. I followed the train with my eyes, the colors on each little box immediately caught my eye. I noted it and looked around the room, some toys still in boxes, others not, others torn apart. The room was messy, and gave me no hint of what happened here.
I looked back up at the train, "What a simple puzzle," I muttered to myself, noting the pattern in my head before walking back and reciting the colors aloud, "Green, pink, yellow, red.. Green, pink.."
I did so until I was halfway past the main doors. I paused in my tracks. I'm not hearing things. I know I just heard breathing. My eyes whipped back to the vent on the wall close to the floor. I waited. The breathing was slow, deep, and almost deliberate. Like whatever was hiding wanted me aware of it's presence.
"I just hope that you're certain whatever you're doing is worth it."
His words rung in my head, scripted, warning, and so sure of himself.
I admit it, I've never been good at handling my anger. I've never been able to keep my mouth shut either. It's gotten my ass beat more times than I can count. And Leith Pierre just happened to resemble my father a little too much for my liking.
His words felt like a challenge, and I've never been one to not take one.
Hell I've survived paying my way through medical school, a surgeon to be specific. Surprising considering my temper, but who knew I'd be good under pressure?
I walked forward, ignoring the small growls the closer I got to the other glass door, once again reciting the colors, "Green, pink, yellow, red.." and punched them in before I knew it. The door opened, the enclosed air hit me fast, and the stench was nauseating.
I gagged, "Did something die in here?" I asked no one, covering my nose with my shirt and continued on inside.
I've smelled all kinds of things because of my field. I mean, nothing was meant to smell worse than the inside of the human body. The only thing that could ever smell worse than a human body, was a rotting one. The room was plain, other than another TV and a little square hole in the wall. The entrance was covered with a glass wall.
I looked around the room, looking for anything of use. Honestly that growl is making me wish I came armed, if something weird happened here I wouldn't put it past neighboring animals to be residing in this place. I sighed, my search led to nothing but another tape. A purple one this time, a long with a purple VCR to compliment it. I slid it in and waited for any voice as I looked around a little more. But only music came from it after a few minutes, I looked back at the screen only to see instructions on how to use the grab pack.
"Oh shit," I cursed, briskly walking back and giving the screen my full attention.
The grab pack was one of things I'd wanted to try but was always too scared to use. I wasn't one of the upper level employees, so I was never even allowed to touch that expensive tool. I watched the video intently, trying to make up for the loss of the first couple minutes. They always have the intro for those first few minutes anyway, I'd hear the higher level employees complain about it.
The rules were simple. Don't aim at someone's head, use the hands for their respective colors, I can use it for the electric poles, and the grab pack was from what I know.. fifty pounds.
I watched as the video came to an end and the glass slowly fell to the ground. I took a few steps closer and grabbed one of the straps, avoiding the glass altogether, even if it wasn't broken. I pulled it onto my back and felt the weight almost immediately.
"Ugh.." I groaned, adjusting the straps to my liking.
I strapped it onto myself and grabbed the levers, "Great, fantastic, now let's—" I paused, staring at the single blue hand in front of me.
"Seriously?" I groaned again, this time from annoyance as I made my way out of the room.
I ignored the creepy poster of Poppy the Doll on the way out of the hall and to the main entrance. I stopped walking and stared at the front doors. My gut was telling me to leave and it's never been wrong, just like when it told me to give my work day to one of my coworkers. The day they all went missing that caused this place to shut down and abandoned for ten years.
Everyone said it's haunted, that every dumb teen or junkie that came in never came out. There was meant to be an investigation but it got called off. Theory's were made left and right, but over all it ended with people saying the police sucks and they got paid off. All talk. No one volunteered to be part of the search party despite saying that something needed to be done.
I guess I'll either solve this ten year mystery myself, or die and become a headline with my identity revealed as the only survivor who decided to come back.
I walked with the heavy grab pack that made me glad I worked out and once again hopped over the turnstile, although with a little more effort this time. I looked up at the intimidating door in front of me and pressed the small button that released the hand.
The force knocked me back a bit, and I missed. I huffed and tried again, this time planting my feet firmly on the ground and aiming with better precision. The hand released and landed exactly where it was supposed to, and I smiled in satisfaction as the doors slowly opened. Revealing the well known you that gave me shivers everytime I looked at it, Huggy Wuggy.