Prize: Night Security

“Are you sure you can handle it here by yourself?” a guard asked me in the locker room.

I had just gotten dressed in my new uniform of a blue button-up shirt and black pants and shoes. The final touch was putting a blue hat on my head. My shirt and hat had a badge that labeled me as the new security guard of the building.

“Yeah, I think I can manage.”

“Are you sure it’s not because you have the Avatar’s body?” the guard said with a smirk, taking note of the fact that I currently possessed Korra’s appearance.

“I may look like her, but I can assure you I’m not the Avatar. For one, I can’t bend the elements like she can.” To demonstrate the point, I tried a firebending technique, but had no effect. “Second, I’m not going to have Korra’s appearance forever. As long as no one touches a special remote in my house, I’m going to stay like this.”

“Sounds fair. Anyway, you should only leave the office during designated times to inspect the building perimeter,” the guard said as he began explaining all the duties I would be having on my first night working security at a family restaurant. I’ll admit, the animatronics they had at the place were a little creepy, but maybe that was just because of the low lighting that was on them. This place is popular with kids, so I didn’t think much of it.

The guard soon left after he gave me the keys to the building. I was getting to the office when I noticed a note on the desk.

“Hey there, buddy.

Congrats on making the cut! Now that you’ll be working here, I should tell you about a certain curse in this building. On nights with the full moon, the machines may start roaming the restaurant. Whatever you do, don’t let them catch you, or else you’ll never make it out alive. You should be fine as long as you remain in the office.

Sincerely, a close friend.”

Being easily startled even as a kid, I was nervous about what this note had said. “It…it’s probably nothing! Yeah…just some random nonsense. I’m sure the other guys would’ve let me know of anything wrong.”

An hour into the shift, I got up and started looking around. The animatronics were standing still upon the stage, now looking even more creepy with just the flashlight shining upon them. I shook my head and said to myself, “No, pull it together! It’s just your imagination; they can’t come to life.”

That’s when I heard the creak.

It was faint, but I followed the creaking sound to the kitchen. Looking around with my flashlight, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. All I felt was a cold chill.

“…just the wind…that must be what it was…”

Going back out to the main area, I again shone my flashlight around the area. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I turned back to go to the office. That’s when I found the newspaper clippings on the ground.

“Strange…I don’t remember these…” I said as I picked them up.

Looking them over, they contained stories of a restaurant’s animatronics going haywire and attacking children. There was even a story about how a child was stuffed into a machine, brutally disfigured. The name of the restaurant was crossed off, as was the location.

“Okay…if this is a joke, it’s not funny anymore!” I said to myself.

That was when another creak caught my ear; this one much louder and much more distinct. I turned around and shone my light.

A large mechanical face shone in the light of the flashlight. That was the last thing I saw before I screamed and ran for the office.

The next morning, the guard came back to the office to see how I was doing. He saw me in the dark office with the desks in a semi-circle around me, holding onto the flashlight for dear life.

“What’s going…”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” I screamed as I turned on the flashlight. “I HAVE TOO MUCH TO LIVE FOR! I HAVEN’T EVEN GOTTEN A GIRLFRIEND YET!!”

“Calm down; it’s just me!” the guard said as he turned on the light.

“Wha…I…I’m sorry, sir; I…I just…”

“Look, if this is how you’re going to be, I don’t think you’re really cut out for this job.”

“…you’re probably right.”

Turning in the uniform after I had gotten redressed, I shook the guard’s hand and said, “Thanks for at least giving me a shot.”

The guard shook my hand as he said, “No prob. Good luck at your next one; hopefully one that lets you work in the daytime.”

As I left, a green hedgehog walked by and said, “Sorry it didn’t work out for you.”

“Matrix, we need to have a talk,” I heard the guard say just before I left.