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kelpan · 26 days

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So, remember how in my last author's note, I said I was feeling better? "More like a human"?

Yeah, I spoke too soon.

These past few months have put me through the wringer. Super stressful work environment, and new meds messing with both my mental and physical health. I'm taking steps to change the meds, and banish this nasty depression it has kept me trapped in. I can only apologize for how long it's been since my last update, though I did my best to keep writing.

This chapter might be a bit smaller than what they usually are, but it was hard-fought for. I hope you all like it, and thanks for being patient with me.

Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

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Wednesday

7:30pm

Chrysanthemum

The alarm replayed across the air, ominous and oppressive. Chrys looked towards the sound, the weight of the message sinking under her skin. Never before had she found herself in this situation; never again did she want to. The worry that gnawed at her stomach threatened to make her vomit, and the last thing anyone needed was for her to bring her lunch back out for a visit. She forced the sensation down from the back of her throat, and turned to face her partner, ready to follow whatever instructions he had for her.

“Sun, what are you—”

Yet she stood alone. The entrance doors clicked shut, broadcasting what must have been his departure. For him to leave without a word and so abruptly was unlike him.

Wait, what even are our protocols? What am I supposed to be doing here??

The two attendants from the Atrium stood out against the sea of quietly occupied children. If anyone here might have a shot of giving her some kind of guidance, her best bet was from other employees.

“Uh, hey,” Chrys asked, hurrying over, doing her best to project some sort of veneer of calm, lest her anxiety take control. “Everything seemed fine when I left. What the heck happened?”

Neither moved to look at her, or acknowledged that she’d spoken. Their game of “Go Fish” was more interesting, eyes locked on their individual sets of cards. Chrys waited, arms crossed over her chest, gaze pointed, until someone caved. The one on the right took that title; A heavyset, disheveled looking man with greasy hair, who offered only a measly, nonchalant shrug in consolation.

“Eh, she must have slipped from the group while we were walking back. Kid was there when we lined up.”

Soon the other joined in, a small, diminutive stick of a woman, likely around the same middle age as her counterpart. She clicked her teeth and added a card to the center pile. “My guess is she got distracted by something we walked past and snuck off. I’ve heard of stuff like that happening from some of the other staff. Hell, this place is like temptation in a bottle for kids.”

Chrys’s composure threatened to crack. Could they not hear themselves right now? Her tone took on a sharp edge. “What do you mean “you guess”? Aren’t you worried about her?”

“Oh chill, she’ll be fine.” The male attendant answered, unfazed. “They’ll send every mechanical bozo they’ve got in this place after her, like that creepazoid clown you’ve got here. Soon as the lights go off she won’t stay missing for long, I can tell you that.”

Chrys bristled. She didn’t appreciate the blatant, derogatory dig. “Is that about Sun?”

“Nah, the other one.” The same attendant answered. “After all, the guy’s part of security now, it’s his job to handle shit like this.”

Just then, every light in the vicinity began to fade, blanketing the daycare in a soft but artificial twilight. Some of the children shouted in mock terror, their cheeky giggles giving away their true amusement. Chrys startled out of reflex, eyes wide as she watched the scenery take on new life around her.

Stars. So, so many stars.

On every post, every wall, every support beam, even the ceiling and the fake clouds dangling overhead, glow-in-the-dark stars greeted her with their nostalgic light. Never would she have thought that the cheap ones she used to have decorating the ceiling of her childhood bedroom might be able to provide any sort of substantial light, but here they were, their collective amount—and likely higher quality—creating more than enough illumination to easily see by.

“See? Right on cue.” The attendant continued. “I bet you he’s the one who finds her first. Five minutes, tops.”

“Nah, it’ll be Roxy. Fast is like her whole thing. Ten bucks.” The woman chimed in with a barking laugh.

“Ha! You’re on!”

In the background of their grating banter, a new message spoke through the intercom, pulling Chrys from the conversation.

“ATTENTION ALL GUESTS: PLEASE REMAIN IN PLACE. OUR ANIMATRONIC STAFF AND SECURITY BOTS ARE CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING. THEIR SCANS ARE FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES ONLY. LOCKDOWN WILL REMAIN IN PLACE UNTIL THE MISSING CHILD IS IDENTIFIED AND RECOVERED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.”

The automated voice spoke with an ignorable note of authority, demanding obedience through command. She could only imagine how frightening this situation must be to the other children throughout the pizzaplex; To go from having the time of their lives one instant, to then finding themselves in a world of darkness and danger the next. At least the children under her responsibility seemed impervious to this, safe and secluded as they were here in the Daycare. A small blessing.

Marigold, however, could afford no such luxury. Wherever she was, odds were that she was alone, overwhelmed, without anyone to guide or comfort her. And if anyone with less than innocent intentions found her before one of the animatronics could… she closed her eyes against such a thought. The math, however, remained clear; With each minute that ticked by, the risk of this turning into a catastrophe grew.

There had to be something she could do, anything to help speed things along. In a building this large, with all the various nooks and crannies she might have wandered into, going about this in a blind sweep would be far too tedious. Kids were masters of subverting your expectations, able to get themselves stuck in the most ridiculous of places. Pressing her palm to her forehead, Chrys dug through her memories, seeking anything notable, any sort of outlier that might give her some insight into whatever was going on in that little girl’s mind.

She’d been teary and reluctant to leave her mother when she’d arrived. Commonplace, most children suffered from some form of separation anxiety at that age. She played, she laughed, she had fun… and seemed hellbent on continually bringing up a certain ambiguous “big brother” every chance she could get. Was that the missing key? What was it she had said about him again? Something about wanting to share a pizza together, that he was some grown up that worked at some beach…

No, wait, that wasn’t it. She’d said here at the beach. Did… did she mean the pizzaplex?

“Hey,” Chrys said, interjecting herself back into the conversation. “Is there anywhere in the Pizzaplex that’s beach themed, or, I don’t know, might be considered kinda “beach-y”? Someplace like that?”

The two attendants shared a look of confusion, glancing at the other for mutual confirmation that they’d heard her right.

“Uh, not really.” The man replied, in a tone that made clear what he thought of her question. “The big things are the band performances, golf, the raceway…. everything else is pretty standard kid stuff, like the arcades. It ain’t really a “beach-y” kinda place, if you catch my drift.”

The woman piped in with a snap of her fingers. “Oh, hey now, isn’t one of the free zones pirate themed? They might have some beach decor or something.”

“Oh yeah, Kids Cove, right? I always forget about that place. Hasn’t it been, like, under construction or renovations for forever or something?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Internally, Chrys vibrated. It may only be a nugget, but this was more of a lead than she had thirty seconds ago, and she’d be a fool to dismiss it.

“Yes! That’s got to be it! Marigold had said something earlier that makes me think that might be where she’s gone! We have to let someone know. How do we contact Sun? Or Moon? Is there a way we can ping them or something?”

The pair scoffed at her.

“Who do you think we are, Vanessa? She’s the only one with direct line access to those overpriced tin cans.” The man patted the seat between the two of them. “Listen, why not sit down and relax with us for a second? I’m sure someone will find her soon, and everything will be just fine. I promise.”

His voice dripped with a syrupy sarcasm, the kind that came across as both patronizing and belittling. In her veins, her blood boiled. A little girl was out there somewhere, likely now having the worst birthday of her life, and they weren’t willing to lift a single finger to help her? To even try?

No. Unacceptable.

“Fine. If you won’t help me, then I’ll just go out there and find a way to tell them myself. Stay with the rest of the kids until I get back. Don’t work too hard now.”

Without giving either of the two a chance to retort, she pivoted and left, marching her way to the entrance of the daycare, stopping only once to grab a flashlight from the charging station mounted on the wall behind the security desk before stepping beyond the gate.

There was no way she was going to let that little girl suffer any longer than was necessary.

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