Seeing Strays - Chapter 87 - Rust and Punctuality (Patreon)

I walked through the eerie red fog, forcing myself forward one step at a time. The clattering of pipes came from all around me as the dread-inducing feeling of being watched intensified several fold. My tail trembled, and not for the first time the desire to go back ran through me. Still, I forced my way forward.

The fog was entirely impossible to see through. I could feel something out through it, though. I wasn’t sure what, but I wasn’t alone wherever this was. Thankfully, before that something could approach through the tetanus fog, a softer red light appeared in front of me. The fog pulled back ever so slightly like I’d just walked through a veil.

Vertigo hit me all at once, chaotically flipping my sense of balance all over the place. I gagged roughly and leaned against a rusty locker that appeared through the fog. My stomach churned nauseatingly, and I bent over slightly to rub at my stomach. “Ugh, I always forget how much that sucks.”

I took a breath, nearly choking on the sharp taste of decaying metal in the air, and pushed off the locker. The Overlap had dropped me into a locker room of some kind. A layer of murky water covered the tiles. It was so heavily contaminated that it looked like some kind of watered-down blood.

A light layer of fog still filled the locker room. Here, though, it had a rusty red glow to it given off by dangling fluorescent lights. Pipes rumbling with steam ran along the roof and arched up from the floor in weird locations like the designer seriously hated efficiency.  

Just as I finished catching my bearings, golden fire blazed to life right in front of me. The chill in the air was pushed back slightly by a fading surge of warmth.

| Always wear your identification.

Never take off your mask.

Always uphold your identity.

Never take credit for another’s work.

Always follow factory regulations.

Never work alone.

Always be kind to your coworkers.

Never be greedy. 

Meet your quota. |

My tail flopped uselessly to brush my ankle. I barely managed to remember where I was and keep it from dragging through the rancid layer of water across the locker room floor. “Vigil?”

”Affirmative, Operator,” he said through the bone conduction thing. This was twice now that he hadn’t been separated from me, thankfully. 

I bit my lip and reread back through the rules. The second to last one felt like a searing iron pressed against my chest. Never be greedy… wasn’t greed the entire reason I came in here? I shook my head and tried not to focus on that.

Identification? Mask? What was this thing talking about? How could I follow the rules if they didn’t make sense in the first place? Outside of the first set, the rest of them were pretty simple. It looked like I just needed to be a good worker.

Factory regulations, though, huh? Was that what this place was? I looked around the rusty locker room. My ears perked up alertly, catching the sounds of distant machinery working away at something. It was half-buried under steam rumbling through the oxidized network of pipes around me.

As if answering some of my questions, the fire dangling in the air slowly condensed. Instead of fading like last time, it melted down into an object floating in the air. My hand darted up to catch a softly glowing key just before it could fall into the murky water at my feet. 

“174?” I read the tag off of the key, and looked around at the lockers. For some reason, the fur along my tail was steadily starting to spike up. My heart followed right after, beating faster and faster in my chest as if my instincts were picking up on something that I missed.

”There, Operator Reyna.” A red light erupted from my pocket and illuminated a locker off to the side. Perhaps driven by the rising dread spreading throughout my body, I rushed over to the locker. My boots splashed heavily through the water gathered across the floor.

Tik… tik… kreeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEeeeeeee-klick!

From somewhere else in the locker room, a door slowly opened. The noise of its rusty hinges struggling to open sent a shiver down my spine. With just that one sound, my flight or fight instincts kicked into high-gear. Every part of me wanted to dart across the locker room and look for somewhere to hide.

Instead, I carefully shoved the key into locker 174 and popped it open. The rules had never led me wrong, and the key was something directly given to me by whatever entity operated them. I once more put my trust in them.

The locker door swung up with just as gut-wrenching of a sound, and caught with barely enough space to squeeze my fingers in the gap. My ears trembled, and darted around erratically as I heard the splashing of heavy footsteps coming my way. Water sloshed with every step, making my heart pound faster and faster.

I ripped the locker door open with pure brute strength, nearly tearing it off its hinges. Inside, hastily tossed in as if a worker had left it behind right after getting off shift, sat a porcelain mask of some kind. A red film covered the mouth and eyes, and just looking at it made me a little uncomfortable. 

The sloshing footsteps drew closer and closer with each passing second. Before I could second guess myself, I pulled out the mask and held it up to my face. I reached for a strap—only for six, porcelain legs to push out of the mask and grip the sides of my head. 

I choked back a startled yelp as the mask automatically adjusted to my head. Even with the red film covering the mask’s eyes and mouth holes, I could still see and breathe perfectly fine. 

The splashing turned onto the aisle of lockers that I was in. Darkness approached, drawing in quicker and quicker as if it’d just seen me. My hand darted forward just as a massive shadow blocked out the fluorescent light above, and I quickly pinned an identity badge to my chest. The moment it was in place, the shadow pulled back like it’d all been a lie.

I let out a breath, and ran a hand down my arm. Underneath the locker door, I could see a set of perfectly ironed pants. A coarse voice made my ears twitch uncertainly.  “You’re late, Worker.”

I flinched, and checked out the ID badge given to me. According to it, I was now Worker #777452. At the top of the ID badge, big bold letters spelled out Woodman’s Netherworks. 

I carefully closed the locker door, revealing the creature that spoke to me. Although it looked like a human at a glance, an incredibly sickening vibe radiated off of it. A sheer white mask, totally void of any features outside of a smile filled with razor teeth, clung to the creature’s face. Just like me, it had a badge pinned to its chest.

”I’m sorry, Manager 756.” The words slipped out before I even had time to think. I bowed my head slightly, and choked back my surging instinct to take down the creature. I had a feeling attacking the Manager would violate the rule to always uphold my identity. “I’ll do better in the future.”

My voice came out as the same gratingly coarse tone as the Manager thanks to the mask. I tried to keep from flinching, and used the dull tone as it did. It wasn’t attacking me yet, but I wasn’t sure how much oddity the creature could overlook before it realized I wasn’t who it thought I was. 

”Mmm… I understand the factory’s new employee orientation can take a while.” The coarse voice echoed across the locker room. The mask never moved as it spoke. That disturbingly wide smile stayed the entire time.

Did it know me? No, wait, not me. It didn’t know Reyna Vargriev. It knew the identity that I’d been set up as: Worker #777452. I was apparently a new hire in whatever demented place the Overlap had pulled me into. “Yes, but I’m ready and willing to work now.”

“It always warms my heart to see a new employee so enthusiastic.” The Manager held still like it was studying me. After a moment, it turned away and took a few steps through the murky water. “Come along, Worker. I’ll get you settled in.” 

“Thank you, Manager.” I kept up the dull tone and tried to lock the locker door. At some point, the golden key made of condensed fire had faded, though. I just swung the rusty door closed and quickly followed after the Manager. 

I bit at my lip lightly. Now that I had a moment to think, what did I even have in my arsenal that’d help this time around? Redline was out. Activating my armor would tear off my mask, so that was a last case resort. That left my claws, Binding, and Rose Window. Oh, and maybe the Visitor’s Pass if I lost my ID?

With a thought, my ear warmed up. A faint weight appeared, making the fluffy ear twitch as I once more got used to the Rose Window Ear Cuff. At the very least, my words would be more believable. That should help me blend in easier as long as I told the truth.

My sharp teeth worked at the flesh of my lip as I looked around for other people caught in the anomaly. There was no one else in the factory locker room other than me and the Manager, though. At least, in the places I could see as I followed him down the aisles. Were they already out on the factory floor? Or… or was I the only person here?

I kept my eyes peeled as we moved through the locker room. At first, I didn’t what I was looking for. There was a layer of fog spread across this place that made everything kind of blend together like a distorted nightmare. Every breath I took felt like I was about to start bleeding due to the rust particles in the air, too. My ears stayed flattened almost the entire time.

After going a few aisles, I spotted a few more locker doors that were left open like mine was. It might not mean anything, but if others were given a mask and ID like me, then maybe their lockers were left open just the same?

After hesitating for several seconds, I finally worked up the courage to ask. “Manager, how are the others from orientation doing?”

The Manager’s head sharply snapped back to look at me. That demented grin seemed to stretch wider for a moment like I just slipped up. After a moment of heart-pounding silence, the Manager just nodded. “None were as enthusiastic as you, Worker 777452. Keep up the attitude, and you’ll find yourself promoted to Manager in no time.”

”This lowly one could never see herself holding the same position as you, Manager.” My ear cuff warmed as I spoke the truth. The patches of skin where insect-like legs holding the mask onto my face clamped started to itch fiercely. 

“You’re too kind.” The Manager’s steps went lighter as if it was happy with my praise. It seemed some things never changed. “You know, we even had a few Interlopers that tried to sneak in with you new employees. I even caught a few myself.”

“Impressive, Manager. Your skills are truly inspiring to a lowly worker like myself.” I laid it on a bit thicker as the gears in my head started to churn. Interlopers? Was that what the entities of this place called us? If I assume this Overlap pulled everyone in and started when the fog appeared, then did I enter this place an hour after everyone already got through?

This Overlap was weird. Like, really weird. I was used to a malevolent entity trying its best to get me killed, not whatever this was. It was a good thing I had years worth of practice hiding my emotions and reactions from my sister and Hades. If not, I had a feeling I also would’ve been caught right at the start. 

“What happened to the Interlopers?” I asked. The Manager’s steps slowed in front of me, and I quickly spun together an excuse. My ear burned while I carefully chose my words to tell the truth. “It’s my first day, and I don’t want to violate factory regulations.”

The creatures steps continued to be slow. After a few moments, it returned to its normal pace as if finding my excuse acceptable. “Naturally, they’re being held for the Owner.”

I almost asked where. I didn’t want to evoke any more suspicions though. If they were being held somewhere, that implied they were still alive. Maybe I could try and save them if given the chance? “The Owner most greatly appreciate having such a diligent Manager such as yourself.”

“Mhmm. Give it your best, and you won’t be much behind, Worker.” The grin on the Manager’s mask definitely stretched wider. It wasn’t just my imagination. Was that thing actually its face, then?

“I will follow your advice.” I wasn’t totally sure how I’d get out of here quite yet, but I had a hint. If the last rule was related to escaping just like the Church of the Repentant’s last rule was, then it had to do something with hitting my quota. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be too hard.

Until then, though, I quietly followed the Manager through the locker room while my messy mind struggled to keep up with what was going on.