December 27 - Security

Frederic, if that was really his name, sits in his office chair. In front of him are an array of monitors and keyboards. He wears the bland bluish uniform of a security guard and the face of someone profoundly bored. 

In his defense, the images on the monitors are profoundly boring. Various camera angles display the inside of some sort of restaurant: a kitchen on one, tables and chairs on another, the hostess stand on yet another. Frederic ignores the video displays (though so little changes that one could forget they were video), watching some inane videos on his phone at an uncomfortably loud volume. After all, he’s the only one in the place. 

One of the monitors erupts into static, eliciting a muffled swear out of Frederic. He knocks on it, producing the echoing thunk of thick glass. The static settles down, sure, but something has changed. Frederic does not notice. 

An animatronic animal stands in the corner of the room now. She lives in the restaurant, sure, but she does not stand in that corner. She’s cloaked in some shadow, dim lights barely enough to illuminate her figure, but she is just visible. Frederic isn’t paying quite close enough attention to see her, though. 

Another burst of static follows. Frederic grumbles something, gives this new monitor another series of taps. And again, he does not notice the new figure standing in the corner. He moves on to a new video, ignoring the view on the monitors even harder. The animatronic grows bolder, takes a tentative step. When no alarms sound, she transitions into a sprint. 

The restaurant is closed for a few weeks after that. They cover it up, but nobody questions when they need to hire a new security guard.