ɢʟᴀᴍᴏʀᴏᴜꜱ ᴇʏᴇꜱ

9 : When The Sun Rises

Art by me :)
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The doors of the Gift Shop opened hesitantly. The children's hands interlocked with each other. The girl rubbed away her drying tears with her sleeve. Gregory had her fingers between his in a cold, tight grip.

His face showed no fear or horror. Just wariness that seeped into his irises when he glanced around and behind them in caution. He almost looked as if it never happened. But you can see through the guise by the feeling of his slightly trembling fingertips.

He was more afraid then she was, but he has trouble showing such emotion.

Two footsteps tapped gently against ceramic steps and tiled floor. It was dark here, darker than the night itself, it seemed to the little girl. Shadows were longer now, sound seemed to be silent, neon plasters seemed to shine like a warning. Like violet, robotic optics.

The girl's nose was sniffling, her eyes were dry but still had so much tears. She thought of the stage, the halls, the photo booth. She thought of the neon gift shop with a dark interior, the soothing voice of an animatronic bear, cold fingers and honey eyes that glowed like fire.

She thought of two adults who tucked her in bed and smiled at her, the distant sound of melodic singing in a shower, the smell of the coffee fresh from the machine in a cool morning.

(Y/n) was getting homesick, she was getting tired. She missed her hair being caressed by her mother and being called a little gummy bear by her father. This place is scary, it's a nightmare.

"Are...you ok?" The voice of Gregory murmured quietly. "Are you hurt?" He glanced at you from the side, he watched you with wide-eyes and a steel look. The girl nodded and sniffled quietly.

"What about you, are-are you ok?" His eyes softened and he leaned in to ruffle her hair. His hands stayed on her head for a moment and brushed through the frazzled strands slowly and hesitantly.

"You don't need to worry about me." His voice echoed through the dark.

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To the far side there was a large red door. It was near the steps and shrouded with darkness. A scanner was to the sides of it, the red light on it glowing ominously.

When Gregory examined it, he murmured  something about he didn't have the right pass for it, the girl guessed he meant that they can't venture through it.

The jazz music that played before was silent. There was just the sound of buzzing ventilation, clicking machinery, and the children's quiet, tapping footsteps.

The smell of cleaning detergent was apparent, it mixed in strongly with the subtle smell of junk food. Any messes that customers possibly made was cleaned up rapidly when the Pizzaplex announced that it was closing.

The place seemed like it was brand new, but you can still hear remnants of children's laughter and shrieks. You could hear the hushed voices of adults speaking through the walls.

Gregory swiped his newly developed card on the scanner. With a click, the garage-like door slid up with a muffled whirring sound. Before them was a large corridor of doors and TV screens, and overhead was the faintest glimpse of Superstar Daycare.

It had fake palm trees in rows down the middle, the floor was so shiny and clean that it could have reflections in it. The distant sound of an AC echoed, the place was otherwise silent.

Chic, neon pillars glowed in the corners and walls. The walls were made out of faux bricks. On these bricks were large illustrations of some character resembling the sun. 'Sun Drop Candies' was displayed in a large, bubbly font next to it.