Staff Only

“This place is creepy… but we’ve gotta keep going!”

The Staff Tunnels were like a maze. The concrete stairs led to more furnished white hallways, extending in all directions and lit by orange overhead lights. Without a map, they weren’t sure what to do other than get as far away from where they came in as possible. 

“Here, maybe?”

Frankie rounded a corner only to see someone walking down it ferrying a cart of toys to restock a gift shop. The sisters turned and ran the other way, but this wouldn’t be the last this happened. This wasn’t some abandoned secret- it was a complex system that kept the park running outside the view of guests, maintaining their immersion, and it was very much in use, even at night.

They were forced to let the sight of other people guilde them. If a route was blocked, they took the opposite one. Closets, small nooks, and hidden crannies were everywhere, so in the worst-case scenario they could hide if someone got the drop on them- but they weren’t sure how they were going to make any progress hiding.

“Do you think we’re still under Cinema City?” Katie asked mid-sprint.

“Must be. That place was huge, right?”

Frankie crooked her head to the side, finally noticing the cameras here. There wasn’t a hallway without them.

“Shit.”

“What?”

“They’ve… got cameras in here.”

She couldn’t come up with an optimistic way to spin it. Things were looking grim.

“I… hope we aren’t disqualified…”

“Disqualified? Forget that, Bozo saw my face! If… he matches that to a list of people in the park… We could be arrested.”

“That won’t happen.” She finally rebutted, though not in her usual confident fashion.

“Why do you say that?”

“That’s… that’s too awful to happen.”

“A lot of awful things have happened to us, Katie.”

“But… I don’t want… that to be it. That can’t be it.”

“It might be, if we don’t get super lucky.”

Katie stopped in her tracks, and suddenly smiled.

“We are lucky.”

A confused look shot across her sister’s face.

“We’ve survived so much… not to mention dodged every other human being in here. When you put it like that… I’m not even a little worried.”

With her makeup distorting from the sheer amount of sweat dripping off her face, Frankie sighed.

“If you’re not worried… I won’t be either.”

“Good.”

Then the sisters saw the very tip of an expensive shoe peek out from the corner just up ahead.

“Frankie!”

There were no other hallways in sight.

“Shit!”

By instinct, Frankie took the closest closet door and swung it open, leaping in along with her big sister before closing it as quietly as possible.

“Phew…”

Just outside, massive, earth-shaking footsteps made both girls shudder.

Stroking his white beard, the visitor wondered…

Where am I supposed to show up tomorrow?