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eyndr-stories · 2 years

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Chester and the Jesters (FNAF SB fanfic) C1 - Transgressor

In Summary:

The new tech sure does seem a little strange. Chester (at least, that's what their name tag says) doesn't seem as concerned as they should be about the high turnover rate here at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, or the numerous rumors about what happens to people who take the night shift. And to make matters worse, there seems to be some kind of criminal on the loose! The cops say they think the criminal is hiding out in the woods somewhere near the pizza-plex. Stress is high at the plex these days, but Chester is stoic as ever. Say, come to think of it, no one can seem to remember where Chester's application went or who they interviewed with. Their employee file is misplaced or missing just like everything else in this place. But the new tech does a good job completing their tasks, and has their own badge and everything, so of course they must belong here. It's not like someone would sneak into the plex and go this far out of their way to impersonate a low level technician. Right??

Things To Know (always read responsibly!):

Biggest warnings are for blood, death, knives, murder, the police, violence, also the OC is at one point hit by lightning. All fun stuff

About 70,000 words in total, 9 chapters, so roughly like. 7,500 words per chapter

This is an OC story, not a reader insert or a self insert! But if you want to imagine otherwise be my guest lol

Angst, fluff

OC x Sun & Moon, there's romance but zero spice

Occasional swearing

Heavy focus on Sun and Moon but most of the rest of the gang is there too :)

Afton doesn't exist, sorry peepaw, Vanessa is here but she's very chill. She's a kickass gamer girl lmao

Moon does an attempted murder but its fine. He's just a lil guy ok

OC uses they/them and also sign language most of the time

Impersonation, lying. There's also manipulation. Yall I wasn't kidding about the angst

There's also a lot of focus on how they're all robots, very cool robots with feelings lol

That's all I can think of, as always please lmk if I should add anything!

Ao3 Link: Right here!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

C1 - Transgressor

Desperation can, at times, lead you to do some funny things. Just some real silly little choices. Some 'oopsies', if you will.

Sirens wailed in the distance, audible despite the roar of wind and rain, despite the pounding of footfalls through the mud, despite the heavy crash of thunder, not a moment's hesitation before the lightning followed. There was a light ahead, piercing through sheets of rain, through tree branches and leaves.

Bursting through the trees, the transgressor breathlessly considered their options. There weren't many to consider. They braced their hands on their knees, taking in greedy gulps of air, wincing as cold air stung their lungs and sent harsh shivers down their spine.

The sirens were getting louder.

Having crossed through the woods, the transgressor was back out on the other side of town. That light they'd blindly followed through the trees was coming from the neon sign of some kind of mall, just down the hill ahead of them. The transgressor was close to the side of the building here, close enough that they could see onto the roof. Around the building's edge was a wide parking lot, and the street beyond. Pine and spruce trees bent and swayed behind them, leering, gibing, judging.

They're just trees. Get a hold of yourself.

They had to focus. They couldn't keep running forever. The transgressor scanned the parking lot of this mall. They'd stolen a car once, they could do it again.

The lot was empty, naturally. The sirens were maybe a few streets away at best now, getting closer by the second. The goosebumps on the transgressor's arms were raising so violently that their skin was tingling. There was a metallic sort of taste in their mouth, like bad pennies. The transgressor stared at their hands, still braced on their knees. There was still blood caked beneath their fingernails, staining their skin despite the rain. The transgressor turned their face instead to the sky, their glasses not doing much to shield them against the torrential downpour. What they really needed now was some kind of miracle.

As if it had only been waiting for the audacity of the thought, a deafening crack of lightning decided right then that it would be best to smite the transgressor where they stood.

The world shook violently. For a long moment, the transgressor saw nothing at all. They couldn't hear anything, could barely even feel the chill. Then, all at once, everything slammed back into place around them.

The transgressor was on the ground, now covered in mud. There was a deafening ringing in their ears, the rain now a distant hush. With shaking arms, the transgressor pushed themself up into a sitting position, despite the numbness in their arms. Their head was throbbing.

…This fallen tree was not here before.

The transgressor stared at the tree not three feet to their left. The base of it was jagged and splintered, and there were chunks of wood scattered around. The tree had fallen towards the building, crashing onto the roof of the mall.

Three things became apparent. One, the transgressor had just been indirectly struck by lightning. However, they were still alive, and the tree had graciously missed crushing them in its fall by a narrow margin. Two, it appeared that the transgressor now had a working bridge onto the roof of this mall. Three, they could see the light of the sirens glowing at the end of the street.

The transgressor didn't think twice. They pushed themself to their feet and climbed across the fallen tree and onto the mall's rooftop. The tree groaned and creaked beneath them, threatening to collapse under their weight.

Their legs were shaking so badly they could hardly walk. They pushed on, heading for the access door. After the trials of the night, picking the lock was almost comically easy.

The transgressor collapsed at the top of the stairwell, back against the door, shut tight against the storm. Without the noise of the wind and the rain, that ringing seemed even louder. The transgressor squeezed their eyes shut and tried to breathe.

By the time they'd caught their breath, the ringing in the transgressor's ears had gone down a little. They knew they couldn't stay here, though they desperately wanted nothing more than to curl up right here on the ground and sleep this horrible night off.

With a groan, the transgressor pulled themself up onto their feet. The stairwell was dark, nearly pitch black if not for the light coming from below, seeping through mesh metal platforms and around uncomfortably thin metal stairs. They gripped the railing tightly and made their way down the steps, trying not to mind how they creaked and groaned as if about to buckle beneath the transgressor's weight.

Bright blue light came through a cracked open doorway. The transgressor pulled the door open just wide enough to stick their head through.

The light came from a vending machine, the side of it painted with an assortment of colorful animalistic characters. Beyond the machine, the transgressor could see a wide hallway, lined with benches and potted plants. The pattern on the tile floor reminded the transgressor briefly of the carpet in the roller skating rink they used to go to as a kid, all colorful shapes and silly lines and bright colors.

Other than that damn persistent ringing, everything was quiet. The colors were loud enough, between the posters and glowing neon signs covering the walls, The transgressor's head was swimming. Still, it wasn't like they could afford to be picky. A building as big as this meant options. Places to hide, if the cops decided to search the building.

The transgressor stepped out into the hall, leaving the door cracked just as they'd found it. They started down the hall, following a sign promising a food court was somewhere ahead.

They'd just passed an abandoned red stroller when the transgressor heard a noise behind them. Their heart jumped and they whirled around, lifting their fists.

The transgressor stared down some sort of robot. The robot had rolled itself up out of nowhere on a set of wheels, carrying a mop with it. It had simple white casing and a head shaped like an egg, featureless save for two perfectly circular black disks, clearly meant to be eyes. The robot wore a faded blue cap atop its head. It stared at the transgressor for an uncomfortably long moment.

The robot turned its egg head towards the ground and began to mop up the mud that the transgressor had trailed in.

The transgressor breathed, setting a hand over their heart. This was just some kind of cleaning bot, doing its job. The transgressor cursed their jumpy nerves and relaxed. They turned and carried on, feeling ridiculous enough to ignore the feeling of the robot staring after them.

It quickly became clear as the transgressor explored the building that this place was enormous. It hadn't seemed this expansive from the outside. There were several floors, each one a winding maze of attractions and shops and hallways. There were lots of 'STAFF ONLY' doors, likely leading to areas that would be ideal for stowing away for the night, but every one of these doors was locked via higher tech security panel. These were no good, the transgressor couldn't pick a lock that wasn't there, and they didn't know the first thing about hacking.

Occasionally, the transgressor would come across more robots rolling around the halls. There were more cleaning robots, though none of them wore hats like the first one. There were little wet floor sign robots, their rectangular heads topped with big round ears. Those were actually pretty cute looking. The only robots the transgressor had to worry about were the security bots, who wielded flashlights and rolled around in clearly pre-defined paths, occasionally stopping to turn a full circle before resuming their routes. These bots had 'SECURITY' printed clearly across their fronts and backs. They looked to be the same sort of model as the cleaning robots, egg heads and all. So long as the transgressor was careful, they could avoid these bots easily enough.

The transgressor kept seeing those animal characters depicted everywhere, on posters and cutouts and signs, decorating the merchandise in gift shops, there were even statues of them. They didn't care much about these smiling mascots, though. The transgressor folded their arms tight over their chest in an effort to stave off the shivers racking their body. They were soaked to the bone and their clothes were torn and dirty and, in places, stained with blood.

Their luck finally seemed to be turning, at least. A lost and found, the simple door lock just as easy to pick as the one on the roof had been. There, the transgressor found a lazy pile of clothes by a shelf full of odds and ends. A watch, a child's left shoe, a couple of plastic cards. One card appeared to be for storing points at the arcade. The other was some kind of VIP backstage pass. The transgressor took the backstage pass and picked through the pile of clothes, scrounging up a pair of black pants and a button up Hawaiian shirt, the only things in the pile anywhere close to their size. The transgressor wasn't feeling particularly picky. They quickly got changed, using another shirt to dry off and wipe their glasses clean of rain spots and dirt.

The transgressor tossed their old torn and stained clothes in the garbage on their way back to the food court. The only stage they could remember seeing was at the back end of the food court. They eyed their backstage pass under the sharp neon lighting. A smiling depiction of a bear character wearing a top hat and a bowtie gave the transgressor a thumbs up behind the emboldened 'VIP' letters. On the backside of the pass was a barcode and some kind of legal disclaimer, the print far too fine for the transgressor to make out.

When the transgressor looked up, they didn't pay much mind to the bear character in front of them, its shape silhouetted in neon lighting. After all, this guy's likeliness was plastered everywhere, it wasn't uncommon to see statues of the different characters. But then the bear moved.

The transgressor was rooted to the spot for just a moment. The bear was turning around to face them, neon shining off of metal plating as the bear moved. In a moment of panic, the transgressor leapt to the side, diving behind one of those massive ceramic pots full of plants.

"Hello?"

The transgressor sat as still as they could and held their breath, mind racing. They glanced down at the card still gripped in their hand. There was no doubt, that same bear character depicted on the card was standing in the hall. Not only that, but the character had definitely just spoken. This was it, then. The transgressor had finally lost their marbles.

"Montgomery, are you attempting to pull a fast one on me again??"

There were heavy footfalls, moving past the transgressor's pot. The transgressor risked a peek.

The bear was standing a few paces away, back to the transgressor once more. From here the transgressor could see metal plating, and the outlines of panels. A robot.

Things clicked into place for the transgressor. This bear character was some kind of robot mascot, an animatronic. The transgressor recalled seeing several other characters depicted in posters and such, which meant there were probably more of them.

"Hmm." The bear looked around for a moment, then seemed to decide the coast was clear and moved on, heavy footsteps fading into the distance.

The transgressor breathed a sigh of relief. They'd have to be more careful, if there were mascots roaming around as well. They seemed a little more perceptive than the security bots.

The extra caution paid off. The transgressor encountered another mascot before making it to the stage in the food court.

This one looked like the bird character. She was painted a bright pink, so she wasn't difficult to spot as the transgressor peered around the corner. They waited patiently for her to amble off down a side hall before hurrying on their way.

Finally, the transgressor made it to the stage. They found the door they were looking for without issue, 'BACKSTAGE' printed clearly on its front and a card reader panel set into the wall right beside it. The panel's screen flashed green when the transgressor tapped their card to it, and the door popped open. They slipped inside and pulled the door shut behind them.

There wasn't much of interest backstage, just a lot of set props, flood lights, sound equipment, and rolling platforms. There was, however, a door labeled 'STAFF ONLY' that did not have a security panel set beside it.

The staff only door let out onto the top of a stairwell, metal stairs transitioning to cement halfway down. The chill coming up from the stairwell was biting, and the transgressor was grateful they'd gotten out of their wet clothes. They made their way down the steps.

These halls were clearly not open to the public, which is exactly what the transgressor wanted. The halls were musty and dim, lit only by narrow little strips of harsh florescent light along the bottoms of the walls. The posters here were meant for workers, detailing safety hazards and posting warnings.

The transgressor passed an open door labeled 'SECURITY ROOM'. Peeking inside, they could see a long desk with several monitors, all turned off. The room was empty save for a rolling chair and some cardboard boxes in the corner. It seemed that if there was a security guard, they weren't on duty. A stroke of good luck for the transgressor.

The door to parts and service wasn't locked. This room was massive, and better lit than the halls. Pale service lights cast a clinical glow over rows of shelves and lockers, lines of computer servers, and at the center of the room, some sort of crazy glass chamber housing what the transgressor guessed was a torture machine inside. They got a closer look at the thing, eventually puzzling out that it was some sort of advanced repair machine. The table bolted to the floor inside the chamber was outfitted with massive metal bands. Too big to strap a person down, but… that robot mascot had been pretty big.

This place must be where the robots got serviced when they broke down. The transgressor checked through some of the shelves, finding them to be poorly organized. There were open bins full of parts that didn’t seem to go together, bundles of wires jammed in with stacks of metal rods, smaller computer chips scattered on the same shelf as a collection of curved metal panels.

The transgressor checked the lockers next. Most of the ones that popped open freely were empty, except for two. The first just held a hat and a sweater. The second appeared empty at first, but something shiny caught the transgressor's eye. Stuck between the back of the locker and the loose metal shelf was a name badge. Across the top of the badge was the word 'TECHNICIAN' and inside the name box was the name 'Chester'. On the back of the badge, below the safety pin, was a barcode not unlike the one on the back of the backstage pass.

The transgressor pocketed the badge, hoping to try it on the staff doors to see if the barcode would work on the panels. They cast one more look around the room before carrying on.

They found a bathroom, sensor lights clicking on as they stepped inside. The transgressor went immediately to the sink and started washing their hands. They scrubbed and scrubbed until the water was no longer tinged with red and ran clear. The transgressor's hands shook as they grabbed a paper towel. They risked a glance in the mirror.

The transgressor was not surprised to see how haggard they looked. Between the mud on their face and in their short black hair, the heavy bags under their eyes, and all the cuts and nicks they'd acquired charging through bushes and branches, the transgressor was looking a little worse for wear, to put it kindly. They turned the water back on and did their best to clean themself up.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of exploring, the transgressor found exactly what they were looking for. A small closet with a doorknob dusty enough to promise infrequent visits. Inside, there were shelves of what looked like simple uniforms, shirts and aprons and hats. The transgressor stepped in and shut the door behind them. They sat down, fitting neatly between the shelves and the door, their back to the wall. Here they could safely recuperate and wait for the storm to pass without (too much) fear of being found. Just for a few hours, just until they could be sure the cops would have moved on, either looking for them elsewhere or, with any luck, given up on looking for them at all.

They did try to think of a plan. They'd gotten themself into a real pickle, and they were out of ideas, out of options, out of luck. The transgressor leaned their heavy head back against the wall and breathed a long sigh. They closed their eyes and tried to think. There had to be some way out of this, if they could just think…

The transgressor jolted awake, startled from a dream by the sound of laughter. There was a moment of bleary eyed confusion before the transgressor's brain caught up with them, and they realized they'd passed out.

Idiot!

Judging by the bright light coming from the crack along the bottom of the door, the lights were on in the hall outside. And judging by that laugh, and what they could now make out as muffled distant voices, there were people out there in the halls.

The transgressor had slept through the night. They got to their feet, gripping the shelf beside them as they did, stiff muscles protesting. The mall was open, which meant getting back out of here was going to be a huge pain in the ass. Unless…

The transgressor's gaze fell on the shelf they were gripping. They reached into their pocket, feeling the name badge was still there. These shelves were full of employee uniforms…

Well, they certainly couldn't hide in this closet all day. So, disguise it was. The transgressor pulled on a uniform and clipped their stolen name badge to it. They hid their hair in a hat and pulled the brim down low. Then they listened at the door for a long moment, making sure no one was in the hall outside to see them come out.

The transgressor squinted in the bright light of the hall, the fluorescents along the ceiling now blazing. The transgressor crossed their fingers and hoped not to run into anyone as they walked as casually as they could down the hall, heading back the way they'd came. With any luck, no one would pay them any mind, and they could just head for an exit. Just another average and totally legitimate employee, nothing to see here.

Of course, the transgressor's luck had never been good.

"Hey, you!!"

The transgressor froze, fear rooting them to the spot as someone came up behind them. They turned to see another employee, wearing the same uniform as them, sans the hat, which the transgressor imagined would have disagreed with her head full of curly hair. Her name badge read 'TECHNICIAN: Brandi'.

"New kid! Follow me. I don't care what you were doing, I need help with one of those pass dispenser machines. Some Karen is gonna wring my neck if I don't get her the pass she bought. Dumbass got it jammed in the machine somehow. Don't just stand there, lets go!" Brandi waved impatiently for the transgressor to follow her.

Stunned, the transgressor quickly came to the realization that they hadn't been found out. The disguise had worked, Brandi had assumed they were another technician.

…Wait, this was bad. The transgressor was not a technician.

Still, they didn't want to blow their cover, so they quickly moved to follow Brandi. Maybe once they were out in the mall, they could slip away in a crowd.

"What's your name, kid?" Brandi glanced over her shoulder at the transgressor, her eyes scanning their name badge. "Chester, huh? I'm Brandi. First day on the job? You look a little lost."

The transgressor glanced down at their name badge. They nodded. They were actually lost, Brandi had lead them down a series of unfamiliar tunnels and was now guiding them up a different stairwell than the one they'd taken down last night.

"Strong silent type, huh? That's just fine, I talk more than enough for most people. Sorry to drag you into this, I just need someone to help me pry the damn pass out." Brandi slowed her ascent briefly, glancing sideways at the transgressor. "…And maybe help me handle this Karen. I really can't deal with people like that today."

The transgressor - rather, decidedly Chester- nodded in understanding. They followed Brandi through a 'STAFF ONLY' door.

Their plans to disappear into a crowd went out the window when Chester realized the Karen and the offending pass machine in question was right down the hall from the staff door.

With all the lights on and the halls full of noise and laughter, the mall seemed a world apart from the neon drenched labyrinth Chester had navigated last night. They could hear a brainless pop song bumping along through overhead speakers. A pair of kids nearly ran into them as they dashed down the hall. The kids were snickering about something.

Chester spotted the wet floor sign bot the kids had tipped over a moment later. The poor thing’s wheels were swiveling frantically as it lay helplessly on its back. Chester stopped to right the bot, setting it gently back on its wheels. They gave the bot a little pat on the head before hurrying to catch up with Brandi.

"THERE you are! I've been waiting here for seven minutes!!" the woman standing by the pass machine complained, her foot tapping impatiently.

"Sorry about that, ma'am," Brandi said. She turned to Chester and rolled her eyes before turning back to the machine. "We'll get your pass to you in no time."

"Honestly, with how much you people charge for a one day pass, you'd think you could afford better machines!" The woman huffed and folded her arms.

Brandi reached into her toolbelt (Chester hoped it wasn't suspicious that they didn't have a toolbelt) and pulled out a screwdriver. She made quick work of getting the front panel off of the pass machine, setting the panel against the wall.

"Take a look in here." Brandi beckoned Chester over, pointing at something inside.

Chester swallowed. They glanced around, searching for some sort of excuse or easy exit from the situation. When they found none, they begrudgingly crouched down beside Brandi and peered inside.

It wasn't hard to spot the pass dispenser between bundles of wires and long metal containers, holding blank passes waiting to be purchased. Chester could see a pass wedged into the dispenser slot as well, its shiny laminated surface catching the light. A corner of the plastic card appeared to be caught on the inner edge of the slot. It looked like someone had already tried to yank it free, as the corner was bent and the card was stuck at an angle.

"I think the slot itself comes out, but I can't get a good enough grip on it to pull it out," Brandi said.

Chester frowned at the slot and the card. If they could just get this over with, Brandi would leave them be and they would be free to head out of the nearest exist without suspicion.

Chester reached in and attempted to pull at the slot. When that didn't work, they tried pushing it. To their surprise, it popped free of the frame holding it in place. Chester tilted it on its side and pulled it through the frame easily. They held it up to Brandi, who'd been trying to assure the woman that it wouldn't be long now before she had her pass.

"Woah! Hey, nice job!" Brandi looked pleasantly surprised. She pulled the pass free from the back side of the slot, then handed it off to the woman.

"It's bent!" The woman scoffed. "This is ridiculous! All of that and the pass is bent. Is it even going to work like this??"

"It'll still work fine, ma'am. You just need to be able to scan the barcode on the back," Brandi assured.

The woman, still not satisfied, went back and forth with Brandi while Chester maneuvered the slot back in place. They set it back in the frame and pulled until it popped back into place. With that done, they stepped back from the machine.

Once it was clear she wasn't getting a complimentary pass or a refund for her troubles, the woman took her slightly bent pass and stormed off.

"BLEH." Brandi stuck her tongue out and grabbed the panel she'd taken off the front of the machine. "I'm glad that's over with. Hey, thanks for the help! I dunno how you got that thing out of there so easily, that was great!"

Chester gave her a thumbs up. They waited as patiently as they could as Brandi began screwing the panel back into place.

"Hey, who'd you interview with? Was it Daniel?" Brandi asked.

Chester panicked. They nodded.

"That figures, Daniel quit just yesterday. Threw his hat down and stormed out. I don't blame the guy, but jeez. There's not a whole lot of managers left. Anyways, if you had interviewed with Rosa I was going to ask if she asked you a bunch of weird questions during your interview or if that was just me. I only started here a week ago and let me tell ya! I should have taken the warning signs when I saw em." Brandi shook her head. "I mean, I'm sure you know how it is. Most places have you do the work of five people and pay you pennies for it. Turnover rate is really high here, I mean I've just been here the one week and I've seen three people come and go! But what's really bad is that I've started hearing stories about why the turnover rate is so high. Like… I mean, did you see that safety waiver packet they had us sign??"

Chester, obviously, had not seen such a thing. Luckily, they were saved from having to respond when Brandi continued her rambling unprompted.

"I'm telling you Chester, this place is bad news. I'd start looking for other employment opportunities if I were you." Brandi finished screwing the panel in place. She seemed to realize something, and quickly went on to add, "That's not to say that I'm like, trying to get you to leave! You know?? Like, I'm just looking out for you."

Chester offered Brandi a reassuring smile and nodded. They started inching away. Not that they didn't like Brandi- they actually found her charming. But they very much wanted to escape this place.

Brandi smiled and pat Chester on the shoulder. "Good deal. Thanks again for the help. I've got a list of tasks a mile long so I'd better get to it. I'll see ya around, ok?"

Brandi finally left, and Chester was at last alone. They breathed a sigh of relief, turned on their heel, and nearly collided with someone standing directly behind them.

The stranger lowered the hand she'd been about to tap Chester on the shoulder with as Chester stumbled back. This stranger was wearing a plain white button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up. Her name tag read 'LEAD TECHNICIAN: Rosa Garcia'. The circles under her eyes were nearly as dark as her short hair. She carried a clipboard and a disapproving glare.

The stranger, Rosa, glanced down at Chester's nametag, then back up to meet their gaze. "Come with me."

Chester's heart pounded, their nerves jumping. Brandi had mentioned that Rosa was a manager. Did she know Chester wasn't an employee?? Should they make a break for it?

Rosa sighed. "Relax, I'm not gonna fire you or anything. Common, I don't have all day."

Chester swallowed the nervous lump in their throat. Maybe their cover hadn't been blown? They reluctantly followed Rosa down the hall.

Rosa lead them through a different 'STAFF ONLY' door. She didn't go too far down the hall before leading Chester into a small office, equipped with a desk and two chairs, a computer, a single filing cabinet, and a single poster on the wall- a picture of that bear character giving the viewer two thumbs up, a speech bubble over his head reading 'You got this superstar!'. Rosa sat down heavily in the padded chair behind a desk, setting her clipboard down next to a half empty mug of cold coffee. Chester took the metal fold out chair across the desk from Rosa, trying not to be too conspicuous about sitting on the edge of their seat, in case they needed to make a hasty exit.

Rosa turned to the computer, clicking the mouse a few times as she spoke. "I'll cut right to the chase, we're both too busy for anything else. We have no one on staff to work night shift repairs and we're gonna need you to cover it. Can you do that? I'm authorized to give you a small pay bump."

Chester wasn't sure what to say. They weren't a real employee. However, they didn't want to give themself away, so they played along. Why not?

Chester willed their hands not to shake as they signed. "I can do that."

Rosa paused. "Would you rather I used sign as well?"

"You don't have to," Chester assured, shaking their head.

Rosa nodded. She typed something into the computer. "Who did you interview with?"

Chester panicked for only a moment before a name came to mind, someone Brandi had mentioned. "Daniel." Chester recalled that Daniel had apparently quit yesterday, so Rosa wouldn't be following up with him anytime soon to confirm this.

"Right. Daniel… Daniel… Daniel's files…" Rosa tapped the mouse a few times. She grabbed the cold mug of coffee and downed it, never moving her tired gaze from the computer screen. "While we're at it… you wouldn't mind filling in for some other people, would you? We do pay overtime here." She looked at Chester hopefully.

"Sure," Chester agreed. What did it matter? They weren't actually planning on working here.

Rosa's pleased expression quickly turned to a frown at something on the computer, then she sighed. "Great. Files got corrupted again. Jesus, that's the fourth time this month." Rosa whacked the side of the computer monitor. She rubbed her forehead. "Paper forms it is."

Rosa grumbled and sighed as she hunted through the filing cabinet for whatever forms she was looking for. "Sorry about this. If you couldn't tell, this place is falling apart at the seams and we're barely keeping shit together. You'll have to fill out another employee profile form, as will a third the staff, apparently. Digital files are lost. Leave half if it blank for all I care, I know it’s a pain, just get the important stuff down." Rosa dropped a stack of papers on the desk between her and Chester.

Chester stared down at the stack, wondering if it was too late to run for it.

"What a pain in the ass," Rosa muttered, hunting through desk drawers for a pen. She paused and glanced up at Chester. "…Sorry. It's been a long day. On top of everything else there's a bunch of cops camped out at the end of the parking lot. I'm sure you saw them on your way in today. They wanted to talk to me and some other managers about suspicious activity in the area or whatever. I told them to just check the security cameras, but apparently that storm last night knocked out the power for a bit, and a few things like most of the cameras never powered back on. But the cops said they're gonna be here a while, which is even better. They're trying to catch some kinda crook on the loose, cops think they're hiding out in the woods nearby." At Chester's concerned expression, she added, "Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing. You'll still work the night shift, right?"

Chester looked back down at the stack of papers. If the cops were camped out right outside…

What am I about to get myself into?

"I'll do it," Chester signed.

Rosa looked relieved. "Good. Don't worry about vagrants, those cops will be around a while. Just park closer to the building and you'll be fine." She held a pen out to Chester.

Chester nodded. They took the pen and picked up a blank employee profile form. It seemed they wouldn't be leaving the building for a while. And right here in front of them was everything they needed to ensure that no one minded their presence here. No one would know a thing. Once the cops had given up the ghost, they could just decide to quit. It wasn't like this was a real job, Chester wasn't even their real name. There was nothing tying them here.

They did desperately need somewhere to lay low for a while, and honestly, they really didn't have any better ideas. Chester took a deep breath, and started filling out their form.

"Thanks a lot for stepping up. Shows you've got initiative and all that." Rosa smiled. "And hey, don't forget about the safety waivers."

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