Thursday, 11:18pm.

Skye dropped the wet washcloth into the water-filled sink in the staff-only section of the lobby. He looked over the orderly (and rather extravagant) tables and chairs of Velvet Crumble's lounge, spotless after his diligent cleaning.

Not bad. He gave himself a little smile. Just in time for closing. Customers had been scarce since around 10pm, giving him ample time to clean up the public lobby.

With all his duties complete, and just a handful of minutes left before his shift ended, he perused the display of baked goods in front of the main cash register. Everything from cakes to fruit buns were plated on short, regal platters, beneath which was a velvet carpet lining each shelf.

A pain to clean, Skye noted, but it certainly looked classy.

To his delight, he was allowed a fair portion of free bakery goods at the end of each shift to make up for the relatively low wage. He eyed down the food, landing his gaze on a mound of pineapple buns and butter tarts.

Skye knew it wasn't the healthiest choice, but when funds were tight, anything helped.

Under 1,800 srakna, he reminded himself as he mentally tallied up the cost of the buns and tarts. He stepped over behind the counter and opened the glass door to access the pastries, taking four buns and eight tarts, ensuring there were some of each left over for the following morning.

The only reason he was allowed to take home products without supervision was because of the two cameras placed discreetly in the corners of the lobby. He glanced over at one with visible discomfort before finishing packing his goods – the buns bagged, and the tarts in a clear plastic container.

He placed his food on the counter and–

Skye locked his vision outside. Just beyond the front entrance's glass walls, someone was standing idle. Except it wasn't just any random person.

They were tall. Really tall. Skye could only see feet and legs; the rest of the figure's body was too high up to be seen from inside.

Skye froze, transfixed on the person outside.

His most reactionary thought, is it those loan thugs looking for my again?! was quickly dashed as he thought it over. No human could be that tall, even with augmentations. That's a fucking cryptid...!

Then, the figure stepped to the side, just out of sight. By that point, Skye was crouched behind the shop's service counter, just barely peeking out above its surface.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He quickly unlocked it with his fingerprint, only briefly glancing at the screen to ensure he didn't miss anything outside, and navigated over to the camera program. Without delay, he began filming and pointed it outside.

“Hey, it's Skye,” he whispered, narrating the video, “there's a really, really tall person outside... it's, like... 11:30 at night... I haven't seen anyone else pass by in maybe an hour or two. But there's this really tall dude just standing ominously outside. So, if you're watching this, and you don't know where I am, I'm probably dead. Tall man probably got me,” he half-facetiously commented.

A shadow fell over the entrance. Ever so slowly, a head craned down sideways, staring into the shop as the figure stepped back into view. The person's – no, creature's – face was ghostly white, and its eyes were two huge, black crosses. It wore a wide-brimmed hat, covering a head of unkempt hair.

Skye let out a short gasp as he ducked down, shakily keeping his phone pointed at the thing outside. Cold sweat was creeping up his back. His mouth quickly became dry. He didn't dare move another muscle.

“Smells good,” a strange, rumbling voice remarked, presumably coming from the creature outside. A pale white, gangly hand crept down towards the entrance's door handle.

Skye hadn't locked it.

Panic set in. It was too late to run over and lock the door.

Then, he remembered.

Skye dropped his phone on the counter and crawled beneath the cash register. There was a button underneath it to remotely lock the front entrance in case of theft or emergency.

He felt around under the desk; without any light, he couldn't tell where it was.

Oh my god, his head raced, oh my god.

He felt something circular and hard. A button?

Click. Skye pressed it, barely suppressing the urge to hammer it with his fist several times.

The door rattled.

Oh god, please work, please work, he prayed. He couldn't bear to look back up at the front door.

The door rattled again and again. And then it rattled again.

The creature let out a loud growl. “So hungry...”

Skye built up the courage to look past the side of the cash register to see if he was doomed.

The door was closed, and the creature was still outside.

Skye let out a hefty sigh of relief, almost falling down onto his back. He slowly caught his breath, each inhale and exhale less laboured than the last.

Oh my god, he continued in his head, repeatedly swallowing saliva to remedy his dry mouth. Despite narrowly averting disaster, he couldn't work up the courage to pick his phone up and continue filming. Oh my god.

Skye sat concealed behind the counter for a couple minutes, barely any calmer than a few moments prior. He had no idea if the creature was still there or not, and he wasn't ready to check. However, he hadn't heard any sounds since locking the door. He knew full well that the entrance's glass walls could be easily smashed open, but the creature didn't seem violent... yet.

Only after another two minutes and a continued lack of noise did he look back up over the countertop.

Nothing. The monster was gone. At least, it wasn't visible from Skye's limited view of the street.

Fuck, how am I gonna get out of here?! As far as he knew, Velvet Crumble didn't have a back entrance. He was tempted to go look for one, but leaving the lounge unattended with a freaky monster nearby didn't sit well with him.

He decided to sit still and wait it out just a while longer. In the meantime, he carefully reached up to the countertop and picked up his phone, which was still recording. He stopped filming and watched the video he'd captured.

“Hey, it's Skye,” his video's quiet narration began. Uninterested in his brief spiel, he skipped ahead a handful of seconds to when the gangly creature made its appearance.

There it was, clearly illuminated by the bakery's lights. He paused the video and glossed over the monster.

White skin, black cross-shaped eyes, huge toothy grin, messy silver hair, a wide-brimmed hat, a black coat, and a pair of purple scarves worn around both its neck and hat. He shivered just looking at it.

“What the fuck is that thing...?” he asked himself. “Is that a volon?” Skye reflected back on the news reports about the breakout of “volons” at Maroon's office branch in his very city.

He peeked back up over the countertop again. Still no monster outside. With every minute that passed without a scary figure at the door, his nerves gradually calmed down.

Maybe it lost interest and left...

Skye still didn't want to chance it. Waiting it out for a handful more minutes wasn't going to hurt.

He checked his phone – 11:31pm, one minute past closing time. He still had no desire to properly close up shop until he felt safer. If his boss gave him hell the next day for it, he'd just show her the video he took. Surely that would be explanation enough.

For the moment, he switched over to the social media program on his phone and began typing.

“guys there's a freaky monster outside my work, and i'm completely alone right now fuck...”

Skye munched on one of his pineapple buns as he scrolled through his media feed, checking the front windows every handful of minutes. It was 11:50pm now, and there was still no sign of the tall creature.

“What? Call the police, maybe?” suggested Saviour_Blue in a reply to Skye's earlier post.

“hell no,” he began typing back, “i've watched horror movies dude. the moment the cops get here the monster will be gone and they'll give me shit for wasting their time.” He posted his reply.

Skye peeked outside once more. Okay. It's still gone, he told himself. It's been a while now. I just need to get home quickly.

With his chores done, closing was simple: set the alarm, turn out the lights, lock the door, and leave. Skye stood up and walked towards the office behind the main lounge, peeking behind his shoulder one last time to see if it was there. Once again, nothing in sight.

He leaned into the office and started pressing buttons on the electronic panel fixed to the wooden desk.

Skye took a deep breath.

Beep. The alarm was now active. Or, at least it would be in one minute. Now he had to leave.

The light switches were just beside the office door; he flicked each one off, picked up his bag of baked goods, and approached the front door.

He peered left and right outside as he felt around in his pocket for the keys. The coast was clear, although it was the one time he wished there were other people around.

Skye pushed the door open to be greeted by cold nighttime air. After the entrance shut closed behind him, he locked it up and set off home with utmost speed.

Now utterly vulnerable, he checked behind himself every few seconds, listening closely for any noises, constantly on high alert. The shrill rustling of the plastic bag only served to heighten his paranoia, and he cursed the distant vehicles filling the air with unwanted ambience.

Skye held his breath as he passed each alleyway between buildings. The monster could've been in any one of them.

Where is everybody?! Of course there's nobody around when I need someone! Maybe the scary man scared everybody off...?

Left, right, left, right. Skye also cursed his footsteps for being so damn loud.

He was almost a block away from Velvet Crumble when–

“Hello.”

An unfamiliar, grating voice interrupted his thoughts.

Skye reeled around to find its source. Just to his right, leaning against a wall in the alley next to him, was the very same monster he saw outside the bakery.

“Hhh... hi...” Skye stammered, frozen in place.

“Smells good,” the monster said, turning towards him. “I'm really hungry.”

“Hungry? Food? Y-you want food?” Skye scrambled to find the right words to pacify the tall creature. “H-here! Food! Take it, okay? I-it's good!” He held the bag out in front of himself.

The tall creature leaned down with its enormous mouth hanging open, rapidly inhaling and exhaling in front of the bagged goods. After a few moments of consideration, it snatched the bag out of Skye's hand and stood up straight, holding the bag up to its eager face.

It wasn't looking at Skye anymore. He took a step back while it was distracted.

No reaction.

Another step. Still, no reaction.

The monster tossed the entire bag into its mouth and started chewing.

Skye took the opportunity to sneak away, one quiet step at a time, until he could turn the corner and break line of sight. Adrenaline rushed through his entire body. Every step, closer to freedom.

It still paid Skye no attention as it chowed down on the bag and everything it contained.

He was inches away from the edge of the wall forming the alley. Taking a big risk, he sped up his pace and turned the corner.

The instant he was sure the monster couldn't see him anymore, Skye broke into a sprint and charged down the dark street.

His destination: 67-40, the normally bustling market street where he got his favourite meals from. However, it was already past 11:30pm. Chances of finding any crowds to blend into were slim, and most shops would be closed.

Skye glanced behind him every few seconds. Nothing in pursuit yet.

The glowing lights of 67-40 were moments away. A wave of relief washed over him – he spotted some people walking about, minding their own business. It wasn't enough people to form large crowds, but enough to distract the monster should it find him.

...What am I thinking?! He felt a pang of guilt for merely considering the thought of using others as bait. Nevertheless, he slowed his sprint to a power-walk and stayed near the sides of the street by the storefronts. He still checked his six every few seconds.

The creature didn't seem to be following him. He took a moment to catch his breath and pull out his phone. Skye flicked through the screens until he got to his contact list. He called Wrench – the only one who'd responded to his panicked social media post.

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

Come on, dude. I know you're around!

Ring...

Some muffled clattering was heard on the other end of the line.

“Hello?” Wrench answered.

“Yes! Hi, it's me,” Skye frantically replied. “Where are you right now?”

“I'm at home, just doing some garage work. Why? Are you okay? Did that monster find you?”

“Yeah, it did find me and I'm running away as we speak and if you're nearby I really wouldn't mind hooking up for a bit.” Skye barely had time to draw a breath between words.

“Is it chasing you?!”

“I don't think so, I'm okay right now but I'll tell you more later. Can we meet up?”

“Okay, uhh... I'll be done here in a few minutes. Where would you want to meet?”

“My place? Actually, maybe the hyperloop station near my place. You know the one? Just a few blocks away.”

“Ah, yeah, okay, I'll be there. Stay safe, all right?”

“I'll try,” Skye breathed. “See you soon.”

“Peace,” Wrench finished off the call.

Skye hung up and shoved the phone back into his pocket. The hyperloop station was only a few minutes away on foot – even less with his current pace. He changed his route back to the main road connecting to 67-40 street. There were far fewer pedestrians after leaving 67-40, but he'd be at the shuttle station in no time.

He checked behind himself once again. Still no monster anywhere in sight. Skye took another quick moment to slow down and catch his breath before continuing down the dark, wide-open street.

The thought of meeting up with Wrench gave him some peace of mind, but he still needed to make it there intact.