The sun was down; the children had moved back in, all headed to the diner to grab lunch. Margaret was later informed of the incident that happened during play time. The staff tried to keep it low but, the offensive look on Margaret's face told a different story like something went bad and it was bad too. She was not going to let it go. She left with four other staff members at the nursery. Joseph, on the other hand, was at the diner. On a regular day he would join a bunch of kids and debates who had most of the fun for the day and write the report down in his notepad, but he picked up a separate table this time. He didn't tell the staff what he heard because it would sound like he was crazy. He brought out his notepad and flipped to a page past the middle and wrote on an empty page 'Who was Oliver talking to?'
He picked on his cereal and bread with veggies to have strength for the rest of the day. The sound of the other children became drowsy to him as he stared at the word he wrote in his notepad. "Joe, you seem distant today, are you okay?" Someone quizzed him, bringing him back to reality. He immediately looked in a confident looking smile and replied "I'm good, just didn't feel like playing today"
"Okay" the lad started "you missed, someone built a large sandcastle."
He was paying attention to his cereal and the discussion which seemed to lighten up the mood when Oliver walked into the diner with Margaret. Oliver is the boy he saw in the Inventory Room. Margaret escorted him as he clutched tightly to the red ball in his right hand; she gave him a seat separately from others while a staff member brought him something to eat. At the oddest moment Oliver's eyes met with his full of rage and disgust. Joseph immediately looked away and didn't notice Margaret coming to his table. The boy that sat with him immediately gave him heads up "you got company, Joe"
Joseph rushed up the cereal before her footsteps became close as an earthquake ringing down his ears, he felt the unexpected calm tone come out of her mouth "I guess losing your notepad really saved the day," the boy sitting with him took the hint and left the table immediately.
He took a hard swallow then said respectively "You just made me rush up my cereal, I thought I was in trouble." Margaret eyes got hold of what was contained in the opened page of his notepad and pretended not to see it, but he was already aware and immediately close it. She looked all the way back at Oliver whose pissed off gaze was still fixed on him. "He is psychotic," She admitted.
Joseph knew something else was going on with him, but he just couldn't point it out. Oliver was his friend; they shared the same nursery while they were growing up. He was constantly bullied by the other children for not being fast enough, given the top bonk to frustrate him when he was to take a leak. Every night growing up, Joseph stared at his ghost eyes staring at him like it is sending a message. "He wasn't always like that," Joseph said in a low tone.
"Do you mean something happened today that you have never seen before?" She asked suspecting there was more to this "He said you shouldn't have been there"
The words Oliver said in the darkness, the softball bouncing in rhythm and the sudden silence as he approached the Inventory Room flashed back in his mind. He should just tell her what he heard but she just said he was psychotic and whatever he said might make believe in his head. Oliver Is known not to have a social life since he joined the orphanage he responded to Margaret "Being rude might be a new development I would say,"
"Joseph, keep your eye on him." She said patting him on the end and stared at her leathered wristwatch for few seconds "It is almost light out."
A few hours to light out. Every child was making a few minutes of memories before they retired to bed and dream of things they may never have. They could check each other's nursery just before lighting out; the staff had to change shifts for the night workers to resume. Margaret was a day shift worker, so she had to leave although not in an ordinary manner. She would have children holding on to her like it is her last day at work.
It happened as usual; the children did exactly what they would call normal turning Margaret to a gliding rock. Joseph stood at a distance watching them towering over her, their eyes locked and it showed fear in Joseph perspective like he had a dark secret to share. She mouthed in inaudible words to him "you got this"
While his eyes were still locked in hers, he felt a light grip on his left hand. He turned and saw Oliver, no longer angry. He saw fear in his eyes, he was confused and it got weirder when he said in a whisper "Help me,"
***
The light out bell rang, and the hallway was empty in seconds, silent and still. The ticking of the clock echoed, loud enough that it can be heard through the Shut doors of the nursery. Joseph heard them like there were directly in his ear drums, but the sound of the clock could not be compared to the beating of his heart, Oliver was taken to another nursery rather seen as a secured nursery. He turned his face towards his empty bed a few meters away from him imagining Oliver was giving him the ghost look then took a deep breath. There was nothing he could do so he shut his eyes to sleep trying to shut down the ticking clock from his head. Few seconds he heard nothing.
An abrupt, high-pitched noise followed by a thud woke him up. He listened closely while he looked around his nursery and everyone was sleeping fine. He knew something happened in another nursery; maybe a child rolled over and was hurt. It had happened before but this time it got better as he heard a soft knock on the entrance door followed by a voice asking if everyone was okay. The entrance door opened creaking loudly and to his horror, no one behind the door. He looked around and observed he was the only one awake.
"What's going on, who's there?" He asked in a low voice
Then the real horror show began.
Someone or something was moving in the nursery but somehow was invisible; his heart was racing. He heard the bed close to him squeaking and immediately hid his face inside his bed sheet pretending to be asleep like the other kids. The bed squeaked louder and louder enough to crash into the bed all the way to the ground then stopped. Joseph remained inside his bed sheet to make sure it was gone. He listened carefully to make sure nothing was moving then turned slowly. He could tell the door was still open by the mid ray of light coming from the nursery entrance. He took off the bed sheet and stared in horror at Oliver standing right in front of him.
His skin was pale, and his eyes were ghostly and white-like; that was not Oliver. Joseph froze at the spot; he could not scream nor talk; terrified at the very thing in front of him then it opened its mouth slowly as the ghost eye maintained its staring position. It said in Oliver's voice "You are next."
Its face started ripping apart two clawed withered hands ripped both eyes out stretching towards Joseph. He screamed in horror as it growled. The claws were few inches to ripping his face "You cannot escape," it growled, "MY new puppet!"
Just as the claws was close enough to scratch the skin around his face, the light turned on, a staff came to the rescue calling him "Hey, are you okay?" The kids were woken up by the bright light groaning in hurt by the bright light overshadowing their sight.
It was gone, whatever It had vanished. All he could say was "There was something in here." Joseph still terrified pointed to Oliver's bed, "Oliver was here,"
While he was trying to catch his breath when he heard a woman shouted, "Oliver is not in his room!"