Call for Madison

Madison covered her head with her shaking hands. Flashes and memories were coming back in droves as she lay curled up on her couch; voices of the past cut through her mind keeping her awake. She hadn't slept all day. Normally it wouldn't have been a problem but she had been getting less and less in the days prior. She glanced up towards her music player and wrapped a hand around it pulling the well-used item to her chest. Shaking hands drew the headphones on and pressed the buttons. Music roared to life in her ears leaving them ringing. Wincing at the volume she turned it down slightly not realizing how bad she had been yesterday well earlier today.

Sitting up she flung herself to sit crouched over her shivering knees. Taking deep breaths she focused on the rumbling of the bass and the screams of the singer echoing in her head chasing away anything but the music. Scrubbing her hands over her face she caught the time on the small display screen. Sighing she rose from the couch her blanket pooling on the floor. Pulling at her clothing to straighten them out she didn't see a point of it and grabbed her hoodie from the back of the couch.

After locking the broken door to her apartment Madison switched the keys for a cigarette. Walking down the hall she raised her hand to the tip but stopped. Turning her head Madison caught sight of a man peering out from the slightly opened door from the apartment across from her. Lowering her hand she took a lighter from her pocket lighting the cancer stick before pulling up her gray hood. Trotting down the stairs she side stepped around people just coming home or some just sitting on the stairs.

Most kept their eyes down glued to the floor; soul broken and hurting. Several looked up at her only to look away when she shot them a glare. The only ones she worried about were the couple of men she had to duck around just outside of her building standing in the middle of the side walk. They were tall, well-built men both in hoodies with a GHF patch on their left shoulders. Neither moved at first when she approached but when she had gotten within an arm's reach the one nearest the road and herself reached out for her. She slipped back stepping on to the broken road to cross the street away from the men.

Smoke bellowed out from under her hood as the menthol cigarette burned down to almost nothing. Glancing back she saw the two slowly make their way across the street leaving a good space of distance between them pretending not to follow her. They were tailing her. Her mind blurred from lack of sleep ran ideas of what could happen though her head. It didn't help that the shadows of the alleys whispered words she only heard when she was in danger all those years ago. She just had to get to work.

Coming to an intersection Madison dropped her burnt out cigarette and checked the street. She hopped down onto the blacktop. Her head was spinning and she staggered in the slightest bit. Taking another cigarette from the pack she lit it glancing back. The men were still there and slowly gaining on her. Madison picked up her pace. She didn't want to fight; she didn't want to go back. Not like there was anything to go back too. She had made sure of that.

Never realizing it she had started running to work, to the safety behind those gates. Coming into view she ran straight towards the guard shack. No one was there but when she looked back the men which had only been an arm length away from her were gone. She looked out at the abandoned street with confusion. They had been there she was sure of it.

Almost two hours later found Madison sitting on a stack of crates smoking again thinking over the earlier events. She was so sure those men had been there but they had never actually touched her. Yet it was strange how neither had made much of an effort to catch up to her and had only made one grab.

"Shit." She cursed low scratching at her head. Were her delusions becoming more solid? IF those men were just in her head they looked pretty real. Standing she leaned over the top of the boxes to see Joe sprinting towards the front. Cold swirled in her belly before she dropped her headphones and shouted; "Need me?"

"I got it." He said giving her a slight wave. She gave a cut and dropped back out of sight deciding to check later.

Joe really found it odd how she always seemed to know when there was trouble. Most of the time his job was boring; just wandering around checking the fencing and making sure no one was anywhere they were not allowed. Yet some nights the gangs would be more active and the whole place would go on lock down. Madison would be popping up here and there checking on the few overnighters and himself. It was as if she was the guard not him. Those were the times he saw the darkness in her, saw something beyond the tempered music lover.

It didn't take Joe long; in full sprint to reach the front gate. He found the day guard; Harold arguing with a rather large group of irate humans. Slowing to a walk he listened to the shouts about the factory employing monsters and how it was ruining the human way of life. Fear slid down his spine as someone spotted him and shouted directly at him.

"Send the monsters back under the mountain!"

"Monster fucker!"

"Humans are the only ones allowed on the surface!"

Harold was double checking the locks on the gate when he finally stopped to look over the crowd when Joe stopped by his side.

"What is this?" He asked surveying over the crowd. Humans every last one of them all completely normal looking people. People you would never look twice at if they were walking behind you shouting of slurs and racism made him almost nearly as sick as seeing a few leather clad men and woman in hoodies hiding their faces wearing the patch of two hearts; one right side up larger than the small upside down one with a splash of red across the center. "The Greater Humanity Federation." The name tasted funny on Joe's lips. "I didn't think those freaks were this organized."

Harold looked up pulling a red warn handkerchief from his pocket to mop the sweat from his brow. He was an older man; handsome with salt and pepper hair and a jaw that you could still cut glass on. His sharp brown eyes scanned the crowd then the fence line.

"Fucking stupid all of them." He said in an indiscernible accent many claimed to German but others said pure New York American while still others claimed Japanese. Harold never confirmand or denied any of them. Joe personally thought he changed it on propose.

"So what's the problem, besides...?" He asked gesturing his hand at the crowd not having a better word than.

"Stupid kids." Harold supplied before thrusting a thumb over his shoulder towards the guard shack. "Stupid one over here tried to climb the fence." The old man grinned wickedly. "I kicked him off it." He added sounding proud of himself. Harold turned starting to make his was towards the small shack. "And the new guy has showed up but due to stupid people I've just had him sitting in the shack."

Joe followed behind the old man almost on his heels. Harold always made him feel like a child following his father around again. The back still strong and straight, shoulder squared and eyes always watching observing the world around him. The same way Madison did; always on guard, always suspicious when they were showing off how actually powerful they were. The two mostly could be found lazing about somewhere, seemingly relaxed but when needed they were different people. They entered the small shack to see a young man holding a red stained slop job of bandages wrapped to his head with one hand holding them while the other is tied to the radiator. Joe stifled a laugh at the unfortunate bandage job.

"Don't laugh boy." The old guard grumped sitting down. The chair groaning under his weight. "I break people not patch them up."

Joe stopped the comment about to pass his lips as he took notice of the rather large red scarf wearing skeleton sitting on the bench near the desk knees pulled close working on a book of puzzles. The skeleton looked up and waved. He waved slightly and leaned towards Harold. "Um…" He pointed towards the skeleton.

"Papyrus!" Harold snapped and the skeleton stood up. Joe stepped back tipped his head back to look up at the skeleton as he rose to his fully height. How did he miss this guy when he came in? Clad in some kind of body armor and wearing gloves he had to bend at the knees just to stand up straight. "Papyrus this is Joe." Joe just waved again when Harold pointed at him. "He is going to teach you what to do around here." Harold sounded amused as he watched Joe fumble.

"Um…"

"GOOD EVENING OTHER SECURITY HUMAN!" The skeleton shouted.

"Good evening, Papyrus." Joe leaned to the side around the tall skeleton. "Do…do we even have a uniform tall enough for him?"

Once it was determined that no; they did not in fact have a uniform in his size Harold agreed to stay and wait for the cops to pick up the kid while Joe took Papyrus for a tour. They were just outside the guard shack when Joe spotted Madison outside the gate. She was squared up with a man twice her size but he and the others appeared to be taking small shuffling steps back. She barred her teeth in an unwelcoming grin as a younger man moved forward to say something to the other.

The man's eyes darkened and he quickly went to grab Madison. She stepped back her hands closed in to fists and she tucked them deep in her pocket. She was trembling but not from fear Joe could see the darkness in her eyes. She opened her mouth and spoke to low for him to hear and the man stepped back again. He made to move towards her when he heard Harold click his tongue.

"The factory is thata way, kid." He said thumb in the direction away from the conflict.

"But…"

Harold leaned on the door frame lighting a cigarette and just gazed out towards the young woman. "Go show the new guy around. Pigs should be here anytime." His voice dark and cold.

Joe didn't like that. It was an order not a request but he nodded knowing he wasn't a match for the cold tone of a long ago solider and father. "Come on." He said to Papyrus.

Joe started talking once they were inside explaining the simple duties and how every night wasn't like tonight. He explained that they repackaged and shipped items of different caliber. Going over the different areas and places Joe explained that if there ever was a problem that he couldn't figure out or something got out of hand all he had to do was find Madison. This quieted the over excited skeleton down. Who until this point had been asking questions in his loud voice and wanting to examine things before Joe had mentioned his friend.

"I do not want to seem rude." He said in a voice so quite that Joe was startled. "But Madison was the female out front, correct?" Joe nodded waiting for a question he had had the first time Harold had explained to him about Madison. "She…"

Joe nodded. "Madison is employed to check shipping labels and content."

Papyrus looked that the shorter human. "Then why would she be the one to retrieve?"

Joe sighed. "Maddie is …" He rubbed at the back of his neck. "How do I say this? She is something different. She is employed as general labor but when shit hits the fan everyone knows you can find her making sure people are safe." Papyrus smiled before Joe continued. "Anyways that was the same thing Harold told me when I came here to work. Madison had already been here and earned her place so who was I to question the validity of that statement. So make sure you call for Madison."