Screaming loudly, I cried in my hands. This day just keeps getting better and better. If there ever was a time to disappear from Hayesville, now was it. Pacing back and forth, I listened for any sign of oncoming cars who could stop and give me a lift. After about ten minutes of nothing, I began to panic even more. Calling Dad was a last minute option, and there was only one person in Hayesville who could fix cars. Jed Love. I hoped he'd be willing to cut me some sort of deal, as I was out of money. Hands trembling, I held my phone to my ear. It rang a few times as I leaned against the side of the Mustang.

"This is Jed," a familiar voice spoke.

"Jed, this is Vic," I spoke, trying to lighten my voice.

"Vic! Weren't 'yall just in here the other day?" He asked.

"Um, yeah, about that," I laughed, still trying to calm myself down.

"Hey I think I see you," Jed started. He paused. I could hear his tow truck in the distance. "Dammit Vic, that was you?"

"Yeah," was all I managed to reply. Jed hung up the phone as I saw his truck approaching me. I moved to the far side of the car as he pulled in front. Exiting from his tall truck, he greeted me.

"It's been a hot minute," He laughed. I tried to force a laugh back. "Now let's see what we've got here,"

"I didn't see the spikes on the side of the road," I breathed, folding my arms.

"Yeah, she must've left 'em out accidentally," Jed replied, writing something down in a notebook. I knew Sheriff Lund well enough to know those weren't left there by accident.

"How much is this gonna cost?" I asked, feeling a painful lump in my throat.

"Let's get it back to the shop so we can do a full diagnostic," Jeb replied.

"I don't need a full-"

Before I could say anymore, Jed was pulling the Mustang into neutral and towing it onto the platform. "I don't have the money-"

"Don't worry about the cost, I'll do my best to cut you a deal,"

I was silent. I can't remember the last time Dad or I took the Mustang for a diagnostic. "Now hop in," Jed motioned for the passenger door. I did as I was told, hauling myself into the musty fabric seat. I had never been in Jed's truck, nor had I ever expected I would. Jed pulled forward, the diesel engine humming loudly. I stared out the window, trying to calm my nerves.

"So, Vic, what are your plans for school?" Jed asked. I didn't look at him.

"I'm going out of state,"

"Any colleges in mind?"

"No, I just want to get out of here,"

"Why? Hayesville has been your home your entire life,"

"Exactly,"

Jed was silent for a moment, before breaking off into a story.

"I remember when I was trying to find the right college for me too. I must've looked all over the state,"

I began to drown out his story with my own thoughts. The anxiety of not having a job plus my newfound car situation was taking its toll on me. Breathing heavily, I kept trying to redirect my thoughts. Those tire spikes weren't there the last time I left town. I would have noticed them. There wasn't a whole ton of traffic that went through Hayesville, and those who did...

Wait.

"Hey Jed?" I asked, interrupting his story.

"Yeah?" He replied, sounding slightly irritated.

"Why did Lund leave those out?" I asked, finally looking at him.

"Uhm," Jed paused. I met his eyes. "I don't know, she probably forgot them,"

"That's not the truth," I persisted, staring him down.

"Okay alright listen. I know Lund talks a lot about how Tex's 'volunteers' get stuck here by fate, but the truth is-"

"Y'all use those tire spikes to trap people here," I spoke, coming to an abrupt realization. Jed nodded his head, making a strange face. "That's messed up," I said, my eyes widening.

"It's not the worst thing those two have done," Jed shrugged. He was referring to Tex and Lund.

"You're in on this too, it's not like they walk on into town," I argued.

"Now Vic, listen. None of us wanted it to end up like this. I don't like the plan either. If it were up to me, I wouldn't be trapping people here," Jed explained.

"You don't think Tex will make me," I paused for a few moments. Jed said nothing. "You don't think Tex and Lund will make me work there to pay the car off, do you?"

Jed thought for a few seconds.

"Willy hasn't eaten all month,"

My eyes widened again. "Jed, you're not serious are you?" I asked, a great sense of panic in my voice.

"I don't know what else to tell you, Vic," He spoke back. "I'm gonna try and strike up a deal with Tex. I don't have the pocket money for your car, but I know he does,"

I didn't want to respond. I wanted to leave.

Jed pulled into his shop slowly. I got out of the truck before he had a chance to park it. Although I was irritated, I wanted to be on both his and Tex's good sides. Jed's Autoshop was lit by what natural light was able to enter through the dusty skylight. The floors were paved, but were in bad need of filling. Random street signs from all over the state were stapled to the walls, and auto parts were strewn across the floor. In the very center of the floor was a giant lift for the cars. Only one of them, though, as there was rarely a use for it. I watched carefully as Jeb lowered the Mustang onto a track, then raised it right back into the air again.

"You see, Vic, I've had a lot of experience working with cars. I've probably had experience with every single car that's ever been in Hayesville," Jed explained, "And that's a lot of cars,"

"Where do you keep them?" I asked, sitting on one of the randomly placed bar stools.

"Keep what?" Jed replied, positioning himself under the Mustang.

"The cars your little 'volunteers' never come back for," I spoke. Jed sighed.

"Why are you always so mad about that place? Listen, I know what happened made you unhappy. And rightfully so, an experience like that is enough to traumatize anyone,"

"I-"

"But you gotta understand that we're doing this for the betterment of Hayesville. None of us want to end up dead,"

"Why don't you make a different deal or something?" I asked.

"They don't want money, they want human souls," Jed replied, waving his hands like a ghost. I rolled my eyes.

"How do you even know that though. Like, have you ever thought that maybe-"

"The animatronics are not possessed. I know, I've heard it from you a billion times before. Nobody in their right mind would just waltz in there all hoe-diddy and ask," Jed laughed.

"Have you ever tried?" I replied, folding my arms.

"Nope. And no one has ever lived to say they did,"

"You're not making my situation any better,"

"Hey, you're the one who brought it up,"

"You shouldn't have come to find me in the first place," I argued back, leaning forward.

"What was I supposed to do? Leave you there?"

"Yeah, it would've given me a reason to leave,"

"Hayesville is your home. It's our home."

"It's a crack house,"

"Vic, watch that mouth of yours," Jed warned, shaking a wrench at me. I sneered. Watching Jed work, I took note of what he was doing. Or rather, what he wasn't doing. I didn't want to point it out at first, but after about ten minutes, I decided to speak up again.

"You're just walking around the car," I scoffed.

"I'm examining," Jed replied, still very focused.

"You didn't happen to fix the ATM since the last time I visited, did you?" I asked, glazing over at the gray rectangle with a large paper sign over it. In Jed's scribbly handwriting, it spelt out 'OUT OF ORDER'

"We can't get anyone from the bank to come down here and issue us a replacement," Jed grunted, coming out from under the car. "Well, it's official. You need all four tires replaced. I need to hook up the computers to do the diagnostic, and that'll be a few hours,"

I grabbed my phone from my back pocket, reading the time. It was nearly six.

"It's getting late, do you want me to come back tomorrow?"

Jed looked at me.

"We're gonna take a little trip,"

"No,"

"Yes,"

"Please no, I was just there,"

"I'm sorry Vic, I'm gonna do the best I can to find some alternative means of work fo you,"

"I can just work in the shop with you. I'm good with car handiwork,"

"Nah,"

"What?"

"Nah, I work alone. You see, this was once my family's business," Jed started. He proceeded to tell another one of his pointless stories that I, quite frankly, didn't care about in the slightest. I followed him back outside to the tow truck, and hauled myself back into the passenger seat. I hoped it wouldn't take a lot to convince Tex to not make me clean Willy's Wonderland for the night. The place needed more than just a night's worth of cleaning. The drive to Willy's was not at all special. In fact, every second progressing towards the building made me more and more anxious. The sudden call I received from Dad didn't help that either. Picking up the phone, I answered quickly,

"Dad," I breathed.

"Victoria Halifax, where is the Mustang?" He shouted over the phone. I winced.

"It's a really long story, I-"

"Did you wreck?!" He screamed even louder. This caught Jed's attention.

"Yes, I did wreck, okay? I ran over Lund's tire spikes and-"

He hung up the phone.

"Oh man," I breathed, feeling a painful lump in my throat again. Jed failed to offer any comforting words of advice. He looked just as scared as I was. Suddenly, the phone rang again. I hesitated to answer, out of fear of knowing what was going to happen.

"I just got off the phone with Lund. We're meeting you and Jed down by Willy's. You're making me an hour late to work, which means ten dollars off our savings. You are going to do exactly what you are told, are we clear?" Dad explained, speaking very sternly.

"Yeah," I replied. No.

He hung up again.

"I can't wait till I'm out of here," I breathed, looking out the window.

"Hayesville wouldn't be the same without your picture always on Sherrif's Facebook," Jed smiled. I forced a smile in return. In the bright glow of the street lamps and Jed's truck headlights I could see the outline of Willy's Wonderland. I took a deep breath. It had begun to rain, which I had expected. The soft pitter patter, although peaceful to listen to, did not ease my fears.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I noticed Sheriff Lund, Tex, and my Dad standing at the entrance. A twisting knot in my stomach began to grow. Parking, I was the last to leave Jed's truck. He opened the door for me, helping me down.

"Well, here she is," Jed forced a laugh, nudging me towards the group. No one even chuckled back.

"Out of all the people to run over those spikes, I didn't think it would be you, Vic," Sheriff Lund spoke, shaking her head slowly.

"I didn't see them, it wasn't my fault," I replied. Dad's heavy breathing made me uncomfortable.

"Well, I discussed the payments with your father and the Sheriff, and we all agreed that you should pay it off at Willy's," Tex shrugged.

"Why though," I stated, "It's not gonna do anything. You guys are sending me in there-"

"The last guy was fine, Vic, do what she's telling you or I swear-"

"Hank. Calm yourself please," Lund interrupted. Bold.

"Just clean it up and you'll be done. I don't have employees, you know, and so I rely on-"

"You rely on people to go in there and die," I interrupted.

"That's it-" Dad started, lunging at me. I stumbled forward, bracing myself against Tex, who promptly pushed me forward. Lund grabbed Dad's arm before it could swing.

"Hank, I said calm down," She shouted.

"I don't care if you don't come out of there, ya' hear? In fact, just stay in there for all I care you money hounding mista-"

"I'll give Willy your best," I hissed. Dad screamed in anger, lunging towards me again. It took both Jed and Lund to restrain him.

"Um, let's get you inside. By morning I'll have your Mustang fixed and your debt will be paid," Tex said, ushering me towards the front doors. He fiddled with the lock as I watched everyone struggling in the background. I wasted no time in entering the restaurant once the door was unlocked. As Tex shut the door behind me, I let my eyes adjust to the dimness of the emergency lights. This place had a very different atmosphere at night, and I didn't like it.

"You've got a pretty good idea of where everything is, I know that, but let me show you where the official stuff is," Tex explained, maneuvering around the tables. It seemed like no one had bothered to clean anything up, as the tables and floor were filthy.

"Busy day today?" I asked, stepping over a crushed piece of cake on the floor.

"It's like this everyday," Tex laughed. He unlocked a door, revealing a wide variety of janitorial equipment. It smelt like bleach, which was an okay alternative to the sweaty stench in the main area. "You've got disinfectant, mops, brooms, towels, everything you need to get this place looking fresh again,"

"And this is supposed to take how long?" I asked.

"Ehh, I'd say the whole night," He replied.

"The whole night," I echoed, scoffing slightly.

"Yep. If you want that car paid off you better do a decent job,"

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do,"

"Here," Jed smiled, handing me a blue shirt, "You, Vic Halifax, are officially on staff,"

I accepted the shirt reluctantly, staring at the iron-on Willy's Wonderland logo on the front. "Don't bother trying to clean the stage, people don't go up there and I don't want you messing with Willy and his crew," Tex explained, motioning towards the front stage.

"Noted," I replied.

"It's just a little light cleaning here and there, you'll be fine," Tex smiled, punching my shoulder. I tried not to let it show that it hurt.

"I'll definitely try," I muttered.

"That's all I really have to say, I'll be back at six to open the doors back up. This place is sealed until then, don't let anyone or out," Tex spoke.

"Out?"

"Yeah, don't think you can just escape justice and run off," He laughed.

"Don't worry, I would never," I smiled. While that was a lie, I didn't dare leave this place without someone else. Hayesville became dangerous at night.

"Now that all is said and done, I'll let you get started," Tex smiled, folding his arms. He adjusted his cowboy hat, "Oh, and take a break every now and then. I don't want you feeling exhausted,"

"Noted,"

"All right. You have a good night Vic," Tex said, walking back towards the door. I followed him, not wanting to be left alone. I glanced through the door as Tex opened them, catching a quick glimpse of Sheriff Lund and Jed. Deputy Evan had joined them, but Dad had left.

"Good night, Mr. Macadoo," I replied as the doors shut on me. It's official. I'm stuck. Turning around swiftly, I stared at the stage. From afar, I was able to see all eight animatronics. Taking off my shirt, I replaced it with the shirt Tex had given me. I didn't want cleaning products to stain the one I had been wearing. Tossing my shirt into a corner, I hoped I wouldn't forget it in the morning. My eyes turned back to the stage, feeling unsettled. With all the animatronics standing there, it made me feel like I was being watched. To the very far left, Siren Sarah stood there patiently, her hand seemingly ready to hit the triangle. Then Knighty Knight, then Willy, then Gus, then Arty, then Tito, then Cammy...I counted once. I counted twice. Wait. Where is Ozzie?