Chapter 8

Sticking to his trusty nighttime routine was more than a little challenging for Joshua, given the circumstances. A multitude of obstacles stood between him and the normal flow of his bedtime ritual.

First, of course, there was the fact that he was at work. He hadn't been hired to sleep. But to hell with that. Who was going to know if he slept instead of watching the creepy monitors?

Second, there were the contents of the building Joshua was in. As much as he tried to convince himself that he hadn't seen the giant Fuecoco move its eyes to watch him, he knew he had. If the Fuecoco could watch him, what else could it do? What else could the other animatronic Pokémon do? Joshua had assumed they were powered down…but were they?

Third, Joshua wasn't tired. He was too freaked out to be tired. But then…that's what the pills were for.

Joshua pondered these and other issues for an hour or so after he returned to the office. He also watched the office door, which he had locked. When nothing had come to get him during that hour, he had decided to stick to his well-established bedtime habits. But first, he dragged one of the filing cabinets - the battered one - over to the door. Looking again at the scratches on the floor, he wondered if he wasn't the first one to use the cabinet as a barricade. If so, what did the scratches mean? He didn't want to think about it.

Returning to the desk, Joshua looked at the chair. Not ideal for sleeping, but if he put his head on the desk, he could make it work.

He opened his backpack and started pulling out what he needed. Pills…check. Bottle of water…check. Cassette player…check. Alarm clock…Joshua looked down at his watch. He'd decided to use it as his alarm clock instead of bringing his own clock from home. He set his watch alarm now.

Then he hit the PLAY button on his cassette player, and then took his pill.

Looking at the door one last time, Joshua shifted his gaze to the wall clock opposite the door. The hour hand was halfway between midnight and one a.m.

Joshua looked at all the monitors in turn. Parking lot, lobby, hallways, kitchen, arcade, dining room, storage rooms, back of the restaurant, front of the restaurant. All empty. All quiet.

Joshua put his head down on his folded arms. He closed his eyes.

Besides his bed, of course, there was one piece of Joshua's nightly arsenal that he hadn't brought with him - the poster. But even so, when he closed his eyes, he immediately saw the swaying trees. He heard the breeze, too.

Drifting into unconsciousness, he twitched and frowned. Was that a breeze he was hearing? It didn't sound quite right. It sounded more like static than a breeze, as if he was hearing the scratchy modulation of feedback coming through a speaker, maybe an intercom.

This thought almost derailed Joshua's descent into dreamland, but the pull of the trees' undulation was too strong. Joshua ignored the crackling that marred the soothing sound of the breeze. He let the trees drop him into a scene that was so familiar to him. The scene, however, didn't flow smoothly in his mind tonight. Instead, it came in snatches.

Blowing palm trees.

Green toy airplane flying through the air.

A spray of ketchup.

"How about some burger with that ketchup, hon?" Joshua's dad asked.

Thump.

Fizz.

Joshua's mom's voice called out, "Keep an eye on your brother."

Frisbee whizzing.

Car engine revving.

Twelve-year-old Joshua shouted, "Sunny!"

Branches slapped Joshua's face.

Black car zooming away.

Sunny's pale face in the car's back window.

Joshua opened his mouth to scream. And for once, the scream made it out of his mouth.

"Sunny!"

Joshua watched the black car disappear around a bend. Then…

He heard children laughing. The sound came from behind him.

Confused, Joshua turned.

Five children stood in the middle of the now-empty road. One of them wore a paper top hat. One had a paper bib tied around his neck. One wore a paper bow on her head. One held a paper hook.

The fifth child, a blonde girl with icy-blue eyes, stood out in front of the other children. She had no paper props.

Joshua stared at the blonde girl. "Who are you?" he asked. "How did you get here?"

The girl said nothing.

In the periphery of Joshua's vision, he saw the other children playing. For a moment, they seemed strangely abstract, oversimplified. They were almost two-dimensional, like paper dolls instead of real children.

As soon as Joshua turned and looked at the children full-on, though, they were perfectly real. Joshua shifted his gaze back to the blonde girl. As his focus transitioned, he got the same cardboard-cutout impression of the kids.

Quickly reorienting to look at the kids straight-on, the flattened affect disappeared again. Joshua frowned, baffled.

As bewildered as he felt, however, Joshua had a little fire of exhilaration flickering in his belly. Whatever was happening was new, different than anything he'd seen before.

He stepped toward the blonde girl as he gestured back over his shoulder to where the car disappeared. "Did you see that car?" he asked. "Did you see what happened?"

The blonde girl smiled. Beyond her, the other children were back in 2-D, like they've stepped off the page of a book.

Joshua looked directly at the children. They were real again.

Once, twice, three times, Joshua adjusted his gaze. Focusing. Unfocusing. Focusing. Unfocusing. The children turned into flattened images and then swelled back into 3-D. Over and over.

Finally, the children, all five of them, abruptly scattered. All five of them ran in five different directions.

Joshua called out, "Wait!" He looked from one fleeing child to the next, trying to decide which one to follow. He chose the blonde girl, who was just starting to disappear into the woods. Joshua took off after her in a full sprint. Tree branches thwacked at his face as he strained to keep the girl in his sights. If he could just stay with the girl until they were out of the trees…

Thunk! Joshua's foot hit a rock. He lost his balance and pitched forward, his body flying toward the ground.

Joshua opened his eyes and discovered he was pitching forward out of his chair. His body flew toward the floor. His head cracked against the hard linoleum. Moaning, he put a hand to his forehead. He winced when his fingers pressed against a lump near his temple.

"Ow!" He pulled his head back from the tender area. He pushed off the floor and managed to get to his knees. Just as he started to get his bearings, a shrieky beep started stabbing at the pain in his head.

He scrambled to his feet and clumsily poked at his watch, managing to shut off the alarm. He looked at the digital numbers. It was six a.m.

Dropping back into the office chair, Joshua slowly leaned forward and hit rewind on his cassette player. Then he sat there, contemplating the vision he had just experienced. What had happened to his dream? Who were those kids?

Joshua rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He flinched when he once again encountered the bump on his forehead.

Joshua dropped his hands and looked around the office. It was as he'd left it before he'd gone to sleep. But something about it…Joshua had never had a dream like that before. It couldn't be a coincidence that it happened when he was in this room. He thought about the dream. The kids. The top hat. The bib. The bow. The hook. Had he just so weirded himself out that his fears penetrated into his dream? Or was something more going on?

Joshua's stomach was contracted with fear and confusion. But it also fluttered. It fluttered with excitement. Was he on the verge of a breakthrough?

The rising sun's beams followed Joshua through the door as he stepped into his house. The beams stretched out ahead of him and landed on Ann, who was prone on her stomach on the sofa. The TV was, predictably, on the same shopping channel as before.

Joshua, his body feeling like it was buzzing, dropped his backpack and a white bakery bag on the kitchen table. He'd been so spun up by what had happened in his dream that he'd splurged and gotten donuts from the bakery at the grocery store. Chocolate-iced. Their sweet scent now combined with a lingering smell of microwaved egg rolls, but the fried smell was far better than any smells he'd encountered at the pizzeria.

The pizzeria. Joshua thought the job there was going to be nothing but a pain in the ass. Who knew it would have such an effect on his dreams? Joshua hadn't felt so buoyed in…he wasn't sure he'd ever felt that way, at least not in thirteen years.

Ann let out a soft snore. Joshua stepped over to the TV and turned it off. Then he touched Ann's shoulder, barely. Just a brush against the dark purple fabric of her blouse.

She raised her head with a snort, wiped a little drool from her mouth, and yawned. When she spotted Joshua, she quickly sat up and finger-combed her long hair. Then she wiped the sleep from her eyes. Her cheeks looked flushed. Joshua hoped she wasn't coming down with something. She was the best, or rather, the most affordable babysitter he'd found for Ava.

"How'd it go?" Ann asked.

Joshua thought again about his dream. He lifted one shoulder. "It was…interesting. Not the best job in the world. But I need it, as a reference. For the judge who might try and take…" he waved a hand. "Never mind."

Ann nodded, then quickly looked away from Joshua. Weird. He'd never seen her act so skittish.

"You want a donut?" Joshua asked.

"No thanks." Ann's response was flat. Weird again.

Ann wasn't exactly Miss Bubbly, but she was usually good for some sarcasm or sass. And she always looked him in the eye. Why was she avoiding his gaze?

He frowned. "I do intend to pay you, you know. At some point." He picked up the donut bag. "You sure you don't want a donut? Advance against your pay?" He tried a grin.

Ann shook her head. She didn't smile. "It's okay," she said. "I know where you live."

Joshua chuckled. Ann didn't chuckle with him.

She then gathered up her stuff. Joshua thought her posture was off, a little hunched. Maybe she was sick.

"Do you uh…feel okay?" Joshua asked.

Ann was startled. And her flush deepened. "Huh? Yeah, sure. I'm fine." she said. But she wasn't actually fine. Something was off. Joshua thought about pushing to see what was up, but he had his own stuff to think about.

"See you tonight?" he asked.

Ann gave him a half-nod, while looking at him, she started to open her mouth. But then closed it.

For several long seconds, Joshua and Ann looked at each other. Out of the blue, and for the first time, Joshua thought, Ann is a pretty girl. He always had too much going on to think about Ann as pretty. She was just Ava's babysitter. And now she looked like a babysitter who had something she wanted to say. Was she going to quit? Joshua held his breath and waited.

Finally, Ann spoke, "Ava's a pretty good kid, you know," she said.

Huh? That was not what Joshua had expected. At all. What did Ann mean by that?

Joshua didn't get a chance to ask, because Ann was already out the door.

Ava's room was bright with early-morning sunlight. She could feel it warming her closed eyelids. But she wasn't ready to open her eyes yet. She hugged her Finizen plush close and burrowed deeper under the covers. She wanted to spend just a few more minutes with her friends. She could be with her friends when her eyes were open, too. But sometimes it was easier to hang out with them when she was sleeping, or when she was just going into or coming out of sleep.

She heard Joshua open her door and walk over to her bed. Not ready to talk to her brother, Ava pretended she was still asleep, listening to Joshua walk to her bed. She concentrated on keeping her breathing slow and even.

The mattress dipped as Joshua lowered himself to the edge of her bed. What was he doing? Ava couldn't remember the last time Joshua had sat at the edge of her bed while she was sleeping (or, in this case, pretending to sleep).

Tempted to open her eyes and find out what was going on, Ava decided to wait it out. So she kept breathing slowly.

When Joshua reached out and brushed a lock of Ava's hair from her cheek, she was sure she jerked a little. But maybe she didn't, because Joshua didn't seem to notice. He smoothed her hair and stayed where he was.

That was enough for Ava. This was too weird.

Ava opened her eyes.

"Hey, Ava," Joshua said.

"Hey."

Ava looked at her brother. Something was different about him. He didn't look tense as usual. He almost looked…happy? Not quite, but something like happiness maybe.

Joshua stood. "I need to grab a shower. Then we have to get you to school."

Ava nodded, and Joshua ruffled her hair. That was strange, too.

He gave her a quick grin and left her room.

Standing at the entrance to Team Star's Ruchbah Squad's Base, Ann's shoulders tensed up, firm. Usually, she loved the feeling of the Base - that distinctive calls and cries of various Fairy-type Pokémon and the aromas of mixed pink-colored flowers. Ann was probably one of the most enthusiastic members of the Ruchbah Squad when it came to interacting with and training Fairy-type Pokémon. Today, however, the smells and sounds were making her feel queasy. Or, no. It was why she was at the entrance that was making her feel queasy.

Ignoring the conversational buzz of Team Star grunts behind her, she let her eyes wander to her right, then to her left, then up above her. She began watching a swelling black cloud rush to gobble up the blazing sunlight that had dominated the morning. Now, it looked like it wanted to gobble up the rest of the sky.

A sharp elbow jabbed into Ann's rib. She turned and frowned at her brother. "Space," she said. She didn't have to say more. Edgar understood her shorthand. He took a few steps away from her.

Even though Edgar was ten years older, the two of them were close. When Ann was little, both of their parents had worked two jobs. Edgar had been more than a brother to Ann - he'd been something closer to a surrogate dad, even if he was a screwup at it. At ten, he hadn't known crap about taking care of a baby. In the weeks after Ann's mom's maternity leave had ended, Edgar had done his best. Even so, he'd lost his sister more than once, nearly drowned her, dropped her, scalded her, and fed her more candy than nutritious food. It was a wonder she had survived.

"Sorry," Edgar said in a tone that made it clear he wasn't. He sucked up the last drops of the fruit punch left in the juice box he held, then crushed it tightly in his hand, and stuck it into his pocket.

Ann sighed and glared at Edgar. "Age?"

Edgar snorted out a laugh. He elbowed Ann again, this time on purpose.

Ann sighed once more and shook her head. Movement directly across from them caught her attention. She looked straight ahead at the lump looking back at her. The man's name was Ben. Just Ben, he'd said when he'd introduced himself. Ben was supposedly a lawyer, but what lawyer chose to go by his first name? A scuzz-lawyer, that's what kind. Ann noticed Ben took a few quick glances at her breasts, to which she responded by lowering her gaze and crossing her arms over her chest. Perverted sleazeball guy, she thought.

What was she doing here?

She glared at Edgar again. Edgar crossed his own arms, too. Ann knew he felt as awkward as she did, but probably for different reasons.

Ann loved her brother, and she thought he had a lot going for him. Having gotten more of their mother's looks than their father's, Edgar's hair was blond, or close to it, and his features were small and balanced. His features, however, didn't fit his size. At a good-sized six foot two, his body was too large for his small face. Even so, Ann thought he was cute. He was kind, too - he had a big heart. But he also constantly made bad choices. He'd already done time twice, for relatively minor stuff - car theft, breaking and entering. Hw couldn't seem to hold on to a job. And now? Now, he and Ann were members of the notorious Team Star, the outcast students of Naranja Academy.

Ann really shouldn't have let him talk her into this…or anything for that matter.

Looking up again, she started to wonder if a rainstorm was about to come down on them. While the sky was clearly overcast, there hadn't been any signs of water, but Ann was still seriously considering heading indoors. Looking over at Edgar, she could tell that he thought about doing the same thing.

Now, both Ann and Edgar took the time to register the woman standing next to Ben. The petite woman with a brunette pixie cut. Marla. Joshua's aunt.

Probably in defiance of the potential rainstorm looming above, Marla wore a pale pink pantsuit with matching high heels. She looked prim and proper. But Ann knew she wasn't. It was as though her diva-like aesthetics were designed to put her in the limelight.

A little Deino hid behind her legs, as if unnerved by the prospect of meeting new people.

"Before anyone says anything," she said, "I have somewhere I have to be, so let's make this quick. Now, Ann," she skewered the girl with a menacing look. "You were about to tell me what a miserable failure you are!"

Before Ann could open her mouth to tell Marla what to do with herself, Edgar stepped in closer. He jabbed a middle finger in Marla's direction. "Hey, fuck you, Marla!" he rumbled.

Ann felt a surge of love for her brother. He was sweet and kind, but he always turned vicious and defensive whenever anyone tried to mess with his family, particularly Ann.

"My sister went over every inch of that dump a hundred times," Edgar continued. "If there was something to find, she would've found it!" He then held out a flat open palm. "Now, pay up!"

Marla raised an eyebrow at Edgar. "I'm sorry?"

"You said two hundred!" Edgar yelled.

Ann, feeling unusually meek - probably because of the guilt that had been strangling her ever since she'd agreed to do what Marla wanted done - spoke up softly. "We had a deal," she mewled.

Marla tilted her head to one side and slid her gaze up and down Ann's torso. Ann had to keep herself from looking down to be sure she didn't have a stain on her uniform or something.

"Yes," Marla said, finally. "The deal was that you'd find me hard proof of criminal endangerment. Something actionable. Instead, all I've heard from you is about what a nice kid my niece is and how my nephew sleeps a lot."

"He really does, though," Ann commented.

"SLEEPING IS NOT A CRIME!" Marla shouted.

A few Team Star grunts from behind Ann and Edgar swiveled their heads to stare at Marla. She clearly didn't notice…or care. The Deino hiding behind her seemed to be nervous, as it yelped and took a few steps back. Ann couldn't really blame the little Pokémon for reacting that way. Marla seemed to make just about everyone want to keep their distance.

Edgar ignored Marla. His gaze was on Ben. Ann looked at the lawyer. He was red in the face, and his eyes looked like they were about to explode out of their sockets.

"Hey, dude," Edgar said to him. "You okay?"

Ben moved his mouth around as if he was trying to work up spit. "I just realized," he said. He worked his mouth again, then cleared his throat. "I just realized that I probably shouldn't be hearing any of this. I probably shouldn't even be here at all." He looked around wildly, as if seeking rescue. He side-stepped closer to Marla, as if he could get her out of there and flee.

Marla raised a hand toward Ben. "Stay!" she commanded.

Ben stayed. Ann felt like he should get a treat or something.

Marla looked from Ann to Edgar. No one spoke. Ann just wanted the whole thing to be over. She didn't even care if she got the money Marla had promised. She never should have agreed to search for dirt on Joshua. Sure, she needed the cash. She always needed cash. And yes, she was annoyed with Joshua because he never bothered to look at her, really look at her. But…

"Well, I guess we're done here," Marla said. "Unless either of you have any bright ideas…which I do realize is unlikely."

Edgar piped up. "What else are we supposed to do? Just kill him?"

Ann shot her brother a look. Was he serious? She couldn't tell. Edgar was kind, yes, but he had a comic-book view of life. There were "his" people…and everyone else. Joshua was a part of everyone else. In Edgar's view, he might have been disposable.

Ben tried to make a motion to lure Marla away with his big, soft shoulder. He half-attempted to turn and walk away. But Marla immediately grabbed his tie, turned him back around, and used the flat of her hand to shove him back into place. He didn't resist her; he just casually looked to the side.

Marla looked at Edgar with an expression somewhat similar to approval. "No. It's…tempting," she said. "But, no. He's still family."

Not thinking before opening her mouth, Ann whispered, "His job."

Marla turned toward Ann and leaned forward. "Speak up, honey." The word honey was triple-wrapped in sarcasm.

Hating herself but apparently unable to stop herself, Ann raised her voice and continued, "Well, Josh was saying how he really needs his new job. You know, so he can look good on paper. Like, for the judge, or something?"

Marla snorted. "My nephew, an altruist. That's all very fascinating, dear, but I'm not hearing a plan."

Ann glanced at Edgar. He returned her gaze, and he grinned, and looked back toward Marla.

"We toss the place," he said.

Marla raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised that Edgar had said something semi-interesting. "Go on," she said.

Edgar placed his hands on his hips and began explaining his idea, "Well, Josh is a security guard, right? His job is to make sure nobody gets in. So…" he looked from Marla to Ann and then back to Marla, "...what if we get in? Then, we can mess up the place good, help ourselves to whatever we find along the way." He lifted a finger and pointed it at Marla. "Your nephew gets canned. The judge gives you the kid." He hesitated, then leaned back and crossed his arms. "And then you give us…two thousand?"

Marla pulled in her chin and gave Edgar an "as if" look. "I said two hundred," she said stubbornly.

Edgar shook his head. "Two hundred was for going through his underwear drawer. We're talking about breaking and entering. Destroying private property. Theft. That's like…five years, minimum."

"Probably more like ten," Ben inserted.

Marla shot Ben a death glare. Then she tapped her pink-painted nails on the tip of her chin. The skin at the outer edges of her eyes pulled in.

"Fine, one thousand," she said.

Edgar looked at Ann. She leaned away from him. She couldn't believe she was having anything to do with any of this. Still, she gave her brother a miniscule nod.

"Okay, it's a deal." Edgar said to Marla.

Marla stood straight. Adjusting the hem of her pantsuit jacket, she bent forward and leaned in close, just inches from Edgar's face. Ann got a whiff of Marla's perfume - it was sharp and cutting, like it was a fusion of pepper and grapefruit.

In low, menacing tones, Marla spoke. "But do it fast. And don't mess it up." She twisted her lips. "I mean, do mess up the place." She pointed to the ground. "But don't mess up the plan."

With that, she walked off. Ben hefted himself into a walking position, and Ann and Edgar watched him trail in Marla's wake.

Ann looked at her brother. Clearly confused, Edgar was looking at the spot on the ground that Marla had pointed to.

Ann, fed up with everything, slapped Edgar's finger. He frowned at her, still baffled. She gave him her best "moron" look and sighed. They were really going through with this.