Alone

***

      The performance of the first animatronics sends Kiren into childlike ecstasy. Little boy smiles as he watches, giggling and clapping his hands. Blue eyes fixed on his father, seated at the festive table, who smiles at his son and takes him in his arms, moving closer to the stage.       Childhood memories, so happy… His soulful eyes light up at the sight of these beautiful robots that only want to entertain children, play with them, feed them treats…       Kiren stretches out his arms towards the animatronic. It reaches out in return, smiling. Father cautiously approaches, holding his son’s hand to make sure he doesn’t do anything naughty. How much you want to touch them, to see what they have inside, hidden under a cute shell…       Children’s expectations are shattered when the mascot, the main face of the pizzeria, goes mad, grabs Kiren’s hand and starts pulling him towards him. Pupils constrict, a deafening squeal from the animatronic’s mouth causes the boy to scream along with it. Tears come to his eyes. Children start, fall, begin to cry and scatter to their parents, hiding behind them.       One man pulls Kiren away from the robot. Workers arrives and unlocks the iron fingers, pushing the mascot back onto the stage, but it doesn’t obey. Kiren clings to his father and looks anxiously at the stage.       — Get back! — commands security guard, and father, with Kiren in his arms, moves back a little. The mascot suddenly goes berserk and pushes the employee off the stage with such force that he hits his head on the tiles. Little girl begins to sway and threatens to fall to the floor.       He doesn’t notice how he lands on the floor because he fell a second earlier… Nor does he notice the shattered knee. His eyes only catch a glimpse of his father shrugging off the animatronic that had fallen on him. It all happened so suddenly… The girl soon falls unconscious as the second staff member helps with the large, raging machine.       Kiren shifts his gaze to the first guard and hears a girl slightly younger than him scream, “What? What is that! Mummy, look!” He sees a scarlet liquid spreading under the guard’s head. It has formed a small puddle around his temple and ear, oozing out from under his head. Kiren is terrified. He crawls away from the scene, looking in shock at both his father and the guard who is waking his comrade.       — Jason! Jason, are you, fucking, alive?! Tell me this is a fucking joke! — and a call was made to the hospital. The buzzing of adults, crying of children and chatter of the staff all mingled in the hustle and bustle. The boy just sits on the floor, staring at the man hunched over his friend’s body, at his father holding on to his legs, bruised by the heavy weight of the robot, doing nothing. No attempt to get up.       Children hid behind their parents to see what had happened. Many had already started to lead their sons and daughters away from the pizzeria, holding their little hands.       Kiren got to his feet, standing in shock as he watched what was happening. Despite some fear of the large robot that almost attacked him, he runs to his father and hugs him. Questions about his condition follow. He says he’s fine. Only his legs hurt.       He looks at the animatronic, which they are repairing on stage, switched off. The robot staggers, Kiren twitches, sits up.       And, please note, that day was a shock to me. Now I’m standing in the same place, those things are still on stage, but they’re off for the moment. I’ve stayed away from them for the last seven years, no matter what. Internally I’m still very afraid of them. I can understand why. But their pizza is good… I can’t give it up, so I come here sometimes.       I still believe that one day these suits will be better, if only a little.       I watch as these robots switch on with some ease and start to greet the public. Something about them makes me tense… But I don’t understand what it is. I raised my eyebrows, leaned my back against the grey wall, crossed my arms over my chest…       I began to remember the rumours that had been circulating for seven years, and a year later it was confirmed that the animatronics were malfunctioning. They were transported to another location, where they were diagnosed, and the pizzeria continued to operate as usual, with the usual music and noise. Somehow it even felt quieter… But not that much. I was still a bit scared back then, when they were being tested for months on end, fixing bugs in their digital brains.       Sometimes children would go missing, which is common all over the planet. Sometimes it was blamed on them, these things that scared the hell out of me. But after a while that was disproved.       I forgot to mention that after the incident in the pizzeria, my dad started acting a bit strange. He was nervous at times, he did some reckless things, but in general he was normal. I asked him, “Dad, what’s wrong?” To which he simply replied:       — “I’m fine, son. I was just worried. It happens to everybody.       Yes, it happens. “When I was ten years old, my father and I went to a pizza place. It felt good at the time, good for my soul. Me and my dad going out! Finally, for a few years, we left the house. Together. But then it was a nightmare day for me. Obviously for some reason… I was attacked by an animatronic that was right on stage. It was horrible. It looked at me with its eyes wide open, didn’t blink, stopped singing. It was a woman somewhere in her thirties, maybe or so, with a plump figure. It’s more accurate to say that her breasts were ample, her hips embarrassing. But there was something interesting about her: in spite of the animatronic structure, she could rotate her torso and arms through a full 360 degrees, as well as her head. Then there was the children’s entertainment, just excellent! But at that moment I had forgotten that it could do that. The animatronic grabbed my wrist, leaving bruises on my arm. It stared at me desperately, trying to eat me, trying to bite me. I was scared, really scared. My dad had mangled my legs, I was traumatised, mentally and physically at the same time. I couldn’t hear much at the time, I could only see bits and pieces of what was happening. And it was only then that I realised that the animatronic that kicked me had been killed. I mean, really killed. His forehead was crushed, his brain was bleeding, that’s how hard the robot kicked. It made an impression on me. Now I don’t go within five metres of that thing. I go about a kilometre away, figuratively speaking. I’m afraid that at any moment it might run at me, break the bayonets in its legs and go mad again. Even though she’s been tested a thousand times. What the hell is this mania for scaring children?”

Kiren’s personal diary. Entry dated 05.13.XXXX.

      And now I’m standing here looking at them again. I thought they said the robots had been tested and worked well. I’ve been looking at them for two days now and they haven’t broken down.       They’re out of their places again.       I just wish they wouldn’t come near me.       Kiren decides to walk around, watching the children. He exhaled. Exhaled from being tired, so bored. A maintenance room came into view, a couple of staff coming out. They were wiping their hands with greasy rags. The stench of grease hit the seventeen-year-old boy’s nose immediately. He wondered what was in there, and overcoming his fear, his growing anxiety, the boy carefully made his way into the room, not wanting to get caught.       On the table were a lot of mechanisms, two heads with eyes next to them, heads of endoskeletons, near the wall stood a large suit without a head on a large stand made for it. Next to it was a toolbox.       Kiren exhaled, looked around, walked on. As he approached the table, watching the heads, the young man felt out of place. He picked up the black eye. “G… Geez… How big it is…” And heavy too. There seemed to be a lot of mechanisms in it, too. It seemed as if the heads could move at any moment, smile, look straight at him. Their empty eye sockets were very tight. You could play peek-a-boo for hours. But he wasn’t interested in playing games.       Scowling, he continued to stare at their heads, looking into their blank stares. Suddenly his throat was dry. Immediately, two staff members came in, clearly displeased that children were loitering where they weren’t supposed to be. They looked at the boy standing behind the desk, dazed and somewhat frightened.       It was unknown how long he had been in the room alone, how long he had stared into the eyes of the staff, but it seemed an eternity to him. And he didn’t even notice when he was pushed out the door and told not to come back. Bebin didn’t even notice her following him.       — Are you lost? — Kiren jerked, staring at the animatronic looming over him. He took a few steps away.       The boy looked guiltily at the girl and stammered a negative answer. She looks carefully, straightens up and walks away. The clatter of heels and heavy footsteps. How eerie…       And finally you can breathe again. Kiren takes a drink from a boy, opens the lid, drinks in one gulp and throws the cup on the floor.       Some of the party rooms were free of children, but then they were filled again with these perpetually screaming creatures. They drank, rested, then ran off to play again. The boy collapsed into a chair, covering his face with his hands.       — Wouldn’t it be nice to hear some exciting stories! — Marianne’s voice rang out. He looked out into the main hall and saw the girl looking around the back with a wild, surprised (he thought) look on her face.       A worker walked up nearby, turned on the lights, and soon a group of children were running to the curtains, eagerly awaiting more stories from another animatronic at work.       Behind the beautiful pastel red curtains lurked another animatronic. A white pony, a Pegasus with a purple mane and bright auburn eyes. They lit up and the filly lifted her head and looked around at the crowd of children standing before her.       — Who was ready to hear stories and be immersed in a mile of magic?       The children squealed, ready for any interesting adventure. Yes, Kiren didn’t particularly like it, which made him cover his ears with his hands. Watching the performance, and sometimes the way Marianne looked around the room, adding sentences to her friend’s stories from time to time, the boy noticed that the mare’s hind hooves were attached to the floor by bars that ran inside the hooves and moved her costume. This made him smile.       It’s so nice to think that at least one of them can’t walk on pizza. But I really wish they could stay on stage all the time.       The smile immediately fell from my face.       There was fun all around and the occasional cry from a child. In between the sounds of pleasant music, a woman could be heard trying to comfort the child she had brought to the party. Next to her sat another boy, apparently about eleven years old, who was her first son. The second was clearly a girl, not yet used to sitting in such a noisy place.       The child soon calmed down, and gradually the soul too. The celebration went on. On her own stage, the mare continued to tell stories. She tried to entice the children, who left on their own and soon returned. She moved her ears, closed her eyes, lifted her front hooves to her muzzle and showed her claws, which seemed sharp at the time. Her teeth, shining beautifully, did not go unnoticed either.       Soon the woman left with the child in her arms. Through the noise, the sound of doors closing could be heard. Now there were two less back-breakers. And the performance went on. Gradually it became boring. Still not taking his eyes off the stage, Kiren decided to take a walk down the corridors of the pizzeria. It was only when he had moved away from where he was standing that he noticed the animatronic leaving its place among the people and quickly walked to the left corridor. There were children’s drawings on the walls, some of them even rolling down to the floor in the slight breeze created by the children running here and there. Two children, a little younger than Kiren, ran past again. They were having fun, laughing, playing catch-up. The guard coming towards them caught one of them running, sat down beside him and then sent him running back the other way.       The boy caught up with him. Their eyes met. A hand rested on Kiren’s shoulder.       — Where are you going? You can’t go in there, it’s a restricted area.       — Hmmm…       The man left him standing, looking at the children’s drawings and printed posters of mascots, and went about his business. While there was still time, the man decided to sneak further into the area where the guard station was. The corridor wasn’t as long as it had seemed.       Walking down the long corridor that seemed to never end, the man found the turn he was looking for. There was something there, something that gave off a metallic glow in the darkness. Bebin quickened his pace and headed for the slot machines.       As expected, they did not work. Pressing various buttons, Kiren saw no feedback from the screens. The machines were positioned so that they were almost up against the wall. Only one corner, partially lit, could be seen, where one could peer. Wires. Lots of wires. And not a hint as to whether they were connected or not. I guess it wasn’t destiny to play arcade games today. I looked to the left — there was a room, seemingly large. Interest grew and Kiren couldn’t help but go in. He listened to the footsteps, the running around in the main hall. Could he be punished for being too curious? What if he stuck his nose in the wrong place?       The room turned out to be an office in this pizza parlour. It was spacious, large. As Kiren walked in, there were desks with most of the equipment on the left. Wires and tinsel dangled from the ceiling, what looked like tentacles ready to grab at any moment. Posters of children’s drawings hung on the wall. One poster was large, taking up part of the wall. It showed three mascots: a horse with wings, a girl in a dinner jacket with a microphone in her right hand, and a doll standing behind her. Black suit, white stripes on the body, white face with a bright blush, unkempt, uncombed hair. The lips were red. The mouth was open in a bright smile. They were happy to greet each visitor.       Other posters featured one or two mascots. The first, in a circle of light, had a puppet and a girl holding cards as if they were magicians, with the words “Card Show! Don’t miss it!” The second was just a girl on stage, ready to sing. In my head I could hear the phrase “Let’s sing!” in her nasty, stuttering, but still so attractive voice.       On the third poster, Pegasus stood on his hind legs with a big smile and bulging eyes, inviting you to enter the world of fairy tales. The fourth poster had to be opened by hand — the young man could not reach it, the tables were in the way, and he was afraid of damaging the screens. Just a few words — “Have fun, play, listen to music!”       A rustling behind him made the guy jump back from the poster and quickly come to a stop.       In the right corridor, where the boy wasn’t yet, kids were running amok. They just made that rustling noise that made Kiren tense up. The voice of a security guard who had just entered the office made the children run back into the main hall. The man immediately walked over to the boy and grabbed his wrist.       — Hey! — the young man tried to get out, he was worried.       — You’re not allowed in the security room. Where are your parents?       The guard tried to take the blue-eyed man back to the celebration room, but he resisted, finally wrenching his arm from the tight grip. A few curls fell across his face, blocking his view of the room. Kiren took a few steps back, fixing his hair. He stared silently at the man in front of him, trying to make contact. Getting nothing in return, the man demanded to leave the room immediately.       — I don’t want to go to them…       The guard’s patience was wearing thin. Kiren wouldn’t listen to him. The guard walked up to him and squeezed his wrists hard, trying to pull Kiren back. The young man resisted. At one point he grabbed a notebook from the table, wrenched his hands from the strong grip and ran back to the opposite wall, almost hitting a soft black chair on wheels. Next to it was a large door with a sign that said the entrance was for staff only. Bebin tried to run in to escape the angry man, but was immediately pushed away and thrown to the floor.       — Where are you going, you idiot?! Don’t you see, only employees are allowed in here!       A man was called from the left corridor.       — Sam, what’s going on in there?       — There’s a boy trying to get into the basement. I’m trying to get him out of the security room.       Kiren got to his feet quickly enough, still clutching the notebook to his chest. Sam, as the guard was called, tried to grab the young man’s wrist again, but the thing flew into his face, knocking him out for a moment, followed by a blow to the stomach. With a shaky apology, Kiren fled from the guard room into the right-hand winding corridor. He hid around a corner to catch his breath.       He was scared. That nasty feeling again, when you want to get out of the way of those who want to hurt you. The merry cries continued. Feeling somewhat relieved, Bebin decided to continue on his way after all. He walked straight ahead and almost immediately turned right. There was a map on the wall at the beginning of the corridor, and the boy took note of it. As it turned out, the corridors were not symmetrical. The one he took out of the guard room started at the top right corner, went straight, turned left and went straight again. The corridor led back to the main hall.       He shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled along until he spotted a shop that looked like a small room. It was like a deep closet with all sorts of fashionistas' stuff in the walls. There were many kinds of clothes, a lot of shoes and different kinds of shoes. This bench looked like that. Inside it was a two metre tall creature that looked like a doll. It was attached by ropes to the ceiling, where there was a black cross. The young man did not notice the curtains at once, but only when he approached with some apprehension. The dummy raised its head, small white dots in its eyes. It grinned.       “Shit…”       The puppeteer tilted his head to the side, trying to be polite, and held out his hand. Do you want to be friends? The sense of danger wouldn’t let go. Fear was written all over Kiren’s face. Somehow overcoming himself, his fears, he held out his hand in return, gently placing his fingers on the soft, warm glove. Pressed down. Gently too.       Seeing no great danger, Kiren stepped closer, giving the puppeteer his full hand. He didn’t attack. You could exhale in relief. He brought the new onlooker closer. Slowly he turned the palm upwards, again in the same position. Gently he placed something in it. Let him look at it. A card, the Ace of Diamonds. Kiren grinned.       The pupeter shrugged, still smiling. He pulled out another card, as if out of thin air. Then a five dollar bill. Many people know the trick of a card going through a bill of any denomination, but this was interesting. It made Kiren chuckle.       However, it wasn’t always the case that animatronics could lose their temper. Only in isolated cases. It was only for a while that Kiren allowed himself to get close to the harmless puppet. After all, she really is… Harmless?       Sighing, Kiren thanked the animatronic for the little performance and prepared to leave. Not far from the stage, he felt something staring at him. From the speakers in the corners of the stage came a music box that made him shiver.       For a moment, Bebin thought Marianne was watching him intently. Before he turned, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that she was standing still, looking at him with wide eyes, deliberately waiting for the moment to attack. Fortunately, that didn’t happen and as soon as the guy looked towards the stage, the girl turned towards the guards who were entering a small room nearby.       The guy didn’t really care anymore.       Marianne began humming an uncomplicated melody, bringing the microphone in her right hand closer to her mouth with a white glove. The voice was pleasant. Music faded as soon as the door closed behind him. There were a few crumpled notes in his pocket. And what to spend them on… The nearest shop was about fifty metres from the pizzeria. It’s OK, we can walk. The music that played before Kiren left was the theme from the soundtrack before Freddy’s Toreador March from the original franchise.       The bag rustled. Inside was a can of energy drink, a couple of packets of breakfast cereal, and only a dollar left in his pocket. Gone was the fun, gone was the excitement. Looking back, Kiren sighed and walked on. He turned left and crossed to the other side of the road. I wanted to lie down on the pavement, pull my legs up, ignore everyone, sit like that until morning. But I had to get home. At least the bed there was soft, unlike the street, where it was cold and too hard for his body, and the bums could steal the last of his money.       Familiar entrance, lift, neighbours in the lift. Here it was, the familiar seventh floor. His body was used to the pleasant warmth of this house, but it was twice as pleasant to feel even more warmth as soon as he stepped over the threshold. The shopping bag flew onto the bedside table. His father rustled around the kitchen to the hum of the television. Nothing unusual.       — Are you back? — I heard my father’s question. A quiet 'aha'. He came out of the kitchen in a T-shirt and home-made shorts and looked at his son. — Didn’t like it?       He didn’t want to answer the question… A small smile broke out and he managed to get out a few sentences.       — I liked it. But there were lots of kids there, all having fun. Screaming. I was tired of hearing this fucki’n silly children stories.       Grabbing the bag, Kiren tried to hurry up to his room. His father seemed to have noticed his purchases.       — Don’t you get tired of stuffing that crap down your throat? You’ll probably die on a diet like that. — and walked away, catching a glimpse of his son. It was unclear whether he was talking about the whole thing or something separate. Maybe, the energy man said.       Kiren didn’t care. After closing the door behind him and throwing the things he’d bought on the bed, he went to the bathroom, got undressed and stood under the shower for a while. Drops of hot water ran down his face and he had to close his eyes sometimes. The pleasant shampoo tickled between his buttocks and slowly ran down his back. Freshened up, he fell face first onto the pillow. The bag of dry noodles rustled under his body. Well, he’ll eat them dry then. Much tastier than fiddling with it, putting it in a cup and pouring water over it, then adding spices.       Reluctantly, Kiren rolled over onto his side, facing the wall as he tucked his purchases against the headboard of the bed. He hugged his shoulders, pulled his legs up to his chest and began to stare at the wall. The scenes that had happened to him today flashed before his eyes. Somewhere, old memories from years ago were dredged up, finally causing something to tingle in his soul. Weakly. Quickly pushing it all out of his mind, Kiren sank back into his pillow with a heavy sigh.       He had tossed and turned for half the night. Couldn’t really fall asleep. Every now and then he forced himself to lift his body out of bed and go to the bathroom. The tiredness was killing him. He wanted to sleep, but as soon as his head touched the pillow, sleep disappeared in an instant, leaving behind unpleasant sensations.       In the morning, Kiren opened his eyes and looked at the wall clock. It was eleven o’clock. There was a rustling outside the door. His father was walking somewhere, and soon he came into his son’s room.       — Are you awake? — James asked cautiously, looking over at Kiren. Seeing an open eye staring at him through blue hair, the man opened the door wide. — Oh, I must have woken you.       — No.       Kiren ducked into his pillow. He rolled over onto his other side. With his eyes closed, he felt the hair being brushed away from his face.       — I want to go to the store and buy a new tap to replace the old one. We’re about to flood the neighbours. I wondered if you’d come with me. We’ll see what we can buy you later.       The man heard nothing in reply but the ticking of a clock. There was a strange heaviness in his chest that gradually pressed down on his whole body.       Kiren lifts his eyes to his father. The man decides to stay home, to go shopping another time. As sad as it was, the father made the decision. Still, his son’s condition was a little more important to him than a simple leaky tap. Kiren is left alone in the room. The same silence, no unnecessary thoughts. The bright sun shines directly into his eyes. He had to shift from one comfortable position to another, covering his head with a pillow.       Sleep didn’t come for a long time. The man tossed and turned in bed for a long time before he finally felt… Nothing. Literally nothing. It seemed as if the bed was taking off now, spinning around in the middle of the room, the walls growing, everything getting really big. And the bed itself stayed the same size. It’s a relief.       He feels himself falling into a deep sleep. He breathes evenly, feels his body, his consciousness only half in reality, the other half already in slumber. He doesn’t realise how many hours have passed between rest and sleep.       While his son sleeps, James decides to go out for a smoke. He puts on his jacket, leaves the house, goes downstairs to the window and takes out a packet.       A neighbour comes down to greet him. He also asks for a light. James stares into the distance and takes his first deep breath.       — What’s on your mind? — He slowly releases the nicotine through his nose. James shrugs.       Houses rose in front of them, the tops of trees and large hills in the distance. There was a tower on one of them, a landmark for aeroplanes at night. He never took his eyes off the tower, which gave him a strange peace.       James stared at it, lost in his own world where he couldn’t hear their front door closing downstairs, the noise of cars, the coughing of Mike standing next to him. He didn’t know why he was looking up at the tower. He felt a strange freedom in his chest. He was flying towards the tower, reaching for the red light that sometimes flickered at the top.       The feeling of lightness and freedom was almost immediately gone when he felt the burning of the smouldering cigarette that had reached the filter in his fingers. His sleeve was slightly stained by the rapidly cooling ash. Mike had to repeat his question.       — Nothing. — Bebin dismissed it with a sigh. It was as if the stone that had fallen from his heart some time ago, when he had looked up at the tower, had fallen again. His grim, dim gaze fell on the grey steps of the staircase leading down to the floor below. — Forget it.       The voice softened a little. Mike shrugged, sniffling, and put his cigarette butt out on the concrete window sill. James, as if he could hear the grey ash falling with a crackle, turned his attention to him as the cigarette butt fell into the grey mass. The men stood in silence for a while, reluctant to break the silence between them. Occasionally, the honking of a large jeep down the road and the loud coughing of the downstairs neighbour broke the pleasant silence.       Backy goes up to her flat.       As always, she smiles weakly at the men, skips around them and goes upstairs. A few turns of the key and the stomping of her son’s feet can be heard in the flat. The neighbour across the hall from Kiren and his father’s flat comes out the same way and staggers downstairs. Amanda scrutinises the two men as she approaches them. She had a mischievous squint that made it uncomfortable at times.       After smoking another cigarette each, the men looked out of the window. Amanda was swearing at passing cars again, which made James smile.       — I’ll probably go. Kiren doesn’t feel well.       After saying goodbye to Mike, James went to his flat, which disturbed his son a little. He rolled over in bed until he found a new position where he could relax. James walked cautiously into the kitchen, but then decided to check on Kiren. He was lying quietly under the covers, resting, not touching anyone.

***

      The new day began with the two of them finally getting dressed and going to get a new siphon for the tap. Kiren sat in the passenger seat and looked out the window. He was feeling better.       The driver’s door closed, the engine suddenly roared loudly, then gradually died down. People were being hurried backwards, a ray of sunlight breaking through the foliage. There were too many cars on the road today, although they should have dispersed twenty minutes ago. He had to stand at the lights a little longer than usual.       The man leaned back in his seat and exhaled. And even with his eyelids closed, it was impossible to shield his eyes from the light, so he had to cover himself with the visor of his cap.       It was not difficult to reach the destination. At first he wanted to stay in the car, strapped in, while his father walked around the shop, but he soon decided to go with him. When he reached the man, he slipped his hands into the pocket of a blue, slightly baggy hooded sweatshirt.       A flower stall caught his eye. But there was nothing there that would interest him as much as a budding cactus. He stared at it for a while.       — Kiren? — the boy finally turned and walked over to his father, who was about to choose a new siphon. The consultant has given him some good options, and even let him look at some new taps in the kitchen that might suit them.       — Dad, can we take this cactus?       — Hang on, hang on. — James holds up a finger and continues to choose between two almost identical siphons, also mentally counting the money and whether they should buy a new tap any time soon. — I think we’re going to need another set of keys… What have you got there?       Kiren lifted the cactus higher. His father agreed before leading him to another department and then to the checkout.       Happy boy was soon in the passenger seat with his new friend. The ringer on his mobile was silenced until he got home. The music from the car radio drowned out any distractions.       The familiar road in the window was quite pleasant. It was like coming home after a long day, speeding up and seeing only myself on the road, no one else. And home isn’t far away. And only to avoid hitting someone at that speed…       Kiren was jolted from his reverie by James’s voice as he turned off the car. They were already home. Slightly drowsy from his thoughts, Kiren got out of the car and walked into the flat with his father.       The tap could now be repaired. Everything was soon assembled on the floor next to the grey doors. There was nothing of interest in the fridge except for a piece of sausage and cheese that would soon be used for a couple of sandwiches. As if the mayonnaise wouldn’t stain the batment. The greasy stain would be washed off later…       The repairs didn’t take long. James tried to make it quick, but there was a puddle on the floor.       And after a while the tap had to be replaced.       It had taken a lot of money and effort to fix the problem. James, tired, flopped down on the couch and began to fall asleep to the sound of the television. You could just about close your eyes in his room with hot tea and his laptop, where The Shining was already prepared.       The atmosphere of the film walked into the headphones and soon the sounds felt more and more realistic. And only someone like Alice could pull Kiren away from the film. Alice, 19:36 Hi there! How are you doing? How about we go for a walk today? 19:37 Alice, 19:45 Hello? Are you in here?

Kiren, 7:46 pm

Hi, Alice. I’m watching a film.

How are you doing?

Alice, 7:47 pm I’m OK too. What about my suggestion?

Kiren, 7:50 pm

I don’t know.

Where would you like to go?

Alice, 7:52 p.m. Let’s go for a walk around the neighbourhood… At night?       A blush suddenly flushed her cheeks. Her fingernails tapped nervously on the phone, then on the table.       Half the film had been watched. He was faced with a choice: give up and watch the whole film, or finish it another time. Alice put her phone down on the pillow beside her, but then decided to browse the internet for something new. She glanced at the message window, toggling from time to time to see if Kiren was texting him.       He was online a few minutes ago.       She exhaled, thinking it was wrong to suggest this to the guy. And at the same moment, she received such a message from him: Kiren, 20:01. Pack up. Let’s go for a walk.       Immediately Alice began to squeak, cheer and 'dance' on the bed. Alice, 8:02 pm. Meet me in the park at 8:40?       The message was read, but no one replied. Kiren had been offline for half an hour.       The whole time they had been listening to music and getting ready, Alice being particularly happy and cheerful. She literally bounced around the room to the music on her computer, throwing away things she didn’t want to wear today before finding something she did.

***

      Parking. The girl was already waiting for the guy who was about to arrive. Simon was smoking next to her, Kira was leaning against the bars, talking on her phone. Time was passing very slowly for them, and in her mind Kira wanted to go to the shop to brighten up the waiting time. Exactly a minute later, when they had almost agreed on what each of them would get, Kiren came in. He had only brought a bottle of water.       All three of them gradually looked up at the guy.       — Are you ready? — Alice smiled brightly at him, took his hand and led the way.       Reluctantly, Kieren let go of the girl’s hand, sipped his drink and looked at the time. Simon’s cigarette had fallen not far from him, smoldering. The park was big, but there was hardly a soul in it. The last people were leaving through the main entrance. Alice was ready to squeal with joy, dragging all three of them behind her to the only loophole the girl had recently found herself.       Around the corner, after about a hundred or two metres, a hole was found. The only thing missing were two large steel beams in a large fence, someone had obviously been here for a long time and had made a free entrance. The boys climbed through first and helped the girls down. Illuminating the slope ahead with extra torches, they made their way down carefully, holding on to bushes and branches, thick tree trunks.       It was pleasant to walk in the dark through the empty park, which at this time of night was inhabited only by workers clearing the paths of rubbish and tidying up nature.       — What are we doing here? — said the young man to the trio.       — Walk, of course. Kira, did you bring any food?       The girl nodded eagerly, touching the rucksack behind her back. The packets of junk food rustled inside. Alice nodded. Simon had taken a large checked blanket that he could only find at home and was carrying it in his hands. A dark bag at his side held cups, water and a litre bottle of soda.       Finally finding a secluded spot suitable for their little late-night picnic, the four of them spread out the blanket and piled their bags around the edges. The crisps fell neatly into the middle, followed by biscuits, sandwiches and home-made hot dogs wrapped in clingfilm. No one was around, the whole area was familiar to the girls and boys, so it was safe to be here without attracting attention.       Alice lay down next to Kiren and looked up at the stars with him.       — This is the kind of holiday I’ve wanted for a long time. With no one around, on a warm night, with all of you…       Silence. The girl lay on her side, looking at the man, then turned her head so that he was looking at her. Without a word, Alice pressed herself against Bebin and hugged him.       To be honest, the embrace relaxed Alice. She wanted to share such a small moment with someone. Just as she had recently hugged Kira, who had come after her. Long and tight.       — Cute couple, — Simon chuckled, lying on his stomach and turning on the video in one earpiece. He looked at it from time to time, slowly eating open chips. His eyes were getting used to the darkness and he could already see the surroundings better. Food and drink were slowly consumed as the teenagers slowly talked about life and told funny stories. Then everyone took turns reading scary stories. One was about a boy who fell into a golden city.       — But when the boy rushed back with two large bars of gold and started to climb through the window — his home town was gone. It seemed to be some kind of joke. The boy turned around and saw the girl he’d stolen the bars from looking at him. She noticed the boy and said, “You can’t go back now, because everyone who comes here doesn’t come back. The boy was stunned. It turned out that he had come to them from the “dead” city, although he denied it. But when he looked at his hands, he cried. — There was an awkward silence, not even the rustling of the grass, let alone the animals and cars. It was as if they were standing there waiting for the end. — He was dead. His body was like a corpse in colour. People came from everywhere, approached, and despite the boy’s cries that he was alive, he was buried alive in a golden coffin.       — A… And even the nails were gold?       — Even the nails. Every single part of the coffin was made of this metal.       — It’s a nightmare. — Kira said quietly, sitting up in the lotus position.       The scarecrow was causing tension between them. Kiren was lying on his stomach, looking at Alice, and he was looking at Simon, who was back on the phone with the game. It was clear from the look on his face that, although he wasn’t tense, he was about to lose the first minute because he was thinking about the scarecrow. The bewildered man frowned, sat down and started playing again.       This evening passed quietly, no one said a word for the next half hour. Everyone was thinking of their own business. Some weren’t thinking at all.       The food didn’t go away that quickly, and no one paid any attention to it, so Kiren was able to take a couple of sandwiches that Kira and Alice had made home with him, lay back down and open up YouTube. Slowly the conversations came back and everyone was able to add a bit of their own stories, tales, funny situations. No one else was in the park. An hour passed like that, the second hour was almost over.       In the distance, the footsteps of an intruder echoed shrilly across the area, warning them that a park guard would soon be approaching to make sure no one was still on the grounds. “What bad timing!” — Simon cursed under his breath, pulling his backpack closer to him.       Boys quickly gathered their things, but paused for a split second when they heard something suspicious. A stern “Hey, you there!” sounded in their direction. The park ranger was practically nearby, and the boys couldn’t risk getting caught. All four of them looked around, trying to find a secluded spot. The bushes rustled. Guard pointed a flashlight in their direction. Rustling branches, dark clothing. No one tried to make any sudden movements.       After a few tense moments, listening for every rustle, the guard walked past them, paying no attention to the four teenagers. They breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged quick glances of understanding — they had managed to avoid trouble. They walked through the bushes for a while, trying not to make too much noise, looking around. The guard came back now and then, looking around, pacing back and forth.       The tension grew as the torch was practically pointed in their direction.       When all was quiet, Kira quietly suggested to the others, “Hey guys! Why don’t we find another place to continue our picnic? Actually, no, let’s go to the pizza place. I hear Area Four Pizza is still open. Maybe we should go there.       This plan sounded tempting, and they all agreed. Whispering, they discussed their next steps, how to sneak into the pizzeria without getting caught by the guard. Only Kieren followed them, silent the whole way, his hood pulled over his head. The park was already behind them. Kiera turned to Kieren, stopped and waited for him to come closer. The boy raised his head.       — Why don’t you talk? Not offer your options?       Kieren shook his head.       — Wouldn’t it be easier for us to go somewhere else? Maybe there are some guards and they’ll notice us.       Alice hummed. They walked on towards the pizza place.       The company was practically at the pizza place Kieren knew. The disgust and loathing for the place was slowly building up inside the guy. He wanted to go home immediately, but Kieren and Alice insisted that he go in. Their plan was for the guy to survive an entire night shift with the guard inside, so he wouldn’t accidentally get caught and have to hide somewhere.       Empty pizza parlour, lobby. It’s quiet inside. A single lamp above the reception desk illuminated the room, as did the heat emanating from the transparent doors leading into the main hall. It was late outside the window and few people were interested in buying a pizza at this hour.       Kiren walks past the stage and stops in front of Marianne, who has her eyes lowered to the floor in sadness. But as soon as she noticed the movement, she turned her gaze to the boy, making him tremble. Her head lifted, she looked at him. The boy’s heart stopped for a moment, but he didn’t get confused and kept moving. His eyes were fixed on the workshop, where he managed to sneak out before the footsteps of the night watchman, who had decided to go round the whole building, could be heard. Kiren felt his pulse quicken. His whole body tensed, ready for anything. Ready to make excuses to the guard, to come up with any lie he could think of. Or hide under the table, slip behind the man’s back, just to avoid being caught.       As he listened to the guard talk to himself about the frightening efficiency of the robots, and his thoughts aloud about the doll that was in his cubbyhole on the other side of the stage, the boy felt fear and anxiety overwhelm him. He didn’t want to face the puppeteer in his chest of drawers, with Marianne on the stage and the white, beautiful female pegasus on the second stage, partially revealed by the curtains. This place was too dangerous, and nothing was good at this time of day.       The alarm on the phone didn’t frighten him. Alice asked to take some pictures of the building from the inside, or even send a video.       Exhaling nervously, he calms himself and leaves the workshop, looking around to avoid the guard’s eyes. Running after him, Kiren makes his way into the kitchen, where the faint light reflects off the stainless steel. He glances at the clock on the wall and sees that time is running out. The guard’s night shift was about to begin.       — That’s it, come on. The shift is about to begin. — came the voice of a man entering the main hall again.       Kiren took a deep breath and pulled himself together. I just have to get through these six hours.       Night guard hesitates a bit before going to the toilet before his shift. He leaves the pizzeria unattended for a while. Watching his movements from the sidelines was Kiren, who briefly emerged from his hiding place in the kitchen to listen to the noises.       The pizzeria was soon locked, witnessed by the three outside in the shadows and Kieren watching through the slit in the kitchen door as the night watchman closed the inner doors.       A few minutes later the man entered the kitchen, the boy still watching from under the table. He grabbed a soda and a couple of slices of pizza and went back to the office to watch his favourite show. The animatronics didn’t move much, just small movements that were routine for the guard.       The second scene with pegasus scared boy a little. It was a nightmare as the boy watched the animatronic from below for a few seconds. Wide open brown eyes, raised hoof with dull iron claws, folded wings. Overwhelmed, he quickly crawled inside, jogged to the far corner, pulled his knees to his chest and hugged himself. He stared at the animatronic, held in place by beams, absolutely motionless.       Kiren had sent Alice a picture of the pegasus standing. During his correspondence with her, he had watched for the camera from behind the curtains. He found a good angle to watch the red dot which disappeared after a minute or two. The noises outside alerted Kiren. He had to sit in the cove for a while until the red dot went out, allowing a safe exit.       Cameras showed nothing of interest. The tiny body movements of the mascots occasionally strayed from the small screen of the phone. In the puppeteer’s den, a music box played softly. It soothed the nerves of Kiren, who was sitting backstage, causing him to lie down and close his eyes for a moment.       Kira, Alice and Simon sat outside where it was starting to get cold. They felt uncomfortable being in the pizza place at the moment. The three reluctantly decided to leave Kiren at the pizzeria and go home, promising to pick him up in the morning. Alice couldn’t resist sending the young man a text message telling him that they would come and get him in the morning if he didn’t run away.       Guard, absorbed in watching his favourite TV show and eating a pizza with a soda from the kitchen, didn’t notice the guy who had been sneaking into the place for half an hour.       After a while, Kiren carefully crept into the kitchen to steal some drinks. He looked around. The camera had been put out by someone with masking tape. On his way back he bumped into Marianne walking through the main hall; she was standing with her back to the guy and didn’t see him. He quickly hid behind a large doll in a box.       The relaxing music was now pressing on his ears and brain. There wasn’t much room in the room, but enough to hide behind the counter that blocked off part of the room from the main hall. It’s as if everyone in the marketplace had a table with a tablecloth and put unwanted pallets underneath. Through a small slit, he watched a girl in a tailcoat walk slowly through the banquet hall.       Meanwhile, the guard was also watching her out of the corner of his eye. Big girl held the microphone in her right hand in a white glove and looked around the main hall until she headed down the right corridor towards the guard. Tension washed over Kieren, who didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t know what the connection was between the guard and the girl walking towards him. Her heavy, distant footsteps made it hard to think clearly.       Kiren prayed that no one would notice him. He waited and watched, blending into the shadows, hoping to get through the night without incident.       The pizzeria itself was in semi-darkness. The music from the box gradually fades, allowing the tension of this work to be fully felt. There is a click, the door slamming in Marianne’s face. The animatronic, as if alive, looks through the glass at the man eating a pizza. Marianne walks away, leaving the guard alone in the four walls of his office.

***

      A man resting in the puppeteer’s room between the second and third our, behind his big box, decides to have a snack, not noticing that a white puppet face with a bright blush and eyes as dark as the night is watching him from the corner. A strange sensation ran through his body. A second bite of sandwich stuck in his throat as the young man finally raised his eyes to the puppet watching him. Sitting motionless, Bebin stares intently into the puppet’s black eyes, blinking occasionally and finally swallowing the slowly moving piece of sandwich.       Slowly and gracefully, under the control of a young man, a large puppet in the shape of a thin, tall man dressed in black crawls out of its box on an elastic fishing line that holds the entire puppet in place. Suspended from the ceiling, Puppeter wanders through the corridors, appearing here and there, tiring the guard with its actions. It stands motionless under the dull lanterns that light the corridors, suspended, moving slowly and smoothly past its room.       Risking too much, Kiren makes his way to the bathroom. He couldn’t wait to be back in his little cubbyhole, taking a little nap while the dummy goes everywhere, wandering around, scaring the guard.       The night goes on. Four in the morning. It’s the start of five.       Kiren, dozing in an uncomfortable position, suddenly wakes up, feeling someone’s eyes on him. Unintentionally, he bumps into a shelf of toys above his head, rubbing the bruised area. On the other side, The Puppeter stands, his face partially obscured by black, unkempt hair. He stares directly at Kiren, his smile and black eyes shining in the dim light.       He gathers his things and makes his way out of the room, hiding his gaze under the hood of his hooded sweatshirt, trying not to make contact with strange puppet.       He walks around the pizzeria, around the dark corners, into the closet behind the stage, feeling a sudden unease deep inside him. In the corner, against the back wall, he notices a dark figure sitting there, as if it had been placed there while he was asleep. The body is completely black, with only the appearance of clothing, an outstretched arm and white hair visible in the dim light. The head was resting on his chest. It was impossible to make out the face.       Closing the door behind him, the young man decides to hide in the toilets, in the last stall of the men’s room, hoping that he won’t be caught by a guard until morning. The penultimate stall. With his legs crossed, the young man listens to his own heartbeat and the footsteps of the man who, thank God, has entered the toilet in one of the first stalls.       Beautiful morning comes unnoticed. For a few minutes, Kiren took his time coming out of his ambush.       After waiting for the guard to come through and open the doors, he tried to pass as quietly and unnoticed as possible, taking his chance. He exits the toilets and runs outside, knocking over the only balloons that have been brought in. Behind him, the pizzeria remains, with the motionless puppets in their usual places — two stages and a spare room with merchandise and gifts.       Running further away from the pizzeria, he finally picks up the phone. An ambush. James has called the guy several times, trying to find out where his son is. “Fuck. How do I explain myself?”       Calling his father, Kiren hears his serious voice.       — Where the hell are you?! Why aren’t you answering my calls? — Kiren finally realises that he’s been worried about him. Resentment lurks for his friends.       Kiren explains that he is now near the pizza parlour. Finally, James is relieved that he has been able to locate his father. He has been heard to fall on the couch. When he arrives at the premises, he finds his son sitting on a barrel under the wall. The look on his face was one of irritation and concern.       — What are you doing here? Damn it, Kiren… A whole night in a place with robots. And you could have been caught! — James spat. — What went through your head to come here in the first place?       — Well, me and my mates thought we’d have a bit of fun.       — Fun? Fuck. I work here part-time and you’re just chilling and having fun. Without warning.       The last sentence was said softly. Kiren quickly hid his eyes.       — OK, I’m sorry, I overreacted. But what’s the big deal? I would have come back safely.       — You have no idea what a nightmare that was. I almost woke up the neighbours in the corridor to see if they’d seen you. You really scared me. What friends did you have who didn’t go with you? Or didn’t talk you out of it?       Kiren had nothing to say. He had to agree that it was too shitty a thing to do in his life.       On the way home, the boy felt the weight of his father’s eyes on him, looking out the window, hugging his knee. On the way home, to the lift and then to the flat, he listens to James’s stern admonition.       As the afternoon wore on, the pizzeria began to heat up. The manager had invited a mechanic in to check that the animatronics were working properly. I had to grab Scarlet from her stage and carry her to Parts and Service to fix a claw that was falling off, body parts that were jammed.       — Shit. What a business you guys are running in this pizza place. — boy grinned, oiling Scarlet’s unbending hoof. The day guard grinned and crossed his arms over his chest.       — It doesn’t happen often, but yes. Thank God nothing was stolen.       A couple of kids are wandering around the pizzeria, drawing, playing with the toys the staff have kindly left for them in the corner.       — And thank God.       — I’ve also been told that the doll acted strangely at night and frightened me too much. Could you have a look at it later?       The older mechanic looked up at her, taking a break from the repair books for each machine.       — Wait, you mean that old doll? Why is she so important to your pizzeria? I thought you were going to get rid of her or shut her down for good.       — None of your business. — snorts the guard and straightens up. — Just make sure the damn doll doesn’t break one day. Get her body checked out.       There’s nothing I can do. I have to check out the colourful children’s corner with presents and toys.       — Shit.       The puppet lying in the box in the fetal position was no cause for concern. The mechanic exhaled, used the control panel to get the big guy out of the box and examined him.       By the middle of the day, the situation had gradually cleared up and the man was no longer so angry with his son. The man just can’t forget that night and thinks about what happened. The strange movements of the puppeteer, as if he were real, the strange behaviour of Marianne, moving towards the guard post, that body in the room behind the stage…       As he flipped through the photos, Kieren noticed more and more oddities: in addition to the photos he’d taken, someone seemed to be going through his phone. He couldn’t remember taking pictures of the puppeteer peeking out from around the corner when he first woke up, Mariana’s black eyes staring at him from the stage, strangely blurred pictures of the pizzeria… Some of the images also showed strange shadows. Most likely, while he was moving to another location, the camera could have accidentally switched on and captured all this.       Scarlet, in her scene where the young man made his way to the puppeteer’s room and the kitchen, looked directly at the camera. Bright dots instead of glowing eyes, she looked straight into the camera and grinned. She had a toothy smile.       Kiren’s heart sank when he found several more photos from an unknown number in messengers in various corners of his hideouts with the simple caption “How sweet you sleep”.       Surprised, the guy sends the photos to Kira. It doesn’t take her long to look through them all.       — Are you kidding me? Ha ha, Kiren, funny. Nice try at playing a joke on me….       This message has really stunned the guy.       — Fuck Kira, are you serious?! — The young man looks at the pictures over and over in confusion. Sighs. Kira remains adamant in her opinion. Kira. I can believe you, of course, but… Kiren, please don’t joke like that. Maybe you invited someone else and we didn’t know, and you’re just messing with us. I think you’ve gone a bit overboard this time.       She replied doubtfully.       Kiren was in a stupor. He didn’t want to tell his father what had just happened. He wouldn’t understand… At the same time, he couldn’t understand how anyone could have taken those pictures. The guard couldn’t have done it. Or…       Pizzeria switches on the bright neon lights outside to attract more customers. In a back room, on the other side of the stage, the guards are discussing last night’s incident — the man’s intrusion into the establishment. The men can be heard laughing. After a brief meeting they decide that, well, so be it, this case will be hushed up and everything will be fine. Just in case, they decide to update the software on all the animatronics in the place to make them more reliable and controllable.