"Move!" Fay squeezed around crowds of tall adults and dodged past young kids.
"Gregory?" She called out. No response came other than the inaudible sounds of thousands of individual conversations.
"Mom, Dad??"
Finally, she came to an open space where there was no cluster, and fewer adults.
"Kid?" A voice called out from behind, and Fay twisted around to see a tall woman with blonde hair and a cap with Security Guard embroidered onto it. "Are you with anyone? Closing time is in half an hour and you're kind of wandering aimlessly."
"I can't find my parents or brother." She frowned, "Is there any way you could help me out?"
The guard hesitated, looking around. "Sure, follow me. I'll drop you off at the daycare and get in touch with the main office to find your family."
"Perfect, thank you!" She took the woman's hand and was led down a dark, lonely corridor.
Despite her not really paying attention, Fay felt as though every wall they passed had been identical to the last, and that they were ambling down what was simply an endless maze of hallways.
"Alright, here we are." The lady stopped at a set of double doors and opened one of them, looking down at her watch. "20 minutes until closing time."
"Uh- thank you.. will my parents know where to find me?" She stepped through the door.
"They'll be directed." She pouted, and then slammed the door.
Fay flinched slightly at the slam, and then turned. Before her stood every young child's dream land.
Large plastic slides, ball pits, soft play blocks and a corner of arts and crafts with drawings from past visitors on display, explosions of colour and creative chaos.
"Woah... I don't think this place was ever in the adverts.." she gawked.
"Let's go Sally." A woman bumped past Fay with a child clinging to her leg.
"But mommy I wanna stay and playyyy!!" The child cried out, kicking and screaming dramatically.
"Darling, let's go." As the woman picked up her child and carried her away, Fay listened to the disappointed screams echo and fade down the hallway.
This happened many more times, and while families disappeared, Fay remained.
For longer, longer and longer, until...
'Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for visiting and we hope you enjoyed the show! Freddy and the gang are pretty tired, but they'll be back again next week after a few days of scheduled maintenance! Please make your way to the front of the building where you will be given novelty glasses, a voucher for one free soda refill, and where you will sign a legal disclaimer releasing us of all liability for anything that might've happened during your visit. Have an awesome night, and we'll see you again soon!"
"The intercom.." Fay mumbled, "dammit. Does that mean I'm officially stuck here? Did my parents leave?!"
-Clunk-
"Hm?" She turned. "Hello?"
-Clunk-
Fay shuffled past the messes of glitter glue and scrap paper towards the strange sound. A sound like metal upon metal, gear against gear. A quiet whirring and loud crashes.
"Who's here?!"
A ball landed at her feet and she stepped back in surprise.
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