Vanessa's Antivirus

Chapter 11

Vanessa whistled cheerfully whilst double-checking the main stage area for any anomalies or intruders. Apart from a large group of staff-bots who were mopping a bit more furiously than normal, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

The young blonde discovered that, since there were no more semi-murderous robots, evil patchwork bunny girls, dead people or sentient viruses running amok in the pizzaplex, her life was now very calm and mundane. Not that she minded it in any way. In fact, it was almost necessary for her to have a low-stress job like this, in order for her mental health to make any kind of significant improvement.

After making a mental note to inform the tech team of the strange mopping patterns of the staff-bots, Vanessa pulled her security checklist from her back pocket to see where she was headed next. As she prepared to make her way up to the third floor, her Fazwatch buzzed to life and an extremely distraught voice called out to her from the crackling speakers.

"Hello? Vanessa? Vanessa are you there? Please respond if you can hear me!"

Vanessa recognised the voice immediately.

"Woah, woah, woah! Let's relax, Gregory", answered Vanessa calmly, in an attempt to pacify the distressed boy. "What's going on? Are you hurt?"

"Vanessa, please help me! I think I hurt my ankle! It hurts so much!"

Vanessa gasped in surprise and sprang into action. "Oh no! Is it sprained?" she asked while rummaging through a nearby first-aid box for some bandages and painkillers.

"I don't know, it just really hurts!"

"Okay, where are you exactly?"

"I'm down by the endoskeleton training area, near the parts and services room.

"What? Gregory what were you doing down there alone in the first place?"

"I'm sorry! I was just exploring!"

"It's okay, just hold on. I am on my way."

Vanessa used the camera function on her Fazwatch to try and locate Gregory whilst using the main stage lift as a shortcut down to parts and services. Yet, she could not find him anywhere.

"Gregory, I can't see you on the cameras!"

"I guess I'm in a blind spot! I really don't think I can move to a different part without making the pain worse!"

"No, don't do that! I am almost at that area", she said worriedly, not wanting the little boy to hurt himself even more.

Vanessa's instruction was responded with a chorus of agonized cries from Gregory. Further understanding the seriousness of the situation, she got off the main stage lift and immediately headed towards parts and services in search of the injured boy.

Once there, Vanessa repeatedly called out Gregory's name in hopes of locating him as soon as possible. However, she got no response, just the echo of her own voice sounding around what appeared to be a completely empty area.

The worried security guard gripped her flashlight tightly as her heart rate picked up. Unfortunately, the dark corners of parts and services were unlocking repressed memories of her last night as Vanny, where she had been desperately searching for Gregory.

"Gregory, please where are you?" called Vanessa into her fazwatch, as she continued searching the hallways, surrounded by immobile endoskeletons. "I really don't want to be down here for too long."

Unfortunately, her search would not turn up an injured little boy, but it would lead her to one of the large moving doors, showing an endo holding hands with three children. The endo had a crude drawing, done in purple paint, of a certain malware rabbit peeking over its shoulder. Vanny had painted that whilst skipping around during one of her mischievous shifts and Vanessa had completely forgotten about it.