Black Jack's

Chapter 6: The Beast Inside

Shayna knew she had upset Wildcard as he shuffled away into the room where he was kept. It was supposed to be locked, but clearly that wasn't the case with him being Houdini two nights in a row.

She spent the remainder of her shift drifting in and out of sleep as she tried to read an old book she found. Since it was a choose your adventure book, the text was small and hurt her eyes, which made her more susceptible to falling asleep.

Lucky for Shayna, there was a loud clang before the front door opened. She sat straight up and saw the gate wide open on the monitor.

Silvester's footsteps could be heard just outside the door before he opened it and greeted her.

"Good morning, Shayna."

"Good morning," she sighed, slowly getting to her feet.

"You look tired," he commented.

"Probably, I was trying to read so my eyes are sore."

Shayna walked out of the office passed Silvester and headed for the main door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked.

Spinning around with heavily eyelids, Shayna answered, "No."

"Oh, I thought you still had to call for a taxi."

She shook her head. "I told them to come back after my shift so I wouldn't need to." Adding a forced smile she stepped outside into the early morning light.

Sleep took priority when Shayna arrived home. She passed out on her bed, the adventure book still in her grasp.

When she awoke she ate, showered, then turned on her laptop as she searched for information about 'The Virus' Wildcard had mentioned. She couldn't find much, so she eventually gave up her search and got ready for her third night of work.

Silvester left after locking the gate as usual, unknowingly leaving Shayna alone with Wildcard once again. She sat in the office chair as she waiting for the robot.

Tap tap.

Shayna jumped as she turned to see Wildcard at the window again. He had used his claw to grab her attention.

"Do you mind?" She scolded. "You're not getting any better at that."

"What would you like me to do then?" The animatronic asked.

Sighing, Shayna was stumped for a solution. It was difficult to not scare her since she was naturally jumpy.

"Don't worry about it," she assured him as she stood up and opened the office door.

Wildcard stepped forward and stopped.

"So what are you going to tell me tonight?" Shayna asked.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you not remember what you told me last night?" She stared into his glowing red eyes.

"I do. It was a mistake telling you that."

"Why? Weren't you trying to warn me?"

"Yes. No." Wildcard shook his head. "I mean, maybe."

The lights suddenly flickered and shut off.

"Wildcard?"

"Yes?"

"What just happened?"

"The breaker blew."

Shayna could hear the clunk of feet as Wildcard began walking down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" She asked as she followed, trying not to bump into him in the dark, his glowing red eyes the only source of light to guide them.

"The breaker room of course."

"Oh." Stupid question, she thought.

They turned left and then right before coming to what she thought was the breaker room. Backup lights shone down making the bloodstain around the bottom of the door quite obvious.

"Is that, blood?"

Without warning Wildcard turned and growled at Shayna.

"Who cares what it is! I'm a monster, why do you keep coming back!"

Her lips began to tremble as he leaned toward her. "I don't know."

"Of course you don't! You didn't know what to do while I got ripped to pieces either!"

"What?" She gasped, tears trickling down her cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lies! You know what you did Kelly!"

"I'm Shayna! I'm Shayna!"

When Shayna opened her eyes she expected it all to be a bad dream. Wildcard was cradling her in his arms on the floor, the breaker room door open and switches visible. The lights were back on full strength as she squinted and peered around.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You fainted when you saw the... door."

"Is it time to go home yet?"

"No, but soon it will be."

Shayna cuddled into the animatronic as if it were a big teddy bear.

Wildcard wasn't himself at that moment. A memory from the boy he killed flashed through his circuits. Shayna was no longer in his arms, she was Kelly, his girlfriend.