The Garden of Nooses

Chapter 1 ( Fanta )

Oakley's Pizza. He had called their number, applying for the job. Unfortunately, the manager said that the only job left was a Night Guard. From 12:00 to 6:00 AM, making $24 a day. It wasn't too bad to start off, but when he called the manager, he got an ominous feeling. He didn't know if it was worth it, but it was his only choice.
Joshua slowly opened the door that lead into the office. He peered inside, seeing a tablet left on the desk. He walked inside, closed the door behind him, and sat down in the chair. It was cold, like no one had ever sat there in the whole world. He shivered, ignoring the feeling.
Once Joshua pressed the button to activate the tablet, a camera was pulled up on the screen. "Hallway 2A" was in the bottom left corner. He pressed the other areas until he reached a dark room.
Dead flowers were plastered across the ground and weird things that looked like ropes with loops tied onto them were lying on an abandoned table. He looked closer and turned on the sound, his eyes widening. An ominous sound of a music box came out of the tablet but stopped after a few seconds.
   A creature padded across the screen, which looked like an odd wolf. It turned towards the camera and paused for a minute.
   Hissssssssssssssssssssssss.
    The creature quickly slinked away. Joshua stared at the screen for what seemed like forever, then quickly checked the other cameras. But the creature was not in any of them.
   Where did it go...?
   Another hissing sound came from... Behind him.
   He slowly turned around in his chair, nervous. But he didn't see anything. He stood up quickly, scanning the room for any signs of anything. But there was nothing he could see.
   Suddenly, a figure dropped from the ceiling into Joshua's face. He yelped, jumped back and slammed into the desk. The figure dropped from the ceiling and crawled up a leg of the desk. He quickly opened one of the doors besides him and ran, not caring if he wouldn't get paid.
   The creature followed him, leaping swiftly over party hats and other Inge left on the floor, hissing. "Music box!" It yelled. Joshua slow led down, confused. It could speak? "WIND IT!!" It yelled again, making Joshua jump.
   "What?!" He responded, then quickly stopped. There was no where else to run, and who knows what other creatures could be looming around here? His heart pounded under his chest furiously. He turned around to face the animal.
   It was a small wolf puppet with no strings attached to the ceiling, but instead attached to its tail. It's eyes were like black pits, staring into his soul. It hissed again, "Music. Box. NOW!"
   "WHAT MUSIC BOX??" He asked, shivering hopelessly. The figure narrowed its eyes.
   "You can't play dumb, human! I know you know what it is." Joshua shook his head frantically. The wolf's gaze softened, examining Joshua. He was sweating but shivering, a weird combination. His hair was messy, because he didn't think someone would see him in the dark, especially if no one was going to be there.
   "Fine, I believe you." The creature said, but it was still glaring at him furiously.
   "P-Please don't kill me-" He pleaded. The wolf laughed.
   "I can't kill you! You're much bigger than me, and I don't prefer eating humans," It admitted.
   "W-Who are you?" He asked, growing calmer. He was still uncomfortable, though.
   The wolf sneered. "Quartet, you?" She replied stubbornly.
   "J-Josh..." He felt something vibrate on his wrist, and his watch read 6:00 A.M. "I gotta go!" He said, standing up and running back towards the office. The moment stirred in his head, and he realized that he was going to have nightmares for weeks. He regretted working here.