Inside 863

Chapter 4 | 12/21/2020

My mom drove me to work two weeks later. Matt and I had decided that I needed a couple weeks off of work so my head could heal. He was right; I did have a pretty bad concussion and needed the time off. During the last week of recovery, I remembered that I needed to pay the nice man who had driven me home. I had tried to send him money using Apple Pay, but it didn't work. So, I tried texting and asking how he wanted to be paid, but the message didn't go through. Then, I tried calling, but the number he gave me wasn't a real number! I didn't know what else to do, so I just let it be. The man probably wouldn't mind since his contact information didn't work anyways.

My mom pulled into the studio's parking lot.

"Have a good day!" my mom said cheerily as I got out of the car. Yeah, I'll have a fantastic day getting fired, I wanted to reply. "Thanks, Mom," I said instead. "Thanks for taking time off work to take care of me." I walked into Blue Base. I saw Matthias through the window of Megadesk. I knocked on the door. A few moments later, Matthias opened it and let me in.

"How are you today?" he asked. His voice wasn't as grave as it was last time I had seen him.

"I'm doing alright," I told him. Physically, I felt one hundred percent. Mentally, I just wish I could say the same. I had had a few nightmares of reliving the traumatizing event. It was still horrifying. Sometimes I would wake up screaming. Last night hadn't been as bad as the first night, though. I was still very confused and frightened about everything I had heard from the recording. But the thing that astounded me the most was that the stalker had known my name. How was that possible? The only solution I could come up with was that someone I know, or rather, someone that knows me, was behind the mask and sunglassess. I now felt like I was living in a game of whodunnit.

"That's good," Matt said. His shoulders relaxed as if a great weight had been lifted. "Are you ready to discuss terms?" I nodded.

"Okay. Even just based on your first day of work, I can tell you're a very hard worker and you do your job well. I realize you also very much enjoy your job. So, I decided that you can keep your job or leave. Although, if you keep your job, you will have no more involvement in The Mystery of Hi5."

"I'd like to keep my job, please," I told him. Matt opened his mouth to say more, but before he could say anything, I said, "So, did you figure anything out about you know who?"

"What did I just say?" Matt laughed. "No more involvement in the mystery."

"Yeah, but this involves me," I pointed out.

"No, but we got your car. It's behind Red Base," Matt replied. I could tell there was something he wasn't telling me. He seemed tired.

"Okay. And I'm sorry you have to deal with all this. I realize that running after the stalker only made things worse. 863 really is a rabbit hole," I apologized. I felt really bad for Matt, Sam, and Woods. "I'm really, really sorry."

"I forgive you. I'm just glad you're alright," he replied with a smile.

"So, have any Christmas plans this year?" I asked, trying to have a pleasant conversation with my boss.

"Just staying home with my family," he said with a shrug. "Can't do too much because of the virus."

"Yeah," I said. "Well, I guess I better start working. Haven't done that in a while." I stood and opened the door.

"Alright," Matt said. I walked to my desk. Well, I walked to where my desk should've been. It had been replaced by couches and I saw the Dope or Nope logo on the wall above the couches.

"Uh, Matt?" I said, turning around and walking back to Megadesk.

"Oh, yeah. New Dope or Nope set is there. You'll be working in Red Base now in the same office as Carey and Dakota," Matt informed me. Great, I thought sarcastically. I hadn't spoken to Carey since Aiden had shipped Jared and me. I hoped she wasn't still mad at me.

I walked to Red Base. I walked past the offices and didn't see Carey or Dakota in any of them. I walked upstairs. They were in a large office on the second floor.

"Hey," Dakota said when he saw me. Carey ignored me and kept typing something on her laptop. Yep, she's still mad, I thought.

"Long time no see," Dakota continued, smiling at me. I smiled in return and said, "Yeah."

"Doing anything fun for Christmas?" he asked casually.

"No, just at home by myself. My parents are driving to Alabama to see my older brother and his family," I told him.

"You should come to my house for Christmas dinner. I'm sure my parents would love to have you," Dakota said.

"Sure," I said happily. Spending time with Dakota for Christmas sounded much more fun than being alone. Well, not fully alone. My parents had asked me to watch their dog Max while they were gone.

"Great. Can I have your number to send you my address?"

"Sure," I said again. I told him my number.

"Sweet," he said, then turned back to his laptop. I sat down at my desk. It was the same desk I had in Blue Base. I pulled out my laptop and started working.