Haunt

Autumn Fills Out Paperwork (An Autumn & Kelsie story) Part 1 of 2

Weekend One: Saturday night, continued

September 17, 2022

POV: Seven Wonders Park

Four in the morning, and there Autumn sat seething over her reports. Nurse Mary was missing, and it was her fault. Her anger was out of control, making her almost dizzy because she couldn't figure out exactly what she felt angry about. Was it Bryan's reprimand? "You never send anyone behind Rick Rickshaw's alone!" He had snarled at her.

Now, she wished she'd defended herself better, but at the time, she'd just said, "Nobody told me that!" It sounded like a flimsy excuse, though it was the truth. Training around here was half-assed, and everyone knew it because otherwise, people wouldn't get stabbed in Old Man Mueller's. Right? Right?

Yet whether or not she'd known about Rick Rickshaw's dangers, which even now had not been fully explained to her, Mary was still missing. Autumn held onto the hope that Mary simply dropped the trash and headed back for costumes without Autumn noticing. After all, Autumn had been half-asleep on the bench, waiting for security to pick up the drunks. But no one from costumes had seen Mary. Her costume tag was still checked out, she hadn't clocked out for the night, and she hadn't turned in her bugs or wig. So now Autumn was unintentionally responsible for something awful happening.

She remembered the grim faces of Bryan and Adam as they began frantically making radio calls for help in the darkness behind Rick Rickshaw's Imported Gifts and Souvenirs. And then the cops – the real cops – had shown up.

So here she sat, simmering in rising anger. Hours passed, weariness battling with her emotions. There was an emergency meeting happening that very moment in the air-conditioned offices, and it seemed like every stinking yellowshirt with a single day more seniority than Autumn was invited. But here she sat, outside in the dark, filling out reports at a picnic table. Maybe they were firing her. They were probably saying, Everybody knows you don't send people behind Rick Rickshaw's alone. It's Haunt 101. What an idiot. Who hired that stupid girl?

"Ain't it funny how they expect us to get anything done out here?" asked a nearby voice. Autumn wasn't sure the voice was speaking to her until she turned to look up into the face of Kelsie Conrad, Taskmaster Kim's daughter. Though there were still traces of make-up around her hairline and shadowy rings under her eyes, Kelsie was out of her haunt persona - Gallows Trixie – and wearing street clothes.

Autumn straightened. It was silly to feel intimidated, but Kelsie felt like Seven Wonders royalty. Everybody loved her, and she had these astonishing skills. Fast, agile, athletic, but not beautiful, thank god – beauty was that snotty Quarisma's territory – Kelsie nevertheless drew attention. It was a mix of confidence and earthiness, something about her corn-yellow hair, big blue eyes, and freckles across her nose. She looked like she belonged on a box of cornflakes, lassoing a steer. Autumn felt a strange, deep longing inside her like a classic fifth-grade crush on a popular girl: I want to be her best friend.

Autumn tried fixing her expression into something less troubled. "I guess it's the green revolution. You don't use as much electricity if you never turn on any lights."

"Here, I'll hold this for you," said Kelsie with a laugh. Autumn had propped her flashlight nearby to help her navigate the paperwork; holding it correctly and writing was tough. Kelsie picked it up and aimed the beam at Autumn's paperwork. Autumn thanked her while Kelsie peered down at the forms. With raised eyebrows, Kelsie asked, "Lordy, what happened to you tonight?"

Autumn started to reply, then stopped, realizing she was on the verge of crying. She was just so damned mad, and worried, and angry, and scared, and tired. And Autumn loved this place, which was the problem. She wanted everything to go perfectly.