The Harbinger

Rose

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The insistent beeping of her alarm clock woke Berlin Holloway, ripping her from her dreams and bringing her into the harsh reality of Monday morning. She slammed her hand down, cutting the beeping off as she stumbled out of bed.

Luckily her place of occupation didn't adhere to any sort of dress code, the Lord bless Henrick's. She picked out a black tank top that showed off her dark, smooth skin nicely, and matching jeans, finishing off the outfit with her worn out, buckle-covered boots. As an afterthought, she threw on her fob watch. The pretty swirls etched into the metal gave her outfit a cool, outlandish look.

She skipped into the kitchen, dishing some soft food out for Scully, her little tabby who was just lucky enough to have an owner with a love for paranormal crime shows.

Grabbing an apple for herself, she slipped out the door to catch the bus. Her thoughts were numbed by the lasting effects of sleep as she dozed quietly in the bus seat, but the screech of the breaks jerked her to full awareness and she reluctantly headed into Henrick's where, lucky employee that she was, there was a sale.

The day passed quickly. Her thoughts were only of getting out of there as quick as the closing bell rang, and when the announcement came over the intercom she sighed in relief. She immediately made her way toward the front exit, coming parallel with another employee's path.

"'Ello, Rose," Berlin greeted. "You getting out of 'ere too?" Rose smiled and opened her mouth to respond as they neared the front doors, but a guard interjected rudely, shoving a clear, plastic bag in the blonde's face.

"Oh, the lottery money. Tough luck, that. Hey, mind if I tag along? Gotta talk to Wilson 'bout something." Berlin asked. Rose nodded. "Sure."

Berlin follows Rose over to a lift that takes them down to the basement. The dark corridors seem particularly eerie and Berlin rubs her arms as a chill passes through her. Something was wrong.

"Hello? Hello, Wilson, it's Rose. Hello? Wilson?" Roes opened the door to the store room and turned on the lights. Boxes crowded the area, accented with a few clothed mannequins here and there.

"Wilson? Wilson?" Rose continued to call for him. Berlin stayed silent, observing everything. Yeah, something was off. The hairs at the nape of her neck rose and she jumped when the doors behind them suddenly slammed shut.

Berlin ran back to tug at the handle, but despite putting her full body weight against it, it wouldn't budge. "You're kidding me." She breathed.

More noises. Rose turned and demanded, "Is that someone mucking about? Who is it?" Berlin felt her heart skip a beat as one of the shop dummies turned and began to approach them.

"Yeah, you got us. Very funny." Rose laughed nervously. More start moving behind it. Berlin glares at the figures. "Right, we've got the joke. Whose idea was this?" She demands.

"Is it Derek's?" Rose jumps in. "Is it? Derek, is this you?" They're both steadily pushed back, further into the storage area and the bad feeling in Berlin's gut begins swelling. Both girls are cornered against the wall, and Berlin feels the helplessness rising swiftly within her as the mannequin raises its plastic hand. Then, out of nowhere, both girls feel a hand grab their wrists. They both whip their heads back to see a man, standing there, gripping their hands.

"Run." Both girls have no choice but to allow themselves to be quickly dragged along. Berlin winces at the sound of a pipe busting due behind them and thanked the miraculous stranger for his sudden appearance.