ToyzNStuff

“…Listen, there’s something weird going down in Neighborhood City, New Jersey. My buddy Jeff went missing a few weeks ago and the cops still haven’t been able to find him. And he’s like the 15th person to have gone missing here in a month. And yeah, he visited ToyzNStuff.”

Leo adjusted his mouse and scrolled through the forum.

“Oh god. My aunt went missing five months ago and the last time we saw her, she was heading out on some errands. A friend of the family said that she was on her way to ToyzNStuff to pick up some baby clothes for my nephew the last time they saw her. Cops also said it was dead end.”

“Seriously?!”

“Deadass.”

A mod by the username xXxkittytits9000 chimed in.

“Proof of claim or it didn’t happen. We don’t need any more bullshit accusations that we’re a conspiracy forum. Either prove your friend and/or aunt went missing after visiting ToyzNStuff or gtfo.”

Leo leaned back and moved his mouse back to the open tab of the ToyzNStuff website. Every other job in Neighborhood City had rejected him for lack of experience and for the fact he was no more than sixteen. Despite the circulating rumors, ToyzNStuff was his last shot at potential employment.

He ran his fingers through his bright red hair and scrolled down the website, clicking on the “Careers” link. An application of employment popped up on screen. He’d done this about twenty times already. Name, address, email address, social security number, reason for applying for job, etc. He filled out the questions and e-signed the application quickly.

A few weeks ago, the NCPD made a statement to the media that ToyzNStuff had nothing to do with these somewhat recent disappearances and that it was likely a local serial killer on the loose using ToyzNStuff as their primary target.

Still, if people saw something, they ought to say something.

People began showing up at ToyzNStuff in droves following that appearance, especially after the establishment decided to spin the recent news in a more positive light by starting a contest. Whoever won would get a 100 dollar gift card or the latest gizmo out on the market. The employees themselves supposedly gotten friendlier too, according to locals.

Leo, on the other hand, was not one of those people. In fact, he’d never even gone to ToyzNStuff.

He crossed his arms and looked back at the eviction notice on his desk. If Dad didn’t pay rent this month, he and Leo would be out on the streets for good.

* * *

Two days past before the phone rang. Leo sat up from his bean bag chair and raced to the kitchen.

“Hello?!”

“Hi, is this Leo Trotinski?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Hi, I’m Phil Blacker, store manager of ToyzNStuff. I see that you recently sent in an application?”

“Uh huh, yeah.”

“Great. Would you be interested in an in-person interview, let’s say, this Thursday?”

“What time?”

“What time works best for you?”

“Four…four thirty ish?”

“Sounds great! Four o clock it is. See you Thursday!”

Leo hung up and put the phone back on the kitchen counter. A smile spread across his lips and he rose his fists in the air.

Now, all he had to do was not bomb the interview like he had five times beforehand.

* * *

ToyzNStuff was located on Mazie St, near the downtown Neighborhood City bridge. Leo had biked across Mazie Street before, just barely stopping himself from biking straight into the river beside the sloppily constructed sidewalk, to get from his apartment to school and back.

Even though it had become regular routine, Leo couldn’t get used to the sight of those bright blue, concrete walls in contrast to the fumes of black smoke permeating the skies and boarded, brick buildings on each side of the retail store.

Now, the once peculiar sight was a blessing as Leo carefully steered his way underneath the bridge and onto Mazie Street.

As he neared, he saw a Greeter by the sliding doors.

She wore a bright blue, button up polo shirt, a small, red rectangular name tag, khaki pants, white gloves, and what appeared to be circular red stickers on her cheeks.

She smiled and waved at each customer that came and went through the sliding doors.

He hopped off his bike and parked it in the nearest bicycle rack. He briefly considered leaving his backpack by his rusted bike but shook his head. He shifted his backpack strap and turned to head into the store.

“Hi, welcome to ToyzNStuff!” said the Greeter, peppy and cheerful as ever. Leo paused.

“Hi, I’m here for an interview?”

“What’s your name?”

“Leo Trotinski.”

“Oh, Leo! One sec…”

the Greeter reached up and placed her fingers on a black wire hooked to her belt loop. Leo realized she was about to speak into a small microphone and that the Greeter wore a black earpiece. She raised the microphone attached to the wire to her lips.

“Hi, Leo’s here for his interview. …Ok, yeah.”

The Greeter let go of the wire and gestured forward with an open palm.

“Head straight down, it’s just past the restrooms.”

Leo nodded and headed in, avoiding the nearby customers. “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys echoed through unseen speakers in the ceiling and across the clean aisles. That was good, wasn’t it?

Leo looked up at the hanging sign above his head. Colorful letters spelled out: “CUSTOMER SERVICE + RETURNS”. It was coupled with an arrow sign pointing right.

A customer with a bag in tow passed Leo and headed straight for the nearest cashier, who was occupied with checking out someone else.

“Hey, where can I return this?”

Leo exhaled and headed down the aisle in front of him. The merchandise, a collection of lightsabers, boxed action figures, and children’s books, was disorganized. The action figures were nearly falling off the metal hooks and some of them had been partially ripped around the edges. The children’s books, meanwhile, had found their way between the rows of lightsabers.

He walked further down and passed oversized women’s shirts and shorts that had sewn in, stretchy black fabric around the brim. Behind the clothes were shelves with rows of baby strollers and carriers.

To his left was a white mannequin decked out in a red bra and panties in front of more hanging bras in a variety of colors. Beside the bras were shelves of panties stacked on top of each other and, to the right of those, were shelves of shoes for men, women, and children alike. This appeared to be the only area of the store where anything but aisles of toys and gaming consoles were sold.

Leo reached the back of the store and passed the restrooms. Perpendicular to the restroom doors was a white door with the words: “EMPLOYEES ONLY” stamped in black. He hesitated briefly before turning the doorknob and pulling the door back.

This…wasn’t a break room or, if it was, it certainly didn’t look like one. At the center of the room was a wooden table covered in a plastic, party-themed tablecloth topped with a bowl of plastic fruits. On the equally party themed walls were photos of various ToyzNStuff employees shaking hands and gifting ecstatic customers cards and or merchandise.

Leo frowned. Just as he stepped back to shut the door, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He jumped and turned.

A tall, gangly man wearing the ToyzNStuff uniform smiled down at him. This would be fine—if the man’s eyes didn’t have those horrible bags underneath them or that…that odd, nearly soulless appearance.

“Hi, how can I help you?” asked the man.

“Oh—uh—sorry, I—I’m here for an interview? I’m Leo Trotinski.”

“Ah! Here,” He steered Leo to the left wall. Oh.

The break room door was across the restrooms. He opened the door and led Leo into the windowless, concrete room.

There were three folding tables in the center of the room, in front of a vending machine and small flatscreen TV attached to the wall. To the left was an open space for lockers and to the right was a room full of oddly placed disorganized desks and electronics.

“This is the break room. You nearly walked in our contest room. That’s only for managers, you know.” 

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s no problem. So, you’re here for an interview? Leo, right?”

Leo nodded.

“Well, nice to meet you, Leo. The name’s Ryan, I’m the assistant manager. When you’re hired, you’ll likely be working with me more than the big man.” Is that why Ryan looked so dead inside in spite of his smile?

Wait.

“What did you…”

Another man, just as tall, but bulkier than Ryan stepped out from the right sided room and put his hands on his hips. He was missing the rosy, red circle-stickers on his cheeks and wore a lanyard in place of a name tag.

“Leo! It’s great to see you. You ready for your interview?”

Leo supposed the bulky man was Phil Blacker and nodded.

Phil beamed and led the way a secluded office in the electronics room. He gestured at an empty chair across another disorganized desk. Leo sat and folded his hands across his lap.

“So, tell me a little about yourself, Leo.”

“Uh…well—I’m Leo—obviously—I’m sixteen, I’ve never had a job before, but, uh, you know, I’m, uh—excited to have one and all. I mean, not during school hours—-un—unless you want me to— I’ll be more than happy to drop out…”

“Do you have any hobbies?”

“Um…Not—not really. Just gaming, I guess.”

“Would you say you’re pretty skilled with computers and all that?”

Leo shrugged.

“I guess so. I mean, as much as anyone else.”

“Is there anything else you like doing?”

Since Leo couldn’t mention he liked the occasional beer from his dad’s pantry or rolled up joint behind the bleachers, he just shrugged again.

“Uh—I mean, um…I like drawing sometimes.”

“Do you take any honor classes? Any extra curricular activities?”

“Uh, no. I’m an average student.”

Phil gave him a pinched smile. Leo winced. The last manager who had interviewed him insisted he ought to be honest above all else, but it didn’t seem to be working as Leo intended.

“Why do you wanna work here, Leo?”

Leo looked down at his hands.

“I, uh—really need a job. I mean, I—I know about all the, uh, rumors and all…” Phil rose his eyebrows at that. “But it’s—it’s fine—you know—Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care. I’ll work whatever shift you’ll need me to and whatever area you need me in, school or no school.”

“Hm,” Phil nodded slowly. “So, there’s nothing special or interesting that you like about ToyzNStuff in particular? Other than the rumors you mentioned, of course.”

“Um…I mean…it’s a store that sells some cool games?”

Phil sighed, leaned back, and crossed his arms.

“Do you have any questions for me, Leo?”

“Uh…how long have you worked here?”

“Eighteen years.”

“Oh, wow. You don’t look ol—I mean, uh—cool. That’s pretty cool.”

“And that was terrible,” Phil chuckled. “Did you even prepare at all for this?”

Leo blushed and continued to look down at his hands.

“I mean—um—I had homework…”

“Right. Well, thank goodness I’m understanding,” Leo’s head shot up. “For future reference, never tell a manager how average you are or outright say you’d be willing to drop out of school—nobody wants that. It’s just as important to sell your best qualities. Hell, even better to over exaggerate or lie.”

“Wha—really?”

“Yeah. I’ll see what you’re really made out of on sales floor anyway and if you’re good, I’ll keep you, and if you’re not, I’ll terminate you. It’s no skin off my back.”

“O-oh. So, wait—does that mean you’ll hire me…”

“Before I make any decisions, I’d like ask you a few follow up questions, if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Were you in juvie, Leo?” Leo’s heart sank at that. “I am required by law to run a background check on all applicants, and it seems like you weren’t very honest in your application. Best to tell me the truth now.”

Leo grimaced, but nodded anyway.

“I was, for about a month.”

“What for?”

“Uh—s-shoplifting. It was just once and I haven’t done it since though. Promise.”

“Uh huh. Well, I suppose I’ll let that slide. Just be honest next time you fill out an application in the future. That being said,” Phil opened a drawer and pulled out a folder. He placed it between himself and Leo. “You’re hired.”

“R-really? You’re hiring me?”

“Of course. I see it as my civic duty to assist any and all in need of employment and you definitely seem like you really need this. Think of it as, oh I don’t know, joining a little, somewhat dysfunctional family.”

Phil opened the folder and pulled out stapled papers. The font was small and difficult to read.

Phil reached across the paper and pointed at the bottom.

“Sign here and we’ll get you started on your training. Sound good?”

Leo nodded. “Wait. I’m sixteen, don’t I need my dad…?”

Phil waved his hand.

“Nope. Not required. Just sign here and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“That’s all?”

Phil nodded and handed Leo a pen. Leo eagerly signed his name and handed the pen back.

“Great, I’ll get started on filling out the W2 while you work on training.”

Phil scooped up the folder and headed for the door.

Leo cocked his head. “W2?” Still, he stood and followed Phil out of the office. “Wait, how much will I get paid?”

“Minimum wage, but I’ll be sending you home with a five-hundred-dollar check once you’re done.”

“Whoa, what?”

“You need this job, don’t you? Consider that a favor on behalf of ToyzNStuff for thinking of us a valuable place of employment.”

Leo blinked, baffled. “It’s just—wow. I, uh, I didn’t see that one coming—is all.”

“Again, we want our employees to feel valued.”

Phil led the way to a desk and gestured at Leo to sit in front of a computer. Leo did so unquestioningly. Phil opened a program on screen.

“Go ahead and start your training. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anything.”

Leo nodded and waited for the program to boot up. Phil headed back to his office to fill out those W2s…whatever that was. That didn’t matter though. What mattered was that Leo was officially employed and he would anything to remain employed.

A jingle played through the computer speakers. A digitized toy dressed up in a ToyzNStuff uniform smiled at him.

“Hi! I’m Carl! So, you’re interested in working for ToyzNStuff, huh? Well, we’re happy to have you! Now, before you start your new journey on the sales floor, you’ll have to learn a few thingz first. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it. To begin, go ahead and click on the ToyzNStuff behind me.”

Leo reached for the mouse and clicked on the digitized ToyzNStuff. The screen zoomed in and transitioned to inside the store.

“Good job, Leo!” Leo jumped at that. A second digitized employee appeared beside Carl. “Here, take this.”

A red buzzer popped up on screen beside a large question mark.

“Wha..?” Leo mumbled.

The digitized employee narrowed their eyes.

“Press it, Leo. Press the buzzer.”

Leo froze, eyes wide. He shifted the mouse and clicked on the buzzer at the right-hand corner. A jingle whistled through the speakers, followed by children cheering.

“You won! Y-y-y-yoooou-yoooouu—y-y-yo-ou-ou-ou WON! You WON!”

Leo leaned back and tensed his shoulders. The program went black. Leo slowly stood and looked over at Phil’s office door behind him. He looked back at the screen. The program wasn’t blank or void of anything anymore.

Now it just said: “HELP US.”

Leo stumbled and fell back into the chair.

A voice whispered through the speakers.

“…please…help us.”