Carey's Tale

Carey sat in a small room with a single window that overlooked the old, dilapidated park below. The sun was setting over the horizon, shining down on the brunette's grey T-shirt, which covered and obscured the details of her breasts on account of the baggy nature of the shirt itself. Carey took a moment to adjust her jeans, pulling the pants up and cursing herself for not bringing a belt, as just a sliver of her favorite pair of black underwear came into view.

The room was stale, and the air matched, giving Carey a sneaking suspicion that the office hadn't seen use in a remarkable length of time. She wondered what was taking the manager so long, when a large, muscular man stepped back into the room. He was wearing a sweat-stained green tank-top, and camouflage shorts.

"Sorry for the wait miss..." The man began, looking down at a clipboard in his hands. Carey was quick to finish the man's sentence for him, trying to save him the time of searching for her name on the sheet for the fourth time.

"Caroline Adams. You can call me Carey though." She beamed, smiling at the manager. The manager smiled back, as he took a seat and adjusted his glasses. He ruffled his unkempt brown hair, before speaking again.

"Alright. Carey. Well Carey, your resume is astounding. I know you don't have a college degree, but your rank coming out of high school was pretty far up compared to others. Then there's the volunteer work, the past work experience, very good words had from all three of your references..." He listed, moving down the resume. The man narrowed his eyes in Carey's direction, as if he was testing her.

"So why Greater World? I mean, you have experience working with workshop equipment. I know there's got to be a company out there willing to train and hire you if you like that stuff. They would probably pay more, and wouldn't ask for you at such an odd shift. 10 pm to 6 am is no joke, speaking from experience."

Carey stared off into space for a moment, before chuckling. "Well, between school, and trying to have a life with friends outside of school and a job, working a 9-5 is out of the question. And I wanted a job where I could not have to think about the books for a second. Maybe just listen to some music and read books while I watch some cameras. It sounded like the perfect mixture to take my mind off everything else."

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, fair enough. Some quiet is absolutely to be had in this job. It's safe too, since the office is locked up tight to keep someone from trying to get to you, not that you'll have to worry. You'll have a bathroom right down the hall, and a water fountain for water bottles outside the stairs to the entrance. The windows even have reinforced steel bars on em', to keep someone absolutely from getting inside."

Carey was silent for a moment, before raising an eyebrow. "...Are you saying I have the job?"

The man nodded his head in agreement. "Of course. Hell, you can start tonight if you want. I'd really like to be able to go home to the wife tonight, instead of staying in the park to watch for any delinquents sneaking around after hours." After a short, awkward pause, the manager quickly laughed, before speaking again. "Of course its your choice. If not, I understand. Some people feel intimidated over having to watch this entire space, all by themselves. I'd completely understand." Carey did not hesitate to shake her head. Under normal circumstances, Carey would have worn her nicest dress and make-up to the job. But, the application and interview invite specifically noted to come dressed in 'comfortable clothes that you could work in'.

"No, no. I'm absolutely ready. Just show me the ropes and I'll be on my way. I came prepared, as you said." Carey replied, beaming her largest smile at the man across from her.

From there, Carey was lead on an elaborate tour of the park, which even encompassed the abandoned areas. The front gate area, with several shops for merchandise and food that had long since been shut down to cut costs. A kid's play area, with a single low-speed roller-coaster and a spinning tea kettle ride. The waterworks area, with a wave pool, a funnel slide, and many other enormous slides. An area for thrill seekers filled with several roller coasters, or high velocity thrill rides. And lastly, a relaxation area, with a lazy river, garden, bridge, and an island in the middle of the large lake at the center of the park that used to be open only for adults 21 and up, and served many drinks. The tour showed all of the attractions, and the manager was quick to reminisce an old tale or two having to do with specific rides, or employees from many years prior. Most of the information went in Carey's head, but she didn't think to try and retain any specific about what she was hearing.

The last place for the tour, was a tall watchtower on the island in the middle of the lake. After looking at the adult lounge that encompassed the majority of the complex, the manager led Carey towards the watchtower that stood 30 feet tall, and had a large view of the entire park. He unlocked the door at the top of the stairs after unlocking the gate which guarded the bottom, and allowed Carey a moment to take in the view.

"Yep. You really get the whole picture from here. My little old office near the gate doesn't get anywhere near this view." The manager stated, putting his hands on his hips.

There was a brief few minutes where Carey was shown around the tower, how to work the computer, how to choose a camera, and pointed to a large map near the door with camera numbers placed sporadically all over the map. After the introduction, the manager sighed, taking a look around the office. The sun was setting, and nightfall was slowly seeping in. "Well, now's your last chance to abandon ship before I drive home." He stated bluntly, already moving out the door. Carey shook her head in response.

"Don't worry. I promise I'll manage at least one night." She confidently boasted, giving a thumbs up. That earned a light chuckle from the manager, as he began his exit.

"Oh, and one last thing. Or two, I guess. One, there's an audio recording the last guy left for the next weekday night watch. He told me not to open it, so I figured I'd leave it be. He said he put a link on the desktop. The second thing, if any of the rides turn on at night, don't feel compelled to go take a look. Lots of old parts and electrical lines running in this park, so occasionally one of the rides will spring to life out of nowhere. Just keep an eye out for suspicious characters."

With that, the manager made his hasty exit, walking quickly and efficiently back over the path towards the front gate, which left Carey alone, and confronting the fact that as soon as the man left, she would have the whole park to herself.