Emma (The Daycare Worker)

It seemed like a few minutes since the day began and already something about today seemed totally unusual. The daycare was lacking as many of the typical older children as expected; no call-ins from parents, half-assed apologies or excuses for not taking their kids into Sunnyside Daycare. As the half-empty group of children idly played and interacted with the staff members -- Emma couldn't shake the feeling of something strange happening, and it was happening right under her nose.

The stranger clues started appearing several days ago. Few of the children who were given the greenlight for regular underwear and sucessfull bouts of pottytraining by their parents were suddenly **** back into diapers all of a sudden. A child or two regressing back a potty-training stage or two is common, but for a majority of the class to suddenly revert back was the tip of the spear. The whole nine-yards of social media; national news and smartphone notifications were sounding off like the apocaylpse was coming, but that wasn't important, the children left in her care were the number-one focus at all times.

"C'mon, Emma!" The daycare assisant was broken from her thoughts as she recognised one of the children approaching her, toys in hand. The small girl approached Emma, happily bouncing up and down without a single care in the world. Her usual pink flowery t-shirt and stylish jeans had been overhauled and simplified with a lushious yellow sundress and dolly-like shoes with frilly white socks to match; if it weren't for the crinkling noise coming from underneath, her attire would look mostly natural for a four-year old at daycare.

"Y'gonna miss all the fun! Y'juss sittin' there!" Amilia happily chirped, excitedly latching onto Emma's cardigan and gently tugged toward the general direction of the ball pit.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, silly." Emma replied, smiling. She moved off her seat and allowed Amilia to take charge in her mission to reach the ball pit. "You're a lot more excited to play in the ballpit than last week. I thought you said the ball pit was for babies?"

"Nuh-uh! I'mma baby! Come and watch me play in th' ball pit!" Amilia responded, glacing back and forth at her destination and at Emma's cardigan. "I wanna play and hide in the balls!"

This was a surprising change of events for Amilia. The little rascal was always one of the more 'mature' children in the daycare, often opting to spend time with the staff and outright rejecting play with peers around her age. Her whimsical attitude, the senseless wonderment of the simpler things brought a smile on Emma's face; perhaps she was starting to accept her environment more and more. As pleasant as it was -- the feeling was strangely uncomfortable. Her little friend's sudden acceptance for going back into diapers and throwing a tantrum over the slighest thing that made her 'mature' to begin with was gone. It seemed Amilia had been transformed into a completely different child somehow.

Upon entering the second room; the sight of the ball pit being empty was surprising.

"Where did everybody go?" Emma asked, she scanned the room and noticed noting out of the usual. Amilia didn't respond as she quickly hopped into the ball pit, throwing plastic balls left and right amid endless laughter and joy. Emma stood over Amilia -- still smiling, but concerned for Amilia, and the rest of the group. She stood still, listening out for more signs of life aside from Amilia's playing in the pit and noticed something unusual.