Jaiden, the vagrant.

Jaiden is a 25 year old who doesn’t really have a place to stay. Back when the factory was active, Jaiden was one of the truck drivers that regularly delivered and returned to the factory. Ever since the factory stopped production, Jaiden decided to stay in this town as he became very familiar with it. However, Jaiden had no family here. Unemployed and with nowhere to stay, Jaiden could luckily couch surf with some friends that he made here when he was still a driver. Jaiden had no problem with his situation, until one of his friends decided to have a talk with him.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN’T STAY HERE ANYMORE?!”

“Dude! You’ve been here for like two months, and my girlfriend wants to move in. I can’t have you here if my girlfriend wants to move in.”

“Just move in with your girlfriend and I’ll look over this place.”

“Cause she’s getting kicked out by her parents.”

“That’s her fault!”

Jaiden’s friend gives him a look.

“...alright. Fine. I’ll figure something out.”

“I’m glad you understand. Just head over to Christopher’s place.”

“I was just there, and his house smells like old people.”

“Then…I’m sure you can figure something out. My girlfriend moves in tomorrow also, so I need you out by tonight.”

“Can I at least stay for dinner?”

“Of course.”

Later that night, Jaiden started to wander the streets with his duffle and backpack, his only possessions. He wondered if there were any other places he could stay at in this town, or maybe he would have to somehow catch the train and find a way back to his hometown. With not a lot of money, and thinking about how long he has been couch surfing, he starts to believe that his time here has come to its end. Maybe a few years down the line, he can afford an apartment of his own here, but for now, it’s best to leave. He starts to make his way across town towards the train tracks on the outskirts. He goes along the road he’s most familiar with, which happens to pass right by the candy factory. He decides to take one more look at the factory before leaving this town. As he looks at the factory, a thought comes to his mind, doesn’t the candy maker live at the factory. He stands there in awe, aftering driving to this place multiple times for his job, he has never seen the inside, only the loading dock.

I wonder if my code still works.

He puts off his plan of leaving this town and begins to walk to the side of the factory where his pickups were.

He comes to the large gate which his truck used to pass through. He no longer has the remote control which pinged the gate to let his truck in, but he still remembers the code on the device. He walks up to the console, looks around for any cameras or pedestrians, before inputting his code. His face lights up when he sees that the console and gate still has power, but is even happier when he sees his code still works. The gate slowly opens for him, stuttering every so often from the lack of use, but he now has a way on to factory grounds without triggering the alarm. He steps inside, looking around to make sure he wasn’t spotted, before quickly crossing the grounds to the loading dock, the area he’s most familiar with.

There are multiple bays empty, an unfamiliar sight to him. He decides to head up onto the platform where he sees each dock door unfortunately has their gate closed. He heads for one and attempts to lift it up, but finds that it is locked. Wondering if he can find an empty cardboard box he could sleep in for the night, he walks around to a few spots around the platform he hasn’t been before. He is elated to see that there is a door with another console next to it, similar to an employee door. He finds it strange cause he actually hasn’t seen an employee from the factory, why would there be a person sized employee door here? He heads up to the console and sees that it is still powered. He wonders, will his code work on this console?