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Bob stood watch at the entrance to the school, making sure all the students were on their way home. When the last stragglers had made their way past the gates, the janitor turned to the building with a sigh. He didn’t know all of the details yet, but something seriously tragic had gone down in this school. He entered, determined to investigate. He saw the two hall monitors sitting on the main stairs, chatting.
“Seriously, that was gross. Why the heck do you like those things, anyway?” Stevie said. The poor kid was doing his best to maintain his composure, but the chaos of the day was clearly taking a toll on him.
“Heh, like I said, it calms the nerves. It’s probably for the best you aren’t into them. They’re not exactly good for you. I just don’t really have the motivation to quit, y’know?” The older kid was definitely a lot more used to this sort of thing. Given that he was a transfer from the other school, it made some sense. Bob cleared his throat, getting the attention of the two boys.
“You two should head home. Let the adults take care of this, okay?” he said.
“A-are you sure you don’t need our help?” Stevie asked nervously. As professional as ever, Bob noted.
“We’ll be fine. Be safe,” Bob replied with a comforting smile.
“C’mon, Stevie. Let’s go.” The older hall monitor gently guided the kid to the door. With that, the two of them were gone.
Bob decided the best course of action would be to check below the school. If any more of those monsters were down there, he had to take care of them before they could hurt anybody else. Using some rope and an anchor from the supply closet, he lowered himself down the hole that somebody had managed to dig straight to the floor that Bob had never been able to access before. Carefully avoiding the pool full of green goo, Bob stepped into the basement and looked around. The place was clearly some sort of lab. There didn’t seem to be any monsters around, just a broken tank and-
“M-Mr... Bob...?” Penny croaked out.
Bob stopped in his tracks, horrified at sight of the girl’s broken remains. Her head was completely detached, blood and fuel splattered everywhere. She was covered in charred patches, and her limbs were bent at odd angles. Her exposed circuitry sparked weakly, desperately trying to keep her systems functioning. The fact that Penny wasn’t entirely human was an open secret around the school, but Bob was never privy to the true extent of her robotic nature. But that didn’t matter right now, Bob decided. Penny needed his help. That was the most important thing.
“Penny, what happened?” He tried to keep his voice as gentle and level as possible, despite being wholly unprepared for this situation. It wouldn’t help if he upset the child further.
“M-mommy... I tried to help the other kids stop mommy... so she decided that she didn’t need me anymore...” Penny choked back sobs.
“She did this to you?”
“Mmhm...”
Bob could barely reign in his anger. Ever since he regained his memories, he had started to realize the kind of person his boss had really been. But he never imagined she could be this cruel. Suddenly, he heard the sound of the elevator opening behind him. Bob turned to see Margaret standing at the entrance of the lab, carrying a bunch of papers and a large toolbox.
“So you were able to find this place after all. I was hoping you could help,” she said. She placed down the stuff she was carrying, handing one of the papers to Bob. He unrolled it to find a general overview of Penny’s construction.
“Are you sure I’ll be able to help? I’m not super knowledgeable with all this tech-y stuff,” Bob said.
“Neither was sister, really. Sister was always more about the biology. So I wrote the plans to be easy to follow.”
“You wrote these?”
“Yes. Just because I’m not very able does not mean I am stupid.”
“That’s not what I- er, never mind. There’s no time to waste.” Bob crounched down next to Penny. “We’re going to get you fixed up, okay?”
“O-okay... Thank you...”
Bob got to work, with Margaret handing him new parts as needed and chiming in whenever Bob was confused about what to do next. True to the lunch lady’s (?) word, the plans were surprisingly easy to follow. Bob would have compared it to assembling a piece of furniture, but it felt a little heartless to think of Penny in that way. After a few hours of hard work, she looked as good as new. Holding his breath, Bob pushed the button to restart her systems. Penny slowly stirred, then opened her eyes. She looked down at her hands, carefully opening and closing her fingers. Then, she got up and took an unsteady step forward.
“How do you feel?” Bob asked gently.
“I’m... fine? I’m fine. Everything seems to be working properly... expect...” Penny trailed off.
“Except what?” Bob asked, worry creeping into his voice.
“My... my chip. It isn’t there. Did you forget to replace it?”
“It wasn’t necessary. All it did was connect you to those remote controls. Margaret and I agreed that you were better off without it.”
Suddenly, Penny’s eyes welled up with tears. Bob panicked a little.
“Are you okay?!” he asked.
“Yes! I’m better than okay! I’m free!” Penny tackled Bob with a hug, gripping him tight. “Thank you, Mr. Bob!”
“Gosh, it was nothing,” he said sheepishly.
She pulled away, and repeated the action with the former lunch lady. “Thank you, Auntie Margaret!”
“You’re welcome, child,” she replied. Then, she turned to Bob. “Take her home with you.”
Bob frowned. “Really? I would’ve thought you’d take care of her, being her family and all. I’m just a janitor. Is it even okay for me to take her?”
“Seeing as how sister has been... disposed of, that means I have to deal with the school district. The district likes to poke and prod and make anything that would look bad on their records disappear, and I do not want the child to get caught in the crossfire. I will retrieve her when things calm down. You have proven yourself to be capable and trustworthy, kind janitor.”
Bob looked down at Penny. “Are you okay with this?” Penny nodded. Bob turned back to Margaret. “Understood. I’ll take good care of her. You can contact me, right?”
Margaret made a noise of affirmation, leaving to take care of the rest of the school. With that, Bob and Penny made their way out of the school. The sun had already set by the time they got to Bob’s car. Bob drove them back to his apartment. It was a small place, a simple one-bedroom affair, but it suited Bob’s needs just fine. He hoped that it would work okay for two.
“Are you hungry? I have some instant noodles, if you want to eat something,” Bob asked Penny.
“I’m not hungry. I think I just want to go to bed. Today has been a lot,” she responded, shaking her head.
“Okay. You can have the bedroom. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you...”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.” Bob smiled. “Goodnight, Penny.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Bob. Thank you, again. For everything.”
“You’re very welcome, Penny.”
With that, the little girl went off to bed. Bob collapsed on the couch, utterly exhausted. Penny was right, the day really had been a lot. Bob had a feeling it wasn’t over yet. One school was a tragedy. Two schools? Possibly a coincidence, but Bob was more inclined to call it a pattern. There was something seriously wrong with this school district, and young children were being put at extreme risk. Bob couldn’t stand for that. He would protect these kids, no matter what crazy threats came at them next. It would be hard work, but it was worth it. Bob thought of Penny’s look of joy after they had repaired her. As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled. Yeah, definitely worth it.