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Back before Sunny quit her job (and let alone her death), she was still working as an Intern at first before she ever became a nurse.
Now she's currently with Ron and they had to camp on top of the soda vending machine since their coffee isn't ready, the X-taser isn't finished charging, the chocolate is out of stock today, the gun is nowhere to be found, the shop isn’t open today, the fire extinguisher is too far, and Elara isn't here too. Just Sunny, as an Intern, and Ron who's literally supposed to stop by but stays because his girl is well, working alone today. Without Elara, mind you.
Plus, both they are low in sanity.
If they do anything else, let alone put up a fight when knowing how outnumbered they are-
Okay, five anomalies are easy to take out but to be fair, so was their damn sanity.
Either they will be going insane or just straight crazy for their good. If one of them passes out, the other will be more burdened than good.
All it just Sunny, Ron, and well..
Mandarins.
Sunny was busy peeling them off while Ron was trying to reach out for backup or more likely, "Mathew". No, not the rat one even though Ratthew denies having any relations to the Mouse guy. Though that short guy won't be here at anytime soon anyway.
"Keep your legs inside, Sunny." Ron said without taking his eyes off his phone, his briefcase laid flat in the corner of the vending machine, as far as possible. Mostly because Ron isn't having any patience of their predicament and he didn't want any of his "stuff" in the floor with like-
How many anomalies are there right now?
Oh yeah, five.
Three are still waiting at the vending machine so the couple can't come down.
The rest of two are probably in the Hallway that had three rooms.
Great.
"What's wrong with dandling my legs out, Ron?" Sunny respond by shoving a now slice of mandarin she had peeled seconds ago into his mouth.
Ron didn't flinch, his mouth just accepted it's fate.
"The anomalies aren't short like Mat." Ron replied, chewing, ignoring Sunny wiping her hands on his pants because to be fair, she's the one peeling the Mandarins so it's perfectly even for them both.
"Hm, they certainly didn't have their hands on my feet." Sunny kicked her legs in the air.
"Where do you get those Mandarins?"
Ron decided to change the subject. "You don't seem to like them if I remember correctly."
Sunny shrugged, "Elara accidentally brought a lot of Mandarins online so she give some to me. I say it isn't so bad to eat something new."
As she was explaining, Ron's eyes darted everywhere. Back and forth, left, right, down, and maybe up, before back to the phone.
Anomalies are not leaving at any time soon.
Ron sighed, but still accepted another slice of mandarin into his mouth, fed by his newly girlfriend. Because Ron didn't want his hands dirty.
"Okay," Ron said, finally putting his phone down. "Mathew isn't coming."
"Mathew isn't coming," Sunny repeated flatly. "The guy who's literally named after a rat isn't coming. The rat is a better employee than him."
"Ratthew would be here," Ron agreed. "Ratthew would have chewed through their ankles by now."
"What is Mathew even doing right now?"
"Probably filing his nails. Or sleeping. Or filing his nails while sleeping."
Sunny peeled another mandarin with aggressive precision. "I hate him."
"Same."
"Not as much as I hate being on this vending machine."
"Same."
"Not as much as I hate whatever that thing is doing."
Ron followed her gaze to the floor, where one of the anomalies, a vaguely humanoid shape with too many joints was doing what could only be described as an interpretive dance.
"Okay," Ron said slowly. "That's new."
"Is it trying to communicate with us?"
"I don't think so. I think it's just... vibing."
"Vibing."
"To be fair," Ron said, "if I had that many joints, I'd probably also just vibe."
Sunny stared at him. "You're supposed to be the serious one."
"I'm trying to keep us sane."
"You're trying to keep yourself sane."
"I know, I know."
The second anomaly, a Head Banger, because of course it was, had apparently decided the vending machine was the perfect audience for its performance art. It was currently banging its head against the wall in a rhythm that was almost, almost, musical.
"Okay, it's been doing that for ten minutes," Sunny said. "Should we be concerned?"
"Has it stopped?"
"No."
"Then no."
"Ron."
"What?"
"How is that a logical response?"
Ron shrugged. "If it stops, that means it's doing something else. Something worse. Like the Stalker."
"Don't say that name."
"What? The Stalker?"
"I'm warning you—"
"The Stalker, the Stalker, the Stalk—"
Sunny shoved another mandarin slice into his mouth.
Ron chewed.
"I hate you," she said.
"No, you don't."
"I do."
"Your color is literally yellow. The color of happiness."
"That's why I wear it. So people don't know I'm actually miserable."
Ron paused mid-chew. "That's... concerningly honest."
"I'm low on sanity, Ron. I'm allowed to be honest."
The third anomaly was just... standing there. Staring.
Not doing anything.
Just staring.
It had been staring for about fifteen minutes now, which was honestly worse than the interpretive dancer and the Head Banger combined.
"Should I be worried about that one?" Sunny asked.
"Probably."
"How worried?"
"On a scale of 'I've seen this before' to 'I need to carry maple syrup just in case'?"
"Maple syrup."
"Ah." Ron reached into his briefcase and pulled out a bottle of maple syrup. "That worried."
"How did you even have that?"
"I always have it."
"But we're on top of a vending machine."
"I always have it."
"You were just supposed to stop by!"
Ron handed her the bottle. "I always have it, Sunny. That's the rule. The first rule. Before the don't-stare rule. Before the trust-no-one rule. Always carry maple syrup."
Sunny stared at the bottle. "I'm dating a crazy person."
"Technically, we're both dating a crazy person."
"That's fair."
"Okay," Ron said, "let's assess our situation."
"We're on top of a vending machine," Sunny said. "There are five anomalies. We have mandarins. The backup isn't coming. The X-taser isn't charged. The coffee isn't ready. The chocolate is out of stock. Nala isn’t working today. The gun is missing. The fire extinguisher is too far. And Elara, the one person who could actually help us, is not here."
"Right."
"That's the situation."
"Correct."
"And you're asking me to assess it."
"I'm asking you to help me assess it."
"The assessment is that we're screwed."
Ron nodded. "Screwed. Absolutely screwed. But-" he held up a finger, "-we're screwed together."
"That doesn't make it better."
"It doesn't make it worse."
Sunny threw a mandarin peel at him.
The fourth anomaly, a Shapeshifter, because of course there was a Shapeshifter had taken the form of a dead-eyed nurse who was smiling way too wide.
"Oh, that's just cruel," Sunny said, eye twitching.
"It's a Shapeshifter. Cruelty is kind of their thing."
"That's not a good smile. That's a bad smile."
"The worst smile."
"I've seen better smiles on dead people."
Ron paused. "That's... that's concerningly honest."
"Low sanity, Ron. Low sanity."
"Okay," Ron said, "we need a plan."
"We need a good plan."
"Any plan would be nice."
"We're on top of a vending machine, Ron."
"I'm aware."
"There's a Shapeshifter smiling at us."
"I'm aware."
"There's a Head Banger doing a concert."
"I'm aware."
"There's a jointed thing doing interpretive dance."
"I'm painfully aware."
"And there's a weird staring thing."
"Don't forget the one in the hallway."
"I forgot about the one in the hallway."
"So did I."
"Great plan, Ron. Really reassuring."
The fifth anomaly, the one in the hallway, the one they'd both conveniently forgotten about, was now inching closer.
"Oh no," Sunny said.
"Oh no indeed," Ron agreed.
"It's coming closer."
"Yep."
"Should we do something?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know! You're the one who's been here longer!"
Ron considered this. "Okay, I have an idea."
"Thank god."
"The plan is this: we hide on top of the vending machine."
"That's our current situation!"
"Yes."
"That's not a plan!"
"It's a plan that's working."
"It's working so far!"
"Exactly!"
Sunny was peeling the last mandarin. Ron was staring at the ceiling, watching the Mass of Eyes-no, wait, hold the fuck up, that wasn't there. That was just a normal ceiling. Thank god. Small mercies.
"So," Sunny said, "if we die here-"
"We're not dying here."
"If we die here-"
"We're not dying here."
"If we die here, I just want you to know-"
"Sunny."
"I just want you to know that-"
"Sunny, we're not dying here."
"-your briefcase is really weird."
Ron blinked. "My briefcase?"
"Yeah. It's got 'TOP SECRET' written on it in red. That's weird."
"It's a government briefcase."
"Ron, you're an accountant."
"I'm a government accountant."
"From Accounting."
"Yes."
"Ron from Accounting."
"Yes."
"That's literally what you call yourself."
"Yes."
"And you have a TOP SECRET briefcase."
"Yes."
"That's weird."
"You're weird."
"I'm your girlfriend."
"Exactly."
The Head Banger had stopped banging.
"The Head Banger stopped," Sunny whispered.
"I know."
"What do we do?"
"We wait."
"What if it's doing something worse?"
"It's probably doing something worse."
"Ron."
"Sunny."
"I hate you."
"You love me."
"That's the problem."
The interpretive dancer had started doing what looked like the Macarena.
"Did it just-"
"Yep."
"Is that-"
"The Macarena, yes."
"An anomaly is doing the Macarena."
"Technically it's a Class B entity that's been contained for seventeen years, and yes, it's doing the Macarena."
Sunny buried her face in her hands. "I'm going to lose my mind."
"Already lost mine, so you're a step behind."
"That's not helpful."
"Neither is the Macarena."
The Shapeshifter had started humming.
"A Shapeshifter is humming," Sunny said.
"Yep."
"Is that-"
"Don't say it."
"-a Taylor Swift song?"
Ron closed his eyes. "It's humming 'Shake It Off.'"
"I hate this place."
"Same."
"I hate this job."
"Same."
"I hate that I still love you."
Ron opened one eye. "Same."
The weird staring thing had finally done something. It had blinked.
"Did it just blink?" Sunny asked.
"I think so."
"Does that mean something?"
"It means it's not a mannequin."
"That's... somehow worse."
"Agreed."
"Okay," Ron said, "I'm going to try something."
"Don't you dare get off this vending machine."
"I'm not getting off. I'm just going to... communicate."
"Communicate how?"
Ron cleared his throat. "Hey!"
The anomalies stopped.
"Hey, you, with the joints!"
The interpretive dancer looked up.
"You know, you've got some pretty good moves."
"I'm sorry, are you complimenting it?" Sunny hissed.
"I'm communicating with it."
"By complimenting it?"
"Look, if it works with the Stalker, it can work with-"
The interpretive dancer started doing the Macarena faster.
"Ron."
"Yes?"
"What did you just do?"
"I'm not sure."
"Ron."
"Yes?"
"I think you just challenged it to a dance off."
"That's... that's not what I meant."
"I think you just challenged an anomaly to a dance off, Ron from Accounting."
"I was trying to communicate!"
"You were trying to compete!"
"This is fine."
"This is not fine!"
"This is fine."
The Head Banger had started banging again. It was banging in time with the interpretive dancer's Macarena.
"Okay," Sunny said, "that's either really good or really bad."
"Both."
"Both."
"Definitely both."
"We're absolutely going to die here."
Ron reached into his briefcase and pulled out the maple syrup, the salt, and surprisingly, a packet of cheese crackers.
"What else is in that briefcase?"
"What's not in that briefcase?"
"Ron."
"Sunny."
"If we die here-"
"We're not dying here."
"-I want you to know that I don't regret coming back."
Ron froze. "What?"
"When I tried to quit. When I almost left. I thought about leaving forever. I thought about never seeing you again."
"Sunny-"
"But I came back. I came back to this stupid facility, for this stupid job, for these stupid anomalies, because-"
"Sunny-"
"Because I'd rather be here, on top of a vending machine, with you, facing five anomalies, than be anywhere else in the world."
Ron stared at her.
Sunny stared back.
"It's the mandarins," she said finally. "They're making me emotional."
"You've only had like three mandarins."
"Four."
"Four mandarins."
"And a half."
"That's the most mandarins you've ever eaten."
"I know. It's the apocalypse."
The Shapeshifter was now doing interpretive dance too.
"Oh no," Sunny said.
"Wait," Ron said, "is that the Thriller dance?"
"I think it's the Thriller dance."
"An anomaly is doing the Thriller dance."
"A Shapeshifter is doing the Thriller dance."
"This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
"Same."
"Even weirder than the old doctor that disappeared looking for eyedrops?"
"Yes."
"Weirder than the Mass of Eyes?"
"Absolutely."
"Weirder than the Bed Monster?"
"The Bed Monster was terrifying. This is ridiculous."
The Head Banger was now banging in time with the Thriller dance.
"Okay," Ron said, "I think we have an opportunity."
"An opportunity."
"We wait until they're distracted, and then we make a run for it."
"Run for it where?"
"The hallway."
"The hallway with the other anomaly?"
"The hallway with the anomaly that we forgot about, yes."
"The one that's probably still there."
"Probably, yes."
"The one that could kill us."
"Potentially."
"This is a terrible plan."
"It's the only plan."
"What if we just stay here until they get bored?"
"They're anomalies, Sunny. They don't get bored."
"Then what do we do?"
Ron looked at her. "We survive."
"That's not a plan."
"It's a mindset."
"Okay," Sunny said, "I have an idea."
"Finally."
"We throw the mandarin peels at them."
Ron blinked. "What?"
"Mandarin peels. We throw them. At the anomalies."
"How is that supposed to help?"
"It's not. But it'll be funny."
"Sunny-"
"I'm losing my mind, Ron. Let me have this."
Ron considered this. Then he handed her the mandarin peels.
"Go for it."
Sunny threw a mandarin peel at the interpretive dancer.
It stopped.
The interpretive dancer turned to look at her.
"Oops," Sunny said.
The interpretive dancer picked up the mandarin peel and stared at it.
"Okay," Ron said, "that's not good."
The interpretive dancer started slowly walking toward the vending machine.
"Okay," Sunny said, "that's really not good."
"Throw another one," Ron said.
"What?"
"Throw another one!"
Sunny threw another mandarin peel.
The interpretive dancer caught it.
"Oh no," Sunny whispered.
The interpretive dancer looked at the mandarin peel in its hand. Then it looked at Sunny. Then it started walking faster.
"Okay," Ron said, grabbing Sunny's arm, "now we run."
"RUN WHERE?!"
"The hallway!"
"THE HALLWAY WITH THE OTHER ANOMALY?"
"JUST RUN!"
They ran.
They ran through the hallway, past the anomaly (which turned out to be just a very confused intern who'd gotten lost, thank god), past the break room, past the coffee machine that still wasn't ready-
They ran until they reached the entrance.
Elara was standing there, holding a cup of coffee.
"Ah," Elara said, "there you two are. I was wondering where everyone went."
"Elara!" Sunny gasped. "Where were you?"
"I had a thing."
"A thing?"
"A witch thing."
"Of course you did."
"So," Elara said, "I heard the anomalies were having a dance party on the second floor."
"They were doing the Thriller," Ron said.
"The Thriller."
"Vogue."
"Vogue."
"The Macarena."
"The Macarena."
"What is wrong with this facility?"
Elara just smiled. "You two are welcome to go home. I'll handle the rest."
Sunny hesitated. "Are you sure?"
"I've got it. Go home. Get some rest."
"You're sure?"
"Sunny. Go."
They walked out of the facility together.
"That was the weirdest day of my life," Sunny said.
"I've had weirder."
"Ron."
"Weirder?"
"What's weirder than five anomalies doing the Macarena?"
Ron was quiet for a moment.
"The old doctor disappeared looking for eyedrops."
"Okay, that's weird."
"He never came back."
"That's really weird."
"Then a month later, he showed up in the hallway, looking for eyedrops."
"What?"
"And then he disappeared again."
"That's..."
"Weird."
"Yeah."
They walked in silence for a moment.
"Ron?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for coming with me today."
Ron shrugged. "You're my girl."
"I'm your girlfriend."
"That's what I said."
"You said 'my girl.'"
"Same thing."
"It's different."
"Different?"
"Different. 'My girl' is like... like you're claiming me or something."
"Should I not claim you?"
"I don't know. Are you claiming me?"
Ron stopped walking. He turned to look at her.
"Sunny."
"Yeah?"
"I've been with you on top of a vending machine for three hours. I've watched you throw mandarin peels at anomalies. I've watched you peel four and a half mandarins. I've watched you threaten to stab me with your scrunchie."
"I didn't threaten to stab you."
"Technically, no. But your hand was very close to my face."
"Okay, fine. What's your point?"
Ron smiled.
"My point is that I'd do it all over again. Every weird, insane, mandatory-peel-throwing moment of it."
Sunny blushed.
"Ron..."
"I'm claiming you, Sunny. I'm claiming you so hard."
"That's-that's not how claiming works."
"I don't care. You're mine. And I'm yours. And if that means spending another three hours on top of a vending machine while anomalies do the Macarena, then I'll do it."
"You're insane."
"I'm in love."
"That's the same thing."
"That's the same thing."
Mathew showed up the next day.
"You guys survived?"
"Yeah," Ron said. "We survived."
"Without me?"
"Without you."
"I'm hurt."
"Ratthew survived too."
"Wait, Ratthew was there?"
"Yeah, he showed up halfway through."
"And you didn't mention him?"
"He was in the hallway. I thought you could see him."
"I didn't see him!"
"He was right there."
"Ron."
"Sunny."
"I hate you."
"You love me."
"That's the problem."