One More Soul to the Call (Hira & Sol) Mature

The factory was empty.  Not just devoid of people (but that was a problem as well, of a different sort), but devoid of life and movement as well.  It was winter, and there was call for a big snowstorm later on in the evening, but that wasn't for hours now.  No, there was no reason the place should be so empty. 

And Quentin Raith knew that his brother should be here.  He called him from here after all, needing a ride home after his car refused to start.  His car was even still outside.  But no sign of James anywhere.  Quentin had been in the factory plenty of times, so he knew his way around the place, and figured James was just off somewhere else.  Sighing at yet again having to look for his younger brother, just like when they were kids, Quentin began his search. 

His lips thrust against hers and she instinctively pressed into him, placing her hands on his neck as she closed her eyes and returned his passion.  His tongue penetrated her lips and attacked the inside of her mouth.  With a gentle moan she responded by sliding her hands down his back, her fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt.  Pulling her waist into his, he began to move his hand down to her chest. 

It took every ounce of effort she had to pull away from him then. “ Thomas...” she moved her hands gently to his chest. “ I told you, I wanna take it slow.” 

He sighed and stepped away from her. “ Look Jess, we've been together more than three months now, and you still won't let me touch you.”  He sighed and turned away slightly. “ I'm sorry, but it's just frustrating.” 

Jessica felt herself frown at his response. “ Is it so bad that I want our relationship to be about something other than sex?” 

He turned on her, his expression reddening. “ Yes!  I mean no!  Ugh!”  He brought his hand up to his forehead. “ I just mean at this point, shouldn't we be at least getting somewhere physically?” 

She crossed her arms and glared at him.  Her words carrying with them anger and finality. “ I'm... don't... want that.” 

He made a face that told her he was furious, but that she had still won, before turning toward the door of the supply closet. “ I... gotta get back to work.”  With that he left. 

She sat down on the nearest shelf, her arms still crossed.  Now she remembered why she was mad at him in the first place.  Like he'd said, it had been almost four months, and he still hadn't told anyone about them.  All she was permitted to tell was her parents, and she didn't want to tell them until he started telling his friends.  She sighed, feeling like he was only with her for the ass. 

It was a long while before she finally stood up.  Something didn't seem right.  It hadn't since Thomas had left the room.  She wondered if her moodiness was because of her really being upset, or a subconscious distraction from whatever seemed amiss.  Opening the door, she was prepared to sneak out of the factory like she had so many times before.  The realization that she was alone, that no one was in the factory, took a while to hit her.  It hit her quickly, however, and instead of trying to sneak out, she started looking for Thomas.  She may have been mad at him, but he still had a way of making her feel less alone.  Truthfully, she was starting to get scared.  It was one thing to be completely alone, it was another to feel like everyone else had just suddenly disappeared. 

Crossing her her arms, she began to wander the factory, looking for someone, anyone, so that she didn't have to be alone.  Deep down, though, she was hoping that Thomas was alright. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Jake awoke with a slight jump, the newspaper falling from his nose to the floor.  Slumping forward, he pinched the bridge of his nose.  First of all, how in the hell did he fall asleep in the restroom.  Second of all, why hadn't someone come to get him back to work?  Did everyone finally just accept the fact that he was lazy? 

Yawning, he stood up and walked out of the stall.  There wasn't anyone else in the restroom.  Maybe they just couldn't find him this time.  It didn't make sense to him, but it still struck him as a possibility.  Exiting the bathroom, he started to make his way back to his post.  It didn't take long to notice, however, that the factory was empty. “ Huh... weird.”  It also didn't take long for him to decide that everyone was playing a trick on him. 

“Alright guys... real funny.”  He began to look around for his friends and co-workers, but somehow, he couldn't find anyone. “ Seriously guys... do you want me to be the one to call you guys lazy?”  This time he waited.  No response.  Maybe he slept past work hours and it was time to go home.  He headed to the office to punch out. 

It was quiet, but not completely silent.  It started slowly, with what Quentin assumed to be echoes of his own footsteps.  Only the echo wasn't always there.  Once he noticed that, he also began to notice more sounds, sounds that wouldn't be out of place at a normal day at the factory.  Sounds like glass breaking, machinery coming to life briefly, even some indiscernible chatter.  All of it muted, like it was coming from somewhere far away. 

Something wasn't right.  It would probably be better to just leave.  There was an emergency exit nearby, he remembered, and headed towards it.  Only to find nothing but a blank wall.  Quentin frowned.  Maybe he got turned around?  Either way this wasn't the way out.  So he moved forward, cautiously looking around him.  Some part of him noticed the factory looked dirtier then usual, something he ignored at the newest sound.  An odd, 'squish' noise, sounding a bit closer then the others.  Not a normal factory sound. 

Quentin was starting to feel a little nervous now, and his pace quickened.  The front door, he knew where that was.  And he came in through there, so it wouldn't be closed.  Clutching to that logic, he headed back to the main office. 

The sounds throughout the factory only served to strengthen Jake's assumptions that his co-workers were playing tricks on him.  Everything seeming like it was coming from far away was probably just his friends at the factory trying to creep him out more.  He didn't let it get to him.  Then the muttering started.  He couldn't understand anything that was said, but he understood what was happening.  They were getting ready to jump out at him and try to scare him.  For now, he'd play the fool and pretend like he hadn't heard anything. 

Punching out with his time card, he heard an abrupt, but much closer, squishing sound.  At this, he couldn't help but start to snicker.  They really did think they could scare him with this.  That made it all the more funny.  Well, for him at least.  He turned around to head for the exit out back behind the factory, where he'd parked his truck. 

~~~~~~~~~~

It didn't take long for Jessica to start getting jumpy.  First, she realized that she wasn't even having to try to stay hidden from anyone.  It wasn't long after that, that she began to hear footsteps echoing hers.  There were distant sounds of factory equipment, which settled her down a little bit, but she still felt somewhat uneasy.  To her, she felt as if someone was watching her, and on top of that, the echoing footsteps made it feel like she was being followed as she wandered the corridors of the factory, careful to stay out of the rooms with the machinery and all the people. 

Suddenly there was a loud squishing noise.  Letting out a squeak, despite herself and her want to keep quiet, she whirled around toward the sound as she continued to walk backwards the way she was going.  Her eyes darted around the room, almost as if in a panic.  Biting her lip she turned back around and continued her search for Thomas, walking slightly faster than she had been.