Chapter 01
"What the hell?! If I'd known it would turn out this way, I probably wouldn't have started working there!," Ashley muttered under her breath, not quite understanding where she was.
A moment later, she was in the shop where she'd worked for almost a month.
And now she was in some dark room, barely permeated by the light from the old lamps covered in a thick layer of dust.
One thing she was certain of was that no one had been in this place for a long time, because if they had, there wouldn't be so much dust and cobwebs.
All she needed was for a giant spider, which she hated terribly, to jump out at her.
The blue-eyed girl tried to gather her thoughts, but she couldn't.
She wasn't claustrophobic, but the dimness made it impossible for her to move around.
She was afraid to move from where she stood, because the interior was so cluttered that she couldn't even tell if it was large or small.
The only window Ashley could see was carefully boarded up.
There was no way she could get out of this place through it.
Not to mention, she had no idea if this was a room or a damn basement.
More and more dust hung in the air with every move she made.
And the musty smell made her dizzy and short of breath, making her cough constantly, trying to catch her breath.
She had to find a way out of this place before she lost consciousness completely.
The amount of dust in this room made Ashley's nose tingle constantly.
She was slowly getting fed up, but to her chagrin, her cell phone was out of signal.
"Remember what you were doing before you got here?!," Ashley said to herself as she managed to find a stool to sit on.
Her legs were slowly starting to give out and were getting in her way.
The silence pounded in her ears, making her wonder if her boss had even noticed her absence.
And she certainly must have, because she'd left her outerwear and purse behind, so there was no way she was leaving work.
She hadn't pursued a degree in the job she'd dreamed of just to throw it away.
She was supposed to be going to college soon, but she wasn't sure about that either.
She couldn't really find a suitable course anywhere to hone her skills in doll repair and making.
Although she had learned to repair dolls herself at home.
Especially since her parents were initially against her pursuing that path.
As if they were afraid of something or someone she strongly suspected.
However, at that moment, she couldn't tell if her suspicions were correct or not.
"If I manage to get in here, that means I can get out of this room! But judging by how much dust and cobwebs there are, I don't think anyone's been in here for a long time…," Ashley finally announced, deciding to take a closer look at her surroundings.
The terror, fear, and panic were slowly leaving her, allowing her to finally think rationally.
The last thing she remembered was the Boss asking her to organize the newly arrived boxes of dolls.
Yes, now, and she did, as there weren't many customers at the moment anyway.
She slowly walked towards the back room, or rather, a small warehouse of sorts, to organize the boxes of dolls and other accessories by theme.
It wasn't easy, because this time a rather large shipment arrived; for such a small shop, she thought it was a bit too much.
However, the redhead didn't ask any questions, as the mere sight of her boss's expression prevented her from doing so.
It was as if she didn't want her to ask something she couldn't answer.
She sighed heavily and returned to searching for hidden doors.
"What if I don't find a way out of this place?," Ashley asked herself nervously, a cold shiver running through her body.
She shuddered as she realized she might die here, which was inevitable if she stayed here much longer.
The thought made her feel faint, but she had to pull herself together.
She slowly rose from the stool she was currently sitting on.
Boxes dating back to the Victorian era, if not later, were strewn all around her.
Furthermore, she nearly tripped and rolled forward on something round, which a moment later turned out to be part of a large doll, or perhaps a mannequin.
She was certain it was part of a mannequin, because there was no way they were making human-sized dolls.
She put it aside and went back to looking through the contents of the room.
Every now and then, she came across old doll parts.
Someone else would probably have given up the ghost at the sight of broken, torn doll parts.
It looked as if something had exploded in that place, tearing the dolls to shreds.
It was fortunate that they weren't human remains, because she wouldn't have been able to bear it any longer.
Meanwhile, she continued to recall what had happened the day before, right after she had sorted out the shipment.
The more she looked through the contents of the place, the more she felt it was the old workshop, one she had just seen.
However, compared to this place, it seemed too new for her.
Then thoughts began to creep into her mind that something must have happened, that they had been forced to create a new one, one that completely didn't fit with the rest of the store.
She couldn't see any other explanation, and it was no wonder she hadn't been mentioned.
But now there was no turning back, and all she had to do was find a way out of this trap.
And it wasn't easy, with boxes, papers, materials, and other things piled up on every side.
Which could be dangerous, because at any moment one of them could collapse and bury Ashley alive.
A newspaper caught her eye, very old and yellowed.
For a long moment, she debated whether to touch it, as it might crumble upon contact.
On the other hand, if she didn't touch it, she wouldn't know what it contained.
With each passing moment, her blood was racing faster and faster.
A hint of excitement quickened her heartbeat and intensified her uncertainty.
Until something else began to catch her attention, something hidden beneath the newspaper.
"What's that?!," escaped Ashley's lips as she began to realize what lay at the very bottom of the pyramid she was standing at.
So shocked, she wiped the sweat dripping down her face with the corner of her blouse sleeve.
She didn't even want to know what she looked like now, but she was covered in dust and I didn't know what else.
She probably looked like something out of a horror movie, with her smudged makeup and sweat-soaked blouse, which had lost its white color.
