Kay tossed the Fantasy Land INC folder on the coffee table and flopped into the couch with a groan.

"Am I cursed? I think I'm cursed," she mumbled into the cushions. The 'interview' portion, if she could call it that, was odd, but it wasn't the cluster muck up she managed on the job assessment. What the hell was that job assessment? Was there an info-graphic or something in the welcome folder that secretly held all the answers? Kay lifted her head and slapped her hand behind her until her fingers touched the folder.

Inside, there were two pamphlets and a copy of the waiver she signed for Tiny, er Tyson by the front gate. That was it? Really? She snorted as she spread open the pamphlets, which were as frustratingly vague as the interview itself. There was a series of vintage illustrations, like a How to Guide from the fifties, with men in blue suits and women in pearls and pastel dresses. There were phrases like 'Fantasy Land INC is here to ensure everyone a comfortable, normal life.' Okay, that line sounded like it was lifted from a conversion camp pamphlet. Yikes. Kay remembered her interviewer's unsettling smile. We keep the world safe. Safe from what?

Kay rolled over to pull her cell out of her blazer pocket. She had snapped the picture as quickly and discreetly as she could, unable to dismiss the feeling of electronic eyes on her; just because she couldn't spot the security cameras didn't mean they weren't there. Instead she'd pretended to fiddle with her blazer while she snapped a picture of that glittering smear on the wall.

Despite her shaky hand, the picture was in decent focus, but the distance detracted from the image's clarity as she dragged her fingers outward on the screen. The result was a blurry blob, but she knew what she saw. Sort of. Okay, she had no idea what she saw, but dammit she saw something.

Who the hell could she tell about it? Sure Jess was an understanding roommate, and a lover of all things weird, but if Kay started spouting stories about blue butts flying through the air, anyone, even Jess, would wonder if she was high. She wondered, herself, if the lack of sleep and stress over her life situation ate away at her sanity.

Honestly, though, who hallucinated blue butts? That couldn't be normal?

If it wasn't a hallucination, what the hell did she actually see at Fantasy Land INC? Kay pressed her lips together. It didn't matter. She wouldn't be invited back there after that assessment. Her thumb hovered on the delete button.

Jess opened the front door.

Kay turned off the screen and tucked her phone under the cushion. She didn't know why she had the urge to hide it, but she didn't question it. Out of sight, out of mind, that age old adage. Jess held up two bags of their go to Chinese take out and kicked the door shut behind her.

"Tonight we eat our feelings," she announced.

"Oh no, what happened?" No way was Kay going to burden Jess with the weirdness of Fantasy Land INC. She would just have to keep job hunting. The street side mascot plan was still in play.

"Nothing," snarled Jess, as she ripped open a carton of shrimp fried rice. "Everything. My boss is an idiot. Why did I take this stupid job?"

"Because you're brilliant and they offered you salary pay?"

Jess shook her chopsticks at Kay. "Is salary worth being made to feel two inches tall? Maybe. Did I jump the gun taking this position? Also maybe. I mean, shit, I love libraries, I love the smell of books. But this place makes me want to set the whole building on fire and do one of those slow- motion walk outs wearing fancy sunglasses."

"And you never look back, that is key," said Kay. She opened the container of fried dumplings, little pillowy pockets of meaty goodness, as she turned over Jess's tirade in her mind. "Aside from 'burn this motha down', do you like the job?"

"It's a job," said Jess through a mouthful of rice. "It doesn't really challenge me, but--" She stopped and squinted at Kay. "Woman, I am not in abject misery here. Work is work. Speaking of..." She waggled her eyebrows. "What was in the warehouse district today?"

Kay hissed over her dumplings. "I told you to stop stalking my phone location!"

Jess stopped shoveling food in her mouth to place a hand on her chest, her expression the picture of innocence. "Would I do such a thing? Yes. But only because I worry about you. And boredom. There's always boredom." Her chopsticks got stuck in her bra strap. "Dammit, every time."

"You have the most unique first world problems," said Kay.

"So," said Jess, "Tell me, tell me, tell me! Anything interesting?"

Kay squeezed her dumpling too hard. A tube of meat filling shot out and smacked Jess in the middle of her forehead.

Her roomie burst out laughing as she dabbed at herself with napkins. "I've never seen them do that before."

"I'm so sorry," said Kay. She hesitated. "I did have an interview there today."

"Yeah? That's great. What position? Will you be operating heavy machinery? I told you that joyride on the backhoe would come in handy!"

"No, I--it's--honestly I don't think they are going to call back," said Kay.

"Oh," said Jess. She set her carton down. The expression on her face stole Kay's appetite. "You'll find something, Kay." But not even Jess sounded that convinced.

Kay wanted to curl up and disappear.

They packed up the leftovers. Might as well get as many meals out of the splurge as they could. Kay could tell Jess was still in a downbeat frame of mind when she retreated to the room early, leaving Kay on the couch by herself. It was barely eight o'clock and despite her exhaustion, Kay knew sleep was a long way off. She tucked her legs up against her chest and rested her chin on her kneecaps.

Her cell phone buzzed beneath the cushion.

Kay cringed as she dug it out. Were her parents trying to call again? Was some worse piece of news about to fall in her lap? She braced herself as she unlocked the screen. The picture of the smear was still open on her phone. She swiped it away as she opened her notifications.

There was an email from Fantasy Land INC Human Resources Department.

The muscles of her stomach tightened in a mixture of anticipation and dread. An email usually meant rejection, didn't it? Or did they send an email because of the time of night? There was only one way to find out. Kay closed her eyes as she clicked on the message. If it was a rejection, then she would just carry on and keep looking. If it was something else...

Kay forced herself to look.

Attn. Ms. Oritz,

Thank you for attending our initial interview and assessment exam. We would like to invite you back for a second interview. Please call our Human Resources department at your earliest convenience to schedule a time.

Sincerely,

Shaffer Atwood,

Head of Hiring

Kay sucked in a breath. They wanted her back? She...she passed that insane assessment exam? She jumped off the couch and raced for Jess's door.

"I got a call back!"

"Yasssssss," Jess roared on the other side of the door. She flung it open a second later, clad in a tank top and boxers as she pulled Kay into a fierce hug. "You know what this call for? Chocolate cake shots."

"Woman, did you not hear me, it's a call back, not an actual yes! A hangover does not make a great impression."

"If one shot gives you a hangover we seriously need to work on your alcohol tolerance," said Jess.

"Can't we just have cake? What's wrong with cake?"

"The cake is a lie," said Jess. She giggled. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. Okay, I think there's some ice cream cake left in the freezer." Of course there was. Jess usually bought one to have piecemeal because they were delicious and she didn't feel like waiting for birthdays as an excuse to enjoy them.

By the time Kay retreated to the couch after a slice and a shot Jess wheedled her down to drink, she had a pleasant sugar high. She still tasted alcohol on her lips, mingling with her tooth paste. Tomorrow she'd call Fantasy Land INC for round two.

***

Kay arrived the same sweaty mess she was yesterday. Her mood was too high to care. Her second appointment was set for eleven, and she knew Fantasy Land INC's icy interior would cool her right off. Tyson grinned when he recognized her.

"Good morning, Ms. Oritz. Do you have a second interview today?"

"I do indeed, Tiny," she said. She bit her tongue. Did she just call him that? He grinned wider in response.

"Tiny? Nice. Please sign this waiver."

Kay raised a brow. "Another one? Isn't this the same as yesterday?"

Tyson nodded. "Until you are an official hire, we require everyone to sign one on entry, every time."

What a waste of paper. "Why not use a computer?"

Tyson glanced at the building. "Electronics have a tendency to go on the fritz around here."

Kay couldn't help the stray thought of blue butts. She signed the waiver. "That include cell phones?"

Tyson winked. "They'll debrief you if you make the cut. Good luck again, Ms. Oritz."

Why the secrecy? Kay made her way through the doors into blissful cool air. She realized Tyson didn't instruct her where to go this time, but that was unnecessary. Her interviewer from yesterday waited for her by the elevator, toothy grin gleaming under the fluorescent lighting.

"Welcome back, Ms. Oritz, please, follow me." She spun away from the elevator, heels clicking across the mirror polish floor. She led Kay to a door at the far end of the room that blended in with the walls around it. This one opened up into a long concrete hallway lined with closed doors. More blah grey colors, like the throat of a stone giant. The woman led Kay to the third door down on the right and opened it to a bland box of an office. There wasn't a single piece of flair or decoration, not even a pen holder, no hint of personality to the woman who sank into the chair behind the desk. Was that a company policy or a personal choice? Kay wasn't sure which and was afraid to ask.

The woman reached into her top desk drawer and took out another sky blue company folder and her nameplate: Shaffer Atwood.

Kay blinked. Why hide the name plate? Her interviewer was the head of hiring? Shaffer Atwood settled herself in and gave Kay another toothpaste ad smile. "Now, let's address why we asked you back here today." She flipped open the folder.

"I passed the assessment exam?"

"Oh no, you had the lowest score of the day," said Shaffer Atwood.

Kay froze. "I...I failed?" Her stomach rolled. It would probably be in poor taste to throw up on Shaffer's pristine desk. "Why am I here?"

The head of hiring folded her hands on top of the paperwork. "It's true you failed to meet the minimum requirement of all our above board positions, however, there was a unique parameter in our exam you did meet."

Kay didn't know how to react or respond. She tugged at the sleeves of her blazer as Shaffer pulled a color photo from the folder.

"Only 1% of our applicants said they didn't believe in the bogeyman as a child, but you, Ms. Oritz, were the only one who noticed."

The photo was of Kay, staring at the windows in the examination hall. She inhaled sharply through her nose. She knew there were cameras everywhere! More importantly, very clear in this colorized blown up photo, was the tiny blue butt hovering by the window, attached to a tiny blue person.

It was real.

Shaffer slid the photo back into her folder. Her cool blue gaze met Kay's. "There is a position open in the basement of our facility."

A basement gig? Kay pinched the fabric of her slacks and waited for Shaffer to continue.

"You would be assigned to care and maintenance of the grid under our head keeper Stanley." Shaffer pulled another packet of papers from the folder and set them before Kay. "The job has a probationary period of 120 days."

"That's a long time," said Kay. Hell, that was longer than some internships she'd been a part of.

Shaffer nodded. "This department unfortunately has a high turnover rate, but if you last through the probationary period, you will receive salary and company benefits."

Kay perked up at that. "Does that include dental?"

Shaffer smiled. "Of course. Dental hygiene is of utmost importance." She placed a pen on top of the packet for Kay. "We also require you to sign an NDA. You will receive a copy of all documents for your records but certain information will be redacted accordingly to protect company interest."

A nondisclosure agreement? That wasn't all that unusual. Plenty of cases with sensitive information required an NDA. She briefly scanned the page. 'Agree not to speak to outside parties of what you see on company grounds blah blah blah' The language was usually pretty standard. She signed on the line and felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She was in, mostly. Kay would last this probation period if it killed her, dammit.

"Excellent," said Shaffer Atwood. She tucked Kay's NDA into the folder. "We shall have your copy ready by the end of the day. Welcome to Fantasy Land, INC Ms. Oritz. Now, I am going to escort to your department and Stanley will take over your training."

Shaffer shook Kay's hand as she rose from her desk. This was happening, it was really happening. Kay finally found a freaking job. She could barely contain her excitement and curiosity as Shaffer lead her back out to the elevator. Though there was one lingering question.

"Excuse, Ms. Atwood, what did I see yesterday?" Kay asked as the doors closed. Shaffer pressed the first blacked out button on the bottom of the panel. "A pixie, of course, Ms. Oritz."

She gaped at head of hiring as the elevator descended. She must have misheard her. The doors dinged open. The sound attracted the attention of the scaled creature squatting in the hall. It was the size of a horse, a pair of small useless wings curled against its back, while its very useful black talons scraped on the concrete floor. It was a creature straight out of a fantasy film and its slit pupil eyes were focused squarely on Kay. The support bar of the elevator car dug into her back as she pressed herself against the wall. The creature's claws grated against the stone as it crouched in a far too familiar position; like a great cat, it was about to pounce.

Kay screamed as the dragon charged.