Day 959

Opening the shop was meant to be a series of simple tasks that could stand to be mostly done before the rest of the morning shift were due. Menial bits and bobs like hoovering, dusting and beginning to restock whatever had been left depleted from the previous day's sales crew.

Today was different for the following reasons:

1. Somebody was whistling "Auld Lang Syne" in Aisle 3.
2. Nobody should was scheduled to start until 9AM.
3. Somebody was here and was making themselves know.

From this it was clear that there was an interloper that must be hiding somewhere in the shop and had possibly been hiding since closing last night. After locking all exits and barricading themself in the CCTV room, plans began to form just as fast as they dissipated.

From so many options the following seemed best:

1. Call the police from the security room's phone and speak as quietly as possible. Then wait.
2. Grab a shovel from Aisle 37 and hunt down the interloper. Then call the police and claim self-defence.
3. Exit the shop through the loading bay and lock all doors from the outside. Call police and wait.

As the whistling came closer and the sound of scuffling footsteps became audible they dared to peek up from their space underneath the security desk, their eyes darting around the monitors trying to find whoever was in and seeing some kind of greyish mass heading down the staff hallway.

The mass would be due to pass by (hopefully pass by, dear god let it pass by) within the next minute or so and though no eyes were visible there was still a chance it might see through the glass door panel them and who can say what it would do if it did. Aside from the desk there was nowhere else to hide and nowhere else to go aside from one single vent.

They decided to take the risk, crawling in reverse so they could pull the metal grate back in place while they tried to stay as far back as possible. Just as they'd settled the whistling came to a stop, the door began to open and whatever had been heading for them now seeped its way into the room revealing itself to not be a greyish mass.