"He's a real jerk! As soon as I can, I'm outta here!" Mimi complained loudly, shattering the quiet night in Nighsour. The rest of her drunken colleagues stumbled along beside her down the dark road, nodding and muttering their agreement, including Tori.
"If you find a job - hic - sign me up too!" Nina joined in, linking arms with Mimi as the group continued cursing their sleazy boss. The after hours drinking session had stretched out, but thankfully the weekend was coming. They would need it to get over the hangover.
Tori trudged along, slowly falling behind the group, which didn't notice, caught up in their own grievances. Seeing that no one paid her any mind, Tori stopped in front of a small playground. Sighing, she entered and collapsed on one of the swings.
"Uuuuugh," Tori groaned, leaning back to look up at the starry sky. "Man, I don't get people," she whined softly to herself, exhausted more with having to spend time with other people than with her job itself. Not that the job was that attractive either. But it was truly frustrating having to keep up the mask of being sociable nearly every day. "Maybe I'm just looking for a way to escape."
"Do you mean that? You really want to escape?" a voice piped up out of nowhere. Tori frowned as she tilted her head back down and squinted at the shadowy figure in front of her. She couldn't make out any features, but the raised hair on the back of her neck made her feel like the person was grinning at her.
"You shouldn't eavesdrop, it's rude," Tori grumbled, not sure why someone decided to stick their nose into her business. They didn't seem that large, though, so if they were some creep, she figured she could at least give them a run for their money.
"But you were talking to yourself," the figure retorted.
"Yeah, I definitely wasn't talking to you, though," Tori sneered, then sighed. The drinks were catching up with her, and her head felt fuzzy.
"But you still want to escape, right?" Before she could react, the shadowy figure had closed the distance and was directly in front of her, questioning her. Tori wanted to get up and leave, but she felt too tired to move. As her eyelids fell shut, she had the distinct impression of a baleful grin directed at her.
Little did Tori know that the owner of that malevolent smile was not human. It was actually the spirit of...