Chapter Text
Just another day in the pit. Grinding gears can be heard as a group of people and I are lowered into the gorge. The glass walls of the elevator reveal the red flesh of its throat, held open by metal framework. Just the sight of the ribbed flesh is enough to freak out the tourists in the lift with me. They gawk and sneer quietly at the gruesome nature of the attraction.
While they're busy being revulsed, I notice how the esophagus throbs, especially where the steel bars press against the sensitive tissues. It expands and contracts in a slow, predictable, yet natural way. It's much drier at the top, the Texas heat evaporates most of the moisture at the entrance, making the surface crack, however the more the elevator lowers into the beast the more slippery the membrane gets. Mucus coats the walls and gently slides down the surface.
It’s an extensive drop down, about a thousand feet, but thankfully it doesn’t take too much time to reach the Lower Visitor Center (Also known as the LVC).
Maybe it's just how long I've been working here and how inexplicably large the rest of the place is, but the descent feels like nothing.
Once the elevator comes to a stop, I immediately exit before the guests can and make my way towards the back office where the rest of my coworkers appear to be. I quickly swipe my card into the time clock screwed onto the door. They only recently installed the machine according to Roxanne, finally switching over to electronic records rather than the old flimsy paper punch cards. It was definitely before I began working here four years ago, but I suppose it still felt brand new to the company.
Moving on, I turn over to the couches and various chairs around the room and see a few of my coworkers lounging around waiting for orders to be given, as per usual. Matthew Millers, our local dead inside man, is splayed out on the couch, possibly passed out, but I’m not willing to check. If he's asleep he clearly needs the rest.
Dylan Jackson, one of the friendliest people on my team, spots me right away and gives me a little wave before returning to his intense game of Crazy Eights with Olivia Lyre, the energetic jokester of our little group.
There’s quite a few more people, but not many that I recognize or really talk to at all. Not much to say about the other employees that are practically strangers to me. They're mostly on separate and more regular teams of workers, full time tour guides, rangers, and engineers, who appear to be well respected amongst their peers. Maybe I should talk to them sometime, but that idea makes me want to crawl out of my own skin.
Some other workers on my crew show up. David Anderson, the most reasonable man I know, always showing up looking as neat as possible, and Morgan Robinson, showing up looking as, if not more, dead inside than Matthew. I'm not quite sure if she can make any other expression at this point. I have never seen her smile, only scowling to show a different emotion.
I look around the mildly crowded room, searching for someone. Heads of black, brunette, and blonde. Pleasant faces sipping on coffee and communicating with one another in a professional manner. Not exactly the sort of people I was looking for. After scanning the room a few more times I give up with a soft sigh. I guess there's just not enough work for all of us and the signal is poor down here. Maybe she called out today?
Suddenly, a pair of arms wrap around my torso causing my entire body to tense up.
“Hey Sebastion! Ya looking for someone?”
I turn around and see her, Roxanne Stark, my best friend and favorite coworker. Her purple hair is as vibrant as ever and matches her beautiful, heavy, dark makeup that I've watched her spend hours on before leaving her apartment.
“Roxy! You scared the shit out of me,” I mutter to her in an upset, but never unfriendly tone.
She releases me with a chuckle and ruffles my already messy hair.
“My bad, I forget how jumpy you can be sometimes! Anyways, has Stephanie given us any jobs yet?” Roxy asks, looking around the room, presumably for Stephanie Martin, our manager.
“Not yet, I believe she’s still in her office or possibly in some sort of meeting with the other managers.”
“Well, I suppose that gives us time to prepare for whatever nonsense that she’s going to put us through today,” she says, somehow optimistically. I don’t like waiting around for something to do, it’s so awkward just having to sit in the big break room. I suppose it’s nice to have Roxy and everybody else here with me though.
Over a short period of time, others in the giant breakroom head out to their posts, more important employees with proper jobs rather than just being extra hands to fill in absent people around the park. Then finally, it’s just us. My little team of misfits playing card games and trying to get as much rest as possible before the work finally begins.
A door unlocks and the clicking of heeled boots catches everybody’s attention. A blonde woman with small streaks of grey coming out from her roots, wearing a white buttoned-up shirt tucked into a pair of flared dress pants with a suit jacket layered overtop. She doesn’t even look up at us before listing off names from her wooden clipboard.
“Mr. Millers, I need you down in the Southern Bronchial Forest. Ms. Lyre and Ms. Robinson, you two need to fill in for some tour guides who’s groups should be arriving soon. Mr. Anderson, you must give a safety speech for all those climbers heading up to Bone Face right now. Mr. Jackson I’m putting you in charge of patrolling the Jackson’s Way Trail…” Stephanie asserts, stern as usual, “And Ms. Stark and Mr. Collins, come back to my office. I have a special job for the two of you. Now everybody get to your posts quickly. I don’t want to have to punish any of you today because of negligence or procrastinating.” The serious and intimidating glare she gives each and every one of us makes my blood run cold. She struts right back into her office, black heels clicking on the hard tile.
What could we have possibly done to cause her to look awfully upset like that?
Apparently my look of fear was clear on my face. Roxy puts her hand on my shoulder, looks me in my wide eyes, and gives me a soft smile.
“Calm down Seb. I’m sure whatever she wants us for, it’s not that bad,” she assures me, giving me another small yet firm pat on the shoulder before following Stephanie into the back.
The others all head into the locker room where all their safety suits and other gear is, while I turn the other way preparing for a hopefully swift meeting.
I shut the door quietly behind me and take a seat in one of the few chairs in front of Stephanie’s desk. I finally look up and look her in the eyes and notice a boy behind her, definitely younger than me, maybe somewhere in his early to mid twenties. He looks as nervous as I feel constantly.
“This is Charles Martinez. He is our new intern, excited to learn the ins and outs of this place and help me with all of my work. He’s now your responsibility for the day. Roxy, you know the place in and out and by far the most friendly despite your… appearance. As for you Sebastion, you’re a pretty boy and I have no other job for you today, might as well not have you sit around all day,” Stephanie explains, “So, your job for today is to give Charles a tour and explain to him how the place works. Understood?"
“Yes ma’am,” Roxy and I say, almost in unison.
“Great, then get out of here and do your jobs,” she asserts, tapping a stack of papers on her wooden desk to even them all out.
“Alright then, come on Charlie!” Roxy says, motioning for the intern to follow her.
The locker room is large, every wall filled with beige vented lockers just large enough to hang our thick safety suits in. Overalls made of a somewhat coarse, waterproof fabric and an optional jacket for work off of the trails where it’s more dangerous. After finding an extra set in a backroom that was vaguely in Charles’ size and putting said gear on, we step out of the Lower Visitor Center and out onto one of the many trails within the park.
It’s one of the standard tours, going through as much of the several mile large, gigantic organism as possible, visiting the ranger stations and call boxes, and of course hitting the bizarre yet popular landmarks within—the Hall of Horrors, Bone Face, Septum Falls, Thor’s Ribcage, the Thermal Springs…—all incredibly interesting attractions that are always fun to take time to stop and admire along with reading the informational signs typically next to any railing that may be along the trail.
The tour also goes over a bunch of safety procedures that are extremely important to know due to the chaotic nature of the pit. Despite the importance of these routines and the danger that not following the company's policies brings, Roxy explains it all with a smile and an inviting tone.
While taking the long way and going through the open trail of Ape’s Escape, a place where trained chimpanzees had settled for a short period of time, Charles panics and bends himself over the metal fencing to vomit.
Roxy immediately rushed over and helped him out, rubbing his back and comforting him to the best of her ability.
I think it's pretty normal to throw up your first time down here. The air is thick and moist, much wetter than the desert air above, and difficult to breathe when you're not accustomed to it. That along with the constant view of the red flesh…
I don't believe this is the internship that Charles wanted. He appears to be just some kid who maybe wanted to go into ecology, maybe work at some fire watch tower further north, but this is what Texas delivered.
I hear a couple of coughs and he finally lifts his head.
“It's okay man, happens to the best of us,” Roxy, with her sweet voice, says to him, “Let's get you back to the LVC. The tour was basically over anyways.”
She helped him find his balance and swiftly guided him back into the glass tunnel system we came from, her arm just behind him ready to catch Charlie if he were to faint.
Back in the LVC we get the guy some water along with a small meal. I offered him my sub that I had made that morning for my own lunch.
A quarter pounder meal from McDonald's is a good enough meal for me.
He graciously accepts the free meal with a clearly shaken smile, crooked from the experience of throwing up on the job. We've all been there but are all too afraid to admit it, except for Roxy, of course. She's always so open about her thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
I wish I was more like her.
A few minutes later I go to get my actually halfway decent meal from the food court. I'm usually not a fan of them, but they must have one of their better cooks on duty today because the meat doesn't seem to be too dry and the bun isn't completely smashed. It was put together with a bit more care than any location I've seen above the surface.
Roxy heats up what I'm assuming is a leftover cheesy pasta dish from earlier this week. It looks so good and I almost catch myself drooling at the sight of it.
We all sit quietly and eat our lunches, gently preparing for the next part of our day which will likely consist of showing Charles the ropes of our computer systems. They're extremely outdated and honestly quite difficult to work with not only due to their age, but the custom programs and hardware used to keep everything in order with the limited WiFi down here.
I trust that he's a smart kid and will get a hang of using it pretty quickly. I hope for his sake that most of the work Stephanie is going to have him do will be online.