There was an hour waiting to be killed and Sai certainly didn’t seem in the mood for further conversation. Well, there they were, surrounded by monsters. As unnerving as it was, it sounded a whole lot cooler than any game of digital checkers that Terrence might load onto his CommPad. Taking a final glance at Sai, he got up and started wandering.
There were a number of cells on floor 102-B. A spiderweb of tubes protruded out of them, carrying energy to refineries on the floors above. Peering through the reinforced glass of one cell, Terrence could see the monster within. It stared back with too many eyes and then hissed. Terrence moved away, looking at the other monsters in the hallway. Some of them were asleep, but many were watching.
In the middle of the hall, he found a closed cell that appeared empty. Confused, Terrence peered into the darkness. Seeing nothing, he brought up one finger and tapped it a few times against the glass.
“I would appreciate if you would refrain from doing that again,” said a silvery voice.
Terrence stepped backward, startled. “I’m sorry?” he said, more out of surprise than a conscious decision to speak.
The unseen creature sighed. “It’s fine, really,” it said. Or maybe ‘she’—the voice sounded feminine. “Merely an annoyance. My apologies if I have startled you,” she said, emerging from the darkness. “I seem to have developed a terrible habit of surprising people.”
The monster looked almost able to pass for a human. She had pallid skin, a tall and slender figure, and dark eyes. She looked so normal, in fact, that it was almost surprising when the creature smoothed her dress and revealed that instead of the expected pair of arms, she had at least six. Some of them ended in normal hands and others had claws. One pair had what appeared to be some sort of tubing. Her clothes were also strange. They looked similar to the standard uniform that he had seen on a few of the other humanoid monsters, but the ones on this monster were tattered, more scraps of fabric than real clothes, and supplemented by a patchwork of other fabrics. She stepped closer to the reinforced glass and tilted her head to the side. “Might I inquire as to who is visiting me, good stranger? I’m sorry, I don’t believe I recognize you.”
Terrence felt a little uneasy. He remembered Sai’s warning about messing with monsters, and this one definitely seemed intelligent. Still, the thing was locked in a cage. What harm could it do? Shrugging, he said, “This is my first day here. I’m the new janitor. My name’s Terrence.”
“Lovely,” the monster smiled. “I am a seamstress. You may call me that.”
“Okay. It’s nice to meet you, er, Seamstress,” he said, wondering if this conversation was normal for a monster. He looked down the hall.
“I take it you haven’t met the others?” Seamstress asked, interrupting him.
Terrence shook his head. “You’re the first monster I’ve spoken to here. Why, should I have?”
Seamstress laughed, a light, beautiful sound, and not unkind. “No, I suppose you shouldn’t have, seeing as they’ve been in temporary containment upstairs while their cells are undergoing routine maintenance. But they’ll certainly be pleased to return to clean cells tomorrow.” She gave an airy sigh. “Will you come back to meet them?”
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Well, the graveyard shift wasn’t exactly bursting with opportunities to meet up new people. Still, as nice as she seemed, Seamstress was a monster, and palling around with dangerous beasties was generally not a good idea. “Well…” Well, what did he really have to lose? “Sure. I’ll try to come.”
“Lovely. I simply cannot wait to introduce everyone. Caliax is usually over there, and those are the cells for Celia and Sirena and Prismec, although I wouldn’t waste much time on her—I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Seamstress sighed. “I really do apologize. It is just that, well, it’s not often that people stop to chat.”
“Should I go?”
“Oh, not at all. I really do appreciate the company.” She smiled prettily. “You’re sweet. Not many humans have such nice manners.”
“Um, thanks.” He was blushing much more than he wanted to. “I, well, um, you seem really nice, too.” He laughed nervously. “Damn, this is gonna sound really awkward, but when you first showed up, I honestly thought you wanted to eat me or something. I guess I got that wrong.”
“Eat you?” Seamstress looked aghast. “Terrence, if I went around eating humans, how do you think I would keep this figure?”
“Like I said, it was stupid. Sorry.”
“That’s the reputation we monsters get,” she sighed. “Well, I assure you that nobody in this part of the hallway eats humans, except perhaps Celia.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Certainly,” she nodded. “Would you like to sit down? I was finishing a project when you arrived, and I was hoping to get it done before morning. I can work while we converse.” Seamstress retreated back into the darkness of her cell and emerged with what appeared to be a patchwork dress and a headless rodent, likely leftovers from a meal. She proceeded to skin the rat and attack it with her assortment of limbs. “Terrence, you simply must give me your opinion on this. Do you think the trim should have ruffles, or should this bit be saved for the piping?” The strange tubes were producing a milky sort of string and two claws were trading it off, rapidly creating stitches. She was patching the headless coat onto the hem of her dress.
Terrence looked on, perturbed. “That’s quite a…thing you just did, there,” he finally said.
“Thank you,” blushed Seamstress. “Sewing is my passion. Now, do you think the rest would look better as ruffles?”
He glanced back at the dress. “Sure, I guess? Do you, um, do you use rats in all your creations?” he asked.
“Heavens no!” Seamstress gasped. “There’s no variety in that at all!” She made another few stitches. “I take what I can get these days. Rats, mice, the occasional cat when it’s provided. I’d love to use you.”
Terrence blinked. And breathed. And blinked again. “Well, now I understand why you’re called a monster,” he finally said.
Seamstress looked indignant at the verdict. “Terrence, that’s rude. I am no savage,” she protested, straightening her posture. “I would make your death very clean. One quick slice at the neck and you wouldn’t even feel a thing. You would make a most lovely tunic.”
“Yeah, um, if it’s all the same, I think I’d better get going.”
“Please, wait.” Seamstress sighed and leaned against the glass mournfully. “I only meant it to be a compliment. Please don’t go.” She sighed. “I really am out of practice, talking to humans.”
She really did sound sincere. Perhaps that was what made him stop. “Look, it’s fine. I guess. As long as you don’t try to kill me.”
“No. I am sorry.” She stepped back elegantly, then tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Your skin really is lovely, though. Would you rather have me make it into an overcoat?”
There was no hint of malevolence in her voice. Terrence bit his lip. “I think I’ll just leave it the way it is.”