Nightmares

Disappearing Act

            I had known that Thomas wasn’t going to be able to stay awake with me the whole time, but I was sure wrong on the time that he would crash out. It was only just now hitting midnight and I heard hit head hit the top of his work table over my music. I was trying not to laugh at the face he made when he tried to sit up so fast that he threw himself off of his stool and onto the floor. 

            “You know there is a rest area in the lounge for us workers, right Thomas?” I asked while trying to keep the smirk off of my face. 

“No, I wasn’t aware of that at all Rebecca. Could you please show me? Maybe then I would be able to work better after a little nap.” Thomas answered back with a small blush on his cheeks and a small line across his forehead from where he hit the table. 

            “Give me just a second. I need to finish the cleaning on this last bit of this blade and then put it in the preservation fridge. I have a feeling that this is going to go on display soon, so I want to make sure that it really shines and catches the eye of the public when they come into the museum.” I said with a glint on knowing in my eye that thankfully Thomas didn’t notice was there. 

            “Okay Thomas, let's get you some sleep before I have to call Hugh to get the wheelchair to move you.” I said. We walked to the lounge area and in the back corner was an old supply closet that I had converted to a rest area. Everyone else that saw the door thought it was always locked, but Hugh and I were the only ones that actually had the keys to it. I had stumbled across the room when I had first started working here, and the keys were under a box of old cleaning supplies, almost as if someone had either placed them there and forgot or left them for someone else to find them 

“You are a very good person to let me get some sleep in here. You should try getting a little sleep yourself too. You had said that you had been taking care of the items for almost three years, but didn’t you just get hired on here not more than a few weeks ago?” Thomas asked around a yawn. 

            “So, you managed to hear that part,” I giggled. “I may have only been hired on here a few weeks ago, but I was actually volunteering here while I was at University. That’s how I’ve been able to get hired on here so fast with just having finished University only last year. The Director of this museum would always review the night footage when getting in the next morning and would notice someone on the preservation floor. When Hugh was asked, he stated that it was just one of the volunteers from University that was straightening the room after everyone had gone home for the night. I was asked into the Director’s office the next day that I was scheduled to come in, and was asked if all I was doing after everyone left was straightening the room up. I told the Director that if they would like to see what all I did after everyone left that I would be willing to show them after closing that night. I waited for everyone to leave and as soon as the doors to the public were locked the Director came to the preservation floor. I showed them that I did make the areas clean and tidy for the next working day, but that I was also working on a few of the items that no one had managed to get to just yet. They were only a few of the smaller items, but the Director was surprised about how well I took care of the items that I was asked for my full name since I was only going by Rebecca or Volunteer. When I said my name was Rebecca Moreau, they were shocked that I was only a volunteer here and not working on the floor. You see, my parents have made a name for themselves in the field because of what they have found over the years.” I said with a heartwarming smile on my face.

 “So, your parents happen to be those Moreau’s? They are the ones that have found almost all of the items that are on exhibit in the museum!” Thomas exclaimed with a small yell. 

            “I didn’t want to ride my parents coat tails with trying to volunteer here. I actually like this side of taking care of the items instead of being the face for the finding of them. My parents do enough of that for all three of us that I would rather be the one that was in the background.” I said with a shrug. 

“I didn’t want to make it sound like it was a bad thing to be their child. I’m sorry if it came across that way Rebecca.” Thomas stated with a sad look on his. 

            “It’s okay Thomas. Truth be had I was actually glad that you didn’t know who I was when we first started talking. I’ve had so many fake people try to be around me just to try to get to my parents. It was sort of refreshing that someone would like me for me and not just want to use me like all the other times.” I smiled back. 

“Well I’m glad to be of some help to you Rebecca. I think I’m gonna crash out on this couch over here if that’s okay with you. I could use a little shut eye after the items that came across my table on the floor today.” Thomas bit back another yawn while saying that. 

            “Take as long as you need Thomas. I’m sure I’ll still be here when you wake back up.” I said with a giggle and a smile. I closed the door to the lounge and headed back to the security desk to let Hugh know that Thomas was crashing out earlier that I thought he would and I would be back on the preservation floor to finish what I had been working at. I also managed to snag a little more of my cookie to eat on the way back to the floor. 

            I managed to get back into the swing of cleaning the last couple of items on my table when Hugh came onto the floor with a cup of hot coffee for me. He was always making sure that I either had something to drink or knew he wasn’t that far away from where I was seated. I smiled at him and gratefully took the coffee from him. I was just getting finished with the coffee when Hugh came running back onto the floor. 

“Have you gone to check on Thomas since he crashed out in the lounge?” questioned Hugh. 

            “No, I figured I’d give him a few more hours of sleep. He did smack his head rather hard on the table before I told him that there was a place that he could sleep. Isn’t he in there still?” I asked.  

“I just went past there and he wasn’t there. I even checked the footage of the parking area and there are the same three cars there that are mine, yours and Thomas’. I thought that maybe he had just gotten up to walk back here, but none of the footage shows him anywhere in the museum.” Hugh said with a stunned face. 

            I turned pail the more Hugh kept talking. I know that I had left Thomas in the lounge with the door shut when I came back here almost two hours ago. I wasn’t sure how he had disappeared from the museum without being caught on camera, but I was starting to get a funny feeling about it.