Button Factory

{(set: $count to 0) (set: $Clyde to 0) (set: $monster to 0)} Your alarm clock blares, and you open your eyes drearily. It's six in the morning. You wish you could go back to sleep, but you can't. It is Monday, which means that it is time for another fantastic day of work at the <span style="font-size: 200%">BUTTON FACTORY</span> a story by Julia Nelson (click [[here|Trigger Warning]] for Trigger Warning) [[Wake up.|Wake up]]

After peeling your tired body from the bed, you trudge into the kitchen for breakfast. You pour yourself a bowl of your trusty off-brand Flakes of Ambiguous Ingredients, the only breakfast cereal you can afford on the meager wages paid to you by the Button Factory. It tastes like shredded cardboard. After eating breakfast, packing lunch, and completing your daily hygiene activities, you head back to your bedroom to get dressed for the day. [[Get dressed.|Dress]]

You put on your Button Factory uniform, which consists of a gray jumpsuit and black sneakers. You do not wear a nametag because you work on the conveyer lines, and the manager does not care about the names of the conveyer line workers. [[Go to work.|Go to work]]

You step out of your dorm pod and walk down the hallway towards the Button Factory. You don't know what the outside of it looks like, but it is a big, gray rectangular prism with smokestacks on top. Typical factory stuff. You walk through the front gates and enter the factory, falling in line with various other jumpsuit-clad bodies trying to clock in. As you wait, you spot your friend [[Clyde|Clyde (clyde 1)]] a few spots ahead of you in line. Upon arriving at the front of the line, you select your time card from the nearby stack and slide it through the clock-in machine. Now ready to start the day, you report to your designated spot on the conveyer line. When everyone has taken their places, the manager, a sharp older woman in her 60's, takes her place at the head of the line and blows a whistle. The conveyer lines come to life. [[Step 1: Pour button plastic.|Step 1]]

(set: $count to $count+1) (if: $count is 1)[You are currently at the first step of the button-making process. Rows of cylindrical molds begin sliding towards you on the conveyer belt. You pick up the tube that connects to the giant vat of molten button plastic. You stick the nozzle into each mold, pressing down a lever on the tube to release liquid plastic into the molds. This continues for a while until the manager blows her whistle. It's time to change stations. [[Step 2: Cut plastic into buttons.|Step 2]]](if: $count is 2)[You are currently at the first step of the button-making process. Rows of cylindrical molds begin sliding towards you on the conveyer belt. You pick up the tube that connects to the giant vat of (link: "molten button plastic.")[molten button plastic. It used to burn your hands, since you aren't given any protective gloves, but your fingers and palms are so calloused now that it doesn't matter.] You stick the nozzle into each mold, pressing down a lever on the tube to release liquid plastic into the molds. This continues for a while until the manager blows her whistle. It's time to change stations. [[Step 2: Cut plastic into buttons.|Step 2]]](if: $count is 3)[You are currently at the first step of the button-making process. You know what to do. Take tube. Fill cylinders. Repeat. [[Step 2: Cut plastic into buttons.|Step 2]]]

(if: $count is 1)[You leave the mold-filling station and go to the button-cutting station. This time, hardened plastic cylinders approach you on the conveyer, and you must cut them, without measuring equipment, into exactly 1/8-inch-thick coins. You slice through each cylinder with a laser-knife, which cuts them like they're soft butter. This continues for a while until the manager blows her whistle. It's time to change stations. [[Step 3: Puncture the buttons.|Step 3]]](if: $count is 2)[You leave the mold-filling station and go to the button-cutting station. This time, hardened plastic cylinders approach you on the conveyer, and you must cut them, without measuring equipment, into exactly (link: "1/8-inch-thick coins.")[1/8-inch-thick coins. You don't know why you're forced to cut them free-hand, other than the manager saying that upper management "prefers their buttons to be cut with a human touch." Whatever that means. If that's true, then you think they should be okay with human error, as well.] You slice through each cylinder with a laser-knife, which cuts them like they're soft butter. This continues for a while until the manager blows her whistle. It's time to change stations. [[Step 3: Puncture the buttons.|Step 3]]](if: $count is 3)[Laser-knife. Cut out buttons. So many buttons. [[Step 3: Puncture the buttons.|Step 3]]]

(if: $count is 1)[You approach the third station. This is the one where you use a double-pronged hole punch to make two perfectly round holes in each coin, finishing the button-making process. This continues for a while until the manager blows her whistle. It's time to change stations. [[Step 4: Package the buttons.|Step 4]]](if: $count is 2)[You approach the third station. This is the one where you use a double-pronged hole punch to make two perfectly round holes in each coin, finishing the (link: "button-making process.")[button-making process. You remember the one time when a fellow conveyer line operator joked to you about how the Button Factory only produces buttons with two holes, and that they prefer the four-holed variety instead. The next day, the two of you were called into the manager's office, where your coworker was beaten with one of the double-pronged hole punches. You narrowly escaped the same thing by convincing the manager that you did not condone the joke. You have no idea why the manager is so intense about button holes. Maybe she just really likes to be in control.] This continues for a while until the manager blows her whistle. It's time to change stations. [[Step 4: Package the buttons.|Step 4]]](if: $count is 3)[Punch punch punch punch. [[Step 4: Package the buttons.|Step 4]]]

Clyde, your best friend. The two of you started working at the Button Factory on the same day, and you have been close ever since. You cannot say anything to him now, however, because employees are only allowed to talk when either given permission by a manager or on your single fifteen-minute lunch break in the middle of the day. Clyde doesn't always adhere the best to the "no communication" rules, which tends to get both of you in trouble. Still, talking to Clyde at lunch about your interests and life in general is always the highlight of your day. [[Back|Go to work]]

As you make your way to your next station, you take a look around. There must be about a hundred workers on the floor right now. They look like a river of gray sludge, flowing along the predetermined path to their next stations. You spot Clyde going in the opposite direction as you. He notices you looking and shoots you a smile. It could be risky, but you can try to [[communicate back]], if you'd like. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot the manager dash through an unfamiliar door at the back of the room. Usually the manager stays in place throughout your entire shift, so you wonder what's going on. You could [[go and see]], but you'll be in big trouble if you get caught. Anyway, you'd better be heading to [[where you're supposed to go|Step 1]].

(if: $count is 1)[The final station is where the buttons are poured off the conveyer and into cardboard boxes. You must tape up each box when it becomes full and quickly replace it with an empty box. After being packaged, the boxes of buttons are sent somewhere else in the factory, preparing to be shipped out into the world. This continues for a while until the manager blows her whistle. It's time to change stations. Since this was the last one, you must now return to the beginning again.](if: $count is 2)[The final station is where the buttons are poured off the conveyer and into cardboard boxes. You must tape up each box when it becomes full and quickly replace it with an (link: "empty box.")[empty box. The buttons never stop flowing, and you *will* be punished if you let even a single button touch the ground. You have gotten pretty good at this station, but you hear the manager shouting at others nearly every day.] After being packaged, the boxes of buttons are sent somewhere else in the factory, preparing to be shipped out into the world. This continues for a while until the manager blows her whistle. It's time to change stations. Since this was the last one, you must now return to the beginning again.](if: $count is 3)[You watch buttons pour into boxes until you hear the manager's--] (if: $count is 1)[[Return to Step 1.|Notice (4 count)]] (if: $count is 2)[[Oh wait--it's lunch time.|Lunch (8 count)]] (if: $count is 3)[[*CRASH*|Endgame (12 count)]]

(set: $Clyde to $Clyde+1) You think smiling might be a little too risky, so you give Clyde a little wave. Just then, you feel a smack on the back of your head and stumble forward. Clyde hurriedly puts on a straight face and walks away, into the crowd. You don't blame him for that--it's better that only one of you gets caught. You don't need to turn around to know that the manager has just hit you with one of the many items she owns for the purpose of employee punishment. But you turn around anyway and see that the manager has indeed returned from the mysterious door. She is holding a large stick and looking quite angry as usual. "No friendship in the Button Factory!" she screams as other employees flow past on both sides of you, ignoring the commotion. "I will not tolerate any sign of positivity in this workplace. Only productivity. Do you understand?" "Yes, manager," you say. Just then, an odd, faint noise sounds somewhere in the distance. It kind of sounds like...an animal roar? The manager immediately tenses up and starts towards the back of the room. "Get back to your station." [["Yes, manager."|Step 1]] What was that last part about? Never mind. You have more pressing matters to attend to.

(set: $monster to $monster+1) You try not to draw much attention as you make your way through the crowd of employees to the door you think the manager went through. You notice that it isn't labeled as you slip inside and find yourself in a dimly lit hallway. The manager isn't anywhere to be seen. All of a sudden, you hear a massive roar that reverberates throughout the entire hallway. You're not sure whether or not whatever made the noise is a a person or an animal, or even a living creature, but you sure don't want to stick around and find out. You hurry out through the door and [[get back to work.|Step 1]] The manager soon returns and resumes her whistle-blowing duties.

-Trigger Warning- This story contains scenes of characters being physically punished by superiors at work. It is not very graphic and it is not described in much detail. It's also not the central topic of the story. Still, please proceed with caution if that sort of thing is upsetting to you. [[Back to start.|Start]]

All the conveyer line employees grab their packed lunches and make their way to the small courtyard outside the Button Factory. It is the only location where eating lunch is permitted. On your way there, you happen to pass by the manager, who seems to be heading off somewhere. Usually so perfectly dressed and put-together, the manager currently looks like a mess. You [[wonder|look at manager]] what could be wrong, especially after this morning. The courtyard is completely filled in with gravel and there isn't anywhere to sit except on the ground. It's surrounded by a tall brick wall topped with barbed wire. You see Clyde sitting at the far end of the courtyard. He pats the ground next to him, inviting you to come [[eat with him|eat with Clyde]]. On the other hand, you could also decide to [[eat alone today|eat alone]].

(set: $Clyde to $Clyde+1) Lunch is the only time where you're allowed to talk freely about whatever you want--as long as it's not about the Button Factory. You and Clyde have managed to get around this with some creative thinking. You take a seat on the ground next to Clyde, who is opening his brown paper bag and taking out a sandwich. It is the same thing that you have--bologna made of ground up meat trimmings and a thin layer of mayo. (if: $Clyde is 2)["Sorry about earlier," he says, taking a bite. "I didn't realize your cat was nearby." "At least the cat didn't scratch you, too," you say, knowing what he means. "You've got to be careful around it--it's not too friendly around people I'm close with."](else:)["Sorry about trying to say 'hi' earlier," he says, taking a bite. "If the cat was nearby, both of us would've been clawed to shreds." "It's okay," you say, knowing he's referring to the manager. "But you've got to be more careful--my cat's not too friendly around people I'm close with."] Clyde laughs. "You know me. I'm not afraid of a little kitty." "I mean, maybe you should be," you say, rubbing your head wound. "Cats have sharp claws, you know." "Yeah..." Clyde crumples up his paper bag into a ball. "But, don't you ever wish you could live life how you want it? Without having to take care of that stupid cat, who doesn't even like you?" Yes, you do wish that. But all you've ever known is the Button Factory. You're not sure if you have the courage to try anything else. The only response you can muster is to look away and shrug. "I don't know." Clyde's enthusiasm drops off his face. "Sorry...I didn't mean to upset you." He slings an arm around your shoulders. "We'll get through things together, okay? You and me." Just then, you hear a whistle, which signifies the end of the lunch period. Clyde gives you one more sympathetic look before heading back into the Button Factory. [[You follow close behind.|Step 1]] When you return, the manager is once again in her place. She looks perfectly normal.

(set: $monster to $monster+1) The manager's clothes are all torn up, like she's been mauled by an animal. Her hair is falling out of her usually tight bun at the back of her head. She's carrying a large cardboard box and looks like she's in a hurry. A little ways past you, the manager stops and looks around. You try to turn away, but she's already spotted you staring. She drops the box and rushes towards you. "You!" she snarls. "What are you looking at?" "Nothing, manager," you say. But you know you're screwed. The manager grabs you by the hair and drags you down the hall to her office. She shoves you inside and closes the door behind her. You mentally prepare yourself for the impending punishment. "Listen, you little worm," says the manager with a quiet intensity, grabbing you by the front of your jumpsuit. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into." "What do you--?" (if: $monster is 2)[The manager shakes you a little. "Don't play dumb with me! I know you followed me earlier today. The security cameras don't lie." "I, uh--"] "I never gave you permission to speak!" The manager pulls you close, almost nose-to-nose with her. "Now, you'd better listen well to what I'm about to tell you. Forget anything you saw or heard in that hallway. Forget you saw me looking like this." Her tough expression falters a little and you think you see a touch of fear in her eyes. "Please. It's for your own good." "Y-yes, manager," you manage to squeak out. She pushes you away from her as she turns to leave. Back to her old self. "Good. Now get to lunch." You see the manager rush away as you exit her office. Lunch goes by quickly, and soon enough you're back on the [[conveyer line|Step 1]].

You tell Clyde that you'd rather eat by yourself today. He understands--Button Factory work is mentally tough. Sometimes you just need some alone time. You find a spot at the edge of the courtyard and take out the sandwich you packed for lunch--bologna made of ground up meat trimmings and a thin layer of mayo. It tastes mediocre, but it's better than the cereal. The fifteen minutes pass by quickly, and soon enough you hear the manager's whistle, calling everyone back to work. You fold up your paper lunch bag and stick it in your pocket to reuse again tomorrow before standing up and [[returning to the Button Factory|Step 1]]. When you return, the manager is once again in her place. She looks perfectly normal.

Before you can move, a loud crashing sound pierces the air. Everyone stops what they're doing and looks around for the source of the noise. Then the lights snap out. Eerie red emergency lights blink on like they've been suddenly awoken from a deep sleep. They're pretty dim, so you still can't see much. An unfamiliar, mechanical voice rises above the nervous chatter: "This is a Code Red. All employees, remain at your stations. This is a Code Red. All employees, remain at your stations." Unsurprisingly, this only makes people panic more, and you hear and feel other workers beginning to freak out. (if: $monster is >=1)[Out of the corner of your eye, you notice that the manager is once again not in her usual place. [[Where could she have gone this time?|monster end 1]]] (if: $Clyde is >=1)[You feel someone grab your arm. It's Clyde. He's got one of the tubes from the liquid plastic vats slung over his shoulder. "Come on, let's go!" he shouts over the crowd. "Something's definitely wrong here. [[We have to get out while we still can!"|Clyde end 1]]] The recorded message repeats over and over again, and you're filled with an overwhelming thought: [[*You cannot, under any circumstances, risk staying here any longer.*|Bad end 1]] Better make a choice while you still can.

You nod and allow Clyde to pull you out of the main factory floor and down the hall. You notice that he's leading you away from the main exit. "Where are we going?" you say as you run. "The door's back that way!" "It's locked," says Clyde. "I saw some other people trying to get out through the front door and they couldn't. Luckily, I've got a backup plan." Another loud crash resounds from the conveyer room, closely followed by a grotesque, inhuman howl and the screams of your coworkers. The shock causes you to stumble, but Clyde's hand pulls you further away from the horror behind you. "What *is* that?" you shout. "I don't know, and I don't think I want to find out," says Clyde. "But I think this place has a secret bigger than we can imagine." The two of you arrive at the door to the lunch courtyard. Clyde pulls on the handle, and surprisingly [[it opens.|Clyde end 2]]

You only have one idea. That mysterious door. You push through all the other conveyer line employees as you make your way to the unmarked door from earlier today. Feeling a sense of dread in the pit of your stomach, you grab a laser-knife from a work station on your way there. The door is partially open when you arrive, so you head through it and start down the dim hallway. ... The corridor seems to be getting darker the farther you go. Good thing you have the orange glow of the laser-knife to see by. You're not sure exactly when, but at some point the walls change from the gray plaster of the factory to old, stone walls. They're like something out of a fantasy movie, except creepier and emitting a faint smell of garbage and burnt plastic. Your echoing footsteps are punctuated by frequent inhuman growls and howls--similar to the one you heard earlier today. They only get louder as you continue onward, and your feeling of unease gets stronger. You grip the laser-knife more firmly. Finally you arrive at a dungeon-esque door. There is a variety of locks strewn across the floor in front of it, as well as installed in the door itself. Now that you're this close, you realize that there is also a human voice coming from inside the room. It sounds horribly familiar...could it be? [[You have no choice but to go inside.|monster end 2]]

Unable to process anything among the chaos but your desire to leave, you make a beeline for the front exit, pushing past all the other conveyer line employees until your hands find the door handle. You push. The door doesn't open. Wait, maybe it's a pull door? You try pulling the handle, and when that doesn't work, you try both pushing and pulling a few more times. No luck. Suddenly the ground begins to rumble beneath your feet. You turn around just fast enough to see a wall on the other side of the room being pulverized, and coming through its remains is a creature like nothing you've ever seen. It's a massive blob of what looks like melting chewing gum, but with a rough, scaly texture. It oozes into the factory, slowly but steadily propelled forward by its thick, snail's-foot-like appendages. Its arms--or whatever they are--number at least ten, and each one ends in claws like razor-blades. And its gargantuan mouth, taking up most of the creature's body, opens wide to reveal row after row of teeth as it lets out a great howl. As the monster crawls further into the factory, each piece of equipment it touches is either melted into sludge by its skin or torn into pieces by its claws. The employees scream and run, but anyone close enough to the beast is promptly sucked inside its cavernous mouth and swallowed whole. Frozen in fear, you can't get your feet to move from this spot--and where would you go, anyway? [[The doors are locked.|Bad end 2]]

Suddenly, someone runs out in front of the monster. It's...the manager? She waves her arms frantically. "No! Stop! You can't do this!" The monster responds by starting towards her with a grunt. "I know we were short of quota last week, but we'll make it up next time, and then some! Go back to your den and--" That is all the manager can get out before she too is sucked into the mouth of the monster. With nowhere to go or hide, you brace yourself for the inevitable. As you feel the monster rumble towards you and smell its disgusting waves of breath, you think about how you never expected this to be your last day of work at the Button Factory. As you feel yourself being sucked off the ground, you think about how you certainly didn't expect your employment to end with your death. ~The End~ (end 3: Untimely End)

As the two of you run outside, you ask, "How did you know that door wasn't locked?" "A wild guess, honestly," says Clyde. He smiles at you, clearly proud of himself. "I thought that maybe they wouldn't care about locking the courtyard door since the wall would be enough to keep everyone in." You can't believe that Clyde's far-fetched theory actually worked, but there's no time to think about that right now. "Speaking of that wall--" "Got that covered!" Clyde holds up the tube he brought. He winds up like a baseball pitcher and chucks one end up the brick wall. The lever at the end of the tube catches on the barbed wire and holds firm. "Nice. Let's go." Clyde climbs up first and perches on top of the wall. Next, you grab onto the tube and plant your foot onto the wall. The grooves in your work sneakers snag the gaps in between the bricks, and you make your way up with relative ease. You're nearly at the top when you hear the factory door you just came from being smashed to pieces. "Hey, uh, you might want to hurry up," Clyde says in a hushed voice. He's staring incredulously at something behind you. "What--" You turn your head to see what he's looking at, and you barely catch a glimpse of something massive coming towards you before Clyde grabs your arm and firmly tugs you [[over the wall.|Clyde end 3]]

The barbed wire slits your cheeks and cuts through your clothes as you're dragged through the barbed wire. Clyde pulls you close to him as the two of you hurtle down the other side of the wall. You hit the ground hard. Clyde takes the brunt of the impact, and you hear him suck in a breath as he lands heavily on one arm. But there's no time to deal with that. The two of you scramble to your feet and sprint away from the Button Factory as fast as you can. ... After what seems like hours of running through nothingness, you arrive at the outskirts of a city. You've never seen one before, having never been outside the factory's walls. But standing there with your best friend, staring at the tall, sparkling buildings on the horizon, you feel something new well up deep in your chest-- hope. ~The End~ (end 1: Friends Forever)

In the center of the room is a creature like nothing you've ever seen. It's a massive blob of what looks like melting chewing gum, but with a rough, scaly texture. It reaches forward with thick, snail's-foot-like appendages. Its arms--or whatever they are--number at least ten, and each one ends in claws like razor-blades. And its gargantuan mouth, taking up most of the creature's body, opens wide to reveal row after row of teeth as it lets out a great roar. Standing in front of the beast is the manager. She's ripping open box after box, emptying the contents into its mouth. The familiar boxes and the sound of the contents as they pour out make it obvious what's inside--buttons. The door slams itself behind you when you let it go, and the manager whips around to face you. "You! What are you doing here? It's dangerous!" You are shocked into near silence. "Manager...?" She turns back to the boxes, and her shout breaks you out of your frozen state. "Get over here and help me!" You rush over to the pile of boxes. Sure enough, each of them is filled to the brim with buttons from the factory. As soon as you can tear the tape off of each one, the manager picks up each one and feeds it to the monster. It seems to grunt menacingly whenever it gets impatient. "Oh, quit it," gripes the manager. "We're going as fast as we cam." "Manager," you begin, [["just what the heck is going on here??"|monster end 3]]

The manager glares at you. "Does this *really* seem like a good time to be asking questions?" You hold her glare, and she sighs. "I suppose there's no hiding anything from you now. This...thing's been haunting me for as long as I can remember. But keep opening boxes while I tell you!" "Got it," you say. "When I was a child, my parents owned a clothing shop. Naturally, we always had a lot of buttons in store. Life was good until the monster showed up. It destroyed the entire shop from ceiling to floor, devouring everything in the process. Including my parents. In my childish ignorance, I tried to offer it a handful of buttons in exchange for my life. Little did I know that buttons were its favorite snack. Especially those with two holes. "Ever since then, it's been following me everywhere. I've been forced to become its slave, buying out buttons in every city around to keep it sated. But its cravings kept getting stronger and stronger, and I was running out of options. That's why I decided to create the Button Factory about thirty years ago. "I took in prisoners and homeless people--those nobody wanted or cared about. Your parents must have been among them. I built this factory and living quarters out in the middle of nowhere, to minimize the amount of people the monster would be able to eat if it went on a rampage again. "But now, even that's not enough. I don't think I can hold it back anymore." "Can't you just kill it?" you say. "Why do you have to keep feeding it?" "You don't understand! It's capable of destroying or eating just about anything it comes across." The manager looks away. "There's only one thing that might work, but there's no guarantee. It's my [[last resort|monster end 4]]."

"What is it?" you say. "I'll help." "Alright," says the manager. After checking that the monster is occupied with plenty of buttons, she pulls you to her side and whispers in your ear: "There's a huge bomb under this factory. If we blow it up, the monster could be destroyed along with it." "But--all the workers! They'll get blown up too." "That's exactly why I haven't tried this yet. Plus, I don't know if even a bomb is enough to kill this monster." "We have to try," you say, swallowing your fear. "We can't keep letting it control all of us." "Yes," says the manager. "Here's what we'll do: you lead everyone out of the factory and get them as far away as possible." She gestures to the beast. "I'll hold this thing off as long as possible with our button reserves, but once we're out, I'm pulling the trigger." You nod. "Wait, doesn't that mean you'll--" "I'll gladly give up this disgusting life if I can save everyone else." The manager shoves you towards the door. "Now, get out of here! Go!" "Yes, manager!" You sprint back down the hall to the [[main factory floor|monster end 5]].

When you make it back, things are still in chaos. Thinking quickly, you rush through the crowd to the manager's station. There you find her keychain hanging on a hook, whistle attached. You pick it up and blow into the whistle with all the breath you can muster. Everyone stops and turns towards you, expecting to see the manager. "There's no time to explain," you shout, "but we need to get out of here! Everyone follow me outside!" You lead the workers to the front door, which won't open. Must have been because of the emergency lockdown. You find a keycard on the manager's keychain and swipe it on a nearby sensor, unlocking the door. ... It takes quite a while, but you manage to herd each and every worker out of the factory and send them running in a random direction away from it. The factory is little more than a dot on the horizon when the explosion hits. You feel the wasteland dust rush around you as you all crouch down into little balls, far enough away to avoid the majority of the shrapnel. You have no idea what sorts of side effects might arise from being near an explosion site, but it doesn't matter right now. As everyone slowly stands back up, they all turn to look at you. The manager's dead, and you appear to have taken her crown. There's a cough from somewhere in the group, and you look towards the noise to see that it's Clyde. "So, new leader. Where to now?" You look out over the factory workers and at the new, wide world around you. "Freedom." ~The End~ (end 2: It's All Over)