After a few weeks of working, Evelyn had defied what Sammy said. Sure, the pay was quite small and the constant leaking ink pipes were annoying, but it was what she had.
Since she started her job, a voice actress by the name of Susie Campbell had joined the crew. A super sweet woman, but a little bit toxic.
Wally and Evelyn became good friends, but Sammy still remained a stranger aside from still eavesdropping on his music.
...Until Wally caught her listening to him after she thought everyone else had left.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"It's not like we're interacting!"
"But if he saw you, you're dang close!" Wally argued.
Little did the two of them know, Sammy was listening from inside the studio. He had stopped playing and was silently laughing at them. "You know I don't care, right?"
Wally and Evelyn froze.
"She's not interrupting me, my music is actually being enjoyed and acknowledged; I couldn't care less about whether or not she listens to my songs while she's working, Wally."
A loud creak came from the ceiling.
"Uh oh..." Wally commented as they started running towards the stairs. To their unfortunate surprise, they had turned into a river of ink, quickly flooding the music department.
"I don't get it!" Wally exclaimed, "I just fixed the pipes not more than an hour ago!"
"Maybe someone tripped over the pipe in front of the ink machine and knocked it loose?" Evelyn guessed.
Wally started trying to walk up the stairs, but the flow was too strong and the ink was too think, making him loose footing on the steps and fall onto his back in the rising pool that was consuming the room.
Evelyn felt the cold ink wrap around her legs, and found it difficult to move.
"There's a spot above the recording studio where the projector is. It's elevated off the ground enough for us to get out of this mess." Sammy suggested, to which both Evelyn and Wally agreed. They trudged through the black lake around them, up to the platform.
Black stained their clothes up to their knees, while Wally was covered practically from head to toe in the mess. "If we don't get rid of this Heaven forsaken machine, I'm outta here!"
"Wait..." Evelyn started, "Sammy, isn't there a pump in your office to drain the department? If we could get to it, we could get out of the studio."
"You can try, but you would end up drowning on the way there. Not to mention that this ink could be blocking the door. If it isn't already, then it will soon." Sammy replied.
"Then let's get a move on!" Wally exclaimed. "You two could try to get to the pump, and I'll try again at the stairs to fix the pipe."
Evelyn was already going back down from the recording studio, Sammy following a few feet behind her. Wally was using a plunger to give him somewhat of a grip to the stairs hidden under the inky river. The rushing current almost swept Evelyn's footing out from under her with every step she took. Sammy held onto the walls to avoid falling.
When the handle to Sammy's office almost was in reach, things got even more difficult. With a loud crack, the lumber of the ceiling broke under pressure, allowing more ink to fill the department, and much faster. Evelyn's balance was lost, and she disappeared under the black pool. But when she tried to get back up, she couldn't. Something was holding her down under.
At last, Evelyn broke free and rose to see Sammy pulling her up by her arm and to the handle of the door.
"Find something to hold onto." He told her, guiding her to the wall while he trudged through the now waist-deep ink to his office. When he opened the door, the ink quickly started leveling out with its new area, pushing Sammy to the wall where the pump was located.
When the wheel on the pump started turning, the ink started going down at last. Evelyn was able to stand on her own when it drained down to below her knees, even though it was still thick and hard to walk through.
Wally came back, slushing through some of the still remaining sludge. "That pipe just keeps on bursting!" He shouted, "It's always that specific one too! Kinda weird if you ask me."
He offered a clean rag to Evelyn to clean her hands and face. She gladly took it, but the only thing it did was smear the ink over her skin. Sammy was still in his office turning the pump until the mess was completely gone. "I honestly don't understand how fine ink is worth this much trouble." He complained as they walked back to the center of the department.
A crash emerged from the recording studio followed by a voice, "I'm not that fond of the leaks either, Sammy. But it will be helping your paycheck eventually." Joey stepped down from the stairs.
"Wait, you guys are getting paid?" Wally asked. Evelyn just shook her head.
Joey held out a few sheets of music to Sammy that were practically dripping and drowning in red pen. "I made a few notes that I think you should look over." He starting walking away, "Work hard, work happy!"
Wally went back up the stairs while Sammy looked down at the sheets and sighed. Evelyn looked over his shoulder at the notes, "Has he even written music? Those additions would sound terrible!"
"You can read music?" He asked.
"I took a few classes when I was younger. I wasn't very fluent and I had a difficult time sight-reading, but I was able too." Evelyn answered.
Sammy brightened up a bit, "Good to see that someone in this studio can still hear properly."
"Was that music you were playing earlier some of your music that wasn't revised by Mr. Drew?"
"No, it was just being made-up in the moment. It's usually how I make everything else." He paused, "But that's probably why most of these are so heavily revised."
Evelyn smiled, "Well, I'm always open to listening to your original music at anytime." She looked down at her watch, "It's after eight. That's a day's work at la—!"
Evelyn was interrupted by Wally running down the stairs. "Why did Henry leave!?" He shouted. "The second he left, everything went downhill, starting and still going, with this machine that broke in less than two minutes! Now the only entrance and exit to the studio is blocked!"
A/N: I'm back! I live! I'm trying to decide if more frequent updates would help or backfire. Maybe if fifteen viewers or more show up, then I'll update more often because there will be more people to write for.
See you next chapter!