Witchy Business (CYOA - 6) (Patreon)

View the previous Witchy Business here.

The voice, of which you're not familiar with, distracts you just enough for you to tear your eyes away from the colorful stickers on the ceiling. You look to your left for the speaker and find a woman in a cot similar to your own. She's dressed in just a pink t-shirt and a bulky, heavily used diaper. Judging by her expression, she's just as fed up with this place as you are.

"That's it. Yeah. Keep looking at me. You don't wanna wind up like Kevin over there…" she says.

A quick glance over your shoulder allows you to see a man, about your age, with his thumb firmly planted in his mouth. Drool covers his chin and a goofy grin is plastered on his face. His hand is tucked between his thighs and the soggy padding of his diaper. Much like the woman to your left, Kevin is dressed in just a shirt and a diaper. It would appear that any semblance of a dress code is non-existent in the employee daycare.

"You look at those stickers for too long and you wind up a thumb-sucking diaper soaker. I should know...I've been in here for hours already…" the woman continues. "Kevin put up quite the fight...now look at him... he'll be clapping his hands and singing along to baby shows once nap time is over."

You continue to look over your shoulder as she speaks. Not to view Kevin, but to keep an eye out for the daycare attendant. You spot her sitting in a rocking chair across the room, reading a magazine with her glasses off. She looks up on occasion, but it's clear that she can't see too well without her glasses. You're in the clear so long as she doesn't catch wind of your conversation. Thankfully, the woman to your left knows to whisper.

"My name is Jane. I'm an accountant...or I was...before all this…just please tell me you aren't fine with all this. I can't handle another crinkle pants telling me that things are all fine."

You detail your situation and your thoughts on the matter to Jane in as hushed a tone as you can manage. Jane listens patiently as you speak, only chiming in when she has something important to add. In the end, you learn that things aren't as set in stone as you thought. While most everyone seems brainwashed into believing everything is normal, the truth of the matter is that most are simply too afraid to speak up.

"The new boss, whoever she is, has a grip on this entire building like nothing else. I'm not sure how she did it, but the entire security staff along with the majority of upper management are completely under her spell. She even worked her magic on a few low level supervisors...which I'm sure you've seen."

Alice immediately comes to mind and you say as much.

"Alice...yeah... she's not my supervisor but she brought me in," Jane explains. "Found me snooping around near the exit on the bottom floor. I was trying to find a way out and I had no diaper on, so her first thought was to drag me here. Hazel there has ways of making you behave. I fought as hard as I could, but...I don't know...I smelled baby powder and I just went limp. I was diapered, dressed, and on this cot by the time I could move again. Just barely managed to close my eyes before those stickers could start working on me…" Jane sighs. She then lifts her head up slightly to look at Hazel before returning her gaze to you. "I don't know when nap time is over, but we do not want to linger here any longer than we have to. If the baby powder can make you go limp, then I have no interest in finding out what everything else does. We have to escape."

You nod in agreement. Escaping is exactly what you have on your mind.

"Still...I feel bad leaving Kevin...and everyone else for that matter. We've got to put an end to whatever this is," Jane continues. "Which means dealing with Hazel. Thankfully, I have an idea."

Jane goes on to explain her plan to you. It's simple enough. She pretends to escape while you grab the baby powder from the changing table. One well-aimed burst of powder to Hazel's face should render the caretaker powerless.

"It's risky, but it should work if everything goes according to plan," says Jane. "Just follow my lead and don't panic. We got this." Jane gives you a nod then crawls off of her cot and onto the floor. She pretends to still be under the effects of the powder and acts as if even crawling is incredibly difficult. She sways to and fro on her way to the door, her eyes half-closed and groggy.

Hazel notices almost immediately. She puts on her glasses, puts down the magazine, and stands from her chair. At that point, you turn away so as to not draw Hazel's attention to yourself. Without vision to what occurs behind you, you can only listen and wait for your moment to strike.

"Awww, is little Jane wanting her freedom?" Hazel teases her. "You should've thought about that before you decided to be so naughty. Now you have nowhere to be but here, in daycare with the rest of the naughty babies. So let's get you back on your cot where you belong."

You listen, your breath still, as Hazel approaches Jane. You judge the distance she moves based on the sound of her footsteps. To your surprise, at first, it sounds like she's moving away from Jane. You sneak a peek to see what's happening and discover that Hazel has grabbed the powder herself to use on Jane. One quick glance at Jane reveals that she's started to panic. Jane looks to you for help. You need to act fast.

...

Snatch the powder from Hazel

Create a diversion to draw Hazel's attention

Wait until Hazel is busy with Jane, then flee