*The Welder*
Minna was excited, not only was this her first day at her new job, but she had just spent her first night in her new apartment and was now enjoying a cup of coffee as she stood and enjoyed the view out of her kitchen window. “Had I rent an apartment 2 floors above me I bet I could have seen all the way to the factory”, she thought as her gaze tried to navigate the outskirts of the city in the direction of where she was almost certain that her new work was.
Minna took her time with her morning routine, having packed her bag and prepared everything last night she could enjoy the moment. But it was hard. She was excited and nervous. What would the coworkers be like, would her learned skills be enough, what if she messed up? Minna´s thoughts started racing in that usual downward spiral that only made things worse. She shook her head and finished her milk filled coffee, and with one last look in the mirror she threw her bag over her shoulder and headed out.
It was july and you could feel it. The clock didnt even read 7 am yet but the sun alrady gave a very comfortable warmth. Everything was so quiet. Minna knew that it would take her 30 minutes by foot to reach her work, just to be sure she had walked it last night. It was a sacrifice she was willing to make until she had a paycheck and could get a used car, or a bus pass. Still, the morning was nice and the walk pleasant.
The factory was situated on a small hill, surrounded by much smaller industry buildings. The large “Hampton Manufacturing” sign was a welcome sight as Minna took the last stretch of her journey, heading up the hill. Cars were already moving, people where already in motion, coming and going, loading and unloading.
Now one thing that made Minna unsure was the option of doors to enter the factory. Having had her work interview downtown at the headquarters she had actually never been inside. None of the doors seemed more promising than the others so she decided to follow the small group of workers closest to her.
The door was held open as the group entered, Minna last, and she gave the large man holding the door a smile and a “thank you”. He offered no response but a expression that Minna thought was wierd. She summed it up to the looks she sometimes gets when they see her welding. Entering the lead to a narrow long hallway where the group dropped of one after the other. “Why are there no signs” she thought as she heard chatter further down the hallway. She looked at her wrist watch and decided that she had to swallow her pride and ask for directions, only 15 more minutes until her shift started, and she had to get changed first.
Minna walked towards the chatter and turned her corner, seeing two large men, completely naked, drenched in sweat, discussing something by a watercooler. “Oh my god” Minna shouted as she turned her head, “Im so sorry” she said, quickly leaving the way she came.
The picture of the men linguered in Minnas head as she found the door to the outside. Now stressed even more over being late her first day she franticly looked around for a new door option. She checked her watch again.
“No, you will need filler gas to make it work, if we are going to cut that section of pipe down I want my men there”. Minnas head reacted and turned towards the sound. Three men walked with a purpose not five meters away. “Excuse me, are you welders? I am starting my first day as a welder here and I´m not sure where to go”. The men looked at her for a second before the guy in the middle turned towards the other two, “I´ll catch up with you later, dont cut that fucking pipe down”, he turned towards Minna and looked at her for a moment “Follow me”.
*The wrecking crew*
His pace was fast and he seemed to know everyone, nodding as he passed people by, Minna could hardly keep up. “Do you archweld”? he asked without stopping, “I do” Minna replied, trying to hide that she was starting to get our of breath. They took a sharp left and headed up a steep stair made of iron and the man said something about what they called this section of the factory, Minna couldnt hear it but remained silent. The noise levels where growing dramaticly, big machinery tends to do that. The man kept talking and headed another left. “Changing room” he pointed towards the door to the far left, “break room” he pointed to the end of the hallway, “boss man” he pointed to himself. Boss man had finally stoped and was now facing Minna. “I got it” she replied after a second, by now unable to hide her elevated breathing. Boss man kept looking at her, “Are you alright? Looks like someone stole your lunch money”, Minna tried to meet the mans piercing eyes but her eyes fell, “Its nothing, I think I saw two naked men earlier before I met you”. Boss man cracks up in a earshattering laughter and almost folds in half. As he recovers he slaps Minnas shoulder “Now thats a first day” he says, still exhaling the end of his eruption.
Minnas first day got better. After having changed she was put to work. A big machine that Boss man “The bitch” because “Only a bitch makes that much noise” had started misbehaving and the team had the fix it. Minna had never seen a machine like it but after some yelling in the right direction she started to feel like she contributed, and the yelling had become more sporadic.
The work was however exhausting. Big heavy things needed to be carried, the air was hot and you needed to have the all the cover clothes to avoid the welding burns. Minnas working clothes was covered in sweat and her muscles ached. Worst of all was the jelly slippery substance that leaked from the machine, making the floor slippery, the men called it “Doll juice”.
After three hours of back braking work The bitch was turned back on again and started making noise again. Minna felt good as she stood with the others and carefully inspected the machines behaving before deciding that they had done a good job. “Thats lunch”, Boss man yelled over the machine.
Minnas finished her meal quickly, the work had resulted in quite the apetite and she didnt care to show it. The breakroom filled with more and more men and the level of noise got louder. Minna listened to the banter but didnt partake until Boss man broke over the others voices. “And then bambi here tells me she visited the wrecking crew”. The room errupts in laughter, “Now thats a first day at work for everyone”, the laughter grows and everyone looks at Minna, who replies with a questioning smile. As the laughter dies out Boss man explains, “The men you saw, the naked men, they are part of the wrecking crew, they crash test the dolls”. Minna meets Boss mans eyes and nods “Oh okay” she says after some pause. “Yeah, you know fucking sex dolls, either they brake or they get shipped for sale”. Minnas memory takes her back to the naked sweaty men and she nods as she blushes, “I see”, she replies, “Thank god I got out of there”, the room errupts in laughter again.
*Results of experimentation*
At nights Minna dreams about the wrecking crew. During the days the thoughts come sporadically, mostly due to boredom, but at nights they truly invade her mind. Those big men she saw, and imagine a crew of them, all of them working. But the dreams are not what you might think they are, in Minnas dreams she is not being crash tested. She watches the crew work, she even talks to them, although she never remembers about what. Sometimes the dreams should be labelled scary, but she always wake up wet.
Minnas first week have gone well, atleast according to herself. She feels like she contributes, she is being treated fair, the work is demanding but she likes the challange. As she sits in the breakroom with the rest of the guys, counting down minutes until they can go home, her mind draws her back to her latest dream. For some reason the wrecking crew had to crash test a doll on the table in front of her. She remembers having to move a chair to the left so one of them could get his foot against the now vaccant chair, more leverage, or something. “What about you bambi?” Minna looks up as she has gotten used to the nickname, “What are you doing this weekend?”. The man asking is either called Al or Jim, Minna can for some reason not tell them apart. “I have to buy furniture, I own a bed and thats it” Minna replies, and instantly realises her mistake, “Good thing you got the most important part in a females apartment” the laughter is jesting and Minna knows it, she smiles and nods, earning the punch.
“See you monday bambi”, Minna turns her head and waves as four of her coworkers does the same in reply and enter a car. She throws her hair from her face and cant help but smile as she passes the big factory sign on her way home. Her steps are light and she feels happy. As she is about to get to the bottom of the hill and follow the sidewalk left she is passed by a female running. The remale catches Minnas eyes as the runner isnt wearing a workout outfit. As the runner throws a stare over her shoulder, as if chased, she crashes into a light pole. Minna stands there for a moment and looks back towards where the female came from but cant see anyone. Minna rushes up to the woman who is trying to get to her feet and kneels by her side. “Are you hurt, tell me where it hurts” The woman gets to her knees and lets out a sigh, “I think, I think I am okay” she says and looks back to where she came from before getting to her feet using minnas shoulder for support. “Are you sure you are alright? Do you want me to call someone?” Minna asks, also looking in the direction from where the runner came. “I think I sprung a leak” the woman stutters and falls back to the ground, Minna leans over and sees a small cut in the womans forehead, giving some light flow of blood. “Here let me help you” Minna takes off her back pack and picks out a few tissues, gently pressing them against the cut. “Thank you, Im just not having a good day” the woman adds and takes over holding the tissues. “Maybe look forward next time” Minna says with a smile, the woman stares at her for awhile before replying the smile and nodding, “I am late for a meeting and thought I saw someone I knew”. “Do you work here?” Minna asks intrigued, nodding backwards towards the factory, “I do, you too?”, Minna nods, her smile growing. “Well it was nice meeting you, and thank you for the help” the woman says, getting back to her feet as she hands Minna the tissues. “I am Minna by the way”, “the woman turns her head back already a few steps “Thanks Minna, Im Amy twoth…, I am Amy”. Minna waves and throws a last look over her shoulder, dismissing her suspicions one final time and continues her journey home.
A block from home Minna stops at a grocery store. She has a list somewhere but gives up on finding in her backpack once her fingers comes in contact with the tissues that Minna forgot to throw away. She sighs and drags it off on a new tissue, but suddenly stops, feeling the liquid between her fingers more closely, “doll juice”, Minna thought to herself.
Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/crpud8/the_doll_factory_part_13_slowburn
Absolutely perfect