~~~~
'I'm such an idiot,' I thought as I
pulled on the locked door. I glanced through the small window in the door. I
could still see my car in the empty parking lot, illuminated by the full moon.
'So close yet so far,' I lamented as I accepted my fate. I was trapped inside
the office and nobody will answer my phone calls. It'll be another six to eight
hours before someone comes back to unlock the doors. I'm stuck and that's the
end of it. I sighed and headed back up the second floor. I can at least crash
on one of the couches in the employee lounge until morning, it beats the
alternative.
As I entered the second floor a
strange sensation came over me. The familiar office space I spent almost every
day in felt bizarre and alien. It wasn't the lack of light or people, although
that was a factor, something felt wrong. Actually, wrong isn't the correct
word, the room felt altered in some way, but I couldn't place my finger on it
exactly. I tried to dispel the sensation, but it lingered even as I entered the
lounge and closed the door.
I spent a long time propped up on
the tiny couch in the lounge, but I couldn't get to sleep. That creepy
impression I got from the office earlier had crept deeper into me and formed a
knot in my stomach. I felt queasy, but I didn't feel like trying to find the
bathroom. I remained as a motionless lump on the couch for a good hour or so.
Right as I was about to sink into half-sleep I heard a small crash out in the
office.
I knew better than to investigate,
it was likely a burglar or vandal. Then I heard another crash, and another and
another. It wasn't like the sound of breaking glass or the like. It was more
akin to something falling, like a thin wall. I didn't know what to think, but I
certainly wasn't going to check. Then the crashes began to come closer and
closer until they sounded like they were just outside the lounge's door.
I held my breath, afraid some
lunatic was about to knock over the wall and attack me with a baseball bat.
Then came a crash inside the lounge, on the other end of the room outside my
direct field of vision. I glanced over and saw the wall had fallen down flat
and on top of it was "something." I couldn't make out the details in
the dark, but it had a jet black silhouette, an overall slender body, and long
arms. Topped off with three red eyes in the center of its body.
I held perfectly still as it
lumbered past me. I heard the click of its feet as it moved over a hard piece
of floor. As quickly as it appeared it vanished out the lounge's door. With the
door open I could hear some kind of chatter that emerged from the main office
space. There was more than one of this thing, and they were talking. They
"talked" with these constant chittering sounds, like a colony of
insects.
It was maddening to listen to. It
sounded like wood and metal that was scraped together in uneven patterns, then
echoed a dozen times over. It made my skin crawl. I wanted to leave, to make a
mad dash for my car, but I knew I was still trapped in here. I don't want to
know what'll happen to me if these things see me. My only option is to remain
motionless here and hope they don't find me.
Those cursed chitters started to
come closer. I could see a handful of thin silhouettes which stood in the door
frame. Again I held my breath and hoped against hope that they couldn't see in
the dark. I could see a trio of red eyes turn in my general direction and scan
the room. They locked onto my position, almost staring directly into my own
eyes. I seized up, held still and silently prayed.
~--~
The next morning the janitor arrived
to unlock the building and to perform a little maintenance. He was surprised to
see a car in the employee parking lot, which should have been barren at this
time of day. He wondered if it had broken down, but otherwise didn't think too
much of it.
It wasn't too long into his morning
routine that he came up to the second floor. He wanted to make himself some
coffee in the employee lounge. He noted that the door to the lounge was left
open. Which was strange as he remembered someone on the night staff was very
particular about keeping it closed.
As he entered into the room things
proceeded as normal. He started the coffee maker, pulled out a mug and put
aside some cream. It wasn't until he turned around and leaned on the counter
that he noticed he was not alone in the room. There was an office employee,
still in business clothes, asleep on the couch.
"Hey long night buddy,"
the janitor chuckled as he walked up to the employee. The janitor noted the
person on the couch was quite pale in complexion, and seemed short of
breath in their sleep. They also didn't respond to his comment, so he tried to
shake them awake to no avail. Finally, the janitor placed his hand on their
neck. It felt stone cold and their pulse was almost nonexistent. The janitor
ran for a phone to dial 911.
~~~~
That's all for this week, see you Tuesday for night four.
Until then, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
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