Night of One Hundred Horrors - Last Shift [#226]

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           Geoffry was a fairly average security guard and a very bored one. When he took the job at Green Garden Manufacturing, he expected it to be pretty quiet, but not this quiet. He often wondered why they even bothered to have 24/7 security in the first place. It was a remote building; the nearest small town was more than 10 miles away, only accessible through a single road that cut through a thick forest. The only things they might have to worry about are bored teenagers or some random crazy person. Thankfully, the unusually high barbed wire double fence did an excellent job keeping them out.

           The strangest part was, almost no one seemed to actually work in Green Garden. Geoffry could count the number of employees he sees every week on one hand. He wasn’t even sure what they manufactured here either. The guard had browsed their website out of boredom once, but even that was painfully generic and unspecific. He’s never even heard the machines inside the building run before, and trucks only came by once in a blue moon, but they only seemed to deliver. This again raised the question to Geoffry, why bother with 24/7 security?

           On the bright side, he was allowed to patrol basically the entire exterior of the facility and part of the interior. So, he often found himself combing every inch of the building he could if only to kill enough time to make it through his shifts. It proved a useful tactic, but one day it caused him to stumble across something different.

           Up the hall and down some stairs from the security office he started in, Geoffry found an odd hole in the wall, behind a row of pipes. Said hole led into another hallway, one he didn’t recognize, nor could he figure out how you were supposed to access it. While certainly curious, he knew better than to crawl in mysterious holes that came from nowhere. However, the strangest part was, the dust and debris on the ground indicated that whatever made the hole came from the other hallway.

           A healthy new fear instilled in him, Geoffry turned right around, and power walked back to the security office. Inside, his coworker, Robert, should still be watching the cameras. If anything was going on, he should have seen it or at least had access to the footage. A short jaunt up the stairs later, Geoffry was back at the security office, but the door was ajar for some reason.

           “Rob, you in there?” Geoffry stepped into the room, but Robert wasn’t there. A lukewarm cup of coffee and half-eaten sandwich still sat in his workspace, but Rob was nowhere to be seen. “Seriously, Rob? A bathroom break, now?” Geoffry told himself, trying to assure himself that’s the only reason his friend would abandon his post. Rob wasn’t supposed to step away for any reason unless he had a coworker in, but their job was so quiet they tended to let minor infractions like that slide.

           Geoffry glanced at the camera that pointed towards the nearest bathroom and waited patiently for Robert to walk out. Ten minutes later, with no Robert in sight, Geoffry shrugged and opened up the camera feed for downstairs on Rob’s computer. Sadly, no camera was pointed directly at where the hole formed, but there was a camera on either end of the hall. If someone dug a hole into the hallway, they’d half to pass one of those cameras on the way out.

           Geoffry scrolled through both feeds, he knew the hole wasn’t there yesterday, and no one else reported it, so he started from the beginning of the current hour and scrolled back. After combing through half an hour of footage on each camera feed, he saw nothing. Frustrated, he thought for a moment and suddenly realized something. When he checked the current camera feed, one of the cameras showed the tiniest bit of the hole. Focusing on that point, he went back to where he was but quickly noticed that there was no hole 30 minutes before this current hour.

           More than a little concerned, Geoffry put the two feeds side by side and started the rollback from the current minute. Much to his horror, he saw that tiny edge of the hole he could see being formed mere minutes before he walked downstairs. The guard furiously scanned through all the cameras on that floor but found no sign of any intruders. Now more confused than anything, Geoffry decided to consult Robert about this mystery until he realized his coworker had still not returned from the bathroom.

           A touch furious and somewhat concerned for Rob’s health, Geoffry scrolled through the camera feed outside the security office. Starting from when he left initially, maybe then he’d see where Rob went. Alas, no matter how hard the man searched, he could not find a scene of Rob leaving. He went over the footage again and again but still couldn’t find anything. Now more than a little terrified, Geoffry decided it was time to call his manager, who was probably sitting at home eating dinner right now. However, he spotted one last thing on the camera.

           For only a brief moment, a black shape could be seen darting past one of the cameras outside the security office. Confusion and panic gripped the guard as he grabbed the desk phone and dialed his manager’s work phone, but the line suddenly died, along with all the lights in the building. Now bathed in darkness, Geoffry flipped on his flashlight and snatched his own cellphone from his pocket. The reception wasn’t the best out here, but a quick phone call would be fine.

           “Please pick up,” Geoffry prayed as he waited silently in the dark.

           “What do you need, Geoff?” The manager’s voice came through the phone. Just hearing the man’s voice made Geoffry feel so much better.

           “Hey boss, so the power just went out here, and I can’t find Rob anywhere,” Geoffry explained.

           “Shit, what?” Geoffry could hear the manager spring up. “Alright, hold tight, I’m going to call-” The call dropped into a mess of static. Geoffry almost dropped the phone as a horrid static screech assaulted his ear.

           “What the hell is going on?” Geoffry exclaimed as the door behind him creaked open. “Rob, is that you?” Geoffry turned around and realized pretty quickly that it wasn’t Robert.

~--~

           “What do you make of this?” The man in a black suit spoke to his colleague in grey. The two stood in Green Garden Manufacturing’s security room, Geoffry’s paled body sprawled out on the floor beneath them.

           “This is the work of 5$4, I can say that with 100% certainty,” the man in grey replied. “It breached the containment cell and went after the first two life signs it could find.”

           “Find the other guard yet?” The man in black asked.

           “No sign of him, who knows where 5$4 dragged him off to, or if there’s anything left to find,” the man in grey explained. “I’d say the only reason we even have this one is because 5$4 was already full from its first meal.”

           “Just great,” the man in black shook his head. “How about their manager? Is he doing fine?”

           “The manager arrived long after 5$4 had vacated the premises,” the man in grey explained. “He called the police, but we intercepted the call and took over the situation. He was pretty shaken up, but a quick mind wipe calmed him down. We’re passing it off as a gas leak.”

           “Let’s hope that’s all we have to do,” the man in black sighed. “I want a full patrol scouting that forest in the next half hour. We don’t need any more bodies piling up.”

           “Yes, sir,” the men in grey nodded, and the two stepped out of the room, leaving Geoffry’s body all alone. What the two failed to notice was a small black shadow nestled behind the corpse. Its tendrils locked around the dead man’s neck as it hissed before disappearing again.

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It's always on the most normal, dull and routine sort of days that something horrible will take you off guard.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy 

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Night of One Hundred Horrors - Prisoner of the Mansion [#225]

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           As I awoke on the cold, wooden floor, the only thought in my head was the question of what the hell I did last night. My head was throbbing, my limbs were sore, and I felt unclean. Not in the sense I was covered in dirt or anything; it was more of an abstract feeling. Speaking of feelings, does confusion count as one? Because if I didn’t make it clear earlier, I was pretty confused. I don’t know what I had planned for today, but I can say for a fact that waking up in this strange place was not it.

           The room I was in was posh looking but not lived in, like a guest room in some rich person’s mansion. In fact, that’s probably exactly where I was. The large ornate windows, the massive bed with a dozen pillows, the leather chairs, and grand nightstands gave it away. Now the real question is, why am I here?

           Was I out drinking? Partying? Was this on a dare? Did someone slip me something nasty? I don’t remember. In fact, I can’t remember much of anything clearly, but yesterday is a complete blank space. It’s like, I can remember things, but it’s all fuzzy. The memories are there, but something is preventing me from seeing them. It’s like trying to solve a puzzle, you’re 90% done, but you can’t solve the last bit. It’s frustrating, it grates at you in the most uncomfortable way, but there’s nothing you can do.

           Let’s start with my name, a few come to mind, but I’m not sure which one fits me. Allison, Jamie, Lynda, Katherine? All familiar, all of them sound sort of right, but I don’t know which one is mine if any of them are. As I looked down at myself, hoping to jog some memory, I rapidly became more and more confused.

           My body didn’t feel right like I was a stranger in my own skin. Or maybe, the skin was the strange part? Well, at least I found out why my limbs were so sore. Manacles were wrapped around my wrists, upper arms, ankles, legs, neck, and waist, linked by long, thin chains. It wasn’t to the point that I wouldn’t be able to move, but it would undoubtedly be uncomfortable. As long as I walked slowly and didn’t stretch out much, it’d be fine, but there’s no way I could run like this.

           As for the clothes underneath, well, I’d say they were designed by someone who learned everything they knew about clothing from drunken sailor’s ramblings. It was kind of like a dress, kind of like a worker’s garb and a complete mess of design. I’d say it was somebody’s poorly drawn fetish outfit brought to life. How I ended up wearing it is a whole other question.

           Well, I won’t figure out what’s going on from here, might as well explore my surroundings and find my way home…Wherever that is.

           As I exited the room, I briefly glanced out the window, noting it was a dark and foggy night. The hallway outside was dark, a long row of windows bringing in the occasional spot of moonlight. It was dead quiet, with only the clatter of my footsteps creating any sound. I’d call these things on my feet heels, but again, it’s like they were designed and built by someone who had no concept of shoes, let alone heels. They were uncomfortable footwear, and they were linked up with the chains on my ankles, so there was no removing them.

           Much to my relief, I found someone fairly quickly or rather ran into them. I turned the corner and almost crashed into someone dressed the same as me. They were literally wearing the exact same thing (I refuse to call this an outfit) as I, but strangely they made no sounds when they walked. Her hair was this dull silver-grey, as were her eyes. Her mouth was so tightly closed and expression so thoroughly blank, I almost thought she didn’t have one.

           The woman stared at me for the briefest moment before silently walking right past me. I tried to call out to her, ask her where the hell I was, but the words died in my throat. I opened my mouth, I could feel my vocal cords try to do their things, but no sound came out.

           Now I knew something was wrong, supported by the fact that the other woman still made no sound. Even though she’s wearing the same shoes and walking on the same floor as I was. I wanted to run after her, but I knew I’d just trip over my own two feet. Instead, I just carefully followed after her, trying to match her stride. Maybe, she’d lead me somewhere I’d find answers.

           I followed her up, down, and around this odd mansion. It felt like every hall led to three or four more. This twisted maze of corridors was so bad I’m sure I’d never find my way back to where I started. Yet, this woman in front of me moved through them with purpose. Like she knew the whole place like the back of her hand.

           Finally, we started to reach somewhere…familiar? The latest hallway she walked through gave me a serious sense of déjà vu. This wasn’t where we started, but I had been to this hall before. At the center of the hall was a massive set of double doors that the woman walked up to, knocked twice, and slipped inside. As those doors opened, my stomach twisted into a knot as disturbing sensations bubbled to the surface of my memory. I began to sweat profusely, and my heart raced laps around my chest. I felt like I was going to throw up. Then the door closed and I could relax again.

           Well, there’s my chance for answers, but you know what? I don’t think I want to know anymore. I turned on my heel and raced away. I needed to leave this place, clear my head and remember who I was. Being here makes my mind so fuzzy. The atmosphere here is so oppressive it could just suck the life out of you.

           After falling flat on my face several times as I ran through the hall, I found a set of stairs that led down to a grand foyer. At the front of the hall was a magnificent set of doors leading outside. I wasted no time moving down the stairs and dashed right up to the door. I pushed them open and breathed the sweet taste of fresh air. I took one step out onto the cobblestone path outside, and suddenly I could go no further.

           I felt the manacles all around my body tighten, and like a dog with a choke chain, I was forced to take a step back. Actually, no, not like a dog, like a puppet on strings, I was forcibly pulled back. I peered around to see a set of ethereal chains tied to the manacles, leading right back into the mansion. My heart racing again, I pushed forward, but the harder I tried to escape, the harder I was yanked back. I tried, I really tried to escape, but I was forcibly dragged back inside, the doors shutting before me on their own.

           Before I had a chance to even process this and realize the full terror of my situation, the chains yanked harder again. That’s when I realized they didn’t just lead back into the mansion but back up the way I came. I clawed for a handhold on the ground, but the smooth wooden floor of the foyer provided no aid. I was pulled back, retracing my steps up the stairs, dragged down the halls, and returned to those double doors.

           My heart sank as I looked back to see that the chains originated from beyond those doors. I began to breathe heavily again as my skin crawled. My chest tightened as I saw the woman from before holding the door open, as expressionless as ever. I tried to break free from my predicament one last time, but I had even less success than before. At this point, I was practically floating, like a fish being dragged along a line.

           As I was pulled past the threshold of the double doors, I grabbed at them, wrapping myself around them and holding onto the handle for dear life. The woman took one look at the spectacle I was making of myself, grabbed my hands, pried me off the door, one finger at a time, and shoved me inside. The inside of the room was pitch black, aside from the light from the door. Even that vanished as the silent woman closed that behind us.

           My whole body shook in terror as I was pulled further into the darkness. Someone or something was behind me, pulling at these chains. I could feel them. I could sense them. I knew them. Their presence was terrifyingly familiar to the point it cut right through the fog in my memories. I turned to face my captor, and all I could do upon seeing them was scream.

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You don't need to be behind bars or in a cage to be a prisoner. Chains, both physical and metaphorical, are more than enough.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy 

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Enigmatic Fantasies - Curse of Debt [#224]

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           The new casino downtown was undoubtedly a nice place. At least Adrian thought so. It was a fairly posh establishment, with a strange house rule that every game had the house involved more directly. Whether that was a dealer playing in each poker game or betting on the roulette, however that worked. But Adrian didn’t really care how rich the building was or odd the rules were. He was only there to gamble. He didn’t know much about the owners or the company running the place, no one had ever heard of them, and they kind of came out of nowhere. However, that fact brought a smile to the man’s face. A new casino run by a bunch of nobodies was the perfect place to employ his craft.

           There was no getting around it; Adrian was a scam artist and a cheater. He’d been banned from more than a couple establishments for his schemes. However, no one had quite been able to pin him with anything accusations that stuck. Despite his good fortune, Adrian’s few friends urged him to stop pressing his luck. It was only a matter of time before he got in serious trouble and wouldn’t be able to slip out. Adrian would have heeded their warnings, but then this new casino opened, and again the man threw caution to the wind. After all, these new people wouldn’t know who he was; it was easy money…or at least, it should have been…

           “Counting cards again, sir?” The dealer accused him in a surprisingly calm voice but with a piercing stare. Admittedly, Adrian was probably paying more attention to her cleavage and revealing outfit than the cards, but he was good at multitasking.

           “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Adrian brushed her off, but her stare remained. There was no anger in the dealer’s gaze, just pressure. A chill went up Adrian’s spine, and he decided he had enough blackjack for today. Maybe a quick game of poker would be better.

           “Feeling okay, sir?” The poker game’s dealer inquired. Adrian got his wish; it was a quick game of poker indeed. It felt like the muscular dealer had cleaned out the entire table in an instant. Of the five people who started the game, only Adrian and the dealer remained, and he was on his last rope.

           “I’m fine,” Adrian assured as he slipped a few cards into his hand. With a four of a kind, consisting of kings, he felt pretty confident in his hand. “All in, not that I have a choice.”

           “Very well, let’s lay them on the table,” the dealer smiled, his pearly white teeth seemingly to glint. “Four kings, same as you, I believe?”

           “W-what?” Adrian was taken off guard.

           “Forgive me, sir,” the dealer said in an even tone, “we don’t take kindly to cheating.”

           “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the scam artist shook his head and threw his cards on the table. He stood up from the table and walked away, abandoning his chips, eyes on the exit. However, he never saw security approach him. In fact, now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen any security since he entered.

           ‘This is strange; they call me out for cheating and just let me go?’ Adrian thought. ‘Well, I still have a little bit of cash left. I’ll just stick to the slot machines or something. Should make some money back.’ Despite his confidence, within the hour, Adrian was flat broke. With a blow to his ego, Adrian slumped his shoulders as he trudged his way out of the building. However, as he passed the front desk, the receptionist stopped him.

           “We hope you’ve enjoyed your time at Mystical Waters Casino,” she bowed her head. “Before you leave, please make sure your debts are in order, or we will be forced to take action.”

           “Yeah, yeah,” Adrian ignored her, only for a couple more of the buff dealers to stand in his way. “Move it.”

           “Please make sure your debts are in order, or we will be forced to take action,” the receptionist repeated in a chipper, customer service voice.

           “What are you talking about? I didn’t spend more than I had,” Adrian pointed out.

           “I’m sorry, sir, but you still have a debt to repay to the casino,” the receptionist stated and handed him a printout.

           “What are you talking abou-?” Adrian took one look at the paper, and his eyes bulged out. It was a receipt of all the money he spent at the casino. It was already a fairly concerning number, but at the bottom was something more alarming. Several “cheating” fines, which when added up, numbered far more than what he had spent. It would take him at least a year of extreme belt-tightening to pay off this kind of money. “This is outrageous. I didn’t cheat!”

           “I’m sorry, sir, but you did, we saw, everyone saw,” the receptionist gave him the same stare that the first dealer did.

           “Fine, fine,” Adrian tried to brush off the chill in his spine. “Just let me go to an ATM and-” He bolted past the two buff dealers, who quickly gave chase. His first goal was to go straight for the entrance, but a number of the staff had suddenly formed a human wall in that direction. Instead, he was forced to cut through a small art gallery the casino had set up. If he was lucky, there’d be an emergency exit.

           Luck seemed to smile on the scam artist as he saw a fire exit on the far side of the gallery. However, in his rush, he crashed into a vase on display, which fell and shattered. Thrown off by the crash, he was tackled by the buff dealers and dragged away.

           “Hey, not so rough. I’ll sue your asses!” Adrian threatened, but the dealers ignored him. “Haven’t you ever heard of liability? Once I talk to your boss, you’ll be lucky to have jobs by the end of today!” He shouted and screamed as the dealers dragged him into an employee-only room.

~--~

           Adrian was thrown on the floor of a dark room; cigarette smoke hung in the air like a fog. Surrounding him were more of the buff dealers. On a huge leather sofa before him was a tall, striking woman, flanked by a couple of the scantily clad female dealers.

           “So, you’re the little cheater making a fuss in my casino,” the woman took a puff of a cigarette. Her long blonde hair draped her like an ethereal veil, obscuring the feature of her face. A feather boa and white fur coat completely covered her upper body. Adrian couldn’t tell whether she was thin or shapely, just that she was likely very tall.

           “I ain’t no-!” Adrian tried to say.

           “Shut it,” the woman commanded. If the dealer’s stares sent a chill up his spine, this woman’s voice made Adrian’s blood run cold. “You’ve done more than cheat. You’ve ruined a very expensive piece of fine China in your rush to escape your debts.”

           “Your thugs are the one who-!” Adrian attempted to retort.

           “Hush, I’m not done speaking,” the woman’s voice made Adrian freeze. “I’d show you how much money you owe for breaking the vase, but I fear you’d have a heart attack from seeing the number. Let’s just say you’d be working it off for the rest of your miserable life. And that’s if I don’t have you prosecuted and thrown in jail.”

           “So, what, that’s it? You’re going to ring me for every penny I’m worth for the rest of my life?” Adrian asked.

           “Alas, no, I have little faith you’d manage to pay off the debt,” the woman admitted. “I have a different plan in mind. You’ll work for me at this very casino, and we’ll brush this whole thing under the rug.”

           “That’s surprisingly kind of you,” Adrian commented. ‘This will be easy. I play nice for a couple months, and then I can hightail it when they start to trust me.’

           “I assure you, it’s not,” the woman snapped her fingers. The buff dealers shuffled around for a moment before a couple of them brought forth a contract on a rough-looking piece of parchment and a knife.

           “What’s that for?” Adrian paled.

           “Sign here, in blood, please,” the woman commanded as the contract was brought before Adrian. The wording of the contract didn’t read like the usual legal-speak Adrian was used to. It sounded far more sinister.

           “What exactly am I signing off?” Adrian asked.

           “Nothing of value,” the woman chuckled. Against his better judgment, Adrian allowed the dealer to cut his finger and signed the contract in blood. “Excellent, the contract is sealed, and you work for me now.”

           “Wonderful,” Adrian scoffed. “Mind if I go home and sleep this night before reporting to my first day?”

           “I think not,” the woman giggled.

           “Well, I ain’t starting tonight, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Adrian turned to leave. Surprisingly, the buff dealers didn’t block his way out. The scam artist rushed down the hall and found the first door to the outside he could see. Yet, no matter how hard he pushed, he could force the door open. “Damn, locked.”

           “You’re not leaving,” the woman appeared behind him. “Why don’t you put on your uniform and get to work?”

           “How about no? You can’t keep me here. That’s illegal,” Adrian shouted.

           “Did you even read the contract?” The woman inquired.

           “I skimmed the damn thing, but I don’t remember a ‘you can’t leave here’ clause,” Adrian snapped.

           “Stop being difficult and get to work,” the woman snapped right back, “or should I give you an attitude adjustment, like my other employees?”

           “What’re you…?” Adrian paused. Now that he thought about it, the men and women who worked at this place were a little eerie. Those women with their pressure-filled stares and hollow smiles. The muscular men who seemed to move with an impossible level of coordination. Whatever this woman was talking about, Adrian didn’t want to be a victim of it. “Fine… I’ll…whatever.”

           “That’s the spirit,” the woman walked past him, pushing open the door effortlessly, “don’t forget to pick up your uniform.”

           “How long do you intend to keep me working for you?” Adrian inquired.

           “Oh, about ten years or so, at least,” the woman laughed as she disappeared into the night. Adrian’s heart sank as he slumped to the ground. Hopefully, he wouldn’t become a permanent fixture in this casino. But, at this point, his fate was solely in the hands of that mysterious woman.

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Don't carelessly gamble what you can't afford to lose, especially when you don't know the odds.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy 

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