4:20
It was just another night at work, nothing really to speak of even for a full moon. I'd gotten my patrols done and was taking myself an extended lunch break online seeing who was out and about in cyberspace as usual when I received a rather odd message in my mailbox. Ok this sorta thing happens regularly but I noticed right off the bat this message was different.
Generally when you receive a message on myspace you get a nice little picture or avatar of the person who’s sent you a message, this one had no picture. That however was only the first thing I'd noticed. The message read: "Hello Rob. I've been watching you here for quite some time and thought it was time we played a game together".
That was the entire message?
How stupid I thought to myself and deleted the message. It wasn't long after I got the second message.
"That wasn't very nice Rob. I didn't expect you to take that with such disregard as you seem to take things rather seriously Rob." Ok man I know my name alright? People are weird I said out loud as I deleted message two. A few minutes later, message 3. " North Stairwell door Rob." was all it read. I have to say that one got my interest for no sooner than I'd read the message then my beeper starts going off with an alarm. I called the alarm company to get the information as to just what alarm was going off. It was the North Stairwell door in my building. I sat there silent for a minute while the operator asked repeatedly "Sir, shall we send a call to the police?" Finally after I realized I was being silent I replied "No, I've got it here..." and hung up the phone. As per post orders I have to check each alarm out myself and being as I'm the only one on duty during the grave yard shift I of course couldn't send someone else to check it out. I had to go myself. Fine that's what I get paid to do so I might as well do my damn job.
The North Stairwell door was secured. There were no signs of breaking and entering and honestly it didn't look like anyone had used it in a couple days anyway the door handle itself left the weekends thin layer of dust in my fingers. It must have just glitched I guessed, hoping to myself this wasn't what I was starting to imagine. I looked around the stairwell, first down below me and then above, but there were no signs of any breaking and entry or anyone at all in the stairwell. Ok time to get back to lunch damn it. I left the stairwell.
In the process of returning to my station I noticed I must have left my mailbox page open, although I swear I'd closed it as usual upon leaving the desk so as to avoid ever getting caught chatting at work.
But alas it was open and I had a new message. "This is fun isn't it Rob? I'm hoping we can play more now." A smirk crossed my face as I looked around again, I scanned the glass in front of me that reflects floors two and three above me in the entry way, I scanned the floors across the street in the building that gives me the most grief nightly and quietly made my way over to the conference room door next to my post where quietly I managed to open the door and have a look in the conference room. Empty. So now I was thinking to myself, and we know that's never good. I've got it!! I almost bellowed it aloud, it must be my boss thinkin she’s funny while down here spying on me. I began plotting a "special patrol". I wasn't going to let her get one over on me. I'm frakken BatMan, you don't fool me. So I set aside all the keys and items that would make any noise and made sure I was well out of the front desk security cameras range so I could slip away from the desk hoping if I was being watched it was in fact via security camera. There was a rather odd sound then that came from behind me as I began slinking my way towards the conference room which lead to the main hallway as well as an auxiliary hall adjacent. I turned to see what the noise was, an almost bubbly sound really, and there was nothing. Nothing that is except a new message plainly visible with it's little red tag "New Messages!" blaring at me like some damn stop light, which actually had that very effect on me at that moment. Of course I went and opened the message which was refreshingly enough from some dipshit asking me if I was and I do Quote.. "heey i read u profile are u really Satan?". This I do believe was more disturbing than getting ANY of the previous nights odd messages. Delete.
The conference room door.. yes that's where I was going I grumbled to myself in my inner indoor voice of course, coz I'm trying to be stealthy here. I wanted to make sure to be extra stealthy too as it was 3:55am and perfectly silent in the area as it is for 43 minutes every morning before the birds... never mind.. the conference room was empty. I took a moment again to look across the street as normally that building really is pretty active, but nothing, even the shadows were still this evening and a sense of calm about it actually.. odd. Now being as they wax the floors here far too much with this really thick nasty cheap wax I avoid the main hallway and take the auxillary hallway heading for the next room with an internet connection, kinda figuring to myself there were only so many offices and only so many hubs right? After two or three offices I was thinking about the library. Why hadn't I just gone there in the first place? Sometimes I amaze myself I can even lift the spoon to my mouth yanno? But anyway I'm BatMan so chill. My boots were making just enough squeak on the over waxed floors that I had to walk quite a bit slower as not to sound like two eighty year olds goin at it.
As I approached the library I heard the sounds of typing. Busted! I thought to myself and went into "Mode". Now there's a hand full of people that have ever knowingly experienced me in "Mode" but it's something I learned and a secret that will most likely go to the grave with me, but when in "Mode" let's just say I'm rather undetectable. Now all in "Mode" I made my way into the library. No sound, no wind, not even one empathic signal, not the slightest indications I was present and the typing stopped. I stopped. There was no way I'd made my presence aware yet the room went deathly silent. I hung as suspended in time for what seemed five minutes but was probably only five seconds waiting for some motion, sound or signal that I had been discovered, but nothing, just silence. I figured at that point to move in closer again as maybe the culprit had just hit send?
As I came into view of the table, chairs and computer desk area of the library I immediately noticed "New Messages!" blaring at me again from a computer that was in the center of the computer area. Now there were times in the past I'd used this computer to check my messages but not recently and I always delete my tracks when using a work computer so to see MY messages in front of me on this particular computer caught me seriously off guard. I spun around scanning the entire library as if I was just robbed of a precious prize. If there was even one thing out of place or one motion or even so much as a sound I'd find it, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Yet, as I turned back to the computer, my account was opened and starring me in the face was another message.
"Rob. We will have to play again another time it's about to get really busy here. I have to go now. Thanks." My pager experienced what we know as "Bombing" right as I finished reading the very last words of that message. Twenty three alarms had been triggered all simultaneously and in every part of the building.
The Time: 4:20am.
Somewhere Out Of Time.
I'd just gotten done with the morning cigarette, what a great flavor first thing in the morning. Running my hands across my face and slightly scruffy head I realized my clock must be entirely backwards. With a flick of my ever diligent morning finger I knock my cell phone off the nightstand while lifting the blinds enough to see it was pitch black outside yet my clock said 4pm. Ok now if it was winter sure, I'd have no reason to question this at all, but it was summer. I figured I'd best sit up and rub the sleep out of my eyes it had been a long few weeks of working a lot of overtime and I really needed the mental break from the happenings at work.
The warm feeling as I smashed my eyeballs deeper into their sockets was so wonderful it was I'll admit hard to stop. But alas that deep need to see daylight won out. As I reopened my eyes I was delighted to see it was in fact quite day lit outside my ground floor level window. The green grass happily growing and sun as usual attempting to break through the clouds.
I need coffee!
My legs somehow decided not to function properly as I attempted to get out of bed and I fell immediately to the floor as if weighing ten times my own weight. I laid there for a second wondering what the fuck was going on here. It was at that moment I realized it had gone dark again outside. My head started to spin. Now I'd felt this way plenty of Friday night Saturday morning nights out before but I quit drinking years ago so this was really an odd flashback. My stomach turned and my head was spinning as if it was the spin cycle and my brain was being wrung of all liquids. The darkness grew, now spreading into my room itself as I tried to find some means of propping myself up against the bed now completely convinced I was about to hurl. Neither the cat or dog seemed to be anywhere around me which was very odd and discomforting. I called out for the dog and nothing. Again this time with a more harsh and horrid sound I tried calling my dog. Nothing. My world went dark.
I awoke to the visions of a place I felt I had been many times before it seemed surreal yet everything was physical. My legs now beneath me tingled, the smell of the trees and grass along with the smell of some unseen hickory smoker filling the air it was all too familiar. The ground beneath me seemed firm and my legs seemed to be following orders again so I made use of the opportunity and began to walk towards the not too distant tree line.
Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of some large domed structure. The dome was all I could see its white bald head poking above some bush line and a nearby hilltop. I figured ok, this looks like a better direction. Let's enjoy this I figured as I took mental note of the previous moments before this apparent dream I was having, I must have passed out. Somehow this was all wrong but yet I did feel familiar with this whole place and everything. It felt very "homey" I guess like I'd been here quite a bit before as I strolled closer to the hilltop.
This was amazing! Now I tend to over exaggerate sometimes, but I ain’t kiddin when I say this was some weird shit. Here I stood looking across a small ravine and a few scattered bushes upon this huge and I do mean HUGE dome. It appeared to be solid, not like made from concrete or wood type solid. Like it had been molded perfect. From the base of the dome streamed a line of people coming out from the dome. This was rather normal right? The worms go in the worms go out... Yet something about it gave me the chills. I got the instant feeling I had been spotted and was under some form of observation. Like a cold probe had swept across me and through me. I looked around but there seemed to be no extra attention or commotion over my appearance and the people just kept walking out of the dome, at least 300 by now and counting.
Off to my right was what appeared to be some sort of drain from inside the dome and from it came this brown liquid. Sewage I figured but as I walked closer it sure didn't smell like sewage although very displeasing to my senses it smelled more like rotten beef, you know the kind that's sat outside a slaughterhouse all day in the back of a semi-trailer in the sun?
I had to of course take a close inspection of this nasty shit coming down the ravine out of this drain pipe, so I got down into the ravine and had a look. There were definitely parts of or pieces of "something" in this slop. It could be anything I guess but if I had to describe it as something I'd seen before, I'd have to say tripe. The smell was horrible beyond what I really felt I needed to endure so it was time to leave the ravine. I turned and walked back up the ravine for a bit while skirting the dome which seemed to have a never ending supply of patrons. Odd.
As I walked I had the unexplainable desire to wake up, but really couldn’t rationalize that either as I "was" awake right? So I walked onward no direction in particular just sticking to the ravine and skirting the dome. I came upon the tree line finally and through it came that hickory smoked scent once again, a much more pleasant smell than in the ravine indeed. I decided to follow the smell, I mean why not go get some grub?
Through the trees I walked until I came across what resembled by my interpretation a southern style ranch house, kinda hillbilly lookin yet nostalgic.
The smell was strong here so reason would dictate I must have found the source, but there was no smoke of any kind nor anyone or anything around me to make this smell. The place looked by all means deserted and overgrown with weeds and bush yet I felt someone was here. And I do mean felt it. The cold probing again, the slight darkening of the world around me and the numbness back in my legs came and went briefly, a reminder that I was indeed having some weird dream or who knows what at this point, it was all so real.
I decided to go with curiosity and check out the house, perhaps this feeling of being watched was coming from the center and more elevated window in the house. I walked up to the door and it was already partially open as I could see inside that parts of the place were rotten and gone yet others in perfect condition and appeared to be well used. This was gettin pretty weird. So I checked the place out looking for the origin of the hickory smell while my eyes wandered the wall hangings and decorations. This place was old and full of antiques of all sorts. There were pictures from what seemed to be even as far back as the beginning of man and further back still. Something about these images sickened me. Something they possessed in the way they were not so much as what they were. They hung on the wall in lamentation, the feelings of dread and woe struck me as I looked closer into each image. These weren’t paintings or photos more rather some ethereal type of medium. Strange shit.
There was a huge knock above me and I swear I about gave myself a concussion hitting the ceiling. What the Hell was that? I uttered aloud. The room was too quiet, then a slight shuffle above me once more. What sounded like hooves shuffling across the floor above me really kinda scared the crap outta me at this point. I felt like that idiot in the movie that goes into the haunted house with the evil chainsaw packin psychopath inside that of course everyone screams "Don't do it you moron!!" Yeah this was me. Shit.
The doors closed the shutters began flapping against the outside of the ranch house and the whole floor seemed to move beneath me like some strange living matter of sorts. As quickly as it had begun it stopped. The hooves slowly shuffling back and forth above me now really had me curious yet do I dare really go check this out? Wait!! I'm like passed out and dreaming.. ok I can do this. Deh.
So arrogantly I go searching for some stairwell or passageway leading upward, and just down the hall there just so happened to be such a passageway how convenient. I walked up the staircase and it seemed to go a lot further up than one would think for a mere two story ranch house. I felt like I was at least on floor three or four by now but alas the stairs came to a halt at a boarded up door of course. What creepy house from hell wouldn't have of course a boarded up attic with some hoofed creature behind it right? I mean really silly me what was I thinking. So I started removing the boards from the door. The house resounded in a loud deep growl or rumble as I pulled the boards away from the door. Finally!! Last board and....wallah. Now lets see what’s..
Nothing had ever made me feel as helpless, hopeless and terrified as what I saw as the door flung itself open.
There it stood in all its darkness. Not one ray of light could escape it. It was sucking all the light from the room into it like some sort of black hole void. The terror that consumed me was so intense I can't begin to describe more than I could not turn my eyes, I could not scream, I had no choice BUT to stare directly at myself standing in the doorway. I fell into the darkness.
