Story by Mr. Manicotti
Images by Misplace.Lost
Well, they finally did it. After years of holding out and letting us work remotely, my job gave in and made everyone come back to the office. Can’t same I’m surprised. The corporate pressure had been building for months. I guess they were stuck in a long term lease and wanted to make use of it. My managers were even less thrilled when we were; you could taste the salt in the return to work announcement email they sent out.
At least we didn’t have to be back full time; 3 days a week and the understanding that they could bump it up to 4 in the near future. To be honest, I was mostly just happy to still have a job. I hated it, but it paid the bills.
I walked into the familiar lobby like I’d just clocked out the Friday before, not years ago before the pandemic hit. Linda the receptionist was missing. I heard she’d passed away but management wouldn’t give anymore details. That was a shame. I really liked Linda. She always said “hey hun!” and asked about my cats. In her place was a sign that said
“Welcome Back! Please sign in at the kiosk” in plain times new roman font.
The office floor was like we’d never left. Everything was in place exactly how I remembered it, including Marylin’s white board with her weekly appointments from February 2020. Just sitting there in stasis. It reminded me of those old photos from Chernobyl where everyone picked up and left, leaving entire towns frozen in time.
I set up my computer and got to work. For the entire morning, not single person walked by. At about 11:30 I got up for a water and restroom break. After staring at the screen so long, my eyes were watery with the sharp glow of the florescent lights. I rubbed them for a moment and then gasped in shock. Every computer monitor was illuminated with the image of a grinning face. They stared through the glass at me with pale skin, sunken eyes and lips drawn back over long teeth. The buzz of the lights swelled into a high-pitched whine as the screens grew brighter to match. I shielded my eyes and opened my mouth expecting expected a gunshot.
My ears popped and the sound vanished. I opened my eyes to see all of the monitors blank once again.
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