I can feel my time coming, dear diary. But I have no regrets. I've lived a long and fulfilled life, with a great family all around me. However, I can't go to my grave with this secret. This secret, that I'm going to tell you, and only you. Perhaps one day one of my family members will find this, and they will learn of it as well. Though by that time I'll be long gone from this world. This is the story about him, the time we spent together in that dreaded battlefield. This is about the nameless soldier.
I still remember that time, when I was still a young journalist. I got sent to the front of the battlefields to cover the war efforts of the Allied forces. They were locked in a struggle against the Japanese army. As I was transported to a relatively 'safe area', I still saw my fair share of combat, and the horrors that war brings. But this isn't about that. This is about him. That man that I met during my first week in the outpost.
As I was still acclimatizing to life on the front lines, I got to know most of the soldiers stationed at that outpost. However, one day when I was walking along an area where an intense firefight took place the day before, I saw someone. Another man, someone I didn't know, was travelling along the area, though the way he moved was...different. Despite dressed as an Allied soldier, he didn't move like one. He moved with a carefree manner, almost with a spring in his step. Almost as if he was happy to be there.
When I got back to the outpost, I asked the other soldiers about him. They snickered among themselves, and told me that "it'd be better if I asked him myself". After getting the directions to his bunk, I decided to approach this man. In his bunk, he seemed as if he was meditating.
"Erm...hi there. Hope I'm not interrupting anything."
He had a look of surprise in his face, but slowly he smiled at me.
"Ah! I saw you in the battlefield earlier! You must be that reporter, right?"
He extended a handshake, which I gladly obliged.
"Yeah, but...how did you know?"
"I know almost everyone here. So when I saw an unknown face, I knew it must be someone from the outside."
He looked young, almost as young as I was (I was around 23 that year). But the most surprising thing was...he looked calm and composed. Most of the soldiers that I saw almost always looked tense. I can't blame them, they live in constant danger, and have to deal with attacks almost everyday. How this man was so calm on the other hand, was a complete mystery.
"If you don't mind me asking...what were you doing out there? And the way you moved, it was different from the others..."
"Aah, don't mind me. I just like to revisit scenes of battles. It reminds me of who I am, and where I come from."
"What do you mean by that?"
Right then, a senior office came into the bunk, and called out to him. He had to go to battle soon, and the troop was heading out. The Axis troops were approaching.
"I'll talk to you later, Mr Reporter", he said with a smile.
"Aren't you afraid of dying out there?"
"It's not my time yet."
I was puzzled by his statement, but I couldn't do anything as he had to go fight. Later that night, I heard that his troop had returned, and there were no casualties. I sighed a breath of relief, and decided that I would find out more about him tomorrow. The next day, as I was approaching him, one of his squad mates stopped me.
He warned me that I should stay away from that man, that the man is some sort of 'freak'. I shrugged off those words, and entered his bunk. His face lighted up as he saw me.
"Mr Reporter! Glad to see you again!"
"Please, just call me Dave. Now, if you don't mind, shall we continue our conversation from yesterday? What was that about who you are and where you come from?"
"Oh, yes, yes! I was found by the army. I have no idea who I am, or where I came from."
I was stunned by what he said. But soon enough I retained my cool, and continued the conversation. It seems that he was the victim of a bombing raid, and was found by the Allied army while wandering around, injured. He has no idea about his name, or where he comes from. The only thing that he knows is war and the battlefield.
His walk around the warzone was his way of paying respects to the army, and to remember the day the army found him.
"So how does the other people communicate with you? They HAVE to call you something."
"Oh, they just gave me a random name, X. I do like it though. It sounds like a code name," he said with a childish grin.
Now, my dear diary, this is where things take a turn for the unusual. Right at that moment, I heard a crowd outside his bunk. As I turned around, I saw a gathering of soldiers, all right outside the entrance. X was not shocked in the least.
"Oh, is it that time again? Please, do come in, one by one. Mr Dave, you can stay here if you like."
Just then, the first soldier came in. X touched his forehead, and then told him that "he'll be fine." For the next soldier, he told him to "remember to carry your flask". I wanted to know what was happening, but I knew that nothing would come from staying in that bunk. I walked out, and asked one of the soldiers in line about the whole commotion.
"You didn't know? X is psychic!"
"Nonsense! What do you mean, psychic?
"It's true! X can predict and tell you if you'll be in danger of death. If he detects something, he will tell them to take extra care towards something, usually the thing that can cause his death."
Seeing my sceptical face, the other soldiers defended his 'ability'.
"X saved my life once! He told me to keep my dogtags in my breast pocket, and they saved me from a stray bullet!"
"Yeah, he told me to avoid bringing any grenades, and later that day, a ditch where I was passing caught fire, no thanks to the gunpowder in the air. If I had grenades at my waist, I would've exploded right there and then!"
I couldn't believe their words. It must've been just some superstition, or coincidence, right? I decided to approach his commanding officer about this, he must know something.
His commanding officer was a stern man, and was also dismissive of X's 'psychic abilities'. He told me,
"To be honest, I don't know if it's true or not. I personally don't believe in any of those things, but the soldiers swear by X's abilities to predict these stuff."
"You're not going to stop this?"
"Stop it? For what? What X is doing right now is helping to boost the morales of our troops. And in this hell of a war, we need all the morale we can get."
I understood his point. This war was a long one, and more and more troops are feeling tensed and depressed by the day. Whether or not X was psychic wasn't really a concern to him, as long as he can keep the morale of the troops up.
I continued in my day-to-day activities, covering the war efforts, while still chatting with X. He seemed really glad to see me everytime. I guess it's not easy to be known as a 'death psychic'. You don't really get much friends. One day, X came up to me.
"Dave, I have had a terrible premonition!"
"What? What is it, X?"
"Dave, you must not go out into the field tomorrow."
"Why not? Will I die?"
"Yes, and it is a most horrific death, Dave. I do not wish for you to get that kind of fate. Please promise me, stay away!"
As I mulled over his words, the unmistakeable swishing sound of helicopter blades broke my concentration. They approached me, and I could feel a certain sense of nervousness as they did so.
"Mr Dave, war journalist I presume?"
"Y-yes, that's me. What could be the matter?"
"We're here to get you out of here. Your assignment here has been cancelled. This area's about to become a hot zone, not fit for a journalist to be around."
As it didn't sound like I had much of a choice, I got into their helicopter and left with them. As we were taking off, I saw X running towards us, and waving at us from below. Now that I think back, for some reason, it felt as if I was his only friend there, and that he was lonely. But...nothing could be done anymore.
The next day, I was shocked beyond belief. The outpost I was in had been the target of an Axis air strike. X was right. Had I stayed there, I would've been blowed up to pieces. I felt a sense of dread. Would I have died if the helicopter had not came for me?
I shook off those assumptions. Nothing could be done anymore. The only thing that I can do is to hope that they survived, and did well in their lives. After that, I did not hear anything about X anymore. Was he alive? Was he dead? What was his real name, and where was he from? Was his ability real?
I couldn't find out anything from official records about the war. It's already pretty hard to explain about an unknown person being drafted, what more a person with no name.
And that marks the end of my account, diary. Until today, I still ponder about X sometimes. Perhaps I might meet up with him on the other side, and we would share our stories.
Sunday, 31 August 2014
Monday, 4 August 2014
The Name Stealer
At the lobby, the man walked quickly. Dressed smartly in a navy blue suit, leather shoes, and holding a metal briefcase, he walked with an air of importance and pride around him. Even among all of the professional-looking people in the lobby, he really stood out among all of them.
In a rush as he walked, he glanced down at his watch when he bumped into something.
"Oh, sorry about that," he muttered. After regaining his composure, he looked up towards the person he just bumped into.
A teenager, around 18 years of age, stood there, his hands holding a clipboard with some papers on top. Sensing this chance, the teen spoke up.
"No worries, sir. Would you like to take part in this survey though? It shouldn't take 5 minutes of your time."
Usually, the man wouldn't bother with these things. However, he felt a bit guilty over the bump, so he decided to oblige the teen. Gesturing towards the teen to give him the clipboard, the man took out his pen from the breast pocket of his suit.
As he filled up the survey, the teen took a peek at the form.
"Mr...Alistair, is it? Alistair Morgan?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"That's..quite the unique name, Mr Alistair."
Alistair paused, and looked up at the teen. With a grin, he said,
"Yeah, I'm pretty proud of it actually. The Morgan family has always had unique names, and we always raise up distinguished individuals."
"So...you wouldn't mind if I...take it, do you?"
Alistair felt a chill down his spine. Suddenly, the teen's eyes were cold. Emotionless. As if he was not human. He looked around, but he could not see anyone in the lobby, that was full of people just a second ago. He tried to run, but his legs froze.
From the teenager's body, something similar to tentacles appeared. But Alistair could not take a good look at it, he could only grasp the shape of them. The tentacles appeared to be as dark as night itself.
They reached out to Alistair, surrounding him. They changed shapes, and started expanding, eventually forming a huge sphere with Alistair in its centre. With a snap of the finger from the teenager, the sphere shrunk, compressing itself until it reached the shape of a small cube.
He flicked his finger, and the tentacles brought the cube to the teenager. Slowly, his body absorbed the cube, and a sphere formed around him as well. It shrunk slowly, forming the shape of a man.
The darkness seeped away from the teenager, who now had a new appearance. He took a look around. He was still in the lobby, with people moving in and out in a hurry. No one had even noticed that the teenager was gone.
"Mr Alistair! There you are!"
He turned around, and saw a woman rushing towards him.
"You're going to be late for the meeting! Please get into the car."
As he was being led towards the Mercedes-Benz parked outside, he turned around to look at the lady, and asked.
"What's your name again?"
In a rush as he walked, he glanced down at his watch when he bumped into something.
"Oh, sorry about that," he muttered. After regaining his composure, he looked up towards the person he just bumped into.
A teenager, around 18 years of age, stood there, his hands holding a clipboard with some papers on top. Sensing this chance, the teen spoke up.
"No worries, sir. Would you like to take part in this survey though? It shouldn't take 5 minutes of your time."
Usually, the man wouldn't bother with these things. However, he felt a bit guilty over the bump, so he decided to oblige the teen. Gesturing towards the teen to give him the clipboard, the man took out his pen from the breast pocket of his suit.
As he filled up the survey, the teen took a peek at the form.
"Mr...Alistair, is it? Alistair Morgan?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"That's..quite the unique name, Mr Alistair."
Alistair paused, and looked up at the teen. With a grin, he said,
"Yeah, I'm pretty proud of it actually. The Morgan family has always had unique names, and we always raise up distinguished individuals."
"So...you wouldn't mind if I...take it, do you?"
Alistair felt a chill down his spine. Suddenly, the teen's eyes were cold. Emotionless. As if he was not human. He looked around, but he could not see anyone in the lobby, that was full of people just a second ago. He tried to run, but his legs froze.
From the teenager's body, something similar to tentacles appeared. But Alistair could not take a good look at it, he could only grasp the shape of them. The tentacles appeared to be as dark as night itself.
They reached out to Alistair, surrounding him. They changed shapes, and started expanding, eventually forming a huge sphere with Alistair in its centre. With a snap of the finger from the teenager, the sphere shrunk, compressing itself until it reached the shape of a small cube.
He flicked his finger, and the tentacles brought the cube to the teenager. Slowly, his body absorbed the cube, and a sphere formed around him as well. It shrunk slowly, forming the shape of a man.
The darkness seeped away from the teenager, who now had a new appearance. He took a look around. He was still in the lobby, with people moving in and out in a hurry. No one had even noticed that the teenager was gone.
"Mr Alistair! There you are!"
He turned around, and saw a woman rushing towards him.
"You're going to be late for the meeting! Please get into the car."
As he was being led towards the Mercedes-Benz parked outside, he turned around to look at the lady, and asked.
"What's your name again?"
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Requiem
At the streets, there was chaos. Nothing but chaos. People were going wild, attacking each other. They had a deranged look in their eyes, as if they were nothing more than wild animals. Fires rage across the streets, shops and buildings set ablaze by the people. The riot police could not do much against these people, as there were too many of them.
Far off on the roof of a building, stood a man, sharply dressed in a suit. He was not participating in the chaos. But he had these strange hand movements. Almost as if he was guiding something, he moved his arms swiftly in the air, with rapid yet smooth movements. A certain distance behind him, an old man lied unconscious, tied to the chimney of the building. Wearing an oversized lab coat, the old man slowly regained his consciousness. The first thing he noticed was the smell of smoke in the air. When his vision became clear, he saw the glow of the fire below, and smoke that was rising up from all around. Then his vision focused on the man in the suit.
"You! Who are you?! What's happening here?"
The other man did not stop his hand movements, but merely turned his head around to address the old man.
"Aah, doctor! You're finally awake! So glad you could join us!"
"You...you're...Joseph? What's going on here? What's happening?"
"Hush now. I'm conducting."
"Conducting? Conducting...what? Why are there screams in the air? Why is there so much smoke?"
"It's a requiem, doctor. A requiem that I'm conducting for these poor souls."
The doctor could not bear it anymore. Struggling against the rope, he inched towards the side of the building to see what was going on. When he saw how people was acting, he was utterly shocked.
"What's going on here?! Why are these people fighting against each other?! And what do you mean you're conducting? You....you did this?"
As the doctor spoke, the man did some final gestures with his hands, and as he finished, there was an explosion in the horizon, as if he planned everything right down to the exact detail. He turned around, and walked slowly towards the professor.
"Doctor...I told you. I'm conducting a requiem."
"What...what do you mean?"
"These people...they have lost so much. They were so stressed. They were overwhelmed, by work, by their relationships, by their finances. Then they came to you. After all, you're renowned for your studies on stress, aren't you?" Joseph smiled innocently when he said there. The doctor, however, felt a shiver down his spine from that smile. There was a certain...malice to it.
"But you couldn't help them. You couldn't solve their stress. Of course, how could you? Their lives were messed up beyond measure."
Joseph walked towards the edge of the building, looking down at the chaos below.
"Affairs! Bribery! Corruption! Cronyism! There was no way you could have solved these problems. But they didn't care, did they? All they wanted was a way to be rid of all that nasty stress pent up in their lives. So I gave it to them, doctor. What you couldn't give them, I could!"
He gestured animatedly as he spoke. The doctor looked a Joseph, first with eyes of hatred, but then it turned into pity. He remembered Joseph. He was one of the doctor's first patients in regards to stress. But he could never solve it. Why it happened, what caused it. He could never figure it out. And now it was too late for him. Joseph turned back towards the doctor.
"Aw, come now doctor. I can see it in your eyes, you know. There's no need to pity me. I know perfectly well what I'm doing. I am a sufferer of chronic stress myself. I never knew what I was doing in my life. All my pessimism, worry, negativity about life, caused me much more pain than anyone could ever imagine. But now I'm free. I know what I have to do in life. I must guide these poor lost souls so that they don't end up like I did.
I gave them a way out, you know. A way to get rid of those stress. I told them, 'let it out! There's no need for you to hold back on this world, this world that has mistreated you for so long. This world that has caused you so much stress'. And look at what is happening now."
Joseph had a certain look of glee in his face as he watched the chaos down below.
"That's why I played the requiem, doctor. It was a farewell to their stressed up lives. Now, they will live free of stress, forever!"
Far off on the roof of a building, stood a man, sharply dressed in a suit. He was not participating in the chaos. But he had these strange hand movements. Almost as if he was guiding something, he moved his arms swiftly in the air, with rapid yet smooth movements. A certain distance behind him, an old man lied unconscious, tied to the chimney of the building. Wearing an oversized lab coat, the old man slowly regained his consciousness. The first thing he noticed was the smell of smoke in the air. When his vision became clear, he saw the glow of the fire below, and smoke that was rising up from all around. Then his vision focused on the man in the suit.
"You! Who are you?! What's happening here?"
The other man did not stop his hand movements, but merely turned his head around to address the old man.
"Aah, doctor! You're finally awake! So glad you could join us!"
"You...you're...Joseph? What's going on here? What's happening?"
"Hush now. I'm conducting."
"Conducting? Conducting...what? Why are there screams in the air? Why is there so much smoke?"
"It's a requiem, doctor. A requiem that I'm conducting for these poor souls."
The doctor could not bear it anymore. Struggling against the rope, he inched towards the side of the building to see what was going on. When he saw how people was acting, he was utterly shocked.
"What's going on here?! Why are these people fighting against each other?! And what do you mean you're conducting? You....you did this?"
As the doctor spoke, the man did some final gestures with his hands, and as he finished, there was an explosion in the horizon, as if he planned everything right down to the exact detail. He turned around, and walked slowly towards the professor.
"Doctor...I told you. I'm conducting a requiem."
"What...what do you mean?"
"These people...they have lost so much. They were so stressed. They were overwhelmed, by work, by their relationships, by their finances. Then they came to you. After all, you're renowned for your studies on stress, aren't you?" Joseph smiled innocently when he said there. The doctor, however, felt a shiver down his spine from that smile. There was a certain...malice to it.
"But you couldn't help them. You couldn't solve their stress. Of course, how could you? Their lives were messed up beyond measure."
Joseph walked towards the edge of the building, looking down at the chaos below.
"Affairs! Bribery! Corruption! Cronyism! There was no way you could have solved these problems. But they didn't care, did they? All they wanted was a way to be rid of all that nasty stress pent up in their lives. So I gave it to them, doctor. What you couldn't give them, I could!"
He gestured animatedly as he spoke. The doctor looked a Joseph, first with eyes of hatred, but then it turned into pity. He remembered Joseph. He was one of the doctor's first patients in regards to stress. But he could never solve it. Why it happened, what caused it. He could never figure it out. And now it was too late for him. Joseph turned back towards the doctor.
"Aw, come now doctor. I can see it in your eyes, you know. There's no need to pity me. I know perfectly well what I'm doing. I am a sufferer of chronic stress myself. I never knew what I was doing in my life. All my pessimism, worry, negativity about life, caused me much more pain than anyone could ever imagine. But now I'm free. I know what I have to do in life. I must guide these poor lost souls so that they don't end up like I did.
I gave them a way out, you know. A way to get rid of those stress. I told them, 'let it out! There's no need for you to hold back on this world, this world that has mistreated you for so long. This world that has caused you so much stress'. And look at what is happening now."
Joseph had a certain look of glee in his face as he watched the chaos down below.
"That's why I played the requiem, doctor. It was a farewell to their stressed up lives. Now, they will live free of stress, forever!"
Saturday, 21 June 2014
The M Wars pt.2
Took us a week to finally get our leaves accepted by the top brass. Stating that it was a 'family trip', we prepared to look for our old professor. Didn't take us long to find him. His house had the highest fence in the neighbourhood, with barbed wire on top to boot.
We rang the intercom at the entrance.
BZZZZTTTT!
No response.
BZZZZT! BZZZZZT! BZZZZZTTTTTTT!!!
We could hear some shouting coming from within the house. Which was astounding, given the thickness of the walls. Guess the old man never changes. His voice came over the intercom.
"What? Who is it? If it's you brats again, I swear I'll...."
"Professor, it's me, Donald."
There was a pause.
"Alice is here too."
"Heya professor!"
More silence. Then a soft voice came from the intercom.
"I'll be right there."
Suddenly, the thick wooden door of his house opened. The man that appeared almost couldn't be recognized. He was already thin before, but now he's almost like a stick. His clothes were sagging off of him, and the cap that he wore was a bit too small for his bald head.
But I saw a sight that I thought I would never see in my life. He was smiling, with a smile that I never saw before in all the times I was under his care.
There was an almost awkward silence as he approached us and opened the gate. Then Alice decided to break it by rushing over to him and giving him a hug.
"Professor! How are you? You've lost so much weight you know!"
"Yes, my dear, I haven't exactly been eating well. You seem to be doing well enough though."
Then he looked at me.
"What are you standing there for, my boy? Come in, come in!"
The two of us went into the house, and was led into the pantry area. Stanton served us some tea, then sat down with us.
"Ooooh my, how many years has it been? Are you two still with the Research Centre?"
We could see that he frowned a bit the moment he mentioned the place.
"Yes, we are, and actually...that's kind of related to why we're here today."
"But I've been out of the field for so long, I don't think I can help you much here."
"Actually, Donald and I feels that you're the ONLY person who can help us on this."
Stanton adjusted his glasses, and looked at us with an incredibly familiar expression. This was the face of the researcher we knew. It's as if the kind grandpa behavior earlier was just a ruse.
"Mirror-men. You researched this, didn't you?"
"What of it? No one believed me. I was even kicked out of the Centre for this."
"I believe I saw them, professor."
He stood up, and slammed his hands on the table.
"What did you just say? Say it again!"
"I think I saw it, professor. But we need your confirmation on what exactly is a mirror-man to know further."
"How sure are you that you saw it?"
"We're very sure, professor. Here's a camera recording of Donald's encounter with one."
As he watched the recording, first his face was wide with disbelief. However, it soon turned into a smile, and then an unexpected laugh.
"Finally! Proof of my theory!"
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Stanton dragged out his whiteboard from within his storeroom. How he manages to store one inside his house, I'll never know. But then again, his house is ridiculously huge.
He got to work explaining the mirror-men to us.
He drew two black lines on the whiteboard.
"Imagine that these are parallel dimensions."
"Alright, simple enough."
"It gets more difficult from here. Try to imagine that in these parallel dimensions, we are doing the exact same thing. Everyday when we wake up, what we do, where we go. Exactly the same between us and our...other selves in this other dimension."
"Hence the name mirror-men?"
"No. Please keep quiet unless you want me to toss this marker at your face like I did in class."
Alice giggled.
"The main reason they are called mirror-men is because of...well, mirrors. What we see in those mirrors, isn't ourselves. It's them. It's our other self. Doing the same thing as us, at the exact same time, with the exact same behavior and results. We think the mirror shows our reflection, but it isn't. It's another version of us."
"Wait wait wait. You can throw a marker at me if you want, but I have to ask this. So all along, all of those mirrors in our house, in all households around the world, are showing our other selves from a different dimension? But that's...just not possible! It goes against what a mirror actually is!"
"Well, what IS a mirror? When was it created? Its history goes back so far long, there's no way to know for sure. Who was it that originally said that mirrors are only objects that shows our reflections? Come on, boy, you work at the Fringe Science Centre! Your job is to question the possibility of things!"
It almost felt as if I was back in class. But he was right. There are no possibilities in my line of work. Seeing that I've already calmed down, he continued.
"Here comes the worrying part. There is only one reason why your other self is doing something different than you. The sync between our dimensions are wrong."
"Sync?"
"That's the only word I can use to describe it. It's what ensures that our two dimensions are perfectly parallel, that both us and our other self is doing the exact same thing at the same time. Now it's getting out of sync."
I kept silent as I tried to digest his words.
"How often are these sightings?"
"I first saw it around 4 months ago. Then it happened again 2 months ago. Then a month after that. Last time I saw it was last week."
Stanton paced around the room, mumbling to himself. Then he looked at me.
"The sightings are becoming more and more frequent. The sync is getting worse. Quick, there's no time! We have to head back to the Centre and come up with a way to stop it from happening!"
"Stop what, exactly?"
"What do you think will happen when the sync comes completely off? Everyone would notice. Chaos will happen on the streets. Even now, I believe that there are countless people around the world seeing this, but is regarded as crazy people. And then there's the risk of invasion."
"Invasion?"
"Yes, by our other selves. You see, I believe that this sync also acts as some sort of barrier. Otherwise, the moment we touch the mirror, we'd touch our other selves. Makes sense that there must be something stopping us from doing so, correct? Hence there has to be a barrier of sorts. But with the weakening of the sync, this barrier will also be weakened, and I fear that it would be completely broken soon."
"Okay, one last question, before we go."
"What? We have no time for more idle chatter."
"This is really important to me, professor, I have to know this."
Realizing the seriousness in my eyes, Stanton nodded.
"Go on then."
"Why me? Why can't Alice see it? Why can't other people see it?"
"When were you born, Donald?"
"1980, why?"
"Where?"
"England. Why are you asking this?"
"England, England. 1980...were your parents near the town of Flixborough?"
"Why yes, how did you know that?"
"There was an explosion at a chemical plant there at 1974. I believe that your parents must have inhaled some of the chemical gases, and that caused you to be unnaturally sensitive to your other self. This caused the differences."
"But how did you know about that explosion in that town, professor?"
"Well, Alice...I was originally from that town."
"Wait, so you....!"
"Yes, Donald, I can see it too. How else would I have known about this enough to research about it in the first place? Now let's get into the car."
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It was a long drive back to the Centre. Due to some of the health problems the professor had gotten due to his age, we had to make multiple stops. A two-day journey became a week-long affair.
Finally, we were back at the Centre. The moment we entered, a lot of the staff gasped at the sight of us. Actually, it wasn't really us, but more on Stanton. Everyone knew about Stanton, his findings basically catapulted the Centre to fame.
A guard came forward, seemingly about to drag him back out like what happened so many years ago. I stepped up front, ready to somehow defend the old professor. Suddenly, the guard stopped right in front of me.
"Professor Stanton, Donald, and Alice. The chief wants to meet you."
We looked at each other, and nodded. While it was weird that he wants to talk to us on his own accord, it saved us the time to schedule a meeting with him. This was as good a time as any to talk to the chief about it.
As we entered, the chief looked stern, starting at his computer screen.
"Stanton. Never thought I'd see you again."
He turned his chair around and looked at us.
"You've lost weight, old man."
"Still standing, kid."
"Hmph. Enough chatter, come look at this."
On his screen were countless reports and documents. It made even my eyes cringe a bit.
"These are all reports of people seeing...things in the mirror. According to the reports, their reflections are not doing what they are doing. I remember you researched about 'mirror-men' before, right?"
"Yes, before you scrapped the damn thing and dragged me out like a piece of trash. AFTER ALL I'VE DONE FOR THIS CENTRE!"
Stanton's voice boomed across the room. Alice approached him and comforted him down. He can't afford to have outbursts like this every time, not with his current condition.
"...I'm sorry about that I did. I was younger then, naive. I didn't believe in what you said."
"Well, how about now?"
"I have to. My wife...she says she's seeing this as well."
We all sat down, and discussed about the incidents.
"How often are these sightings?"
"They came in about 2 week ago. Things would be quiet for a couple of days, then reports came in again. Now they're coming in almost every day."
As if suddenly realizing something, Stanton stood up when he heard that.
"We're too late. It's starting. We're too late!"
"What's too late?"
He turned and looked at me.
"The sync! It's already broken! As the sightings become more and more often, it meant that the sync is getting weaker and weaker, reducing the delay it took for a sighting. And now that it's happening everyday..."
"It would mean that the delay could be hours or even minutes by now."
"And the barrier is...broken."
We all were silent. The ringing of the chief's mobile phone broke the silence.
"Samantha? What's happening? Did you see it again?"
As he heard his wife's voice from the other side, the chief dropped the phone onto the floor.
"Samantha...she's saying that...that a hand reached out from beyond the mirror."
"The invasion...has started."
We rang the intercom at the entrance.
BZZZZTTTT!
No response.
BZZZZT! BZZZZZT! BZZZZZTTTTTTT!!!
We could hear some shouting coming from within the house. Which was astounding, given the thickness of the walls. Guess the old man never changes. His voice came over the intercom.
"What? Who is it? If it's you brats again, I swear I'll...."
"Professor, it's me, Donald."
There was a pause.
"Alice is here too."
"Heya professor!"
More silence. Then a soft voice came from the intercom.
"I'll be right there."
Suddenly, the thick wooden door of his house opened. The man that appeared almost couldn't be recognized. He was already thin before, but now he's almost like a stick. His clothes were sagging off of him, and the cap that he wore was a bit too small for his bald head.
But I saw a sight that I thought I would never see in my life. He was smiling, with a smile that I never saw before in all the times I was under his care.
There was an almost awkward silence as he approached us and opened the gate. Then Alice decided to break it by rushing over to him and giving him a hug.
"Professor! How are you? You've lost so much weight you know!"
"Yes, my dear, I haven't exactly been eating well. You seem to be doing well enough though."
Then he looked at me.
"What are you standing there for, my boy? Come in, come in!"
The two of us went into the house, and was led into the pantry area. Stanton served us some tea, then sat down with us.
"Ooooh my, how many years has it been? Are you two still with the Research Centre?"
We could see that he frowned a bit the moment he mentioned the place.
"Yes, we are, and actually...that's kind of related to why we're here today."
"But I've been out of the field for so long, I don't think I can help you much here."
"Actually, Donald and I feels that you're the ONLY person who can help us on this."
Stanton adjusted his glasses, and looked at us with an incredibly familiar expression. This was the face of the researcher we knew. It's as if the kind grandpa behavior earlier was just a ruse.
"Mirror-men. You researched this, didn't you?"
"What of it? No one believed me. I was even kicked out of the Centre for this."
"I believe I saw them, professor."
He stood up, and slammed his hands on the table.
"What did you just say? Say it again!"
"I think I saw it, professor. But we need your confirmation on what exactly is a mirror-man to know further."
"How sure are you that you saw it?"
"We're very sure, professor. Here's a camera recording of Donald's encounter with one."
As he watched the recording, first his face was wide with disbelief. However, it soon turned into a smile, and then an unexpected laugh.
"Finally! Proof of my theory!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stanton dragged out his whiteboard from within his storeroom. How he manages to store one inside his house, I'll never know. But then again, his house is ridiculously huge.
He got to work explaining the mirror-men to us.
He drew two black lines on the whiteboard.
"Imagine that these are parallel dimensions."
"Alright, simple enough."
"It gets more difficult from here. Try to imagine that in these parallel dimensions, we are doing the exact same thing. Everyday when we wake up, what we do, where we go. Exactly the same between us and our...other selves in this other dimension."
"Hence the name mirror-men?"
"No. Please keep quiet unless you want me to toss this marker at your face like I did in class."
Alice giggled.
"The main reason they are called mirror-men is because of...well, mirrors. What we see in those mirrors, isn't ourselves. It's them. It's our other self. Doing the same thing as us, at the exact same time, with the exact same behavior and results. We think the mirror shows our reflection, but it isn't. It's another version of us."
"Wait wait wait. You can throw a marker at me if you want, but I have to ask this. So all along, all of those mirrors in our house, in all households around the world, are showing our other selves from a different dimension? But that's...just not possible! It goes against what a mirror actually is!"
"Well, what IS a mirror? When was it created? Its history goes back so far long, there's no way to know for sure. Who was it that originally said that mirrors are only objects that shows our reflections? Come on, boy, you work at the Fringe Science Centre! Your job is to question the possibility of things!"
It almost felt as if I was back in class. But he was right. There are no possibilities in my line of work. Seeing that I've already calmed down, he continued.
"Here comes the worrying part. There is only one reason why your other self is doing something different than you. The sync between our dimensions are wrong."
"Sync?"
"That's the only word I can use to describe it. It's what ensures that our two dimensions are perfectly parallel, that both us and our other self is doing the exact same thing at the same time. Now it's getting out of sync."
I kept silent as I tried to digest his words.
"How often are these sightings?"
"I first saw it around 4 months ago. Then it happened again 2 months ago. Then a month after that. Last time I saw it was last week."
Stanton paced around the room, mumbling to himself. Then he looked at me.
"The sightings are becoming more and more frequent. The sync is getting worse. Quick, there's no time! We have to head back to the Centre and come up with a way to stop it from happening!"
"Stop what, exactly?"
"What do you think will happen when the sync comes completely off? Everyone would notice. Chaos will happen on the streets. Even now, I believe that there are countless people around the world seeing this, but is regarded as crazy people. And then there's the risk of invasion."
"Invasion?"
"Yes, by our other selves. You see, I believe that this sync also acts as some sort of barrier. Otherwise, the moment we touch the mirror, we'd touch our other selves. Makes sense that there must be something stopping us from doing so, correct? Hence there has to be a barrier of sorts. But with the weakening of the sync, this barrier will also be weakened, and I fear that it would be completely broken soon."
"Okay, one last question, before we go."
"What? We have no time for more idle chatter."
"This is really important to me, professor, I have to know this."
Realizing the seriousness in my eyes, Stanton nodded.
"Go on then."
"Why me? Why can't Alice see it? Why can't other people see it?"
"When were you born, Donald?"
"1980, why?"
"Where?"
"England. Why are you asking this?"
"England, England. 1980...were your parents near the town of Flixborough?"
"Why yes, how did you know that?"
"There was an explosion at a chemical plant there at 1974. I believe that your parents must have inhaled some of the chemical gases, and that caused you to be unnaturally sensitive to your other self. This caused the differences."
"But how did you know about that explosion in that town, professor?"
"Well, Alice...I was originally from that town."
"Wait, so you....!"
"Yes, Donald, I can see it too. How else would I have known about this enough to research about it in the first place? Now let's get into the car."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a long drive back to the Centre. Due to some of the health problems the professor had gotten due to his age, we had to make multiple stops. A two-day journey became a week-long affair.
Finally, we were back at the Centre. The moment we entered, a lot of the staff gasped at the sight of us. Actually, it wasn't really us, but more on Stanton. Everyone knew about Stanton, his findings basically catapulted the Centre to fame.
A guard came forward, seemingly about to drag him back out like what happened so many years ago. I stepped up front, ready to somehow defend the old professor. Suddenly, the guard stopped right in front of me.
"Professor Stanton, Donald, and Alice. The chief wants to meet you."
We looked at each other, and nodded. While it was weird that he wants to talk to us on his own accord, it saved us the time to schedule a meeting with him. This was as good a time as any to talk to the chief about it.
As we entered, the chief looked stern, starting at his computer screen.
"Stanton. Never thought I'd see you again."
He turned his chair around and looked at us.
"You've lost weight, old man."
"Still standing, kid."
"Hmph. Enough chatter, come look at this."
On his screen were countless reports and documents. It made even my eyes cringe a bit.
"These are all reports of people seeing...things in the mirror. According to the reports, their reflections are not doing what they are doing. I remember you researched about 'mirror-men' before, right?"
"Yes, before you scrapped the damn thing and dragged me out like a piece of trash. AFTER ALL I'VE DONE FOR THIS CENTRE!"
Stanton's voice boomed across the room. Alice approached him and comforted him down. He can't afford to have outbursts like this every time, not with his current condition.
"...I'm sorry about that I did. I was younger then, naive. I didn't believe in what you said."
"Well, how about now?"
"I have to. My wife...she says she's seeing this as well."
We all sat down, and discussed about the incidents.
"How often are these sightings?"
"They came in about 2 week ago. Things would be quiet for a couple of days, then reports came in again. Now they're coming in almost every day."
As if suddenly realizing something, Stanton stood up when he heard that.
"We're too late. It's starting. We're too late!"
"What's too late?"
He turned and looked at me.
"The sync! It's already broken! As the sightings become more and more often, it meant that the sync is getting weaker and weaker, reducing the delay it took for a sighting. And now that it's happening everyday..."
"It would mean that the delay could be hours or even minutes by now."
"And the barrier is...broken."
We all were silent. The ringing of the chief's mobile phone broke the silence.
"Samantha? What's happening? Did you see it again?"
As he heard his wife's voice from the other side, the chief dropped the phone onto the floor.
"Samantha...she's saying that...that a hand reached out from beyond the mirror."
"The invasion...has started."
The M Wars pt. 1
We are at war. Not with any foreign countries. Not with any alien invaders. But with ourselves. My name is Donald, and this is how it all began...
We were heading over to research lab B, giddy over the results that we had to show. Suddenly, we heard a scream coming from down the hallway. 2 of our security guards were forcefully dragging someone along the hall.
"They're coming! I'm telling you!"
As the guards passed, I caught a glimpse of the man being forcefully showed the exit. It was Professor Stanton. A lanky man, his lab coat always seemed a bt too large for him. Never thought it could be used to drag him around though. With the muscles on those security guards, they had no problem dragging him around.
Stanton saw me, and looked me in the eye.
"Please, you have to believe me! I know they're coming. If we don't stop them now, it'll be too late!"
I didn't respond to him. In fact, I didn't know HOW to respond to him. This was a man who was always known to be always calm, and calculating. He was the pride and joy of our Fringe Science Research Facility. What could have caused him to end up like this?
Anyway, we put it behind us, and mainly forgot about him. Until recently.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Aaarrghhh!!!"
A let out a scream unknowingly. Alice rushed towards me from our bedroom. Even though I was having difficulty breathing, and had cold sweat, I assured her that everything was alright. After all, how could I tell her what I saw? She'd just say that I was seeing things.
After a while, I went back to bed. Alice was already sound asleep. I combed away her red hair, planted a kiss on her forehead, and went to sleep.
I didn't experience that...'sighting' again. Until two months later.
This time, it was much more clear. I knew, I had to tell Alice about it this time.
After dinner, I sat her down at the couch in our living room, telling her that 'we need to talk'. She had this look of concern on her face. Too much TV taught her that whenever married couples mention 'we need to talk', it's something really really bad.
I took a deep breath.
"Honey, recently I've been seeing..."
Before I could finish, Alice stood up and blurted,
"Please please please don't tell me you're seeing someone else."
I placed my hands on her shoulders, and looked her right in the eye.
"Honey, I love you, and I married you. Trust me, I'm not having an affair. Now, please take a seat."
Alice breathed a sigh of relief, and sat back down. Her face, which previously was so full of frowns that her freckles seemed almost invisible now seems as if a huge burden were lifted off her chest. I started again.
"As I was saying...recently I've been seeing...things."
"Things?"
"Yes, things. I can't quite describe it. You remember that night two months ago when I screamed in the bathroom?"
"Yeah? Was it because of this 'thing' that you saw?"
"It was. And what I'm about to tell you now might sound ridiculous, but I want you to hear me out."
She leaned forward, and held my hand.
"Baby, we're scientists. Fringe scientists, to be exact. What is there that I won't believe?"
"Alright...here goes. In the bathroom, I saw that my reflection...it wasn't doing what I was doing."
The moment she heard that, she couldn't help but let out a snicker.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I fumbled my way into the bathroom. As a result of that conversion with Alice a month ago, I now have to wear those portable mini-cameras on my forehead wherever I go to the toilet.
"This is to prove what you said", she says.
She seems to be having more fun seeing me trying to put that damn thing on than in proving anything.
"But, if this is the only way to prove what I said to her, then so be it." I gave myself a pep-talk, and went to brush my teeth.
As I was finishing, I placed my toothbrush at the side of the sink, as I normally do. But before I proceeded to wash my face (those cameras are water-proof, apparently), I took a peek at the mirror. The camera recorded undeniable proof that what I said was true, that it wasn't just my imagination.
In the reflection, I saw myself, wearing the exact same camera on the forehead. However, he still had the toothbrush in his mouth.
I ran out of the bathroom, yelling for Alice.
"I got it! I got the proof that you wanted!"
Whatever funny comeback that she had disappeared from her mind when she viewed the footage. She could clearly see me putting down the toothbrush, only to see the other 'me' with the toothbrush still in his mouth.
She looked at me with the most serious expression I've ever seen in years.
"Baby, we have to investigate this."
"Investigate?"
"I think that based on the work that we do, there's gotta be SOMETHING that talks about this."
And so, the next day, we went to work as usual. However, during our break hour, we went into the data archives instead, looking for whatever could point us towards the cause of this phenomenon. The archives were vast. Sure, everything was stored within computers and databases, but it was hard to even begin our search.
We searched for whatever was related to 'mirrors'. The results came to anything from spirits haunting the mirror, to our future reflected in the mirror, but none of them matched what I saw. Finally, I found something that could be related.
"Honey, over here! Come look at this!"
She rushed over to my computer as fast as possible.
"Parallel dimensions?"
"Yes, look at what it says here. 'People from parallel dimensions can live exact same lives, but with very minute differences'."
"But it never says anything about actually seeing those people in the mirror, now did it?"
"I think it's as good a place to start as any."
As I read further into the document with Alice, I came upon a link.
"Huh, what's this? 'The Mirror Men'?"
I tried clicking on it. It returned with a glaring red error stating that the record is no longer available.
"Deleted? But we never delete anything, not even junk about spider-ducks!"
"Hey! Spider-ducks might be real!"
I gave Alice a quick hard stare. She gave an awkward smile, and focused back on the screen.
"Wait...here, under the link. Chief researcher...Professor Stanton?"
We looked at each other, both of us puzzled. Of course we remembered him. He was our lecturer. We also remembered him being dragged out of the lab, kicking and screaming. I sighed. With a few clicks on the computer, I managed to find out where the professor stays. Guess it's time we the good professor a visit.
We were heading over to research lab B, giddy over the results that we had to show. Suddenly, we heard a scream coming from down the hallway. 2 of our security guards were forcefully dragging someone along the hall.
"They're coming! I'm telling you!"
As the guards passed, I caught a glimpse of the man being forcefully showed the exit. It was Professor Stanton. A lanky man, his lab coat always seemed a bt too large for him. Never thought it could be used to drag him around though. With the muscles on those security guards, they had no problem dragging him around.
Stanton saw me, and looked me in the eye.
"Please, you have to believe me! I know they're coming. If we don't stop them now, it'll be too late!"
I didn't respond to him. In fact, I didn't know HOW to respond to him. This was a man who was always known to be always calm, and calculating. He was the pride and joy of our Fringe Science Research Facility. What could have caused him to end up like this?
Anyway, we put it behind us, and mainly forgot about him. Until recently.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Aaarrghhh!!!"
A let out a scream unknowingly. Alice rushed towards me from our bedroom. Even though I was having difficulty breathing, and had cold sweat, I assured her that everything was alright. After all, how could I tell her what I saw? She'd just say that I was seeing things.
After a while, I went back to bed. Alice was already sound asleep. I combed away her red hair, planted a kiss on her forehead, and went to sleep.
I didn't experience that...'sighting' again. Until two months later.
This time, it was much more clear. I knew, I had to tell Alice about it this time.
After dinner, I sat her down at the couch in our living room, telling her that 'we need to talk'. She had this look of concern on her face. Too much TV taught her that whenever married couples mention 'we need to talk', it's something really really bad.
I took a deep breath.
"Honey, recently I've been seeing..."
Before I could finish, Alice stood up and blurted,
"Please please please don't tell me you're seeing someone else."
I placed my hands on her shoulders, and looked her right in the eye.
"Honey, I love you, and I married you. Trust me, I'm not having an affair. Now, please take a seat."
Alice breathed a sigh of relief, and sat back down. Her face, which previously was so full of frowns that her freckles seemed almost invisible now seems as if a huge burden were lifted off her chest. I started again.
"As I was saying...recently I've been seeing...things."
"Things?"
"Yes, things. I can't quite describe it. You remember that night two months ago when I screamed in the bathroom?"
"Yeah? Was it because of this 'thing' that you saw?"
"It was. And what I'm about to tell you now might sound ridiculous, but I want you to hear me out."
She leaned forward, and held my hand.
"Baby, we're scientists. Fringe scientists, to be exact. What is there that I won't believe?"
"Alright...here goes. In the bathroom, I saw that my reflection...it wasn't doing what I was doing."
The moment she heard that, she couldn't help but let out a snicker.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I fumbled my way into the bathroom. As a result of that conversion with Alice a month ago, I now have to wear those portable mini-cameras on my forehead wherever I go to the toilet.
"This is to prove what you said", she says.
She seems to be having more fun seeing me trying to put that damn thing on than in proving anything.
"But, if this is the only way to prove what I said to her, then so be it." I gave myself a pep-talk, and went to brush my teeth.
As I was finishing, I placed my toothbrush at the side of the sink, as I normally do. But before I proceeded to wash my face (those cameras are water-proof, apparently), I took a peek at the mirror. The camera recorded undeniable proof that what I said was true, that it wasn't just my imagination.
In the reflection, I saw myself, wearing the exact same camera on the forehead. However, he still had the toothbrush in his mouth.
I ran out of the bathroom, yelling for Alice.
"I got it! I got the proof that you wanted!"
Whatever funny comeback that she had disappeared from her mind when she viewed the footage. She could clearly see me putting down the toothbrush, only to see the other 'me' with the toothbrush still in his mouth.
She looked at me with the most serious expression I've ever seen in years.
"Baby, we have to investigate this."
"Investigate?"
"I think that based on the work that we do, there's gotta be SOMETHING that talks about this."
And so, the next day, we went to work as usual. However, during our break hour, we went into the data archives instead, looking for whatever could point us towards the cause of this phenomenon. The archives were vast. Sure, everything was stored within computers and databases, but it was hard to even begin our search.
We searched for whatever was related to 'mirrors'. The results came to anything from spirits haunting the mirror, to our future reflected in the mirror, but none of them matched what I saw. Finally, I found something that could be related.
"Honey, over here! Come look at this!"
She rushed over to my computer as fast as possible.
"Parallel dimensions?"
"Yes, look at what it says here. 'People from parallel dimensions can live exact same lives, but with very minute differences'."
"But it never says anything about actually seeing those people in the mirror, now did it?"
"I think it's as good a place to start as any."
As I read further into the document with Alice, I came upon a link.
"Huh, what's this? 'The Mirror Men'?"
I tried clicking on it. It returned with a glaring red error stating that the record is no longer available.
"Deleted? But we never delete anything, not even junk about spider-ducks!"
"Hey! Spider-ducks might be real!"
I gave Alice a quick hard stare. She gave an awkward smile, and focused back on the screen.
"Wait...here, under the link. Chief researcher...Professor Stanton?"
We looked at each other, both of us puzzled. Of course we remembered him. He was our lecturer. We also remembered him being dragged out of the lab, kicking and screaming. I sighed. With a few clicks on the computer, I managed to find out where the professor stays. Guess it's time we the good professor a visit.
Sunday, 1 June 2014
The Office
The man stood proudly in front of two automatic glass doors.
"My friends! Welcome! I'm sure that you are all very, very excited to check this place out, but before we do so, let me just talk a bit about this company here."
As he spoke, he paced about, and made a lot of animated hand gestures. For a man in his 30s who was dressed sharply in a business suit, it's as if he was a kid explaining how his new toy is the best one around.
"That's enough about me. Now, shall we proceed?"
As he ushered them into the building, the crowd slowly entered. One of the guests took notice of his nametag, which wrote 'Stan'.
"This here, ladies and gentlemen, is our beautiful receptionist Lily!"
He waved towards a blond woman in her early 20s, talking to someone on the phone. Hearing Stan mentioning her, she looked up and waved towards us and flashed a sweet smile.
"Sorry, we're always getting calls, so she's a bit tied up. She's really sweet though. Now, as you probably know, this is where most of our guests wait, while the proper representative comes and meets up with them. However, seeing as you are all my very own special guests, we shall proceed immediately."
Stan then led the group of people past the receptionist's area, and into what appears to be an office. The area was packed with desks, each with their own computers and stacks of papers. The faces of the employees could barely be seen, what with all of the stuff on their desks. Their voices, though, were a whole different matter.
"Hey! Where's the form I gave you just now? Is it processed yet?!"
"Quit shouting at me about that! I'm working on it!"
"Would you two ladies please shut the hell up?! I'm trying to work here!"
Men were shouting at each other across the entire floor. However, the moment one of them saw Stan approach, he shouted,
"The Boss is here!"
Instantly, there was silence across the floor. Stan turned around to face his guests, and explained,
"Do excuse the noise. Things can get very chaotic, with the amount of work that we have to do day in an out."
He then turned towards his employees.
"Keep up the good work, guys! You guys are my soldiers out in the field. You are my eyes, my ears, my arms."
The instant he said that, everyone could see a look of pride swelling up within each and every one of the employees. Suddenly, another employee approached from a small room at the side, holding a stack of papers.
"Hey! Which asshole asked for this stack of forms? Wait a minute, why all the silence?"
As he realized that Stan was in the office, there was a look of fear in his face. Stan pointed at him,
"You! What's your name?"
"I-I-It's Lee, sir."
"Lee!"
His voice echoed throughout the silent office.
"You're doing a great job! Keep it up! Folks, you better keep up, otherwise Lee here will be grabbing Employee of the Month! Now, back to work, people!"
The employees sat back down almost immediately, and the next second, the shouting started again. Stan looks at his group of guests, smiles, and shrugs his shoulders.
He then proceeded to an elevator, and the group followed suit.
"This here, ladies and gentleman, is the express elevator. Goes straight to my office! You need a keycard for this, of course. This little guy here."
He fished out a black card from his pocket, and pressed it against a device attached to the wall next to the elevator.
DING! That familiar sound signalled the arrival of the elevator. Before he got in, Stan checked his wristwatch.
"Oh my! Is it that late already? We better hurry then! Please, ladies and gentleman, this way! This elevator can hold all of us!"
He pressed the highest floor available, the 7th floor. However, instead of going up, the elevator started moving in the opposite direction.
Sensing the confusion among his guests, Stan started to explain.
"As probably heard during my introduction, this company is very unique. Instead of expanding upwards, it goes downwards. The good thing is, we can all avoid the glare of that dang sun. The bad thing is, less ventilation."
The elevator descended slowly. The glaring lack of the standard elevator tunes made the silence all the more obvious. Then, a sudden sound within the elevator breaks the silence.
"Boss! Boss, you there?"
The PA system within the elevator boomed with the sound of a man, who sounded like he was trying to contact Stan. Acknowledging this, Stan headed to the panel of the elevator, held the comm button, and responded.
"Lucas! Where are you? I wanted to introduce you to these fine folks I'm guiding here!"
"Sorry boss! I had some things to do outside, and just came back! Good news though, we might have new people coming in soon!"
"Alright, great to hear that! I'll be seeing you in the 6.30 meeting later then."
As communication with Lucas ended, Stan once again broke the silence.
"Lucas is kind of like my right-hand man. He's our lead headhunter, and also does a lot of other stuff on the side," Stan said with a proud smile on his face.
DING DONG!
The elevator has reached its destination, the 7th floor. Without wasting a moment, Stan brought them over to his office.
"And here, my friends, is my private office. Let's talk business, shall we?"
He pointed at a middle-aged lady within the group.
"Shall we start with you?"
Nervously, she approached his desk, and took a seat.
"Hi...I'm Lucille. R-Recently, I realized that my husband is having an affair. I-I want to get back at that fox!"
She broke into tears. Comforting her, Stan provided her with a handkerchief, and spoke softly to her to take her time, and explain further.
"You have to understand that this is a one-time transaction. It's not something that we can do multiple times, you see? The payment can only be done once. So, I need you to calm down, and tell me slowly what exactly is it that you ask for."
On his desk, there was a nameplate, bearing his official position :
'Stan, CEO of Hell".
"My friends! Welcome! I'm sure that you are all very, very excited to check this place out, but before we do so, let me just talk a bit about this company here."
As he spoke, he paced about, and made a lot of animated hand gestures. For a man in his 30s who was dressed sharply in a business suit, it's as if he was a kid explaining how his new toy is the best one around.
"That's enough about me. Now, shall we proceed?"
As he ushered them into the building, the crowd slowly entered. One of the guests took notice of his nametag, which wrote 'Stan'.
"This here, ladies and gentlemen, is our beautiful receptionist Lily!"
He waved towards a blond woman in her early 20s, talking to someone on the phone. Hearing Stan mentioning her, she looked up and waved towards us and flashed a sweet smile.
"Sorry, we're always getting calls, so she's a bit tied up. She's really sweet though. Now, as you probably know, this is where most of our guests wait, while the proper representative comes and meets up with them. However, seeing as you are all my very own special guests, we shall proceed immediately."
Stan then led the group of people past the receptionist's area, and into what appears to be an office. The area was packed with desks, each with their own computers and stacks of papers. The faces of the employees could barely be seen, what with all of the stuff on their desks. Their voices, though, were a whole different matter.
"Hey! Where's the form I gave you just now? Is it processed yet?!"
"Quit shouting at me about that! I'm working on it!"
"Would you two ladies please shut the hell up?! I'm trying to work here!"
Men were shouting at each other across the entire floor. However, the moment one of them saw Stan approach, he shouted,
"The Boss is here!"
Instantly, there was silence across the floor. Stan turned around to face his guests, and explained,
"Do excuse the noise. Things can get very chaotic, with the amount of work that we have to do day in an out."
He then turned towards his employees.
"Keep up the good work, guys! You guys are my soldiers out in the field. You are my eyes, my ears, my arms."
The instant he said that, everyone could see a look of pride swelling up within each and every one of the employees. Suddenly, another employee approached from a small room at the side, holding a stack of papers.
"Hey! Which asshole asked for this stack of forms? Wait a minute, why all the silence?"
As he realized that Stan was in the office, there was a look of fear in his face. Stan pointed at him,
"You! What's your name?"
"I-I-It's Lee, sir."
"Lee!"
His voice echoed throughout the silent office.
"You're doing a great job! Keep it up! Folks, you better keep up, otherwise Lee here will be grabbing Employee of the Month! Now, back to work, people!"
The employees sat back down almost immediately, and the next second, the shouting started again. Stan looks at his group of guests, smiles, and shrugs his shoulders.
He then proceeded to an elevator, and the group followed suit.
"This here, ladies and gentleman, is the express elevator. Goes straight to my office! You need a keycard for this, of course. This little guy here."
He fished out a black card from his pocket, and pressed it against a device attached to the wall next to the elevator.
DING! That familiar sound signalled the arrival of the elevator. Before he got in, Stan checked his wristwatch.
"Oh my! Is it that late already? We better hurry then! Please, ladies and gentleman, this way! This elevator can hold all of us!"
He pressed the highest floor available, the 7th floor. However, instead of going up, the elevator started moving in the opposite direction.
Sensing the confusion among his guests, Stan started to explain.
"As probably heard during my introduction, this company is very unique. Instead of expanding upwards, it goes downwards. The good thing is, we can all avoid the glare of that dang sun. The bad thing is, less ventilation."
The elevator descended slowly. The glaring lack of the standard elevator tunes made the silence all the more obvious. Then, a sudden sound within the elevator breaks the silence.
"Boss! Boss, you there?"
The PA system within the elevator boomed with the sound of a man, who sounded like he was trying to contact Stan. Acknowledging this, Stan headed to the panel of the elevator, held the comm button, and responded.
"Lucas! Where are you? I wanted to introduce you to these fine folks I'm guiding here!"
"Sorry boss! I had some things to do outside, and just came back! Good news though, we might have new people coming in soon!"
"Alright, great to hear that! I'll be seeing you in the 6.30 meeting later then."
As communication with Lucas ended, Stan once again broke the silence.
"Lucas is kind of like my right-hand man. He's our lead headhunter, and also does a lot of other stuff on the side," Stan said with a proud smile on his face.
DING DONG!
The elevator has reached its destination, the 7th floor. Without wasting a moment, Stan brought them over to his office.
"And here, my friends, is my private office. Let's talk business, shall we?"
He pointed at a middle-aged lady within the group.
"Shall we start with you?"
Nervously, she approached his desk, and took a seat.
"Hi...I'm Lucille. R-Recently, I realized that my husband is having an affair. I-I want to get back at that fox!"
She broke into tears. Comforting her, Stan provided her with a handkerchief, and spoke softly to her to take her time, and explain further.
"You have to understand that this is a one-time transaction. It's not something that we can do multiple times, you see? The payment can only be done once. So, I need you to calm down, and tell me slowly what exactly is it that you ask for."
On his desk, there was a nameplate, bearing his official position :
'Stan, CEO of Hell".
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