Agent 19902108

“That’s not a problem. Thank you again.”, I waited for the sound of three beeps indicating the call was over before pulling off my headset and burying my face into my hands. I looked down to the bottom right corner of my computer screen. 2:00 pm. I had 3 more hours to go. I was already so exhausted. I felt like I had been working forever. I needed some sort of break. I stood up and walked down the aisle. My cubicle was located at the end of the row. I pass other agents taking calls. The clicks and clacks of keyboards firing away and the ‘hellos’ And ‘goodbyes’ echoing as I made my way past. Everyone completely focused. As if they didn’t notice me pass. Maybe they didn’t.

I reach the end of the aisle and make my way over to the bathroom. There’s a laminated notice on the front door of both the male and female bathrooms with a stock photo of a cellphone that reads “Please no cell phone use” but who really listens to that?

I push the door open and walk inside. It’s strangely empty. No one at the urinals. No one standing in the corner on their phone. No one standing by the sinks shooting the shit. That is certainly odd. Either way I walk into one of the stalls, undo my pants, pull out my phone and sit on the toilet. This was a great way to kill some time and a better way to not go completely insane from dialing phone numbers all day. I look at my phone screen and can’t seem to connect to anything. Looks like I have no signal. That’s definitely odd. I put my phone on my leg and rub my eyes. When I open them I notice something I really hadn’t paid much attention to before. My eyes took a second to adjust but it looked like a blurry black hole in the middle of the floor about 6 inches wide. My eyes adjust. It’s a drain pipe. It’s walls were sleek black and grimy. I was struck with an ominous sense of panic. What am I doing? It’s a fucking drain pipe. I chuckle to myself and pick up my phone. Damn, still no signal. Then I hear it. A low screech. As if an animal was dying in the far off distance. My heart jumps as I look up and shout “Hello!?” In a moment of panic. No response. I look down to the stall door. I don’t see any shoes. There doesn’t seem to be anyone in here.

“Yeaggghhh!” I heard it loud and clear this time. I almost break my damn neck as I fly off the toilet and grab for my pants. My phone hits the floor with a loud “CLACK!” But I’m too busy pulling up my pants in fear to notice. I slam the lock open and run out of the stall. Empty. There is no one in here with me. I look around. My breath is heavy now. I keep looking left to right as if something is going to suddenly pop out of thin air. Still nothing. I take a deep breath and try to gather a logical explanation. It literally could’ve been rusty pipes. I’m not completely convinced but just enough to blow it off and get back to work. I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone. I realize it’s not in there. I look around for a bit. Then I see it. It’s laying on the floor right next to the drain. Screen face down. I walk over and kneel down to pick it up. As I touch my phone I hear a low growl coming from the drain. I stop with my hand on my phone and stare into the murky abyss of the drain. I hear the low growl again. Very faint. “rrrrrr” it’s low whispered growl continuous. For some reason I’m frozen in a panic. My hand glued to my phone which is still on the floor. I must look like a fucking idiot staring down a bathroom drain. I move my hand and pull my phone off the floor. My eyes still staring down the long dark hole. I suddenly feel sick. I’m stricken with a sudden jolt of nausea. Before I can react it spews out like the goddamn exorcist. I projectile vomit on to the floor. I helplessly watch the clear liquid spew out of my mouth then suddenly I spot a black slug in the mess and the liquid ceases. My mouth remains open. What the fuck did I just puke out!? I stare at it as it just lies on the floor. It looked like a leech. It had a sleek black mushy body maybe 2-3 inches long. What in the unholy hell is happening. I finally pick my phone up off the floor and get up. I take a few steps back. My eyes never leaving the creature that just came out of my mouth. Then it begins. I hear a hiss coming from the drain “ssssssSssSSSSSSS” it begins growing louder. Then the creature begins to move. It’s still alive! I wanted to cry. I wanted to piss my pants. But instead I just watch as this thing slithers slowly towards the drain. I finally shout “fuck this!” Before if even reaches the drain and sprint for the door. I take a few steps before the door flys open. I’m now face to face with one of my PA’s, Cruz.

“Im sorry, man, I..I..I puked on the floor and this fucking worm, dude! Down the drain! Fucking hissing, man!” Cruz stares at me confused.

“Yo, slow down. What are you talking about?” I turn back. There’s no liquid. There’s no slug. There’s not even a fucking drain!

“Wait. Where’d it go!?” I shout as I frantically look around at the floor.

“What’d you lose, man, don’t freak out I’ll help you find it.” Cruz responds in his soft voice. “I hope it’s not your phone, man, you know our policy”

“There was a drain. I heard noises coming from it. I puked. There was a black slug in my puke. Where’d it all go?”

“Are you sure you didn’t fall asleep on the toilet?” Responds Cruz in confusion. Had I fallen asleep? Maybe I had and I had just woken up in a panic. It’s possible.

“Maybe…” I respond staring blankly at the floor. “Maybe I-“ I stop as I look up. The bathroom entrance door is gone. It’s nothing but tile wall. It takes me a second. Am I still dreaming? Are the LSD flashbacks kicking in? Have I ever even taken LSD? “Hey, Cruz” I say calmly “the bathroom door is gone, man” he looks back to where the door once was and then back to me with a confused smile

“What?” He lets out a quiet chuckle as he asks.

“The door is gone, man, I don’t know wh-“ I notice something out of the corner of my eye and turn to my left. The bathroom stalls are gone. I stare at the tile walls. I don’t even know what to think. “Cruz, I think I’m having a stroke” I say calmly as I stare at the vacant space where the stalls once were.

“What? Are you being serious” he asks. His voice a little more serious and a little more panicked this time.

“The bathroom stalls are gone, man” I say to him emotionless. I can hear him fumbling around in his pocket but I’m too afraid to turn my head to find something else is gone or that Cruz is suddenly a giant worm.

“Here, man, this is way against company policy but take it cos you’re freaking out, man” he says panicked as he hands me what feels like a pill. I lift it up to my face. A black pill capsule. I stare at it for a few seconds before popping it into my mouth and with a hard dry swallow I feel it pass down my throat. As it makes its way down I feel it expand. I feel my throat expand. I feel my neck expand. I begin to gag. There’s something crawling up my fucking throat. I start to panic and attempt to gag. I feel a hand slap over my mouth and another grab the back of my head. “Swallow it!” Shouts Cruz. His hands gripped tightly to my mouth and head. Tears run down my cheeks as I continue to gag. “Swallow it!” He shouts again. I hear the loud shriek from earlier

“Yeaggghhh!”

“Swallow it!” I close my eyes as tight as I can. My face is hurting. My face is wet. My ears are ringing. Then suddenly silence. The shrieks are gone. The shouting is gone. I gasp for air and open my eyes. I’m staring at my computer screen. The familiar orange dial pad and the 10 numbers above it. I look around in a panic. Everyone is sitting in their cubicles. Clicking and clacking away. I struggle to calm my heavy breathing. Did I fall asleep again? Was I day dreaming? I grab at my throat. Nothing. A PA passes down my aisle. She stands in front of me. My eyes on her wedges. I look up and she’s staring at me. Her long curly hair and thick rimmed glasses are familiar.

“You ok?” She asks. I stare at her blankly for a few seconds.

“Yeah.” I finally respond “I…my mouth just got really dry”

“Hey, Rick”, I awoke to a lite tapping at my back and a whispered voice calling my name. “Hey, Rick, you good?” asked the voice. I sat up suddenly and looked around. Attempting to scan the area and figure out where the hell I was. I was staring at a computer. On the screen was a dial pad with a series of 10 numbers to input. I looked to the left of me and saw a flimsy carpeted wall. A cubicle? Oh shit. I was at work. I turned behind me to get a look at the voice. It was Cruz. One of the PA’s at my job. He stared at me with a warm smile and asked once again, “Hey, man, you good?” I didn’t remember falling asleep.

“Yeah…uh…my bad” I responded as I reached for my water bottle. I took a small sip and as quickly as I could feel the lukewarm liquid pass down my throat I felt it rushing back up. Along with it I felt a golfball sized lump. Without warning I puked right in front of Cruz. I closed my eyes as the liquid shot from my mouth onto the floor. After a couple of seconds I heard a low writhing at my feet. I open my eyes and freeze in horror. Amongst the clear liquid that had come out of my mouth was a small black wet creature. It had a tube shape and was sleek black with no visible face. It laid there squirming as if it was struggling to breathe. I break my gaze from the creature and look up. Cruz is standing there staring at the creature with, what I would imagine, the same face I had seconds prior. Cruz breaks his gaze and looks up at me wide eyed and panicked. We don’t say a word to each other as seconds pass like ticking time bombs.

He suddenly lets out a silent gasp and a low whisper “oh…shit” he does not break eye contact with me as he says this. His eyes remain locked in mine as he takes a step back and shouts a panicked “HE’S AWAKE!” he regains movement and begins to run down the aisle shouting once again “HE’S AWAKE!” I’m shocked and confused as I look around the call center. A sea of customer service agents sit at their cubicles. Dialing, speaking, their eyes locked on to their screens. No one seems phased by the incident that just took place. As if they were in a trance. I shoot my gaze towards the entrance of the building which also serves as the main exit. I see Cruz along with two other employees. He frantically points in my direction. His mouth moving too quickly for me to read his lips. I have no time. I quickly dart out of my cubicle and down the aisle. I turn to my left. The bathroom. The only logical place to run to at the moment to gain a couple of minutes to gather and assess the situation. I sprint down the aisles. Far behind I hear a loud screeching. I am too panicked at this point to want to find out what the hell that was. I continue to run.

I push the bathroom door open and slam it behind me. Turning the lock with all my might. I look around the bathroom. 2 sinks, 2 urinals and 2 stalls. I don’t spot anyone else. I walk over to one of the sinks and stare into the mirror. I see bags under my eyes. My dirty blonde hair is slightly messy. Nothing out of the ordinary. I try to remember falling asleep. My memory is blank. I try to think back to the night before. Nothing. I try my hardest to remember driving to work, clocking in, checking for my assignment, anything at all. But it’s all a blank space. Why can’t I remember even coming into work? I pull out my phone. 12:01 pm. No notifications. Not even any signal.

I hear a lite knock at the door and my body quickly turns. My back against the sink as I stare at the door. “Hey, Rick, you ok?” I hear a low recognizable voice. It was Cruz once again. I don’t answer. He knocks again lightly and asks the same question in a calm whisper. I respond in a shaky tone “uh…yeah…I’m uh…just feeling a bit ill” I wait for a response. My wet hands shaking in fear. “That’s cool, man.” He responds. “But, hey you know our cell phone policy and the bathroom door seems to be locked. Could you do me a solid and unlock it please?” I don’t know how to respond. So I stand there in silence. He knocks lightly on the bathroom door again. I look around in hopes of finding another way out.

Just as I turn back to the door I hear a loud bang. The door rattles violently. My knees weaken and I fall to the floor and sit frozen. Another hard impact as the door rattles again this time followed by the screech I had heard earlier. I cover my ears with my hands. The shrill cry continues as the door violently shakes with each impact. Then suddenly silence. I take my hands off my ears and wait. Nothing. I sit there for a few minutes before attempting to stand. My knees a bit wobbly but I’m able to make my way to the door and press my ear against it. I don’t hear a sound. No loud banging, no screeching, no clicks and clacks of typing keyboards, no ‘hello’s’ from agents. Only pure silence. I can make I run for it. I take a deep breath before turning the lock on the door. I fling the door open and take a hard running step before tripping over my untied shoelaces. In all my panic I didn’t bother to even check my shoes. My chest hits the ground with a hard thud and the wind is knocked right out of me. Still, I quickly get back on my feet and realize I have no idea where I am.

I look around in disbelief as I attempt to catch my breath. There is no more customer service agents. No more aisles. No more cubicles. Just a large open space resembling what seemed to be a warehouse. White brick walls on all sides and a white tile floor with ominous dim lights. The room is completely empty and completely silent. I turn to where the entrance/exit was once located. To my shock it’s still there. I walk slowly in that direction. Looking around frantically waiting for someone to follow me. But there is no one. No agents. No shrieking PA’s. No one. As I get closer I quickly sprint towards the glass doors and push them open.

I’m standing outside now in front of the building. Staring at the empty parking lot. Only one vehicle is parked and it’s mine. I never thought I’d be so happy to see my old suburban. I reach into my pocket and fish out my keys. I climb into my vehicle and put the key into the ignition. Wasting no time. I turn the key once. Nothing. My suburban is old and takes a few turns so I don’t panic. I turn the key again. Close. I turn the key a final time and hear my engine slowly roar. I look up at the building and I’m hit with a bright flash. I shield my eyes.

I can’t see a thing. Then suddenly a voice. A low calm familiar voice. Cruz? “I don’t know what happened, man, he shouldn’t have even gotten that far” I hear him say. But all I see is the same white light. I realize I’m no longer sitting in my car. It feels as if I’m lying on a bed. I hear a raspy whisper “don’t let this happen again”

My mouth is suddenly pried open and I attempt to scream but nothing comes out. I can’t move. I can’t see. I gag as I feel a slimy object being slowly shoved down my throat. It goes down with a silent shriek. I continue to gag as it makes its way down my throat. I feel tears streaming down my face.

“Hey, Rick”, I awoke to a lite tapping at my back and a whispered voice calling my name. “Hey, Rick, you good?” asked the voice. I sat up suddenly and looked around. Attempting to scan the area and figure out where the hell I was. I was staring at a computer. On the screen was a dial pad with a series of 10 numbers to input. I looked to the left of me and saw a flimsy carpeted wall. A cubicle? Oh shit. I was at work. I turned behind me to get a look at the voice. It was Cruz. One of the PA’s at my job. He stared at me with a warm smile and asked once again, “Hey, man, you good?” I didn’t remember falling asleep.