Bacon
New Member
Specter Appears
Word count: 1480
The calm restful sleeping man was abruptly awakened at 4:30 pm by the screeching of his alarm clock. Half way in a daze he rolled out of bed and planted his feet, rising up to his full height as the bed spread fell to the floor from off his back and he scrambled to turn off his alarm clock. He staggered down the hall rubbing the sleep from his eyes and his apartment’s kitchen came into focus. He opened the fridge and cracked two eggs into a bowl. Just then a bad ominous feeling came over him and he could feel it throughout his entire body. As he whisked the eggs, adding in milk and various spices, he thought back to his High School days. About his friend Ryan that thought he could see demons and angles. Ryan always told him that feeling, that he was just then experiencing, was sensing the presence of a demon, but Buck never believed that nonsense. He remembered how Ryan always went on and on about demons, and how they can interact with people, but you should never mess with them ‘cause they’ll kill you and blah blah blah.
By now he was heating a frying pan and buttering it. The man proceeded to fry his eggs and top them off with shredded cheese. He was still feeling sort of off, when there was a loud noise from across the busy street between him and the next building. He heard several more loud noises and then sirens in the distance. Rushing out into the hall and over to the window at the end of the hall, he looked out and saw several large holes in the apartment building across the street. Smoke and dust and debris were everywhere. People were running around panicked as police and fire trucks screamed onto the scene and rushed around setting up a perimeter and entering the damaged building. The veteran felt his ominous feeling even stronger for an instant as a breeze flew past him then the feeling subsided. He figured he’d seen enough and went back to his apartment to eat his eggs and get ready for work.
After eating and showering, Buck got out his uniform. He put on his gray slacks, gray shirt, black tie, and his black shinned shoes. He grabbed his hat and his belt that held his light and baton as he headed out the door into the hallway outside his apartment. The security guard then headed for the elevator and the busy street below. He boarded a crowded bus and headed off to work. The bus dropped him off one block away from his company’s headquarters and he walked the remaining distance. The man was borderline for being late, so he hurried shouldering his way down the street, brushing past slower pedestrians. He burst into his office and grabbed his keys and read his assignment. He was to be night guard at a museum of natural history in Tokyo.
The guard went out and got into his company car and headed to the museum. Once there, he rushed inside just as they were closing up for the night, and got the keys to the place from the front desk. The last tour was leaving along with the last few remaining staff members. Buck waited for them to leave then locked the front door and began his first round to make sure no one was left behind inside. It was a three level building. The exhibits on the first floor dealt with the beginning of time and the formation of the universe. The second floor had fossils, and the top floor had modern live plants and animals.
He cleared the first floor, caging up and locking all the displays, and locking up the corridors, with nothing eventful happening. On the second floor some of the complete dinosaur skeletons that were on display in the half light of a closed down building made his skin crawl a bit. But he didn’t find any stragglers, or anything, or anyone that shouldn't be there. The night watchman then went up to the third floor and was immediately greeted by the screeching of monkeys and chirping birds. He thought this was strange because normally they should be asleep at night he thought to himself. Suddenly a rock went whizzing past his head crashing into a bird cage beside him. “Oh that’s why!” he said out loud, as he pulled out his flash light and clicked it on. He pointed it in the general direction of where the rock came from and all he saw was a spider monkey clinging to the side of its cage staring at him. “Well you didn’t do it, did you little guy?” he asked the monkey. He then shined his light around searching for a person. “No one eh?” he said out loud to himself. “Well I don’t’ think the monkey had access to any rocks,” the man thought out loud. He went slowly and carefully around the floor locking up everything behind him as he cleared each section, finding no one about.
Buck headed back down to the front entrance still worried about the rock and where it came from. Lost deep in thought, as he walked towards the front door, he was suddenly disturbed by the voice of a child behind him snickering. He spun around, “Who's there!” he shouted as he shined his light on a child who appeared to be around 9 years old. The kid just stared at him for a second then pulled a rock out of his pocket and threw it at buck hitting him right on the bridge of his nose. The surprised security guard shook his head for a second then looked at the kid. His voice became stern as he asked, “Who are you? I need to get you out of here and home to your parents.”
The kid stared at the guard for a second and then asked “You can see me?” in a bewildered tone.
“Of course I can, you’re standing right in front of me,” replied the guard.
“Then catch me if you can," said the kid as he took off racing towards the elevator. Buck gave chase and dove for him right as the elevator doors opened. The big man crashed into the elevator, in a heap, with no kid. How did he dodge? The man thought to himself. He was right there, and then he was gone. The guard scrambled up and looked out of the elevator entrance seeing no one in the room. He got up and walked to the elevator entrance and peered out of the elevator to each side still seeing no one. He then walked out into the room and called out for the kid, but got no response. The guard walked around the room examining the walls, ceiling, and floor, trying to figure out where the child had gone. He found nothing and began to wonder if the whole thing even happened. Was I hallucinating? he wondered. He went to the front desk and sat down hard starring out the front door at the dimly lit street outside.
He sat there speculating on where his life would be if his girl friend hadn’t died. What sort of career would I have, he thought, I wonder if I’d be an engineer, or a social worker or... He dozed off for a second in the desk chair and was rudely awakened by a rock hitting him in the ear. He jolted awake and jerked his head around seeing the same kid from before standing there.
This time he noticed a metal plate with a short piece of chain hanging from it on the kid’s chest. He’d never seen anything like that before and wondered what it was. “Stay right there,” he commanded the child. He grabbed the phone from the desk and dialed the police. He explained who he was and that there was a kid inside the museum that might be a runaway or a missing child. As he was talking the kid jumped and sort of floated up through the ceiling. Buck’s jaw dropped and he stopped talking for a second, and then said to the officer on the phone, “Never mind, I think I’m seeing things.” He then hung up the phone and sat back down utterly bewildered. He dozed off in the chair again and then the beeping of his watch alarm woke him up for his second round. He completed his second round and a third just before opening, where he opened up all the displays and corridors for the staff coming in to work. He saw no more signs of the child and went home wondering if he might have dreamed it all while dozing at the desk, or if it really happened.
Word count: 1480
The calm restful sleeping man was abruptly awakened at 4:30 pm by the screeching of his alarm clock. Half way in a daze he rolled out of bed and planted his feet, rising up to his full height as the bed spread fell to the floor from off his back and he scrambled to turn off his alarm clock. He staggered down the hall rubbing the sleep from his eyes and his apartment’s kitchen came into focus. He opened the fridge and cracked two eggs into a bowl. Just then a bad ominous feeling came over him and he could feel it throughout his entire body. As he whisked the eggs, adding in milk and various spices, he thought back to his High School days. About his friend Ryan that thought he could see demons and angles. Ryan always told him that feeling, that he was just then experiencing, was sensing the presence of a demon, but Buck never believed that nonsense. He remembered how Ryan always went on and on about demons, and how they can interact with people, but you should never mess with them ‘cause they’ll kill you and blah blah blah.
By now he was heating a frying pan and buttering it. The man proceeded to fry his eggs and top them off with shredded cheese. He was still feeling sort of off, when there was a loud noise from across the busy street between him and the next building. He heard several more loud noises and then sirens in the distance. Rushing out into the hall and over to the window at the end of the hall, he looked out and saw several large holes in the apartment building across the street. Smoke and dust and debris were everywhere. People were running around panicked as police and fire trucks screamed onto the scene and rushed around setting up a perimeter and entering the damaged building. The veteran felt his ominous feeling even stronger for an instant as a breeze flew past him then the feeling subsided. He figured he’d seen enough and went back to his apartment to eat his eggs and get ready for work.
After eating and showering, Buck got out his uniform. He put on his gray slacks, gray shirt, black tie, and his black shinned shoes. He grabbed his hat and his belt that held his light and baton as he headed out the door into the hallway outside his apartment. The security guard then headed for the elevator and the busy street below. He boarded a crowded bus and headed off to work. The bus dropped him off one block away from his company’s headquarters and he walked the remaining distance. The man was borderline for being late, so he hurried shouldering his way down the street, brushing past slower pedestrians. He burst into his office and grabbed his keys and read his assignment. He was to be night guard at a museum of natural history in Tokyo.
The guard went out and got into his company car and headed to the museum. Once there, he rushed inside just as they were closing up for the night, and got the keys to the place from the front desk. The last tour was leaving along with the last few remaining staff members. Buck waited for them to leave then locked the front door and began his first round to make sure no one was left behind inside. It was a three level building. The exhibits on the first floor dealt with the beginning of time and the formation of the universe. The second floor had fossils, and the top floor had modern live plants and animals.
He cleared the first floor, caging up and locking all the displays, and locking up the corridors, with nothing eventful happening. On the second floor some of the complete dinosaur skeletons that were on display in the half light of a closed down building made his skin crawl a bit. But he didn’t find any stragglers, or anything, or anyone that shouldn't be there. The night watchman then went up to the third floor and was immediately greeted by the screeching of monkeys and chirping birds. He thought this was strange because normally they should be asleep at night he thought to himself. Suddenly a rock went whizzing past his head crashing into a bird cage beside him. “Oh that’s why!” he said out loud, as he pulled out his flash light and clicked it on. He pointed it in the general direction of where the rock came from and all he saw was a spider monkey clinging to the side of its cage staring at him. “Well you didn’t do it, did you little guy?” he asked the monkey. He then shined his light around searching for a person. “No one eh?” he said out loud to himself. “Well I don’t’ think the monkey had access to any rocks,” the man thought out loud. He went slowly and carefully around the floor locking up everything behind him as he cleared each section, finding no one about.
Buck headed back down to the front entrance still worried about the rock and where it came from. Lost deep in thought, as he walked towards the front door, he was suddenly disturbed by the voice of a child behind him snickering. He spun around, “Who's there!” he shouted as he shined his light on a child who appeared to be around 9 years old. The kid just stared at him for a second then pulled a rock out of his pocket and threw it at buck hitting him right on the bridge of his nose. The surprised security guard shook his head for a second then looked at the kid. His voice became stern as he asked, “Who are you? I need to get you out of here and home to your parents.”
The kid stared at the guard for a second and then asked “You can see me?” in a bewildered tone.
“Of course I can, you’re standing right in front of me,” replied the guard.
“Then catch me if you can," said the kid as he took off racing towards the elevator. Buck gave chase and dove for him right as the elevator doors opened. The big man crashed into the elevator, in a heap, with no kid. How did he dodge? The man thought to himself. He was right there, and then he was gone. The guard scrambled up and looked out of the elevator entrance seeing no one in the room. He got up and walked to the elevator entrance and peered out of the elevator to each side still seeing no one. He then walked out into the room and called out for the kid, but got no response. The guard walked around the room examining the walls, ceiling, and floor, trying to figure out where the child had gone. He found nothing and began to wonder if the whole thing even happened. Was I hallucinating? he wondered. He went to the front desk and sat down hard starring out the front door at the dimly lit street outside.
He sat there speculating on where his life would be if his girl friend hadn’t died. What sort of career would I have, he thought, I wonder if I’d be an engineer, or a social worker or... He dozed off for a second in the desk chair and was rudely awakened by a rock hitting him in the ear. He jolted awake and jerked his head around seeing the same kid from before standing there.
This time he noticed a metal plate with a short piece of chain hanging from it on the kid’s chest. He’d never seen anything like that before and wondered what it was. “Stay right there,” he commanded the child. He grabbed the phone from the desk and dialed the police. He explained who he was and that there was a kid inside the museum that might be a runaway or a missing child. As he was talking the kid jumped and sort of floated up through the ceiling. Buck’s jaw dropped and he stopped talking for a second, and then said to the officer on the phone, “Never mind, I think I’m seeing things.” He then hung up the phone and sat back down utterly bewildered. He dozed off in the chair again and then the beeping of his watch alarm woke him up for his second round. He completed his second round and a third just before opening, where he opened up all the displays and corridors for the staff coming in to work. He saw no more signs of the child and went home wondering if he might have dreamed it all while dozing at the desk, or if it really happened.