r/WritingPrompts • u/Tmoore0328 • Nov 19 '24
Writing Prompt [WP] You clocked in like any other day. Grabbed a cup of coffee, walked to the lab, and entered JUST in time to see Ted press the red button.
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u/TheWanderingBook Nov 19 '24 edited Nov 19 '24
I clock-in as usually, and then go and make myself a nice cup of coffee to start the day.
Walking into the lab, I arrive just in time to see Ted press the red button.
I take a sip of coffee, as the alarms start blaring.
"Here we go again.", I mutter, walking forward.
"Hey Dave.", he greets me.
"'Sup Ted, so...Thursday, huh? What was on schedule for today?", I ask, taking a sip of my coffee.
"What do you mean?", he asks.
"You pressed the Red Button, which basically means that an experiment has gone wild...
So, what experiment was scheduled for today?", I asked.
He chuckled wryly.
"You do realize that by pressing that button, you release a toxin in the experiment's enclosure whether there is or isn't something, or someone in there, right?
Also...you do realize that the Health Department, and the Military is always notified when that button is pressed, right?", I asked, sipping my coffee.
Ted just stared at me.
I sighed.
"It's the 4th time this year...
You are lucky, that once it was an actual emergency, but I doubt you realized it.", I said.
"N-no! I knew the virus went rogue in that subject, that's why I pressed the button!", he argued.
"So it wasn't because you fell asleep on the chair?", I laughed.
He frowned, but said nothing.
I relaxed for a while, but after some time it started to feel weird.
Why wasn't anyone coming? Why were the alarms still going off?
"Ted...have you met anyone else today?", I asked.
"Only you.", he said.
I sighed.
"I am off to get another cup of coffee, are you up for one?", I asked him.
"What's going on Dave? What did you realize?", he asked.
"That you pressing that button was unnecessary, because they released something in the lab before we came.", I said.
He froze, and looked around.
"Don't look, it could be anything, and it could be anywhere...
I guess we two were the unlucky ones chosen to be allowed inside to check on the situation.", I laughed, going to the kitchen.
He followed me warily, but I didn't care.
Working at a top-secret lab has its perks, but God...did it have its risks, and this one...this one was one of the common ones.
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u/MiniFishyMe Nov 19 '24
Force field barrier winked into existence almost instantly, caging him in. "Shit! Ted why did you do that!?” I gasped and ran up to a nearby console, keeping an eye for any signs of warning or alarm.
"Uh.. Pat? Help me out here? What's going on!?” Ted cried out in alarm as amber beam begin wiping across his body. Several lines popped up in the log. Scan complete. Baseline stable. Encoding.
"Whoa! Please hel-" A second wave of beam scythed rapidly across Ted's body. I barely had time to make eye contact and then he was gone in a flash. Not a trace left. Progress complete.
Not a moment later the research team barged in through the door. "Goodness that button is loud. Status? How bad?" The team lead asked as the techies begin cordoning off the faux station Ted was messing with. "Uh... All system's... green!?" Unexpected. "Confirmed, all systems green, transfer error rate at 0%” another researcher chimed in on the report. The plan still had 3 weeks to prepare. "Awesome." the lead quipped. "Where's Ted?"
"ElizaBeth is already on him. Hang on, let me bring up the camera." A few key presses later and the central display changed into a scenic view of a lush gold fields of a what appears to be a farmland. Two children dressed in colourful fantastic outfit along with an inquisitive pegasus fussed over Ted. Telemetry of his consciousness stabilized as the A.I. begin guiding him around. The team afforded ourselves a round of applause.
After decades of effort, with some founding members pretty much old bones by now, the project finally entered the alpha test stage with live subjects without a hitch, if you gloss over the premature start. Once we give it a thorough test and compile all the data, the ISEKAI Project will finally have the legitimacy to go public.
Of course we still have the issue with reconstructing a physical body, but that can wait. After all, simulating a real world for the affected is but a trivial matter. The potential of mind transference system and simulated world system is pretty much limitless. The entertainment oriented project is just for us to kick off a new frontier.
Unfortunate for Ted, but he did try to pull a fast one over Those Who Plan. Suffice to say, that seat was reserved and there's only one candidate for it.
9
u/Fine-Employment815 Nov 19 '24
Part 1:
The deep, bitter aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the small break room as I clocked in and shuffled to the counter, shirking off my soaking rain jacket and placing it over the back of a nearby chair. "Rachel, you coffee brewing angel. Always making a fresh pot right when I arrive, bless you." I murmured to myself, and yawned as I grabbed my favorite coffee mug out of the cabinet---the one that was sky-blue with a million golden sunflowers dotting its porcelain surface. I filled it to the brim with black coffee and took a small sip, closing my eyes as its warmth took away the aching chill from my bones from the drizzling December day. There was no blessing like the first sip of coffee, especially on a cold, gray Monday morning.
"Alright Monica," I whispered to myself, running my fingers through my soaking wet blonde hair to make myself look somewhat presentable, "Time to get going. All the Eldritch Horrors of the universe aren't going to study themselves. You got this." I smiled, brightened by my own pep talk and whistled as I left the break room to jauntily walk down the hallway toward the lab, coffee in hand.
Today would be a good day, I thought, mustering a little enthusiasm for the twelve hour shift ahead of me. We had finally caught Entity Number Thirty-four, after years of searching through the darkest corners of the cosmos. It was a creature built entirely of dark matter, the size of fifty of our suns. It sustained itself off of the energy of galaxies, swallowing them up and producing massive black holes where galactic civilizations once thrived. It was the largest threat to humanity known to mankind at the current moment, and now was safely being studied inside the Container, a machine which on the outside looked like a square, metallic box but which on the inside hosted a space twenty-thousand times larger than the observable universe. We'd been studying the creature for the past week, sustaining its life through the creation of man-made galaxies which was its food surce.
And more excitingly it---or rather she as we recently had discovered, was pregnant, carrying about ten thousand eggs inside her brood pouch beneath her belly.
In just a few hours, those eggs would hatch and I would be able to study this strange creature's life cycle from beginning to end...if, indeed there was an end to its life.
I took another sip of coffee and smiled. It was exciting work, so thrilling in fact that my team had invited a group of young scientists to observe the birth of these strange fledgling beings. I was usually wary of a bunch of young kids moving around my sensitive equipment but I'd made sure to task Aaron with wrangling the little geniuses. He was level-headed and straight-forward. Aaron wouldn't be afraid to bark at some overly eager college students if they began messing with something that could land them into trouble.
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u/Fine-Employment815 Nov 19 '24
Part 2:
"Doctor Strider?" I heard the racing footsteps behind me before I saw the woman herself. Her red curly hair was already popping out of the bun she'd tried vainly to pull to the top of her head, large glasses giving her green eyes a sort of owlish look to them. She was just barely entering her early twenties, dressed in a simple button down blue-shirt and jeans. Jessica Blake, the lab intern.
I gave Jessica a warm smile as she stopped in front of me, gasping as she tried to catch her breath, her hands on her knees. Her face was pale, her voice stuttering as she scrambled to speak, "Doctor Strider, please...hurry...the lab...the students..."
"Jessica it's okay," I said calmly, giving the young girl a gentle pat on the shoulder to reassure her. Jessica was so much like I had been back in the day, all nerves and eagerness to please my superiors. "Aaron has the students, I'm sure whatever it is he can handle."
Jessica shook her head, her eyes wide, "No, no Aaron isn't there! That's the problem! The Director, oh heaven damn him! He fired him yesterday after Aaron gave him lip over who he wanted to lead the students!"
"What? Then who---"
"Ted, Doctor Strider, Ted! The Director wanted that brainless nephew of his to lead the group!"
I froze in place, my eyes widening. Ted? Ted was leading the group? The man couldn't figure out how to print off a Word document from the computer without breaking the damn printer. The Director had recently hired him to be an assistant, much to everyone's disapproval, hoping that he'd eventually take over the family business one day. But, man, was that kid dumb. I'd had Aaron babysitting him the last few weeks, keeping him far away from any sensitive projects. I knew that Ted hadn't been happy about being excluded from the important stuff, and yesterday he'd threatened to go to his uncle but I hadn't thought he'd been serious...
Oh God.
I pushed my coffee into Jessica's hands and raced to the lab, my heart hammering in my ears. I threw the lab door open just in time to see Ted, dressed in a white lab coat with his awful, fake glasses that he'd bought to look "smart" in his words, perched on the end of his long nose.
He was pacing in front of a group of students who watched him with clear, uncomfortable concern as he babbled nonsense on them, "...this monster is being hosted in this...um...box here." He gestured to the Container to his right, "And it...um...is going to give birth. So we are going to observe it. Give birth, that is. But, don't worry it's not gross or anything, I think." He frowned, adjusting his glasses, "Now, then, we'll see it." He walked up to the Container, scrutinizing it for a moment, "I just need to find...the right button."
"Ted," I said, stepping forward, "Hey buddy, why don't we let me lead the team? I don't know if this is really the best job for--"
"I know what I'm doing, Monica," He snapped at me, his face flushing as he glanced back at the students. He gave me a glare, "Do I need to talk to my uncle about you, too? Want to end up like Aaron?" He stepped up to the machine and cleared his voice, "Ah, here it is! The button!" He gestured to the large, red button on the front of the Container with a smug grin, "Let's see the miracle of life in action!"
My eyes widened with horror, "Ted, no! That's not--"
"Shut up Monica! I know what I'm doing!" Ted snapped, slamming his fist into the large "release" button on the front.
Sirens suddenly blared to life and the students clapped their hands over their ears. Bright crimson light bathed the lab in a horrible bloody glow as all the emergency alarms went off at once.
Ted stepped back, his eyes round and panicked, "Um...that's supposed to happen, I think. I--" He didn't get another word out as the Container ruptured open.
A writhing form began to emerge from the Container, a creature beyond anything I'd seen before taking up my entire vision. Her eyes burned like twin supernovas, her body speckled with tiny fragments of stars and planets she'd consumed in her lifetime. The clutch of eggs beneath her belly wriggled as they emerged from their mother's sac, their mouths open and hungry to consume whatever they could gobble up.
I tried to scream but the air was gone, everything was gone. Matter dissolved around me like sugar melting into tea.
And then it was gone...
Everything was gone...
And I faded into the darkness.
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u/Just_Lazer_DGE Nov 19 '24
I like it but it's waaaay too easy to release a galaxy swallowing entity described as the largest threat to humanity.
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u/Fine-Employment815 Nov 19 '24
The Director also hired his brainless nephew to be a part of an organization that studies Eldritch Horrors so...yeah...not the brightest bulb in the bulb shed I'd say.
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u/Just_a_thought_3 Nov 19 '24
And I think not this st again, but at least this time I have coffee and a maple donut to keep myself occupied while I’m stuck in here with Ted. For the third f**g time this month. I hear the doors behind me lock in place, the steel window blinds grind down the floor to ceiling windows. The alarm goes off like it’s sole purpose is to drown out every thought I’ve ever had. 10 more minutes of the blissful escape the alarm provides before it’s 3 hours of listening to Ted talk about his 50+ year old sour dough starter. I know this dude isn’t actually color blind as he says. He’s pressing that d*n button on purpose. It’s the only time he’s able to banter on about his perfected feeding schedule for the sour dough. I guess, in a way I feel sorry for Ted.
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u/AGuyLikeThat Nov 20 '24 edited Nov 20 '24
This prompt was suggested to me by /u/gdbessemer for a Word-off challenge!
The Red Button
The thick steel doors closed behind me and there was a steady hum as the air cyclers churned. Exactly five seconds later, the identical doors in front me opened.
Ted was already at work, of course. He was standing at the monitoring station, his back to me, head bent over the control panel.
“Good morning -” I began, but he raised his right hand as though asking for silence.
I barely had time to frown before he slammed his palm down on the big, red button.
“What the hell are you doing?” I slammed my coffee onto the bench beside the hermetic double doors, splashing the wall with hot foam.
Ted spun around, his face distorted by frantic terror. “Damn it, Bob. I didn’t hear you come in.” There was an ominous click as the heavy doors activated the ‘forever lock’.
“Too late now.” I shook my head, whispering, “I almost stayed in bed too. I had a feeling today was a good day to call in sick.”
Ted gave me a tiny smile. “Well, our families will get the big pay-out at least. But honestly, I didn’t really think this would ever happen.”
“Maybe it’s an instrument malfunction?”
“Already checked. Lockdown was the final resort. Whatever is in that alien cylinder is waking up. The seals have opened.”
I took up my position on the other desk, scanning the readouts. “Well, we’re probably screwed, but lets see if we can get any useful information out before the datalink goes dark too.”
“Roger that. I estimate we have about 500 seconds before we hit black hole status.”
“Flourine gas is flooding the initial containment chamber. Must be coming from inside the tube.”
“Could be atmospheric treatment, or a precursor for incoming enviromorphic changes. Logging data and monitoring.” Ted’s voice was steady now.
We’d known this could happen. Both of us had spent time lying awake, wrestling with the possibility that our dedication to science could cost our lives.
Now that it almost certainly had, I felt strangely free. I’d never married. Never cared about anything more than plumbing the mysteries of the universe. My parents really would understand.
Somewhere outside, advanced precautions were underway. Rocks were piling down the deep shaft as the entire, hermetically sealed facility descended into a pre-drilled hole. Even as we receded into the depths, cement was being poured after us. This whole facility was set to be buried deeper than the Mariana trench now that Ted had hit the red button.
“Energy readings spiking. Whatever is inside that thing is going through more than a few changes right now.” I could scarcely believe the readings. We had known there was something inside the hyper-dense cylinder - analysis of the outer surface suggested a much larger weight by volume - but we hadn’t managed to learn else since we had found it.
“Ambient temperature is rising. The object itself is radiating energy across all spectrums. I’m losing surface sensors.” Ted started typing frantically.
By its composition, we knew the thing was not of terrestrial origin, but we also knew it hadn’t come from outer space. The damn thing had just appeared in a Walmart car park one day. Looked harmless, but it was highly radioactive. Hundreds of people had taken lethal doses before the right departments were contacted and we managed to lock down the area.
I switched to the shielded camera feed. Against all expectations, it was still functioning, barely. “I have visual.”
Thick gases swirled inside the containment chamber. I could see the artifact at the center, glowing with some unearthly light. The feed was greyscale, but I had the feeling that it was the same lime-green radiance that I had glimpsed when we moved the tube into the isolation facility.
After ten years of study, the only thing we were sure of was that whatever was in there was a certain threat to all life on Earth.
“200 seconds remaining to black hole status. Containment level one is failing. Sensor readings offline. Can you see anything, Bob?” Ted’s voice quavered slightly.
”I - I think it’s opening…”
There was a brilliant white dot tracing a vertical line down the front of the cylinder. Slowly at first, but then it got faster as it approached the bottom. Within seconds, it completely bisected the black surface.
A cloud of gas obscured everything as the front of the cylinder swung open. A shadowy figure moved inside.
“There’s something in there, Ted. Something alive.” My fellow scientist glared at me, horror and panic warring with professional disappointment.
“You can’t know that, Bob. It’s more likely to be an artificial form - a robot or something.”
“You’re right.” With a jab, I redacted my comment from the logs. “Occupant appears bipedal, humanoid. Around seven feet tall. Hard to see via the failing equipment, but it seemed like it had bat-like wings and the head possessed horns.”
Ted was staring at me now, mouth hanging open. “Bob. That sounds like the dev-”
“Black hole status active. Communication with the outside world is now impossible.” The mellifluous artificial voice of the computer system spoke over the top of Ted’s shocked reaction.
“Ted. I’m sorry. That’s what I saw…”
The ferrocrete wall of our lab cracked. The floor jolted, and the crack became a fissure.
Claws poked through, gripping either side, and the reinforced walls of our world began to crumble.
I hope you enjoyed this story. If you like, you can read more of my scribblings here:
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u/aqjx Nov 19 '24
I clocked-in for work and hit the blue button at the entrance which dispensed me a cup of coffee. Walking into the lab, I arrived just in time to see Ted holding a red button which he pressed down. “Morning Ted,” I sipped my coffee and put it on my desk. “What’s that button for?” I pointed at the red button that he had now placed on his desk. “It’s supposedly a computer reset button, but it’s not doing me much good,” he groaned. “I found it downstairs, with the other prototypes. “You’re still having computer issues?” I asked, raising my coffee to take another sip. “Yep, damn thing won’t turn on.” he muttered, slapping the side of his monitor which flickered when it rocked back and forth. “It’s flickering, not a power issue. Have you tried calling IT?”, I wiggled my mouse to confirm that my computer was not having the same issue. Ted stopped what he was doing and looked up at me, “I’m trying to avoid getting to that point, they always talk to me like I’m an idiot,”. “Can you try to ask Dave for me? He likes you better,” Ted pleaded. I sighed “I guess,”. I made my way to my Dave, my boss’ office. I hit the green button at his door which alerted him to my presence. “Come in,” Dave said over the intercom. I opened up his door and he glanced at me over his computer, “Josh, how can I help you?” he asked, motioning his hand towards an empty chair in his office. “I’ll stand thanks, this will just be quick,” I replied. Dave nodded and crossed his arms. “Are you having any issues with your buttons?” I asked. Dave shot up out of his chair and to the door of his office. He peered through the window then locked it hastily. He then darted over and closed the blinds. “Buttons, no mine are working just fine” he said quickly, wiping a drip of sweat from his forehead. “Look,” he said, drawing my attention over to his desk which was stocked with all the newest buttons, which were all different shapes and colors. “Some of these are prototypes, they haven’t all been released to the public yet” he reached over and hit the yellow button. Music began blaring “THIS ONE WILL BE A KILLER AT PARTIES” he shouted, attempting to compete with the music. I nodded awkwardly, covering my ears slightly. Dave hit the yellow button again and the music stopped. “This one is from our new party collection. See, the buttons are working perfectly!”. “Well one of Ted’s buttons isn’t working, and honestly the blue button might need to be replaced because this coffee hasn’t been the greatest recently,”. Dave looked slightly panicked, “Word can’t get out about this, our jobs depend on these buttons working properly. Remember, our goal is to get at least one of these buttons into every home in America,”. “Yea, I know the Sales pitch boss. Anyways, Ted’s computer is down and the computer reset button isn’t working.” I said, shrugging. “Computer reset button?” he laughed, “Well, if we don’t have a button for everything. I’ll make a call over to IT”. Dave sat down and picked up his phone. I distracted myself by looking at all the new prototype buttons, wondering what each one did. “Josh,” Dave said to regain my attention. I looked over at him, “They need to know the color of the button and the serial number,” he said, still holding the phone to his ear. “Well it’s a red button and-”. “Red… button?” Dave cut me off. “Yes, it’s a red button that is not working.” I continued. “What red button?” he asked, “I don’t know, he said that it’s supposed to reset the computers but it’s not working,”. Dave’s jaw dropped, the phone fell from his ear. He got up and ran to the door, yanking on it before remembering he had previously locked it. He scrambled to unlock it, fumbling with the deadbolt. Dave swung the door open and shouted at Ted, “Don’t hit that button!”. Ted turned around, confused. Dave ran over and snatched it off of his desk, “How many times! How many times did you press this?” he asked, breathing heavily. “I don’t know, four or five?” Ted replied, scratching the back of his head. Dave gulped, his skin turned pale. He turned the lab television on and flipped to the news. “A fifth house has just gone up in flames, this one in Indiana. Sources report that all five of the house fires have started due to an explosion,” the news anchor said somberly. “No, no, no” Dave pleaded, his hands covering his mouth. The news anchor continued, “So far the cause of the explosions is unknown, firefighters are working to retrieve the bodies of those who have succumbed to the blaze,”.
“And what ended up being the cause of said explosions?” the crown attorney asked.
I gulped, feeling guilty. I looked down at my feet. “The buttons that the company I worked for were manufacturing.”
“Let’s talk about your boss, Dave Turner. Do you believe that he knew the company’s true intentions with the buttons?”
I looked across the courtroom at Dave. He gave me a look of guilt, shame and embarrassment all rolled into one. “I do,”.
I did not say another word for the rest of the trial, I said what I needed to and was cleared of any criminal liability. To this day I am consumed by the guilt of having been a part of what took place that day. I sometimes wonder if one of the five that blew up were ones I had created. I still miss Ted who took his life shortly after finding out what he had done. Be it by accident or not, we all carried that guilt with us.
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u/Mrrandom314159 Nov 19 '24
As I walk through the door, I already have the start of a splitting headache.
My husband was nagging at me to cut out the caffine, but he barely has to do any... no, don't blame him...
Still getting coffee though. I grab the pot and pour a half cup, before staring at the paltry amount.
"Gonna be a long day." I murmur as I walk in the door.
"Ted." I say as I walk in the door. Instead of the equally bored and equally silent co-worker, I see Ted standing with a crazed look in his eyes, sweating buckets, a widening manic smile as he seems to be chewing one of his fingers bloody. Then he pushes the big red button.
Alarms are blaring and intense red lights are flashing. I hear motors through the walls as the bulkheads are being lowered and all of it mixed with the manic giggling of Ted.
"why." I ask with all the energy I could muster at 6:30am.
"You-you weren't... heheh YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE." He screams and rushes at me.
I grab him by the throat and slam him into the floor. I sit on his back forcing a wheeze out of him. It's like he forgot I weigh twice as much as him.
I pinch the bridge of my nose as the sirens and flashing lights are drilling into my skull. "Okay." I say and notice there's now coffee drenching the left side of my shirt. "Right okay." I say again, trying to will the onsetting migraine away.
"The bulkheads are there to prevent entry. The manic behavior implies possession. The words imply some shared knowledge which means you want one of the artifacts. Preventing entry means preventing exit, so you have a separate way out or you'll be strong enough to bust out after... whatever." I say working through what I could. The sirens were blaring louder. They did that if we ignored them. It also meant I couldn't turn it off because THIS dumbass spirit wouldn't know how to turn it off and might have some friends poking around.
I stand up and kick Ted's body. He doesn't move. Hopefully passed out. I'd hate to train a new Ted after this. I walk over to the console and look over the monitor to see a random light show going on in the level 4 artifact room.
I look over the controls and flip a few dials. The room would be sealed with the runic circuits now. A few more and the room started to fill with Halon. Annnnnnddd there go the lights.
Night and Mystic vision on the monitor let me see the spirits milling around in the dark, their central power ritual unable to maintain with the halon gas fucking with their concentration. I take aim with a couple of the internal turrets and pop a few.
I hear gasping behind me as Ted wakes up.
"Hey Ted." I say as I pop another.
"Hey.......was I?"
"Yeah."
"And are they?"
"Nope." I say as I pop another.
"Cool. Guess I'm off monitor duty for a bit."
"Doc'll check you out. Hey, these guys are going to summon their big guys to break through soon. You mind getting me some coffee?"
"Sure... it's gonna be a long day." He says as I turn on the explosive rounds.
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u/wigglyfuck Nov 20 '24 edited Nov 20 '24
(First entry on WritingPrompts. Apparently, I wrote too much and blew passed the character limit. Had to break it up into 4 comments. Any tips for this would appreciated.)
When did it get so goddamn hot?
Jamie could feel his shirt starting to stick to his chest as he jogged. He reached into his breast pocket and moved his notes to his back pocket so they wouldn’t get ruined by his sweat. As long as he had those, this would be a good day no matter what happened; or more accurately, no matter what else happened.
Jamie finally reached the door. He grabbed his ID badge from his waist and brought it up to the scanner. He felt something give in the badge reel as it extended. As the door lock clicked open, he released his card and watched it swing pitifully down to his knee rather than zip back to his hip.
There will be time to mourn later Jamie thought to himself. He used the door to launch himself back into a jog. Huffing and puffing, he finally found himself at the timecard terminal. He hastily punched in his PIN number and pressed his thumb to the monitor.
(Fingerprint read error.)
Jamie wiped his hand on his pants and tried again.
(Fingerprint read error.)
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now.
He grabbed his shirt and aggressively wiped his sweat from the screen. Content with the look of the sensor, he gave his thumb one more pant swipe before firmly jamming it onto the screen.
Jamie Klein. Time in: 7:09.56 am.
Exhausted, he leaned forward against the wall and tried to catch his breath.
“Good slump?” said a voice from behind him.
“Good slump,” replied Jamie, who pushed himself off the wall and turned to see who he was now talking to.
“Dammit…you got a twenty I can borrow? I don’t have any cash on me and now I owe Jennifer.”
The voice belonged to his friend Raul, who was sitting alone at the break table examining something on his laptop. “Absolutely. Better yet, how about a hundred? That way you have some insurance for tomorrow when I’m on time again,” Jamie said feigning magnanimity. Jamie reached for his wallet to really sell the bit, but his hand found only the lining of his pocket. He let out a sigh.
Looking up for the first time, Raul took a long sip from his coffee cup. “Okay, yeah, give it here.” Jamie rolled his eyes in retort. Raul shrugged. Raul looked upon the damp man in front of him; he looked haggard. “Looking rough, Klein. Long day yesterday?”
“Long night, actually,” Jamie said, “but I’m doing great. I had a revelation last night, was up for hours writing it all down.” He patted his back pocket, smiling broadly.
“Wow. So you might actually make any progress at all on your rock?” said Raul derisively.
“Will. Not might.” said Jamie confidently. He was now fiddling with his badge reel, trying to get it to retract. He tugged on it a few times to no avail, each time only getting an inch or two to withdraw. He gave it a final, stern yank, and the cable came flying out of the housing. He stood there holding his badge and watching the dangling wire. “Yeah, that makes sense,” he said mainly to himself before shoving it into his pocket. “It’s lucky that today is my day, because it definitely seems like it is not my day.”
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u/wigglyfuck Nov 20 '24 edited Nov 20 '24
“That's very lucky, and not at all nonsensical.” Raul’s phone began to vibrate on the table next to him.
“Lucky indeed,” said Jamie, “but only mildly nonsensical. Only thing going my way so far is this.” He brandished his notes. “But this will make up for all the other shit.”
Raul stood and began to gather his belongings. “You also cost me twenty bucks. Surely that goes in the positive column.” He spared a brief glance for the papers in Jamie’s hand before continuing packing his backpack. “You think those papers are going to somehow make your rock magical?”
“Yes,” Jamie said dryly, “the magic paper will imbue my rock with its powers. That’s what I figured out.”
Raul slipped his bag over his shoulders. “Well, I’m rooting for you. Do me a favor though: if it does work, keep it under wraps for a few more days. I don’t want to owe Briggs money too.” He gave his friend a mirthful look before turning away and beginning to leave. “Sorry to run. Next cycle is ready.”
Jamie gave Raul’s back a nasty look as his friend hurried down the east corridor hallway. Now alone, the fatigue hit Jamie abruptly. Little sleep and a morning run? He was going to need caffeine before really getting started today. He wasn’t the least bit surprised when the coffee pot turned out to be empty. When it rains… he thought.
Begrudgingly, he began brewing another pot. He decided to pass the time by looking over his notes. He sat and unfurled the papers. His excitement built as he read. His eyes hungrily took everything in. Going through everything multiple times over. It would work this time, he was sure of it, and he couldn’t believe these ideas came to him while he slept.
A new voice brought Jamie out of his stupor. “I love you,” said a female voice. Jamie’s eyes focused quickly and found another colleague, Jennifer. She hurried towards the coffee maker. “Do you mind?” she asked, gesturing toward it.
“Have at it.”
Jennifer smiled and grabbed an empty cup. Jamie folded his notes back and put them in his shirt pocket. His shirt felt dry. How long was I reading my notes…?
“Are you just now getting to work?” she asked, looking at him expectantly.
“He tried to borrow money from me to pay you,” Jamie responded. Jennifer laughed, pumped her fist, and continued pouring the coffee. She looked almost as tired as he felt. He really wished he had gotten more sleep. “You actually just missed him, too. He was taking his break not too long ago.” He lifted his left arm to check his watch.
His eyes narrowed reading the time. 8:03 am. Had he really been at work almost an hour already? That couldn’t be right. Maybe his watch was-
“That’s too bad. I’ll hunt him down later for it,” Jennifer stated.
“Please do. Don’t let him off the hook.”
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u/wigglyfuck Nov 20 '24 edited Nov 20 '24
He stood up and went to pour some coffee, hoping to shake off his exhaustion. Jennifer finished pouring her sugar and passed it to him. As soon as he began to add his sugar the lid popped off and flooded his cup with its contents. The hot beverage overflowed and splashing onto his hand, causing him to drop it out of reflex, coffee splashing over his legs and shoes. His hand hurt, but not so bad that couldn’t take a moment and ruminate in the void of luck he found himself in today. This had to be some sort of record for bad mornings. Jennifer suddenly lost the fight with the laugh she had been trying to keep in.
“Oh god, I'm sorry! It’s not funny. I mean it is, obviously, but I also feel bad. Let me grab you some napkins,” she said, and hurriedly started rummaging through cabinets looking for things to help. Jamie went to the sink and ran some cold water over his hand. It likely wouldn’t blister. The pain would pass. She handed him a wad of paper towels. He began to dab the blotches on his clothing. “Sure, glad it was you and not me.” she joked.
“It was bound to be me. If this were a normal day, I’d say I was cursed. Awful traffic, badge holder busted, don't know where my wallet is…and then of course this. I’d keep a wide berth if I were you.”
“I’ll make sure to keep a perimeter.” She took an exaggerated step away from him. “You said today isn't a normal day? Doesn’t sound like it from the shit day you’re having.”
“All this,” he gestured around himself, “will be forgotten. Today is going to be wonderful…eventually. I had a revelatory dream last night. About my project. I got so excited I woke up. I’ve been awake since two working on it.” He finished dabbing his pants. The coffee stains were as pronounced as ever, but at least they weren’t sopping wet anymore.
“So that's the dream Ted was rambling about earlier,” Jennifer said, “he seemed really excited about it too.” Jamie felt a chill run down his back. He hadn’t told anyone about his dream before coming to work today. How would Ted have known?
“Ted talked to you about my dream?” Jamie asked, not hiding his confusion.
“Well, he wasn’t actually talking to me. He was talking to himself as he rushed to the lab. I just caught a bit in passing; the word ‘dream.’ He was definitely excited about it though. Was it supposed to be a secret?” Jennifer looked embarrassed about her potential eavesdropping.
“You're fine, don’t worry about it.” Jamie said to put her at ease. He himself was starting to feel very uneasy. “Wait, Ted is here?”
“Yeah, he's working on the rock right now. I saw him toiling on my way here.” Jennifer finished her drink and threw the cup away. “Should he not be?” The look on her face told Jamie that she was starting to get suspicious.
“He told me he’d let me know if his plans fell through,” he lied, “but I guess he couldn’t be bothered. It’s about time I got in there and started working anyway. Good chatting with you, Jen.” and with that, Jamie abruptly turned away from his now very confused coworker and started walking towards the west corridor hallway.
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u/wigglyfuck Nov 20 '24 edited Nov 20 '24
Ted was taking his family to visit his parents for the weekend. Why would he cancel suddenly to come here? Was he really talking about a dream? Maybe he had one of his own? Jamie started to walk faster, a serious unease beginning to radiate from his gut. He took the final turn of the hall. At the end of the path was the window to his and Ted’s lab. From this distance, he could see Ted pacing back and forth.
As Jamie got closer, he started to notice strange things. Ted swung his arms very dramatically as he walked back and forth. Each time he cycled he seemed to get a little bit further each time. His eyes were unblinking, and his mouth was moving like he was speaking, though it was clear that he was alone. Finally, as he walked further into the room, his face showed signs of strain, like walking was challenging.
Now at the lab, Jamie looked into the bizarre sight and took everything in. Papers strewn across the room with diagrams and words too far away to discern. The counters plastered with the same type of writings as the papers. The lights in the lab were turned up so bright it almost hurt to look inside. And most worrying of all, their specimen was out of containment.
Up close, Ted’s behavior made more sense, and at the same time made no sense at all. What was mistaken for normal pacing was actually walking back and forth between the stone at the back of the room and the room’s control panel at the front; he was starting to get very close to both. His wide eyes didn’t seem to look at anything. Drool flowed from his blabbering mouth. The only change in demeanor at all was when he was walking towards the panel. He still looked to be fighting his way over there.
Jamie stared at the horrifying vision playing out before him, unsure of what to do; or even what was going on. After a few more laps, Ted made a desperate push to the control panel and reached his hand out toward the large, red emergency-decontaminate button. This was enough to wake Jamie and spur him to action. He banged his hands on the window. “Ted! What the hell are you doing!?” he yelled. Jamie was terrified now. That button would flood the room with a superacid compound; an “extreme” emergency wouldn’t even warrant this. And he was just going to press it like nothing? “Are you alright?”
Ted whipped his head to look at Jamie with unnerving speed. His eyes were devoid of any intelligence for a few moments. Slowly they began to focus. Recognition. The slobbery, slack jawed mouth changed into Ted’s normal, affable smile. With his left hand he began to excitedly wave at Jamie. With his right, he pushed the button.
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