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I work a security job at Walmart, and I'll never walk in another again.
Hello everyone. My name is James and I'm 28-years old. I've been wanting to tell this story for a long time. To get rid of this feeling on my chest and so that I'll finally be able to sleep again. Ever since then, I've been getting nightmares and no amount of therapy is helping the severe amount of trauma I gained working at Walmart. Okay. Let's go to the beginning.
It was around June of 2023. I'm not going to get much into the details but I was jobless, broke, and in desperate need of money. If I didn't get a job, I would most likely lose my house and that was the last thing I needed to happen. The sun was late into setting and I was walking back home through the dimly lit streets, not too long before I would make it back my home. But then, as I was walking, I walked past a poster which I was just barely able to read the word 'Job' in my peripheral vision. But now I wish that I did end up walking past it. I picked up the poster from the telephone pole it was attached to. In bold and red letters, it said, "Looking for valuable and passionate workers to man the security job! Great pay! Low hours! And health insurance!" When I looked down at the bottom corner of the page, I couldn't help but get suspicious when I read the word, 'Walmart.' Walmart and free healthcare? That was obviously a lie. Now, even though I was suspect of the poster, I was in grave need of money. So of course, I subconsciously decided to take the job, which was if they hired me.
One strange thing I did notice though, is that the address next to the phone number wasn't the Walmart about a couple of blocks down from where I was currently standing. But the address was for a Walmart ten MILES away from where I was just standing. Nevertheless, I would have to find a way as I had already made up my mind on taking up the job. I would have to buy a bicycle because there was no way I was walking about 13 miles from home. Fortunately for me, I do remember having an electric scooter that's just been sitting down in my basement. If I'm lucky, I could be able to get it to work again. I folded the poster up and placed it in my pocket, continuing on my way home. As soon as I got home, I was confronted by my dog, Shanks, and the poor condition of my home. I named him Shanks based off of a character from one of my favorite shows. Without my dog, I'm not sure I would still be around to this day. My dog leaped onto my leg, barking and wagging his tail excitedly. I couldn't help but gain a wide smile as I crouched down to pet him profusely.
After I was done petting Shanks, I walked past him and entered my basement. I flipped the light on the side of me, turning on the basement light. The light flickered and buzzed erratically, submerging me in darkness if only for moments. I looked over to the other side of the basement, seeing my old electric scooter sitting in the corner. It had taken quite a beating over these years down here sitting in the basement. I grabbed the electric scooter, wiping away dust and webs from it. I checked the battery and it surprisingly wasn't dead. It was pretty much storing all the energy it had from when I last charged it. Now, I just needed to see if it actually worked. Lo and behold, it could actually move! Of course, there are some things such as the wheel not turning properly when the handle is moved, but at least it still worked. I finally contacted the number on the poster, which I was then put in hold for a couple of minutes. When they put me back on the line, they told me to introduce myself, which I did. Afterwards, they began asking me really obscure and weird questions such as, "What's your favorite color?", "Do you have frequent nightmares?" and "Are you prone to auditory and visual hallucinations?" I didn't understand why they were asking these questions. I had to second check if I called the right number. It was at this point that I began recording the call just in case.
After I had answered all those questions, it led me to an automated voice message that was supposed to "explain" the terms and conditions of the job I had to accept if I wanted. However, the voice at times were either too fast or unintelligible, making it so I couldn't understand anything of what they just said. It then told me to press 1 if I agreed to whatever jumbo it said. I didn't have much of a choice then, so of course, I pressed 1. Afterwards, the phone abruptly hung up, sending me back to my home screen. Soon after, I got a message by an unknown number. It was as read,
*"Congratulations on getting the security job! Please refer to the location on the poster. See you at 11 tomorrow!"*
I was really skeptical of the message. That felt way too easy. But I brushed it off as them being desperate for a security worker. The next day, I woke up around 9:30. I stayed up and sleep deprived myself so I could wake up and make it there on time. I rode my scooter over to the address on the poster. After about an hour and thirty minutes, I found myself in the parking lot of Walmart. The parking lot was barren, there were almost no cars in sight. As I walked in, I was immediately greeted by a woman in a suit. She smiled widely from cheek to cheek, but it didn't feel like a real smile. How happy can you be working at Walmart? It was extremely unsettling.
"Hey! You must be here for the security job!"
"Uhm, yes?" I responded, slightly confused.
"Great! Then follow me!"
I followed the woman in the suit further into the building, eventually finding myself in the back of the Walmart. She then introduced me to someone named Carson, who would tell me everything about the job and what to do. However, I only got to see him one time that day before getting thrown into the shift blind. Oh so fortunate for me, the company forces co workers to exchange numbers with each other. Since I'm security, I only had to give my number to Carson. Now onto why I've made this in the first place. It had hit twelve on the clock. I've finally settled in and was wearing the usual black security jacket with security written on it. It was 11 and it was only 10 minutes into my shift until I realized something strange. I couldn't seem to find a security office, you know, those rooms with cameras? Well, I wouldn't know about this later until I was informed that there was in fact, no security office. As if I wasn't already feeling uneasy, I was basically dawdling about in the open expanse of Walmart. Alone. The lights were still on for some reason, so my ears was constantly showered with the humming and buzzing of lights. Did I mention the extreme cold? Oh god, it was so cold in there. I could see the smoke leaving my mouth clearly. I eventually ended up walking around through the aisles wrapped in a giant blanket like a little kid. Around 11:30, Carson called me unexpectedly. I answered the call, first clearing my throat to speak properly.
"Hello?"
I didn't get a response for a couple of seconds before I heard Carson's voice on the other side of the phone.
"Oh, hey. Okay, so I'm here to tell you what to do and whatnot."
The tone in his voice when he said was nonchalant. Almost like he couldn't care or was too bothered to make the call.
"You should know the basics of security. I mean, you have watched Mall Cop, right?"
"Yeah, but I-" But before I could finish my sentence, he cut me off.
"Good. So, don't let anyone in, that's the basic gist of your job. At twelve, make sure to lock the front doors. Don't worry about any other unlocked doors, they will resolve themselves. Also, keep in mind that the lights doesn't actually turn off until around two, so you have plenty of time. Uhh...oh yeah, if you see any strange figures walking around in the store, then just ignore them. I don't quite understand it either, but those are people just practicing night vision tech. I remember the manager saying something about a contract but that's about all I know."
Then without warning, he just hung up. I wanted to ask him more questions, especially about the strange figures seeing as he kinda brushed them off like it was normal. The contract part too was skeptical to me. Why is Walmart having contracts with military or whatever?
"What the hell is this company..." I could remember mumbling to myself.
The time was now 12:00 and I swiftly walked over to the front doors and locked them. It was just as he said, the lights hadn't turned off yet. And with nothing to do, of course, I resorted to walking around the store. There was an entire section with laptops and games I could play. Unfortunately, the consoles were locked and couldn't be accessed without a key unlike the laptops. Occasionally, I would go over there to play games on a laptop if I got bored. Eventually, I got hungry, so I ransacked some snacks off of the shelves. I thought that surely they wouldn't care, right? Then the snacks started to become temporary and my body was aching for actual food now. Fortunately, I could grab a microwave and hook it up to a outlet to eat up any microwavable frozen food I could find in the freezer like Jamaican Beef patties or occasionally ramen noodles. Also, I should mention that I was able to use my phone to screen cast movies on one of the display televisions. It only worked for that Sony TV for some reason.
The time was now 1:30 and I was comfortably cozy laying on a king-sized bed, fully adorned with a blanket too. I watched movies on my phone while I wait for the clock to hit 2:00. The movie I was watching was Inception, an all-time favorite movie of mine. Its not a detail you needed to know, but I felt like sharing it anyways. And then, it finally hit 2:00. As soon as it hit 2:00, all the lights turned off simultaneously, including my phone that restarted entirely. Additionally, as this was happening, I started hearing random loud whirring and humming noises from the front doors, accompanied by bright flashing lights of random colors. Then, it all abruptly stopped. I turned on my phone and looked at the time. It was completely wrong. The time was 20:06, which I'm sure was impossible unless my phone had restarted and been default set for 24 hour time. And I brushed it off as just that. I tried to continue watching my movie in peace, but my phone didn't work, connected to the building wifi or using data. I got up from the comforts of my bed and went to check the laptops and TVs. And as you could expect, those were also disabled or not functioning properly. In fact, the Sony TV from before was the only TV to actually even turn on.
As I was inspecting the electronics to make sure it just wasn't one section, I suddenly spot a strange figure walking around in the darkness. With a closer look, I could see that the figure was wearing some gear, and I subconsciously noted that these were the night vision ppl that Carson was talking about. Despite specifically remembering him telling me not to approach them, I did the opposite against my ever growing curiosity. I walked up behind the figure, tapping him on the shoulder. The figure turned around, letting out a little grunt in confusion.
"Hi?" I tried to greet them.
They responded with nothing but silence for a couple of seconds before actually speaking.
"Sorry, I'm just so confused. I've never seen a person in here before."
Something was wrong with their voice. It sounded...echoey, but at the same time it didn't. I know there was something wrong, but at the same time, it felt like I was viewing something at the wrong angle. I.. I don't know how to explain it. I was trying to understand what the figure was but my brain and body was simultaneously confused. It was... incomprehensible.
"You mean there weren't any other security guards?" I asked them.
The static sound signaling one of the TVs turning on caused me to turn around and look at it. And when I turned back around, the figure was gone. My heart dropped in my chest. It was a fear I haven't had in a long time. Back from all the way when I was 6, and I saw a man standing over my unconscious body. I hadn't felt so alone in a Walmart, it felt like I was being suffocated by the silent ambience of the Walmart. I quickly ran to the back of the Walmart, locking myself in a room and crouching down in one of the corners in complete and utter terror. After God knows long of whimpering I'm the corner, I grew some balls and stood up, taking a deep breath to compose myself and call my shaking body. I flipped on the light of the room I was in, which means that the power doesn't get cut off at 2:00 like the lights. With the lights on, I could see the things inside the room. The room had boxes of tapes and even its own VCR. It felt reminiscent of the videotape room I'd occasionally go to back at school.
As I browsed through the videotapes, one specifically caught my eye. A tape named, "Security Training." It seemed to be a videotape meant to train new security guards on what to do and whatnot to do. But it must have been never used, or haven't been used since something happened. Its most likely why they have real people train you instead. Anyways, I grabbed the tape and threw it into the VCR, sitting down as it booted up. Once it fully booted up, I was greeted by a blank blue screen with a jam playing in the background. It was like one of those uhh.. upbeat jams that you'd heard in 1999 - 2000s advertisements trying to be hip with the kids. Except that the music was..out of tune, and there would be missing notes. It was... unnerving. Then, this yellow smiley face appeared on the screen, smiling from cheek to cheek. For simplicity, I'm going to call it Smiley. After Smiley appeared on the screen, a robotic voice could be heard accompanied with yellow text on the bottom.
*"Hello. Welcome to the first day on the job,"* Its voice suddenly was bleeped out as it presumed to say a name I couldn't recognize.
*"Here at Walmart, many customers relie on us to buy through us necessities and entertainment. You only have three things to do while on the security job."*
Smiley disappeared from the screen afterwards, and the blue background switched to a still image of an empty Walmart. Soon afterwards, a stickman appeared on screen, wearing a hat labeled 'SECURITY'.
*"Number 1: After locking the doors at 12:00, do not let anyone inside the building under any circumstances. If there is anyone in the building after you lock the doors, then do not let them leave under any circumstances."*
Another stickman came into appearance, being colored purple in order to separate itself from the original black stickman.
*"Number 2: Do not approach the figures walking around the store after 2:00. They will have gear om them, specifically night goggles will be the most noticeable. They do not know you are there, you will frighten them."*
This is what Carson was talking about, but I had forgotten about the detail of the night goggles for some reason. Its a detail I'm sure that I wouldn't forget. The scene switched, now showing a still image of a room with a row of monitors sitting on a desk.
*"Number 3: Keep your eyes on the camera for any suspicious activity. If you see something you deem as suspicious, then mark it down on a note for higher-ups review."*
This tape had to be quite old as there wasn't a security room to watch the cameras from, or the fact that there weren't even any cameras here to begin with. It makes sense as things changed, the tape became redundant and outdated information.
*"Number 4:,*
Number 4? I thought there were only three things we had to do. The videotape didn't stop for my train of thought however and continued. The screen turned pitch black, showing Smiley once again except his bright big smile was now gone. In fact, he didn't even have a mouth anymore as he just stared directly through the screen. It was staring at me. The voice and music was gone, only leaving me with the yellow text below.
*"Hide. We know where you are James."*
My heart dropped in my chest as my mind recognized what the videotape was saying. I swiftly turned the VCR off and stood up to also turn the light off. I crouched down in the corner of the room, holding my breath and closing my eyes tight in terror. I could feel the tears beginning to well up in my eyes. The only thing I could think about was my dog Shanks and how much I missed him right now. After a couple of minutes of sobbing and shaking uncontrollably, I could hear the sound of a dog barking echoing throughout the building. I listened attentively, noticing that the barking was coming from one of the aisles close to me. Then suddenly, I hear the back doors swing wide open with a loud bang. I feared the worse as I could hear footsteps approaching the room I was in. Then, silence. I held my breath in anticipation, my heart beating out of my chest. Then, something happened, but it wasn't what I expected.
A husky burst through the door, barking at me. It still gave me quite a fright, but was nowhere near as bad as what I was thinking. The husky walked up to me, laying down on my lap. It reminded me of Shanks and brought me my much needed comfort that I didn't even think about how the husky got inside. I checked the phone on my time, which wasn't even numbers now. I begin petting the husky, finding some joy in this alone and cold building. I couldn't help but feel like falling asleep and without knowing, I ended up dozing off. I woke up the next morning, in the same room but the husky was gone. Additionally, all those videotapes were gone, including the VCR. I stood up, wiping some saliva off my mouth. I checked the time, it was now 7:30. I exited the backrooms of Walmart and went to the front doors. I looked out through the doors and had never been so happy feeling the sun on my skin. I could see some cars start to pull up, specifically the only one I could actually recognize was Carson who had gotten out of his car first.
I swiftly unlocked the front doors, walking out to greet him. My body was still slightly shaking as I walked towards him, and I felt pale in many places. As I came face to face with Carson, I couldn't control myself and hugged him tightly. It was pathetic really. But I had never felt so alone and scared. It felt like I was a kid all over again.
"Woah, are you okay man?" He said, gently pushing me away.
I wiped away some tears welling in my eyes before turning back towards Carson.
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." I replied, composing myself.
"Good. Because you're pale."
I chuckled slightly before getting serious again.
"Carson, listen....can we... talk about something?"
Carson quickly turned back towards me, his eyebrows furrowing. He grabbed my arm, pulling me closer so I could hear what he would say.
"Not here. You have my phone number right? Then call me once you get home."
I nodded as he let me go. He walked into the Walmart, leaving me to stand outside the building alone. Unfortunately, I have to go somewhere, like right now. When I see you again, I'll gather up the recordings I've created so far and publish them.
#entertainment
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Hello everyone. My name is James and I'm 28-years old. I've been wanting to tell this story for a long time. To get rid of this feeling on my chest and so that I'll finally be able to sleep again. Ever since then, I've been getting nightmares and no amount of therapy is helping the severe amount of trauma I gained working at Walmart. Okay. Let's go to the beginning.
It was around June of 2023. I'm not going to get much into the details but I was jobless, broke, and in desperate need of money. If I didn't get a job, I would most likely lose my house and that was the last thing I needed to happen. The sun was late into setting and I was walking back home through the dimly lit streets, not too long before I would make it back my home. But then, as I was walking, I walked past a poster which I was just barely able to read the word 'Job' in my peripheral vision. But now I wish that I did end up walking past it. I picked up the poster from the telephone pole it was attached to. In bold and red letters, it said, "Looking for valuable and passionate workers to man the security job! Great pay! Low hours! And health insurance!" When I looked down at the bottom corner of the page, I couldn't help but get suspicious when I read the word, 'Walmart.' Walmart and free healthcare? That was obviously a lie. Now, even though I was suspect of the poster, I was in grave need of money. So of course, I subconsciously decided to take the job, which was if they hired me.
One strange thing I did notice though, is that the address next to the phone number wasn't the Walmart about a couple of blocks down from where I was currently standing. But the address was for a Walmart ten MILES away from where I was just standing. Nevertheless, I would have to find a way as I had already made up my mind on taking up the job. I would have to buy a bicycle because there was no way I was walking about 13 miles from home. Fortunately for me, I do remember having an electric scooter that's just been sitting down in my basement. If I'm lucky, I could be able to get it to work again. I folded the poster up and placed it in my pocket, continuing on my way home. As soon as I got home, I was confronted by my dog, Shanks, and the poor condition of my home. I named him Shanks based off of a character from one of my favorite shows. Without my dog, I'm not sure I would still be around to this day. My dog leaped onto my leg, barking and wagging his tail excitedly. I couldn't help but gain a wide smile as I crouched down to pet him profusely.
After I was done petting Shanks, I walked past him and entered my basement. I flipped the light on the side of me, turning on the basement light. The light flickered and buzzed erratically, submerging me in darkness if only for moments. I looked over to the other side of the basement, seeing my old electric scooter sitting in the corner. It had taken quite a beating over these years down here sitting in the basement. I grabbed the electric scooter, wiping away dust and webs from it. I checked the battery and it surprisingly wasn't dead. It was pretty much storing all the energy it had from when I last charged it. Now, I just needed to see if it actually worked. Lo and behold, it could actually move! Of course, there are some things such as the wheel not turning properly when the handle is moved, but at least it still worked. I finally contacted the number on the poster, which I was then put in hold for a couple of minutes. When they put me back on the line, they told me to introduce myself, which I did. Afterwards, they began asking me really obscure and weird questions such as, "What's your favorite color?", "Do you have frequent nightmares?" and "Are you prone to auditory and visual hallucinations?" I didn't understand why they were asking these questions. I had to second check if I called the right number. It was at this point that I began recording the call just in case.
After I had answered all those questions, it led me to an automated voice message that was supposed to "explain" the terms and conditions of the job I had to accept if I wanted. However, the voice at times were either too fast or unintelligible, making it so I couldn't understand anything of what they just said. It then told me to press 1 if I agreed to whatever jumbo it said. I didn't have much of a choice then, so of course, I pressed 1. Afterwards, the phone abruptly hung up, sending me back to my home screen. Soon after, I got a message by an unknown number. It was as read,
*"Congratulations on getting the security job! Please refer to the location on the poster. See you at 11 tomorrow!"*
I was really skeptical of the message. That felt way too easy. But I brushed it off as them being desperate for a security worker. The next day, I woke up around 9:30. I stayed up and sleep deprived myself so I could wake up and make it there on time. I rode my scooter over to the address on the poster. After about an hour and thirty minutes, I found myself in the parking lot of Walmart. The parking lot was barren, there were almost no cars in sight. As I walked in, I was immediately greeted by a woman in a suit. She smiled widely from cheek to cheek, but it didn't feel like a real smile. How happy can you be working at Walmart? It was extremely unsettling.
"Hey! You must be here for the security job!"
"Uhm, yes?" I responded, slightly confused.
"Great! Then follow me!"
I followed the woman in the suit further into the building, eventually finding myself in the back of the Walmart. She then introduced me to someone named Carson, who would tell me everything about the job and what to do. However, I only got to see him one time that day before getting thrown into the shift blind. Oh so fortunate for me, the company forces co workers to exchange numbers with each other. Since I'm security, I only had to give my number to Carson. Now onto why I've made this in the first place. It had hit twelve on the clock. I've finally settled in and was wearing the usual black security jacket with security written on it. It was 11 and it was only 10 minutes into my shift until I realized something strange. I couldn't seem to find a security office, you know, those rooms with cameras? Well, I wouldn't know about this later until I was informed that there was in fact, no security office. As if I wasn't already feeling uneasy, I was basically dawdling about in the open expanse of Walmart. Alone. The lights were still on for some reason, so my ears was constantly showered with the humming and buzzing of lights. Did I mention the extreme cold? Oh god, it was so cold in there. I could see the smoke leaving my mouth clearly. I eventually ended up walking around through the aisles wrapped in a giant blanket like a little kid. Around 11:30, Carson called me unexpectedly. I answered the call, first clearing my throat to speak properly.
"Hello?"
I didn't get a response for a couple of seconds before I heard Carson's voice on the other side of the phone.
"Oh, hey. Okay, so I'm here to tell you what to do and whatnot."
The tone in his voice when he said was nonchalant. Almost like he couldn't care or was too bothered to make the call.
"You should know the basics of security. I mean, you have watched Mall Cop, right?"
"Yeah, but I-" But before I could finish my sentence, he cut me off.
"Good. So, don't let anyone in, that's the basic gist of your job. At twelve, make sure to lock the front doors. Don't worry about any other unlocked doors, they will resolve themselves. Also, keep in mind that the lights doesn't actually turn off until around two, so you have plenty of time. Uhh...oh yeah, if you see any strange figures walking around in the store, then just ignore them. I don't quite understand it either, but those are people just practicing night vision tech. I remember the manager saying something about a contract but that's about all I know."
Then without warning, he just hung up. I wanted to ask him more questions, especially about the strange figures seeing as he kinda brushed them off like it was normal. The contract part too was skeptical to me. Why is Walmart having contracts with military or whatever?
"What the hell is this company..." I could remember mumbling to myself.
The time was now 12:00 and I swiftly walked over to the front doors and locked them. It was just as he said, the lights hadn't turned off yet. And with nothing to do, of course, I resorted to walking around the store. There was an entire section with laptops and games I could play. Unfortunately, the consoles were locked and couldn't be accessed without a key unlike the laptops. Occasionally, I would go over there to play games on a laptop if I got bored. Eventually, I got hungry, so I ransacked some snacks off of the shelves. I thought that surely they wouldn't care, right? Then the snacks started to become temporary and my body was aching for actual food now. Fortunately, I could grab a microwave and hook it up to a outlet to eat up any microwavable frozen food I could find in the freezer like Jamaican Beef patties or occasionally ramen noodles. Also, I should mention that I was able to use my phone to screen cast movies on one of the display televisions. It only worked for that Sony TV for some reason.
The time was now 1:30 and I was comfortably cozy laying on a king-sized bed, fully adorned with a blanket too. I watched movies on my phone while I wait for the clock to hit 2:00. The movie I was watching was Inception, an all-time favorite movie of mine. Its not a detail you needed to know, but I felt like sharing it anyways. And then, it finally hit 2:00. As soon as it hit 2:00, all the lights turned off simultaneously, including my phone that restarted entirely. Additionally, as this was happening, I started hearing random loud whirring and humming noises from the front doors, accompanied by bright flashing lights of random colors. Then, it all abruptly stopped. I turned on my phone and looked at the time. It was completely wrong. The time was 20:06, which I'm sure was impossible unless my phone had restarted and been default set for 24 hour time. And I brushed it off as just that. I tried to continue watching my movie in peace, but my phone didn't work, connected to the building wifi or using data. I got up from the comforts of my bed and went to check the laptops and TVs. And as you could expect, those were also disabled or not functioning properly. In fact, the Sony TV from before was the only TV to actually even turn on.
As I was inspecting the electronics to make sure it just wasn't one section, I suddenly spot a strange figure walking around in the darkness. With a closer look, I could see that the figure was wearing some gear, and I subconsciously noted that these were the night vision ppl that Carson was talking about. Despite specifically remembering him telling me not to approach them, I did the opposite against my ever growing curiosity. I walked up behind the figure, tapping him on the shoulder. The figure turned around, letting out a little grunt in confusion.
"Hi?" I tried to greet them.
They responded with nothing but silence for a couple of seconds before actually speaking.
"Sorry, I'm just so confused. I've never seen a person in here before."
Something was wrong with their voice. It sounded...echoey, but at the same time it didn't. I know there was something wrong, but at the same time, it felt like I was viewing something at the wrong angle. I.. I don't know how to explain it. I was trying to understand what the figure was but my brain and body was simultaneously confused. It was... incomprehensible.
"You mean there weren't any other security guards?" I asked them.
The static sound signaling one of the TVs turning on caused me to turn around and look at it. And when I turned back around, the figure was gone. My heart dropped in my chest. It was a fear I haven't had in a long time. Back from all the way when I was 6, and I saw a man standing over my unconscious body. I hadn't felt so alone in a Walmart, it felt like I was being suffocated by the silent ambience of the Walmart. I quickly ran to the back of the Walmart, locking myself in a room and crouching down in one of the corners in complete and utter terror. After God knows long of whimpering I'm the corner, I grew some balls and stood up, taking a deep breath to compose myself and call my shaking body. I flipped on the light of the room I was in, which means that the power doesn't get cut off at 2:00 like the lights. With the lights on, I could see the things inside the room. The room had boxes of tapes and even its own VCR. It felt reminiscent of the videotape room I'd occasionally go to back at school.
As I browsed through the videotapes, one specifically caught my eye. A tape named, "Security Training." It seemed to be a videotape meant to train new security guards on what to do and whatnot to do. But it must have been never used, or haven't been used since something happened. Its most likely why they have real people train you instead. Anyways, I grabbed the tape and threw it into the VCR, sitting down as it booted up. Once it fully booted up, I was greeted by a blank blue screen with a jam playing in the background. It was like one of those uhh.. upbeat jams that you'd heard in 1999 - 2000s advertisements trying to be hip with the kids. Except that the music was..out of tune, and there would be missing notes. It was... unnerving. Then, this yellow smiley face appeared on the screen, smiling from cheek to cheek. For simplicity, I'm going to call it Smiley. After Smiley appeared on the screen, a robotic voice could be heard accompanied with yellow text on the bottom.
*"Hello. Welcome to the first day on the job,"* Its voice suddenly was bleeped out as it presumed to say a name I couldn't recognize.
*"Here at Walmart, many customers relie on us to buy through us necessities and entertainment. You only have three things to do while on the security job."*
Smiley disappeared from the screen afterwards, and the blue background switched to a still image of an empty Walmart. Soon afterwards, a stickman appeared on screen, wearing a hat labeled 'SECURITY'.
*"Number 1: After locking the doors at 12:00, do not let anyone inside the building under any circumstances. If there is anyone in the building after you lock the doors, then do not let them leave under any circumstances."*
Another stickman came into appearance, being colored purple in order to separate itself from the original black stickman.
*"Number 2: Do not approach the figures walking around the store after 2:00. They will have gear om them, specifically night goggles will be the most noticeable. They do not know you are there, you will frighten them."*
This is what Carson was talking about, but I had forgotten about the detail of the night goggles for some reason. Its a detail I'm sure that I wouldn't forget. The scene switched, now showing a still image of a room with a row of monitors sitting on a desk.
*"Number 3: Keep your eyes on the camera for any suspicious activity. If you see something you deem as suspicious, then mark it down on a note for higher-ups review."*
This tape had to be quite old as there wasn't a security room to watch the cameras from, or the fact that there weren't even any cameras here to begin with. It makes sense as things changed, the tape became redundant and outdated information.
*"Number 4:,*
Number 4? I thought there were only three things we had to do. The videotape didn't stop for my train of thought however and continued. The screen turned pitch black, showing Smiley once again except his bright big smile was now gone. In fact, he didn't even have a mouth anymore as he just stared directly through the screen. It was staring at me. The voice and music was gone, only leaving me with the yellow text below.
*"Hide. We know where you are James."*
My heart dropped in my chest as my mind recognized what the videotape was saying. I swiftly turned the VCR off and stood up to also turn the light off. I crouched down in the corner of the room, holding my breath and closing my eyes tight in terror. I could feel the tears beginning to well up in my eyes. The only thing I could think about was my dog Shanks and how much I missed him right now. After a couple of minutes of sobbing and shaking uncontrollably, I could hear the sound of a dog barking echoing throughout the building. I listened attentively, noticing that the barking was coming from one of the aisles close to me. Then suddenly, I hear the back doors swing wide open with a loud bang. I feared the worse as I could hear footsteps approaching the room I was in. Then, silence. I held my breath in anticipation, my heart beating out of my chest. Then, something happened, but it wasn't what I expected.
A husky burst through the door, barking at me. It still gave me quite a fright, but was nowhere near as bad as what I was thinking. The husky walked up to me, laying down on my lap. It reminded me of Shanks and brought me my much needed comfort that I didn't even think about how the husky got inside. I checked the phone on my time, which wasn't even numbers now. I begin petting the husky, finding some joy in this alone and cold building. I couldn't help but feel like falling asleep and without knowing, I ended up dozing off. I woke up the next morning, in the same room but the husky was gone. Additionally, all those videotapes were gone, including the VCR. I stood up, wiping some saliva off my mouth. I checked the time, it was now 7:30. I exited the backrooms of Walmart and went to the front doors. I looked out through the doors and had never been so happy feeling the sun on my skin. I could see some cars start to pull up, specifically the only one I could actually recognize was Carson who had gotten out of his car first.
I swiftly unlocked the front doors, walking out to greet him. My body was still slightly shaking as I walked towards him, and I felt pale in many places. As I came face to face with Carson, I couldn't control myself and hugged him tightly. It was pathetic really. But I had never felt so alone and scared. It felt like I was a kid all over again.
"Woah, are you okay man?" He said, gently pushing me away.
I wiped away some tears welling in my eyes before turning back towards Carson.
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." I replied, composing myself.
"Good. Because you're pale."
I chuckled slightly before getting serious again.
"Carson, listen....can we... talk about something?"
Carson quickly turned back towards me, his eyebrows furrowing. He grabbed my arm, pulling me closer so I could hear what he would say.
"Not here. You have my phone number right? Then call me once you get home."
I nodded as he let me go. He walked into the Walmart, leaving me to stand outside the building alone. Unfortunately, I have to go somewhere, like right now. When I see you again, I'll gather up the recordings I've created so far and publish them.
#entertainment
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| 15,000 mlx | |
| 15 | |
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