Tales From The Void Presents: The Employee

The Employee

Preface Note

Employees are people too, no matter how far up the totem one resides, they remain the lifeblood of any successful business model and not expendable assets to be tossed aside. Treat them like refuse and the monster feasts, devouring the meager remnants of humanity. Happy Halloween 🎃

I

“You’re firing me! But why?!”

Carl’s voice was raised, to the point it filtered through the closed door and attracted the attention of the other employees seated at their stations near my office. I could have told him to lower his tone, but why? It worked in my favor to have him shouting at me: a disgruntled worker making a scene in a professional workspace only provided further justification in his termination. And besides, I did not like the man. So confident in his abilities; questioning my authority and refusing to take the blame whenever I made a mistake. I did not care that he was capable at his job, a woman had to be ruthless in this world of patriarchal dominance. Do unto others, right? Before they even get the chance to do unto you.

“I’m sorry, Carl.” I lied and tried to hide the smirk that wanted to creep onto my face. “But your productivity has been slipping recently, and you have not been performing your duties exactly the way I have been instructing you to do it.”

“But your requests have been unreasonable, especially with how short staffed we have been lately! Inadequate supplies, the company hemorrhaging employees like a scab you people continuously pick at; you expect everything to be done efficiently without even taking into consideration the extraordinary conditions we are working under.” I remained quiet while Carl continued his tirade. “Not to mention all the years I have put into this company, the ideas I contributed without any credit given— which I overlooked, mind you, since it kept you people from harassing me and everybody else for a while—and need I mention how I turned a blind eye to the questionable experiments you conducted on everyone here without their knowledge? Myself included?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” I feigned ignorance as I shuffled around a few of the items on my desk and adjusted the hem of my blouse. All the while, Carl glared at me scornfully with pursed lips.

“Tanya McClintock, you’re a fucking monster…” His voice was hoarse and filled with despair. “What am I to do now? I can’t survive without a job! And with Christmas right around the corner, what am I supposed to tell my family?”

“I’m sorry, Carl, but that is something you will have to figure out on your own. But as far as Panorama BioTech is concerned, your services are no longer required here.” Carl’s shoulders drooped and his mouth remained agape in disbelief. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as I noticed his hands tremble, when suddenly, in one swift motion he stood up from his chair, abruptly, and knocked over everything on my desk in one clean sweep of his arms.

“Fuck you, you manipulative bitch! I quit!”

“That’s fine but get the hell out of here before I have security escort you out!” I retorted, taken aback by his outburst. I figured he would have been upset but Carl typically had a laidback and jovial disposition, and this was completely out of character for him.

“I’ll save them the trouble and gladly leave on my own accord. I don’t have to take this shit from you any longer!” Carl ripped off his badge and threw it across the room and into the trash that stood in the back corner. He turned to leave and yanked open my office door with such force, it created a rush of wind that knocked the remaining paperwork from my desk. But before he left, Carl turned around to face me, with his lips stretched into the nastiest sneer I have ever seen. “You lack a soul, Tanya. Whatever bit of it you might have had before you took this position, has forever been lost. And as God, Buddha, karma, or whatever forces that govern the laws of this universe of ours, as my witness; you will get yours! The bells will toll for thee, one way or another.” With those parting words Carl slammed the door and left.

“Crazy asshole,” I muttered to myself and picked my phone up from off the floor and dialed the extension for security. After they assured me that Carl had left the building, I hung up and sighed. After a moment to collect myself, I smiled and leaned back in my ergonomic office chair. It worked; the fool fell for it. Now he will never question my authority again! He was not fired; I only pulled that charade to get him to quit, and it went better than I expected. I chuckled to myself and felt quite contented. After so many attempts—the falsified and exaggerated writeups, gaslighting him into thinking he made a bunch of errors—I was finally able to force that blasé and carefree fool out of here! Did I feel bad about it? Who cares! This was business and he had too much of a conscience to be of any use in this place. Carl was too consciences and actually decent at his job. Not the best, but he was good enough at figuring things out to put my ass in the hotseat whenever I screwed up. Furthermore, he cared too much about employee rights to be useful for the company’s stock portfolio and that made the higher-ups a little too nervous, with his so called ‘integrity.’ Everybody lies, and he was a fool for not getting along with the program. I was not being paid to have a conscience; I was paid to make money, that was it! What did I care what happened to him or his family now that he was jobless? It was a dog-eat-eat-dog reality we lived in, and guess what? This girl was going to be top dog and get her kibble!

It was getting late in the evening, and I had a couple of hours left in my shift but after the bit of drama I experienced, I figured I deserved to leave early for the day. My in-laws had my daughter for the weekend, which gave me and Jim some alone time and I wanted to get an early start on the fun. So, after I had picked up the other items Carl had knocked to the ground from my desk and returned them to their proper place—along with retrieving his badge from the trash and storing it in my desk to turn over to HR on Monday morning—I gathered the rest of my belongings and left my office.

As I turned to lock the door, however, I could feel the stares of my underlings burned into my back. I might have not liked Carl but not everyone in the building felt the same way. Like I said before, Carl had one of those annoyingly nice personalities and friendly attitudes: someone who wore their heart on their sleeves and got along well enough with most people. It did not matter who you were, he treated you like an equal. Who cared what they thought about me? Leadership isn’t about sincerity and making friends, it is about fear and respect. And I refuse to feel sorry for someone who cannot understand something so simple. People there were probably waiting for me to leave before they felt free to start gossiping behind my back but let them! It was most likely the only bit of enjoyment they got out of their miserable little lives. So, without even batting an eyelash, I made my way through the department and out of the building with a smile on my face and my held high, as I strode towards my car in the parking lot. I unlocked it with the alarm remote attached to my keychain, opened the door, and tossed my purse and pullover jacket into the passenger seat. I got in and sat down behind the wheel, but my heart nearly stopped after I adjusted my rearview mirror and I caught a glimpse of Carl in the backseat, grinning wildly, with a malicious gleam in his eye.

“Carl, you crazy son-of-a-bitch!” I began to shout. I turned around in my seat to face him. “Get the hell out of my car before I call the police and-” But, to my surprise, there was no one there. Only the word “MONSTER” scrawled sinisterly, and fading from view, in a patch of condensation on the rearview glass window. As if left by the breath of some unseen force in the waning light of day.  

II

The ride home was a nerve racking one as I avoided to look in the rearview mirror; afraid to catch another glimpse of Carl’s face reflecting that malevolent smile at me. The words written in the patch of fog on the glass had long since disappeared from the window, when I left the lot, but I could almost still see it written there. Mocking me. After the incident, I ran into the security office of Panorama and questioned the guard about Carl’s departure from the premises, and if they had noticed any unusual activity around my vehicle. I doubted their denial of not observing anything strange because I know what I saw, so, I demanded they pull up camera footage within the time of the event. But there was nothing there to corroborate my experience, only video footage of me getting into my car and the erratic movement I made to look into the backseat. No Carl sneaking into it, or even the ominous word inscribed on the glass of the window. The guard looked at me curiously and asked if I was alright, but I said nothing and waved off his concern as I walked out of his tiny little office and returned to my car; embarrassed by how frazzled I came off. Christ! I must be letting Carl get to me with that crap he said, I thought to myself as I made my way through traffic and finally pulled up in the driveway of my home.

I entered my house, expecting to see Jim in his home office busy with work or sitting in the living room watching something on Netflix. But the house was empty. After I set my bag and jacket down on the couch, I quickly shot him a text; asking him where he was at? While I waited for him to respond I went upstairs to the bathroom and began to run myself a hot bath. It was in the middle of me slipping out of my clothes, and dawning on my bathrobe, did I finally get a text from him saying he had run into an old friend of his, and he would not be back until later that night. How inconsiderate can that man be? I exhaled deeply. He couldn’t even have the decency to be around when I need him the most. Letting my frustration go for the moment, I returned to the bathroom and shut the water off after checking that it was at the right temperature I needed. I disrobed and stepped into the tub, and then slowly sank into the water up to my neck, as I let its warmth envelope and comfort me. The steam from the bath water rose from the tub and filled the room, while I closed my eyes and let the worries of the day melt away with it.

“…you will get yours! The bells will toll for thee, one way or another.”

Carl’s words echoed within my thoughts and made me shiver despite the heat. In an effort to clear my head I had sunk even deeper into the bath, until my entire body was submerged beneath the water. I stayed in that position for a few seconds and allowed my mind to drift away from the unpleasant implications of those ominous words, when suddenly, I felt a pair of hands grip me by the shoulders! I tried to lift myself above the surface, but I was held down, firmly! I opened my eyes, and to my horror, there was the broken and refracted image of Carl through the water, with the same grin plastered across his face that I had seen in the mirror of my car. I flailed wildly in the tub against his relentless hold, my arms bumped against the cold porcelain rim, as my ex-subordinate kept my head beneath the surface. I could feel my lungs burning; starved and pleading for the life-giving oxygen just within reach. Until, finally, the opposing force that prevented me from reaching it disappeared, and my head popped up gratefully into fresh air! I began to gasp like a fish out of water and sucked in every bit of oxygen my lungs could handle, as I looked around desperately for my attacker. But, once again, I was alone. Not a single person in sight: only the word, “Monster”, scribbled into the steam covered bathroom mirror.

III

“I’m telling you, Officer!” I implored with the uniformed policeman. “It was Carl Featherton. Somehow he snuck into my house and tried to drown me in the bathtub!” I was standing in front of my house, still in my bathrobe, giving a statement to the officer while his partner searched my house. After the horrifying event I had experienced in the bathroom I decided to call 911; the car was one thing, but the near miss in the tub had me convinced Carl was trying to kill me!

“Well, ma’am, my partner is doing another sweep of the property, but we do not see any signs of anyone else being here. None of the locks or windows seem to have been tampered with and everything looks clear. Are you sure you didn’t fall asleep in the bath and had a nightmare? A waking dream, maybe?”

“Don’t give me that bullshit, I know what I saw!” I must have seemed hysterical to the officer because he lowered the notebook he was writing in and stared at me in a way that questioned my sanity. “Look,” I began as I tried to compose myself. “Earlier today I had to fire Carl and he was extremely disgruntled when he left; a lot of people witnessed his behavior before he left. He even threatened me!”

“What did he say, exactly?”

“‘The bells will toll for thee, one way or another.’” I recounted as the words still sent a shiver through my spine.

“Sounds like he was quoting song lyrics more than threatening you.” The officer chuckled.

“You think this is funny?” I glared at him, incredulously. “An unstable individual sneaks into my vehicle and scrawls threatening messages on it, and then assaults me in my own home, and you make jokes about it?!”

“Well, ma’am, the incident with your car is purely conjecture in the eyes of the law. You said it yourself, you checked the cameras at your job and the footage doesn’t show anybody but you in, or near, the vehicle at the time the alleged event took place.” Right then his partner came outside and shook his head when the officer looked over at him. “And as far as we can see, you are alone in the house. Are you under a lot of pressure at work? Or maybe having some issues in your relationship? There is no shame in it if you are, we see this a lot in our line of work. When people are under extraordinary amounts of stress, it can manifest itself in some strange ways and the mind can start playing tricks on you.”

“So, you are telling me you think I’m crazy?” I could not believe what I was hearing!

“No, ma’am!” The officer cleared his throat and placed his notepad into his shirt pocket. “We simply have no clear evidence that this Carl Featherton is involved in any of the events that you have been experiencing. But, if it will help to put your mind at ease, we will pay this Mr. Featherton a visit and question him as to his whereabouts within the past couple of hours.”

“Please do, and when you are at it, don’t go easy on him!” The patrolman nodded his head, but I could tell he did not believe me, especially when I caught the sound of his partner laughing before they closed the door to their vehicle. Men! They’re all the same. I was hesitant at first, but I went back inside the house when they left, knowing very well I could not stay outside dressed in nothing but my bathrobe.

Where the hell are you?!?!?!?! I texted my husband after I locked the door behind me and checked all the other entrances and windows inside the house. I threw the phone aside on the coffee table when I did not receive a reply and resigned myself to watching the television. Maybe a couple of episodes of Downton Abbey will help calm my nerves? I was halfway through the episode of the second season when the lights in the house began to flicker and the power went out. “Are you kidding me?!” I groaned aloud and reached for my phone to turn on the flashlight. The light bill was paid, so I figured one of the breakers must have tripped. I got up and gradually made my way in the dark towards the circuit box located in the laundry room. It was eerie being alone in the house, especially under the extraordinary circumstances I had been experiencing. Get a hold of yourself, woman! I could not let my fears get the better of me, like some little child afraid of everything that went bump in the night. Maybe the officer was right, maybe I was letting my mind play tricks on me with everything that went on at work. I reached the circuit breaker and checked the various switches and fuses, but I could not find anything wrong with them. Nothing was blown or tripped, so what could have been the matter?

I was in the middle of trying to find a solution to the problem, when I suddenly heard a loud noise from upstairs. The phone fell from hand and crashed to the ground as I jumped at the sound; causing the light on it to go out, leaving me alone in the dark. I could feel panic welling up within me and I dropped to the floor in a desperate search for my cellphone. Finally, my hand came across the familiar rectangular shape and I snatched it up in a hurry! The screen was cracked, and I guess the light was damaged as well, because it would not turn on when I kept pressing the app for it. So, I was left with no choice but to investigate the strange noise guided only by the dim light of my smartphone. I could have called the police again, but what good would that have done me? Since they obviously thought I was some dumb woman scared of her own shadow. Before I went upstairs to inspect what was going on, however, I went to the kitchen and drew out the sharpest knife I could find in the holder. This time I will be ready for you, you bastard!

I slowly ascended the staircase to the second floor and did my best not to let the floor beneath me creak with every step I took. I made it to the landing at the top of the stairs and tried to recall where the noise I heard might have come from. My best guess led me to Anastasia’s bedroom, since it was directly above the laundry room, and it sounded like whatever made that racket was overhead. I opened the door quietly and gripped the knife tightly in my hand as I entered, while I shone the light from my phone ahead of me. I scanned the room quietly until my gaze fell on the baby monitor lying on the ground next to my daughter’s bed. She was already a toddler, but we liked to keep it near her; considering how rambunctious Anastasia could get at her age. It must have fallen off the nightstand, somehow. I let out a sigh of relief, after rationale thought finally returned me to my senses, and I tucked the phone under my arm as I knelt down to reach for the monitoring device. But the feeling did not last for long, because the speaker began to crackle in my hand after I had picked it up, and I could hear in a low, hoarse whisper, a man’s voice croak: “Monster!”

I let loose a scream I never thought I was capable of producing, and dropped the speaker, as I hauled ass out of my daughter’s room! In my terror, I somehow kept hold of my phone and the knife, and quickly made my way towards the staircase. I was halfway down the stairs when I saw his face: his mouth twisted and curled into that sinister grin that had been haunting me all day. Half-mad with fright, and terror coursing through my veins, I plunged the knife deep into Carl’s stomach!

“Fuck you!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, as I repeatedly sank the blade into his flesh; the sound was sickeningly sweet with every thrust I made with my hand. My fingers were wet and sticky with blood and viscera. But no matter how many times I stabbed him, that smile remained plastered, mockingly, across his wild-eyed features in the dim light of my phone before I lost my grip on it. Everything was a blur in the darkness that fell between us! But I was determined to end this nightmare and kept plunging the knife into him, until, finally, I could feel the weight of his body slide itself away from my blade, and I heard him tumble down the length of stairway.

There were a few seconds of silence, with only my wild and labored breathing filling the air, when the lights suddenly came on without warning. And there I was, standing near the second-floor landing, covered in gore with my knife in hand; my husband lying dead on the ground at the bottom of the staircase, as a young woman stood over him screaming at the sight before her. I remained still for a moment, dumbfounded by the scene brought into the light. Then I turned and looked into the oval shaped mirror that hung on the wall next to me. The reflection in it stared back at me; holding a knife and drenched in blood from head to toe. All the while, Jim’s blood was splattered horribly against the glass, in a pattern that spelled out the word: Monster.

IV

I was restrained and then strapped into a gurney after the paramedics and other emergency responders had arrived on the scene. I guess the girl who had been with Jim called them when she had finally come to her senses. I don’t know, I was still in shock with everything that had happened by the time they had arrived; speechless and transfixed by the mirror at the top of the stairs. Even though I remained silent for the most part, and outwardly catatonic to everybody else, I was still somewhat aware of everything going on around me. Like watching the events of a movie unfold before my eyes but powerless to do anything about it. The neighborhood was abuzz with flashing lights and sirens, and nosy neighbors trying to catch a glimpse of the unfolding drama that occurred in our quiet part of suburbia. Meanwhile, I laid there on a gurney in the middle of it all.

“What’s going on?” I could hear Mary Jones from next door ask one of the officers on the scene. She stood behind the yellow crime scene tape that cordoned off my yard from the rest of the area.

“Sorry, ma’am. I cannot comment on an ongoing investigation.”

“But I’m their neighbor and a good friend of theirs!” That was a lie. “Should I be worried about a murderer loose in the area?” The officer took a moment before he answered.

“No, ma’am. This appears to be a domestic dispute, so you have nothing to worry about. But that’s all I can say, I’m sorry.”

  On the other side of me, I could hear one of the officers who I had called earlier conversing with another. “So, how do we fill the report out on this one.”

“I don’t know, man. This is the strangest case I have ever encountered in my entire career. Jake and I came out here earlier to investigate a call made by the wife about a possible intruder, but there was nobody around or any indication of a break in, but she was insistent that she was being stalked by an ex-employee of hers all night. Funny thing, though, we did follow up on the employee in question, Carl Featherman, and it turns out he died in a traffic accident on his way home from work earlier today.” I turned my head towards the officers when I heard this.

“Seriously?” The other officer exclaimed in surprise.

“Yeah, apparently he had a heart attack in the middle of traffic and his car collided with a tractor trailer. I’m guessing he couldn’t handle the loss of his job and his heart gave out.”

“Damn! Talk about shitty luck, and so close to Christmas too.”

“Pretty much, and from the sound of things, she was the one responsible for letting him go.”

“So, do you think the guilt of firing the guy drove her to this?” The inquiring officer asked the lead investigator.

“I don’t know, you see, it turns out her husband was having an affair. And according to the mistress over there, the other woman who witnessed the incident and called it in, they were going to break the news to her tonight that he wanted a divorce. But when they entered the house, all the lights were out and she was running around in the dark screaming obscenities with the knife in hand, and then she ended up stabbing him thirty-two times!” My eyes opened wide at this revelation because all of it was news to me.

“Do you think she knew?”

“Who knows?” The officer I talked to earlier sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “She is pretty much despondent right now and the only thing we can get out of her is, ‘It was Carl’. It seems like she is sticking with this delusion that the deceased employee was the cause of all this.”

“I guess when people snap, they snap hard!”

It felt like the world had come crashing down around me, how did he do it! But my answer was not to be, because when I looked up, I let out a blood-curdling scream that brought the officers and paramedics rushing over to me. I saw Carl, as he stood in the crowd of on-lookers; bloodied and horribly mangled, but with the same insidious smile spread across his torn lips. Mouthing silently at me: Monster.