Eggs

After completing seven food deliveries, I went home. I entered my apartment and every time felt a sense of emptiness. Not because I was lonely but because my jerk of a roommate took his furniture and moved back in with his parents. After an hour my phone started ringing, “Hey Oliver, how’s it going?”

“Doing fine, actually doing great, that’s why I called.”

“You wanted to show off?” I teased.

“Of course, but seriously, I got a job as a guard and they paid well but they only let you work one day. It’s supposed to be an assistance program so they say to pass it around to different people.”

“Sounds terrible. How much did they pay?”

“They gave me twenty thousand after I finished. My family already did it so I wanted to see if you wanted to try it.”

I knew Oliver was sincere but it sounded too good to be true. “What drug lord did you guard? I can’t see myself being a bodyguard.”

“Nothing like that. You spend a shift in a room watching a door and let this guy know if anything happens. My whole family did it and nothing happened each time.”

I thought for a while before answering, “…Alright, I can try it. Where do I apply?”

“I’ll stop by in an hour. We can talk then.”

Soon my doorbell rang. I let Oliver in my home and he sat at the table. “So, what do I have to do?”

Oliver reaches into his book bag and pulls out a small book. “This book is your pass to start your job. There are blank pages but around the fourteenth page the address is there. Show the guy out front the book and he’ll let you in. It was close to thirteenth and Chestnut Street. A guy in a purple and black striped suit sits out front with a fedora hat. When you’re done you can donate to the poor Oliver foundation as a thank you.” He smiled.

I chuckled, “Sure, I’ll buy you something if this actually works.” Oliver placed the black book on the table and we talked about various things for a while. Some time passed, Oliver grabbed his stuff and headed for the door.

“See you later Josh. You can start tomorrow.”

“Alright, take it easy.” After Oliver left I decided to get some rest. Morning came by quickly and I got dressed. I grabbed the book sitting on the table and flipped through it. The pages were all blank as I turned them quickly, including the fourteenth page. Confused, I continued through the book until page twenty which had a single line of text. After copying the address, I followed the GPS to fifteenth and Chestnut Street. “A little farther than you said it was but oh well.” I was able to spot the building Oliver had told me about. There was a tall, thin built man sitting on a chair in front wearing the same outfit Oliver described. As I walked up, I pulled the book out of my pocket and the man eyed me and smiled.

“Ah, you are here for the job correct?” He tipped his hat and spoke with a wide grin.

“Yeah, Oliver sent me.”

“Good, may I have your name?”

“Josh Hoover.”

“Mr. Hoover, right this way.” The gentleman opened the door and we entered a small room. The room was all white with two doors. The one we entered through and the red door on the opposite side. “Your job is simple, Mr. Hoover. Stay here and watch the red door over there. If you see or hear anything, call me.”

“That’s all I have to do?” The atmosphere made me feel uneasy but I decided to see this through.

“Yes. You will remain here for twelve hours and I will call for you when you are finished. Please do not leave this room during this time. Are you ready?”

“I can start now.”

“Very well.” The gentleman closed the door and I placed my lunch bag on the floor. I sat down, put on some headphones and listened to music. Several hours flew by as I started walking about. Later I attempted to peak through the cracks of the red door but I could see nothing. By the tenth hour I realized I hadn’t grown hungry in the slightest. “Strange. I haven’t even heard a car outside either. What’s the point of this job?” Later my phone let me know that I had a minute left. I stared at the blue door with my bag in hand, ready to leave. Then I heard a thump behind me. I jumped up and looked at the red door. The sound seemed as though someone had shut it but I never saw it budge once. Cautiously, I approached the red door and reached for the handle.

“Mr. Hoover, thank you for your time.” The gentleman was waiting at the entrance and the sound from the city returned to my ears. Part of me wanted to speak up about the sound but I did not want to lose my chance of being paid for today. We left the room and he closed the door behind us. “Here is your payment Mr. Hoover. I request that you hand the book to someone you believe deserves it.” He then handed me a briefcase filled with cash.

My heart raced and I asked, “So I can’t become a permanent worker?”

The gentleman laughed, “Ah, we are no longer in need of your services Mr. Hoover.”

With that, I left to the bank with my twenty thousand. My anxiousness finally got to me and I slept through the rest of the day. I had a dream that night that felt surreal. But all I could see was a basket holding different colored eggs. The eggs were red, white, and various skin tone colors the size of Quail eggs. When I woke up I called Oliver to hang out. We met up after I offered to buy him food and some videogames. “Hey, did you ever hear anything in the room?” I asked him.

“Um, at the end yeah. I didn’t mention it to the dude but it sounded like the door had closed but I was watching it and nothing moved.”

“I thought it was just me.” For a second I chuckled, “Then I had a weird dream about eggs last night. Maybe I was hungry since I didn’t eat much yesterday.”

Oliver paused, “You too? Different colored eggs in a basket? Did you see a hand?”

“Yeah. Like that but not the hand. You dreamt it too?” I asked.

“I started getting them after I worked there. Each night it feels like the same dream but continued.” We didn’t know what to make of it so we decided to ignore the dreams for now and relax for the day. That night I had another dream. I could see the basket of eggs but this time it was fuller. A gray, bony hand kept placing various eggs within it, either red, white, or a tan-colored one. I tried to look around and followed the arm until reaching a bony body. I looked up to its face to see a skull-shaped cage as its head before jumping out of bed. After panting for a moment I caught my breath and relaxed.

“I feel stupid for letting a nightmare scare me.” I walked over to the black book. I shifted through the pages but the address was gone. My heart started to sink and I began wondering if it was okay to take this job. I called Oliver three times before he picked up.

Oliver spoke softly, “Hey, I can’t talk right now. I asked my family if they’ve been having dreams and things got really gloomy afterwards. My brother isn’t speaking and we haven’t heard from my uncle. I’ll call you later.” He hung up and I took a deep breath. I drove back to the job site but it could no longer be found.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked myself before thinking of an idea. I walked up to a homeless person and asked, “Hey, I’ll give you twenty dollars if you can find the address here.” He was confused but shifted through the book anyway before stopping. The page was blank so I asked him to read the address out loud. After he was done I paid him and drove to my new destination. I saw the same man sleeping on his chair. The fedora covered his face. “Hey, we need to talk.” He didn’t budge. I pushed his arm and reached for his hat when my vision blurred and a ringing sound echoed in my ear. After pulling away, the ringing subsided and my vision came back. I stepped away and instead walked into the building. The white room hadn’t changed but this time I pressed on. I grabbed the handle of the red door and opened it. The other side was dark and after entering I noticed how expansive it was. I creeped into this new world. I stepped on the wooden bridge, high above the ground while the world was barely visible. In the far distance only a void could be seen but I moved forward anyway. The door shut behind me and lights turned on next to it. They illuminated what looked to be other rooms next to mine. Each had two doors and I could see through them. But on the floor of each room were people lying faced down. They had pitched black cavities in their backs but I noticed the face of one man, it was Oliver. I attempted to run over to him before being stopped.

“Mr. Hoover. I’m happy to see you.” I turned around and saw the gentleman from outside. He covered his face with the fedora before lifting it up to reveal his appearance. His head was a hallow cage shaped like a skull. As he spoke, the wires moved but I could still make out his grin. “It is a surprise to see you here Mr. Hoover. But you are very welcome.”

“What is going on here?”

“Ah, maybe you should look for yourself.” My vision blurred and my head pounded before looking back at Oliver. Each person had a creature over them. They were bony and gray but so tall they needed to crouch to fit in the room. Tendrils protruded from their back and poked at the bodies, turning pieces of them into small eggs bit by bit. Their hands placed the eggs in the basket. Their skulls were cage-like and after eyeing one, it turned back to me and smiled. “Calm yourself Mr. Hoover, we have no need for you panicking.” The voice brought a chill to my spine but forced me to calm my breathing. Spine? Why couldn’t I feel it anymore? I tried to speak but fell to my knees. “Mr. Hoover, letting you leave is out of the question. But I have a proposition for you. Will you be my foreman? I am always in need of help.” He smiled menacingly but out of fear I nodded my head. “Lovely, you may let him go now.” I was confused before realizing he wasn’t looking at me. I looked back and saw the same creature hovering over me and smiling before walking through the red door. I reached around to my back and it was a hallow void. I wanted to scream but sounds struggled to erupt from my mouth. “Mr. Hoover, let us change your outfit shall we?” I blinked and found myself in a red and black striped suit. He then placed his hat on my face. “This will be my gift to you along with your very own book. Please do a wonderful job for us Mr. Hoover.” I slowly lifted the hat to reveal my cage-like skull and smiled.