PERILLUS INCORPORATED

Ever so often one is allowed a glimpse into the inner workings—to witness the black blood that lubricates the world engine. For most who are granted the privilege, it is like a brief nightmare that merely gives hint of foul foundations, but for some who gaze into the abyss, it will mean life long days of terror that satiate unknowable wills.

Mr. James Smith was mediocrity personified. He had average looks, was of average height, and was an average intellect, so It should come as no surprise that until recently he’s had a rather unremarkable life. A divorcee of five years and father of three, he worked two jobs to pay child support and keep a roof over his head. During the week he earned a living as an advisor at a local community college, and on the weekends he got a part time job as a security guard at the illustrious Perillus Incorporated. He wasn’t exactly excited about the new gig, but they were offering him a full time salary for easy part time work so it was an offer he couldn’t refuse. Besides, he only needed to work the job a year, for a promotion and a significant pay raise was due at the college. Just one year of enduring giving up his weekends, and he could leave the world of security behind forever.

Perillus was new to town. Only a few years ago James witnessed an empty lot transformed into a thirty-eight story high-rise that now stood a black monolith at the center of main street. It had to be some sort of a record or something, for he never saw a building that tall erected so quickly. Black and red were the company’s colors, and that palette permeated the entire building as well as their security uniforms. Even the ornate columns that supported the exquisitely designed foyer of the building were not left untouched by this color scheme. There were nineteen columns in all. Nine were on each side of the main aisle along the foyer, and spiraling grooves wrapped around their bulbous forms. Veiny black marble tiles, each about five foot square, sat beneath the columns and made up the foyer floor. The walls were also covered in black marble, and elaborate chandeliers made from the same tented glass as the building’s windows hung along the center of the main aisle. Each of the eighteen columns on either side were painted a bright crimson red, but the nineteenth column was painted black. It was four times wider than the red columns and stood at the center of the aisle near the far end. Carved out of its spiraling form were large letters that read…

ALDEBARAN

Beneath the words sat a larger than life sculpture of a raging bull. It was the only object in the entire building that was not devoured by the company’s colors. It instead was a shiny bronze, and its muscular and imposing form James thought was a bit unnerving, especially for something that was intended to greet visitors. It sat upon a truncated marble step-pyramid, its mouth was wide open; its head was lowered, and its brow was scrunched in anger as if it were about to impale you with its horns and trample you under hoof. James made his way pass this ghastly display like he had been doing for the past several weekends. The main security office sat behind the large black pillar, so after greeting his angry bronze friend, he made his way around and checked in.

“So tonight is the big night huh Das.” James said.

“Yes indeed sir James. He should be arriving at nine sharp. The rest of the boys are doing their last walk-through before he gets here.”

Das was an Indian fellow who was head of the security team, and often worked nights with James. They got along well, and he seemed to be a competent and easy going manager, which James did not mind at all because it made such boring work much more palatable. For weeks Das had been preparing everyone for what they all referred to as, “the visit”. Perillus’s CEO and billionaire founder, one Xanthos Than Drakos, was making his way from his native Greece to the new offices while on his American tour, for Perillus was spreading like wildfire. They swiftly erected their black monolith high-rises in almost every major American city over the last ten years. James had never even heard of the company before they came to New York though, and he could never get a clear answer on what exactly it was that they did as a company. He asked Das once, and he told him, “I honestly don’t know. I asked one of the keyboard punchers before, and she told me they were in the business of acquisitions... whatever that means.” James got a similar response from others on the security team, but he wasn’t quite sure he believed any of them though. They were all friendly, but they also seemed to be quite cliquish; not in an assholish or overt way, but James noticed that every member of the security team wore these dark amaranthine colored jewels around their wrist. Most of them had a single jewel attached to a black then black band. He noticed some employess had two jewels, and others three... but no more than three. When James asked Das when he would receive such a bracelet, he brushed it off casually and said, “It's just a gift given to all the employees when Xanthos first visited the building during its grand opening.”

“Will I get one when this Xanthos guy returns?” James queried.

“Don’t know, but I think it was sort of a grand opening thing.”

James knew this wasn’t true because he had seen the same bracelets on all the regular staff also… even on people he knew just recently came to work in the building. Even if they worked at other Perillus sites around the country, there is no way all of them could have been employed while those respective buildings had their grand openings. It was no big deal to him though. He didn’t actually care if he had a bracelet or not, he just thought it curious that so many would wear cheap throw-away company paraphernalia so religiously.

While Das was leaned back in his chair in front of the monitors, he tapped away on his cell. He was playing some type of game. James took his red and black midway-cap off and placed it on the desk.

“Don’t get too comfortable sir James, the others should be back in about ten minutes, and we’ll rehearse our greeting formation for Mr. Xanthos.”

“Jesus Das, it’s like the man is a goddamn King or something; I didn’t know practicing formations was part of the job description.”

“Well… it is. It’s right there in the employee handbook,” Das said casually while still tapping away on his phone, “and what is a CEO other than a modern day king anyway. Now that you mention it, I have heard that Mr. Xanthos is descendant from Greek royalty… so make sure you also practice your curtsy while you’re at it sir James.” He suggested in jest.

“Ha Ha, Yeah Yeah, just let me get my fucking coffee before all the formalities.” James retorted.

“One of the boys just made a fresh pot; so help yourself.”

James got his cup of coffee and sipped away when he sat back down. He pulled out a clipboard that he’d carry around with him to make it look like he was doing something important, but all that was on it was some doodles he’d scribble throughout the nights and a tally he’d been keeping. He added one more dash to it, and Das curiously asked while still tapping away on his Cell,

“What exactly have you been counting down over there, sir James?” Das querried.

Das always seemed casual, but he was far more observant than what he let on—perhaps possessing that trait is why he was made head security.

“I’m counting down the days until my daughter’s birthday.” James answered. A bold lie, for he was actually counting down the days until he could quit and suffer only one job; though he would never let them know that.

“How sweet. How many days until her big day?” Das asked.

“Two hundred and sixty-five.” James replied.

“Ahhh, so it’s been one hundred days since her last birthday.”

“Yep.”

“Hmm, the day of the Taurus, how serendipitous.” Das said while still tapping away on his cell.

James’s vision began to blur, and a grogginess pervaded him as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"Wh… what?” he asked sluggishly.

“Well… it is mid October in the big apple.” Das replied, and it was the last words James heard before he slipped into unconsciousness.

When he awoke, the grogginess still lingered, and he was immobilized. His body was bound to something, but he could not tell what because a bag was covering his entire head. He heard odd chanting, and the odor of smoke and incense enveloped wherever he was at. Some type of cloth gagged him, so he could not demand to know what this was all about, and this angered him greatly. He began to squirm and groan in rebellion, that is until someone socked him in the stomach. The blow was so stiff, it knocked the wind out of him, and a tear trickled down his cheek. After a few minutes, the bag was ripped off his head, and the first thing that he could see was the bronze bull glaring at him several feet away. Beneath it was a smoldering fire that started to turn the base of the sculpture red hot. Four robed figures stood around the bull atop the truncated pyramid holding incense and chanting in some mysterious tongue. Around them he saw all his fellow security-guards and many of the general staff with their arms down in front of them and crossed at the wrist with their amaranthine bracelets glinting in the firelight.

Suddenly another robed figure arose behind the bull, as if he was standing on some type of raised platform. This figure’s attire was more ornate than the others, and within the shade of his hood, James could see bright gray eyes shining. The figure stretched out his arms horizontally and the others started chanting louder and more vigorously. He then witnessed two of the other security-guards, one of which being his boss Das, wrestle another bound and veiled man up the pyramid. The man put up a good fight, but he was eventually subdued. Another guard then opened what looked like a door on the side of the iron hot bull, and to James’s dismay they threw the man in and locked the door. James thought he would hear the screams of the man as he was roasted alive, but instead the most foreboding bellowing came from the bull’s mouth as if it were actually alive. Hot steam escaped its nostrils like it was actually huffing and puffing, and its eyes began to beam with a red radiance. This went on for several minutes until the bull went silent, as if it ran out of fuel, and a pale fright painted James’s face as the odor of cooked meat pervaded. Could he be next, he thought. Then suddenly the shiny eyed one, who seemed to be presiding over this sick ceremony, stretched out his arms again, and again everyone started chanting with elevated vigor like an abysmal choir. A robed figure walked up slowly with Das and another guard accompanying them. This figure's robe was red instead of black, and the guards took it off him gently, revealing a naked man about in his late twenties. This man did not put up a fight; it was almost as if he was doing this willingly… or perhaps he was drugged in some way. Das opened the door on the side of the bronze bull, and with the help of the other guard they threw the naked man in quickly and shut the door. Again the bronze bull raged with resonating bellows and huffs and puffs until again, it ran out of its fuel. Next a red robed female came forth and suffered the same fate as the man that came before her, but what truly horrified James was the children that came afterward as chants, bellowing, and fire crescendoed in a cacophony of terror; the culmination was eleven innocent infants that were fed to the bellowing bull. Above this horrid display, James witnessed what he thought were dark shadowy figures hovering over them, as if some unnatural gate had been opened. Incapacitated, all James could do was weep and rage to no avail... that is until someone socked him in the face with such ferocity, it knocked him out cold.