It didn’t take long for Jack to push down the mix of terror and violation that arose from the cryptic letter. Ironically, having dealt with a ghost, he didn’t feel near the same amount of fear in the idea of another human blackmailing him. After all, what did they really have besides a picture of Jack doing something strange, but illegal or immoral. He took the situation seriously of course, the ominous promise of coming to find him alongside the oddly coincidental knowledge he’d be out of a job made it clear that the unknown person or persons weren’t messing around. With Emily gone with the car, Jack called a cab, and left the apartment after changing into clothes that were just a little nicer than casual. The letter had mentioned an interview, after all. He also made sure to put on the eyepatch, so as to not scare anyone with his still healing scars.
The cabbie hadn’t said another word once he’d gotten the address from his passenger, and Jack didn’t bother asking trying to draw the driver into a conversation. The younger man was forced to deal with occupying the silence with daydreams and wonders since he couldn’t relax himself enough to enjoy reading on his phone.
While it wasn’t unusual for Jack to go into the city center, it was usually more a once in a blue moon journey for him. The college he’d gone too, the time spent in his youth, his apartment, and his job all revolved around the core of the city of Maples, so even now entering downtown made Jack feel a small sense of awe. The towering skyscrapers, the large mobs of people going about their daily lives; it all lent a sense of confinement of humanity from nature.
The thoughts drew Jack back to the dream he’d had. He couldn’t help but wonder if, somehow, it had been foretelling that Jack would be entering the city soon. If so, then the next part, where Jack’s gaze joined with the world, did that imply something relating to the interview? He wasn’t sure whether to be intrigued, or horrified.
Jack was abruptly thrown out of his head when the cab came to a sudden stop alongside the road.
“Aight, we’re here kid,” the man grunted.
Jack looked around, but didn’t see an obvious place to go. “This is 123 4th street?” he asked.
“Close as there is,” the cabbie snorted. “That place don’t exist kid. You paying or not?”
Jack reluctantly handed over his debit card, which the cabbie swiped on the meter. A ping later, and the card was returned. Jack got out, and the cab pulled away into traffic once more. Jack clicked his tongue as he looked around, up and down the city streets. Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be too many other people walking the sidewalks at this hour, but it still wasn’t apparent where he was supposed to go. He took out the letter from his pocket and double-checked.
“123 4th street,” Jack murmured as his eyes flicked back up. He decided to start at the end and move down the block. “So, here’s 121,” he noted the corner building. “And here’s 122, and then. . . 124.”
Jack paused. The number had skipped, clearly, but wasn’t there another building right there between 122 and 124? Nestled between two skyscrapers was a much shorter, skinnier building. The undecorated concrete façade of the building blended in to the two skyscrapers on either side, with even the steps leading to its entrance merely a continuation of the steps leading to the entrances of its neighbors, but somehow it seemed to stand out to Jack. No words or numbers or signs could be seen, but this had to be it, right?
As a man in a business suit walked by, Jack stopped him. “Excuse me sir,” he said quickly, “I’m doing survey for my architecture class. Out of curiosity, what do you see when you look at this block of buildings?”
The man in the suit started at Jack’s unexpected question, but relaxed just as quickly. “Ah, let’s see,” he said as he turned to look at the buildings. “I see a couple of grand skyscrapers, though the one on the right has more appealing windows. Is that good enough?”
“Yes, thank you sir,” Jack smiled politely. He watched the man walk away for just a moment before the smile flipped into a frown. “He didn’t see the building between them?” Jack eyed the unadorned building and shrugged. Stranger things had happened.
He walked up the steps and pushed through the main doors without another word. Inside, Jack found a small lobby with two large hallways going down either side of the receptionist desk directly across from the entrance, and a smaller hallway moving down the right wall. A man and a woman were sitting behind the receptionist desk, busy typing away at something. Jack walked over, and cleared his throat. Neither receptionist looked up. Jack looked around awkwardly, before his eyes found a small grey bell. He pressed it, and a soft ding echoed through the lobby.
The two receptionists looked up. “May we help you?” they asked in unison.
Jack nearly jumped out of skin, but managed to keep a polite smile on his face. “Ah, you scared me. Ahem,” he coughed. “I, think I’m supposed to have an interview here? Is this 123 4th street?”
The man on the left immediately looked back down as if he’d lost interest. The woman on the right, however, seemed to perk up with a smile. “Which city are you referring to sir?”
“Maples?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “Uh, South Carolina?”
The woman nodded. “One moment.” She looked down at something behind the desk. “Yes, I see an appointment has been made. Please proceed to room 1 down the right hall. First door on your right. Will you be needing any refreshments? Will you need to relieve yourself in the bathroom before the interview?”
“Uh, no thank you,” Jack politely declined. “Is there, anything I need to do, or. . .?”
“Please proceed to room 1 and wait patiently,” the receptionist repeated with a smile. “Someone had been called and will be with you shortly.” She then turned her attention away from Jack back down to the computer she’d been working on. There had been a computer here before, right?
Jack shook his head as he walked around the desk toward the right hallway. He took in the details of the building better as he walked. The lobby entrance was encircled by a half circle of tasteful metal tile, but the rest of the lobby floor and the hall floors were covered in a seemingly thick matte yellow carpet with red circle patterns. The furniture, including the desk and waiting away, were all handmade wood mixed with metal styling, an odd mix of professional rustic and modern shine. The walls were divided at the 1/3 point from the bottom, a similar yellow paint leading up to blue and grey stripes that parallelled each other even at the inconsistent sudden rises and falls. From the ceiling, lampshades hung down, encircling bright bulbs the cast the floor in light even as the ceilings were left with splotches of shadow. All in all, it was an odd look for a business building, Jack thought.
He soon entered the right hall, and quickly found and entered into the first room on the right. Inside was a plain conference room, if one were from the 80’s, Jack figured. Solid wood table and chairs, an actual chalkboard in the corner, and no windows. The wall separating the room from the hallways was just transparent enough to allow one to see the outline of people walking past, or at least that’s what Jack assumed since he hadn’t seen anyone. He took a seat on the side facing the door, and waited.
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He heard the sound of someone approaching a few minutes later. A swift, rhythmic tapping of something on the carpet getting loader with each step. Jack waited for the outline of whoever was approaching to appear, but it never did. He was startled up out of his chair when the door to the room suddenly opened, revealing a short woman.
If Jack had to guess, the woman before him was maybe a little over four feet tall. She wore sharp glasses on her head, her hair up in a professional bun, and a stern frown on her face. She was dressed in a professional suit more suited for a serious business woman than a secretary or receptionist, though she also seemed to be wearing platform heels for shoes. She carried a briefcase, an actual briefcase Jack was amazed to see, and with practiced movement pulled the chair opposite Jack back and jumped into it. She adjusted her glasses, opened the suitcase, and took several forms that she quickly flipped through.
“Sit,” she ordered, and Jack quickly complied. “Name?”
“Uh, Jack Smith,” he managed to stammer.
The woman looked up, her frown slightly growing. “Uh Jack Smith?”
“Jack Smith, ma’am,” he corrected.
The woman’s frown shrunk a slight amount. “Home address?”
“Farmview apartment room 3-”
“Good enough,” the lady interrupted, checking something off on one of the papers. “Did you bring the letter and photo?”
Jack blinked, but reflexively had already taken out the two from his pocket. The woman held out her hand, and Jack placed the two items in it. “These will be disposed of for your benefit,” was all she said before returning to her papers.
“Thanks?” Jack said, confused.
The woman didn’t respond. Jack waited for more questions, but began to grow a little impatient after a few minutes of silence passed by without the woman speaking another word or asking another question. He cleared his throat.
“Do you require a cough drop, Mr. Smith?” The woman asked without looking up.
“Uh, no ma’am,” Jack said. “Do you have any more questions for me?”
The woman paused and tapped her finger on the table. She then finally looked up and met Jack’s gaze, and clicked her tongue. Somehow, Jack wondered if he’d failed some kind of test.
The woman took a deep breath before speaking again. “Good day Mr. Smith, I am Mrs. Green. I will be in charge of your interview and orientation today. Do you have any questions before we begin?”
“Yes?” Jack asked carefully.
“Then save them for later,” Mrs. Green said bluntly. “Now, please answer the following questions as best you can without falsehood. Have had a recent encounter with something or somethings you have a hard time explaining to others without sounding insane?”
“Yes.”
“Has your mind been overtaken with terror at the thought of meeting said somethings again in a dark alley?”
“…No?”
“Please be clear and concise,” she prompted.
“No,” Jack answered more strongly. “Scared, yes. Overcome with terror, no.”
“Hmph,” the woman grunted under her breath before examining Jack for several moments. She seemed to relent. “Understood. How many unusual encounters have you had since your first?”
“Four,” Jack said, causing Mrs. Green to furrow her brow and look up at him.
“The third or second is missing from your records,” she noted. “Please explain in as much detail as you can your unusual encounter.” She took notes as Jack walked her through the strange possible double murder and stalking he’d experienced during the downpour after visiting the eye doctor. “You were quite lucky,” was all Mrs. Green said.
“Continuing on,” she said without missing a beat. “Do you wish for assistance in reducing future unusual encounters?”
“Yes,” Jack said quickly, nodding.
“Do you prefer to fight, flee, or hide?” Mrs. Green asked.
Jack started to open his mouth, but then closed it. He frowned and began to tap the table.
“Do you prefer to fight, flee, or hide?” Mrs. Green asked again patiently.
“I’m not sure,” Jack finally admitted. “Is that, an okay answer?”
“It is an honest one,” the woman merely said before continuing. “Are allergic to any medication or substance to the best of your knowledge?”
“No,” Jack said.
“Are you open to a full-time employment position at this time?”
“Unhappily, yes,” Jack reluctantly admitted.
Mrs. Green nodded and marked her paper again. “That includes the preliminary interview. Alright Jack, it would appear that you warrant the next stage of interview at this time.”
“That’s it?” Jack asked blankly.
“That’s bureaucracy,” Mrs. Green said. “The instruments in this room have been recording your vitals since you walked in with Mr. Tim. Asking you simple and quick questions lower human stress levels on average, and combined with you answers help form a baseline to your mental stability. With that established, we can move on to more in-depth information and see how you react to it.”
Jack didn’t know what to say.
“Do I need to repeat myself Mr. Smith?” Mrs. Green asked after a few moments of silence.
“Oh, no ma’am,” Jack started. “Um, so can I ask questions now?”
Mrs. Green pulled back a sleeve to reveal a nice-looking watch. “You may ask three,” she said after a moment.
“Okay,” Jack nodded. “What is this place?” From the way Mrs. Green’s eye suddenly twitched, Jack had the strangest feeling he’d surprised her. Whether it was because he’d asked something smart, or something dumb, he didn’t know.
“This is the first home,” Mrs. Green answered shortly after. She indicated the room around them, “and the last home. You can refer to it as the EB.”
Jack waited, but the woman across from him didn’t say anything else. The answer was underwhelming, but Jack figured that was because he was lacking the proper context to understand it. Either that, or Mrs. Green was baiting out more questions from him to ask.
He tapped the table. “Okay then. Why was I summoned to this place to be interviewed, and what kind of job are you interviewing me for?” He mentally high-fived himself.
Mrs. Green’s frown twitched. “You were summoned here to be interviewed because of you encounter and continued encounters with the supernatural. The job you are being interviewed for cannot be named at this time, however involves fieldwork, research, crisis intervention, and investigations.” She looked down at her watch suddenly. “It would appear we have run out of time for today. Retrieve your phone from the receptionist desk before you leave, and we will be in touch. Do not return here without another invitation. Good day Mr. Smith.” With that, the woman hopped down from the chair and left the room as swiftly as she came, the sound of her platform heels quickly fading into the distance.
Jack blinked after her, before slapping his hands against his pants. He still had his keys and his wallet, but his phone was gone. He’d had it in the taxi, and he sure as hell didn’t turn it over at the receptionist desk earlier. They hadn’t even asked him to do so.
A little unnerved, Jack got up from the desk and left the conference room, turning left to return to the main lobby. There, the identical man and woman remained behind their desks typing away at something Jack couldn’t see. He approached the woman sitting on the right nearest his hall and cleared his throat. “Um, I’m here to retrieve me phone?” Again, nothing happened as the two receptionists continued working on whatever it was they were working on. Jack idly noted how their suits matched the matte yellow of the carpet. This time, he reached over and lightly tapped the bell again. The two looked up sharply, and Jack repeated what he’d just said.
The woman in the yellow suit perked up and smiled as her companion lost interest. “Yes Mr. Smith, we have been expecting you. Please sign here, thank you,” she said as Jack signed a retrieval form, “and here is your cellular device returned to you. Our DU app has already been pre-installed at your convenience. An explanation tutorial will begin upon opening it for the first time. A cab has been called and is waiting outside to take you home. Thank you for your visit, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your day.”
A little taken aback by everything the receptionist had just said, Jack nodded wearily as he took his phone and swiped through it quickly. It didn’t appear that anything was missing, but Jack resolved to change all his passwords once he got home. Which reminded him, he was still wearing the eyepatch.
Jack reached up and removed and eyepatch casually, taking the time to readjust his vision. He blinked as his left eye slowly adjusted to the light, before closing his right eye for a few moments while he faked a yawn. It didn’t take long for the grey haze of the veil to make itself known again, though this time in a less intrusive form for some reason. As Jack walked toward the entrance, he couldn’t help but notice that the half-circle of metal on the ground and the entrance itself was greyer and more ‘normal’ than the other parts of the building’s insides. Idly, as he opened up the door at the front entrance, he turned and looked back at the receptionist desk. Two black forms weaved words through space, two eyes together yet separate and whole as black ichor-
Jack blinked, and he saw the receptionist both look up from their work to smile and wave at him. Their face and waves were completely in sync. Jack smiled weakly back and waved, made sure the door closed in front of him as he back out of the building, and bolted for the nearest cab.