May God have mercy on our souls.
It seemed like a mundane enough job, right?
I spent a few years in equipment operations, then checking readouts, and on up to personnel supervisor.
x1klima
Youre going to notice a few anomalies with this plant, the old manager Nathan told me.
But I dont want you to worry, he added.
I worked here 20 years and nothing going on will interfere with your job.
x1klima
Looks normal enough to me, I replied.
Was this some kind of test?
Single open cycle gas turbines, probably around 140 megawats right?
If I was expecting praise for my perception, I didnt get it.
That was the first time Ive ever seen a grown man spit on an office floor.
Not about the output boy, I mean our client.
Were just supplying one building up in the hills.
The rest of the city is handled by that hydroelectric station downtown.
This had to be a test.
No sir, thats impossible.
This station should be able to supply around 140,000 homes.
Or one government building, he grunted.
Are we not producing at capacity?
Hell, theyd take more if they could get it.
What are they doing up there?
Nathan clapped me on the back like I had just won an award.
And they like to keep it that way.
Besides that, everything should run pretty smooth for you here.
But Nathan was wrong.
Right from the start, nothing ran smoothly.
First of all, the other plant workers acted mighty strange toward me.
They followed orders readily enough, but they did so without the slightest initiative or individuality.
I caught one guy, Robert, chewing his pencil for ten minutes straight in the break-room.
And then there was Mattis calling every few weeks.
Those were the most awkward, forced conversations Ive ever had to sit through in my life.
were always the first words out of his mouth.
John Doe (not my real name) speaking.
Id give it to him, and then he invariably asked a string of the vaguest imaginable questions.
It felt almost like he was being held hostage and had to speak in code to gather information.
The financing is another thing that didnt make sense to me.
Here weve just got Megan.
Theres not much to do really, she told me.
Theres no money coming in.
Theyve never denied anything before.
Three days ago topped it all off when I received the strangest question yet from Mattis.
He asked: Have you noticed any of your employees trying to escape?
Then he coughed like he was trying to clear his head, not his throat.
I mean, any of them have a go at quit or just stop showing up?
Shuttle service, they called it, although it was only picking up Robert and another technician named Elijah.
I watched the van take them up the dirt road winding into the hills.
I called it a building before just because Id only seen its location on a map.
A mine shaft might describe the phenomenon more accurately, or perhaps a crater.
Most unsettling of all perhaps were the rows of black vans parked outside.
Four of them were being loaded with long bags about the size and shape of a human body.
I caught the eye of the guard accompanying me and noticed its glassy shine.
Any power cuts have serious repercussions here.
like address the issue as quickly as humanly possible.
The guard led me to a control station about a hundred feet away from the main complex.
I dont suppose Im allowed to ask - I started.
Wont do you any good, the guard answered promptly.
I dont know any more than you, and thats already more than enough.
Have you ever been inside?
He shook his head, glancing around nervously.
Then in a hushed whisper:
I never seen anything, but sometimes Ill hear things.
Like something is down there that dont want to be.
I raised my eyebrow, hoping hed continue.
He opened his mouth like he was going to say more, then shook his head.
None of my business, none of yours.
How long is this gonna take?
I didnt push my luck by staying long.
Ive been keeping an especially close eye on Robert and Elijah all day today.
I cant shake the feeling that theyre not quite here.
Elijah was even worse.
Then it beeped and he actually collapsed to the floor in shock.
Im positive they werent like that before he went into the building.
Robert and Elijah first pickup service today.
Good for five rounds each before theyre used up.
Requesting replacement for myself in two months after my final round.
Suggest replacement exempt from rounds to preserve his functionality.
May God have mercy on our souls.
I scanned back further through his logs and saw a list of similar numbers.
Elijah was currently a 4, while Robert was a 3.
There was also a schedule of future pickups.
I scanned ahead a few pages and didnt see my name anywhere.
Well, here goes nothing.
I edited the next week to switch my name with Megans (she was a round 1).
I learned from his wife that he put a bullet in his brain the day he left the plant.
If all goes well, I hope Ill get to the bottom of this before I reach that point.
And if not, well its as Nathan said.
