the thing about Rock Bottom is that you never see it coming until you're already there 5 years after Karen's death I was still living in our old apartment surrounded by her things trapped in a cocoon of memories and regrets the bills piled up like Autumn Leaves and my savings account had long since dwindled to double digits at 48 starting over felt like trying to climb a mountain with broken legs every night I'd sit in her favorite armchair staring at the worn fabric where her fingers used to drum against the armrest when she was deep in thought the silence was the worst part our apartment used to be filled with her laugh the gentle click clack of her knitting needles the soft humming as she cooked now there was just the hollow echo of my own breathing and the distant sounds of City Life filtering through thin walls that's why the job posting caught my eye night Watchman at first hope Apothecary $20 an hour the ad promised minimal duties perfect for someone who preferred Solitude someone like me I should have known better when something seems too good to be true it usually is but desperation has a way of clouding Judgment of making red flags look like welcome banners I remember pulling up to the pharmacy that first evening the October wind whistling through the narrow streets of old Boston the building stood Like A Relic from another Century its faded brick exterior wearing Shadows like a cloak the gold lettering on the sign first hope Apothecary was chipped and tarnished barely visible in the Dying Light something about it made my skin prickle like walking past a cemetery at dusk that should have been my first warning the manager Carl was waiting by the entrance he was a thin man with sunken eyes that seemed to Dart everywhere except my face his hands never stopped moving fingers twitching and intertwining like nervous spiders looking back I wonder if he knew what he was sending me into if his conscience ever kept him awake at night you must be George he said his voice tight and strained thanks for coming on such short notice the last guy he well he had to leave suddenly I nodded trying to ignore the way his eye twitched when he mentioned his previous employee happy to help seems like a straightforward job Carl's laugh was Hollow like Wind Through Dead Leaves yeah straightforward just remembered a lock up at 1157 sharp not 1156 not 1158 exactly 1157 he handed me a set of brass keys that felt unnaturally Cold against my palm and stay in the front area unless there's an emergency the supply room well just avoid it if you can before I could ask why the specific time mattered or what was wrong with the supply room he clapped me on the shoulder and hurried away his footsteps echoed on the sidewalk quick and uneven like he couldn't get away fast enough standing alone in the entrance I felt the weight of the building's silence press against my ears the air inside was thick with the smell of old wood and something medicinal sharp and slightly sweet glass jars lined the wooden shelves their contents casting strange shadows in the dim light some held powders in various Shades of gray and brown others contained dried herbs or things I couldn't identify the labels were written in faded script the kind you might find in an antique medical textbook I didn't know it then but that moment standing in the doorway with those cold keys in my hand was my last chance to walk away to return to my empty apartment and my familiar grief instead I stepped inside and let the door swing shut behind me the bell's gentle chime sealing my fate like the closing of a tomb the first walkthrough felt like exploring a museum after hours each footstep creaked against the ancient floorboards the sound swallowed by rows of Dusty shelves the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead their pale glow doing little to dispel the Shadows that pulled in the corners the old cash register squatted on the counter like a brass gargoyle its Keys worn Smooth by Decades of use but it was the supply room that made my skin crawl the temperature dropped at least 10° the moment I pushed open that heavy wooden door unlike the organized chaos of the main store the supply room was clinically sterile with steel cabinets lining the walls like silent Sentinels their surfaces reflected the flickering fluorescent light creating strange patterns that seemed to move when I wasn't looking directly at them the air carried a sharp antiseptic smell that barely masked something else something rotten and sweet like decaying flowers looking for the first aid kit seemed like a reasonable first task better to know where everything was in case of an emergency I found it on a shelf near the back an old metal box covered in a layer of dust so so thick it came away in sheets under my fingers the hinges protested as I opened it letting out a sound like a distant scream instead of the expected bandages and antiseptic wipes I found strips of yellowed gauze covered in cramped handwriting the ink was Brown at least I hoped it was ink and had faded in places but the words were still legible my hands shook as I carefully unfolded the first strip rules to survive the night it read the handwriting was frantic uneven like someone had written it in a hurry or in fear the list that followed made my stomach turn rule one always lock the front door exactly at 11:57 p. m. and never unlock it until sunrise rule 2 if you hear knocking from the cabinets do not open them under any circumstances rule three leave an unopened bottle of rubbing alcohol on the back counter before midnight rule four never touch the old mortar and pestle in the display case rule five if the lights flicker twice in a row stand completely still until they stabilize rule 6 do not answer the landline phone if it rings after 1:3 a.
m. rule 7 always clean the glass medicine display before leaving but never touch the jars with the red labels I stared at the list my mind trying to rationalize what I was reading it had to be a prank right some elaborate joke played by former employees to scare the new guy but something about the desperate scrawl the way the letters sometimes Shook and ran together suggested otherwise this wasn't written for fun this was written by someone who needed others to survive a sudden Bang from one of the cabinets made me jump the first aid kit clattering to the floor the sound echoed through the room bouncing off the metal surfaces until it seemed to come from everywhere at once then silence but not the Natural Quiet of an empty room this silence felt alive expectant like the pause between a lightning Flash and its Thunder I quickly shoved the bandages back into the kit and returned it to its Shelf trying to ignore how my hands trembled the rules kept repeating in my head a Litany of warnings that seemed more ominous with each passing second part of me wanted to walk out right then to hell with the job and the money but I thought of my Empty Apartment of the past due notices piling up on my kitchen table of Karen's medical bills that I was still paying off besides they were just words on some old bandages probably left by some bored employee years ago nothing to be afraid of God I wish I'd been right the clock on the wall read 11:45 p. m.
12 minutes until I had to lock the front door exactly at 11:57 according to the rules as I walked back to the main area I could have sworn I heard something moving inside one of the cabinets a soft scratching sound like fingernails against metal I didn't look back some part of me knew that if I did I might see something that would make me run screaming into the night and I couldn't afford to lose this job not yet anyway the minutes leading up to 11:57 felt like hours I stood by the front door brass key in hand watching the ancient clock on the wall tick away the seconds each click of its hands seemed to echo through the empty Pharmacy mixing with the low hum of fluorescent lights and my own shallow breathing my mind kept drifting back to Karen she would have laughed at my nervousness told me I was being silly about a bunch of old bandages with crazy rules written on them but Karen wasn't here she'd never be here again sometimes I wondered if that's why I took this job not just for the money Mone but because the emptiness of the pharmacy matched the hollow inside me 1156 the air grew heavy pressing against my skin like a cold wet blanket the smell of old medicine and dust took on a metallic Edge sharp enough to make my eyes water from somewhere in the back of the store came a sound like glass grinding against glass so faint I might have imagined it 115 630 my Palms were sweating now making the key slippery in my grasp the fluorescent lights seem dimmer the Shadows between the shelves deeper and more animate I could have sworn I saw movement in them like dark figures sliding between the aisles 11564 the grinding sound grew louder distinct now unmistakable like someone was dragging something heavy across a glass surface my heart hammered against my ribs as I remembered the rule about the medicine display had I touched something I shouldn't have 11 5650 the temperature dropped suddenly I could see my breath fogging in front of my face the key felt like ice in my hand so cold it burned 1156 55 the Shadows were definitely moving now coal blessing into shapes that were almost human but not quite my hands shook as I lifted the key to the lock 1157 I turned the key exactly as the secondhand hit 12 the lock clicked into place with a sound like breaking bone the grinding noise stopped instantly the Shadows retreated to their Corners the temperature began to rise but something had changed in the pharmacy the silence wasn't empty and anymore it was expectant like a held breath and then I heard it a soft thud from deep within the store followed by another and another like footsteps but too heavy too irregular they were coming from the direction of the supply room I gripped my flashlight tighter its beam weak against the growing Darkness between the shelves the rules hadn't said anything about investigating strange noises but I was the Watchman it was my job to check wasn't it the thuds grew louder as I approached the supply room the air got colder with each step until I was shivering despite my jacket the medicinal smell was Stronger here mixed with something else something that reminded me of the hospital where Karen spent her last days the supply room door was closed just as I'd left it but there was something wrong with the Shadows around it they seemed to pulse and wrie like living things trying to break free from the walls my hand trembled as I reached for the door knob the metal was so cold it nearly stuck to my skin I pushed the door open the supply room was exactly as I'd left it every cabinet closed every shelf untouched but there on the back counter sat a bottle of rubbing alcohol full unopened the label gleamed under the flickering fluorescent light I hadn't put it there the third rule echoed in my mind leave an unopened bottle of rubbing alcohol on the back counter before midnight I checked my watch 11:59 as I stared at the bottle trying to make sense of its appearance a new sound filled the air a soft rhythmic tapping coming from inside one of the cabinets like Knuckles against metal if you hear knocking from the cabinets do not open them under any circumstances the knocking grew louder more insistent then another cabinet joined in and another soon the whole room was filled with a symphony of knocking each cabinet contributing its own desperate Rhythm I backed away slowly my heart threatening to burst from my chest just before I slammed the door shut I caught a glimpse of one of the cabinet doors beginning to vibrate its hinges squealing in protest I didn't stop running until I reached the front counter where I collapsed into the ancient wooden chair my breath coming in ragged gasps the knocking was muffled now but still audible a constant reminder that something was in there waiting the Clock Struck midnight and somewhere in the building a child began to cry the child's cry echoed through the pharmacy bouncing off the glass jars until I couldn't tell where it was coming from it wasn't a normal cry it had a hollow quality to it like it was coming from the bottom of a well the sound reminded me of Karen's last days in the hospital when the morphine wasn't enough anymore the same raw edge of pain the same desperate plea for help I gripped the edges of the wooden chair my knuckles white there shouldn't be any children here the pharmacy was locked I had checked every corner during my walkth through yet the crying continued sometimes fading to a whimper sometimes rising to a heart-wrenching sob 1 a. m. crept closer on the ancient clock each tick seeming to take an eternity the crying had stopped replaced by something worse the sound of bare feet padding across the wooden floor soft irregular steps that never seemed to get closer or farther away the fluorescent lights chose that moment to flicker once twice if the lights flicker twice in a row stand completely still until they stabilize I froze mid breath remembering the rule the footsteps stopped too and in the sudden silence I could hear something else a wet sliding sound like something damp being dragged across the floor the lights went out completely in the darkness my other senses became painfully sharp the medicinal smell had grown stronger but underneath it was something else the unmistakable copper Tang of blood the air felt thick almost liquid pressing against my skin like cold hands the sliding sound grew closer I wanted to run to scream to do anything except stand there in the darkness but the rule echoed in my head holding me in place like an invisible straight jacket something brushed against my leg it was soft almost gentle like fingers testing the texture of fabric but these weren't human fingers they were too cold too smooth leaving trails of moisture on my pants I bit my lip until I tasted blood fighting the urge to move in the darkness I could hear breathing that wasn't my own it came from somewhere above me ragged and wet like someone drowning the lights flickered back on the aisle was empty but my pants leg was wet a dark stain spreading across the fabric it smelled like rubbing alcohol and something else something that made my stomach turn I barely made it to the waist bin before losing my dinner the landline phone rang the harsh mechanical Trill cut through my nausea Like a Knife I fumbled for my watch with shaking hands 102 a.
m. do not answer the landline phone if it rings after 103 a. m.
the ringing continued shrill and demanding each ring seemed to make the shadows in the corners pulse and grow I watched the seconds tick by on my watch my heart pounding in syn with the phone's cry 13 a. m. the ringing stopped mid Trill like someone had cut the power the silence that followed was absolute pressing against my eardrums like cotton wool then the phone rang again this wasn't like before this ring was deep distorted more like a moan than a mechanical sound it made my teeth ache and my vision blur each ring lasted several seconds the sound rising and falling like a dying animal's Last Breath something moved in my peripheral vision one of the Shadows had detached itself from the wall taking on a vaguely human shape it stood by the phone its edges Rippling like smoke in water please a voice whispered though I couldn't tell if it came from the phone or the shadow please help us I pr pressed my hands over my ears but the voice somehow bypassed them appearing directly in my mind we just wanted to be cured The Voice continued now joined by others A Chorus of pleading Whispers the doctor said he could help us the shadow stretched toward the phone its arm impossibly long and thin where its hand should have been there was only a twisted mass of Darkness that seemed to absorb absorb the light around it join us the voices said in unison answer the phone make it stop make the pain stop I squeezed my eyes shut and started counting Karen had taught me this trick during my panic attacks after Her diagnosis count to 10 focus on the numbers nothing else exists one the ringing grew louder two more Shadows peeled away from the walls three the voices became a deafening chorus four something cold touched my shoulder five the smell of blood and medicine was overwhelming by the time I reached 10 the ringing had stopped when I opened my eyes the Shadows had retreated leaving only the normal darkness of the store's corners but the air still felt wrong like the whole building was holding its breath waiting I looked at my watch again 1:15 a.
m.
