This was such a cool read. I have been eyeing the Weird Tales Contest, but I just can't come up with anything weird enough. Now that I read your story, I KNOW I can't come up with weird enough stuff. Your story has it all. It is weird, it is a little scary, but not too much. The main character has a name that gives the whole thing foreboding. And at the end, it even made me wonder if Albert (I'm not his friend, so I don't get to call him Bert) is really only a 23-year-old man or something else.

The story is edited to absolute perfection. Not a letter or punctuation out of place. The only thing I though was odd was when he wiped his hands on the front of his shirt. I would choose my pants for that. The front of the shirt is so visible and smudges come out more than on pants. At the same time, I can also see how it would be a habit of his - a part of character building by showing instead of telling.

Great job with this story all around.