The Unknown

“The Unknown is, and will always be, more frightening than a clear nightmare staring you in the face.”

Only a heartless Scrooge would allow a person to leave early for a holiday when there was still work to be done. Thankfully for her team, Charissa had seen a Christmas Carol more than once. A 2pm meeting scheduled as “Touchbase on 2020 Projects” would ensure that her team of misfits was out the door and well on their way to whatever Christmas hijinks they could get into. Sure, Charissa could be a taskmaster, but no one could call her heartless.

“Right, thank you all for coming in and coming prepared,” Charissa said. Her team looked in a sort of food coma, and very far away from discussing 2020 projects. “Rather than go over our 2020 work, I want you all out of here. Please.” Charissa smiled as first one, then a few more eyes brightened with the understanding of what their boss was requesting. This was a release. A get out of jail free, heck, pass Go and Collect $200 situation. The team looked at Charissa, then at each other as if to confirm what they heard was correct. “Get out of here now or I won’t let you back in! And you better have a merry Christmas!” Charissa said in her most boss-like voice. The room began to empty with a slow building gusto as one employee after another nodded and vocally asserted their thanks. Charissa just smiled and wiped her glasses on her blouse. Sometimes it was good to be the boss.

Once the “happy holidays” had been said, the coats had been grabbed, the wallets had been forgotten then remembered, and the office had emptied, Charissa sighed and returned to her office. Sometimes it was bad to be the boss.

Charissa pecked away at the keyboard, coming up with thesaural words all on her own to describe her team. Year-end reviews were the worst. The only way to make them entertai…BANG!

Charissa lifted out of her seat as her hands flew to her face at the loud noise disturbing her word crafting. Either a bird just flew into a window, someone took a hammer to the printer down the hall, or someone was about to get fired for lighting a damn firecracker outside her door. Charissa slammed her hand on her desk as she got up, catching the bridge of her now fallen glasses with her right hand, delivering a second, yet decidedly softer, bang. Yup, someone was definitely getting fired.

Charissa stepped out of her office to survey the scene. Everything was a blur. “Have I always been this blind?” Charissa thought, heading towards the window. Charissa expected to see a bird sliding down the window though all she could really see was a light blob with slightly darker blobs creating a flame around the light blob. The lack of an even darker blob sliding down the light blob was a bit disappointing though. To the printer.

Charissa moved towards the center of the work area, guided more by her knowledge of where things lay than her eyes told her to step. Blobs appeared everywhere, slowly morphing real life objects as Charissa moved down the hall. Charissa focused ahead of her, feeling the wall with her left hand and the soft roughness of cubical walls with her right. Her gaze moving between the floor below her, and a darkening blob ahead of her. Which, was, moving?

Charissa blinked and rubbed her eyes, frustrated at her lack of eyesight. The blob was certainly moving. Swaying was probably the more accurate term, though anything was possible with her terrifyingly awful eyesight. “H-hello?” stammered Charissa, more curious than scared. After all, there were plenty of other workers here, she couldn’t be the only one working late before a holiday. “I’m sorry for my stumbling, I swear I haven’t been drinking, I broke my glasses. Any idea what that loud bang was? Was it the printer?” The blob swayed. Charissa chuckled uncomfortably, “I mean, if you have any idea what that sound was feel free to let me know. I’m just coming out to check.” The blog swayed. “So, no idea then? Can you at least let me know that you’re real then? I’m blind without my glasses and I just want to make sure I’m not being crazy and talking to a person.” The blob sidestepped, darkening against the lighter blob wall behind it, and continued to sway.

Charissa swallowed and coughed as she slowly moved towards the swaying blob. Not only was this blob swaying, it now seemed to be giving off a sort of smoky, sickly, burning smell. Like brakes that have been used for a month too long. Charissa chalked it up to the probably exploded printer and continued to move forward, now only a few yards from the cubby containing the printer.

“You know, this is kind of uncomfortable with you staring at me while I head to the printer. Can’t you just see it from there and tell me?” The blob swayed. “Is that smell coming from the printer? Man, what a weird time for it to break down, some poor maintenance person is going to be working overtime this holiday.” The blog swayed. “Look, I know this sounds weird, but could you, um, say something? Anything? I’m kind of freaking out right now.” The blob swayed.

Charissa continued her slow trek towards the printer, imagining her relief at finding a destroyed printer, hearing the blob laugh at their poor joke of taking advantage of a poor blind woman. As Charissa got closer, the smell grew stronger, the swaying seemed to increase in frequency, and the blob grew darker. “Ok, fine, have your fun, I’m just going to check this and call it in since you don’t want to be any help.”

Charissa finally reached the cubby and turned to the printer. It warbled happily in complete contentedness of its wholeness. The smell remained. Charissa turned towards the now black blob. It swayed like a metronome. Charissa shivered and turned her back to it, slightly angry at the person for their dogged insistence in continuing the joke, and slightly concerned the printer wasn’t the cause of any of her current discomfort. Best just to head back to the office.

“Well, thank you for no help at all. Please be kind and return to your office while I get back to mine.” Charissa turned and began moving back towards her office, wholly uncomfortable with the likely leering coworker behind her.

Then, a cry from behind. Charissa whipped around to see the blob growing larger, darker, and more pungent. “Like an Olympic sprinter, but without moving a limb” Charissa thought as her world went black.