This is the first chapter of the novella I self-published a couple years ago on Amazon! It's something I really enjoyed writing and I hope you enjoy it, too! You can get an ebook or physical copy here! It's also available on Kindle Unlimited!

Chapter One

New message from Emma, his phone flashed. The daily conversations had started months ago. It had been so long that he wasn’t even sure how he’d met her anymore. It didn’t matter though. He couldn’t imagine a day without her name flashing across his phone’s screen. He really hoped that day would never come.

Hey! What are you up to?

He smiled down at the screen.

Just getting ready for work. How was your day? he replied quickly.

Every night, he worked as a security guard. He rarely got a night off, but he didn’t mind very much. Other than a few college classes, he didn’t have many hobbies or activities to fill his time.

His security job was only for one building. He had been assigned there months ago. Truth be told, he didn’t even know what the building was for. He was never given the name of the company, only its address. He referred to it as Stonefield. It wasn’t a particularly clever name as the building was made of stone and sat in a very large, fenced in field.

Stonefield was usually dark. Almost all of the doors inside the building were locked. He wasn’t always sure he even wanted to know what hid behind the locks. Dull —and often flickering—lights lined the hallways, but very rarely did they shine from within any of those locked rooms.

Since he didn’t get any background information, he made up his own little stories about the dark building. It was different most nights, but he had a few theories he revisited often. Occasionally, he thought of something new and spun the details to make the building fit his story as he made his rounds.

He always shared his theories with Emma. He liked to think she enjoyed them as much as he did. She seemed to at least. It was nice to have someone to share the stories with. He didn’t tell anyone else his ideas. He didn’t want to see the judgment written all over their faces.

The phone buzzed in his hand, pulling him from his contemplations about the dark building.

It was okay. Nothing too exciting, really. Have fun at work, Brandon!

He paced the halls slowly. It was an extra quiet night at the lab. The dark rooms hid all kinds of monstrosities. Brandon feared that some of the experiments had escaped past the chain link fence that surrounded the expansive grounds. Beyond the fence was acre upon acre of thick, dark woods. Anything could be hiding in there. Maybe some of the experiments were even conducted deep in the woods. It’s not like anyone would ever know or find them.

He shivered. The woods surrounding Stonefield always made him feel uneasy. The building itself creeped him out, but the woods somehow made it worse.

The idea of the mysterious building being a laboratory was one of the imaginary histories Brandon visited most frequently. In his mind, it is what fit the building the best. Why else would it be so secretive?

He envisioned numerous types of labs. Each developed something awful, though. Usually, he thought the secret experiments were done on humans. They could be cyborgs, animal-human hybrids, super soldiers...his list was endless.

Sometimes he imagined it was highly toxic chemicals locked behind the doors. Explosives kept under lock and key to protect the masses from blowing themselves up. Other times, it was an animal testing facility. He tried to visit that idea the least. He struggled to not find a way to unlock the doors and let all the animals run free.

At least Zylack wasn’t around tonight. Dr. Zylack made Brandon uncomfortable. He asked so many intrusive questions. Brandon feared Zylack thought he knew too much. Who knows what he would do to Brandon if that were the case.

He didn’t know if he was actually a doctor, but that’s how he always referred to him. When Branson first started his job there, he called Zylack “Doctor” as a joke. The man was always in a lab coat of sorts, like a doctor or a scientist.

Dr. Zylack was a tall man, well over six feet. His hair was very dark, offsetting his bright green eyes. His nose could be called nothing short of big, but it fit his long face and matching full lips. His large lab coat hid a muscular and toned body. Brandon knew quite well that he shouldn’t mess with Zylack. He towered over Brandon by at least half a foot and made Brandon appear scrawny in comparison. He tried his best to stay on Zylack’s good side or avoid him altogether.

Brandon wandered down to the first floor. He needed to do his check of the outside perimeter. The first floor was the only floor with a lot of light, but it still had a couple of dark stretches. There was an area set up with chairs, couches, and an old television set. He was fond of taking his breaks there. It was the only place that felt homey. He liked to think of the little area as a family room.

He walked down the large hallway and out the main entrance. The grounds were mostly dark. The only lights were near to the building. Most of them died out before they hit the fence.

It typically took the better part of an hour to patrol the entire fence. He walked inside the fence, always inside the fence. He tried to do this part as quickly as possible. Even with the fence between him and the dark forest, he was still nervous and uncomfortable.

Something vibrated in his pocket, making him jump. He laughed at himself as he realized it was just his phone. He really shouldn’t let his imagination get to him so much.

How’s the laboratory today? Emma’s text inquired.

Creepy as always. No Dr. today though.

He had already told Emma he was working at the lab tonight. She always seemed the most interested in lab days. He shared with her his various theories of the experiments they performed there.

*That’s always a plus. Hopefully it won’t be too bad. *

Maybe after I’m back in the building, he replied and stowed his phone back in his pocket. His focus returned to the task at hand. He picked up his pace a bit. It felt like someone was watching him. Every glance over his shoulder kicked his imagination further into overdrive.

His phone buzzed again.

It’ll be okay. You should be done soon, right?

It was a simple encouragement, but it really did make him feel better.

Ten minutes later, he was back in the building. He relaxed in one of the chairs. It was his nightly routine to venture into the family room after patrolling the outer grounds. Every night it helped to calm his overactive mind.

He sighed and leaned forward with his head in his hands. Of course there was nothing out there. There wasn’t anything inside the building either. If there was anything seriously dangerous here, they wouldn’t have assigned him here. They would have picked someone that was actually qualified.

“Get it together, Brandon,” he mumbled to himself.

Relaxing back into his chair, he pulled his phone out of his pocket once again. Yeah, back inside and on break now, he replied to the earlier conversation. Emma always helped him relax and settle down. She didn’t make him feel crazy for getting worked up or freaking out. That’s exactly what he needed after his nightly trip around the yard.

A half hour and a calming conversation later, Brandon started his ascent to the fourth floor. For the rest of the night, he would slowly work his way from the top floor of the old building to the bottom floor. The only sound was his echoing footsteps, the buzz of fluorescent​ lights, and the occasional vibration of his phone.

He made it to the second floor before he heard anything. A moan? He stopped walking and strained his ears to catch anything out of place. Several minutes passed and he didn’t hear anything. Just as he was about to take another step, he heard it again. It came from a locked door to his left. He stepped quietly to the door and pressed his ear to it. Something shuffled inside. His heartbeat picked up. He’d never heard anything moving behind the doors before.

Whatever was inside shuffled closer to the door. Fear gripped Brandon’s heart. Before he could glimpse the creature locked away behind the door, he started walking quickly down the hall. It took all of his willpower not to run.

“Oh, hello, Brandon,” someone said as Brandon neared the stairwell. He froze as the figure in the dark stairwell door stepped into the light. Warren. Brandon let out the breath he had been holding.

“Hi, Warren. I didn’t know you were working tonight.”

Warren was one of the few others assigned to Stonefield. He seemed friendly enough, but Brandon didn’t know him very well. He preferred to keep to himself for the most part. He always feared he’d let one of his crazy theories slip. Who knows what kind of torment he’d have to suffer then. Once people knew what went on in his head, they always made fun of him. He couldn’t take any more of that. Better to keep to himself. Always better to keep to himself.

“I didn’t think you were either. I’ve been looking for you. Must have just been going in opposite directions,” he laughed. His dark eyes turned serious. “Hear anything strange up here?”

“Yeah, actually. I thought I heard something about halfway down the hall.” He turned and pointed to where he heard the movement behind the door.

“I thought I had heard something when I was up here earlier. I’ll check it out.”

“Alright. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Sure thing. Maybe I’ll grab us some hot chocolate.” Warren smiled at Brandon and headed down the hall.

Brandon sighed, glad he had kept himself from running full speed down the hall. That would have been incredibly embarrassing. He walked slowly down the stairs, trying to compose himself. He needed to stop being so paranoid.

He scanned the ground floor without hearing or seeing anything out of place. He returned to the family room and settled into a chair. While he waited, he told Emma what had happened. Together they speculated about what the noise could have been.

An experiment?

The wind through an open window?

An animal? Maybe a squirrel or something.

A crazy scientist working into the night?

Ooo, maybe it was a ghost!

Brandon laughed at the ideas as Warren walked into the room with two steaming cups of hot chocolate. He handed one to Brandon as he took a seat in a nearby chair.

“Thanks,” he said as he accepted the cup. “Did you find out what was making that noise upstairs?”

“No, but I think it was just a tree scratching the window or something,” Warren answered with a shrug.

“You’re probably right. It is pretty windy out tonight.” He sipped his hot chocolate, happy to have a reason to not speak much.

The two talked and the rest of the night bled together. Brandon awoke the next morning still questioning what he had heard the night before. He wanted to believe it was something simple like the wind; but, deep down, he wasn’t sold on the idea.

Deep down, he was scared.