Third Shiftby Kevin CarsonHow many jobs have applied for only to be turned down flat? Wouldn't it be nice to be selected for a job that offers good money, great benefits, and guaranteed longetivity? Normally yes, except when the job is at the Armitage Library at MU. |
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I walked quickly across the University grounds. "Another security guard job," I sighed, it beat being unemployed. Hurry up Janet, I thought. I wasn't very familiar with the layout of the place and coming in the first time, at night, didn't help getting to work fast. I'd parked too far away from the library. I shook my head swearing silently to myself, it sure wouldn't do to be late on the first night at work.
Check the watch. 11:55 PM. Damn! Keep hurrying to the center of the grounds, girl, maybe you'll make it on time. Finally I spotted the sign. Armitage Library was a formidable looking building. Multistoried with one of those New England Gothic style entrances. Hurrying past the marble pillars, I made it to the front door. 11:57 PM. Just made it! Banged at the front door. Nothing happened. Banged again. I noticed the security panel with the telephone style keyboard and a small television screen. Fancy little thing. A rotund looking form appeared by the stacks and began moving towards the door. He was an older man wearing the same University security uniform. Something in the back of my mind told me something was strange about his uniform.
He stopped just opposite the inside door and punched a button, "Put your security card in the slot."
Dang! Forgot about that. I put the card into the slot. The little television screen came on and displayed—
I read the words. Nothing happened.
"One more time," the guard said, "it hasn't gotten a fix on your voice."
I follow the procedure again and the electronic lock on the door clicked. I was impressed.
The guard opened the inner door he was standing by and stepped into the little cubical between the inner and outer doors. "My name is Sam Forbes," he offered his hand. I shook it. I couldn't help noticing the missing little finger.
"I'd better start your training right here," he said.
He showed me the panel outside, "We speak into this whenever we need to get into a secure area. It has a telephone style keyboard which we can use to call other stations. The stations at the doors are the only way the doors can be opened after the library closes. If you find any kid playing with these, roast'em." He added with a knowing grin.
I nodded, smiling, Forbes seemed to know his stuff.
We relocked the doors and walked to the back of the library. Passing the shelves, I noticed how huge the library was on the inside. The architecture inside was ornate with wood paneling. There were small wooden decorations on the pillars some of which seemed to look like small grotesque figurines. A small room in the back, near the service door, served as the security office. Two guys were seated there, one of them was cute.
"These two energetic slugs work with us," Forbes joked, "they'll be helping me train you tonight. This is Sam Weems and Brian Grabber."
I smiled and nodded as the introductions were made, Weems looked cute, Grabber had a sullen laziness about him. Forbes showed me where to sign in on the logbook. Then followed all the little bureaucratic details which accompanied working a security post: how to fill out forms, reports, who the big wheels at the school were, and so forth. I listened with nagging impatience while Forbes explained each procedure.
Next came the layout of Armitage library. Forbes took me on the first round about the building while Weems and Grabber made a check of the grounds outside the library.
"Why so many guards for a library?" I felt out Forbes.
"We've got the four we have here plus there's two other guards at the main office across the campus. The reason the library is so important is because of the books they keep here," Forbes explained.
"What kind of books?"
"Rare stuff dealing with the occult, strange occurrences, alternate universes, that sort of stuff," he replied with a wan smile.
The library was huge on the inside. Row after row of books contained on three floors of library. It seemed dark and almost oppressive at night. I decided not to mention it as Forbes dutifully presented each of the watchclock key stations to me. Book shelves, magazine room, reference area, main desk, card catalog, all were made known to me along with various tidbits of Forbes' wisdom. Each of the three large floors was crammed with bookshelves with a little room for reading desks. Then we ascended the stairs for the smaller fourth floor. Forbes slowed down at the top of the stairs, produced a key to unlock the gate at the top of the stairs, and let us through.
"This gate always stays closed or you'll be punished got that?!" he stated.
"Yes," I replied, almost stammering.
He relocked the gate after we stepped through, "The gate and these double doors over here always must be locked, you forget to relock them and you will be spanked by the gods, no excuses."
"Right," I acknowledged, almost laughing.
We walked down a small hallway towards metal double doors. Both doors had two curious shaped five-pointed stars made out of some pinkish blue soapstone fixed at eye level in the center of each door. That's when I realized what was curious about Forbes uniform. His badge had the same type of pinkish star-shaped stone embedded in the bronze shield.
"The rare book room," Forbes presented solemnly. "Some of the most valuable books in the world are kept here."
I stood by quietly while he unlocked the doors. I began to feel I'd been too shy during Forbe's training. Better show some initiative, I thought.
"What kind of books do they have here?" I parried with an inquiry.
"Old stuff," he replied. I didn't think I was going to get much more of an answer, then he went on.
"Some of the rarest books in the world are found here," Forbes continued with a hint of pride. "Have you ever heard of the Necronomicon?" he asked slowly.
"Yes," I brightened with unknowing bliss, "it's about that guy who went back in time, who had a chainsaw stuck to his hand..."
"No, no, no... I'm talking about a real book in this world, not a movie. The Necronomicon of the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred, the guy who got ate in the marketplace, ever heard of that?"
"No," I drew a first class blank on that one.
Forbes shook his head, pointing his finger in my face, "Listen, and listen good, some of these books are extremely dangerous. You got that?"
"They are some of the most rare, the most priceless, and the most sought after books in the world and our underpaid security staff has the dubious honor of guarding them from thieves both inside and out."
"Inside and out?" I wondered aloud.
"Weird stuff has been known to happen here, you scare easy?"
"No," I lied just a bit.
He paused to think for a bit, then sighed. "Listen," he said patiently, "all you are to do is patrol the lower three floors for a while, understand?"
I nodded.
"In a few weeks we will begin some of the specialized training necessary for the rest of the job. Did the personnel office brief you on what to expect?"
"No, they said you would tell me and that some professor would give me some sort of class."
"Oh yeah," he said dryly, "Dr. Gentry's little class he gives all the new guards. Listen, you were picked because your file said you could handle rough situations. Tell me about that bank holdup you foiled."
I beamed at the chance to prove my abilities as a security guard. I'd told the story so many times since the incident that I had the embellishment down pat. I geared myself up for another retelling.
"It was on a Friday," I began, "we think they picked Friday because that's when all the paychecks get cashed and the bank has plenty of extra money to handle the load. I was in the back talking to a friend of mine who works there. Two guys barged in the front door screaming for everyone to get their hands in the air and not to put them under the counters."
"The silent alarm?" he injected.
"Yes," I replied, "I had to think fast and I went with the first instinct that I came up with. I ran out the back door before they jumped the counter and locked it with the deadbolt key. Then I ran around the front of the bank and my little inspiration hit me," my voice rose with glee.
"You locked the front door," he jumped in.
"Oh..."
"I read the report, go on."
"Well I locked the front door and ran down the street a little way to a phone booth. That's where I called the police from. While I was calling them, one of the robbers came to the front door to get out, but it was locked." I said with pride.
Forbes looked unimpressed, "Go on."
"Then they went looking for the keys inside the bank from one of the tellers, but I'm the one who had them. That slowed them down for a couple of minutes, they said that one of the men started getting really mad. Finally he shot the front door with the shotgun, but the door didn't break," I said with less than the usual excitement because of the look on Forbes face.
"All this time I was talking to the police and I gave them a good detailed call," defending my story. "They drove up just about the time one of the guys was kicking the front door trying to knock out the glass. The cop pulled out his gun and yelled for them to give up. They hesitated for a minute then they just dropped their guns and sat down."
"These two guys were related as I remember," he said.
"Yes, they were cousins."
He stood there and thought for a moment, looking at the polished floor with a grimace on his face. He shifted his weight and sighed. Then he looked at me with a drill sergeant's bearing.
"When it comes right down to the brass tacs, you were lucky on several counts, you know that don't you?" he growled.
"Yes."
"These two guys were beginners and not pros, right?"
"Yes."
"They were related, so they were worried about getting each other hurt, right?"
"Yes."
"The door did take them by surprise," he conceded with a little smile, "so that did show original thinking on your part, O.K.?"
"Thank you," I blurted, a rush of tension going out of me.
"However, it could have also created a hostage situation, didn't anybody think of that?"
"It was talked about, but it was glossed over with all the jubilation that came after."
"You were lucky there too, had things gone a different way, you could have wound up being sued."
"Yeah, I heard, but that didn't happen. I got a commendation and I was on television."
"I don't mean to smear what you did, but that interview was bank politics with them touting how safe their banks were and all that. Believe me, a hostage situation here can usually be permanent."
"What do you mean?"
"Later. Let me tell you what kind of criminals hit this library when they want one of our books," he started. "Fifteen years ago, four jokers in an old army truck bashed through the front entrance downstairs, got out and started spraying the place with AK-47 assault rifles. That's when my predecessor, Sergeant Singleton bought it. Two other guards were wounded. These guys went upstairs, placed dynamite on those doors, right here at the entrance to the rare book room, and blew it open. We lost a Greek copy of the Necronomicon and a microfilm copy of the Pnakotic manuscripts. Fortunately, the original was secure in the locked safe."
"What happened?" I asked when he paused.
"The truck was found sometime later on a hill near the town of Dunwich. They found the stolen materials, unharmed, near one of the stone circles those hills are famous for. Nothing else was found except some curious burn marks on the ground," he added shuddering.
"I never heard of that crime," I stated.
"Few have, it was hushed up like a lot of things that have happened at this library. Listen, I picked you because you seemed to me to have a quick mind in a pinch. Do you have faith in the positive deities of this universe?"
"Do you mean God?" I felt strange discussing this.
"He's a good one to follow. Got any faith?"
"Yes."
"Good, you may need it."
I had a weak feeling in my back and arms. What kind of weirdness had I gotten into? Nobody grew up in this part of the country without hearing tales of the supernatural. I had a sick feeling in my stomach that Forbes wasn't telling me a tenth of what he knew. The quaint wooden architecture seemed to make the place all the more menacing. We left the rare book room and went downstairs to the guard room.
Weems and Grabber were talking sports when we got back to the guard room. Grabber gave us a lazy leer as we entered, Weems tried for a pleasant smile. Forbes went over the procedures for recording the round in the logbook and filled in a few other bureaucratic details he missed before.
"Yeah, don't miss those little reports and notes," Grabber chimed in, his eyes making slits, "the big wheels at the school don't like it if they think this place isn't being guarded well."
"And how else would we guard it?" Forbes injected solidly.
"I don't know...maybe from another state," Grabber muttered.
"Come on, the calling isn't that bad," Weems joked.
Forbes held up his hand for them to be quiet, trying not to let me see. I had to find out more about what Forbes had been talking about. Was it just that the books were so valuable, or was it something more?
"How often does it happen that you have robberies like that one you told me about upstairs?" I started.
Weems and Grabber looked at me. Forbes sighed and sat down.
"The last human attempt was fifteen years ago...," he began.
'Human attempt?' I wondered, but didn't show it.
Forbes went on, "Those guys simply vanished off the face of the earth, no one knows what became of them. Some years ago I was told a story about how one of the guards killed an intruder who was trying to steal the Necronomicon. Somebody named Wilbur...something, I forgot the last name. That happened way back in the Twenties."
"Whateley," Grabber jumped in, "that was the last name."
"Yeah that's right," Forbes continued, "there have been some other small break-ins over the years but nothing as serious as the raid of fifteen years ago."
"Now that's a heck of a story!" Weems grinned.
"She's heard it," Forbes looked at him, looking at me he stated with fatherly firmness, "now don't get the idea that we have major break-ins all the time. However, we've always got to be on our toes on this job, believe me."
"Tell her about the others," Grabber said quietly.
"Later," Forbes held up his hand to him again, "Dr. Gentry will be here in a little while."
"Ah, please, can I skip this and do something else?" Grabber complained.
"No, it won't hurt you to review the supernatural procedures," Forbes replied, giving me an anxious look.
At this point I just couldn't take it anymore.
"Supernatural procedures, 'the others', what in God's name are you talking about!"
They all shook their heads and made some embarrassed sighs. Forbes recovered first, "Sit down," he motioned to a chair. I sat down, Forbes sat down opposite me.
"What do you know about the legends of this town?"
"I've heard a few things, like the story about Dunwich and the monster..."
"Yes, there's that story and there's a number dealing with Arkham. Also, there are some legends dealing with this University and the Outer Beings."
"The Outer Beings?" that struck me cold.
"The enemy," Grabber said, trying to sound menacing.
Forbes looked annoyed with him, "The Outer Beings, or Outer Gods, are a set of supernatural entities that inhabit this dimension, we have one of them imprisoned upstairs. As a rule, we don't even mention his name out loud. And don't ask, please, until we're far from here in the morning."
The job had just gotten to the point where it wasn't worth keeping.
"Listen," I said, getting up with resolve, "the need to keep rare books secure I can understand. But, a lot of local voodoo dealing with goblins and ghosts is a bunch of crap. No don't bother," I stated as Forbes began to speak, "I'll be finding some other job, someplace a little normal, like a bank. Thanks for giving me a job, but I think I'll be looking somewhere else."
Thank God! Victory! Relief! I felt greatly relaxed as I knew I had bailed out of the situation. I would find something else, it would take a little time, but I would be safe and away from here.
Forbes, however, looked unimpressed again, "If you want to leave, then by all means try to leave."
"All right," I said, not feeling quite so free, "thanks again for giving me the job, I'll see you later...maybe."
Forbes nodded and sat down as I turned out the door. After walking down the hallway for a few yards, it occurred to me to go back.
"Listen," I said, "please don't think I'm rude or something, this just isn't for me."
"All right, don't worry about it," he replied.
I made it to the bookshelves before I had to find out something else. "Hey," after I returned, "where do I turn in the uniform?"
"Main guard office, anytime tomorrow," the sergeant replied without looking up from something he was writing.
I turned away again. "See you soon," I thought I heard Grabber mutter.
This time I made it past the bookshelves to the front desk, before I knew I had to ask something else.
"Is it possible I might get one of the jobs over at the University's main office?" again asking upon return.
"No, this is the only job open," Forbes replied, still writing. I noticed Weems and Grabber were no longer in the room.
"All right, I'm gone," I said, trying to be chipper.
Didn't do so well this time, only made it to the bookshelves again. But, there was just one more thing I needed to know.
The twelfth time back into the room I was fighting back tears. "Why can't I leave?!" I wailed.
"You were chosen," he looked at me.
"By who," this could not be real.
"Don't know, it's hard to say," he laughed to himself, "and sometimes best not to say out loud. Apparently they like you."
"This can't be real," I tried to convince myself, "all I've got to do is walk out the front door."
"At the end of the shift you'll be able to. But for now, they want you to help us guard him."
"Guard who?"
"Nyarlathotep. We've got him imprisoned behind the 'Shining Trapezohedron' upstairs at the vault in the rare books room. A couple of years back, some girl accidentally released him while working in the basement on the computer."
"Who are they?"
"The Elder Gods, they're on one side of the chessboard and the Outer Gods are on the other side. We're the pawns in the middle. We guard the enemy king."
"I don't want this."
"Doesn't matter, you're stuck, just like me and Grabber and Weems. We can leave at the end of the shift, but tomorrow night we'll be back."
I started to tear up, but I knew it was true. I couldn't leave. The Elder Gods would pull me back again and again. I was drafted in their war with the other side.
Forbes came forward and gave me a fatherly embrace that did little to alleviate the growing horror. I could feel the chain snap shut about my ankle. Janet Sims couldn't bail out this time. I could barely hear Forbes cold comfort in my ears.
"Now don't worry," he began, "Dr. Gentry tells us they only press us into service for twenty-seven years. After that, they let you go, I've only got twelve years left to go. We only have otherworldly incursions once ever three to five years. We'll train you to handle them..."
I hurried across the University grounds for the umpteenth time. Hurry up Janet!, I thought. My badge with the five-pointed star banged against my chest. The Benevolent Masters would be perturbed if they thought I was intentionally late. Running was a little hard. I lost part of my foot to a Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath a few months back. Some idiot kid opened up the Book of Eibon and tried the blood sacrifice on the fourth floor. What a night that was! Grabber bought the farm that night. Oh well, he looked better with that smirky face ripped off anyway.
Forbes was standing at the door to let me in for another night. He'll live forever, I thought. I stuck the card in the slot and went in to serve the Elder Gods another night.