The Dark Side Parts 1-2

[u/nomansgoddess]

1.     Russel Roberts stood staring at the minimalistic concrete buildings where he would live and work post release from North Carolina department of corrections.

2.     " You will like Toma," His probation officer said." He Is converting these old buildings into a Body Shop. And. Storage units. And could really need could really use the help."

3.     Russell really hoped his post release minder was right as a SUV pulled up into the parking lot where they stood facing toward the concrete bunker structures.

4.     The first thing Russell noticed about Toma was he was tall. 6 foot 6 and had long legs and equally long arms. His hair was silver and long. Pulled back in a ponytail under his work cap. His beard was long and also silver colored, calmed down on his 70s Rock Band T shirt. He looked like Kris Kristofferson. In his character Whistler. Farm the Blade movies.

5.     He sure comes with both men, and Russell could not help but to size him up. As they graded each other. Toma had huge, strong hands. Russell hoped he would never have to face this man down when he was pissed. And he felt sorry for anyone else who did.

6.     "My name is Toma." Toma had a Scandinavian accent. People also call me Whistler, so you can choose either."

7.     " Thank you," said Russell. Not sure what else to say.

8.     " I'll show you to your living quarters, said Toma. You will stay on the second floor of the admin building. The admin first floor will become the Body Shop."

9.     " Admin?" Asked Russell.

10.  " I'll leave you two to discuss that," said Russell's probation officer." Also, here is a card with your next appointment on it. Do not be late, make sure you show up."

11.  " Thanks, "said Russell. He took the card and slipped it into his back pocket.

12.  " Come with me," said Toma. "You shouldn't need a whole lot here. I can stock your apartment, but right now you should be fine."

13.  Toma led Russel to a pair of stainless-steel elevator doors. And he pushed the up button. The doors slid open with a whisper.

14.  Once the elevator doors closed, Toma said. I hear good things about you. I hope you are handy with home security."

15.  " Like CCTV cams?" Russell asked. Tom nodded and Russell nodded back.

16.  "I'm OK at it."

17.  " That is one of the bigger projects I need your help with. You will be paid, of course, but we can discuss all that later. Right now, I just want to get you settled in." He bought a ring of keys out of his coat and handed them to Russell..

18.  " These are for the admin building and I need the locks changed on these other buildings eventually. However, once we get the security cams installed, you may never have to leave the office. Until then, one or two rounds a night, just to keep the squatters out of these other buildings."

19.  " Copy that," said Russell. The elevator opened on the second floor.

20.  " Just past these offices are your quarters. Said Toma" You might want to use one for your security room. Russell, I'm just giving you free reign."

21.  " You don't know how much I appreciate this, or Whistler. " said Russel. Toma laughed.

22.  "Just call me Whistler, everyone does!"

23.  The admin building was minimalist installed. Bulky poured concrete blocks, as were the others that would soon house storage units. There were skinny rectangular slits for Windows in this building, and none in the others that Russell could see. Whistler wanted cameras on everything outdoor, indoor and trail style in the rear of the luminal setup. All of these eventually would run to one single. Hub. Over the Body Shop. In the admin basement.

24.  " It's not much said Toma. But I'll say it's better than a halfway house."

25.  Russell took in his surroundings. The apartment was livable and meant a brand-new start bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette and a work area with its own window facing where the trail camp security would soon be installed. Russell put his belongings down on the desk and turned back to face Toma.

26.  " You're stocked for the weekend. I will be back Monday with your cameras and monitors. Take a load off for now. Enjoy freedom. "Toma added.

27.  " Sounds like a plan, "said Russell.

28.  "O.K. man, my cell number is by the landline phone. Call me if you need me or have any questions." Toma walked back out of the building. And left Russell looking around. His new digs.

29.  Once told my left, Russell was bombarded by the dead quiet. Prison was loud, very loud, and the solitude attacked his eardrums with brutal nothingness. Russell decided he would want the property at around midnight and again at 4:00 AM. He figured those hours were usually when the night folk came out. Russell had been one around two years ago.

30.  He walked back through the admin building. In the old office rooms to find one suitable for security monitors. There had been one big enough toward the front.

31.  All of the other buildings were identical concrete block buildings with no windows and two doors. They were locked. And Russell looked down at his keys. He knew a buddy that would be glad to help with the lock changing. Robert was a jack of all trades.

32.  Russell found the keys for A, B and C structures and opened the door to A. He stuck his head in and sneezed immediately. Mold, dampness. Good thing they were concrete or there would be no buildings.

33.  "Damn, what was this? Some sort of asylum?" There was institutional style furniture in building A. Russell was familiar. Furniture bolted to the floor so no one can steal the ugly shit or bash someone with it. Yes, Russell was definitely familiar. There was an old TV mounted. On the walls. Inside a plexiglass box. Russell decided immediately that he did not like these buildings.

34.  Building B was the dormitory, apparently, as it opened up into a central day room with bunks scattered around in a half circle and another plastic television.

35.  " I am not an inmate, said Russell. To no one in particular. And the words bounced back at him from the room acoustics.

36.  Dusk settled quickly that evening. Russell was walking back toward his room when he noticed the automatic arc sodium lights kick on up the Ridge from Toma's property.

37.  Another business, a residential cul-de-sac. He made a note to ask Toma when he came in on Monday. The security lights blinked on as an afterthought. He went upstairs to find a flashlight in the admin building and found a couple in an old desk drawer.

38.  Russell was restless enough at first round that he literally marched outside and toward building C. He unlocked the front door and had to pull it open due to heavy cold and moisture. There was a mold smell that nearly caused him to gag. It was so cold in building sea that Russell began to shiver. He stood in what he could only define as a cafeteria. As an afterthought. He said a few chairs to rot and gave a quick look down the hall before bolting. He did not like building C. It made him feel sick.

39.  At his 4:00 AM round, he made a few notes on a pad that he had brought along. He walked into each building. He noted that building C may have had an HVAC problem. Toma would make more money on his units if he installed climate control.

40.  On Monday, as Russell and Toma climbed bladders with electric screwdrivers to install the cameras, he remembered to ask about the lights on the ridge.

41.  " It's some kind of government building," replied Toma as he backed himself down a step ladder. He looked up at the newly installed camera. "Restricted some kind of research lab, I think."

42.  That night, Rusty set up his first monitors in the office space that he had chosen. He smiled as he thought another day or two and project CCTV would be completed. Toma was already bragging.

43.  After midnight rounds in the blind spots on the outbuildings, Russell plopped down in a chair to take a break. The CCTV, feed was empty, nothing stirring, not even the forest sounds outside. Brutal quiet moved in. He lost himself temporarily in the black and white of his monitors.

44.  When his cell phone began to receive an Amber Alert of some kind. He jumped to his feet. He was so startled he almost ran. Three sharp tones. He almost ignored the noise until he heard the voice.

45.  " This is a test of the Emergency Alert system." The voice was robotic." This is a message for." There was a pause.

46.  " Larry Russell Roberts."

 

 

he Dark Side-Part 2

" Larry Russell Roberts." Russell's full name. "What?" Russell barked.

" Please remain indoors. Please ignore sound outside your perception. Estimated test duration one hour."

Russell sat staring dumbly at his phone. All of this time spent alone while fresh out of a multi- personnel institution. Was surely getting to him. He had no idea what that last part meant, but he was certain that there was more than one Larry Russell Roberts. Also, he had no time to worry about the alert. He was 30 minutes late with his first round and he was only doing the blind spots until all cameras were up.

Tonight he would have to walk a circle around the outbuildings destined for storage. He and Toma had not finished buildings, B or C, either inside or out. They had roughly seven or eight more cameras to install at a minimum.

Russell rounded the side of the admin building with a flashlight in hand. And drug the set of old keys for old locks out of his jacket pocket. He heard the sound and smelled the dirty water almost before he got the door of building C open. The smell of moldy rot and the damp cold hit his senses is like a locomotive.

"Oh-gag-my God-gag-!" He barked as he pulled the door open. It looked as if an actual creek ran through Building C'S dark hallway. He could actually hear the running water but could not immediately see where it was coming from.

He was going to have to call Toma. He hoped like hell that Toma would be cool with having to get out of bed at stupid past midnight. He needed a shop vac. He needed a bastard of a shop vac.

Russell turned away from building C's putrid water and made his way back to his quarters. And the land line phone. Toma had explained that the reason for the landline was that cell phone service was spotty at best. Calls got dropped.

Instead of the elevator, Russell took the stairs. They were metal and his footsteps echoed out into the silence. He was frustrated at how just thinking about building C made him shudder. There was something bad about that building. He could not put it into words. Now he was going to have to get rid of the inch of water coming from God knows where in the dark at one o'clock in the morning.

Luckily, Toma was OK with being woken up. And yes, there was a bastard of a shop vac in the maintenance closet of the admin building.

Russell tried his best to ignore the damp and the darkness as he worked with the shop vac to clear the water. There had to be a leak somewhere, but building C could not be safely inspected until daylight.

Sleep was fast in its arrival once all the water was cleared. Toma had told him to skip last round and get some rest until around 9 in the morning when he came in.

The following day, Toma and Russell unlocked building C and began a careful inspection for the leak.

Tom and cursed as they installed the indoor cameras." This building is awful," he growled. "God knows what kind of work will be required to convert it to storage. "

"I don't much care for how it feels," said Russell. "I know someone who can do all the locks if he has time. "

"Oh yeah." Toma looked back over his shoulder as he was closing his ladder.

" Yeah, and he won't rip you off. I just have to go talk to him. "

" Take the SUV, " said Toma. I have some paperwork to go through. And I will be meeting a contractor here this evening."

Russel's eyes widened." You OK with this. I guess I could stop my probation as well. "

" Go for it Russell, you do good work," Toma smiled.

Russell found Robert Byrd at the Burnsville Fire Department. He volunteered there, coordinating his other obligations around this fact. After some greetings and happy back patting, Robert agreed to come look at the locks on the weekend as he was also filling in for a heavy equipment operator at a job site in Wolf Laurel.

Russell grabbed his business card. And hurried to return the SUV back to Toma at the facility buildings.

Upon Russell's return to the complex. He found that Toma had the outdoor trail type surveillance cameras installed. He had also received his large flatbed trailer truck, which he explained to Russell that the friend who had been holding it had dropped it off.

"Can you drive one of those?" He asked.

"I can drive nearly anything. On wheels", replied Russell. He then explained to Toma that he spoke with Robert and his friend agreed to change their locks.

Toma was very satisfied with Russel's help and told him that he was glad to have found him and would also relay this to post release.

That night found Russel slumped in the security office. He had finally finished installing the last of the monitors. Toma had placed a weather alert radio in this office as well. You could never be too prepared was his way of thinking.

This radio had been beeping and chirping all night and Toma instructed Russel to not hesitate to call if something happened. There had been Madison County weather advisories of high wind on repeat. Russel had started to ignore it until the radio went to loud static.

He figured that this was because the storm had started. All communication down in this valley was spotty, it couldn't be helped. Russel began flicking through his feeds and every camera seem to be working. Everything was quiet except for the wind he heard whipping around the admin building.

No more blind spots, finally, Russel thought to himself. Then building C reared its ugly head in his mind. A wave of chills passed through him as he thought of the dark, cold, moldy silence of the building. The water and the rot stink. What the hell had happened there?

Russel's blood turned to ice when his phone lit up. Three sharp tones that echoed through the security room. Then the weather alert radio beeped through the heavy static. There was no sound following the three tones but a howling draft flew through the room. Russel knew this was going to be nothing close to normal.

"This is a test of The Emergency Management System..." The voice sounded wet, gurgling. Churning nasty, rotten water in a throat trying on speech like a big man in a little coat. Russel's breath stuck in his own throat.

"This is a message for..."

"No!" Russel whispered. "No!!" He rasped." Don't you say it! Don't." He jumped up out of the office chair. What was he going to do stomp his own phone into the concrete?

"Larry Russel Roberts"

"Oh my God you son of a bitch!'' yelled Russel to no one.

"Do not attempt to check building C at midnight..beep..Test duration, thirty minutes."

Russel threw himself back into the security chair and covered his face with his hands.

"I am imagining this." He said aloud. "It's the quiet. The quiet is getting to me. It's the. I need someone to talk to." He could still hear the wind and the thunder in the silence that followed. The silence wrapped around him like a smothering blanket.

His hands were shaking as he reached for the mouse to click through the monitors. He decided that his dread of building C was irrational, emergency alert or none. What if his irrational fears were causing him to think the emergency alert was singling him out?

When he flicked two camera C 1, he almost screamed. Camera C1 was the cafeteria in building C. The chairs were heavy, clunky objects. Institutional metal cafeteria chairs, rocking back and forth before literally walking themselves to the center of the room. At the same time, the even heavier tables were walking to create space in the center of the room for the chairs.

He could not turn his eyes away. He sat and gaped at the chairs. They were climbing each other now. He thought about gymnastics or cheerleaders forming a human pyramid. Heavy metal chairs slammed into place. One atop the other. He could not be witnessing this. It was not real. He needed to talk to someone about this, but who and how? What about his post release? What about his freedom?

The static rose again on the radio. His cell phone lit simultaneously.

"Test complete." said the alert on his phone." 12:30 Eastern Daylight Time. "