James sat at his desk fiddling around with some spread sheets on his computer. The sun was shining through his windows beckoning him to bask it it’s glory. Outside. But work was work and he had to finish. He flipped a pen in his right hand and in his other hand slapped the arrow keys on his keyboard looking for a number among millions. The pen slipped from his fingers and fell. It rang out against his table and snapped him out of his hypnotic state.
“Okay” James rubbed his face with both hands and stood up “Coffee time” He took the pen that he had dropped, spun it through his fingers and set it straight up on the table. The pen, which was a fountain pen, was flat on the cap side, which allowed it to stand on it’s own. He moved carefully away from the desk to make sure not to disturb it’s balance.
James brewed some coffee, swirled some milk into it and returned to his desk. He set his coffee on a coaster and went to retrieve the pen which he had left standing.
Now, there were two pens standing straight up next to each other. James looked at them both. Did he stack two? He might of, he had three of the same pen sitting on his desk. He grabbed the one he was flipping in his hand earlier and set the other one on it’s side. Maybe he was losing his short term memory. The numbers and charts flowing together and making him lapse his reality. James laughed a bit to himself. Who knew that excel cells might mess with you.
The zone they call it. James was flying through numbers, formulas and bar charts, like it was his divine right.
A knock came at his door. Again he snapped out of his trance. The knocking came again. He took one last look at his computer screen and got up to answer the door. His office was just a round the corner in his house. He looked through the window to see who it was, but no one stood at his door. The knocking came again. He opened the door. The sun greeted him, but that was it. He sighed. The zone, would not come back easily. He closed the door and returned to his office.
As he entered his office he stopped just beyond the door. His desk, the floor, the shelves, any where there was space, pens sat standing up. Hundreds of them. All standing like small pillars raising from a tiny world that lived on the surfaces of modern life. He looked down to his feet and pens stood just beyond his toes. He backed up, he heard his front door open. He jolted to it. His heart pounded as he stood wide eyed peering out into the sunny day. The door was wide open. Again his front entrance was empty. This was to much. He went to leap through the front door, but it slammed shut. Suddenly. All the doors, cabinets, drawers in his house started opening one by one. First his closet shot open, then drawers and cabinets in his kitchen started to spring open. They squealed and creaked as he stood whipping his head back and forth at each sound that assaulted him. He grasped and pulled at his front door, but it would not open. The window he thought. He moved, but all at once, everything that was open, shut in one thunderous clap. James dove to the ground out of panic. The house was silent.
Something started to creak. Somewhere door hinges grinded open. James eyes trailed the hall way, past his office and into his bedroom. A shadow cast across the floor. His closet door was slowly blocking out the light from the window in his room. Then something else blocked the remaining light.
James went to speak, warn or question what ever was happening. He never got the chance.
-
This was inspired by when I came into my room and had two pens sitting next to each other. They were both Twsbi Eco’s, my favorite fountain pen. One was a black cap and the other was a coral color. I remembered distinctly using one of them just a few minutes before and when I sat down, I could not remember having two next to each other. This got me thinking of something like the scenes in poltergiest. The scene where the mom turns around and the chairs are stacked on each other.
I thought that this would be really creepy. The first time, you think you just mis remembered, but then is happens again. You were paying attention the second time and you know something creepy is happening.