I was only 19 when I took that odd job, the one that still haunts my nightmares. My name is Justin, and at the time, I was desperate for work. The summer before college was winding down, and I wanted to save up some extra cash before diving headfirst into the world of higher education. I had spent weeks scouring the internet for any opportunity that would pay decently, but my searches often came up empty. That is, until I stumbled upon that eerie ad.
“Night Security Monitor Needed” the headline read, and the description was simple: “Watch a live security camera feed from 11 PM to 4 AM. $25 an hour.” It seemed too good to be true, but the prospect of making that much money for doing something so easy was too enticing to pass up. I immediately reached out to the contact email provided, and within a few hours, I received a response from someone named Daniel. “Hi Justin, thank you for your interest in our night security monitor position. We would like to invite you for an interview at our office. Can you come by tomorrow at 3 PM? Please let me know. Regards, Daniel.”
I agreed to the interview and received the address of their office, located in a part of town I was not too familiar with. The following day, I dressed in my most professional attire and headed out to the interview, trying to calm my nerves. As I approached the building, I could see that it was old and worn down, with a sign above the entrance that read, “Memento Security Solutions.” The windows were covered in a thick layer of grime, obscuring the view inside. The entrance door creaked as I pushed it open, and the air inside was stale and musty. I was greeted by a receptionist who seemed to be in her late 40s. She had a gaunt face and her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She looked me up and down, her expression devoid of any warmth. “You must be Justin. Daniel is expecting you. Go down the hall and take a left. It’s the last door on the right.”
I thanked her and followed her instructions. The hallway was dimly lit, with flickering fluorescent lights overhead. The carpet beneath my feet was threadbare and stained. A feeling of unease settled in my stomach, but I pushed it aside, reminding myself of the money I could make if I got the job. As I reached the door the receptionist had mentioned, I took a deep breath and knocked. A muffled voice called out for me to enter. I opened the door and found myself in a small, cluttered office. A man sat behind a desk, his face hidden behind a large computer monitor. He motioned for me to sit down in a chair across from him. “Justin, right? I’m Daniel,” he said, his voice gravelly and cold. “I don’t have much time, so I’ll be brief. Your job will be to monitor a live security feed from 11 PM to 4 AM. Your sole responsibility is to watch the room and report anything unusual to me immediately. Understood?”
I nodded, feeling somewhat confused. “What exactly am I looking for? What’s in the room?”
Daniel sighed, as if my questions were an inconvenience. “You’ll see when you start your shift. Just keep an eye on the room and report anything out of the ordinary. That’s all you need to know.”
Despite the strange circumstances, I agreed to take the job. Daniel handed me a small card with a phone number and an access code written on it. He explained that I would need to call the number and enter the code to be connected to the live feed. I asked if I could see the room in person, but he brushed off my question, stating that it wasn’t necessary for me to be physically present. He then told me that my first shift would start that very night. With a mix of apprehension and curiosity, I left the office and headed home, eager to begin my new job.
As 11 PM approached, I set up my laptop on my desk and dialed the phone number Daniel had given me. After entering the access code, I was greeted by a low-quality video feed of a small, dark room. The walls appeared to be made of old, crumbling brick, and the floor was covered in dust and debris. In the center of the room stood a lone wooden chair, illuminated by a single, dim ceiling light that cast eerie shadows on the walls. I couldn’t help but shudder as I stared at the image on my screen. For the first couple of hours, nothing happened. The room remained empty and silent, the only sound being the faint hum of the ceiling light. As the night wore on, my eyes grew heavy, and I struggled to stay awake. I began to question the purpose of this job and why I was being paid so much to watch an empty room. Around 2 AM, something changed. The shadows cast by the ceiling light seemed to shift and elongate, taking on unnatural shapes that defied explanation. I rubbed my eyes, convinced I was imagining things, but when I opened them again, the shadows remained distorted. I felt a chill run down my spine as I continued to watch, unable to tear my gaze away. Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, the shadows returned to their normal state. I blinked, unsure if I had imagined the whole thing or if something truly strange had occurred. I decided to call Daniel and report the incident, as he had instructed me to do. As soon as I mentioned the shifting shadows, I could hear the tension in his voice.
“Stay on the line and keep watching. Don’t take your eyes off the room. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said before hanging up.
I was left feeling both relieved and terrified. At least I knew I wasn’t imagining things, but what had I just witnessed? I stared intently at the screen, my heart pounding in my chest. It wasn’t long before the shadows began to change again, this time twisting into grotesque, humanoid shapes. They seemed to crawl along the walls, converging on the wooden chair in the center of the room. As I watched in horror, the shadows began to solidify, taking on a more corporeal form. Before I knew it, a figure materialized in the chair, its body composed of darkness and shadow. Its eyes, two glowing orbs of malevolent light, locked onto the camera, and I felt as if it were staring directly into my soul. The air around me grew cold, and I struggled to breathe, my heart racing with terror. Suddenly, there was a knock at my door. I tore my eyes away from the screen for a moment, only to find Daniel standing in my doorway, his face pale and his eyes wide with fear.
“We need to shut it down, now!” he yelled, rushing over to my laptop and frantically searching for a way to disconnect the feed.
As he did, the figure in the chair began to move, its shadowy form stretching and twisting as it reached out towards the camera. The screen filled with darkness, and just as the figure’s hand seemed about to break through the screen, Daniel managed to cut the feed. We sat in silence, our breaths ragged and our hearts pounding. Daniel finally broke the silence. “You were never supposed to see that. Whatever you do,don’t tell anyone about what you just saw. You don’t know what you’re dealing with, and neither do I.”
“What was that thing?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“I don’t know,” Daniel admitted, his eyes still wide with terror. “But it’s dangerous, and it’s not something anyone should ever witness. I should have never hired you for this job. I thought I could contain it, but I was wrong.” He paused for a moment, seemingly trying to collect his thoughts. “You’re done here, Justin. I’ll pay you for the time you worked, but you can’t come back. It’s too dangerous.” As I accepted the cash he handed me, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of relief and dread. I had narrowly escaped something horrifying, but now I was left with the knowledge that such a malevolent entity existed, and it was trapped within that dark room. And though I had been spared, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was now connected to it in some way, and that I would never be truly free of its influence.
In the days that followed, I tried to put the experience behind me, but it proved impossible. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that dark figure in the chair, its eyes burning into me. Sleep became a luxury I could no longer afford, and my life began to unravel. I became obsessed with finding answers, with understanding what I had witnessed. But the more I dug, the more questions I had. What was that thing? Why was it trapped in that room? And why had Daniel hired me to watch it? As weeks turned to months, my search for answers consumed me. I lost touch with friends and family, my grades in college plummeted, and I was eventually forced to drop out. I spent my days scouring the internet, visiting libraries, and even consulting with experts in the fields of the paranormal and the occult. But no matter where I turned, I found only dead ends and more questions.
Eventually, my obsession led me to a small, forgotten town in the heart of the country, where whispers of a similar entity had been recorded decades prior. But what I found there only deepened the mystery and left me with an even greater sense of dread. I now wander the world, searching for answers and trying to piece together the fragments of the nightmare that has become my life. But as the years pass and the darkness within me grows, I can’t help but wonder if I will ever find the truth or if I am doomed to be haunted by that dark room and the figure that lurks within it for the rest of my days. And so, I continue my search, driven by a desperate need to understand the horror that has consumed me. I can only hope that one day I will find the answers I seek, and in doing so, find some measure of peace. Until then, I remain trapped in the shadow of that terrible room, my life a living nightmare from which I cannot awaken.