As a journalist, I had always been fascinated by the stories of workers who were exploited by big corporations. So when I got the opportunity to work undercover at the newly merged Amaxon and Walzmart company, I jumped at the chance.
The merger between Amaxon and Walzmart had been the talk of the town for months. Everyone was excited about the opportunities and innovation that this partnership would bring.
My mission was to infiltrate the company and gather evidence of the poor working conditions of these employees. Rumors had been circulating that the company was turning their workers into work slaves, forcing them to work long hours without breaks or food.
I applied for a job at the company, and after a few interviews, I was hired. I was given a uniform and a badge and instructed to report for my first shift the following day.
I started working there, keeping my eyes and ears open for any signs of suspicious activity. At first, everything seemed normal, but I soon noticed something eerie. The workers all had the same strange smile on their faces. They worked tirelessly, never taking breaks or stopping for food. They never complained or made a mistake. Its as if these employees were no longer human beings; but machines that existed solely to serve the company. I observed this over the course of a few days.
At the end of my shift on my fourth day, the emergency system inside the building went off and I overheard co workers saying a lockdown was about to happen. I quickly went to the exit to leave. I just wanted to go home already. I managed to make it outside. I was waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up. He texted me 10 minutes ago that he would be outside in the parking lot waiting for me. It was almost midnight so it was a little difficult to see outside. I saw a vehicle pull up to the curb. I walked over thinking its my ride.
As I got closer I realized that I was wrong. It wasn’t him. When I turned around to walk back, I noticed that all of the lights inside the store were now off. It was cold and raining outside and I didn’t know what was going on so I decided to try to go back inside the building. I knew all of the doors might be locked already, but I still went anyway. To my surprise they weren’t.
Immediately upon stepping in, I sensed something was very wrong. All of the people that just a minute ago were walking and talking normal, were now…creepy. Their heads were drooping and their mouths were drooling. It sounded like they were groaning. Any sign of intelligence was gone, but they were still “alive”. They did not look dead. There was no blood, no wounds, and no explanation for why they suddenly seemed brain dead (or at least partially). It was like their brains were, for the lack of a better term, deactivated.
I was not about to stay to find out what they would do if they suddenly were “reactivated.” I frantically ran out the door to the suv parked in front. The driver rolled down a window and asked me what was wrong. I have to admit my instinct to live took over and my manners were gone. I yanked the back passenger door handle (thankfully it was unlocked) and shouted that we have to go. The driver and the backseat passenger (didn’t even know they were there) became startled. I begged for us to go.
We tried to check our phones for signal but text messages, internet and maps were all down. Thankfully, the street lights were still on. It helped us to see a little bit.
Still panicking, I told her again that we need to go before “they” come outside. I was in so much shock and fear that I couldn’t even explain what I saw. I thought for sure that whoever they were waiting for to come out of that building was unfortunately already done for.
Then I saw a woman running towards the suv. She was terrified and screaming. The driver shouted at her to hurry up. She jumped in the suv and we sped off.
As we were riding through the city and checking our phones hoping they’d start working again, so many questions raced through my mind. What happened to my boyfriend? Is he okay?
We continued to ride through the city. None of us saying a word. I kept thinking that I hope my boyfriend and family are okay. As the sun started to rise we reached the metro area of another town. It seemed like a ghost town. The roads were clear which is the opposite of what I always thought would happen during an apocalypse. We saw a glass skyscraper and tons of people inside. All seemly normal. We decided to stop there.
When we got inside, I realized it was a refugee. Everyone there knew something strange happened last night but they didn’t seem really worried. I thanked the driver for helping me and apologized for wanting to leave the other woman behind. None of us ever exchanged names. I don’t even know how the three women are related but I assume they are family. The trio of women went their way and I went mine.
As I continued to walk through, I overheard some people talking. They were saying that there’s a national power outage affecting over half the country. This was one of the few areas still with service.
Suddenly, my phone signal was working again and I saw a missed call from my boyfriend. Before I could call him back to ask what happened last night or tell him about what I just witnessed, my vision got blurry and I fainted.
I woke up in a hospital room, feeling disoriented and confused. The last thing I remember is being at refugee destination. I try to sit up, but a sharp pain shoots through my head, making me groan.
A nurse came in to check on me, and I asked her what happened to me. She told me that I was in a coma for a month. I was shocked.
I’ve tried to piece together what happened to me. The nurse told me that I was found unconscious in the parking lot of WalMaxon, with no identification on me. The police were called, but they couldn’t find any leads on what happened to me.
I was released from the hospital this morning. About a hour ago I got a text message from an unknown sender. They said:
If you want answers, go to 4015 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL 60624 Come alone.
Im really contemplating going. Should I?