Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
When I came back from Maryland on Saturday, my manager Dan told me I was being semi-transferred--this time involuntarily & possibly temporarily--to yet another store on by the frats (it's all 1970s inside with a backwards fucked-up register) because they needed help, that someone broke their leg. They might not be able to give me a full 40 hours, but that other stores--including the one I hated--had hours as well.
I went to this store for the first time on Tuesday night, working 3 to 11....& it was the worst night of my life. I was so incredibly belligerent...like...a millionfold times more than I'd EVER been...& there was something so..so inherently WRONG about the store. I was playing all sorts of esoteric stuff just to stay focused, like the soundtrack to "Akira" & a lot of X Japan.
The thing of it WAS, though...when I walked outside...
I was fine. Smiling, happy, & very much relieved.
Walk back in...& it started again. Right over the threshold of the door.
Well, I got very scared, so yesterday afternoon, I went back with my roommates. I didn't tell them what to expect, didn't tell them anything except where we were going. And had them go in.
And they walked in for a few steps...& kind of stopped.
And I said, "You feel it?" They did. One said that it made her very, very paranoid; that it amplified extreme emotions--in her case, paranoia, in mine anger. Afterwards we went back to the car & Jthey did a quickie reading, like a sounding. Their deck said that it's a spirit that's gotten bored...that it involves a love triangle, that there was probably a death, that it might be related to employment...but now it's tired of its original reason for haunting, & now it's just being bitchy.
We agreed to try preventative measures for the time being...until we can kill it. Which means that I'm going to have to learn active work, for I never learned active magic--only passive. That is to say, I work on effect. It's much like passive versus active sonar. I listen...& thus stay concealed. With active, you're pining out & getting better info, but give yourself away. In this case, I can do things for me with passive...but can't effect major changes like this needs.
Well, I had to do the 11-7 overnight shift last night. Before I left, Renee tied some braided woolen bracelet with segments of color around my left wrist; it's kind of like an "inoculation band," a method to keep me unaffected for the time. And it worked...for a while. The spirit got incredibly angry about this & made the entire credit card system go down--something I'm told happens occasionally there. Eventually, the damn thing mutated...& it started affecting me again. I almost punched someone, almost grabbed his drunken head & smashed it into the counter. I spent a good portion of the night standing outside in the rain rather than staying inside with that thing.
And then...at 3 AM...it stopped. Why? Because the manager--this fat old hag named Kathy with a boyfriend in jail (gee, thanks for the info & the horrible images)--came in. And it stopped for her, or because of her. I'm not sure yet. In any event, I told her point blank, "Do you know your store is haunted?" She gave me a look & said, "It's not haunted." Then she proceeded to tell me to turn off my music since "I have to do paperwork here & I'm not listening to anything but oldies." Mind, you I was playing this very album at the time.
When I left, I went straight to my old store to talk to Dan; apparently he was the only person the group supervisor Tim told most of the pertinent information to. He also mentioned that Kathy had called him & told him about my "theory" ("It's no theory. I know what it is, Dan.")--fast timing on that, as it's only a 3-minute drive or so.
I went back tonight. The other overnight guy was there. They told me to call Tim. I tired for 30 minutes, but I knew already. Sure enough, "Due to last night's outburst, the company has elected.." blahblahblah. I didn't even try to argue with him. It wasn't worth it, since he'd never comprehend it.
I won't deny that I'm scared. Because I am. I'm very, very scared by all of this. I was actually crying last night at work. I couldn't help it, couldn't stop myself.
I'm not "me" anymore; in order to keep what I have, I work all the time. I've become "the UniMart guy." I've turned into what Dave was, & I don't want that. But...finances are SO INCREDIBLY TIGHT....& I work so much...I have a car, but can't go anywhere because I can't afford it. I buy food once every 2 weeks, & it's not a whole hell of a lot. I come home, I sign on, I sleep. That's it. There's nothing else. Occasionally I get to watch something I taped on TV.
I hate cusps. Actually, I hate the fact that I no longer have the ability to discern them properly, or rather than the ability is obscured due to external interference. And yet none of it would matter, none of it would be so bad if I had one single release, one way of relaxing...but the only thing that relaxes me is 160 miles & 2� hours away...& she won't be here for another 17 months.
So now...now I get to figure out how to bullshit a resume--literally bullshit, since I have very little actuality & a lot of nebulosity to throw in there. I think I'm going to take a risk...& apply for a manager trainee job at a local video store. Stupid...but what the hell.
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Y'know, I don't suppose I can even pretend to understand what you've just posted, so I won't.
But, given that the paragraph or two that didn't completely bypass my Reading Synapsis probably dealt with finding employment, or the lack of current good employment, or, finding a duplicate of a priceless irreplaceable family heirloom of two mating ducks molded out of Venezualean Porcelin, I can only say those words that are the staple of every future-related post ever posted; good luck with the video store thing.
Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
All I can say is hang on there, Shik. Some here may not believe your story, but I do. I don't have the capability to percieve ghosts, but I do have an open mind. If this is truly a ghost and not an extrememely evil entity (devil-like or his minions), there's nothing to fear. It can't hurt you. Try to tell it that it's not welcome there. Invoke the name of the holy spirit and what he stands for. Finally, if you can't do anything else to be get it away, do look for other employment.
-------------------- Is it Friday yet?
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
What, Peter MacNicol? He did something similar in "Dracula: Dead and loving it", although that movie mostly stunk, like anything from Brooks after "High Anxiety", the last of my favorite trilogy. Space Balls came in the right time, sure, but the drumroll-jokes (coupled with John Candy) really ruined it for me.
About the videostore kink: good luck! Hop you're looking forward to all those scratched DVD's that are starting to show up about now, making us renters Kray-Z! The manufacturers forgot the little detail of sturdiness, that old VCR-tapes never had the same problem with.
About that...other stough: Man, it's a pain the tricorder hasn't been invented yet, innit? Of course...maybe they don't show up on infrared at ALL!
-------------------- "I'm nigh-invulnerable when I'm blasting!" Mel Gibson, X-Men
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
I think that if he can't pull of a spell to affect the dead, he's gonna have even more trouble with the living.
I believe you Shik, I've been to places where I know things just aren't right. At first I thought you meant you were haunted yourself, thank god you're not, those get ugly. At least with spot hauntings like that, you can eventually leave.
If you're curious enough, you could always try to search records to learn about the history of that particular piece of land. Might give you a good idea of just what you're up against.
-------------------- "God's in his heaven. All's right with the world."
Registered: Apr 2001
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[ May 11, 2002, 00:12: Message edited by: The_Tom ]
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I'm especially proud of the tinny faux-phone call.
If only everyone had well-spent their free time in 1997 learning the obscure HTML tricks of the era. Oh, the possibilities.
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
Registered: Mar 1999
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Charles Capps
We appreciate your concern. It is noted and stupid.
Member # 9
posted
It doesn't work that way, Ziyal.
Registered: Mar 1999
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