fuck this job.com

Simon stands up, walks over to the counter and places the pentagram on the counter. Then he turns around and walks to the door, looking neither to the left nor to the right.

“All righty then. I’ll be seeing you. Thank you for the drink.”

“Oh sure. I’ll keep it for you here. If you change your mind, I’ll give it back.”

Simon walks up to the door and sees a reflection in the glass. It’s huge, dressed in ragged monk’s garb with a hood hiding it’s face. Simon takes a big breath and walks through the door. He walks along for a block or so before he dares to look at his reflection again. It’s the same. Instead of the little guy he has seen for nearly thirty years, he sees this—thing. He saw it before at the Sackanut office, and it spoke to him then. Now, it seems to just follow along, mimicking his every move.

Simon wonders if he is losing his mind. He walks on--finding the sound of his feet on the pavement reassuring. Finally, with his feet burning and his back aching, he decides to sit. He looks around and somehow the scene is familiar--then he sees Patty walking down the sidewalk in his direction. He’s in front of Patty’s building--and didn’t even know it!

She frowns at him at first, but then a look of concern comes over her face.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Simon doesn’t say a thing. He walks her over to a shop window and points to his reflection.

“What do you see?”

Patty looks at the reflection for a moment. “A reflection. Nothing. What am I supposed to see?”

Simon looks relieved. So it was some kind of hallucination! He's going crazy after all! In a way, it's a relief!

“I don’t see what you see.” Simon looks warily at the hulking thing in the window. “I…I see something else.”

Patty thinks for a moment.

“Look, Simon, you don’t look...good. Why don’t you stay at my place this afternoon? I have to get back to work—I’m at lunch right now. If you stay here at my place, I’ll…I dunno. We’ll figure something out. But you shouldn’t be wandering around like this.”

Simon looks for a while at his reflection.

“No, thank you. I need to get back to my place.”

Patty suddenly takes Simon’s hand and pulls out a pen. She writes on his hand.

“This is my cell number. If you get into trouble or you just need to talk, call.”

Patty hesitates for a moment, then she begins to walk rapidly back towards the YQZ Building. Simon looks at the number on his hand, thinks for a moment, and then takes out a sandwich receipt and copies the number onto it. He puts it in his billfold and keeps walking.

He’s starting to get used to the image in the windows. It’s not going away. Apparently, even getting rid of the pentagram didn't get rid of it. Simon hears someone speaking on a bullhorn and he wanders towards the sound.

He honestly doesn’t have any other place to go, nor any other place to be. Not that he can think of.

(TO BE CONTINUED)