Parker was having a very bad day, and it was still early yet.
He woke up to the sounds of something growling… right over my freakin head! It was slowly walking around him while Parker pretended to sleep. He suddenly felt like throwing up.
How LONG had he been laying there while something was trying to decide if he was a snack-tender or not?
A cold shiver passed through his body. It could have been the damp clothes he was wearing. Or, it could have been that staggering thought of some creature standing over Parker as he slept. No matter the cause, ice filled his veins as he tried to pull himself together.
Parker slowly turned his head back toward the other room. The mystery room. The room the mystery sound came from… it all seemed very… mysterious.
He turned his head so slowly. If there was something there, maybe it wouldn’t see him if he didn’t make any sudden movements. He wasn’t sure if this was a piece of knowledge he’d read somewhere, or if it was just a line from a movie that guided him.
The room his eyes finally found was the same as before… empty.
Jurassic Park… yeah, damn it. It was a movie line. Survival tips provided by Universal Pictures.
“Yeah, I’m screwed” Parker whispered to himself.
Parker looked down at the backpack he was still holding. His knuckles were turning white from the kung-foo grip he had on the straps. As he looked back up at the room again, he shifted his footing and slid the backpack back over his shoulders.
Ok, he thought. I’m not getting bum rushed by a sasquatch or anything.
“Man up Parker. You can’t just stand here, time to move”, he was so surprised at how level and even his voice was. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was brave.
When Parker was just a few years younger, he didn’t have may friends. He was too timid for his own good, and the thought of making new friends when he moved from middle school to high school scared him. His Dad had helped him realize that he was moving into a new school and had the chance to do things differently.
Parker took the advice to heart, and the first day of school he was prepared. Prepared to make new friends and have fun… no matter how much it terrified him. He did exactly that. It actually felt a lot like his walk through the dark hallway. Scary as hell, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to take that first step, but after it was over, he was glad he did it.
So, MOST of his dad’s advice helped here too… except, he wasn’t exactly glad he was on this side of the hallway. Swallowing the fear and moving forward, however, was the only choice he had here.
He readied himself for the room ahead and took a sloppy sock footed step forward.
“Let’s go make some new friends.”, he said to himself while rolling his eyes. That is SO something my dad would say. Dad jokes will always make Parker want to leave a room, so he was on his way.
As he reached the threshold, he walked as softly as he could. His socks on the carpet made him almost ninja silent.
His earlier bout of yelling and shouting to gain anyone’s attention feeling like a mistake now. Hindsight is a funny thing. Hello monsters, I’m right over here.
Still no creepy creatures to be found as Parker entered the third room of this new adventure. Another couple of hallways led in 2 different direction. The consistency of the creepy feeling in his stomach was going to become a true friend as his time here wore on.
The open threshold he was standing in was directly across from another one, which was about the same sized opening. From where he stood, the next room appeared to be another hallway running from right to left. It gave him the impression of the beginning of a maze.
I hate this.
To his left, was a shorter lit hallway. He decided this may be more his speed at the moment. The thought of meeting whatever he heard in a tight hall sounded like fun, but not today. Left it was.
He started into the short hallway with purpose. That purpose was to get away from the maze, and possible one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater which he imagined made the noise earlier.
As he took a few steps into the hall, he remembered that the backroom were actually just a big maze. What if he got lost, and ended up right back where he started? “Damn it.”, He muttered quietly.
His backpack!
Parker wasn’t a 4.0 student, but he did like to go to his classes prepared. Notebooks, drinks, snacks, and most importantly now… pens, pencils, and markers were fully stocked in the backpack. His good ole, handy dandy pack.
He pulled the backpack off his shoulders and dug into the front pouch.
Clif bars… Hell, three of them! Bonus! If he was really stuck in a yellow nightmare maze decorated in the 80s, those would come in handy. Pushing the treasures aside, Parker found his pens and markers. A brand-new black Sharpie, dying for the chance to be used on walls, jumped into service.
“Nice.”, he said, slinging the backpack again, trusty graffiti partner in hand.
Parker uncapped his marker and drew a large arrow on the wall to his right. He drew the arrow in the direction he was heading, away from the path he already walked. It seemed to make the most sense to him at the time. He capped the marker and continued his trip into Hell.
Nice, something he could continue to do proactively. If he crossed one of his earlier marks, a new direction could be chosen.
Even though his head still hurt, Parker found a new strength in the prospect of defacing some of these ugly walls.
The room he found himself in wasn’t too much bigger than the one he woke up in. The one and only hallway to his right made decisions here easier. The wall to his left was angled, making the room look triangular. Onward hungover warrior, onward.
As he took a left into what looked like, at first, another room. This wasn’t a room, but a very wide, very long hallway. Most of the lights were working. There were several lights flickering on and off along this new path, but nothing like the darkness of that first hall.
He drew another arrow on the right-hand wall. As he put the marker into his pocket, just then, he noticed something just below the ceiling on his left. A surveillance camera hung on the wall, pointed at him.
It didn’t register in Parkers mind for a second. As if this was an unknown technology, Parker stared at the camera tilting his head slightly.
Then he caught up, “Hey… HEY! I need help, I have no idea where I am!” Parker couldn’t help himself. He began waving his arms, jumping up and down yelling at the off-white box on the wall.
After several minutes of yelling, and doing jumping jacks, Parker stopped and looked around. Surely that was enough activity to get him some attention.
Smiling, Parker sat with his back against the wall opposite the camera. He deserved the sit-tacular rest that the damp carpet provided.
I’m gettin outta here, I’m gettin outta here. He sang in his head, as he waited for the cavalry to arrive.
Smiling, and waiting.
He glanced over his shoulder at the huge black arrow he had just plastered on the wall. This, not so subtle moron tag scribbled on someone else’s wall in full view of the camera. Oops… Parker looked back at the camera with a weak shrug.
Minutes later, smile fading… now just waiting. Looking down the long hall, anticipating a chunky security guard or maintenance man to come into view at any moment. That must be the way someone would come from, right?
More time passed. Still, no one to be seen, and only the buzz that he was barely aware of could be heard. “Come on…”. He started to wonder how big this place must be, if it was taking so long for someone to come yell at the kid drawing gang signs on the walls.
Still waiting, 20 to 30 minutes later, Parker stood up to get a closer look at the camera.
Mounted to the wall with a white bar, it looked like something out of the 90s. Old off-white painted metal rectangle with a glass window in front. Behind the window was the camera lens, and what looked like a small lightbulb to the side of the lens. A small light bulb that was not illuminated.
“Wait, what?”, He said. That’s a light that’s not lit… that means this thing isn’t on?
Anger and frustration began to creep in again, as Parker continued staring at a non-functional camera.
He darted an angry look down the hallway. So, someone put this old crappy camera up and isn’t watching it? Parker looked back at the camera. Or is it just the light that’s broken?
Waiting here is stupid, I’m not doing it anymore. Instead, I’ll add to the mess on the wall and if they ARE watching this, they will come get me.
Parker pulled the Sharpie out of his pocket and got to work on the wall the camera was pointed at. When he finished writing, he turned toward the camera again, flipped the bird, and started down the long path.
What his large, message contained is as follows;
Dearest assholes.
As lovely as your baby puke yellow walls are, I’m lost and I want to leave.
Feel free to get off your Twinkie eating lazy asses and come find me.
Yours truly,
Fuck off!
What Parkers message lacked in civility, it made up for in size. The huge black block letters were extremely noticeable. He may lack respect for authority, but his penmanship was impressive.
“They’ll see that shit eventually. They can follow my arrows and find me!”, no more mister scaredy cat nice guy.
Comments (6)
See all