The Nightmare Shift

CHAPTER 1

The Phone Calls

As I walked down the street towards the big, old museum I thought over the job I had been offered.

I had been looking for a job for a few months now but nothing suited me. This job however appealed to me. I was to be a guard inside this museum, but that wasn't what appealed to me. I got the graveyard shift, from 10 O'clock to 3 O'clock. I was to start tonight.

I looked down at my watch; it was already ten to ten! I fastened my pace and got to the large, arched doorway with five minutes to spare. I hurried on through the museum to the front desk.

"Hello, I'm here for the job. I'm supposed to come here" I informed the man behind the counter. He was fairly thin and about 5 foot eleven. He had a goatee and had his feet up on the desk lounging in a padded chair.

"Sure you are kid, all you do is sit here for the night and make sure that nothin's stolen" the man behind the counter told me, "Now I'm off, I'll lock up before I leave and I'll leave you to your job after I make sure the museum's empty."

"Wait, you aren't staying? I have to stay here by myself?" I exclaimed.

"Yep, just be calm and don't leave until the next guard gets here."

He walked off swinging his keys around his finger. I walked around the desk and looked around. The desk was in the center of the museum, which had three floors. From the desk you could see straight up to the second and third floors as there was a big square out of the second and third floors and all the exhibits up there were around those areas. The museum was big; it covered half of this street!

I sat down and about five minutes later the man came back down to the desk.

"Museums empty and soon will be all locked up, by the way, my name is Joe, just sit tight and, just make sure no one breaks in" Joe told me then walked out the door. He turned around outside and closed and locked the door.

So I was here by myself, for the whole night. I plopped down into the chair and leaned back.

I sat there for a while and was nearly drifting off into sleep, and then the phone rang. I looked down at my watch and saw it was midnight, why would anyone call now?

Only the steady drum of rain outside should have broke the silence, but the phone continued to ring.

On the fifth ring I couldn't take it any more and picked up the black phone from on the desk in front of me. I pressed the ear piece onto my ear and the mouthpiece an inch or two from my face.

"Hello, who is calling?" I asked into the receiver.

There was no answer but the person had not hung up.

"Hello, is this some sort of joke?" I asked into the receiver a bit more harshly.

No answer again, but then I heard the sound of ragged breathing, but it didn't come from the phone, it sounded as if it came from all around the room.

"Who's there?" I yelled, my voice echoing around the room, then whoever was on the phone hung up. I slowly put down the receiver.

A minute later the phone rang again, so I picked it up, but no one was there once again. I slammed the receiver down, and it rang again.

I ripped out the cord from the wall for the phone and the phone stopped mid-ring.

I let out a sigh of relief. Then the phone rang.

I stared in horror as the phone rang even though there was no cord giving it power.

I slowly picked up the phone and I heard a girl's voice whisper in a very frightening tone, "I'm coming…"

Then finally the line went dead.

But nothing could get in and nothing was in, Joe had checked! Maybe it was a prank, I decided, just some kids daring each other to call in the dead of night. Just trying to freak someone out.

I settled back in my chair a bit shaken by the phone calls, but that was only the start of my problems.

Thud, thud, thud.

Footsteps on the second floor! Something was here! I jumped to my feet and grabbed the torch and baton that I was given for this job.

Thud, thud, thud.

There it was again! But it wasn't going away from me; it was walking towards the stairs! I slowly crept up to the foot of the stairs and peered up.

It was so dark I could hardly see the stairs, though there were lights on in the second and third floors as well as the main room I was in the light did not penetrate the stairs. So I shone the torch up, and at the top of the stairs was a lump. It did not move so I guessed it was carpet kicked up.

I slowly crept up the stairs and investigated the lump. It was carpet, but it was covered in something.

I reached down and touched it with one finger; I shone the torch on my finger and let out a cry of horror. It was blood. Fresh blood.

I ran back down the stairs and over to my post. Maybe I imagined it, I tried to reassure myself, it was just a rat or a mouse in the floor, nothing else.

But that little nagging feeling I wasn't alone stayed, as did the image of the blood in my mind.

After a few minutes I decided to gather my courage and check the museum. So I walked right up the stairs as quietly as possible and looked at the carpet. There was no lump anymore, and no blood. In fact there was no carpet, just wooden floorboards.

I continued walking and searched the whole second floor. Nothing was there.

I was about to climb to the third when another door caught my eye. One I hadn't been through yet.

I strode over to it and slowly opened it. The old, rusty latches creaking and squealing in protest, but it eased open.

Inside was a long room, the Wax World part of the museum.