Work Text:
Murder-like screams in the middle of the night would make anyone's skin crawl but for Simon, this was just another Wednesday. It'd long passed the times when he'd hear a high-pitched shriek in the warehouse and jump out of his seat to go and check it out. There was nobody to help and moreover, nobody to help while swinging a box cutter that was teetering to the end of its life.
His more experienced colleagues – those who'd hung around for longer than a few months, and men whose only available job position after jail was a logistics worker – were also used to it. Most of them wore earplugs for the screams. Others had mops prepared by their work stations if the machines started dripping with red liquid.
Simon didn't want to call it "blood" because that'd mean filing an official report and nobody wanted to deal with additional paperwork. Besides, it's not like people had died. The multiple inspections the company did before Simon joined, showed that the machines just... leaked every once in a while. Upon receiving the warehouse's official rules, they had an explicit bullet point there, stating:
※ In case of machine leakage, do not report the incident. Instead, notify the floor advisor and proceed with your duties.
The majority of the manual was written in this vague, slightly ominous language which implied that something was going on but dealt with – whether through sheer ignorance or a shared understanding of "That's just how it is", Simon wasn't sure. He used both to deal with the stresses of working graveyard shifts.
Screams, red liquid, unnatural conveyer belt noises, incomprehensible whispers, doors slamming and opening. All of it was a part of the warehouse's charm but certainly not fit for those with a weak heart. Simon too (albeit well-versed with his own talking demons) needed time to adjust to the atmosphere. Though, after the fourth time of getting a new uniform because his last got ripped by something's sharp claws, he stopped paying attention.
The most challenging bit of his work came when outages happened.
※ Upon a power outage situation, please disembark any vehicle you may be driving, withdraw from your working station, grab a flashlight from the nearest emergency post and await complete shutdown. Then, safely make your way to the break room until the maintenance team resolves the issue.
» Read Section 3.11 for further clarification on power outages.
It began with flickering of the luminescent lights. Then some machines would malfunction and the convoys of items would stutter, go backwards or the boxes would start shaking altogether. The warehouse wasn't large but when Simon entered for the first time, he noticed the obscene amount of emergency posts which were located every 500 feet or so.
Now, Simon knew why.
Predictably, all had a stash of flashlights that were restocked after a new blackout. Never the same either, because whatever was causing the outage drained the batteries of the unused ones as well. A first-aid kit came in handy in case anyone slashed their leg or arm on the metal shelves with stock. Despite having good visibility with the flashlight, it seemed like depth perception was skewed and objects appeared farther than they really were.
It wasn't impossible to see fake lights either. Every now and then, Simon would notice a colleague's flash from afar, then wait for them to join him but they never did. He no longer waited for anyone to go to the break room together, and especially never followed the whispers calling him to come.
There was no point in trying to escape while an outage was in place. All doors got automatically locked and he'd heard from a couple of colleagues that getting anywhere near an exit in that time would result in being stuck in pre-blackout for even longer. Apparently, "it doesn't like it when someone wants to leave".
Give it to the spooky warehouse to tell him when to take his break...
Regardless of the alleged poltergeist which lived there, it wasn't that bad. The pay and benefits were pretty good, his colleagues were unusual but lax. They did have to repeat their safety training every month and yet, Simon thought it was a small price to pay (out of the company's pocket) to have a stable job that didn't treat him like a psychiatric liability.
Though, truth be told... The power outage wasn't the hardest part. Don't get it twisted – it was hard, but not as hard as trying to explain to his boyfriend how his shift went.
They met at a bar where both of them had a colleagues night out, and ordering the same mocktail got them talking. Their groups merged and as the evening waned, it felt as though the same nights that cursed him with restless work and paranormal activity, now brought an angel to his life.
At the end, Ryland gave Simon his number. They went on dates. Fell in love. Moved in together. Three years and counting, and Simon wouldn't want it any other way.
But, it was exactly because they knew each other for so long, that there was no way he was going to tell Ryland what the fuck was going on in that god-forsaken warehouse. His partner was too pure for that. He jumped at the sound of the washing machine ending, so what was left for telling him Simon found a red handprint around his ankle after a shift?
No wonder he was limping for half of it but it disappeared the next day! It wasn't a big deal. The more pressing issue was that Ryland – just as kind and sweet as he was – was also incredibly attentive. He knew when Simon had a new uniform; noticed when the soles of his shoes had that red liquid stuck on them; pointed out whatever new bruise he had in places Simon couldn't see unless he twisted like a pretzel.
"Just workplace stuff," he'd tried to reason.
Sometimes successfully, other times not. Simon could give him all kinds of plausible excuses if he wanted to get away with it.
"I ripped the old one by mistake."
"There was spilled paint on the floor. Must've stepped on it."
"Huh? What bruise? Where? Oh. Probably hit myself against something. It's fine."
Fuck that though. He'd rather avoid the topic than lie to his wonderful boyfriend. Just the fact Ryland loved him (chose him) was enough to stop Simon from doing it. It became unavoidable, however, to keep Ryland in the dark.
"Si," came Ryland's voice through the phone. "Sorry for calling. Can you talk?"
"Yeah but. Why're you still awake?" Simon pressed the phone to his ear and continued moving the pallet onto the wrapping machine. "It's like, three in the morning."
"I woke up for a glass of water but then I noticed you'd forgotten your lunchbox."
Did he?
"Shit." Simon mumbled, his eyes darting sideways. He thought he saw something in the dark corner over there... "It's fine. I'll just get a sandwich from the vending machine."
"Don't do that." Ryland scoffed and something rustled on his side. "I'll come give it to you."
"Why would you do that?" Simon laughed and yet, he felt cold sweat running down his spine.
'Please, don't come here...'
"Because I love you and I want you to be healthy?" Ryland retorted and Simon could sense the frown on his face. "Also, I made those fudging ribs myself and I'm not saying I'll get upset, but I might if you don't eat them."
"My grace..." Simon let out a sigh. He put the pallet down and leaned back. It was a blessing that they had reception tonight. Usually it was a dead cell zone, with not even radio music to keep them company. "I'll eat them in the morning, I promise. Go back to sleep now."
"Too late." His partner said. "I'm already &%!!t#&^$a@xi#!@%^&#^."
Simon quickly pulled the phone off his ear. He couldn't hear the end of Ryland's sentence because of the distortion.
"What?"
The lights in the warehouse flickered. The sounds of the machines echoed brokenly.
"Grace?"
"S%&%!(i%#$?" Ryland's voice came in pieces. Simon looked around and mentally cursed.
Section 3.11
※ Electronic devices such as phones, desktop computers, RFID readers and sensors may be impacted. Refrain from using them and (if possible) turn them off if they appear to be malfunctioning.
Were they seriously having an outage right now?
"Grace. Baby." Simon hadn't panicked this much since he got locked in the bathroom and kept hearing murmurs inside the empty cabins. "Please stay home."
The distorted sounds grew louder, so much so that Simon couldn't discern a single word until the line cut and his phone powered down.
Shit. Fuck. Shit!
"Outage!" Someone casually yelled from their corner of the warehouse.
Simon's first instinct was to go outside and wait for Ryland, so he could send him back. Not that it was fucking possible anymore. There was an emergency post near him and Simon turned off his forklift, took the key, then headed there. He'd need to wait it out and he did, mind reeling alongside the gushes and wheezes of steam coming from the wrapping machine near him.
This was ridiculous. There was no air pressure inside of it!
On the bright side, all six people who were working tonight were experienced. They had a rookie last month who didn't follow the manual but instead of a longer blackout, Simon and David found him passed out in a forklift. Apparently, he'd collided with the wall while trying to drive and leave faster.
Section 3.11
※ Do not stay inside a vehicle before or while a power outage. The steering function would not work if attempted.
Moron.
The lights finally went out and Simon had never felt more relief from it. He immediately turned on the flashlight, pushing himself off the emergency post and heading towards the exit. He was right next to the bay area and half the gates were closed, while the others were connected to the trucks he was supposed to fill with pallets.
Drivers were aware of the blackout protocol but it wasn't going to lessen their frustration. For a second time this month, they'd be behind schedule. If anyone dared to say Simon was the one slacking, he would make sure that whatever ghost was hiding in the corner of his eyes right now, would board the truck with the next batch of items.
Simon heard a few whispers; almost collided his shoulder in a pallet. He could've sworn something tried to push his chest as well but the sensation was so quick, he was going to pretend he didn't feel it at all.
At the reception, the red emergency lights were turned on and he saw two shadows through the window door, stopping him in place. Simon didn't remember a bullet point about them in the manual, at least not about reception shadow people. They had one for the bathrooms and the West corner with the box-crushing machine but the welcome desk and anything beyond the work floor was generally safe.
One of them approached the door and Simon felt one too many eyes on him before he whacked the thing which grabbed his shoulder. The loud "Ow!" sounded far too contained inside the vast warehouse and Simon turned his flashlight to see David who was holding his bloodied nose.
"Dude! What the fuck!" Simon said. "Give me a fucking warning next time. You scared the shit out of me."
"I didn't know if you were real!" David pulled the edge of his uniform to wipe his nose. "Why would I give you a warning? What if it was the warehouse demon?"
"So you go just around touching demons now?" He snapped back but he couldn't lie – having another person around helped him relax a lot more. "Gross."
"Whatever makes you and your boyfriend's dicks hard, sure." His colleague smiled connivingly and nudged him forward. "Speaking of which, why's he here?"
"Who?"
"Your Grace." He pointed towards the reception where the shadowy figure was pressed against the door windows. "You don't see him? He’s right there."
Simon cursed again. This must be another perception trick. "This warehouse's gonna be the end of me..."
They both checked out and Simon felt two hands wrap around him tightly.
"Simon!" Ryland held his face in panic and Simon's eyes finally adjusted to the red light, mapping out his partner's face more clearly. "Are you okay? What happened! My taxi just got to the parking lot and I almost forgot to pay the driver because I saw the lights going out and I needed to— Why's there blood on your uniform!"
"Grace, it's fine." Simon cut him off gently. "Really. I've told you about those power outages before. It's normal."
"But you’re bleeding! Are you bleeding? It looks like you're bleeding!"
Simon looked down to himself and sure enough, there was a long, drawn-out stain over his uniform. He suppressed the need to groan. Of all times…
"I'm okay." He reassured Ryland once more. “It's just, uh...”
He didn't have an excuse.
"It's not blood, Gracie. Don't worry." David added on the side, thinking he was included in the conversation. "Blood-looking stains? Sure. But it's not blood.”
Ryland stared at him incredulously. "You know you're also bleeding, right?"
"Nah. Simon hit me with his elbow 'cause he thought I was the warehouse demon. Coincidentally, I thought he was too."
"... What?"
"The warehouse demon." David repeated, as unhelpful as ever. "The thing that caused the power outage? It happens every time it gathers enough power to shut everything down."
"He's talking shit." Simon said quickly.
"We all know it!" David protested. "You know it. You're also, like, an insane paranormal magnet. The outages are twice as common when you're on a shift."
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Ryland looked between them, eyes wide. "You never told me about that!"
"Because I didn't want you to worry!" He replied and although it was true, it did sound like he was whining a little. "It's not a big deal."
"It's not— Simon, this place is freaking haunted!"
"Technically, we're not allowed to say that. Section 1.7 from the manual states that—"
"Shut the fuck up, David." Simon groaned in his hands.
He didn't know what was more embarrassing – that all of them knew the rules by heart or that David was going to recite one to Ryland, as if it didn't sound like the most mentally insane shit imaginable.
Ryland however, noticed it too.
"You have a section about that?" He raised his palm and took a step back, just as the rest of Simon's colleagues began filtering out of the pitch-black warehouse. "Nu-uh. Absolutely the heck not. We're going home and you are going to sit me down and explain yourself."
Shit.
"My grace, the shift's still on." Simon pleaded with eyes. "I can't leave in the middle of it."
"Oh, so you're gonna go back and do what? Ask the demon to pretty please turn the power back on?"
"It's not a demon—"
"I don't care what it is!" Ryland was (appropriately) freaking out. Simon was too, but for an entirely different reason. "It could be Casper the Friendly Ghost for all I care and it wouldn't change sh—"
Ryland stopped himself right before cursing and put his arms over his head. By some god-mocking miracle, the lights flickered and the electricity returned, making them squint against the brightness. His boyfriend sighed.
"This is crazy..."
"Wait 'til you see what happens inside." David said and this time, Simon actually kicked him in the shins. "Ow! Ow."
"Okay. Okay! Okay." Ryland breathed out sharply. "Okay. My taxi's still waiting outside, so just... Finish this bloody— not bloody, oh my god— This... This shift. And you're going to tell me everything."
Simon nodded, feeling both relief and dread. "You have it."
His partner hesitated before he placed a quick kiss on his lips and left a second later.
"Simon's in trouble!" Jack sang by the welcome desk, earning himself a middle finger.
Not like he was wrong though. He really was in fucking trouble.
It seemed that the warehouse had a blast with hearing him and Ryland argue, so for the rest of the shift, nothing else happened. No leakages or weird noises. No whispers when going to the bathroom or doors that slapped you on the back when leaving a room. Simon drove home in silence. He didn't feel like listening to the morning radio when he had other voices rolling in his head with scenarios of how the conversation with his boyfriend was going to play out.
He parked in his usual spot; ran his hands through his clothes and hair and knocked before entering their apartment. The sun was already out and the lights from the open-curtain windows drowned the living room. There, Simon saw Ryland sitting on his favorite armchair and nursing a cup of coffee. He looked like he hadn't slept much – like he'd pulled another one of his school all-nighters.
"Good morning, baby." Simon said but his partner didn't return his smile.
"Sit down." Ryland stated and as quickly as possible, he sat on the couch.
Pulling out his teacher's voice made Simon feel like he was about to get scolded for not doing his homework. Ryland crossed his legs on the other side and breathed deeply.
"Well?"
Like a dam, Simon blurted out everything that came to him. The thirty-minute prep he'd done in the car was out the window and he told Ryland about the manual, the power outages and odd stories, no matter his or someone else's. He tried to breeze through the more serious stuff like the injuries (the company had amazing health benefits in that regard) but Ryland raised a hand and Simon's mouth was sewn shut.
"So the whole... Red liquid thing... It's..." He waved around aimlessly. "A random quirk that doesn't have a source to it."
"It's just there, yeah." Simon replied blandly.
"And all of you see it. It's, like, a group ordeal."
"Yeah."
"What about the ruined uniforms? Don't you think someone could be messing with you?"
They'd thought about it. He had thought about it but considering everyone wore their uniforms throughout a shift, it wouldn't be hard to notice if a person was trying to ruin them on purpose. So, Simon silently shook his head.
"Wow. Okay." Ryland leaned his head on the backrest. His coffee cup was empty and Simon stood up to put it in the dishwasher. His boyfriend followed him with eyes to the open kitchen. "And you guys are sure that it's not, just, I don't know. A shared hallucination because of a gas leak? I mean, if it was only you I'd say you should up your meds a bit— not in a bad way! I love you regardless of how crazy you are."
"Thank you?" Simon made a face.
"But it's... There has to be a reasonable explanation, you know? It's a very old building with even older equipment. The generator of electricity thingie could be going haywire because it's out of date or, or I don't know! Don't tell me that you believe there's a fudging ghost at your work!"
Simon let out a sigh. He walked to Ryland and leaned in, pressing his lips to the top of his head. He understood why Ryland was trying to make sense of it. He was a man of science – a physicalist who didn't believe in esoteric ideas like ghosts and the afterlife. If he hadn't been working in the warehouse for two years already, Simon would've agreed.
"Did you sleep at all tonight?" Simon offered instead.
Ryland scoffed in response. "How could I? I just found out you have freaking— malevolent spirits as your colleagues and you expect me to go to bed and accept it?"
"I'm not asking you to accept it but," he softly brushed through his hair, "it'd be nice if you could come and rest with me for a bit. You don't got anything planned for today, right?"
Hesitantly, his partner declined. Simon kissed his head again.
"Good. Means I'll get to have you for longer."
"Ugh. So cheesy." Ryland shook his head but his smile was finally, finally back.
Simon passed through the bathroom for shower and then plastered himself on the bed next to his boyfriend. Ryland had pulled the blinds but his night lamp was on and his legs was restlessly bouncing on the mattress. The exhaustion had already gotten to Simon, so he went closer and wrapped an around around him, hoping Ryland would hug him back.
Sure enough, the other slithered down on his pillow and Simon happily nuzzled his nose into Ryland's chest. Back when they'd just started dating, Simon hated how he was shorter than him but now, being in his embrace felt just right.
"Don't think about it too much." He murmured sleepily.
"Easy for you to say." Ryland said back and hugged him closer. "You're used to that whole insanity..."
He had no answer, so he let Ryland's word hang like the beacon of truth that they were. Once upon a time, Simon too firmly stood in opposition of the supernatural. Things like religion, ghosts and fiction were one of the same for him but with every new day, the warehouse kept proving him wrong.
Who knew? If spirits were real, maybe so was god but Simon really hoped that god or whatever entity claimed to be one, wouldn't start renting one of the offices upstairs. That would make his perfectly normal Wednesday a lot weirder.