Hi! You must be the new hire. My name's ̷͙͕͈̞͚̟͊̃̎͛̿̓ ̶̢̺͂̀͒̾̍̕ ̷͖̠̦̜̪͎̑̽͌͆̍͜ ̷̝͂͛̀̉ ̶̯̥͉̰̦͓͑͑͐͂͐͜͠ ̷͎̯̬̌̂̄̈́͘ ̴̗̫̗̬̘͕͈̽ ̴͖̗̝͉̣͒̿̌͂̐̉̌ ̵̛̠̹̙̰̦̔̅̔͑͂ͅ ̵̙̣̗̯̺̆ ̴̜̪̄͛͘͘ ̸̟̎̐̒ ̶̗̫̐̂ ̴̧̫͓̙̱̺̳͐͗̽̆͒̂̕ ̴̗͔̻͉̣̐̂͠ ̵̻̖̌͝͝ ̶̢̧̛̞̘͇̜͗͌͒̍̀̅ ̶̳̼̲̮̉͗ ̷̘͓̮͊̃̋̑̚̕ ̵͕̜̩̠̏̐͆͋͠ ̸̺̻͍̭̼̀̌̂̓͂ ̵̮̪̭̗͒̐͐͌ ̵̬̟̦̈́̉̈͛ ̵̣͒̾̈́͒ͅ ̶͉̙̰̲͉̱̋̓͜ ̷̦̰̪̖̟̫͂̒̌ ̴̡͖͙͇̦̰̇̅ ̷̥̮̑̋͋͒ ̴̟̰̄̇̍͂̍͘ and I'm in charge of overseeing new recruits. Unfortunately, I won't be able to provide proper orientation for you today. One of our customers has been sent an impure product.
Someone neglected to perform proper cleansing during an extraction process. A few traces of human consciousness managed to survive incineration and it's having...effects, on our customers. I'll get it sorted out soon enough, but it'll take days to get the parchment-work done.
Till then, follow these rules to the letter. I know you don't believe the stories the others say about this place, but trust me, you'll want to listen to them.
1. If you're reading this, you're working on something far greater than cashiers or shopkeepers ever get to do. Be grateful, first and foremost. This is important. Every day after today, before you enter the Apothecary, you must thank it for allowing you to do something for it. To aid a being so powerful that you are a worm beneath its feet.
2. You will be expected to work from midnight to six in the morning. Whether or not you were told this in your contract is irrelevant. Do not attempt to leave this job. The Apothecary will find you. During this time, no matter what happens: be it fires, floods, or even famines (time is twisted here. Enough so that it will feel like years have passed without food and water), do not leave.
3. A single pocket-watch will be provided to you by the Apothecary. Above all else, trust it. Time is warped within the Apothecary, but the pocket-watch's time-keeping abilities will be relatively stable. Follow it for all time-related rules and obligations you will find within this sheet. You will not be provided with another one if you lose it. There's only one.
4. Upon entering the store, ignore any attempts made by the others to communicate. Your task is too important, and should you fail in this basic rule, you will be considered unfit to follow the rest. At which point, you will be taken care of and a replacement shall be found. Move to the back of the store.
5. The back of the store should have only one door. Should there be more than one, light a match and thank the Apothecary for guiding you with its greatness. If the match is extinguished in front of one door, it is the correct one. Go through it. If the match is not extinguished after every door is passed, or between two doors, than you must leave. The Apothecary is displeased by you in some way, and running will ensure a quick death.
6. If you survived step number five, you will find yourself inside total darkness. You have one minute to relight the match.
7. If you succeed in relighting the match, do not scream, no matter how bad the image is. You will find yourself face to face with the Apothecary. If it smiles at you, sit down. You will not be able to see any chairs, but you will not fall. If it makes any other facial expression, or stares at you with no expression at all, run past it. It cannot hurt you in the dark. Nothing can. A replacement will be found.
8. Should you succeed in step number seven, you will be expected to do the following:
I. Surrender all your clothing. All of it.
II. You will vow to relinquish all earthly possessions and relationships in service of the Apothecary. This includes any family, friends, or lovers.
III. You will tell the Apothecary all your secrets. Everything. Hold nothing back.
9. Obey all that is written in rule eight. I believe that stressing this will show you the importance of such an action. This is the most vital rule offered here.
10. Should you have performed the actions in this guide successfully, you will now be faced with two choices. You can remain with the Apothecary forever, or return to your world.
It is unknown what happens when you choose to remain with the Apothecary forever, as no one has ever come back. But should you choose to return to your world, you will return safe and sound.
11. Check your pocket watch. If it reads 6:00 AM, you have succeeded. If it reads any other time, the Apothecary has made a mistake and sent you to an incorrect dimension. The rules of reality will be different there, and your body will be ill-prepared to handle the change. Repeat everything given here all over again until you reach a world with 6:00 AM as the timing.
Should your pocket watch read 6:00 AM, the Apothecary has sent you to a reality that you will be able to survive. All aspects of your life will remain the same, but details about things unrelated to you may differ.
12. When you return, you will find that any negative thing occurring in your life will be repaired. Do not acknowledge this in any way outside of your own mind. This will be taken as disrespect and lack of gratitude.
Well, there you have it! Everything you'll need. We do hope you'll enjoy working here. Please remember to collect your payment every Sunday (your only non-working day) at 3:00 AM.
YOU ARE READING
Stories Written In The Dark
HorrorA collection of original short horror stories guaranteed to keep you up at night. Because who needs sleep anyway? Oh, and maybe just ignore the dolls staring from the corner of the room. I'm not touching those.
