Don't Sit Down

"Don't Sit Down" was written sometime in late 2006/early 2007. I got the idea from a friend of mine in college, Pete, who worked the desk at my dorm in college.

Enjoy! And as always, feel free to comment!
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Don’t Sit Down

Pete hated working at the desk. It was lonely, since no one ever came to this obscure desk of the office building. Even the people who worked in the other rooms of this division only passed by twice: when they arrived in the morning and when they left in the afternoon. And it was boring! The small screens of the surveillance cameras never had any action going on, and there wasn’t even any sort of paperwork or anything for him to do. So every day, Pete brought a book or some crossword puzzles with him to pass the time, but that didn’t really help. It was lonely and boring at the desk, but he needed the money.

Behind the desk was a small conference room no one ever used. There were days when Pete got so bored, he’d climb onto the table, curl up, and sleep for a few hours. But he wasn’t tired today, he had finished his book, and his mind was too slow today to do crossword puzzles. Pete was in a slump, staring at the camera screens without seeing them.

“This is dumb...”

Come rest yourself...

The voice seemed to waft through the air and hiss into his ears. But the hiss was... almost soothing. It woke Pete from his zombie-like trance without any sort of stupid-grogginess left over. His head jerked up and looked around the tiny, empty room his desk occupied.

There is no need for you there... Come... Rest yourself...

The voice called him, filling his mind with a rather pleasant, almost white sound. It did not really say words, but he understood them. Pete looked at the camera screens. Nothing was happening. And it was true: there was no reason for him to be there. He could come back in three hours and still be back before the suits passed by on their way home. He stood.

Come and rest... recover... relax...

He slowly stood from his chair, still looking around.

“Is someone playing a trick on me?”

No worries... Come and rest... You will never have to work again...

Pete leaned out of the door to peer down the hallway. It was completely deserted. He felt his legs take a step into the hall. Another. Another.

Relax... Recover...

He was in a part of the building he had never seen before. The walls were bare and unpainted, and pipes ran along the ceiling. There was a sort of faint dripping sound, but there was no musty smell or water stains anywhere. It was dry rather than dank, but it was certainly plenty dismal down here.

Follow me... I will lead you to pleasure... to joy... You can rest...

Pete followed the lilting voice, the lovely voice, the voice he longed to find the owner of. It promised... all he wanted and more. Never to work again.

The bare halls went on and on, never turning, always dripping, without change. The voice called, and Pete followed.

A door. Plain wood, unpainted, unstained, unsealed... only a doorknob adorned it. At the end of the hall.

Here... Inside, you can rest...

Pete opened the door.

The room was as bare as the halls, small, uncarpeted; only a chair, much like the one behind his desk sat in the center of the room. Only... this one was old and stained. It didn’t look terribly inviting or comfortable. Pete turned to leave.

Sit... Sit...Rest yourself...

Pete shook his head. “I’d feel more comfortable upstairs.”

Sit... SIT...

He took a step towards the chair.

SIT!

The distance to the chair shortened quickly, until Pete was leaning backwards, almost sitting in it.

Yes.. YES... YES!!!

Pete jerked himself out of the chair and towards the door. What was going on? Something didn’t feel right.

SIT!!!

A pair of invisible hands seemed to grab Pete and pull/push him back to the chair.

“No! I don’t want to sit down!”

Rest yourself...

“No!”

Sit... rest... sit...

The voice pulled at Pete’s will, making him want more than anything to rest his legs and sit in the chair. The hands pulled and pushed at him. He touched the stained old seat cushion of the chair, and the hands pushed him back into it.

That’s it... rest... relax...

Pete clamped his eyes shut as he sat in the chair. After a moment, he opened them and leaned back.

The chair was surprisingly comfortable.