CALL LOGS

A message from the current chairman of the board for the Brighter Futures Suicide Hotline, Lyle Albright to all staffed employees:

They say all good things must come to an end. I’ve always wondered if that means that wickedness can last forever.

I thought that when my brother Danny died, that could be the end of it. But his passing has haunted me. I was so sure that eliminating him was what I needed to do. But after a lot of soul searching, I’ve come to realize the problems were bigger than one man. They always have been.

That’s why as of 1300 hours June 19th, our company has decided that we are declaring bankruptcy. We recognize that this is coming as a surprise to a majority of you who have been struggling in an ever changing economy and trying to make ends meet, but the reality is we cannot continue to move forward simply because we hope for a brighter future. We have gone as far as we can go.

As it stands; thanks to this company’s poor management and sordid history, there is no sort of retirement package or severance that we can offer to the remaining employees except for apologies. All of you have stuck with us so long, it’s tragic to think that now as we are forced to say goodbye that it was all for nothing.

That’s why I encourage you to remember all the steps that led to this. It wasn’t a singular mistake by a singular individual. The failures piled up. They were unavoidable in the end, and now all of us are paying a heavy price for it.

The only glimmer of hope I can offer is that our competition the New Beginnings Crisis Center has offered to allow any employees the chance to come apply at an upcoming job fair in July at their headquarters. While we understand that some of you may feel company loyalty would prevent you from working with opposition, it’s time to face facts. After today there will not be a brighter future. It’s going away and it’s time to move on.

I hope from the bottom of my heart you understand how difficult the decision was to do this.

Best regards, Lyle

I think I’d read through the email a dozen times, reflecting on the past few weeks and months of turmoil that BFSH had put me through and then realizing it was all for nothing.

Some part of me didn’t want to believe it was possible, that any of this was even remotely real. It felt like it was the end of the world.

But I took my final call for the company only about seventeen hours ago. I don’t know why. By that time a majority of my coworkers were already heading out the door. No one was really bothering to even respond to the ringing lines.

But I’ve always had an obligation to this place, even back when Danny was still around. Call me crazy but I felt compelled to answer that phone.

CALLER: Is this the Brighter Futures Suicide Hotline?

ME: It is, this is Randy, how can I help you?

CALLER: I heard a rumor that you guys are closing your doors for good.

ME: You heard right then, after today we will be forwarding all calls to the competition in Ohio, some place called New Beginnings.

CALLER: I think that might be a mistake.

I paused, noting a faint crackle in the phone line and sat down.

ME: And what would make you think that?

CALLER: are you a spiritual person Randy?

ME: Sure, I try to think God always has a plan in mind.

CALLER: and what if I told you that New Beginnings was trying to deviate from that plan?

ME: now you are talking crazy. It’s just a crisis center. What would they have to do with god?

CALLER: Ask Solomon King.

The line died right then and there.

The name Solomon King was familiar to me, he was from the UK, worked under the IA manager a guy named Plesance before that branch office shut down and then came here.

One of the last old timers, or so we used to tease him about.

But one thing I never forgot was how spiritual the dude was and how convinced he was that Brighter Futures was actually a conduit for supernatural activity.

Now I’ve seen a few blogs here and there from coworkers who claimed to experience the uncanny from time to time, enough to make me go grab a few drinks and forget the bizarre stories. But Solomon was convinced it was all true and was constantly attempting to find proof of it.

The fact that this mysterious caller knew about this at all told me something was up, and even though I should have been focusing on gathering my stuff and leaving I decided to check and see if Solomon was still around. Currently he worked in accounting on the eighth floor, and most of the time you needed an appointment.

Seeing as today was the day we were closing shop though, I decided to walk right in and sure enough he was still there crunching numbers. I guess like me he wasn’t ready to give it all up.

“Ah Randy; how are you son? Come to say goodbye?” he asked as he gathered some of his personal effects. I noticed several volumes on astrology, divination and necromancy. It gave me a creepy vibe, but it didn’t deter me from sharing my experience with him.

“And you said this just happened?” Solomon asked as he rubbed his goatee thoughtfully.

“Yep. I was just about to clock out. I’ve had a lot of strange things happen here at this job, but this is the strangest. It felt like it came from another world,” I said.

Solomon grabbed a few things and stuffed them into his pack before commenting, “Take me to your desk.”

We went to the elevator in silence, King acting like we were being watched the entire way. Once inside the claustrophobic box, he finally spoke up about his fears.

“You know this company has been around for over one hundred years. Think about that. For a call center that’s unheard of. Modern therapy and medicine to assist mental illness didn’t even exist in the early days. But Brighter Futures still found a way to insert themselves into a variety of fields. Pharmaceutical, technology, rehab. They had many fingers in many pies. It was all organized with a singular goal in mind….”

“And what was that?” I asked.

“Rumors circulated about Mister Albright you know. That the man was possessed of evil that couldn’t be controlled. Some said he was a dead man walking. Did you know that he himself tried to kill himself back in 2009? And yet he kept walking. Kept ruining this company, all in an effort to take down God himself. It sounds crazy doesn’t it? But I been here long enough to know, brighter futures is a hotspot for supernatural activity. And since Danny took over, it’s gotten worse,” Solomon told me. Our elevator kept descending all the way to the basement. A cold chill filled the air. I wasn’t sure if the man was talking out his ass, or something far worse. But I had a feeling when we arrived at our location I would know the truth.

“The fact is Randy, Danny and those that followed him succeeded… they took down God,” he said as the door opened. We walked out to what looked like a hellish landscape. I saw my fellow coworkers hanging from black chains that appeared to be made of bone and sinew. They looked like hollow shells of their former selves.

“What is all of this?” I asked in horror.

“This is what happens when you defy God. Danny, Lyle. All of them. They took an oath to go against the Almighty and now… they’ve let loose a far worse evil. You call it our ‘competition’... but the research I have done into the uncanny calls them something else. Old Gods that are taking back the world and reshaped it for us humans to worship them mindlessly.”

“This is insane… we have to help them!” I said running to one of my coworkers and trying to break the chains. Instead they dissolved like they were made of sand. I saw their faces distort and scream as they faded into nothingness and felt my heart drop.

“Lyle was the most foolish of all. To think he could go against the powers of Gods. All because he wanted to save his brother. Don’t you see Randy? We are just pawns in their game. We have always been! But they need us. This much I know. The sad part is that they realized that far too late,” Solomon said as he arrived near the edge of the room, where I saw the hollow shell of Lyle Albright dangling from the ceiling.

“So with Brighter Futures closing… nothing can stop these Old Gods from controlling all of the world,” I realized.

“Precisely. Lyle and those that followed him, they have tried so hard. But time and time again, their failures have piled up. Now we are suffering the consequences,” Solomon said.

“So what can we do? That man on the phone said you would have an answer!” I said.

King laughed in a strange maniac way.

He turned to me and I saw that half of his face was already starting to become distorted and meshed with the black slime around him.

“There is nothing I can do nothing except to give in. I learned all too late the truth about Brighter Futures. The world they made was flawed yes, but it gave us free will. And now because of that. We are doomed for all eternity to suffer under the yoke of gods that do not care for our well being. I have made my decision, Randy. I would rather be cast into the void forever than to be stripped of my conscious self.”

He stepped back toward the slime and I tried to stop him, but it was too late. He was already merging with the lost souls around him.

The room began to shake, I heard a rumble from above and I ran.

I made it back to the elevator and got out of there as fast as I could. I left the office shortly after, watching as the doors were closed for the final time and a foreclosure sign was placed on the door.

Darkness covered the skies as night seemed to come early and I walked down an empty road, contemplating Solomon’s warning. He was so sure this was the end of the story. Because it was the end of Brighter Futures.

But I also thought back to that desperate voice on the phone. Someone out there still needed our help.

Maybe we can make a difference even without guidance. Choose to bring a brighter future.

I saw a poster for New Beginnings not far from where I stood, the job fair only a few weeks away.

They did this. And now I knew the truth to stop it from going any further.

It was time to take a leap of faith and stand up for what Brighter Futures believed in.