Un-Monster
Created by: [Tyler]

[Note: Staff informs me that this file was previously encrypted. Thanks for their effort, I guess. The voice remains distorted and unidentifiable but the words are intelligible. Much like the other content, we cannot confirm the veracity of this encounter.]

Title: What has Sam done now?

Tyler: Okay, I am starting the recording now. Could you please state your name?

Anonymous: [unintelligible]. You won't keep my name in this, will you?

Tyler: No. No worries. You work at a local grocery store.

Anonymous: Yes.

Tyler: Tell me about this morning.

Anonymous: I wash my face in the sink at the start of my shift. Just a few customers. We run the fans on maximum. It keeps everyone reassured. A few customers with odds and ends, shampoo, cigarettes, hand sanitizer. I don't really notice what everyone gets.

Tyler: Then the weird guy shows up.

Anonymous: [agreeing] Then the weird guy shows up. In my aisle. Other people behind him start getting nervous. Shuffling around. Looking at the magazines. I look at the guy and smile as I scan his items. Part of the uniform and all. I don't recognize him. There's no sound or, like, smell. I rub my hands just because they're clammy. Or sore. I'm not exactly sure which. [stressed] He's staying too long. He pays for everything. I ask him to go and have a nice day. He drops his keys and I hear the jingle in his pocket a moment later. And I get this, just, vertigo feeling. Like the room is a lot taller and growing. I don't hear what he says. I don't see him bend down for them. The keys, I mean. I ask him if he's all right, which I have to but he's so creepy.

[beat]

I'm sorry.

Tyler: Take your time.

Anonymous: [clears throat] Then he leaves. I feel better right away. The manager checks on me, says I'm a little flush. [unintelligible] stops stocking avocados and gets me a water bottle. He dropped his wallet, but I only see that later. It has your number in it.

Tyler: Which is why I'm here picking it up. I want to make sure you're okay.

Anonymous: Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just tired, I think. I'll talk with the other cashiers and see if we can make sure everyone's stations are a little further away from the customers.

Tyler: I'm sorry you went through this. Is there anything else you can remember about how you felt, through the rest of the day?

Anonymous: The rest of the day is fine. I still feel good. [remembering] Oh, except. [hands rubbing] Except I go to wash my face in the bathroom and the sink doesn't turn off. Just another thing that freaks me out. I'm sorry, can we stop talking about this?

Tyler: Sure.

[end of recording]