The Grind

A man receives a job offer he seemingly can't refuse

“You won't be getting much sleep these days,” said Alan with a smirk. “What with the baby.”

Dennis smiled back. “Not at all. Anna barely cries, she's as quiet as a mouse. Maria, on the other hand, she doesn't sleep much, but she's in good spirits. I've never seen her so happy.”

“It won't be like that for long,” said Alan. “Wait until you have to pay for childcare, and then college. It's a great burden.”

Dennis continued smiling, and wondered why he kept the company of a sourpuss like Alan. “We'll manage,” he said. “But I won't lie, I could do with a bit of extra cash.”

“Not likely round here,” sniffed Alan. “Have you heard the latest? They're going to sack half the team and replace them with AI. They don't want people sitting watching spreadsheets all day. The other half of the team will have to spend their time fixing the AI's mistakes.”

“That doesn't sound very productive.”

“It doesn't matter. It saves the company money, that's all they care about. I'd better get back, I don't want to be penalized for taking a long lunch.”

Alan ran out of the break room, leaving Dennis alone with a strange man who had been busy with his phone.

“I'm sorry,” said the tall stranger in a deep voice. “I couldn't help overhearing. I'm Stanley, one of the travelling salesmen. I'm not in the office much. I have an offer you may find interesting. It's Dennis, isn't it?”

Dennis nodded. Stanley wore a dark suit with no tie. Dennis couldn't remember seeing him before but the name sounded familiar. “Yes, I'm Dennis,” he said, shaking the man's pale hand.

“I've heard good things about you, Dennis,” Stanley gave a thin smile. “I know a company who are recruiting. If you tell them I sent you, I get a commission, so we're both better off. Your friend is right about the rumors, your team is getting slashed.”

“What sort of work is it?”

“Don't worry. If you can handle what you do now, you can handle them. And the money is really good - fifty bucks an hour.”

“Fifty!” Dennis gasped. “That's incredible. Who are they?”

Stanley pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Dennis. “Here, give them a call and tell them I sent you.” Dennis took the card. It showed a blurry black-and-white photo of three dogs on one side and the name 'CS Systems'. On the other side was a phone number hand-written in crayon.

“They're a bit quirky,” chuckled Stanley. “But they're for real.”

“How do I know they won't replace all their staff with AI there?”

“They won't. The boss doesn't like computers, he prefers to have people working for him than soulless machines.”

Dennis frowned. The offer sounded intriguing. He decided not to tell his wife just yet. Maybe he would after he had called the number. She wouldn't approve, but he was sure she'd be happy when he brought home – how much? He began to work out his new weekly wage.

________________

“Hello,” the distant voice echoed. Dennis wondered if the phone signal might be poor around the corner from his house.

“Is that CS Systems?” he quavered.

“Yes.”

“Stanley sent me. He said you might have a job.”

“We do. What is your name?”

“Dennis Friedman.”

“Can you come in tomorrow morning for a trial?”

They seemed keen, he thought.

The next day was a Tuesday. He would have to skip a day at his old job. He gulped. “Yes.”

“Here's the address.”

________________

Dennis didn't tell his wife. Maria didn't notice when he got up earlier than usual so he could make it to the new job at eight o'clock. They hadn't given him a time, but he thought it was good to show how keen he was.

The office was in an industrial estate on the edge of town. He drove through a rough area to get there, past a horde of drugged-up addicts standing like zombies in the street.

When he reached the unit, it looked empty. The grey concrete block stood next to an abandoned wrecking yard, surrounded by a barbed wire fence. He checked he had the right address. There was nobody else around.

He approached the door and realized it was ajar. He knocked, then when nobody answered he stepped inside. Bare light bulbs dangled overhead piercing the gloom, and a hand-written sign on the wall said 'This way' with an arrow. He followed it down a corridor and around a corner where another sign pointed into an office.

He entered. In front of him was a desk with an old eggshell colored computer on it, and a monitor. Not a flat-screen, but a bulky old CRT monitor. The keyboard looked normal except for one red button with a symbol on it like this:

🜍

He sat down and the monitor fizzed into life.

“Dennis Friedman,” it said in plain text.

“You are hereby accepted for a trial employment at CS Systems. You will be paid $50 per hour. You can work 7 days a week if you wish. You are free to leave at any time, but you are not welcome back if you break the rules.

“You must watch the screen at all times. If you see anything moving, except for the weather, you must press the red button on the keyboard.

“Each day you must work 8 hours. You may take a break at any time by clicking on the 'Take break' button. You have a maximum of 30 minutes break time per day. There is a toilet and a water fountain in the side-room behind you for refreshment.

“You may take 15 minutes for a lunch break. Lunch will be provided through the hatch in the wall to your left. You must not leave the room until you have completed the day's work.

“You must not use any telephone or other electronic device while at work. You must not tell anyone about the job or what you have seen.

“Click 'Yes' if you understand the rules to begin your day.”

Dennis wondered what the hell he had let himself in for, then decided he may as well go for it. He clicked the 'Yes' button.

The monitor changed to show a black screen. He thought he could see the faint outline of a tunnel, but it looked so gloomy that he couldn't be sure. Dark wisps of fog floated and swirled by. He wondered what he was looking at.

Once he caught a glimpse of a fiery glow at the end of the tunnel. Was it an exhaust pipe for a furnace?

It's better than looking at a spreadsheet, he thought. He wondered where the other employees were, if there were any. Would he get to meet his mysterious boss?

A red warning flashed on the screen. “Pay attention!”

Someone must be watching him and saw that his mind wandered. He focused on the swirling scene. He soon found himself hypnotized by the black fog, and only occasionally troubled by thoughts of what he was looking at or why he was there.

A winged shadow like a bat flapped across the screen. Dennis tapped the red button as quickly as he could. The apparition disappeared and he returned to watching the gently blowing fog.

The day flew by. The only noise came from the regular buzzing of the AC unit above his head.

He saw a couple more shadows and dutifully pressed the button, unsure what they were.

Lunch was an egg sandwich, which had long been his favorite. He began to wonder whether his colleagues were playing a trick on him, or if it was some kind of test?

At the end of the day a message appeared, "You have completed 8 hours." He left feeling pleased. He decided he would keep going in and would not tell his wife.

On the third day, Maria became upset at him and demanded to know what he was doing. She had heard from his old company who wondered where he was. Dennis was forced to explain it all to her.

“I don't like it,” she said. “They have you watching a foggy screen all day. This is some crazy shit. Please go back to Johnson Finance, they've been asking about you.”

“No,” said Dennis. “I like it. It's soothing. I don't have any jackass work colleagues winding me up. Let me try it for another week.”

That weekend, he decided to go to work on the Saturday as well, and the next day was pleasantly surprised to be emailed a pay slip and to receive $2000 in the joint bank account.

“There, you see, Maria. They're as good as their word. It's worth it, I promise.” She kept quiet.

Dennis didn't see many shadows in the next few days, but that Friday he received a shock when a disembodied red face with piercing eyes and an anguished expression appeared in the corner of the monitor. He jumped in fright, but still pressed the red button. Perhaps he had been looking at the screen for too long and had hallucinated it. It looked so real.

Another two weeks went by, but he was so tired that he could barely enjoy the fruits of his labor. He began to see black fog in his sleep.

“You're turning into a zombie,” said Maria. “I'm begging you, please go back to your old job. There's still a chance they'll take you back.”

“No,” said Dennis. “This is the dream. A good income, doing the grind, making sure that Anna has a good future.”

“But I never see you except on Sundays, and you're too tired to do anything.”

“Just a few more weeks.”

One Saturday, when Dennis finished for the day, another message for him appeared on the monitor.

“You have done well, Dennis. You have passed your probation. After today, you may no longer work in this location, but if you wish to continue working for us, we have another facility where you can join us full-time. You will be paid $100 an hour.

“Do you accept your promotion?”

His finger wavered for a moment over the button, then he clicked 'Yes'. A hundred bucks an hour! That was more than Alan would ever earn.

The new office was further out of town, but it would be worth it, he told himself.

Maria was not happy. “There's something fishy about this. How are they paying you so much just for looking at a screen? And you haven't even met anyone else! It isn't right. I want you to call them right now and speak to someone.”

Dennis shrugged. “Maybe you're right.” He took out his phone and called the number he had used before. There was a dead tone, then a voice spoke, “This number is not in use.”

“They must have changed it,” said Dennis.

Maria tutted.

On Monday, Dennis woke up at six – before even his daughter – and drove to the unit outside of town. It was a barn on a disused farm. Signs led him to an office, where he saw another computer set up for him.

He sat down and took a deep breath. The door clicked behind him and he knew that he was locked in for the day.

He began watching the screen and thought of his family. It would be worth it for them, he said to himself.

On the screen he saw the distant flicker of flames.

Even the buzz of the AC sounded familiar, and he wondered that it didn't sound like buzzing at all but the sound of a million screaming souls blended together.

He barely noticed when the carbon monoxide filled the room and he fell blissfully into an eternal slumber, to meet his boss at last.