Image on the Mirror

I started working as a guard at a large apartment building, this is one of those new constructions with  five stories of parking space, and as you go up there are those fish eye mirrors and cameras everywhere. In general is a nice building. Very fancy. Anyway. I started working the night shift and it was always quiet. Some residents come and go, there was not much to do. I had been working there for 3 months and the building administrator asked me if I could cover the day shift on Friday, as the day guards never lasted. During the 3 months I had been working there, the day guards changed at least 5 times. I had never asked why, I was going through a bad economic situation at that time so this job was actually very valuable to me, as I was able to have a second job during the day and spend the nights at the building, and this way pay my debt. 

I covered the day shift on Friday and continued through the night shift as well. Fridays are always more active, but nothing crazy or impossible. I went back to my regular shift. I liked the night shift. Another month went by and I got offered the day shift with a substantial increase in salary. It was pretty appealing, so I took the job. 

The first week went by smoothly, as the residents already knew me, everything was better for all, as I was familiarized with them and was able to help them. One day, after my lunch break, one of the residents told me about the Image on the mirror, she told me that on the 3rd floor, which was a parking floor, sometimes if you were driving out, you could see an image of a young boy in one of the fish eye mirrors. I payed no attention, as I had been working there for almost 5 months and I had never seen anything during the night shift. After a week I heard the same story from at least 2 more residents, they told me that this image was only seen during the day and that one of the guards claims he saw a young boy standing outside the guards restroom and locker area. One of the cleaning ladies told me this is the reason some guards leave. I thought this was obviously exaggerated. She told me that people from maintenance had left because of this. I never took this seriously, to me it made no sense. 

After a couple weeks, I saw an image on the security camera from the 3rd floor parking. I could tell it was a human figure and it had not moved in at least 1 hour. I saw a couple cars go in and out, and the image was still there. I went up and checked, I couldn't find anything. The next day the same thing, more or less around noon and until 3 p.m. the image could be seen through the cameras and some residents said that sometimes when they were driving up or down from the 4th and 5th floor they saw through the fish eye mirrors the image of a child standing there, so they had to stop immediately and not run over the child, but once they approached the image it would disappear. 

On November 10 2012, it was a Saturday, everything was going fine, I checked the security cameras, everything looked fine, so I went to the restroom, when I tried to unlock the door to go out, it was stuck. I tried everything so I had to call through the portable radio to one of the maintenance guys, so he could come down and help me out. He answer through the radio that he will be there, but I better not be playing any jokes on him, 30 seconds passed when I heard noise outside the door, I thought it was him and I remember I said "You see, I'm not joking, the door is stuck". There was no response, "Derek?" I said, no response. I started pounding on the door and in response I got a scratch back. this was weird. 

I knew someone was outside, but it wouldn't answer or help me. After a couple of minutes, I called Derek on the radio again and there was no response, and my radio was running out of batteries, which was weird, since I had charged the radio the whole morning. I always put it on it's base to charge and only take it if I move, yet, the battery was out. I tried everything with the lock, I waited for another 5 minutes, thinking that maybe I am getting to desperate. Derek did answer he was coming, so how long could it take. I can still hear noises coming from outside. I screamed for help, and pounded on the door as hard as I could, but no answer. I pressed my ear against the door, and I could hear whispering and things moving around. I feared for my job. As right there were the entrance controls and access to any floor. I feared that maybe a gang was after this and waited until I took a restroom break. I had no phone with me, nothing that could help me alert or call the cops. I got worried for Derek. 

I kept my head pressed to the door in an effort to listen if I could pick up the conversation that was going on outside, but the more I heard, I realized that it was just one person speaking, so I thought maybe it was talking to someone through a cell phone. I could see the whole picture, this person guiding the other through the security cameras. God, I was so going to get fired and maybe framed. I kept checking on my radio to see if I could get some signal or a few drops of battery, but nothing worked. I tried then punching the door and tried to make a hole, so I could unlock it from outside, afraid that who ever was out would shoot me. 

After another 20 minutes, I was able to make a hole in the door, and my hand went though looking for the lock, I was able to turn the knob, but the door did not open. I then felt the back of one of the chairs pressed to the knob, I was able to push it and finally open the door. When I came out, my entire desk was upside down, everything was on the floor, cameras were off, and the restroom door knob was kind of melted. I immediately ran outside and saw no movement, I went into the building and everything was normal. I went back to my office to call the police from the security phone, meanwhile I did not move, I didn't want to take my eyes off the entrance. I turned on the cameras, there was no movement on any of the floors.

The police arrived, I told them everything that happened to me, the administrator was not there, he was on his lunch break. This happened around noon. I kept my eyes locked to the cameras, while the police searched the entire building. They knocked on the doors of every resident. Non of the apartments had been forced open and non of the residents heard anything unusual. Finally they found Derek sitting on the second floor parking, he had no recollection of what he was doing there, he remembers that I asked for help and almost immediately he blacked out, he was found under the staircase. Nothing was taken, we searched for a good 5 hours, we called the residents that were not home, to please come back and help us in their apartments to search. None of the apartments were broken into, there was nothing missing. 

A few days went by, we always made sure not to take restroom breaks, if there was no one on the security office. One of the cleaning ladies said it was the boy on the 3rd floor parking. I never believed her, she said he liked playing games and messing with the guards. It was not the first time that "something" happened. Some guards would get their things from their locker moved, some were thrown things to the face, some blacked out like Derek. They all ended up quitting, some thought the administrator went through their stuff, some thought there was something weird going on. Some just left and never said a word. 

I stayed there for another two months, I could see the image on the 3rd floor almost every day, some days closer, some days clearer, my things would get moved, nothing missing, but everything out of its place. I ended up quitting on January. Not because I was scared, but I got a better job offer and had almost payed my debt, so it was time to start fresh. I never went back to the building, but a year later the 3rd floor parking went on fire, some people were hurt, but nothing major. The cause was not clear, some said one of the cars just lit up in flames, some said there was no explanation. I'm just glad I left.