Late Night Visitors
A very old key sat on Ben’s desk. Probably a key from the 1920s or even earlier than that, but that wasn’t what bothered him. The note… The note attached to the key left an ominous, foreboding feeling at the pit of his stomach. It read:
“It cannot open what is lost. And what is lost cannot be opened.
It cannot be destroyed.
It cannot be hidden.”
It was a warning of some sort, he was sure of it. What had to be figured out was, what exactly had been lost? And why would there be a need to destroy or hide the key? Ben also wanted to know why it was left in his mailbox. He was an ordinary man, mid-20s and working in an office job. A strictly clerical position and in Rochester, New York of all places; Ben only ever saw exciting things of this sort in the movies. Most of those also never took place in America, much less a city such as Rochester.
An abrupt set of short, loud knocks echoed through the silent apartment. The noise startled Ben as he blurted out a few swear words when he was broken out of his thoughts. It was odd though, getting a visitor at this time of night-midnight to be exact. A frown settled on his features as he grabbed both the key and the note and slipped it into the pocket of his coat; he hadn’t even begun relaxing yet. Ben always worked late - today he almost wished it’d been an exception. Getting out of his chair and taking cautious steps toward the door, he hesitated before he reached for the knob, almost deciding to ignore the late visitor.
Ben did, however, give into his growing curiosity and opened the door. Speaking quietly and politely, he answered, “Um… is there anything you needed, sir?” Ben squinted in the dull light of the buildings hallways, the man before him quite tall and burly looking. The stranger donned a large overcoat that nearly reached the ground with a fedora tipped forward, making it difficult for Ben to make out any defining features. Not suspicious at all, naturally… The only visible feature on the man was his almost snake-like eyes. Ben could only imagine that they were contacts, they looked too unnatural. A brow rose when a sound that almost came out like a hiss exited the man’s mouth.
“Do you have it?” A voice demanded as the man stepped closer to Ben, making it impossible for him to shut the door.
“E-excuse me? Have? Have what?” Ben sputtered as he took an immediate step back; Ben knew exactly what. However improbable the idea seemed at the moment. Ben could feel his heart start to race and pound within his chest. Fear started to bite at the back of his mind before the man shoved him against the door with one arm to make his way inside.
“The Key...! The key! Where is it? I know you have it.” He began to rummage through his things; Ben couldn’t even find words at this point. It made no sense, he’d only just found this thing in the mail box and now someone was after it? It must be the partner to a lock of something very important, or someone. Watching the man throw things aside and rip open objects, Ben supposed it hadn’t occurred to the man that he might have the key on his person.
He didn’t want to be around when he found out either.