When I first got my job as security, I thought it’d be simple. A safe, boring job of sitting behind a monitor for a few hours overnight to get a very thick paycheck. It sounded perfect. Especially at the thought of not having to do anything. Maybe just call emergency services if someone broke into the building.

But when they locked me into the surveillance room, I started to get nervous. Although I was new, nobody gave me any directions. I didn’t even get a tour! When I started, a few minutes before my shift, the TVs were static. They buzzed irritably until the last door was shut and locked. Then, suddenly, then snapped on with views of the entire building. Assuming it was some sort of timer, I didn’t think much of it.

How wrong I was.

At first, I was right. It was tedious and excruciating to sit there in a creaky chair and stare at nothing happening. What’s worse is that my phone and music weren’t working at all. My phone even began buzzing and then going static after a while, so I turned it off.

After spending a few minutes trying to entertain myself, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I whipped towards the monitor, but saw nothing. When I turned again, though, a dark figure darted by on the screen. I turned around with a gasp, but nothing was there.

This went on for a while. After about the fifth time, I decided it was a trick of the eye. Though, when it neared midnight, the creature came back and stood in the middle of one of my screens. I’m not sure how long it was there before I noticed, but even when I looked, it didn’t disappear. It was a slender, shadowy figure as if a person stood on canine legs under a black sheet. I went to go open the door, but it was still locked. The creature didn’t move.

I tried to call someone, anyone, but nothing worked in the tiny office, not even my own phone. My heart was beating in my eardrums, but after an hour of freaking out, I sat and stared at the thing. It walked back and forth, from screen to screen, so much so that I named it The Walker.

The Walker seemed confused. Lonely, maybe. It never looked my way or towards the office I sat in. Instead, it just strode back and forth, swaying its head side to side. As it neared sunrise, the office door swung open. The Walker’s head snapped my way and I could see it just around the corner. I didn’t freeze or run, though. I sat and tilted my head at the creature. It huffed and took a step once and then twice towards me before turning and running off.

An hour later, my shift ended, and the manager came back instead. However, when he saw me, he screamed and turned, running out of the building.

“He lived!” he yelled to the heavens and anyone who would listen. “He survived The Walker!”