 For $3,000 a month I do a night cleaning job. I'm three conditions number one I can't take a single day off number two the job lasts 365 days and number three I have to follow all posted signs if I can abide by those three things I get a bonus of $5,000 at the end of my contract to someone desperate for cash with no options PCCOA seemed like a great gig I rarely get sick. I like working by myself and since it's a night gig I can pick up different jobs during the day and maybe one day not live paycheck to paycheck I've had this job for 90 days and it's starting to get weird The conditions are easy, but the actual job I can't really talk to people about it They don't believe me. It's all right with me really I've always been a loner, but I need someone else to know what's been happening PCCOA is a pretty underground business Paranormal containment centers of America. I only found out about it through a sketchy online ad and even there They weren't upfront about what they do. The ad was for night cleaning for PCCOA Purification chemical compounds of America and was labeled as mildly dangerous due to the nature of purification chemicals The entire ad used vague technical jargon that I didn't care to research The pay justified the nature of the job and I needed the job The night cleaning job is not an easy position to fill for a number of reasons including but not limited to the nightly tasks Number one, refilling the blood buckets in the vampire containment cave Number two, mopping the area outside Nessie's tank aka the splash zone where the carnage of her dinner ends up Number three, sanitizing and cleansing the triple layer of doors outside the ghost ward Number four, repairing any damage to the outer walls of the demon den And number five, using a shop vac to remove any unexplainable slime puddles presumably from the extraterrestrial floor And that's just the first half of page one I go in at five and I'm usually done by nine or ten depending on Nessie's enthusiasm for mealtime or how feisty the ghosts are feeling Last night I went in and started to understand why there's a time limit on this job Rule three is important because the signs change each shift Most of the time there ones I've seen before rotated out Caution, spirits imitating loved ones in distress Think happy thoughts, aliens attempting mind control Scarecrows on prowl tonight But I saw one tonight I hadn't seen before As I walked in the bright red sign caught my eye Alert, shadow stealers active Exercise extreme caution After 90 days I'd gotten more comfortable than I could have imagined with paranormal entities But shadow stealers I couldn't recall those I thumbed through my employee handbook until I saw the section shadow stealers a comprehensive warning I scanned the three page right up and got the gist Shadow stealers are rare only emerging about once every five years Shadow stealers are tough because the experts have yet to find a way to fully contain them And they have some nasty habits Shadow stealers follow your breath and their primary goal is to steal it They do this first by taking your shadow a few inches at a time The experts still don't fully understand how But once the shadow stealers have taken 75% of your shadow breathing becomes more difficult As they take the remainder of your shadow you suffocate And there's nothing anyone can do to help you After they suffocate you others in the building hear your breathing for hours Like your breath is following them Highly dangerous and highly distressing If you notice your shadow being consumed You can try to fight back by walking into daylight and shifting your light source Not an option for night shift and at best this option has a 50 success rate Best not to get your shadow taken in the first place The primary defenses a mask covering your nose and mouth to deter them from following And a headlamp to illuminate the space around you So you can always keep watch on your shadow I saw in my daily supply bucket my two additions for the night waiting on me A dark colored mask and a fancy headlamp with lights all around As I moved my head the lights adjusted Allowing me to have an eye on my shadow no matter my movements I scanned the pages on shadow stealers one more time If I learned anything in 90 days it was that being prepared for the paranormal Was of the utmost importance After rereading I grabbed my supplies and set to work The handbook advises against using headphones during your shift It's important to have full hearing in case an alarm sounds or an entity communicates with you Which requires lengthy documentation I began sweeping my normal path and continually checked my shadow I was on guard but nothing seemed off As I swept around the edges of the demon den I tried to ignore the sound of long nails dragging across the wall on the opposite side That's when I heard the sound of a mound of paperwork after my shift A demon spoke to me What happens when they don't get your whole shadow? It hissed from inside the den I could only see its glowing eyes through the darkened pains of the glass As instructed I ignored it despite the bone chilling terror I felt Employees were told to ignore any communications from the paranormal We were told to make note of all things said all sounds smells taste and feelings But never to speak back You don't have to speak to me You don't need to I can hear your thoughts The demon whispered It tapped a nail against the glass I'd only ever been spoken to a couple of times by entities and I'd never spoken back I am a rule follower The experts say that the things contained here will say anything To try to get you into a conversation My hand shook as I continued sweeping We will, Mr. Goodie Two Shoes We will say anything It said as its eyes followed me There's nothing like the feeling of being followed by demon eyes I could feel the cold sweat down my back What happens when it only takes half your shadow when you're able to stop it? The shadow stealers are not far from my kind Would thinking back count as speaking? I couldn't really control my thoughts I didn't remember reading about what happens if 50% of the shadow is taken and you succeed at fighting back The experts so high and mighty Never seen here past daylight for good reason Scared of our power You're expendable to them Why didn't they tell you what happens if your shadow is only half stolen? The words were more sinister Spoken in a whisper that sounded like it was right inside my ears And made the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention Why didn't they tell me? Why wasn't that in the handbook? Everything else was Because they don't care what happens to you I know what happens when the shadow stealers get to you It doesn't matter if you fight once your shadow starts to go Your soul does too The entities will say anything to get you to speak back Anything? How do you think we got in this situation? In this cage? We used to be like you The demon cackled the sound of its laughter made my stomach drop I kept sweeping checking my shadow Still good a few more feet of sweeping and I could be done with the demon den for the night Are you looking close enough? Are you really looking? Employees aren't to speak back to the creatures I inspected my shadow No, no, no, no My wispy hairs that framed my head from my haphazard ponytail Were gone from my shadow I sprinted outside The sun hadn't fully set There was time to check my light source I turned until my shadow was on the other side of me Stretched long I watched as my hair slowly reappeared in it and realized I'd been holding my breath I took a few deep breaths and examined my shadow I was okay Everything was okay I just had to be more vigilant and not let any entities get to me The experts are meticulous I had to go finish the tiny section of the demon den Then complete the rest of my duties I began to speed sweep when the demon came back to the glass Smart boy So smart and so brave You got your shadow back But they got you Your soul They're part of you now Demons are liars It's in every file, every story I've ever heard They lie Humans lie too You'll start turning soon Just like us The demon laughed again I don't think I'll ever get used to that sound I finished the area And latched the hallway door leading to the demon den I'd never been spoken to that much by anything in the center I kept watching my shadow and moved on to the werewolf cages, my favorite area to clean The werewolves were usually calm at night and looked a lot like big dogs to me Lots of things frightened me in that place, but not the werewolves As I rolled my mop bucket into their room, the werewolves began howling They snarled at me, gnashed their teeth and foamed at the mouth I mopped their area, despite the chomping at the bars At least these guys couldn't try to talk to me I finished up their enclosure and rolled to the vampire caves All I had to do was drop some new blood buckets off from the donor freezer As I began lowering them into the cave I realized something was really wrong The buckets smelled good Like really good Like I wanted to drink it I wrapped up my duties there as quick as possible And sped through the rest of my shift I just got home and I can't stop thinking about it The blood smelled good to me I hate to even admit that I didn't write it in my documentation Even though I put everything the demon said to me I am a rule follower, but maybe I can't be anymore I keep replaying what the demon said to me About a piece of my soul About being transformed I really need this job I really wish I didn't