Art by Paul Rios
Editor’s Note: The Last Week’s Memoir series is a collaborative story written by Jake Corbin, Bryce McEfee and Paul Rios. View previous LWM Serial No.1 entries to read the story from the beginning.
“Name?”
The inquisitive voice burst loudly from a speaker directly to the left of the front door. Andy discreetly glanced around but didn’t see a camera. Judging by the timing of the question, however, it was clear the occupants of the building had been alerted to their arrival.
“Larry with Mattress Discounters. We’re here with a delivery for Ms. Candle,” Larry spoke firmly back into the intercom.
The mystery voice didn’t bother to respond. A loud buzz rang out and the front door opened automatically. Larry immediately grabbed the mattress and nodded towards Andy to do the same.
“Friendly bunch, aren’t they?” Andy said sarcastically as he grabbed at the plastic wrapping protecting their delivery.
“No talking; stay professional,” Larry responded and started back-peddling the mattress inside.
The two quickly found themselves alone in the warehouse’s lobby. There were several glass-encased offices surrounding the area and a single hallway that lead to a door. None of the workspaces had any sign of life in them—not a computer, not a scanner, not even a discarded piece of paper, just a thick layer of dust covering the empty, gray-blue shelves attached to the wall units.
“This way,” Larry said, quickly shuffling towards the one doorway.
Andy was slightly confused that Larry knew where to go but didn’t think too much of it. After all, it was either wait in the empty lobby or head to the next room. As Larry’s back approached the entrance, the door automatically creaked open again. This time, however, Andy noticed a camera; the red blinking light in the lower right corner gave it away.
The deliverymen’s shoes squeaked on the tile floor as they lugged the mattress into what appeared to be the atrium of the building. Andy could smell metal and plastic as he awkwardly shuffled the heavy sleeping device into the new room and, following Larry’s lead, immediately veered left and stopped. To Andy’s surprise, two men suddenly appeared to his right. Andy was half-sure they hadn’t been standing there when he walked in, but he couldn’t be certain since he was using a rather large amount of his concentration on not losing his grip on the mattress.
“You wait here,” Larry said, not even slightly alarmed that two large men, both saying absolutely nothing, were standing before them. “They’ll be able to help me from here.”
Andy knew this wasn’t standard, but who was he to complain. No more heavy lifting? No problem.
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