Steemit Challenge s26wk1 : The Office Project

Hello Steemians,

I’m super excited about this week’s Steemit Challenge s26wk1. organized by @dove11.
My Entry is a short story set in a completely ordinary office… until something not-so-ordinary shows up.

Here’s my entry:

The Strange Email

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When the email came in, nobody in the marketing department paid much attention.

Subject: The Office Project
From: favouriteking01@gmail.com
Deadline: Midnight tomorrow

It read:

Your task is to rearrange your workspace to match the blueprint attached.
Do not deviate. Do not remove anything. Do not work past midnight.

We all figured it was another one of Mr. Gray’s weird “team-building” games. Last year, he made us swap desks alphabetically for a whole week.

But when I opened the blueprint… I stopped breathing for a moment.

A Blueprint That Didn’t Belong

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It wasn’t just desks and chairs. It showed our office exactly as it was... but with extra things that didn’t exist here.

A brass key.
A grandfather clock.
An old filing cabinet with no handles.

Rumors and Unease

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Where’s this coming from? Lydia, my desk neighbor, whispered, peering over my shoulder.
No idea. Probably a prank, I said, though my stomach twisted as I said it.

By lunchtime, the whole department was buzzing. Someone claimed IT couldn’t trace the sender. Another swore they’d seen that same clock in an ancient company brochure from decades ago.

The Office Project Begins

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That night, five of us stayed: me, Lydia, Sam, Chloe, and Raj. We started dragging desks, lining up chairs, shoving cabinets around until everything matched the blueprint.

It was strange every piece of furniture felt heavier than usual, as if the room didn’t want to change.

At 9:43 p.m., Lydia placed the last chair. The lights flickered.

The Clock Appears

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In the far corner, where there had been nothing moments ago, stood the grandfather clock. We hadn’t brought it in.

A slow, steady tick filled the air.

“This wasn’t here before,” Sam muttered, stepping closer. The clock’s hands spun in frantic circles before snapping to 12:00. The air turned icy the kind of cold that seeps into your bones.

The Key and the Darkness

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Then, as if sliding in from another world, an old handleless filing cabinet appeared where the coffee table used to be. On top of it lay the brass key from the blueprint.

Every nerve in my body screamed don’t touch it.

Lydia didn’t listen. The moment her fingers brushed the metal, the lights went out.

The ticking grew louder.

The Shadow Figure

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Footsteps echoed in the dark slow, deliberate.

Sam’s phone flashlight sputtered on and caught a tall, thin silhouette. Its face was hidden in shadow, but each time the beam flickered, it seemed closer.

The clock began to chime deep, hollow, shaking the air.

“Put the key back!” I shouted. Lydia fumbled, panicked, and dropped it. The key rolled to the figure’s feet.

It bent down, picked it up, and in a voice like dry paper whispered:

“Midnight comes for those who finish the project.”

The Escape

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We didn’t wait. We ran weaving through cubicles, tripping over cables, the chimes pounding in our ears.

By the time we burst into the street, our floor’s windows were pitch black, though the rest of the building glowed warmly.

No one spoke on the way home.

The Vanished Department

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The next morning, we came back… and the marketing department was gone. No desks, no computers, just bare concrete.

Mr. Gray stood at the doorway, glaring.
What are you doing here?
Uh… work? I said.
There’s no marketing department on this floor,” he replied. “There never has been.

The others looked as pale as I felt. Somewhere deep in the walls, faint and steady, the ticking continued slow, patient… counting down.

I will like to invite @godsgift1234 @bossj23 and sampson01 to join in the contest

Best Regards @Favourite01