Chronos — Episode 1. how it all began
By: David J. Meyer
Tags: Suspense, Time, Short Story, Thriller, Fiction

Chronos — Episode 1

how it all began

Hello! This is the introduction to my first short story! If you don’t care about my intro and just want to jump into the story, then feel free to do so now. The story begins right below this paragraph. I won’t give you too much of a synopsis for this story, I want most of it to be a surprise. I will say this, the genre I am going for is a suspense/thriller. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on being too graphic, gory, or anything like that. I would just love to put you on the edge of your seat, constantly asking “what on earth is going on?” There is one more secret genre later on, but that will be part of the big twist. So I am not going to tell you that just yet. I don’t have a specific end in sight, but I do plan to post a new episode every Wednesday until the story is finished. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy my first short story, Chronos.

Episode 1 — How it all began

October 30th

6:00 am

Jess woke up like any other morning. The alarm exploded at 6 am and was snoozed far too many times. She was sent into a rushed morning routine as she was most days. She quickly finished her “workout” which consisted of a couple of pushups and some crunches. It was enough to get the blood pumping and make her feel like she accomplished something, but not enough to do anything for her health. Speeding through the rest of her routine, she took a shower, got dressed, and grabbed a breakfast bar to eat on her walk to work. She made it out the door in 17 minutes.

7:23 am

“Record time”, she thought, as she left her home. Not realizing this was the last time she would ever see that house again.

She hopped off the train and continued down the busy sidewalks of New York, passing the many stores she could not afford to shop at. Passing by Rockefeller Center, she noticed they were already making preparations for the Christmas tree. “I can’t believe how early they set these things up these days. Starbucks already has its holiday cups too. Crazy.”

8:00 am

Jess got into the office at her normal, punctual time.

“Hey Jess, how was the morning walk in?” asked the receptionist.

Hanging up her winter coat, “It was just delightful, Donna, how was yours?” She wasn’t lying. Though her morning was off to a rocky start, Jess was by far the most optimistic and joyful person in the office.

Donna replied, “Just fine. Enjoy your day.”

“You too, Donna! Same time tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

She sat down to make her calls, answer some emails, and work the full grind. She was a loyal employee. The job was not her life; she believed in a good work-life balance. But when she was at work, she was not there to slack off. She was there to work hard and get the job done. That was all she cared about. It didn’t bother her that despite being the hardest worker, everyone else had had a multitude of promotions over her. She just kept doing what she signed up to do, day in and day out.

1:30 pm

She took her normal lunch break later than everyone else. It was originally because she was the only person to volunteer to watch the phones during lunch break. They were supposed to rotate this position, but Jess kept covering for people until it just became the norm. Every day she sat in that breakroom from 1:30–2:00, eating a chicken salad, and listening to some sort of informational podcast. She figured they would help improve her life someday, though she was content in her current circumstances.

2:00 pm

“Ahh..back to the old grind.” She always had the same jokes. And Rob always laughed at them.

“Hahaha! That’s a good one, Jess!”

Rob sat next to Jess and they would banter and flirt each day, though neither of them ever made a move. And they would never have the chance to do so again.

5:00 pm

Jess always left at the same time. She refused to work more than 40 hours in a week. She had the audacity to explain this in her interview. “My time is my own. Your time is your own. I will give you 40 hours of my time, but that is it. My time is valuable to me and I won’t give it out willy nilly.” She got the job. And still has that same job 11 years later.

5:10 pm

Walking into the market closest to the subway, she greeted the owner, “Hey, Frank, how’s it going?”

“Just fine, darling, the usual?”

“Yes, sir!”

She grabbed her meatball sub and began her walk back home.

“It seems the days just get shorter and shorter this time of year,” she thought to herself. The streets were busy and safe in New York, but you can never be too careful. She hopped on the train back to New Jersey and began her final walk home.

5:47 pm

As the sun began to light up the sky with beautiful purple and pink, she entered the park. Jess loved watching the sunset from the park bench closest to her home. It was just another 5-minute walk back from there. She sat there, content with life, amused by the beauty of the sky. Life was simple.

And then…suddenly...darkness.

To be continued…