Left in the Lurch

After waiting patiently for years in a long waitlist I was finally able to get it. I had gotten the call from the HR manager at the Iron Horse Casino for the custodial position. "Right away ma'am!" I enthusiastically responded before she could finish her first question on when I could start. I then hugged the missus tightly afterwards and assured her we would be doing well here on out.

We lived paycheck to paycheck but comfortably nonetheless, it was me and her and our two curious boys who'd always hoped to leave this small town of ours to travel. I was so ecstatic to finally be able to promise them something. Our dreams of lounging on the beaches of sunny California were at our fingertips.

My first days started well enough, I took pride in my performance working the rest rooms at the Casino. I was primarily in charge of the heavily trafficked master bathroom by the popular lottery machines and exit doors. I made sure the toilet bowls were clean every time they were used, all the napkins and soap dispensers were stocked. Even all the splatters on the floors were wiped down, leaving a spotless floor. My broom even had the automatic aromatic spray on the handle, it was very fancy.

It was the same duties every day though, nothing strayed too differently. When it was slow I'd step out and go clear the trash bins on the main slot rooms and picked up the cups and cigarette buds by the machines.

This position didn't leave much time for socializing except during lunch breaks, though I had nice conversations with one particular fellow that took the time to learn my name. He was a slot key worker who'd show up once in a while. The young Hispanic man was very kind to me and made small talk quite often. I think his name was Steven.

"Lenny how's the good life, my man?" he'd ask one day.

"I can't complain" I smiled, holding up my broom to my side scoping all the other patrons using the facilities.

"Good to hear. You listening to this song playing?" Steven walked over to the third urinal since the first was in use as per customary.

"Sure am" I say, opening the stall doors that were vacant, giving them a once over while I chatted.

"Lenny, I don't care what anyone says your generation had the best music. Ha! The piano solo in the beginning... Listen". He started humming up and down. "Bada dada da, as I was walkin' down the street one day..."

"A classic" I smiled.

"Say Lenny, the acoustics here aren't' bad..."

"Yep"

"See ya Lenny"

"Take it easy" I nodded as he departed. Those short conversations were appreciated. Steven was good people, never even made a spill, didn't even need to walk over the urinals when he was done. It made my life easier but I didn't mind the clean up, kept me busy, kept me honest.

In fact, I had seen all types of accidents in my years. I worked custodial jobs for the greater part of my working life. Twenty years cleaning in schools, business parks, restaurants. I was privy to it all. Nothing phased me anymore, I never judged the folks either just doing their business.

After three weeks into the job, my first paycheck was something special. I had paid most of the bills already and even had enough to put aside for a vacation surprise with my boys. I'd plan out the itinerary on my lunch break.

Today was Sunday afternoon when the crowds came in strong, the elderly, the middle-aged and the youth were in town to spend the evening. I saw fathers there teaching their 21-year olds to gamble for the first time, the regular elderly flocked in heavy and the middle-aged couples who enjoyed their margaritas. My work was cut out for me.

I could never fixate on the faces of those waves of people coming in. They'd just never stick. They hardly ever made eye contact with me either, they simply blended in. They'd handle their business and were eager to get back out and spend their hard earned money.

One particular man caught me by surprise however, there was a certain idiosyncrasy to him. Something felt off, I couldn't shake. He was a tall skinny man about 6'5, almost looked like a skeleton wearing tight clothing. He walked a little funny too, almost as if he had trouble synchronizing his steps. He would take long strides and careful steps. He had dark sunglasses that kept his eyes hidden. His hair was short and neatly parted to the sides like one of those old actors from the forties. He made eye contact with me and talked to me coming in. That was almost enough to grant him suspicious.

"Heyyyyyy..." he greeted without really smiling just a little twitch of his lips going upwards for a second. He emphasized the last few vowels for some reason. His voice sort of rasping in the end.

"Hey." I responded.

He turned over to the third urinal and looked down for a moment before he turned back to one of the bathroom stalls. He must have been too shy. It happened. People were coming in and out quickly, but I noticed him in my peripherals avoiding looking directly to him. I noticed he struggled a bit to lock the doors. He stood in the stall for a while.

When he finally came out I got a closer look at him, he walked passed me to get to the sink leaving a trail of a strange cologne. He turned to the others washing their hands before washing his, almost as if imitating them. As per customary, I waited for the customers to walk out before walking into their stalls and cleaning up.

He left the sink on and grabbed some towels and left. I took a short glance at him as he turned away from the sink towards the exit. He was neatly dressed in a long-sleeve shirt, but I could see really pale skin blotches around his wrists. He had well defined green veins that looked unnatural to me. He caught me staring when I caught a glimpse of his eyes through his dark sunglasses. He turned to me for a moment and nodded. 

"Have a splendid...day." he mustered out smiling with a toothy grin, he showed off his long pairs of thin teeth before leaving.

"Strange..." I said to myself, walking over to his stall and wiping the floor on the way. Then I opened the door to find something that disturbed me.  

"Oh my... god..." I wiped my eyes and took another look because I couldn't trust myself in the moment. "Have I gone off the deep end?"

The toilet had been vaporizing from the excrements he left behind. There were dark green solids melting the porcelain in the bowl, the toilet water had been bubbling and dyed with a lime green coloration. The smell was pungent like strong cleaning chemicals, they irritated the nostrils and eyes. I had quickly closed the stall door and headed over to the storage room quickly to call for security. 

"Man, those cleaning supplies are really concentrated" someone had said shaking their head and holding their nostrils shut.

"This is Lenny. We have a problem on the main bathroom, I..

"What is it?"

"It's the toilet. I don't know, I think a customer had ...maybe dumped acid in the toilet or... they're just badly damaged..."

"We'll send someone over, Lenny. Can you identify the guy who did this?"

"He's a tall, skinny old man..."

"Lenny, you'll need to get specific."

"Veins popping out um. Looked like he's always stumbling and seconds from buckling his knees and toppling over. He's..

"Lenny..."

"Yes?" I said my mind was still struggling to figure out what that was in the toilet.

"More specific."

"He can't be too far, just follow me on camera. I'll point him out".

 I ran out as fast as I could. Going around the circular hallways of the casinos, and down towards the lottery slot machines and the poker tables. Naturally I kept looking down at the trash first, almost couldn't focus on the details of the people's faces. I could smell the overwhelming scene of coconut cleaning products, cigarette smoke and the must coming out of the pores of what felt like a thousand people passing by at once.

After 45 minutes of running up and down the Casino floors and ushering a couple of security guards, I had given up. Those that fit the body descriptions weren't him, there was no way I'd ever forget those piercing cold uncoordinated eyes behind the sunglasses.

Finally, as most of the team had given up looking, I walked over to the bar lounge where they held live music events to sit down. On a Sunday it was naturally vacant. That's where I noticed him again in the corner of my eye, sitting on the couch far against the walls in the shadows by the empty stage.

I tentatively walked over and caught him looking outwards to me closing in.

"Sir, who are you?" I said holding tight my walkie-talkie resonating static sounds.

"Oh yes, thank you. I'll take a bloodhound in the hay."

"What...excuse me?"

"I'm sorry my mistake." he said in his strange voice.

There was an uncomfortable silence that met us. I thought of what he said sounded like he was reciting a memorized line. I called over to the security team who'd be looking in through the video camera following me.

"I found him guys, I'm right here by the event stage room"

"Lenny, we don't see anyone there in the cameras"

Then the walkie-talkie lost connection. I could hear the faintest high pitch frequency screeching through from something in his pants. 

"I saw what you did in the bathroom" I accused him.

"He removed his round sunglasses to show off his eyes. They were round with skinny horizontal pupils, discolored, pitches of yellow, green and orange and much smaller than his eye sockets.

Suddenly, I was met with a sudden urge to walk over and sit at the couch across from him. So I did, my muscles tightened as I sat down and looked at the cup he had placed in front of his table filled with water, there was a fork inside of it. My eyelids grew heavy instantly with a strong sensation of euphoria. I let my eyes slowly close. Then I heard him again, his speech. It was his words but reciting back in my own voice. We were communicating telepathically.

"Lenny, I came to visit your beautiful home without prejudice. I only ask for a gift before I can retreat".

"What. Wh-who are you? What the hell, I can't move!" I could only see darkness from there and his bulging eyes in the shadows in my head.

"Lenny, please be calm. You're not in danger, you're sitting comfortably on a couch taking a little nap. Listen, my research had brought me over to Iron-horse to complete a collection. There's a man who works here whom I need to take back to my home. His name is Steven Rodriguez. He holds certain genetic attributes that I've found unparalleled to my project."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Lenny, be reasonable and understanding." 

"I said. No!" I shout, I could hear the amplified sounds of my voice in my head. His harrowing eyes continued to burn into my brain. I could feel a pressure squeezing tighter into my chest.

"Lenny, bring me this man and I'll grant you riches. I can make it happen. Your technology here is rudimentary, a child's play thing in my planet. I'll let you win these games of yours and be on my way. Or if you'd like to be difficult, the "missus" and little Billy and Jason will pay the infraction. I'll have my people make bubble gum paste of them".

My heart felt like it was piercing out of my chest now. I couldn't speak another word...

"Can you understood me now?"

I stood conscious again waking up in my body in the events hall of the Casino. I looked up and jumped when I saw him sitting there smiling with those elongated teeth. It was clear to me now he was wearing a fleshed costume and it terrified me.

I walked away with my knees weak and shaking and my heart racing towards the nearest landline against the wall. I found one in a private hallway.

"Operator. How may I direct you?"

"Yeah, it's, It's uh...Lenny Lebowitz. 4-3-1-5. I stared at the phone for a while and felt guilty and hopeless thinking about my wife and kids.

"How may I direct you, Lenny?"

I stood silent for a moment. 

"Lenny? How may I direct you?" said the woman in the other line.

My voice almost cracked when I spoke in a delayed barely comprehensible tone.

"I need you... to call Steven Rodriguez to the event hall."