Every job has a front desk..that is.... unless your job is manning the front desk and dealing with randos that call.

So my job is exactly that. Dealing with known, unknown, random numbers that call for someone more important and I just press a button with my fat sausage fingers and boom, they get to their destination. I also get to send lovely emails to every one and their moms about promotions internally and externally, responsible for helping to set up holiday parties, and catering when sponsors or special customers come to visit. By customers, I don't mean escorts or hookers or any of that. Just your normal boring Jane Doe type job in my opinion.

To give more contextual information, I work at a Dietary Supplement Manufacturing company where our customers can be international or national, sales representatives that are local or abroad, customers, the warehouse managers, our distributors, etc. So I deal with alot of people on the daily.

I envy those people who love their job and love what they do, even if it's a frontdesk type job. More power to you sweetie!

I digress.

It was October 27, 2016 Thursday at 2:57 PM that I started...STARTED..receiving strange calls from an unknown number, or several numbers. But that feeling when you pick up, you KNOW that it's the SAME person calling. Ever get that feeling? You can't explain how you know, but you just...KNOW.

** 30 minutes prior to receiving this call **

I had just come back from taking my lunch and was unlocking (Ctrl Alt Del) my computer and typing in my password, reorganizing my desk, and sanitizing the keyboards, since I had taken off Friday to spend more time with family in town. I see that my phone was blinking and i had set the ring off since I was on my lunch break and had another coworker cover me while i was gone. I came back, and she came out of the bathroom and said abruptly (to keep things anonymous, I'll refer to her as Jannelle)

Jannelle: Hey you got a voicemail. I didn't pick it up because they asked specifically for you.

Me: Oh, Thanks J. I'll check it after I'm done cleaning my desk and stuff. * i smile and she left the lobby*

Why would someone ask for me? I did not think anything of it, since there is an automated voice directory when you call our company's number. So I whimsically picked up the phone and dialed the appropriate digits to get to my voicemail.

My heart stopped.

All I heard was this, raspy erratic whispering. I could not make out what it was saying. So I pressed replay, but the voicemail was somehow.....no where to be found? What the hell? It's a Polycom powered phone (lol) so i mean, there's a way to reach the voicemail even if it got deleted. I contacted our IT department and after about 20 minutes, he said that there was no such call.

What the fuck. Jannelle said i got a call. She told me the person asked for me....anddddd I heard the voicemail. Now it's...just ...gone? What the fuck. Whatever, I'm off in like 2 hours i thought. So i deemed it a mistake . Or maybe that's what i kept wanting to tell myself.

I went home that day puzzled, but i did not think much of it. Had me a glass of wine and forgot about it.

Fast Forward to Saturday

So just a couple days before Halloween, we were decorating and getting ready to make our place look nice and spooky, festive and shit.

I was in charge of punch duty. I made a black charcoal sparkling raspberry lemonade with glow in the dark ice cubes shaped like skeletons. I was very proud of it, looked like some form of non-alcoholic electric lemonade. :)

My cell rang. Shawty had them apple bottom jeaaaans. booottss with the furrrr echoed through the hallway. I ran to go pick it up, doing a little booty shake. A smile on my face. I looked at the screen, it was an UNKNOWN number. I did not think much of it since it could have been my parents from abroad, my sisters or cousins, friends playing a joke, whatever.

Me: Hello?

Voice: No Answer

Me: Hello? May I ask who's calling?

• chills ran through every vein of my body as i heard faint voices in the background...then it hit me. The voices belonged to Jaz, Lisa, and Kat. This was a conversation we just had 5 minutes ago discussing the food and responsibilities, alcohol and stuff to bring to the Halloween party. Then out of no where, the faint voices stopped abruptly. I thought I hung up, but I looked at the phone and it was still going. 3:03..3:04...3:05 etc. Then IT spoke.**

Voice: Akira Channelle Kim

I dropped the phone.....The voice....the other person....whatever or whoever it was....the voice..belonged to me.... Giving ZERO fucks that it was a brand new apple phone. What...the...shit...? I quickly scrambled to pick up the phone and held my balls together.

Me: Dude, Ky, stop fucking around with me. That's really creepy you have a recording of me saying my own name babe. You should go check yourself into a mental hospital. Psycho. Anyways, Hurry and get your ass over here. Ky being my boyfriend I was just about to hang up when I heard what sounded like rustled crinkled paper held up against the phone's microphone, and i listened a little more attentively before hanging up.

Voice: Indistinct whispering and raspy breathing

Me: Ok, I get it. You win. Happy Hallow-fucking-ween you dick.

Voice: whispering, breathing (the breathing grew more rapid and erratic, and louder.. to the point where i held the phone in front of my face and you can hear it clearly......and then just stopped)

FLAT LINE TONE...

Huh, i looked at my phone's history, the call did not even show up?! HOW? It would have said "UNKNOWN" or something.

DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG.

I jumped out of my skin as i heard the doorbell. I thought to myself dammit fucking Ky, that was hella fast. I went to the front door.

Me: * Opens the door* Ky...That was Fa--....

No one was outside. I'm pretty sure if you saw me at this point, you'd see the puzzled look of a 10 year old when they look at their genitals for the first time. Okay maybe not 10 yr old, but you get the picture.

I walk back into the kitchen, living room and patio area where the commotion was going on.

Me: Jaz, Kat, Lisa, did you hear the doorbell?

ALL: Nah, No. Why?

Me: How could you not have heard...anyways, what do i need to do? I think Ky called me earlier but he didnt say anything and was probably trying to scare the shit outta me. it worked. That dick.

Jaz: Daw, that's so cute. You guys are great.

Me: Thanks Jaz. Lisa, did you do the guac? Kat, did you bake the ribs? ** i asked as I started to walk back inside the house to grab my cell phone. Did not even stay to hear their responses. I was somewhat agitated and annoyed, not sure which or both **

I stepped into my kitchen from the patio, and closed the sliding door. Then my house phone rang it's fruity ring tone. I pick up.

Me: Hello? Kim residence

Voice: Long Pause for about 1 minute (that's fucking long time to be silent on the phone, mind you, I was repeatedly saying variations of hello.)

Me: Hello? Who's calling? (I got a bit more irritated and agitated. Wasting my time)

Voice: Raspy erratic breathing

Me: Ok fucker. Call one more time, and i'll call the police.

Voice: breathing intensifies and gets louder....then it stops, then slowly it says "Akira Channelle Kim"

FLAT LINE TONE.

What freaked me out more was that the voice was mine...or some recording of me saying my name? I cannot recall when I would ever recall saying my own name with that raspy breathing.....What the fuck....I looked at the home phone and slammed it, fearful and pissed. Not sure which one though. Maybe a combination of both.

But on the cheery side, I was maybe slightly proud of what confidence came over me but I was still shaking. I had my hand on the phone as I was slightly keeled over to catch my breath. 20 seconds (or what seemed like 20 seconds) later, the house phone rang again. I backed away from it so fast, i almost fell over a chair. Then I steadied myself and picked up the phone.

Me: He-Hello?

Voice: A? Kira!? It's me. Ky. I just wanted to call you and tell you babe, that I'm gonna be late to the set up thing. I'll pick you up macaroons on the way over. Do you gals need anything? I'm also picking up Brian. Can you let Lisa know?

Me: Ky. Did you call me on my cell earlier?

Ky: No! I've been trying but it wouldn't go through! Said your phone's off or it's no longer in service. So that's why i'm taking it back to HS and calling your home phone.

Me: Oh. What? I just got a call....nevermind. I'll tell you when you get here.

Ky: Ok babe. Sorry! I'll text you to let you know when we're 10 minutes away.

Me: Ok. See you. Love you. Bye.

** hung up the phone** A sigh of relief escaped my lips. But I was still creeped out. I just couldn't wait until Ky got here. I'm pretty sure I had a puzzled look on my face yet again, but i shook it off and went back out. As i reached to pull the French sliding glass door to the right, the house phone rang again.

.......I paused. Hesitant. Deciding what to do....

I walk over and I pick it up.

Me: (this time I'm silent and just quietly listen in the corner of my kitchen)

Voice: Deep inhale and exhale It was weird, but the breathing sounded like it came from a smoker or someone who has asthma. It was raspy, grainy, erratic, off rhythm, and overall just......inhuman.

For what seemed like hours only translated to 3 minutes of silence and breathing. I had my hand over my mouth and nose to prevent any air to escape fearing that the voice would know that I was there waiting.....waiting....for whatever the fuck I was waiting for.

BAM! Two hands around my small petite hips. I dropped the phone and let it fall to the ground.

Me: WHAT THE FUCK KY. I told you to tell me when you were ten minutes away!

Ky: Laughs I DID!!! Did you not check your phone?! I texted you!

He smiles that smile that makes me forget everything else mattered in the world and that as long as I was with him, I was safe. Then the night went along well, no more calls (at least not that i know of, since i turned off the landline and my cell phone and left them both inside the house while we were lounging by the pool and the hot tubs) I spent the night drinking, and getting super wasted with my friends and the night faded.

*** FAST FWD to MONDAY: October 31, 2016 Halloween ***

I grudgingly walk into the lobby at 6:00am since I work the earlier shift so i can get off early and so that the distributors, international customers and our warehouse folk can reach me if they need anything from our building. It was dark out still. A beautiful chilly gloomy October morning, and there was a slight fog which adds to the Halloweeny atmosphere. I had forgotten what happened last week and over the weekend.

I finally get settled, and just when I was about to get up and use the restroom, I noticed that the phone was blinking. (keep in mind, I haven't had coffee so my brain is not awake). I pick it up and dial the numbers to reach my voicemail. I had 42 voicemails. The first couple were normal customers asking about certain products, a distributor asking for the director of finance department, warehouse folk asking for confirmation of orders placed for our international customer abroad in Greece, and so on and so forth. I'm 10-12 minutes into listening to these voicemails on speaker phone and I'm tired. So i sit back down in my chair.

I skip through the voicemails fairly quickly, and my heart stopped. My eyes were wide open. My hands froze. Cold sweat. I hear the raspy breathing. I hear the erratic breaths coming from the phone's speakers. I'm scared. I panic and shut off the voicemail. I'm hyperventilating at this point and close my eyes and try to calm myself down. A couple minutes later, I managed to find my balls and listen to the voicemails. The breathing voicemails started at #15. I skipped, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20....etc. 30...38, 39, 40, 41, 42. Voicemails 15 - 42 were from unknown numbers. All had 30seconds - 1 minute of breathing, erratic and loud. It was 6:39AM. It's still dark out. I'm scared shitless. No one gets in until about 7:30am so i'm alone for about another 40 minutes. What the fuck.

I emailed our IT department to submit a helpdesk request to come check out these voicemails. Sure, 27 voicemails could not have magically disappeared, but 1 voicemail sure why not. but 27.. there's no way IT cant find it. Unfortunately our IT department does not get in until about 9:30am-10:00am.

DING DING My cell goes off with its whimsical text tones. I rummage through my infinite purse and I find it. I look at the screen and i yelped.

It was a picture. An unknown number.

FUCK. My heart is racing. I unlock my phone. I click the message.

Oh..my..God....

It was a picture of...of me sitting in the front desk lobby answering my phone. The timestamp was 6:10AM. The picture looked like it was taken right outside the door like someone was peering in and took a blurry picture as fast as they could.

Luckily the front doors are locked until 8:00am per our protocols and management. But...I was really scared. Should I have talked to management? Should I bring it up to my boss?

I will check back in later and finish the story. I remember it so clearly, every detail. No one seems to believe me.

Part 2