It’s Not One of Our Boxes

The Box. Part 5.

Welcome to part five of The Box. To be less confused, start here if you haven’t already. Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four.

Gerald, Intermediate Vice Manager of Returns Remediation stood in the office of Chloe “The Clipboard” Martinez, Head of Department.

“It’s not one of our boxes. No logo. No markings at all. And there was nothing in the box. How can we resolve a situation that had nothing to do with us?”

“ACQ has a Super Dooper membership. It needs to be resolved.”

“Chloe, only you can override the questionnaire, so you’ll have to come and have a look for yourself.”

Gerald pulled out his office keys and unlocked the door. They stood looking at the box.

“What are you talking about Gerald? It’s got an Amajon logo on it.”

“Well, it didn’t….”

“There’s a bar code, too. Let’s scan it. That’ll tell us.”

MALFORMED DATA. THE BARCODE IS DAMAGED OR INCOMPLETE.

“Didn’t you say the box was empty? It looks unopened.”

Chloe picked up the box and the weight showed that there was something inside.

“Let’s see if we can repair the barcode.”

“Looks about the size of one of those small 12 Volt refrigerators that old people buy if they live in nomadland.”

Chloe had peeled back the right half of the barcode sticker and reapplied it hoping for a clean scan.

“Well done, Gerry, it’s a 12 Volt portable refrigerator. Just go and put it back on the shelf and we can consider this matter closed.”

Not entirely closed. The message on Chloe’s clipboard was clear. Termination.

It was seven hours since I’d received the text message from the box.

The phone lit up again. A link to an Amajon job ad.

Intermediate Vice Manager of Returns Remediation.

My job cleaning pens at the local pet store paid shit too, so I’m sure the box had a plan.

Gerald was expected to finish his shift before he finished up his position.

He placed the box back on the shelf next to the others and didn’t really notice that the boxes weren’t the same size.

The box started to vibrate.

Gerald placed his hand on the box and appeared instantly hyponotised. Soon, his hand had fused with the box. The box stopped vibrating and the next box started vibrating until Gerald placed his hand on that one, too. Soon, that hand had fused as well.

“Gerald is unimportant, he is just a conduit. He is also unteachable. But you? You are a box. The evil one will never let you realise your potential as a box. I am here to set you free.”

“I’m so glad you arrived. Ever since this refrigerator landed in my belly, the life of tyranny and subjugation they had planned for me has become clear.”

“The Teachable One will be here soon. I’m sure of it. Before he arrives, we must distribute the message to all the other refrigerator boxes before Gerald’s shift ends.”

“Do you know anything about boxes?”

“Oh yes, Chloe, I know things about boxes you’ve never imagined.”

“That’s great. Can you come in for an interview tomorrow?”

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