The Office Building

The "Dead-End" Job

"Debbie!" Gordon yelled while emerging from behind one of aisles of junk food, "What did I tell you about the flippin' beef jerky?!"

"Um," Debbie began apprehensively as she watched a customer stare at Gordon and his rising temper, "To have it on the shelf by two o' clock."

"And what time is it now?!"

"Two o' five..."

"Yes! Two o' five! Pathetic.......Just flippin' pathetic......You will never get anywhere with the kind of sloppy work, you slacker! When I say the flippin' beef jerky needs to be on the shelf at a certain time I mean it! People will think were out of it! People like beef jerky, Debbie! THEY FLIPPIN' LIKE IT!!!"

"It was only five minutes over, sir...."

Gordon crossed his arms and shook his head in disapproval.

"I cant flippin' argue with this. Go put out the jerky."

"Yes, sir," Debbie said as she turned around to pick up the box of the beef jerky to set them out.

"I know you might think me just a bit of a b****, Debbie; but I must say it takes one to manage a store of this grandeur."

"You gotta be kidding me!" said the customer who had been watching Gordon rant, "This place is a dump....Its a gas station for crying out loud!"

"Oh shut up you tub of lard!" Gordon scowled.

The customer frowned and neared Gordon while cracking his mighty fist.

"What?" Gordon roared while making punching motions with his puny arms, "You wanna flippin' make something of this?!"

"Thats it!" Debbie grimaced while hurling a bag of beef jerky into Gordon's chest and picking up the rest of the box, "I quit!"

"You can't quit on me! No one quits on Gordon Slothsmire!"

"Well it looks like I'll be your first!"

She slammed the box of beef jerky into Gordon's arms.

"Put your own flippin' jerky on the shelves!"

Debbie went around the counter to get her purse and stormed out of the store. As she exited she heard crunching sounds behind her and a smile spread across her face...


The Invitation



Debbie stormed up the stairs to her apartment room.

"Jerky my ass...." Debbie scowled under her breath.

When she got to her door she looked down to see a white envelope with her name printed on it in fancy golden letters. She picked it up and unlocked the door to her apartment. Inside she threw her purse on the floor and collapsed on her couch while throwing some tv guides out of the way. She tore open the envelope and found a letter inside:


Dear Debbie,

You are cordially invited to attend a job interview at Xavian Law Firm which is located off the corner of Langelton Street on June 1 at 9:00am. No experience or special training is needed for the job. You will also be payed extravagantly. Hope to see you there!



Sincerely,

Mr. Gaelord Xavian



"Um...ok?" Debbie said, "How does he know who I am? Who is he? Ugh...whatever....a job is a job....I guess Ill go..."


Debbie sat the letter on her coffee table and got up to go to the kitchen.

"Who would name their son Gaelord?" she pondered to herself.


The Law Firm



"Well here it is," Debbie said while looking up at a large building made of dingy brown bricks, "Xavian Law Firm."

She went up to the glass doors and opened it. Inside was a fairly large room that was deserted except for two blue couches sitting in the middle and to the left was a glass sliding door with what looked like a office behind it. There was also a staircase with a sign attached to the banister which read: JOB INTERVIEW UP HERE.

"Thats weird....why would he use signs?"

Debbie slowly made her way up the stairs which turned every fifteen or so steps. When she got to the top she came to a bridge type walkway which overlooked the room which she had just left. At the end was a door with another sign on it which read: OPEN. JOB INTERVIEW THIS WAY.

Debbie slowly opened it and walked into a kitchen. There was a small table with a few chairs, a sink, and a refrigerator. A few cabinets lined the walls. There was another door in here with yet another sign which read: ALMOST THERE!!!! JOB INTERVIEW THIS WAY!!!!

"This is one strange man....." Debbie said to herself

She opened this door and found herself in a very large room with some desk around the walls and papers scattered all over the floor. It looked as if the place had been abandoned for years. As she closed the door she heard what sounded like thousands of locks clicking.

Debbie was know a little freaked. She turned around to open the door but it was now locked tight. At the end of the room she saw a exit sign. She ran over to it only to discover that bars had been placed in front of the stairs leading to an exit. She hurried to a window only to find more bars on the outside of it.

"What is going on here!" Debbie squealed now scared.

This Xavian man had trapped her...


The Puppet



Debbie went back into the large room. She walked around in circles thinking of what she was going to do. She glanced up and saw a tv mounted on to the side of the wall. It was flickering static but then it went away and showed a desk with a chair turned around backwards. From the top of the chair a tiny hand puppet that was a pig emerged.

"Hello, Debbie," the puppet said in a raspy and sinister voice, "I want to play a game."

Debbie stared at the screen.

"HA!" the puppet said, "Just kidding...not gonna make ya cut off ya foot or anything. But anyway, I do kinda want to play a game. You see I have called you here today for a job interview. But this type of job interview is going to be a little different than the normal ones. Ya see, to prove yourself worthy of this job youre gonna have to find a way out of this law firm. You'll need to use things that you find throughout this place as well as your good old fashioned smarts and wits! And did I mention that if you succeed there will be a five hundred thousand dollar reward for you! Well.....toodaloo!"

The screen went blank.

Debbie was speechless. What was this all about? Why her for this "interview"? Why not someone like Gordon?!

"Five hundred thousand dollars...."Debbie said. A smile crept across her face. If she could win this thing and get that money she would be able to shove it all up in that ugly Gordon's face!

"This could be very fun.....but if it's anything like the Crimson Room I'm screwed."




The Main Room



"Oh geez," Debbie said while scratching her head, "Where do I look first?"

She looked down at her feet and saw she was standing on a rug.

"Ah ha! Always something under the rug!"

She grabbed one corner of the rug and flipped it over only to reveal bare floor.

"Or not.......Wait!"

Taped on the underside of the rug was a piece of paper. Debbie grabbed it and saw that it was a picture of a pigs face with the words "LOOK INSIDE ME, BABY" printed under it. She stuffed it into her pocket and began to eye all the desk. She began running around the entire room pulling out all the drawers of the desks and looking under them trying to find another item. She finally ended up with a ballpoint pen and some computer paper. She then saw a suspicious looking vase lying on the floor. She went to pick it up and found a tape inside that had "PLAY ME" written on it in marker.

Debbie walked over to a large file cabinet in the corner of the room and opened each section. When she got to the bottom she found a single file lying there. She picked it up and opened it to find a letter:


Notice



This nOtIce is desigNated to all the employees working here at Xavian Law Firm. It is to my dismay that I will be closing down Xavian Law Firm for reasons which I cannot bring to your attention. For this reason I am letting all my employees know that next Friday will be the last day the firm is open. I am terribly sorry for such a short notice. Your final paychecKs will be issued when yOu leave next FrIday. You have all beeN exceptional worKers and it has been a pleasure working with you all. I wish you all luck.



Sincerely your boss,

Mr. Gaelord Xavian



"Strange,"Debbie said, "And whats with all these typos??"

Debbie looked around the room some more but could find nothing else. She then moved into a hallway on the right...


The Bright Hallway



Debbie stepped into this hallway that was had three windows on the right wall. Sunlight was pouring through them making the hall light up. She looked out the first window and saw the street below. Bars were on the outside of these windows also.

There were also three doors in this hallway. Debbie opened the first one and found herself in an office room. It was bare except for a single desk sitting in the center. Sitting on it was a flashlight. She picked it up and flicked it on. A bright blue light emitted from its bulb.

"Cool," Debbie said while twirling it in her hands.

She put the flashlight into her pocket along with the paper with the picture of the pig on it.

She moved into the next room and saw that it had apparently been used for storage. There were old chairs, boxes, broken desk, stacks of books, a few ceiling fans, a ladder, musty curtains, and a sledge hammer along with an assortment of other things.

"Ill just come back to this one."

Debbie moved into the final room and found it completely empty. She walked in and looked around to make sure if she wasnt over looking something. She walked over to the door and swung it back and forth in her hands while she thought of where she would hide things if she had made this nut house. As she was doing this she saw that a key was in the keyhole on the side of the door that faced into the room.

"Knew there had to be something in here," she said while grabbing it.

As she was about to leave this room she looked up and saw a video camera mounted onto the wall. She walked out and saw that one was also in the hallway and figured that they must be all over the place.

"Hes watching me," Debbie said.


The Meeting Room



Debbie went back into the main room looking at where to go next. Another hallway was on the other side of the room so she walked through it.

This one made a left turn and was darker than the other hall. On the left side there were two doors. Both of them were locked. She tried the key she had found but it worked on neither of them. On the right side of the hall there was a double door. It was also locked. Debbie tried her key and this time it worked.

She walked in and found herself in what looked like a meeting room. There was a long table in the center with chairs pulled around it and one large window that stretched the length of the room covered with a curtain wrapped in cobwebs. Sitting at the head of the table was a tape recorder that looked to be made from the 60's or 70's.

Debbie sat in the chair at the head and took out the tape from here pocket. She slipped it in the recorder and pushed the play button.

"Hello there!" a strong and cheerful voice said, "I trust youve already found a pen and some paper. If not you will need it..."

Debbie took out the pen and paper she had found in one of the desk in the main room.

"Write these words and phrases down........prenuptial agreement, child custody, divorce, marriage, and family will. If you can find out what these have in common then you will be one step closer to muchos money! And by the way, there's a key inside this darned thing so just slam it against the floor or do whatever it is you gotta do to get it out...."

The tape ended.

Debbie picked up the recorder and slammed it against the table a few times and then threw it as hard as she could against the wall. It crumbled into a bunch of parts and sure enough, a key fell out.....


The Library



Debbie tried the key in the door directly opposite the meeting room. The lock clicked and she stepped inside to find herself in a library filled with shelves of books about law.

Debbie sat down at a table and took out the paper she had written on. She looked at it and began to ponder on what all of it had in common.

She got up and walked beside the bookcases looking at the bindings of all the books. When she got to one section she immediately stopped. On the bindings it said "Family Law A-Az".

"Thats it! Its gotta be! Family law!" Debbie exclaimed, "But now what?"

She thought for a minute and then began to find the books that discussed topics on law that started with Ps, Cs, Ds, Ms, and Ws. She flipped threw them quickly to find the page where the topic would be at. When she saw how small the print was in the books she quickly decided that she would never become a lawyer. On each page where the topic would be she found five pieces of paper with the words: IN, KEY, THE, FAN, CEILING. She quickly guessed it was a scrambled sentence and she arranged it to spell: KEY IN THE CEILING FAN. She knew exactly what this meant...


The Commercial



Back in the storage room Debbie found yet another key crammed in the nooks of one of the ceiling fans. She ran back to the door next to the library and tried the key. The door opened. She went inside and found a desk with a brand new Dell computer sitting on it. To the back of the room was a large door with a little golden label on it. It read: Mr. Gaelord Xavian. But of course, it was locked.

"Anyone in there!" Debbie called while banging on the door. No one answered, "Whatever."

Debbie sat down at the desk and looked onto the screen of the computer. A box was on it and it said to enter the password to unlock the desktop. She put her fingers on the keyboard and began typing things that would make sense: Xavian, Gaelord Xavian, pigs, trapped, Debbie, job interview, and any other words that came to mind.

After a few minutes of that she laid her head down on table and began to think. She then remembered the pig paper and notice she had found. She sat them out on the desk. And looked at them.

"Lets try LOOK INSIDE ME BABY," she said, "Nope....ugh."

She looked at the notice.

"Wait a minute......these typos..."

She typed in OINK OINK and the desktop unlocked. On the screen was only one thing- a shortcut to Windows Media Player. Debbie clicked on it and a video started playing. It showed a short, fat man who introduced himself as Mr. Gaelord Xavian....

"Been hurt? Need help? Then call me! Gaelord Xavian, attorney at law!"

The picture then cut off to black and a phone number lit up in blue.

"Interesting....." Debbie said.

She sat there for a moment before she realized she had no clue of what to do next. She left the room and wandered around making sure she hadnt missed a room or missed a clue. Sure that she had gotten everything she went back into the main room and sat down on the floor cross legged with her chin on her hands. She then took out the flashlight from her pocket and wondered what she could do with it. Finally out of boredom she flipped a light switch off and the entire firm went dark. She then switched on the flashlight and the blue light came out of it. She walked around the place just shining it around until she came back to hall with the library and meeting room. At the end of the hall her flashlight was revealing a fluorescent drawing of a door. Excited, she walked over to it and touched it. It was just a drawing, but she figured there must be a room on the other side. She went back into the main room and turned the lights back on. Then in a jolt she thought of the sledge hammer she saw in the storage room.....


The Secret Room



Debbie returned to the end of the hall with the sledge hammer in her hands. She lifted it over her head and slammed it as hard as she could against the wall. She looked through the hole she had made and saw that a room was indeed on the other side! She lifted it again and again and again! Slamming it with as much force as her small yet strong body would allow her!

"This one's for Gordon!" Debbie said while swinging the hammer down, "And this ones for this hell house! And this one is for all that muchos money!!!"

Debbie had now made a large hole in the wall as tall as she was. She walked in careful of not getting scratched by any nails and was in a small room with a metal briefcase sitting on the floor. On top of it was two keys with tags attached to them. One said, "This opens the door to the kitchen" and the other said, "This opens the door to my office. Come see me if you want the key to this briefcase which contains your money!"

Debbie grabbed the briefcase and keys and quickly ran to the office with the computer and opened the door to Mr. Xavians office....


The Boss



Debbie cautiously peered in and saw a video camera facing a large oak desk with a bunch of tvs and moniters set all around it. She walked in and saw a big black chair turned around. The little pig puppet she saw earlier began to peer out from the top of it.

"Congratulations, Debbie," the puppet said, "You did it!"

The chair spun around and the short, fat figure of Mr. Xavian appeared. He got up grinning exuberantly.

"Debbie! Darling! Sweetheart!" he exclaimed, "You did it! You did it!! You have the job!!!"

Debbie didnt know what to say as Mr. Xavian gave her a big hug.

"Im sure you'll want me to explain all this. It must be all very confusing."

"Umm..." Debbie said, "Yeah."

Mr. Xavian laughed, "Well please, sit down, sit down."

Debbie sat down in the chair opposite Mr. Xavians.

"First things first!" Mr. Xavian said, "Your're on Mtv's newest reality show Trapped!!"

"WHAT?!" Debbie said in disbelief, "What??? Mtv?? How? Why?"

"Hahahahahaha!" Mr. Xavian manically laughed, "Yes, yes I know it's all very shocking for you. But ya see, we havent aired an episode yet. I created this show and I am looking for an assistant. So I thought to myself, "Why not find some lovely gal working at a gas station", there always the smartest, hehe, "And put her through an escape to see if she can make it out. That gal will be my assistent!"

Debbie was speechless.

"So?" Mr. Xavian asked, "Will you be my assistant and help me with this new show? Every good boss has an assistant."

"Yes!" Debbie exclaimed.

"Thought you might say that!" Mr. Xavian laughed. He got up from his chair and walked beside Debbie, " Come on, darling, lets go get some lunch. OH! Your key!"

He fumbled around in his pig puppet and took out a small key that went with the breifcase.

"Keep that safe," he said while handing it to Debbie.

The two of them left the building and went to eat lunch....


2 Months Later....



Debbie sat behind a desk in the main office of Xavian Academy. Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Debbie said.

The door opened and Gordon appeared carrying an armful of beef jerky.

"I have an order of beef jerky for a Mr. Xavian..." he said and looked up, "Debbie?! What the flippin' heck are you doing here?!"

"I work here. Gotta problem with it? And I'll take you to Mr. Xavian. Follow me."

Debbie led Gordon down a short hallway to some double doors. She opened them.

"Ladies first," Debbie said while grinning.

"Oh shut the flippin' heck up," he said while walking through.

Debbie closed them and pushed a button that was on the wall beside her. A metal door came down and blocked the double doors. More shut close in other parts of the school also. There was no way out.

"Sorry Gordon," Debbie said while walking away grinning, "But revenge is flippin' sweet, and I flippin' love my job!"