I Am Getting Paid $800 a Week to Spy on a Stranger

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Money hasn't been easy. The economy has changed in a drastic measure, and I'm struggling to finance my life. I couldn't pay for car payments, my rent, and I had to limit myself with buying food from the grocery store. All that changed when I spotted an online job listed on Indeed. 

When I clicked on the link, I saw only one single paragraph:

Work 6–10 p.m. from Monday to Friday. 

Watch people through a hidden camera, and you will report anything strange that the person is doing. 

Pay is $800 weekly. 

I laughed when I read the description. And just for the hell of it, I applied for the job. I received a link two hours later. I clicked on the email, and I saw these words:

When can you begin?

I was at a loss for words, but I still replied anyway:

As soon as possible.

I received another response:

Good. Your first assignment will be tomorrow. Your payments will be sent to you by check.

I thought it was all some kind of joke, until I received a link the next day to begin my first job. I was taken aback to see a person I had never met before, walking back and forth in an empty white room. He appeared to be somewhere in his early 40s, and he was distressed, running over to pound on a door. 

I almost shut the laptop, but I received another response. This time, it was from my phone. I pulled it out, and was shocked to see a text from an unknown number. 

You back out now, you will not receive your first payment. Or any other payment in the near future. 

I thought of the $800, and what that could do for me in my current situation. Instead of backing out like a rational person would, I ended up giving in.

After I agreed to the job, I received a set of rules from my new mystery employer:

If the man does anything different, report the finding. 

If the man is looking into the camera, immediately hide my face from the camera. 

Don't ever leave the screen unattended. No matter what happens, I cannot keep my eyes off the man during my whole shift. 

I know I should have called the police, or do something else about this strange situation, but in desperate times, action does not matter. A small part of me still believed this was some sort of joke, or perhaps I was being used for a study, to see if people like me would give in to something so fucked up. 

As silly as it was, I also followed the rules. I ducked whenever the guy would suddenly be looking up at the camera. I never left my desk during any of the shifts. If I had to piss, I would do so in a water bottle. I mentioned all the strange things the man would do, like if he started dancing for two hours straight, I would report it. 

Despite how weird all this shit was, and questioning why I would even take part in something like this, all that went away when I started seeing the money pour in. 

In total, I made about $4,000 so far. 

That money saved my ass, and I started to enjoy the small luxuries I had missed. Like ordering takeout, or going to see a movie once in a while. These little things made me happy, and I was grateful to have taken that job offer. 

I was scheduled for a Friday shift before the weekend. I was eating Panda Express, slurping up chow mein with chopsticks. My phone was on the side, where I would send text messages to my employer about anything new that the mad would do. He was currently walking back and forth again, his eyes never leaving the floor. 

A knock sounded at my door. I jumped, almost spilling my chow mein on top of my computer. I didn't bother answering, until I heard a familiar voice from behind the door. 

"Chris? You there? I need to tell you something."

My landlord. 

I didn't want to leave, but surely for a quick second, it wouldn't matter? Hopefully this wouldn't mean I would lose my paycheck for the week. Besides, how the fuck would they know I left for a couple of minutes?

I got up and walked to the door. I pulled it open, finding my landlord. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, and he had a worried expression on his face. "Hey, Chris. I wanted to tell you about something. I already told most of the tenants about this…have you heard about the murders going on throughout the city?"

"What?"

"Some weird shit has been happening lately. Police have been finding dead people in their homes, their heads missing. And the strangest part…is that they are always found sitting in home of their computers. I thought it would be good to warn you, I want all of you to be safe. Don't let strangers you don't know into your home, alright?"

"I'll be alright. Thanks for the warning. And I won't let any strangers I don't know into my home."

"Good. Have a goodnight, Chris. Sorry to interrupt you and scare you about this."

I gave him a reassuring smile, and my landlord left, whistling a tune, heading to my neighbor next door. I closed the door, and ran back to my desk. I sat back in my chair. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the man was still walking back and forth on my laptop screen. I picked up my phone, and was surprised to see a text was there, waiting for me. 

That was not your landlord. 

"What -''

"Chris."

I hopped out of my chair, knocking over my chow mein. It splattered all over my floor. My landlord was standing right in front of my desk. He was smiling. 

"You never should have looked away from the screen."

The thing that looked like a human leaned over the desk, and bit off the young man's head. The body fell to the ground, and the thing ignored the massive red stain now forming on the floor. It picked up the body, and put it in the chair. 

The thing closed the laptop, and walked away, whistling a tune. It left through the front door. It left it open, so that the cops would find him. Now he would be added to the death toll like the other victims. 

All for a measly $800 a week. 

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn