However, the melody that cames out of the vinyl was a clumsy riff, not one of the rock masterpieces that he was used to hear in his father’s lap as a child, not guitar solo, no bass, no drums, no vocals, just, C sharp, D major, D sharp, C major, G minor, C major, D sharp, C major, D sharp, G minor, over and over again. “What the hell is this?!” Mark said when the song ends “This is the dumbest song I’ve ever heard in my life!”. Mark stands up and walks to the door, but then he realized that the song was imprinted in his mind, because he was unconsciously humming it. So, he go back and heard the song again and again for half an hour. In the umpteenth hearing he noticed a low noise with the riff, it was a lament, a male lament. “What is this?” Mark asked. He puts his ear next to the speaker but he didn’t listen the male voice, “the male voice seems to come directly from the vinyl” He said, then Mark puts his ear near to the disc, a murmur reached his ear… “What do you said?” Mark asked to the vinyl as it was alive. Bang! Something hits the window, it was the branch of a nearby tree, Mark breathed relief. He curled besides the vinyl with his eyes wide open fixed on the tree. The branch moves by the beat of the riff; C sharp, D major, D sharp, C major, G minor, C major, D sharp, C major, D sharp, G minor,. But suddenly, music and branch stopped, Mark’s beard was touching the vinyl, his pupils dilated, the branch began to turn in to a hand, for the corner of his eye, Mark saw a dark shadow without form approaching to him, “You…” the shadow said… Mark stands up like a scared teenage girl and runs to his room.
The cat looked at him deeply, so deep that he felt as if the feline were scrutinzing out his soul; his inner demons flushed. “Stop staring at me, you pulpy smelly cat!” Mark demanded to the cat. The animal, who was looking at him form the other side of the room, ignored him. The cat sitting like the sphinx saw something on Mark’s head; it caught its attention. “What are you looking at? There’s nothing above me!” Mark said. The pupils of the animal dilated, the cat curled up, hiss and then ran to the kitchen. “Crazy animal!” Mark said.
Teal came out from the kitchen with two coupes of coffee. “What did you do to Belfegor?!” She said. “He is scared!”
– I did nothing to that smelly black hairball! – Mark answered while he received the coup of coffee.
– Please, don’t talk like this about him!
– Ok, I’m sorry…
– What’s wrong with you, Mark? You look emaciated!
– What do you mean? – Mark asked.
– your skin, your eyes… Have you slept well? Are you working without rest?
– Yes, yes, yes… I’ve working a lot… that’s all! And I really miss you!!
Teal looks at her boyfriend in disbelief. You know – She said – I called to your work yesterday, they said that you did not go to work yesterday!
– I’ve been working on this new app on my place, that’s all! I feel more comfortable there. You know how a love privicy.
– You are lying to me again, Mark! – She screamed.
– No, No! I am not!
– Yes, you are!! To work on the new bank’s app, you must connect your computer to the server of your company, and you have not done that! They told me! They are worried, because you are late…!
– but, but…
– You have been with her!
– No, I swear!
– Then, tell me the truth!
– I told you the other night; there’s no truth to say…
Teal stands up – Get out of my apartment! – She demanded to him.
– No, please, come with me!
– No, I don’t want to see you any more… unless you tell me the truth…
– There’s no truth to…
– Go Away!!! – Teal screamed.
Mark climbs the tree near to his window, under the surprised look of his neighbors. He is carrying a saw on his left hand. “What the hell are you trying to do?!” Asked a man on a window.
– It’s not your bussines! – Mark answered arrogantly without stopping.
– It is our bussines! – Screamed an old lady from below.
Mark began to cut the branch that hits his window with the saw.
– Hey! Stop! – Shouted at laud the old lady as she tried to climb the tree.
Mark smiled at the old lady’s attemps to clim the tree. Lady stay down! Mark said.
– No! That tree belongs to us! You are vandalizing it!
Mark finished his work, the branch crashed near the old lady. “Hey! Are you tying to kill me!” she said.
– I told you! I warned you!
Mark get off of the tree. “The board is going to know about this!” The old lady threatened him.
– I don’t give a damn, lady! That branch almost broke my window yestarday! I’m trying to protect my property! – Mark answered to her as he entered to the building.
– You are inconsiderate and rude, Mr, Passio! – Said the old woman.
Mark hasn’t enter to the room since the event of two nights before, but tonight the scientist who lives inside him is forcing him to repeat the experience to make sure that all that hapenned that night was a product of his imagination mixed with the alcohol.
Still with the saw on his hands, Mark walks slowly toward the Vinyl, he’s shaking. “It was my imagination, it was, it was…” Mark repeated to himself as he sat down. The goat, in the middle of the vinyl, seems to look at him with morbid curiosity. Mark pushes the play bottom; C sharp, D major, D sharp, C major, G minor, C major, D sharp, C major, D sharp, G minor. Mark looks the window, there’s no tree, there’s no branch, he breathed in relief.
The song ended. “See, nothing hapenned” He said to himself, suddenly an idea crossed his mind; “What will happen if I play the vinyl in reverse?”. Mark pushes the bottom and he puts his ear near to the turntable, he immediately noticed a bass accompanying the guitar riff and a male voice, a male lament.
– What…? What are you trying to say me? – He asked to the vinyl as it was alive.
– You… – Said a voice without gender – Have…
Shadows began to emerge from the eyes of the goat, they surrounded him as a bunch of hungry predators. “Leave me alone!” He begged at them, but they didn’t care. And closed the siege.
– You have to do… – Said the voice again.
Mark didn’t want to hear the end of the sentence, He got a up and ran to his room as a scared child, once there, he hid under the bed. The lights of the apartment went on a nd off by themselves. Footsteps rumbled on the floor, someone enter to the room, the person is wearing texans boots, “Those shoes seem to be from the 60’s or 70’s” He thought, the person sat on the bed, it creaked.
– Please stop! – The man said. – Don’t listen to the vinyl again, I want to protect you from the others and from… IT, but if you don’t obey me, I can not protect you anymore… I fell into the trap, please, you don’t… – The boots disappeared.
Slowly, Mark came out from under the bed. Everything look calm, but suddenly, he felt how someone; an entity stare at him from behind. He got paralyzed.
– Use C language to program – Said the voice without gender – It will be easier…
As a midless golem Mark nodded. A dark shadow appears in front of him, the thing takes Mark’s hand like mother, “You have to change the source code to make the bank’s app more friendly with all the operating systems” It said. Mark nodded again, and then he walks to his computer.
The man works on the bank’s app all the night with the music rumbling at loud, the beeps on his computer resembled the melody of the damn vinyl; C sharp, D major, D sharp, C major, G minor, C major, D sharp, C major, D sharp, G minor. “You must do what I tell you” said the shadow with a familiarity that he didn’t recognized. “#include<stdic.h>” Mark typed on the computer…