It was his last night.
It was on this final night that the power plant operator went on shift, that the events occurred. It’s safe to say that from the beginning he had feelings that he was definitely not used to. The only certainty being that it was destined to be the last nightshift he did for the power company. Whether this in itself was a planned departure from the job or something else is not known. However, it was the last time he’d be parking behind the main station building. Minutes later, he was swiping his ID card through the reader. That’s when it began. At first, it was only a vague feeling that something was not quite right. Then, minutes later, at the locker and getting ready to change into his coveralls, the sensation that something unexpected was about to happen swept over him. He had never had this sort of presentiment before and had no idea where it came from.
He’d had an auntie who used to go on about this sort of thing. She was always talking about getting warnings about stuff that was foreboding or evil. Of course, he’d never taken it seriously. Why should he? You really can take this nonsense too far, he thought, as he climbed to the upper gallery where the bank of controls waited for him. It was there that he would check, record, and occasionally make adjustments. With clipboard in hand, he began running through the standard check sheet when he noticed a digital display giving a strange readout.
Looking down, he saw that the main lever was in the upright, neutral position. It could be moved to either the left or the right. Looking back at the digital reading, he knew that some corrective action should be taken. He thought hard about his initial training regarding the lever. In all his time on the job, he had never had reason to touch it. Shaking his head, he realised that to his knowledge, it had never been moved. Because of this, his memory concerning its use had faded away. He rested his index finger on its rounded top and stood, quite complexed by the situation.
It was then that he heard it. More correctly, he felt it; a waft of cold air coming from behind him. Instinctively he turned. What he saw, although very hard to make out, was the faint outline of a figure, who seemed to be leaning back on the upper deck’s safety rail shaking its head.
The operator stood frozen for a minute or to, unable to speak or think. Finally, taking in a huge breath, he managed to close his mouth and swallow. He was about to speak, when he was interrupted.
Whatever it was, it suddenly stepped forward and began whispering to him. “Have you ever considered how often throughout the course of human history a major disaster has come about as a result of a person misunderstanding the instructions they were given?”
The man shut his eyes, slowly shaking his head. Was he being lectured to, by some ethereal phantom? He couldn’t believe his own stupidity. Annoyed with himself for these wild imaginings and for being taken in, although only briefly, by such ludicrous claptrap, he turned back to the control panels with renewed resolve.
He took hold of the lever and gave it a good yank…