one: there are too many keys

Dangling threads begin to appear as Matt and his staff begin to seek out the use of a set of keys they found in a questionable place.

     It had been months since they found the red key box, but it had been even longer since finding the keys before them. It would have been one thing if it were just one, maybe even two keys. But the plethora of unturned locks had mounted to an unimaginable fate.

     There are too many keys, he thought to himself as he sat in an imperfect position in bed. The nights had gotten hotter in the California setting, leading him to sleep in just boxers. But really it was the constant and abrupt waking mid sleep that left him with a layer of sweat. Always with the same thought in his head: the keys.

     He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and pushed it down his nose with two fingers, not feeling any immediate relief from the lack of REM. He peered over to the bedside to see through squinted sight that it wasn’t even three AM yet.

     He scooted back against the large headboard, careful not to wake his wife, and pressed against the cool surface. Small goosebumps ran up his spine, welcomed for the umpteenth time. A sigh escaped as his jaw muscles started to spasm, a nervous tick that had recently developed.

     The footage of someone trying to break into his family business haunted him. It was a small company recognized mainly in the local area, but had branched out greatly due to online marketing. It wasn’t without a team effort that it had gotten to where it was though.

     Matt looked over and saw his other half had nothing more than a ball of silky brown hair poking out from the blanket she was bundled in. Just seeing her in it made another stream of sweat run down his throat.

     He respected her, as the company would be nowhere near where it was without her own personal efforts into it. It had been about five years since her presence at the company had simmered as it was time to start a family. With two kids and a wife, the criticality of the events unfolding at work became worrisome, leaving an impending dread for the safety of everyone around him.

     He leaned his head back, a soft thud occurring as he began to think back, trying to see what pieces he may have missed, combing through the events that had led to his suffocating anxiety.

     It had been a single set of keys at the start, found in the sealing of the blue base of the building. As the company grew and different angles of monetary gain began, the separation of bases by color just made sense to Matt. Thus they started to be referred to as blue, orange, and red base, respectively.

     "So what exactly are you looking for?" Paul asked while structuring the blue workman's ladder as Matt climbed it.

     "Well, Izzy said when he was trying to insulate that there were too many wires that showed no purpose." Matt took a step higher, pressing in the rectangular ceiling tile. "I just wanna see what's going on up there."

     "If you see a raise for me up there let me know," Paul let out a chuckle, letting his wide grin show. Matt looked down and mouthed 'okay' toward him.

     Matt carefully poked his head above the panel to see for himself that there were indeed tons of wires, some not plugging in to anything at all. He grabbed at a wrapped bundle of some and pulled it over.

     "Here take this," he slid it from the area and passed it to Paul.

     "This is like internet cable," Paul shuffled the wire in his hands. "Why is this even up there like that?"

     "I don't know, but there's more." Matt pulled out two additional bundles of wires and handed them down. He looked in the ceiling from left to right to see if he had gotten it all, seeing he hadn't. "Oh, one more."

     He slid out another bundle of wires, and as it draped over the edge of the entry, something fell to the ground in front of Paul's feet.

     "What's this?" He bent over to pick it up, giving birth to the discovery of the first two keys. Both were identical, just one with tape on it. "It says 863."

     Matt realigned the ceiling panel and climbed down the ladder to take a look.

     "That's odd isn't it?" He took the key from Paul and held it up to the light.

     "I wonder what it goes to." Paul leaned in to get another look.

     "I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out." Matt gave a smile and shoved the keys into his pocket.

     Not long after the search for what the keys went to had begun, leading to a locked filing cabinet, suggested by the head of human resources, Kevin. He claimed that it was found stranded in blue base, but relocated to the warehouse that was attached to orange base in attempts to declutter.

     On the second drawer of the drab gray cabinet was a lock that seemed perfect for the set of keys they had found. Matt inserted one key into it, but the dead end started as the key wouldn’t turn. In fact, it became lodged into the lock, and after extracting it with a pair of pliers, the key was destroyed.

     Luckily, Matt still had the other key with the 863 taped onto it, so he set it aside, knowing that its purpose wasn’t going to be met that day. But the sound of something clattering inside the filing cabinet, let their curiosity build.

     After questioning its origins, Matt and fellow staff deliberated and decided to open it once no one in the building claimed ownership. Conner, the destroyer that he was, took great pleasure in taking a bat to it, destroying the lock after a few calculated swings.

     Inside, they found a peculiar mini safe. The group had looked at it with concern, but felt that there was no connection to the keys, all up until they examined it closer.

     Paul flipped it all around, giving a goofy take, suspecting it to be a garage door opener based on an unused adhesive pad on the back and the obscure shape of it. He noticed a ridge on it though, as if it were fitted to be a sliding mechanism. He pressed his finger against a gray panel on the side and slid it down, revealing a three digit number pad.

     All together the group looked up in confusion, realizing that it was definitely not for opening a garage door.

     Paul wrinkled his chin, letting the peach fuzz rest into the wrinkles it made. “No, I think I’m good man. That’s all you, Matt.” He let out a nervous laugh while handing it over.

     Matt ran his thumb over the numbers that were preset to 962, feeling how tight the wheels were in place. It was apparent that it was not heavily used from how stiff they were, either that or it wore age.

     Matt lifted his curious blue eyes and looked to the group. Paul was still shaking his head in want of being excepted from it all. Tanner stood tall next to Conner, both antsy as to what the contents could be. It was hard for Matt to tell if they both were excited or concerned.

     “Any guesses?” he broke the silence with a nervous laugh. Matt was more so concerned with there being another loose end to deal with.

     “I mean, we do have a three digit number,” Conner lifted his shades off that he had worn to open the filing cabinet. Over his shoulder he continued his taut grip on the bat.

     “Bro,” Tanner chimed in, “are you gonna test if it’s 863?” His paler hue turned impossibly lighter as the question was delivered. He tilted his head, leaving his blonde hair to remain still from length, and furrowed his brows.

     “863.” Matt stated as some form of confirmation.

     “Oh my God,” Paul reluctantly stepped in while pressing his hands to the back of his head.

     “If it’s 863 I’m done,” Tanner added.

     “Yeah but the key didn’t lead to this, so I don’t see why the number would work.” Matt’s shoulders shrugged. But the trio of coworkers gave no grievance and remained silent.

     Matt rotated the wheels on the side to line the three digits up with a black plastic line. Without any preparation he pulled on the end, hypothesizing its entry point. Click! The small safe opened, revealing inside yet another key.

     “What?” someone sounded off, but Matt was too mesmerized to decide who said it. He pulled the key out and held it up to the group, showcasing it as if it was a prize. The square key wore no tape like the aforementioned one, but instead had the alphanumerical TS5 etched into it.

     “Wait, so they’re connected? This and the other key?” Conner rested the bat against the smashed filing cabinet and showed his white teeth as his jaw hung open.

     “I don’t want another key, man,” Paul waved his lanky arm, dismissing the moment and walked away.

     “It’s a key guys, keys just show up sometimes,” Tanner offered while stroking his beard.

     “Yeah,” Matt huffed, “but what’s concerning is where these keys are popping up.”

Author's Note

**Brief disclaimer** This is a re-imagining of a preexisting story that contains real persons. For the sake of receiving entertainment from a new source, the story being presented is NOT 100% cannon with what is seen in the collection of videos provided by the Matthias YouTube channel. This written story is rather an alternate universe and should be treated as fiction. Please view the complete disclaimer in the chapter selection of the book here:
https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/dominicrosales/2767991/