The Metamorphosis: Late for Work

          Gregor Samsa was awakened by the sun beams entering his window. He squinted his eyes and wondered what the time was. Gregor usually sets his alarm clock to ring at four in the morning so he has an hour to get ready before the train leaves at five. Realizing that the sun had already risen, Gregor began to panic, glanced at his clock, and it was past six thirty. The next train was set to leave at seven. “How is this possible? I always set my clock to ring at four.” He checked the clock and it indeed was set to ring at four. “How did I sleep through the alarm? I haven't ever slept through the alarm! Well, the next train leaves in about 20 minutes. Maybe if I hurry I can catch it.”

          Gregor attempted to get out of bed, but he couldn't. He examined his body. He was no longer human, he was some type of bug, a cockroach. He wondered, “Wait. Am I still asleep? Is this really happening? No, I haven’t turned into a bug… Impossible!” He stared at his tiny brown legs dancing madly in front of him. He then felt an itch on his stomach. Looking down his abdomen he could see that there were small white dots covering the itchy area.  He gained control over one of his six legs and touched the dots. He immediately pulled his leg back because it sent a cold shiver through his body. “Oh god, just let me wake up already from this nightmare.”

          There was a knock at his bedroom door. It was his mother. “Gregor, weren’t you going to catch the train at five? It’s quarter to seven.” Gregor answered, “Oh yes mother! I am getting up now!” He heard the sound of his voice and was startled. His words sounded garbled by the end of his sentence. His mother seemed to understand him as she could be heard walking off. Now everybody in the household knew he hadn’t gone off to work yet. “This is not a dream, I have to get up.” Then there was another knock at one of the side doors to his room. It was his father. “Gregor are you feeling alright? What’s going on?” At the other side door of his room, his sister Grete gently knocked and asked, “Gregor are you sick? Do you need anything?” He did not answer either of them as he was afraid to, considering the state of his voice. His father went back to the table to finish his breakfast while Grete stayed and begged Gregor to open the door.

          Gregor wanted to get up quietly without making a sound. He began to swivel his bottom toward the edge of his bed then stopped. He did not want to go crashing onto the floor and create a loud sound. He laid there for a minute, one third of his body hanging over the edge of his bed, and contemplated whether or not he should call out for help but concluded it was a terrible idea. He again attempted to get out of bed, this time he rocked back and forth on his back. He could not launch himself out of bed and onto the floor. He looked over at his clock again and it was seven. He said to himself, “I will get out of this bed before it strikes a quarter past seven. With my luck, somebody from the firm is sure to show up by then.” Just as Gregor had finished his thought, the doorbell rang.

          At the front door was his manager from the firm. The maid opened the door and welcomed him in. Gregor froze in place and was amazed his family allowed the maid to answer the door. Did it not occur to them who would eventually show up? "Good morning Mr. Sasma, is Gregor here? He hasn't shown up to work yet." His father replied to the manager, " Ah, yes. He still has yet to leave him room." His mother joined his father and said, "Gregor must be ill. He isn't himself and his voice sounded strange when I talked to him."

          "Well, we'll just see about that now won't we? Where is Gregor's room? I would like to speak with him myself." Gregor could hear their footsteps climbing up the staircase. With every step he heard, the anxiety in his chest increased. He began to rock on his back furiously and finally launched himself head first onto the floor. His fall created a loud thud. "What was that" asked the manager. The footsteps became rapid in pace. Gregor was able to stand on his six legs for the first time and they were obeying his commands. He slowly rotated his body toward the door that lead out into the hall way. No sooner did he face the door the manager from the firm and his family were standing outside, his father knocking and demanding he open the door. Grete could be heard sobbing. Gregor wonder why she was crying. Did she fear that he was about to lose his job or was she upset he wouldn't open the door? His dad banged on the door once again, "Gregor! Open the door. Somebody from the firm is here to see you."

          Gregor stood there in the middle of his room looking at the door. He stared at the key in the lock. "Ahem, Gregor. This is your manager. I would appreciate it if you opened the door and spoke to me so that we may sort this mess out. Please, open the door." The tone in the managers voice sounded irritated. A few minutes passed and Gregor did not answer. "Is this a joke," asked the manager, "Gregor this is unacceptable behavior. I took you for  the quiet obedient type but now  it seems you've grown a pair. I think you've forgotten your place in the grand scheme of things. You work for us, the firm, in order to pay off your family's debt and according to our recent records, you haven't been doing so well with sales. Your performance as a traveling sales man is unsatisfactory to say the least and now you are shut up in your room like some strange hermit and refuse to communicate with us. Do you wish to be discharged from your position at the firm?"

          Gregor quickly answered the manager but forgot that his speech was a garble of unrecognizable sounds. "No, no sir! I am sorry to have inconvenienced you in anyway, but please do not terminate me from the firm! I wish to continue working my family's debts off so please, if you could wait a moment I will open the door for you and then we can talk face to face. Everything will be settled once I have opened the door, just give me a moment." There was a moment of silence in the hallway. "What did he say? That sounded like an animal," said the manager. "Oh my! Phone the doctor and the locksmith! Gregor is clearly very ill," cried his mother. "Gregor the maid is calling the doctor, don't worry!"

          There was a click to the lock on the door and the knob slowly turned. The bedroom door opened. From behind the door Gregor revealed himself and crawled out into the hallway toward the others. His mother and Grete screamed and they all backed away towards the staircase. He stopped and looked at his manager. "Sir, as you can see..." Gregor then took notice of the terror on his managers face as the manager struggled to keep himself prompted up on the railing to the stairs. Gregor made a small advancement again and the manager began to run down the stairs. Gregor thought, " Oh no.. if he gets back to the firm and tells the boss of what I've become... No! He must listen to what I have to say!" He quickly climbed to the ceiling and followed the manager downstairs. Before the manager could reach the door Gregor forced  it shut with his body. He slowly crawled towards the manager, making sure he was blocking him off from escaping. His sister continued to scream, his mother fainted, and his father looked on in disbelief. "Now sir, will you hear me out please?"

          The manager tried to slip passed Gregor in a attempted to escape and Gregor grabbed hold of his leg. He was not yet fully aware of the strength he possessed and Gregor crushed the managers leg in his jaws. The manager screamed and fell to the floor. The house filled with the  screams of terror from Grete that ripped into Gregor's ears. The manager struggled to free his leg from Gregor's bear trap-like jaws and was kicking Gregor in the face with his free leg. Gregor released his managers leg from his grip and backed away. Blood dripped from his mouth and bits of the managers pants were stuck to his jaw. "Stay back you monster! Get away from me, get away!" The manager was backed into a corner as Gregor kept trying to talk to him and apologize. Gregor felt a sudden sharp, extreme pain in his back and was so shocked by the pain his legs gave out underneath him.  His father was pelting apples at him from the top of the stairs and one imbedded itself halfway into Gregor's back. When Gregor was regaining his footing, the maid struck him in the back with a broom. "Keep going! Kill that thing" yelled the manager. The maid continued to strike Gregor over and over again with the broom until she broke his exoskeleton. Gregor began to bleed out white sticky goo all over and was letting out hideous sounding squeals of pain every time the maid brought down the broom on his back. "Father go help her" cried Grete as she helped her mother into another room. 

          Gregor's father grabbed a shovel from the storage closet and ran over to assist the maid. The two of them beat Gregor until he stopped screeching. They were unaware of the white eggs on the underside of Gregor. The eggs hatched and spread across the floor in a chaotic fashion. The babies were hungry and craved protein. Half of the little cockroaches made their way over to the injured manager and began to chew away at his bleeding leg. The other half of the swarm went after the maid and Gregor's father. "Grete get your mother to her room and lock the door now!" The maid and Gregor's father frantically swung at the vermin as they were lead up the staircase. One of the baby cockroaches lunged at the maid and grabbed hold of her hand, severing four fingers. "Ah! My God," screamed the maid. More of the tiny roaches then jumped onto her and she fell down the stairs.

          Gregor's father ran into the bedroom where his wife and Grete were. Grete's face was streamed with tears and Gregor's mother was still collapsed on the floor. "Were you able to grab you mother's asthma medicine from the other room?" Grete began to cry hysterically. "N.. No! I, I... I can't find a pulse on mother. I think she's dead father!" Gregor's father grasped his chest and leaned his back against the door. The roaches had reached the bedroom door and were on the other side. The sound of their legs tapping against the wooden door were relentless and the blood curdling screams of the manager and the maid could be heard in the background. Grete covered her ears and tried to block out the disturbing sounds as she rocked back and forth on the floor.