Chapter 15

Again with this mundane and meaningless life.

Writing reports; crunching numbers; filling spreadsheets; organizing files; faking smiles; shameless flattery; toxic competition and that disgusting fat son a bitch manager.

I'm sick of this shit.

I'm sick of working.

I'm sick of distracting my miserable life with pointless work.

He slammed his desk, enraged, not giving a fuck about everyone around him.

It happened so fast… so alleviating…

But it was all in his head.

False hallucinations.

The venting. The retaliation. The outrage.

It was just in his imagination.

Miserable Tyler Idris Soll. Doesn't even have the courage to end his endless suffering.

"Why am I even still working?"

Idris jerked his hands across the table, mashing whatever was on his office table into his worn-out, filthy brown work bag.

The sun had ended its shift, replaced by Terra's phenomenal dual moons. It signalled that it was time to clock out of work.

Having cleared his desk, Idris stood up to go home. But the thought of going home sickened him. His attempt to head home failed as he slumped back into his seat, a strong sense of defeat consuming him.

"What am I doing with my life."

He raised his head, gazing at the only clean area on his desk. It was a lonesome picture frame, stationed awkwardly. Clumsy handwriting decorated the handmade, cheap cardboard frame.

His eyes transfixed onto the aging photograph centred in the frame as if mesmerized by a piece of art.

Portrayed in the photo was a blonde-haired woman with a smile that could melt hearts and an angelic little girl joyfully presenting a rose to the camera.

This photograph was his Mona Lisa.

Idris's eyes reddened. He was on the verge of sobbing, but his eyes produced no tears. It had run out long ago.

"Looc good daddy"

"Smiles"

"Eat cookies"

He slowly whispered the random words, letting out soft smiles at the occasional whimsical grammar.

"Daddy's still looking good, Elsa."

Idris withdrew a comb from the outer pocket of his work bag, sweeping his shiny, textured hair cleanly to the side.

He presented the brightest grin he could concoct as he picked up his phone to act as a mirror, adjusting his smile to perfection.

He's all fine now. It is time to proceed with life!

This was Idris's routine, his last source of motivation to live on.

Now, he just needed to wait for the person at the neighbouring office table to wake up.

In such a toxic and competitive work environment, Idris is so relieved to reunite with his close childhood friend, Theodore, a friendly fellow who can always lighten up the mood.

Theodore had a weird habit though, which was to take a nap about 30 minutes before working hours end, and then waking up exactly 10 minutes before clocking out. It was Theodore's so called 'stress-relieving beauty sleep'.

Surprisingly, Theodore broke his routine today.

"Stop with the depressed look Tyler, we gotta get outta here!"

He woke up earlier..? That's a first.

'What time was it? I saw it on my phone. Was it…?'

Despite the perplexed looks on everyone else's face, Theodore snapped out from his usual playful grin and grabbed Idris by his wrist, racing towards the staff kitchen. Flipping out every utensil in the drawer, Theodore collected all the knives, meat pounders and even cheese graters.

Shoving them into Idris's arms, he armed himself with even more equipment as he barged into his manager's office.

Observing his co-workers' bewilderedness and frightened glances at their arbitrary behaviour, instead of feeling shameful or stressed, Idris felt liberated. This wasn't something he planned to do, but this series of actions was along the path of retaliation… and he loved it!

He loved the taste of retaliation!

"What the fuck are you doing in my office, Theodore!"

A fat greasy man in business attire roared at Theodore's and Idris's sudden intrusion. His meaty arms were wrapped over a beautiful female co-worker Idris wasn't familiar with.

"Shut yo fat ass up," Theodore yelled at the top of his lungs, stunning the manager. "You too Idris! Shout at that bitch!"

Without any conflict in his brain, Idris felt a gush of blood rushing to his head, igniting the words deeply entrenched in his mind that he has always dreamed to scream.

"Fuck you you greasy ass bitch! No wonder they call you greasy motherfuckin Gary!"

An explosion of exasperation and frustration escaped his lungs, free from its constraints as the manager, Gary, stared at him in a dumbstruck state.

"You two! You! You!" Showered in anger and shock, Gary the manager stumbled over his tongue, not being able to pick out proper words.

"Good luck to all of you! Friendly reminder, grab a weapon for your safety! Hahahaha!" Theodore howled wildly at the top of his lungs as he slammed the door shut behind him, raising a kitchen knife towards the manager.

Snapping out of the adrenaline running in his veins, Idris shook Theodore firmly and queried him nervously. "Hey man, you gotta chill Theodore! I know you have a lot bottled up too but manslaughter isn't the solution!"

"Just watch Idris, don't need to question me!" Theodore chuckled nonchalantly and ignored Idris's guidance, still pointing his knife at the manager as the female co-worker slowly backed away for the man she had just been interacting with. "I bet he's gonna turn first! Just watch."

Using his other free hand, Theodore pointed at the digital clock on the walls. Just as Idris glanced at the clock, the time had generated an odd set of numbers.

The proceeding second felt like hours.

When nothing out of the ordinary happened to Gary the manager, fear almost broke out from Idris.

That's when a piercing scream slashed through the air.

Screams of despair and horror vibrated into the room via the door separating the office and the open work area.

Multiple arms banged on the door desperately but Theodore had locked it beforehand, securing the safe haven which was the office they were currently in.

In the background, an ethereal cacophony of colours veiled the dark sky as meteorites pummeled towards the earth discreetly, incongruous to the sinister chaos ensuing.

"Care to explain what the fuck is happening Theodore?" Idris hurriedly backed away from the door, questioning anxiously as he wielded a meat pounder in case of emergency.

Soon, the desperate gnawing against the wall halted quickly as soon as people began realizing that the door will probably never open up for them.

"The world has changed Idris! Gone were our mundane lives!" Theodore reduced the emotion in his voice as the movement against the door ceased, turning his attention away from the entrance.

He scanned around the room, frowning upon the sight of Gary the manager still being alive.

"Lucky bastard." Theodore clicked his tongue in annoyance, plodding towards Gary the manager.

"Please don't kill me! I'm so sorry for my attitude before!" Seeing Theodore's unsettling movement, Gary backed away into the corner of the room, smothering his arms against the glass wall behind him, as if hoping for someone outside to witness the crime occurring.

But the design of this office building wouldn't allow that to happen. The reflective glass surface enabled people inside the office to observe the colourful world outside from a bird's eye view, but not the other way around. Instead, Gary the manager soon ceased his cry for help. He began to realize that being trapped in this tiny office, with two armed maniacs was one of the safest places he could be at.

The bustling city was a dead machine that had run out of power.

With the world submerged in darkness, chaos ensued.

He could no longer tell which was brighter, the glossy moonlight washing over the land or the blood of humanity splattered across the city streets.