Chapter 16

"I… I…" Gary was too stunned to speak. His world has collapsed before his eyes. The horrifying slaughter displayed below was enveloped in a veil of dreamy moonlight, pairing up artistically yet wickedly like the iconic 'beauty and the beast'.

"So, what now Theodore? Any good plans?" Idris also took a gander outside the window, lost in the atrocities transpiring below.

Crunch!

The distinct sound of glass shattering caught him off guard. Jagged shards of glass sprayed out from the stories above, showering down towards the chaotic streets.

He saw his clear reflection delineating the shards of glass raining past his window. As an imposing man with a strong build, he towered over the majority of the world's population. Other than the fear of losing his family, he has feared nothing his whole life.

Amidst the shower of glass, Idris discovered a young, talented woman from an unfamiliar department, desperately punching at the figure grabbing hold of her as they pummeled towards their doom. As if time has slowed down, he witnessed the disbelief and despair in the promising lady's eye for what felt like ages before she vanished from his view.

Accompanied by the howling wind, they splattered onto the concrete ground, flesh and bones blasting in all directions. No one on the streets had the luxury to bat an eye at the tragic demise of the young woman. No one knew whether they would be the next victim of the apocalypse.

Watching numerous lives being reaped so easily, Idris couldn't resist against the negatives thoughts consuming him. Startled, he backed away from the wall of architectural glass.

What has this world become?

"Calm down Tyler. I got this shit." With a mischievous smirk, Theodore replied calmly as he walked towards the manager's desk as if he has predicted the atrocities unfolding.

Pulling open the desk, he revealed the contents inside. Instead of files and documents, you would expect from a high positioned manager, stockpiles of snacks and junk food were stored inside the compartments, permeating the oily smell of grease.

"I wonder how you got the name greasy Gary." Theodore mocked at Gary sarcastically, leaning onto the expensive leather seat. "How'd you even get to this position being so incompetent?"

"But whatever—" Just as Gary was about to answer, Theodore instantly cut him off, moving on from his suspicions. "It's the apocalypse now! Nothing matters now!"

"By the way. My answer to your question Tyler is to be patient and wait." Grabbing a bag of sour cream flavoured chips, Theodore tore open the bag and started to feast. "Hmm! Best flavour eva!"

The crunches of munching chips resounded in the silent room. Everyone was occupied by their own thoughts, dazed by this sudden change in reality.

"Wait for what?" Idris responded in a low, shaky tone, still visibly stupefied by the startling death he had witnessed.

"Wait for the noise outside to die down you silly goose! Only then can we break outta here." Theodore gobbled the rest of the chips up, slurping his fingers to enjoy the aftertaste. "I fuckin love sour cream!"

"Break outta here? Break outta here! ARE YOU CRAZY?" Gary exclaimed in trepidation, stumbling towards the office door to block the entrance with his massive body. "No one is opening this door! No one is leaving this room!"

The unintentional nuisance caused by Gary attracted some attention as curious gnaws and growls could be heard on the other side of the door. Remaining quiet for the subsequent minutes, the curiosity of the undead died down as they wandered away towards wherever their legs could take them.

"Dumbass." Grunting in annoyance, Theodore approached Gary. Raising his hand, he brought it down, slapping his manager directly in his face. "Are you five years old? Now I'm curious how the hell you even got promoted."

Squatting down, Theodore patted Gary's flushing cheek with the hand he used to slap him, mean-mugging him. "Tell me. Is it a rich dad? A rich uncle? Rich grandparents?"

Idris shot his friend a look of worry. Where did he get this personality from? It's like he's a completely different person from his usual persona.

"All… all of the above!"

Gary wailed frantically, not forgetting to lower his tone this time. But he then instantly remembered the puissant background he had, and his blind confidence was quickly restored. "I'll remember what you did to me, Theodore. When I get outta here, you'll be the first one dead."

"Or maybe you'll be dead first. Don't forget, your life is still in my hands." Hearing Theodore's threatening words, Gary wiped off the smug grin on his face.

"My father is the chairman of this company! I. He can give you all the money you desire! A million? 10 million? Name the price, just spare my life!" Gary begged for mercy, smearing off his usual arrogant attitude.

Kicking away Gary in disgust, Theodore glanced towards the pictures on the wall, where the founders and chairperson of the company were displayed. "Jesus Christ, no wonder you two looked so alike. Like father like son."

"Who's Jesus Christ, I've never heard of that name before?" Overhearing Theodore's mumble, Idris asked.

"Never mind it, you won't get it."

The volume outside the door seemed to have decreased significantly, judging from the audibility of the ticking noises of the clock hanging on the wall, which were no longer overlapped by constant footsteps and the growling of the undead.

"Girl over there. pppsst! Yeah, you." Theodore called out to the woman who Gary was getting touchy with when they barged into the room. Across the office, the woman was standing by the architectural glass, observing the city below her gravely. She was wearing a set of typical secretary outfits, perfectly carving out her swerves and curves.

"That's not how you talk to a lady you know. Instead of calling me a girl like an uneducated hooligan, refer to me by my name." The woman glanced at Theodore. "My name is Qi Rui."

Surprised by her response, Theodore answered with less assertiveness, reaching out his arm for a handshake. "My bad Qi Rui. Theodore's my name by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Clicking her high heels against the floor with every step, Qi Rui reached out to accept his handshake.

Suddenly, what seemed to be an ordinary handshake turned into a rivalry as Theodore began tightening his grip, seemingly trying to crush the woman's frail hands.

"Theodore is it? I like your fiery personality." Qi Rui smirked with an impressed expression as she returned the favour, her grip strength seemingly on par with Theodore's strength of a full-grown man.

"Likewise," Theodore smirked back with a similar micro-expression.

In awe at Theodore and the unfamiliar face's chemistry, Idris scratched his head, perturbed. "Is there a history going on here? Am I intruding the moment?"

"No. No, you aren't." Both of them said in unison, giving out the same exact answer.

For the next few minutes under Theodore's guidance, the group armed themselves adequately, like a trio of off brand warriors prepared for war. Qi Rui has taken off her high heels, throwing away the inconvenience.

"I recommend not fighting barefoot Mrs. Qi Rui. You don't wanna step on a stapler and hinder your movements." Theodore said, passing Idris a random spoon he accidentally grabbed a while ago.

"You're awfully caring today aren't ya, Theodore." Idris laughed in his deep voice, tossing the spoon towards Gary who fumbled to grab hold of it.

"Really funny Tyler. Really funny." Qi Rui teased. Despite introducing himself as Idris, Qi Rui still stole away the idea from Theodore to call Idris by his second name. Unlocking a cherry blossom pink luggage bag parked at the corner of the office, Qi Rui pulled out a pair of boots, a grey trench coat and a few more items before quickly shutting her bag close.

However, Idris and Theodore had already caught a glimpse of the contents within. Standing out amongst the rest of the items was a light blue police uniform, folded neatly but not hidden discreetly.

'No wonder I haven't seen her before. So she's an undercover cop. I wonder what shady business Gary's father is doing?' Knowing that Gary is too stupid to commit crimes significant enough to attract undercover cops, Idris placed his suspicions on the chairman of this company. He kept his thoughts to himself, bringing his vision to other parts of the room.

Decorated in various styles of clothing, Qi Rui held one of the chopping knives in her hands, looking like an asylum escapee.

"If we manage to escape this building, you must remember the routes that I've planned. Affirmative boys?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"No problems here."

"Okay greasy fucker, you can lead the way."

Gary's please were ignored as Qi Rui ushered him towards to doorknob with a chopping knife.

"That's for trying to touch my ass." She murmured.

Acknowledging that opening the door was his only option, Gary closed his eyes in distress. He began twisting the doorknob extremely carefully, scared to make a sound.

The gears and lock around the doorknob clinked with every tiny rotation, anxiety escalating as the doorknob made its way towards a complete rotation.

"Coast is clear. They have gathered around the fax machine." Peeking his head out of the door, Theodore whispered to the group. "Thank god for our vicious workload."

Finally, the group left the tiny office, arriving at the spacious work area, where mangled bodies of coworkers lay on the carpeted office floor lifelessly. The majority of them were too mutilated, mauled beyond recognition.

Seeing the lifeless bodies of his coworkers, Idris for a second almost forgot about the toxic competition that occurred on the daily basis, feeling sorry for the loss of lives. Although he hated every single one of them, he understood that they all had their own families who depended on them.

"Hey, Theodore. I need to retrieve something. You guys should go ahead first, I'll catch up in no time." Idris whispered in Theodore's ear, eyeing the picture frame situated on the top left corner of his office table, unharmed and untainted despite all the chaos and carnage.

"Are you out of your mind? I know that picture frame bears a lot of meaning man, but your seat is only a few rows away from the fax machine." Theodore snapped back, trying to convince Idris to change his mind. "Just leave it."

"Sorry brother, but I can't leave my family behind."

That picture frame was the only memory left of his family. Without it, his empty heart wouldn't have been able to press on till today.

Idris had already made up his decisions, escaping Theodore's grasp as he crouched behind rows of office wall dividers and furniture, edging towards his office table.

Running on replaceable batteries, the old company fax machine continued to spit out mountains of documents as if it had gone on a mayhem.

Under the rumbling of the fax machine, Idris's bulky figure silently crept towards his office table. His determined eyes never diverted away from his Mona Lisa as the mother and daughter in the yellowing photograph cheered him on with warmth and support as if they were still alive.