Chapter 4 - Return to the office

We successfully made it into our building, it was a wreck within those walls. We didn't explore too many floor, just ours and the third which had a café on, so we had supplies for a couple days. The office looks like it had been abandoned quite quickly, chairs were strewn across the floor, laptops left open, open packets of snacks knocked and spilled over the desks. 

We set the chairs back up and sat around. Our office was quite wide as we were a marketing company, but we had certain sections for each department. All in all, we worked from one floor: Our internal marketing had the far end, a big glass wall to look down on the world going by, they had erected a folding wall behind them to decorate with a neon sign that glowed with the company's name. 

Closest to the door was out sales team and as sales teams go, they were horrendous. They had pool tables, mini fridges with beers in, a table tennis table, and a weird desk set up that was a big square and in the middle were a set of four TVs that showed how close they were to the month's targets. It was a very lad centric culture when they were here and though individually, they were nice it was awful sharing an office space with them. 

And then there was us, the ones who worked for the clients. We had sectioned ourselves off with an office divider and a few shelves. We took pride in our decorating attempts. We even got a window too, right at the back and facing other offices, but a window, nonetheless. It was summer so we just had a bunch of plants and we had attempted to give it a tropical feel with stickers and colours. Most people had something on their desk that represented them or something to just remind them t was worth doing. 

Me and Matt got talking about the situation, "It's like The Matrix." Matt said. 

"No, it's not, there's no game in The Matrix." I said, I should know I love those films, well I loved the first three. "It's more like Sword Art Online." 

"Nah, we haven't gone into a game. The game has come to us." He leant back on his chair trying to think. 

"It's The Hunger Games." Megan said. We both shot her confused looks. "As I see it it's a competition to see who the best of us is and we can get benefactors. That's The Hunger Games." 

As if our collective brain cells managed to sync up for but a fleeting moment me and Matt looked at each other with a smile on our faces, trying not to laugh. "What's funny?" Becca asked, dragging a beanbag from sales' section, and plopping herself down onto it. 

"Well, if this is The Hunger Games," Matt started 

"Then to get the most money, best skills, and most followers," I continued. 

"We need to market ourselves." We both said in unison. 

"You have got to be bloody kidding me." Becca said in annoyance. "The one good thing that came from today was not having to work in this stupid job anymore. I already hated the stress it gave me. I'm definitely not on board with this. Not only that we're in the office." She put her hands on her forehead and slid them backwards pulling her head through, trying to wipe the stress off. Megan walked Becca to the bathroom to calm down a bit. 

The three of us that remained just spoke about how much we hated the job. How many clients would be mad that we were not making them millions right now. Who we thought was still alive. Then I remembered and pull out my phone and called. It rung for a few moments until the picked up. "Danny! Are you okay? Where are you?" I ask in a panic. Me and Matt weren't just a pair we were more seen as a four, sure we were the two closest together, but we had two others in our little quartet. Danny was one, Ricky was the other. 

"What would you care?" Whilst Danny did sound harsh on paper in his tone, I knew it was a joke. It was actually a running joke between the four of us. Once we had been talking about what we would have studied for a PhD and Matt asked Danny what he would get but, in the moment, put emphasis on the you and it made it sound really harsh; from then on it just became a running joke to ask questions like that. "We're fine. Me and Chloe are stuck in the car at Tower Bridge. Where are you guys?" 

"We're at the office, we were at the tube station when it happened. Me and Matt killed The Minotaur guy and then we all came back here because it was easier than walking through London." 

"I refuse to believe that you guys took that thing down. It took like six people here." Again, the man said that so nonchalantly and whilst that was like him it certainly was odd still. 

"Doesn't matter if you believe us, we did. What are your plans?" 

"We were planning on going home but people getting out their cars and now we're kinda just sat here. I think we're just here because there's no other option." 

"Course there is, come join us." I said with far too much pep in my step. 

"Dude that's like an hour's walk and do we even have food or beds in there?" It was a great question, an easy to answer one. 

"We've got some food but no beds, but neither will your car, right?" There was a silence from his end after that. I knew what it was, he didn't want to admit I was right, and it was the right option, so he sat in silence instead. But with a sigh, he answered. 

"Fine. I guess we'll come." 

"In the office? Dirty man." I giggled at my own bad joke. 

"It's the end of the world and you're making horrible jokes... Never change Jin. See you soon." 

"See ya later." With that we hung up. It was good to know he was safe, but there was still one to contact. 

Even though I rang Ricky didn't pick up. We sent a message in the group chat. He did eventually respond apparently, he was taking part in the riots and now looting sessions taking place in centre of the city. Ricky, unlike the rest of us, was pretty well off and had a flat in walking distance from the centre so he wasn't leaving his house. The rest of us had to make do. Within an hour and a half Danny and Chloe joined us. 

It wasn't the worst night I'd ever had and not was it the worst night since The System joined; we ate whatever food had been left over, we arranged the seats to watch one of the wall mounted monitors, on which we played a movie, we shared whatever drinks we found laying about the mini fridges in the offices, we all just enjoyed ourselves. It was cosy, it reminded me of sleepovers you would have as children. There were laughs and jokes, there were personal tales, but most of all the sense of comradery warded the office. We were in this together.