Interview

Ayla had arrived, after waking up late, after missing the first bus to the Metro, even after missing the train and being forced to pay the extortion prices at Djinn Teleportation Transport Inc. and sprinting from the teleportation depot all the way here, she still made it to the Salmone Towers. With fifteen minutes to spare too!

Ayla felt like she had run a marathon. Her eyes pleaded with the security guard to open the gate faster, while her heart raced at the exquisite beauty which surrounded her. The Salmone Towers was world renowned for its amazing view, beautiful Japanese-themed gardens, and though it paled in comparison to the height and sheer size of its sister location, the Pelopon Tech Grounds, the amazing blend of business offices, luxury suites, restaurants and stores more than made up for it.

Ayla walked down the path to the main building, strutting past the beautiful scenery of the gardens which surrounded the base of the fifty-story complex. As she approached the large glass doors with an intricate bellflower design, they silently slid open to reveal a crowded lobby, with a high ceiling and fantastically intricate designs on the walls. Dominating the space was an equally elegant semi-circular desk with three secretaries, each a blur of movement and efficiency as they navigated the crowd of people gathered there.

'Ouch, that must suck.' Ayla thought as she walked towards the desk to join said crowd. Surprisingly, only after a few minutes the desk was almost completely cleared, leaving Ayla directly in front of one the furiously typing secretaries.

"Good morning," Ayla greeted the secretary, trying to stop her voice from quivering, nervousness gnawing at her stomach.

The secretary's eyes flicked up to look at her briefly before looking back at computer screen, "Name."

"Uh, what?" came the simple reply, which was answered with a sigh.

"Your name." the lady repeated, not looking up.

"Oh, Ayla Phos."

"Interview at nine, elevator to your left, tenth floor, fifteenth store to your right." came the swift answer, as Ayla tried to catch what she said.

"Could you repeat that one more time..." Ayla trailed off, realizing the secretary was already speaking to someone else and had forgotten she even existed. She sighed, muttering a quick 'thank you' before walking to the elevator and pressing the call button.

The elevator doors opened and she found herself caught in the silvery gaze of a man in an expensive looking three-piece suit, long white blonde hair in a low ponytail and a mischievous smile on his full lips. His unique appearance stunned her for a few seconds, long enough for him give her a knowing look, his eyes dancing with glee. "Are you going up?" he asked, snapping her out of her stupor. "Yes", she answered meekly stepping into the elevator. She felt a bit self-conscious as she pressed the button for the tenth floor with her unpolished nails. She had worn a blue pencil skirt with a white silk blouse and white stilettoes. Her make an impression outfit, but next to him she felt like a pauper. He radiated an aura of well-off with a healthy helping of confidence and strength, he was immaculately groomed with manicured nails. She was still swooning over his appearance when the elevator opened and he exited at the eighth floor. He turned and smiled at her "till next time" he said as he sauntered off.

She was still puzzling over the odd farewell when the elevator opened on the tenth floor. 'He must just be a bit eccentric' she thought to herself as she stepped out. She mentally shook herself and refocused on the reason she was here. She really needed to ace this interview, she was practically penniless. She had just graduated from university, had no experience whatsoever and student loans which needed to be paid. This wasn't her dream job, far from it, but it would pay the bills and keep a roof over her head. 'Monty Minitour's Beefy Buffet,' the name of the business in the help wanted ad had made her laugh, but a corporate position with no prior experience required, on the job training and a decent wage. What more could a girl ask for.

Alya began to step away from the elevator when the alarm started to blare, a deafening, grating sound that stopped her dead in her tracks and made her blood run cold. 'Warning! Emergency detected! Evacuate! Evacuate!' The robotic voice boomed through the intercom. 'Please make your way to the nearest stairwell and exit immediately!'

Ayla stumbled down the corridor following the flow of scared humans making a mad dash to safety. What was going on? Everything had been fine a few minutes ago, her mind struggled to make sense of the situation. 'It's a false alarm, a drill that's all she thought trying to steady herself. She started hurriedly walking down the corridor and had just made it to the stairwell when a deafening explosion rocked the building knocking her to the floor. Alya jumped to her feet feeling a bit disoriented, the flickering lights revealed panicked people pushing, screaming and flowing towards the stairwell like a tsunami. She needed to move or risk being crushed!

Ditching the high heels Ayla sprinted through the door and down the first flight of stairs before daring a look back. The door was chocked with a mass of living flesh so intent on saving itself that it had blocked the way to salvation, so out of its mind with fear that the solution to the problem was beyond its grasp. "Stop pushing and you will all get through!" Alya's cry landed on deaf ears. She was readying herself for another shout when another explosion shook the building causing everyone to fall to the floor, effectively unblocking the doorway. It was time to run. Ayla threw herself down the stairs her only thought now of escape, tears streamed down her face but the look of determination in her eyes said it all.