《Work is Work》


 Prologue

    It was just another hot day in the city of Auret.


    No one expected it to be like that.


    After the dark forces occupied the city, the assumption was that things would change for the worst. Human sacrifices, wives and daughters being abused for amusement, starvation, death by enforced slave labor, maybe even genocide.


    None of that happened. Life...hasn¡¯t actually changed. With the exception of who policed the streets, collected coin, and gave orders, life still went on as normal. The new masters have stated that there will be changes but added that they want to preserve the city as is.


    Near the south entrance of the market, an old lady yelled a few orders at the younger women who worked in back. They were still in sight but far away enough to work comfortably fast without messing with the counter or each other. They quickly went about preparing food for the line of customers who queued beside the stall. It wasn¡¯t a really big stall. Just a tarp over a few stoves and a wooden counter the old lady was able to scrounge up. The food she served was nothing special. Honestly, a meal anyone could make. But people were willing to pay and she was eager to take their coin.


    The streets are filled with a bustling crowd moving about, some with animals, some wearing armor with their blades stowed beside them. Some stopped by a few other vendors to inspect their wears, others seem to be in a rush.


    There''s a noticeable shift in the crowd.


    The crowd quickly made room for a Dark One.


    Taller than a man and more shapely than one, to the old lady, worn and shrivelled with age, it might as well be a giant. It wore a cloak as black as night that ended past its knees, it wore matching pants and thick leather armor in place of a shirt that covered even its neck. The helm it wore, black is it was, glistening under the sun, yet it was not metal. It¡¯s visor, wider than it had any right to be, was made of tinted glass that failed to mask a pair of eerie purple glowing orbs. The helm had a weird apparatus where the mouth would have space to breathe, it was round and thick. The gloves it wore looked like it breathed a little and also had a metal plate on the back.


    The old lady held her breath before she realized the giant held no weapon. It had a large steel shield strapped to it''s back and a bandolier with dark items, about the size of her fist, that glowed a familiar eery purple color in weird patterns.


    The Shield Bearer.


    It garnered something of a reputation. More docile than the other Dark Ones and but was not above the use of force. That exact same one was making its way to the old lady¡¯s stall, just like the number of times it had before.


    It quietly strode to her stall, skipping ahead of many people who were lined up, but none said a word. It produced a metal container from its coat and hunched a little to set it on her stall.


    ¡°Today¡¯s special,¡± it said in a deep but raspy voice.


    The old lady nodded, she didn¡¯t show fear, she refused to do so. Fearful as she was, it was her own act of defiance.


    She grabbed the container, opened it as she had before and proceed to fill the thing herself. The girls under her had become more than competent, but she was not going to leave this to chance. She was not going to risk upsetting the Dark One and have her stall destroyed. She quickly went about filling the container with rice, savoury bean paste, spiced meat, and thin flexible flatbread made from floured corn. After she was done, she briskly moved to give the giant his purchase. Truthfully the amount she packed didn¡¯t seem like it would be enough to feed the thing, but she brushed it off. The Dark One wanted and paid for it. That was good enough for the old lady and the fact that a Dark One trusted her stall enough was good enough publicity.


    It pulled out a few coins from its coat when it froze. It slowly turned its head. The old lady followed it¡¯s gaze down passed the line, two muscled idiots had drawn their blades. It stood tall as it placed the coins on the counter and stowed its purchase. Calmly, it began to approach them.


    She could faintly hear the argument. Something about taking the last smoked meat from a vendor. Regardless, they both looked ready to shed some blood and exact a pound of flesh in return. Then she noticed it. Someone with dark skin donning a dark blue cloak trailed behind the Dark One.


    ¡°STOP!¡± The Dark One¡¯s voice boomed as he stopped a few steps away from the two young men. ¡°Fighting is prohibited here. If you have grievances you wish to resolve by combat, head to the Colosseum.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off! This is between me and this Bastard!¡± One if the young men shouted. ¡°He¡¯s about to feel what a master crafted blade feels like!¡± He taunted while brandishing his axe.


    ¡°OH-I¡¯ve been waitin¡¯ for this!¡± Shouted the other as he waved around his double-edged sword. ¡°When I¡¯m done, you¡¯re gonna be begging me to end your life you yellow bellied bastard!¡±


    As the two shouted, the old lady couldn¡¯t help but eye the slim figure, that¡¯s how she caught a glimpse of the wicked dagger. She could only see the point but it was twisted and looked more like a spike.


    ¡°...Isn¡¯t that straight from that one western anime?¡± The Dark One asked. Suddenly the two young men and the slim figure behind the giant froze. ¡°I think, anyway. I guess Weebs have their moments,¡± it shrugged.


    ¡°NOW!¡± A feminine voice shouted. It was the slim figure who shouted before she leapt with great strength onto the Dark One¡¯s back. With the left hand, she grasped his shoulder while her right hand wield the twisted dagger and brought down!


    Quick as a snake, the Dark One grasped the hand before the blade could draw blood. The man with the sword brought it down to slash, but that too was within the Dark One¡¯s grasp. The last man with an axe, however, was able to do an exaggerated spin hit the Dark One at his left side, there was the sound of something breaking. For a heartbeat, it was as if time had frozen.


    ¡°What?¡± The man wielding the axe let out, surprised not to find blood if the old lady had to guess.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not a cosmetic choice-¡± The Dark One replied in very a casual way, it was a bit unsettling.


    ¡°AAAH!¡± The girl suddenly screamed as she dropped the dagger, the Dark One¡¯s grip visibly sinking into her flesh.


    ¡°There¡¯s an actual reason,¡± it grunted as it used its incredible strength to hoist the girl over his shoulder and bring her down like a hammer on top of the young man who didn¡¯t think to let go of the sword that was still in the Dark One¡¯s grasp, ¡°I wear this crap!¡±


    A sickening crunch was followed by a cacophony of pained screams. The other men and women had their weapons out but they were unsure how to act. The honest folks without one quickly backed away from the scene, but couldn¡¯t help but witness the events that are transpiring.


    ¡°Oh fuck this shit,¡± the man with the axe suddenly said, dropping said weapon and turned to run.


    ¡°...Wait really?¡± The Dark One let out in an exasperated tone as it saw the young man run away. ¡°...No-wait, really?¡± People made way for the running man, unsure of what to do. The Dark One let go of the sword that was still in its grasp and lifted something egged-shaped from its bandolier. It took a weird stance, lifted it¡¯s leg up as its body fell back a bit before it snapped forward and threw a purple glowing object.


    The object sailed overhead, spiralling as it did so. It was not long before it came down and hit the man on the back of the head. Unsurprisingly, the man fell over, but as he did so, the ground sprung to life! It acted like a living creature that quickly caught the man. The man let out a very feminine scream as he fell to the ground while his body was quickly encased in a cocoon made of dirt.


    ¡°Still got it,¡± the Dark One said with a proud nod. It then turned to watch the various men and women holding their weapons. ¡°...I¡¯m going to assume all of you are trying to impress me, sorry but it''s a wasted effort.¡±


    The Dark One pointed to a tall plateau that overlooked the city. There lies a large glistening structure built into the cliff face of the plateau. It was a tall and wide structure made with lots of glass, so tall that it reached the top of the plateau. It had so much glass it looked fragile, almost as if throwing a rock was all it would take to break the whole thing. But that was not the case at all.


    ¡°Head to that building if you are looking for work. Can¡¯t guarantee you anything, but I doubt you¡¯ll find work of that nature anywhere else in this city. If you have business with me, however,¡± it stretched, loud cracks followed, and then it gestured to the people who attacked it, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you will have to wait your turn.¡±


    Aside from a few pained moans, silence reigned amongst the armed men and women before they finally put their weapons away. A good number went back to their own business, but quite a few headed to the glass building.


    The Dark One shook its head at the sight before it focused on the people that attacked it earlier. Then slowly turned, scanning the crowd before it¡¯s gaze settled on a man with a horse and wagon, yet said wagon was empty. The man was young, a bit of hair on his face, long brown hair, light tan. He wore a white shirt and brown pants. The man winced when it saw the Dark One approach him.


    <hr>


    Merric did not see his day going this way.


    Honestly, he didn¡¯t know what he was thinking. When the three walked up to him and explained their situation, everything felt clear. It felt¡­right. He snuck them into Auret in his wagon, unafraid of the what ifs and could be¡¯s. He had a great and unshakable desire to do this, damn the consequences.


    He quickly sold off his family¡¯s harvest with their help, cheaper than he was used to but it didn¡¯t matter, they needed the space. After room was made, he waited until they had a plan. Once they got one, they told him his part. He would wait nearby and move in after they dispatched a Dark One. He would carry the body, and drive everyone out of the city before the dark forces occupying it had any idea of what was going on.


    Honestly, he didn¡¯t know what was worse: the fact that he was somehow okay with the plan or that fact he was now carrying the writhing and injured bodies of the very people he snuck into the city to the glass structure built into the cliff face of the plateau. The ebony woman¡¯s arm and leg were bent the wrong way, the man who carried a sword could barely breathe in his bindings, and the man who ran was still encased in dirt and was crying. Their would be victim walked beside his horse, waving to its brethren as it saw them and they waved back in an eerily synched manner.


    They were not men. Never men, let alone human. Merric saw the aftermath of the city¡¯s conquest. The things looked like pale men without a thread of hair, but the skin color was too unnatural and the eyes, they did not look right. Also, it lacked its genitals. He caught a few glimpses from the corpses he helped clean up for coin. It had only one hole, like a chicken. The thing beside him was nothing more than a puppet made of flesh. The old wizard his family had given shelter to had said as much. Yet the one beside him it acted as a person would, if a bit eccentric.


    They finally arrived at the glass structure. It was tall and box-like, an impossible feat yet there it was. There were three puppets waiting by the door, and unlike the one beside him, they were well armed.


    Merric¡¯s heart raced when they approached. There were only three culprits, why did they need four Dark Ones?


    ¡°God damn,¡± one of them said in that same voice deep and gravelly voice, ¡°one I understand, but three?¡± It lifted its left hand, signalling Merric to stop. ¡°Didn¡¯t think you had it in you.¡±


    ¡°I know how to do my job,¡± the Dark One beside Merric replied, standing a bit straighter.


    ¡°Grouchy,¡± the other replied in turn in a manner that really unnerved Merric, they¡¯re supposed to be puppets, ¡°meant no offense by that. Real proud of you, man.¡± One of the Dark Ones beside it slapped the back of its head.


    ¡°You get the memo,¡± the hitter replied.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, on my way up,¡± it said as he walked passed the three, ¡°can you guys handle the weebs?¡± It asked as he glanced at them.


    The last of three snorted with a wave, ¡°I¡¯m sure we can manage.¡±


    The Dark One with the shield shrugged and moved inside the structure.


    The first Dark one that had spoken up earlier walked forward however, it didn¡¯t approach the heroes, it approached Merric. Merric¡¯s heart was racing. It looked at him as the other two moved to collect the heroes, reached inside it¡¯s coat. It pulled out a bag. Merric let go of the breath he didn¡¯t realize he was holding in.


    ¡°We appreciate your help,¡± it said as it tossed the bag towards him. Merric did his best to catch it but he still fumbled and ended up dropping the bag on his foot. He felt the contents. Coins.


    ¡°Don¡¯t spend it all in one place,¡± he heard the Dark One reply in jovial tone as it moved to collect one of the heroes.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    He breathed in.


    He wanted to punch it. He wanted to rip that damn helmet off and beat the damn thing to death with it! He wanted to save the heroes and take back the damn city, his damn city! If he could get one of the heroes free, he could get away, it would be possible. He might even get rewar-


    ¡°AHH!¡± Merric flinched when he heard the scream of pain along with a sickening crunch.


    ¡°Nah uh,¡± he heard one of the Dark Ones say, ¡°no Ged-I mind rapes today, homes.¡±


    Ged-I? Merric thought to himself in confusion.


    ¡°Hey kid,¡± a different Dark one said while tapping on the wood of his seat, causing him to jump. ¡°Best you get going, before you see something you don¡¯t want.¡±


    Merric didn¡¯t ignore its words. He quickly took the reigns and had the horse moving away from the glass structure.


    When he was far away enough, he shivered and breathed a little too fast.


    Again, he had no idea why he thought like that. Rip a helmet off and beat the Dark One to death with it? Where had that come from? Puppet or not, he just saw what was known as one of the more docile ones casually use the ebony woman as a club against the man who wielded the sword, what could he possibly think he could do?


    He shook his head as his breathing settled.


    He looked at the bag of coin he was given. He opened and quickly counted it. Enough to make up for the harvest he unloaded for cheap. As he rode back home, he started to think about ways to stay away from Auret, just for a while, for his sake...


    <hr>


    Past the automatic sliding doors were tiled floors that gleamed beneath the bright overhead lights. Despite the blistering heat outside, the air inside the structure was crisp and cool. There were a few indoor plants, a hand full of Dark Ones loitering about as guards, a few chairs that were currently occupied.


    ¡°-DON¡¯T NEED A SITTER!¡± the Dark One heard as it entered the building. It steps echoing in the lobby. In front of the Dark One was the front desk where one of three receptionists, a man, was currently talking with a group of warriors the Dark One had directed earlier.


    The front desk was always manned by three people. It was in front of the elevators, but the elevators were hidden behind a wall that had the company¡¯s log on it. It didn¡¯t know if it was an actual wall or fake wall, it didn¡¯t really care either way, it was just idle curiosity.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s company policy,¡± it could hear the receptionist say as it walked by.


    ¡°You well you can shove that policy RIGHT UP YER-¡±


    ¡°WHAT MY PARTner,¡± a man beside her cut in, stopping the woman in mid-curse, ¡°means to say is that the point of hiring us is to avoid sending your own people, usually. Is there a specific reason one of your, ah...¡±


    ¡°Personnel?¡± The receptionist offered.


    ¡°Yes, that, any reason why we must be accompanied?¡±


    ¡°Several, the main ones relevant to you is that we treat all of you,¡± the receptionist motioned to everyone, ¡°as employees despite being private contractors. And while you are contracted with us, however briefly, you are entitled to the same benefits as us employees. Benefits such as health coverage, which is deducted from your pay-BUT,¡± he quickly put his hand up when he saw the woman from earlier about to shout, ¡°we understand that it would be upsetting. To remedy that, we require each private contractor to be accompanied by our personnel as training, which would be reflected in your pay.¡±


    ¡°Training?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°Yes sir, we enlist the help of private contractors such as yourselves to assist us in their training. That way they have a better idea of how to interact with people such as yourselves in general. You honestly don¡¯t even have to talk or train it yourself, just think about it as an extra hand.¡±


    ¡°You actually train these things,¡± someone else asked.


    ¡°Absolutely, they¡¯re useless otherwise,¡± the receptionist replied.


    It couldn''t argue with that logic.


    It had made its way out of sight, behind the front desk. Walked to the nearest elevator and pressed the button. The door opened and the Dark One walked inside without turning around. The elevator had buttons on both sides. It pressed one, and a pleasant DING rang out.


    As soon as the door closed, mist spurted into the room with a hiss as the elevator moved up. The Dark One didn¡¯t react.


    After a few moments, the elevator stopped and the doors in front of it opened up. It walked forward to a short hallway of metal and glass. On both sides were capsules, the ones on the left wall are for equipment, the ones on the right are for the Dark Ones.


    ¡°You know the drill, Brian¡± a voice echoed into the room from the speakers, ¡°Strip, then put everything into decontamination. Anything you want to be brought in goes into the box.¡±


    ¡°You sure you never worked at an airport before?¡± The Dark One, now named Brian, asked.


    ¡°Hurry it along, smartass, Grace wants to see you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah-yeah,¡± Brian waved before he removed his gear, neatly placing it in the designated areas in the capsule. First was the bandolier, then the shield, whatever coin was in the pockets, some forms, and then finally the metal tin with the food he bought earlier. However, when he pulled the container out, it split in half.


    ¡°Ah-fuck!¡± Brian quickly cursed as the food and one half of the container hit the floor. ¡°How the hell-¡±


    ¡°Bummer.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± Brian sighed as it rubbed his head. He sighed and just picked up the metal scraps. Once the equipment was stowed away, he began to disrobe. As he did so, an erotic saxophone, accompanied by a steady rhythm of drums (mostly gently hitting of the cymbals), and piano started playing. ¡°Really? Old ass strip music?¡±


    ¡°Strip.¡±


    Brian flipped the bird but continued to do so until he was butt naked. He was pale and hairless with purple glowing eyes. He moved to the other side of the hallway as the equipment capsule closed.


    ¡°Hey, is it weird that I¡¯m used to this part,¡± Brian asked as he entered capsule meant for ¡°Dark Ones.¡± As Brian did so, he pulled the dark metal tube at the bottom of the capsule and inserted it into the hole between his legs.


    ¡°Hmm, is it weird that you are used to doing something you have to do everyday¡­.¡±


    ¡°Jeez it was just a thought,¡± he said as the glass slid closed and the capsule began to fill up with a clear but thick viscous liquid. Brian quickly reached around the top and grabbed another tubular apparatus, bit down the mouthguard tied it around its face. Then Brian closed his eyes, the purple glow still noticeable through the eyelids. A few moments later, the glow died down.


    A few floors up inside the building lies a cubicle with a large metal capsule that gently hummed. In a moment, the metal capsule shifted from a horizontal position to a vertical one. The capsule slid open for a man to step out.


    ¡°Rrmmmm,¡± he groaned as he stretched, ¡°it always feels like I woke up from a restless nap,¡± he muttered to himself. He blinked a few times to see his cubicle. He had walls, a computer, a video game controller, a computer chair, and a mini fridge underneath his desk. The benefits that were somewhat pointless seeing as Brian spent most of his time in the capsule instead of his desk and when he wasn¡¯t in the capsule he was working out. And not by choice.


    He sighed as he reached into his mini-fridge and pulled out some soda in a gray can. Low in sugar but very fizzy and citrusy, practically to the point of making his eyes water. Honestly, he liked it like that.


    ¡°Hey Brian,¡± he turned to see one of his coworkers, Alex. ¡°Grace wants you in his office.¡±


    ¡°Be right...baaaah,¡± he let out as Alex already walked away. Alex was still upset with him. He just shook his head and finished his drink as fast as he could.


    With a quick jog, he made passed a bunch of cubicles to a big office. The door was open so he didn¡¯t bother knocking. Inside were two people, one standing to the left and one behind a large wooden desk that was ridiculously shiny.


    ¡°Hey Lester, Grace,¡± Brian greeted as he entered the large room, faintly hearing the door behind him close. The room was actually right at the edge of the building. You could see all of the city, and how the repairs to the walls were going. As a result of the view, the room was quite bright. There was a bookcase to the left of the room, a small patch of fake grass and a set of clubs to play golf with. A set of couches with a small glass table with a glass bottle of hazel colored liquor in the center.


    ¡°Sit!¡± Lester commanded from where he stood, pointing at the chair in front of Grace¡¯s desk before he folded his arms again. Said individual was calmly sitting down with a smile. Brain took a seat and took in the desk. It looked really expensive and large. The desk held a few things, a stack of papers, a pen with an inkwell, a computer monitor to the side, some picture in a frame he couldn¡¯t see from where he sat, and a golden desk nameplate with the name ¡°Eric Grace¡± engraved on it.


    ¡°Thank you for coming in, um...¡± he fumbled for a bit.


    ¡°Brian Sosa,¡± Lester answered while glowering at Brian.


    ¡°Brian,¡± Grace continued, ¡°do you know why you are here?¡±


    ¡°Ahhh...I got jumped by three people who I then captured,¡± he ventured.


    ¡°Yes and you did a splendid job,¡± Grace said with a smile, ¡°we are processing them now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll interrogate them later,¡± Lester added.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Grace said, ¡°now tell me about the attack.¡±


    ¡°Um...not much to say,¡± Brian said with a shrug, ¡°I thought it was going to be a violent dispute, then I heard something I swear was from ani-um, eastern animation from the reality I¡¯m from, then I got jumped.¡± He paused to see if either of the two men wanted to say something. They didn¡¯t and he took it as a sign to continue. ¡°Then the girl yelled something climbed on my back and I took care of it. One of them tried to run away but¡­.ya know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah I saw the recordings,¡± Grace said with a wide smile, making Brian wonder why he¡¯d even asked what happened. ¡°Out of curiosity," he began with sudden interest, "did you play football in your past life? Um the brown egg shaped ball.¡±


    ¡°Ah...yeah, touch American football, you know, with the flags and stuff. All my friends were into it.¡±


    ¡°Moving on,¡± Lester said loudly.


    "Ah, right, right,¡± Grace agreed after getting side-tracked, ¡°were you aware that they were heroes?¡±


    ¡°Not, not right away, but near the end, yeah,¡± Brian said with a confused look, wondering if there really was a point to this. ¡°Like I said, they said something that sounded like it came from my reality so I figured they were summoned here or some crap.¡±


    ¡°Ah right,¡± Grace said as he rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Sorry about that, must be the age. Anywho, the reason I ask is because your golem should be dead.¡±


    ¡°...I¡¯m sorry?¡± Brian let out after he processed what he heard.


    ¡°You see Brian, we have been...worried about your progress. You have been with this company for a while now and...well."


    ¡°You¡¯re behind the company physical fitness standards and you are behind in your synch level with your golem,¡± Lester said. ¡°Against three heroes and what we¡¯re now sure is an enchanted axe, you should be dead.¡±


    ¡°Wait, that was enchanted?¡± Brian asked in surprise.


    ¡°Apparently,¡± Grace answered, ¡°it set off a bunch of warnings. We think it might be something that ignores magical defences and cuts the flesh and armor, ignoring resistance.¡±


    ¡°But...it didn¡¯t. I mean-¡±


    ¡°It did,¡± Lester cut Brian off. ¡°Did you notice how that lunch box of yours was cut in half?¡±


    ¡°...yeah?¡± Brian answered, unsure of where this was going.


    ¡°That was something of limitation,¡± Grace continued, ¡°I¡¯ve seen it before. It probably confused whatever meat was in that lunch box for flesh and the box itself as armor. Your uniform even had a cut, didn¡¯t you notice?¡±


    ¡°No. So you mean-¡± Brian began but Lester cut him off.


    ¡°You got saved by that lunch,¡± Lester said. ¡°That¡¯s a limitation of the weapon, it can only cut one person at a time.¡±


    ¡°And maybe that axed saved the real you as well,¡± Grace added. He saw Brians confused expression, gave a tight smile and continued, ¡°we¡¯re...w''ere having the meat tested. See, either that axe confused any meat as a person or the meat itself¡­.¡± Grace didn¡¯t bother finishing.


    ¡°...¡± Brian just looked at him with his skin slowly going pale. ¡°...I always bought my lunch from that lady,¡± he finally said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll let you know if it¡¯s something you should worry about,¡± Grace said with a warm smile. Brian did not find any comfort in that smile. ¡°Now Brian, your golem, did it feel weird at all?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it did actually,¡± Brian said, trying to focus on the conversation instead of the possibility that he had participated in cannibalism. The two men shared a glance before they looked at Brian again, making him want to tug his collar but he resisted the urge. He realized they wanted him to continue. ¡°This morning, when I checked my synch level it was almost at 5, but, during that...fight I guess,¡± Brian shook his head. ¡°It was like, the golem, it knew what I wanted before I did.¡±


    ¡°A higher synch level,¡± Grace said. He brought his hands to his desk and a keyboard and trackpad materialised, both looking as if they were made of light blue glass. He quickly typed something in, used the trackpad, the two looking like rubber glass. "According to this¡­" Grace began, "You are at level 6, almost at 7."


    "Really?" Brian asked with his eyebrows raised. ¡°Then-¡±


    ¡°Everyone else is on their second golem, close to level 2, your still behind,¡± Lester interrupted him once again.


    ¡°And with this, you can start on the next golem and hopefully catch up,¡± Grace added. ¡°Which brings us to the last topic at hand. Why, out of everyone, did they choose your golem?¡±


    ¡°I...I honestly can¡¯t say,¡± Brian said.


    ¡°Well, we think its because you have something of a reputation in the city. I mean, you don¡¯t carry a visible weapon, just a shield. Also, you¡¯re ver-¡±


    ¡°Whoa-whoa-whoa, wait,¡± Brain interrupted his boss, ¡°are you...blaming the victim?¡± He pointed at himself.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lester said without missing a beat.


    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon that¡¯s bullshi-¡±


    ¡°LANGUAGE,¡± Grace said loudly while banging his desk, shutting Brian up. ¡°Brian, I have no cursing policy in my office, you know this. Now look, normally I¡¯m on the other side of this but-¡±


    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon sir,¡± Brian whined, ¡°it¡¯s like blaming a girl for getting raped because she wore a green shirt!¡± Grace gave a tight smile.


    ¡°Color isn¡¯t the issue here, Brian.¡±


    ¡°Fine-that she wore a long-sleeved sweater instead of a blouse,¡± he quickly said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the issue here either,¡± Lester said. ¡°You were seen as a weak enough target.¡±


    ¡°So what, if my golem was armed to the teeth that would be better?¡±


    ¡°Either way,¡± Grace loudly, his smile gone, ¡°we¡¯re going to require that your next golem is equipped with a more visible weapon in hope to deter a repeat of this incident. Is that understood?¡±


    Brian was still upset, but he nodded.


    ¡°Good. You can take the rest of the day off and tomorrow as well, you can start on your next golem the following day.¡±


    ¡°You also get a bonus,¡± Lester said, ¡°spend it wisely.¡±


    Brian nodded again, a bit calmer now. When they didn¡¯t say anything he took it as a sign that he could leave.


    ¡°Brian,¡± he heard Grace say as he opened the door. ¡°We know that this is a tough adjustment, believe me, I get it. No one wants to be the villain. Despite it all, this organization is a family and we do mean well, even if we can¡¯t show it as much as we¡¯d like.¡± Brian moved his head a little and gave a nod before he left the room, closing the door behind him.


    ¡°...What do you think?¡± Grace asked, still looking at the door.


    ¡°A synch level of 5 jumping up to 7 on a new hire? No way,¡± Lester said, still eyeing the door.


    ¡°I concur...I¡¯ll have the golem take a Turing Test, we''ll figure it out from there,¡± Grace said to which Lester nodded to.


    ¡°I think we should move up the schedule,¡± Lester said.


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Grace asked, turning to face him.


    ¡°Yeah, you can ask the other supervisors. A lot of the new blood is up to their second golem. With something like this happening, better to cut the rot early.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Grace said as he leaned back in his chair and putting the tips of his fingers together. He tapped his index fingers a few times


    ¡°I¡¯ll speak with The Big Bad Kahuna,¡± Grace finally said, ¡°honestly I think he¡¯ll go for it. Till then, we got three ¡®heroes¡¯ to interrogate.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on it,¡± Lester said. ¡°So," he began as he rubbed his hands with a smile on his face, "how far can I take it?¡±

 Chapter 1: Interview

    ¡°Unth-¡±


    His mouth is cotton. Dry coarse cotton.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± he let out at the sensation, moving his tongue and spit around to moisten his mouth. His eyes were closed but he could still see the light through his eyelids.


    He sat up and opened his eyes before he froze. The bed was good, it was actually better than the bed he owned, but the white walls gave him cause to pause.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He looked around and noticed that he was in a white room. For a second he wondered if he was in jail, then shook his head at the thought. It was too clean to be a jail. Next, he wondered if he was in a rehabilitation center. He¡¯s seen a few flicks that helped make the idea seem credible but it still didn¡¯t fit.


    He ran his hand through his hair-


    He quickly brought up his other hand and began to feel around his head. It was smooth.


    His mouth slowly fell open in shock and felt a creeping sense of dread. He moved his hands to his face and felt that it was smooth where his eyebrows should be. Down to his mouth and felt no beard, just a smooth chin. He looked at his tanned forearms and saw they were hairless too. He was about to check somewhere else to see if it too had its hair removed when he noticed he was wearing white shorts.


    Someone had dressed him in a white sleeveless shirt and shorts. No underwear.


    His mind was running wild with every scenario he could think of. Someone had removed every hair on his body, seen him naked before dressing him without underwear, and put him god knows where.


    Overall, it was terrifying!


    He got out of the comfortable bed and desperately looked around, hoping to find something that would make sense. He saw a pair of white slippers on the floor. He put those on without thinking, but after he did think on it he figured that there really wasn¡¯t a point to being barefoot. Slippers on he kept looking around.


    When he found nothing else he started to breathe a little fast.


    He tried to calm down but it wasn¡¯t working. So instead he tried to see if could remember anything or try to come up with a plan. He checked his pockets, he¡¯s seen it in the movies where a group of buddies pieced things together after being drugged in Las Vegas, he hoped he might be able to do the same. He could feel the blood drain from his face when he found that his shorts didn¡¯t have pockets.


    ¡°Party,¡± he told himself, ¡°I was at a party, then¡­.fuck!¡± That was all he could remember. It was a Friday night, an old coworker invited him to a house party of someone he knew, he drank a few beers, had some shots, met a girl and then¡­he couldn¡¯t remember anything else.


    He wasn¡¯t hungover, he did feel hungry and had a terrible thirst but nothing that let him know if he was drugged.


    He looked at his arms again, legs too, checking to see if he had any markings. Still hairle-


    VA-RMMMMMM


    He jumped when he heard the sound and quickly turned around. The door had opened. He had seen it but for some reason it escaped his mind in the panic.


    Someone walked in. He was a short man, at least shorter than Brian by an inch. He wore a pair of black slacks and a blue button-up shirt, leaving the collar unbuttoned, with suspenders running down his shoulders.


    ¡°Brian Sosa,¡± he announced as he read from a tablet in his large meaty hands. His bald dome shining a little, not completely bald, he had dark hair around the side, but bald all the same. He looked up and adjusted his glasses as he did so, ¡°up and about I see.¡±


    OH GOOD! A PERSON! Brian thought, ¡°Um-¡±


    ¡°Follow me and we can get this over with,¡± he said turning around and leaving Brain¡¯s sights.


    ¡°Uh-HEY!¡± Brian hollered as he ran up to the door, feeling weaker than he should. He summed it down to being hungry and proceeded at his current and most important task. Trying to find out what the hell is going on!


    After he left the door, he found that the man had short but fast strides as he walked down a fairly long hallway. He also didn¡¯t seem interested in slowing down.


    ¡°Um, EXCUSE ME!¡± He hollered but the man ignored him.


    As Brian followed him down the hallway and he noticed two things. The first thing was a painting hung on the wall to his right. The other thing he noticed was that he was really weak. Brian would be the first to admit that he is not an active person, at least not as active as he used to be, but he was far from being the kind of person that would be out of breath this quick! He still played sports once in a blue moon!


    As he caught his breath he looked at the painting. It was of a blond knight with short but stylized hair with a sword and shield fighting a red and black fire breathing dragon with a lady in a long pink dress, a lover maybe, at his back. The more he looked at it, the more details he noticed. The dragon had green eyes with black pits, menacing without a doubt but it felt like there was more to it. The knight had narrow eyes that didn¡¯t quite look like determination but he didn¡¯t know what else to call it. And the lady in the pink dress, she didn¡¯t seem afraid. Yes her face reflected terror but her body didn¡¯t. Initially it looked like she was clutching the knight in fear, but now that he looked at it closer it was more like she was trying to pull the knight.


    A sharp whistle pulled him out of his thoughts.


    He looked up to see the man from earlier standing by the door giving him an annoyed look.


    ¡°C¡¯mon let¡¯s go! I got more of these to do!¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Brian remembered his goal and quickly ran to catch up to the man, once again when he caught up he was out of breath.


    The man led him through the door into another room, a small room with a desk and a fold-up chair on either side. It was a rectangular room with three doors, the one he entered which was in the middle of the room, one on the far left of the room and the last one on the far right.


    ¡°Alright, have a seat,¡± the man said as he moved to the other side of the desk. Brian politely obeyed and eyed the desk¡¯s contents as he did so. It was a wooden table made from plywood. There was a glass pitcher full of water with a glass cup nearby, a bowl filled to the brim with peanuts that still had their shell on, an empty bowl beside that bowl, and a plate of crackers. Brian eyed the pitcher with a greedy look.


    ¡°May,¡± he coughed and cleared his throat. ¡°May I have a glass of water?¡±


    The man eyed him, grabbed the pitcher and poured it¡¯s contents into the cup, not once breaking eye contact with Brian. It was unsettling to say the least.


    He finally pushed the glass to Brian who grabbed it and quickly swallowed the contents.


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s get down to business,¡± the man said. ¡°My name is Lester Garfield, but I go by Lester. Call me anything else and I¡¯ll shove my foot so far up yer ass you¡¯ll have Athlete¡¯s Foot in your throat. Got it!¡±


    Brian nodded but now that he got a better look at Lester he noticed that the man is wide without being fat, actually quite the opposite, Brian could see the muscle bulging beneath the shirt. Lester also sported a short box beard that needed a little trimming and a bit of neckbeard.


    ¡°Um, my name is Brian Sosa-¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know that numbnuts, it¡¯s on your resume,¡± he glanced down at the tablet he set on the table.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my what?¡± Brian leaned in little. Lester turned the tablet around pushed it towards him.


    ¡°Your resume,¡± he repeated, ¡°is this accurate?¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± Brian skimmed it, it was one page and the tablet was large enough that he didn¡¯t need to scroll down. He definitely wrote it but...¡°Yeah, but, it¡¯s not recent,¡± he answered as he leaned back.


    ¡°Oh, that so? What have you been up to since then,¡± Lester asked, leaning back into his chair.


    ¡°Oh, I, I¡¯ve worked at ah plastic injection molding company for a few years now. We specialise in overflow work and, look-Ah. I¡¯m-I¡¯m sorry, is this a job interview?¡± He asked in confusion.


    ¡°Yes. Tell me, Brian, why should we hire you?¡± Lester asked, indifferent to his confusion.


    ¡°Why should I work here!?¡± Brian asked loudly. ¡°Look, Lester-man, what¡¯s going on, why is my hair gone, where are my clothes, where am I?¡±


    Lester tsked as he leaned forward and took the tablet back, ¡°well, it says here you¡­.¡± he trailed off as he tapped on the tablet, ¡°drowned in your own vomit. Nice,¡± he said sarcastically as put the tablet down.


    ¡°...I¡¯m sorry what?¡±


    ¡°See Sosa,¡± Lester paused as he licked his lips, ¡°you¡¯re dead. Right now, we¡¯re,¡± he motioned himself and Brian, ¡°figuring out what comes next. Alright?¡±


    Brian nodded a little with his mouth open. Then he began to shake his head.


    ¡°Ah uh. Ah uh,¡± he kept shaking his head, ¡°I, I¡¯m not-¡±


    ¡°HEY!¡± Lester clapped his hands causing Brian to flinch. ¡°Have your existential crisis later, I got more of these to do!¡±


    ¡°Wha-¡± Brian let out in confusion. He shook it off, ¡°okay, look, this isn¡¯t funny!¡±


    ¡°No shit,¡± Lester replied angrily, ¡°your dead, deal with it.¡±


    ¡°Okay, assuming I am dead-¡±


    ¡°You are,¡± Lester interrupted.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s assume that I-¡±


    ¡°You are dead,¡± Lester repeated.


    ¡°If I¡¯m dead wouldn¡¯t-wouldn¡¯t you be a little more-¡±


    ¡°More what?¡± Lester asked loudly in frustration. ¡°You want fanfare-an obituary? Brain Sosa, drowned in his own vomit, dead as a doorknob! I cannot be any clearer than that!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m living and breathing right here!¡± Brian argued while pointing at himself.


    ¡°That¡¯s because-NO! Alright, look, I¡¯m not going to repeat this crap over and over again. You don¡¯t wanna believe you''re dead, fine with me. Whatever floats your boat, Sosa! But we need to move this along! I got a shit more of these to do!¡±


    ¡°What even is this? Like, are you supposed to be god or-¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± Lester stood up while pointing a finger at him. ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not god, or a divine judge or the judge, or the herald for Flying Spaghetti Monster! I¡¯m just a guy trying to see if you¡¯ll be a fit for our company.¡±


    ¡°....I didn¡¯t apply here,¡± Brian said jabbing his finger down on top of the table. Lester closed his eyes and took a deep audible breath from his nose. And then let out in a silent curse that Brian didn¡¯t quite catch.


    ¡°Do you know what Zombie Debt is?¡± Lester finally asked as he sat back down while rubbing the bridge of his nose. That stumped Brian, he shook his head.


    ¡°First time hearing it,¡± he replied earnestly.


    ¡°Telemarketing?¡± Brian nodded to that. ¡°Alright, good,¡± Lester said as he pushed his glasses up. ¡°You see, ¡®people¡¯ compiled your name and phone number along with a bunch of others into a list. They sell that list to other people and then they use it to give you a call and try to sell you something. That¡¯s basically your situation in a nutshell. We bought the list with your name on it and we dialled you up to see if you could be an asset for our company.¡±


    Brian was silent as he listened to the explanation. If he followed it correctly, and believed he wasn¡¯t in some sick joke, then he was basically sold to some organization in the afterlife.


    ¡°...what¡¯s the job,¡± he asked, more to get a full sense of the situation than an actual interest.


    ¡°Depends on what you are good at,¡± Lester replied. ¡°From what I skimmed off your sheet,¡± he glanced back down at his tablet, pressed something, then looked up. ¡°Proooobably a full-time operator, unless, you learned something new in that plastic molding company of yours.¡±


    ¡°I...learned to drive the forklift,¡± Brian added with a shrug. He worked with the machines but he only learned quick fixes for simple problems that anyone else could do. However, if the machine broke down or malfunctioned in a manner that required messing with the actual parts and software, then he wasn¡¯t the man for it.


    ¡°Full-time operator,¡± Lester said with more certainty. ¡°We do have other positions in the company, but you¡¯ll have to check those out later.¡±


    ¡°Operator for-¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find that out later, next you¡¯re going to ask about the product or business right?¡± Brian nodded. ¡°Well, it¡¯s basically colonizing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry what?¡±


    ¡°Look, Sosa, we¡¯re moving to a new world in something of an alternate reality. When we do, we need to make sure we have the right people with us," Lester explained.


    ¡°Do I get a say?¡± Brian asked. ¡°I mean all this shit is weird and-¡±


    ¡°Oh, definitely weird,¡± Lester agreed, ¡°and you definitely get a say if you want to come with us. If you don¡¯t want to go, then we don¡¯t want to keep you.¡±


    Brian didn¡¯t say anything and just digested what he heard. It didn¡¯t make any sense. He died, but he was still alive. He had a normal job interview that was anything but normal. The job would be operating something, something physical considering his background, that would help colonize a world in a different reality. So was he kidnapped by a shady interdimensional company in the afterlife or did someone just enjoy going the extra mile for a bad joke?

 Chapter 1.2

    ¡°Well those are the cliff notes,¡± Lester continued. ¡°Head to the door on the right.¡±


    ¡°...huh?¡± Brian let out dumbly as he was brought out of his musings.


    ¡°You heard me, interviews over. Door on the right,¡± Lester said as he picked up his tablet and started fiddling with it.


    ¡°But...I still have questions,¡± Brian said. Lester looked up and gave him an annoyed look.


    ¡°And I still have a huge pain in my ass, care to help with that?¡±


    ¡°Ah-¡±


    ¡°GIT MOVING!¡± Lester barked out, scaring Brian to his feet.


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°MOVE!¡±


    Brian started going right.


    ¡°No, my right, dickhead!¡±


    Brian slid to a stop before he turned left and speed walked to the other door.


    ¡°Um,¡± he stopped in front of the door. There were no handles. He turned to look at Lester to find that he was still busy fiddling with his tablet. Then Brian looked at the food on the table and felt his stomach churn. ¡°Can I at least grab som-¡±


    VA-RMMMMMM


    Once again, he jumped at the sound. The door slid open revealing a room full of bald people wearing white, a lot of them turned to look at him. Before he could say or do anything he felt himself get sucked into the room with a loud hiss!


    ¡°WHOA!¡± He let out as his feet slid forward. He tried to resist in a fit of panic but he just ended up falling on his butt. He felt the impact all the way to head, he didn¡¯t have time to process it however because even on his butt he was still sliding forward.


    Once he was in the room he could hear the door shut behind him.


    He looked up to see that people were already going back to minding their own business.


    ¡°Yer like the fifth person I''ve seen do that,¡± a guy said as he walked up to Brian. He was a black guy dressed in the exact same attire as Brian, bald, and very lanky(practically a stick). In his early twenties if Brian had to guess.


    He offered his hand, ¡°¡¯ere.¡±


    Brian accepted it and felt himself get pulled to his feet. He tried to help but felt really weak.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Brian asked while jerking a thumb at the door.


    ¡°I dunno man, some of the guys,¡± he pointed to a group of skinny people, Brian honestly couldn¡¯t tell their gender, who were standing in a corner of the very large white room, chatting, ¡°think it¡¯s a vacuum or somethin¡¯. Personally, I think it¡¯s bullshit.¡±


    ¡°You got that right,¡± Brian grumbled in agreement, resisting the urge to rub his behind. ¡°Um, Brian Sosa,¡± he said, putting his hand out.


    ¡°Ezekial Hart, but my fams call me Zed,¡± Zed said as he shook Brian¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Zed?¡± Brian asked with a raised brow.


    ¡°Yeah, it used to be E-Z, but people cracked jokes in the worst ways, so I went with Zed,¡± He explained.


    ¡°Oh, you British or-¡±


    ¡°Canadian,¡± Zed replied with a smile. ¡°Lemme guess,¡± he pointed at Brian with a finger gun, ¡°American?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°Kewl. Want some food?¡± He thumbed at a large box-like shape in the middle of the room.


    ¡°Hell yeah,¡± Brian said with gusto that caused the two of them to laugh.


    ¡°Aight, man, c¡¯mon,¡± Zed motioned he lead him to the square-shaped object. When he got closer, he found that it¡¯s a container full of peanuts. Like the ones on Lester''s desk, these still had their shell on...well, now I know it¡¯s a cheap company. There was a stack of cardboard containers right beside the peanuts.


    ¡°This it?¡±


    ¡°And some crackers, but they¡¯re drier than bones,¡± Zed replied. "Water¡¯s right down there, in the washroom.¡± Bathroom, Brian thought in his head, but didn¡¯t feel the need to verbalize it, he looked at where Zed pointed, the beginnings of some hallway that was in the middle of the room. ¡°Long walk though.¡±


    ¡°Figures,¡± Brian said as he grabbed a container and scooped up as much peanuts as it could hold. Then he realized something, ¡°Um.¡±


    ¡°Bunch of trash-shoots around,¡± Zed said, already guessing what Brian was going to ask. He pointed at the closest one looked like a rectangular trash can. ¡°Though people don¡¯t really care at this point.¡±


    Brian could see that, the floor was littered with shells in certain areas of the big room.


    ¡°Ey, so what camp are you in?¡± Zed asked.


    ¡°Sorry?¡± Brian asked as he struggled to open a peanut with one hand.


    ¡°Which camp you in, like...you think this s¡¯all some big joke and do you think this is some cheap-ass Afterlife Incorporated or some shit?¡±


    ¡°I¡­.I don¡¯t know man. I¡¯m leaning more towards the jokes,¡± Brian answered honestly.


    ¡°Huh, guess you must¡¯ve been like me then.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°You know, average. Not built or fat, just average enough not to notice how skinny we got.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Brian looked at his arms. Now that he wasn¡¯t completely panicking he did notice that they were indeed thinner.


    ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t notice either until I looked at my hands,¡± Zed said, prompting Brian to look at his own free palm. ¡°I¡¯m a youtuber artist, you know, trying to make it big. Mostly I just play the guitar, so I have calluses on my fingers, but look,¡± Brian looked up to see Zed¡¯s hand, ¡°no Callus. Hell, the cut I got yesterday is gone too.¡±


    Brian looked back at his palm. He didn¡¯t play an instrument but he did use his hands a lot at his job which did result in calluses on his palm. Calluses that were no longer there.


    ¡°I dunno about all this,¡± Zed continued, ¡°but for now I¡¯m just trying to figure out how to get out of this shit.¡±


    Brian nodded a bit to that.


    ¡°So...you really think we¡¯re dead?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°Honestly? I kinda hope this s¡¯all some sick joke and ya¡¯ll are actors someone paid to pull one over on me, but so far I got evidence to the opposite. Um, I ah, I died in a car accident, ¡®parently.¡±


    ¡°...They tell you that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he admitted, he quirked a brow, ¡°same wit you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Brian nodded, ¡°drowned in my own vomit, if you can believe that. Like, I remember going to a party, having a few beers, shots, but, I, I don¡¯t remember anything after that.¡± Brian explained as he went back to trying to open one of the peanut shells with a single hand. It was needlessly hard.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Zed let out mild surprise. ¡°With me, I was just takin¡¯ my show outdoors. My account was shut down for some bullshit ¡¯n I needed cash. Figured I could get live feedback, loose change, and meet the fams. Crossed the street and saw a huge semi run a red light. Froze like¡¯a deer en headlights.¡±


    ¡°Whoa,¡± Brian said as he stopped what he was suspected to be a pointless task, ¡°you mean, you actually remember-¡±


    ¡°I remember the semi, not the dyin¡¯,¡± Zed clarified, ¡°if it¡¯s real it must¡¯ve been instant. And if that¡¯s the case, then I think we got off lucky.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Brain asked with a raised brow as he finally managed to get one peanut shell opened. Zed shrugged as Brian popped the peanut into his mouth.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel pain and you don¡¯t even remember it,¡± he began, ¡°if it¡¯s real then it sucks, but we¡¯re better off than them,¡± Zed nodded to a group of people who sat at a nearby table. He could see people trembling and shaking, from the few faces he could see clearly he could tell that a few people have been crying.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing they remember how they died,¡± Brain said as he stared at the group, working on opening another peanut.


    ¡°Got it in one,¡± Zed said, ¡°thank god for da bullshit that makes everything silent,¡± Zed said as Brian nodded.


    ¡°...Wait what?¡±


    ¡°...You didn¡¯t notice?¡± Zed asked with raised brow but Brian could see a smile tugging at Zed¡¯s lips. Once more Brian looked around him. He could see mouths flapping, people arguing, people emoting laughter without a sound. Then he spotted-


    ¡°Are they playing video games?¡± Brian pointed to a group of people huddled over a large tv. He spotted another such congregation in the opposite side of the room.


    ¡°You betcha,¡± Zed snorted, ¡°and trust me, they are loud and pact together. It''s just some racing kart game, I mean it has good graphics ¡®n good tunes, but nothing I¡¯d personally get excited over. Though if I got a turn I¡¯d definitely play,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°...¡± Brian looked at zed in the eye. Either they were all paid to be mimes or this bullshit was real. ¡°How the fuck is this pos-¡±


    ¡°I dunno,¡± Zed quickly cut Brian off while raising his hand in surrender. ¡°Best I figured is that everyone¡¯s got a bubble, you know, personal space and all that. You won¡¯t hear anything unless yer inside that bubble. Or hear da door open,¡± Zed briefly pointed at the door that sucked Brian in, ¡°that ya always hear.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Brian nodded, still trying to get the shell off the peanut, processing everything and wondering how he was missing such obvious details. Then his stomach grumbled.


    ¡°Oh fuck this shit,¡± Brian picked a peanut, brought it to his mouth and bit into the shell. Not the best plan, some of the shell fragments broke in his mouth, but it was a hell of a lot faster than trying to open it with one hand.


    Brian was so absorbed in his task that he barely registered that Zed was chuckling. Brian glanced at him as he worked another peanut open with his jaw.


    ¡°Did the exact same shit when I realized a lot ah things went over my head,¡± he explained when he calmed down some. ¡°C¡¯mon, let''s grab a seat and I¡¯ll fill ya in.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Well that can¡¯t be good,¡± Brian muttered to himself as he tried the other door in the room. Like the door in the room Lester led him to, there was no handle. But unlike that door, this one has a white pad right by the door.


    According to Zed, the pad lets out a green glowing O and red glowing X. Turns out there¡¯s another huge room connected to the unisex bathroom. Zed didn¡¯t have a definite answer but he reasoned that when the time came, one would have to exit the room on the pad that gave the O.


    He had gone to the other room, practically a mirror of the room he met Zed in with some differences. He put his hands near the pad of the door of that room and a red X appeared on the pad. He walked back to the room he was in earlier and touched the pad on that. It was a green O.


    Seems like Brian¡¯s supposed to leave through what he dubs "The Left Room."


    This gave rise to a very important question.


    ¡°Am I in the right room?¡±


    If you¡¯re supposed to go out through a certain room, did that mean there was a good room and a bad room?


    Thoughts like kept popping up in Brian¡¯s head. Sure he could be jumping to conclusions and Brian didn¡¯t mean to be assuming, but it felt like Lester was that way with everyone...but Lester did seem very irritated with him.


    After Zed left to do his own thing, Brian chatted with a few other people who seemed more put together. At least better than he was at the moment. He found that it was random. People had been in the other room only to find that the door that gave them the green O was in the Left Room, some found that the door was in the same room they were sucked into.


    Some people waited by the door, others walked between the two room constantly. It was something to do.


    Besides video games that were constantly being fought over(physically even), there were stacks of grid paper and bundles of led pencils with replacement led along with the odd sharpie.


    Brian had tried doodling earlier to keep his mind off stuff, but he wasn¡¯t anywhere near decent at doodling nor did he have the patience or concentration some people with the same idea appeared to have. He was calmer though. Still unnerved, frustrated about his lack of artistic skill and ability to do anything about his situation, bordering a full-blown panic attack...but calmer.


    He walked by one of the areas with videogames set up. Like Zed said, it was hectic. A bunch of skinny, bald people getting loud and crazy over virtual go karts. He could barely see the screen over the screaming bodies, but he noted that it wasn¡¯t any brand he could tell. It wasn¡¯t like Disney¡¯s Mickey Karts or the horrible Mario knockoff. He couldn¡¯t even tell who the characters were, they were like the crappy Wii Avatars Micky Karts did of the users who went through the hassle of making them.


    After getting a few accidental elbows in the face he decided to go to the bathroom for what he was sure would not be the last time until...whatever is supposed to happen happens.


    He looked around the room as he made his way to the hallway. It was a large rectangular room that looked like it was made of white plastic but it felt like he was walking on smooth stone. Marble maybe. There were no visible light bulbs or any light source, the room just had natural light for no apparent reason. Something else that was tacked onto Brian¡¯s mental list of weird shit happening to or around him.


    He entered the hallway that for some weird reason had artificial lighting that winked out every once in a while, again, with no light source or apparent reason.


    Brian shook his head trying to clear his mind. Then froze.


    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon,¡± he said as he brought up a hand to help him ignore the fact that there was a couple having sex in the hallway. And it wasn¡¯t the first time he happened upon such a sight. Apparently knowledge of your own demise and uncertainty about your future can be an aphrodisiac. Who knew?


    ¡°Thank god for the bullshit that keeps everything silent,¡± Brian quoted Zed as moved past the couple who seemed content to stick to one side of the wall in the hallway.


    After the second time he caught people having sex, a weird threeway that excited him, grossed him, confused him, and even interested him in ways he couldn¡¯t understand, he thought about doing the same only...more vanilla and limited to two people, but he honestly didn¡¯t feel like it.


    Nerves, frustration, whatever you want to call it, it was bothering him and he doubted that busting a nut with some random bald stranger who is probably feeling the same way would make it go away let alone distract him.


    Brian, after sticking to the wall and walking a curve, made it to the bathroom and he had to hand it to the magical shady company, they have a decent bathroom. It was by far the biggest bathroom he¡¯s been in, 35 toilet stalls on both sides of the wall with another wall in the middle of the bathroom with 35 sand-toilets on either side. Again white walls and floor. Not only that, the bathroom had stayed white and didn''t smell even remotely bad for what Brian could only assume has been hours of use.


    The only downside was that the water was inside the bathroom instead of outside by the door.


    He walked to the wall that had ten water dispensers in a line, basically the dispensers you see in fast food joints, there were cups on either end of the line of dispensers.


    But again, it was in the bathroom. Not by the door, not in a separate room in the bathroom, it was in the bathroom where you could see the sand toilets and toilet stalls.


    Sure Brian knew people who just drank water from wherever but he¡¯s always been the type to use a filter whenever he could. But it wasn¡¯t like there was a water source anywhere else and he sure as hell wasn¡¯t drinking from the sink, even if it was more than likely that the dispenser basically served the same water that was used to flush the toilets. So he sucked it up and went for a cup.


    He found a guy already drinking water by the dispensers. He was white, maybe a bit more on the pasty side, average height, young-looking, and wearing the same outfit as everybody else. He leaned against the wall and just stared at the stalls and the walls.


    He glanced at Brian and gave a nod. Brian politely gave it back and proceeded to get a cup of water.


    He got his water and turned around to look at the bathroom. Mildly better than watching paint dry, considering you see people coming in and out. For a minute or so he drank the water in silence, a few more people slipping by and grabbing a cup of themselves.


    ¡°Out of curiosity,¡± Brian turned to look at the man who gave him a nod, ¡°do any of these paintings look familiar to you?¡±


    Brian raised a brow but turned to look. Right, a detail he didn¡¯t really register were the paintings on the walls, it just sort of fell in as bathroom decoration. Slightly better than just white walls but still pretty bland. From the dispensers, he could see the back wall, passed the sand toilets, with five paintings. The one on the far left looked familiar to him.


    ¡°Ah...um, yeah,¡± Brian pointed to it, "the dragon one looks familiar.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± the man let out, Brian glanced at him to see him nod to himself while he looked at the paintings. ¡°The one on to the right of the middle one, with the horse and the two horns, whatever you call that. I saw that in the hallway before I had the interview.¡±


    ¡°Wait, really? Brian asked, ¡°like the long hallway?¡± The man nodded. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s where I saw that dragon one.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± the man said, glancing at Brian then went back to looking at the paintings, ¡°Who¡¯d you have?¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°The person who interviewed you. Who was it?¡±


    ¡°Lester,¡± Brian answered with a tight smile. He always had an easier time remembering people like that.


    ¡°Ooof,¡± the man let out, ¡°poor bastard, I heard he was an ass.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he really was,¡± Brian agreed as he took another sip of the water.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Andrew but I rather you just call me Andy,¡± the man suddenly said as he outstretched his hand. Brian took another long sip before he shook it.


    ¡°I¡¯m Brian, um-¡±


    ¡°Tell me, Brian,¡± Andy cut him off, ¡°do you follow politics?¡±


    ¡°Um...¡± Brian paused as his mind tried to process what he heard and come up with an intelligent response, ¡°I...I just, it, it¡¯s not my thing. I can name the president but I¡¯m not on either-¡±


    ¡°Hughe Pattersworth, right?¡± Andy asked. ¡°The E in Hughe is silent,¡± he added.


    ¡°...yeaaaaaaaaa,¡± Brian trailed, was anyone else the president?


    ¡°Who¡¯s the VP?¡± Andy suddenly asked with a smile.


    ¡°Um, fuck,¡± Brian cursed as scrambled to remember the vice president¡¯s name, ¡°ahh Jimmmmmmmmmmm-Lumbard-lumgrat!¡± Brian snapped his fingers. ¡°Jim Lumgrat¡¯s the vp!¡±


    ¡°Alright, and a movie came out last month, some comic book one, do you remember which one?"


    "The Batman Beyond one?"


    "I don''t remember, I just know its the original batman actor from the 70s who returned and trained a kid to be the new Batman in a city with flying cars and laser guns."


    "That''s the one," Brian said with a small smile. "People say they''re making that one wolverine comic where he''s old into a movie because of it.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know which one you are talking about, I don¡¯t really follow that stuff,¡± Andy admitted.


    ¡°Fair, but ah, no offense, but isn¡¯t this pretty random? I mean going from politics to movies?¡± Brian couldn¡¯t help but ask with some amusement.


    ¡°Yup, and it was worth it,¡± Andy said as he tossed his cup at a nearby trash shoot.


    ¡°How so?¡± Brian lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°Oh-I had a theory that people from the same Earth saw the same person or at least the same painting. Didn¡¯t go anywhere, it seems like they¡¯re doing things randomly.¡±


    ¡­ Brian went still, his lip touching the cup.


    Same Earth? There¡¯s more than one? Jesus Fucking Christ! WHY!? Brian couldn¡¯t help but freak out a little in the privacy of his mind as he did his best to keep calm on the outside. He wondered how the hell he failed to catch that, especially since he talked to a decent amount of people. He did find that some of the things they talked about, mostly related to movies and stuff, to be a little off but he didn¡¯t think much of it at the time. Honestly, considering all the bullshit that piled up already he really shouldn¡¯t be surprised. Still though-WHY!?!


    ¡°...So,¡± Brian began as he put the cup on the bottom of the dispenser, his thirst suddenly quenched, ¡°satisfied?¡±


    ¡°Ehh,¡± Andy shrugged, ¡°not really. Thought I had something, but at least I found someone from the same reality I¡¯m from. Not much but it''s a bit comforting,¡± Andy admitted.


    ¡°...Actually, fuck, yeah, that is a bit comforting,¡± Brian agreed, running a hand through his head, tensing a little when he realized his hair was still gone. It wasn¡¯t much but somehow knowing there was someone like Andy around made things slightly better in a way Brian didn¡¯t quite understand at the moment.


    That admission earned a small chuckle from Andy.


    ¡°Nyeah,¡± Andy nodded.


    ¡°So, have you just been asking these sort of questions to everyone?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°And then some,¡± Andy replied with a sigh. ¡°See, I¡¯ve been here for,¡± he paused when he tried to look at his wrist, probably looking for a watch or something, something Brian understood considering he still reached for a phone that wasn¡¯t on his person. Andy then grunted before he ran a hand through his face, ¡°hours I¡¯m sure, but I still can¡¯t find what the Interviewers are looking for.¡±


    "Probably cheap muscle and scientists, maybe survival nuts," Brian said, recalling what the business was.


    "Colonization," Andy echoed his thoughts, "but the thing is Brian, there are no scientists here. Or doctors for that matter."


    "...what?" Brian let out dumbly.


    "I''ve talked with a lot of people, and so far I have not run into someone with that kind of profession. I did find a few who had interesting hobbies, but nothing along the vein of helping us colonize. Heck, I haven''t even seen a dentist let alone a surgeon or a mechanical engineer. Just clerks and accountants."


    "...huh," Brian let out as he processed what he said, "Yeah, I''ve only met youtubers, artists, warehouse workers, and maybe a librarian, she didn''t confirm."


    "See, that begs the question, what are they looking for? I don''t know what they look for in ''muscle'', as you put it, but there''s an overabundance of thin people and, clearly, they separated us."


    "Um...emotional people are out?" Brian ventured.


    "Maybe but there is a reason I¡¯m lurking in here. See, there was this group of people who made this place their headquarters of sort. I marked a few of their members'' clothes with a marker and now they''re gone."


    "Gone? As in-"


    "Nowhere to be seen," Andy clarified, "not in either room. They just,¡± Andy lightly shook his head with a tight smile, ¡°vanished into thin air."


    Brian stopped to think about it. If there was a group of people who hung out in the bathroom and yet disappeared¡­.


    "You can see it right?" Andy asked with a toothy smile. ¡°A huge pool of people with less than stellar skills and work experience to sort through, interviews at our most vulnerable, old or secondhand information, short interviews for a long and probably extensive project, and a group of people disappearing in the bathroom; either I wildly confused the situation and it¡¯s a suicide pact, or-"


    ¡°There¡¯s way out through the bathroom,¡± Brian couldn¡¯t help but blurt out.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Andy said with a smile and nodded, ¡°probably better than going through those doors. Question is though,¡± Andy turned to look at the painting, Brian did the same only with a bit more focus, ¡°how did they do it?¡±

 Chapter 1.3

    ¡°Really? I mean...you¡¯re not fucking with me?¡± Brian could help but ask. The implications would...confirm what he already suspected, but didn¡¯t have the nerve to ask. The bathroom didn¡¯t have mirrors for him to see his new bald self, but it did strike him odd that he was surrounded by, basically, skinny kids in their early twenties.


    ¡°Hahaha-no, I really just turned 74,¡± Andy said with a laugh as he inspected the paintings. ¡°Whatever they did to my body, it made me a helluva lot more spry than I''ve been in years. Gotta say though, you¡¯re really strong, even if our bodies are like this.¡±


    ¡°Not for long,¡± Brian gritted. Andy was standing on Brian¡¯s shoulders barefoot on account of being shorter, though he was mostly leaning against the wall while Brian made sure he didn¡¯t fall.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done,¡± Andy said. Brian moved forward and allowed Andy to slide down behind him. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°No problem; find anything?¡±


    ¡°Besides the fact that they''re just printed copied and not actual paintings, not much,¡± Andy answered as he put on his slippers.


    ¡°...I hate this company already,¡± Brian said as he turned around and leaned on the wall. ¡°They have decent bathrooms and what I can only assume is magic, did shit to our body to make us like this, but then do weird and cheap shit like peanuts and printed paintings. I mean, aren¡¯t like a third of people allergic to crackers or around abouts?¡± He asked, ¡°Err-peanuts I mean,¡± he amended.


    ¡°It¡¯s contradictory,¡± Andy nodded as he leaned on the wall beside Brian and crossed his arms. ¡°They flex enough to prove they can do more than talk, but skimp on small stuff. It might not even matter to the company considering our position...or is it on purpose?¡±


    They both paused to think about it.


    ¡°Motivation maybe?¡± Brian asked with a shrug. ¡°I mean, the peanuts alone is enough for me to leave and see if he can find a slice of pizza somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Andy shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve done underhanded job interviews before. You know, let the kids sweat for an hour and then chuck a problem at them, see if they sink or swim. Nothing on this level though. Still, if there really is a way to leave, then that ought to mean that they left hints or clues for anyone to find...unless....¡±


    Brian didn¡¯t like how Andy trailed off like that.


    ¡°Unless what?¡±


    ¡°Unless...only a finite amount of people can leave this way, meaning a finite amount of clues. The worst-case scenario would be that that the limit has already been reached.¡±


    They were both silent after that.


    VA-RMMMMM


    Both men snapped their heads at the direction the sound echoed from.


    "From the right," Brian said.


    "Eyup."


    "Any chance we can still leave this way because people keep coming in?"


    "Personally?" Andy began, "I would not put my faith in that. Still, hope is better than no hope."


    Brian didn''t say anything. Both he and Andy had to exit through different rooms. Meaning one of them was for sure going into the bad room. If it exists.


    "What would really help is finding a clue. At the very least it would be something to do," Andy said.


    Brian nodded at that. Having something like this to focus on has already done wonders for his mental health, mainly that he''s not close to having a panic attack anymore. But Andy has probably been at this for hours.


    ¡°Any ideas where to start?¡±


    ¡°Somewhere I haven¡¯t,¡± Andy offered. ¡°I¡¯ve tried everything I could think of,¡± Andy continued while slightly shaking his head. ¡°Tables, chairs, even tried to get a turn on those games. Heck, I even tried to find someone who could understand morse code.¡±


    ¡°Morse code? You mean that dot-dash thing?¡± Brian asked, faintly recalling how it works.


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s no reason for the hallways to be flickering like that, had to be on purpose,¡± Andy pointed out, to which Brian nodded while resisting the urge to kick himself for not jumping to that conclusion.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t find anyone?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°Eh, I did indirectly,¡± Andy replied, ¡°the good thing about this whole...¡®Silence Bubble¡¯ thing, is that it makes it easy to creep up on people. These two girls caught on early, twins I think, and they were trying to be stealthy. One girl counted the lights flickering before telling the other girl who wrote it out. I caught sight of it while they were distracted, it was just nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Oh, like what?¡±


    ¡°Literally nonsense. Letters in different orders. I grabbed a sheet myself and tried to see if I could arrange them differently, nothing. I thought afterwards that maybe they found out what I was doing, but they are still there,¡± he pointed to the right.


    ¡°Have you tried working with them?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t even talk to me,¡± Andy said with a sigh. ¡°Or anyone else for that matter.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Brian said. ¡°So you¡¯re tapped out then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m tapped out,¡± Andy admitted, ¡°how about you?¡±


    ¡°I, I honestly don¡¯t even know where to start. Especially at something you haven¡¯t,¡± Brian replied honestly, ¡°but, I think I know someone who does.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Wow, so, yer really gettin¡¯ alotta mileage outta this,¡± Zed said in surprise.


    ¡°I guess,¡± Andy said with a light chuckle and a shrug.


    ¡°Still though, different realities, why didn¡¯t I think of that,¡± Zed said while shaking his head.


    ¡°Not exactly the first thing that comes to mind,¡± Brian said nonchalantly, trying really hard to not let the two know that he was a little more than surprised by that fact.


    "Yeah, but that''s the job, right?" Zed said. "Colonizing a new world in a different reality or some shit?"


    ...how did I forget that part? Brian couldn''t help but wonder.


    "Well yeah, if you trust they''re telling the complete truth," Brian said, "and, let''s be honest, isn''t the fact that were dead more concerning?"


    "Eh. True enough."


    "Mortality has always been an issue," Andy added in.


    "Ey, so, you guys think there¡¯s a reality where Arnold Thrump won the American election? Um, a Billionaire, has a weird tan and hair,¡± Zed asked with a small smile.


    "Oh that guy, I don''t think he ran in our reality," Brian replied.


    ¡°He tried," Andy corrected, "but hey, anything''s possible at this point, right?¡± Andy said as Brian just shrugged while Zed laughed.


    ¡°So why are we here?¡± Brian asked as the trio stood in front of a trash shoot. The thing wasn¡¯t a container, it looked like a container but it wasn¡¯t. It was literally a hole down to a dark bottomless abyss, and considering everything Brian has seen, it might literally be an abyss. The hole was just slightly bigger than Brian¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Well, ya said you tried everything right, even this?¡± Zed asked with a smile as he tapped the shoot.


    ¡°Yup,¡± Andy said, ¡°I even put my hand inside and found what I thought was brail, but really it¡¯s just a bunch of bumps.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, just check this out,¡± Zed said as he put his hand inside and began to feel around. ¡°Five,¡± he said as he pulled his hand out, ¡°five bumps. Alright, your turn,¡± he told Brian.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°My turn what?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°To feel the bumps.¡±


    ¡°But you just said: five.¡±


    Zed just smiled and nodded at the shoot. Brian sighed but put his hand in, he felt around the edge. His face scrunched. He felt the bumps, they were the same number as he moved his hand around the lid.


    ¡°Well,¡± Zed asked with a toothy smile, ¡°how many bumps?¡±


    ¡°Three,¡± Brian said as he pulled his hands, ¡°um, six sets of three,¡± he added.


    ¡°Oh shet, didn¡¯t think to watch that,¡± Zed said in surprise, ¡°nice job!¡± Brian didn¡¯t say anything, he just nodded and accepted the compliment.


    "Thanks, um, how''d you know about this?"


    "I didn''t. I talked to a lot of people who tried a variety of stuff, either wanting to escape or just bored. Shoulda seen the girl trying to crack open a trash shoot," he laughed. "Any-anyway, a few that I talked to did this and each time I got told a different number."


    ¡°Huh,¡± Andy let out with a nod, ¡°I think I¡¯m getting a better picture now.¡± Andy put his hand in and felt around. ¡°Three sets of five,¡± he said.


    Zed quickly did the same.


    ¡°Same, three sets of five,¡± Zed said. ¡°Um, you and Brian are from the same earth, er, reality, or whatever, right? Whats different?¡±


    ¡°Lester,¡± Brian said with a tight smile, ¡°Lester was the guy who interviewed me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, in that case, I got Mariam,¡± Zed said, he looked at Andy, ¡°that mean-¡± Andy shook his head.


    ¡°Theodore was the one who interviewed me,¡± Andy quickly cut him off.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Zed let out. ¡°Well, there¡¯s goes that thought.¡±


    ¡°Could be a coincidence,¡± Brian offered.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Andy said, ¡°let''s try another one.¡±


    They moved to a different trash shoot and repeated the process. Andy and Zed got the same amount of bumps while Brian counted a different amount.


    ¡°Okay, this is fucking with me,¡± Brian said.


    ¡°You ¡®n me, both,¡± Zed said with a snort.


    ¡°Hm,¡± Andy said with a nod. ¡°Hey Zed, do you recall seeing a picture or painting before being interviewed?¡±


    ¡°Ah...Um...actually, yeah-some sorta underwater thing. I think I saw it in the washroom too.¡±


    ¡°Well that idea¡¯s out,¡± Brian said as Andy nodded, ¡°I saw one with a dragon. Andy said he saw the unicorn with two horns,¡± Brian jerked a thumb in the general direction of the bathroom.


    ¡°Pretty sure it¡¯s not ah unicorn then,¡± Zed pointed out.


    ¡°Twoniecorn then, I dunno and I¡¯m not really sure I care to be honest,¡± Brian said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone does,¡± Andy said.


    ¡°Eh,¡± Zed shrugged, he looked around and stopped when he spotted something. ¡°Oh! I got an idea, be right back!¡±


    Zed quickly walked off to a nearby table and talked with someone who was drawing something on the table. Brian and Andy shared a glance before looking back at Zed. The more people they brought in the bigger the risk that either of them would not be able to leave. Brian didn¡¯t want to be that kind of person, or even think that way, but this wasn''t exactly an average situation.


    Zed quickly came back with another bald person. White skin and soft features and dressed as they all were.


    ¡°Hey guys,¡± Zed said while holding the girl from her shoulders, ¡°meet Alex. Alex had Leonard as the interviewer.¡±


    ¡°Um, hi,¡± Alex said with a clearly feminine voice while giving an awkward wave. ¡°Alex Falls.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Brian Sosa,¡± Brian introduced himself with a lazy wave.


    ¡°I¡¯m Andrew but I prefer Andy,¡± Andy introduced himself while putting his hand out, ¡°pleased to meet you, Ms. Falls.¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± Alex let out with a small tight smile but accepted the hand, ¡°same.¡±


    ¡°Well alright, let¡¯s get this show going,¡± Zed said while clapping his hands. Alex walked up to the trash shoot, looked at it for a moment before reaching inside and feeling around for a moment.


    ¡°Seven, um, just one set of seven," Alex said.


    ¡°Same as me then,¡± Brian said. ¡°How many people doing the interview are there?¡±


    ¡°I counted four from the people I talked with,¡± Andy replied.


    ¡°Same,¡± Zed said.


    ¡°Yeah. Lester, Mariam, Theodore, and Leonard,¡± Alex supplied, ¡°those are the only names I heard.¡±


    Brian couldn¡¯t help but note that everyone in their group aside from himself was pretty well informed.


    ¡°So...what,¡± Brian began, ¡°people with Lester and the other guy get the same numbers while the people who got the other two get a different set?¡±


    ¡°Looks like it,¡± Andy said as Zed and Alex agreed.


    ¡°So...what now?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°Split up?¡± Zed suggested.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± Andy said, ¡°Brian and I can head to the other room and collect the numbers from there and-¡±


    ¡°And the two of us,¡± Zed motioned Alex, ¡°can get the ones here. Yes! I like that!¡±


    After a brief discussion about the plan, Zed and Alex continued to search the trash shoots in The Left Room while Brian and Andy went to collect the numbers from The Right Room.


    <hr>


    ¡°Hey so,¡± Brian began as two made their way back to The Left Room. Aside from Andy laughing at his mistake, turns out the two trash shoots he investigated had the same set of numbers, it was pretty uneventful. Meaning Brian had enough time to think. ¡°You said you had a better idea of what¡¯s going on, right? Mind filling me in?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Andy let out as he glanced at Brian.


    ¡°I mean,¡± Brian paused to gather his thoughts, ¡°I get that they want people who can think, people who pay attention and find information.¡± It wasn¡¯t a tough conclusion to come to, 3/4s of their little group knew the names of the interviewers, Brian hadn¡¯t even thought to look for that. ¡°But, I¡¯m just not sure what they want. I mean, isn¡¯t there a better way to find all that out?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± Andy began, ¡°truth be told, I¡¯m just as in the dark as you are. All I have are guesses that are a bit of a stretch.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I hear you, but, you sound like you have better guesses than I do.¡±


    Andy glanced at him again, then stopped walking before turning around to face him. He rubbed his chin, he paused when he did touch his chin before he continued feeling it. Brian reasoned Andy probably had a beard, like himself, but was still surprised to find smooth skin.


    Andy took a deep breath in.


    ¡°This is just a guess,¡± Andy began, ¡°don¡¯t take what I say to heart too much,¡± Brian nodded. ¡°I think you were on the right track earlier about motivation, but that''s only a piece of the picture. Aside from doctors and scientist, this company needs muscle. Us, right?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Brian nodded. Someone had to do all the boring and/or heavy work.


    ¡°But we¡¯re all like this,¡± he motioned his body, ¡°all of us. Bald, thin, rejuvenated or some other magical humbug. At this point, everyone here is on equal footing, there¡¯s no way to tell who¡¯s good muscle. Put yourself in their shoes. If you needed to hire people from this bunch, how would you go about doing it?¡±


    ¡°I, I would,¡± Brian hesitated for a bit, ¡°I dunno, a contest maybe? See who¡¯s got the drive to diesel up into shape, can follow orders, maybe see who gives attitude. Not this...¡®escape the puzzle room¡¯ crap we¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°And yet here we are."


    "Meaning I''m off target."


    "No, you''re on target. You just have to remember what the business is."


    "Colonizing?"


    "Yeah, think about it. We are being recruited to colonize¡­something. If you look at history, colonizing isn''t a fast or easy process. Drive, motivation,¡± Andy said while bringing up his hand for emphasis, "that''s only a piece of what you need from workers. What else about your workers would you need to know before you ship them out for this long and difficult project?"


    ¡°...Can they work together,¡± Brian said in realization.


    Andy clapped his hands loudly.


    ¡°Exactly! Sure a smart individual who knows morse code is cool, but it takes more than a single person to physically build a city.¡±


    ¡°So...Initiative and cooperation,¡± Brian said, ¡°Um the motivation comes from, well, we don¡¯t want to be here, and we need to work together to actually get out.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my guess,¡± Andy said with a smile before turning around and walking, Brian following behind. ¡°Again, it¡¯s a stretch but it seems reasonable. Even in a regular job you need to work and communicate with other people, especially in a team setting.¡±


    Brian nodded at the logic. He would have said more but they ran into Zed and Alex in the bathroom. The two were by the water dispenser staring, Brian assumed, at the wall with the pictures.


    Zed gave a wave as the two approached while Alex leaned on the wall close to the water dispensers, Arms crossed and smirking. Alex glanced at them and gave them a nod before looking at the wall again.


    ¡°Man there are some horny fuckers here,¡± Zed commented.


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Andy laughed.


    ¡°Should have seen the threeway I walked through earlier,¡± Brian said.


    Zed snorted before he pointed at the direction of the wall.


    Both Andy and Brian turned to look only to find a small group of people having sex. He couldn¡¯t get an accurate count because of the urinals in the middle of the bathroom, but he counted at least seven bald people getting freaky.


    ¡°Oh, you meant literally,¡± Brian said before looking away with a small smile, ¡°yeah...that, that tops the threeway I saw.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Andy said with a small smile and a nod as he stared at the spectacle. ¡°No invite?¡± He directed at Zed.


    ¡°Ey,¡± Zed put his hands up while shaking his head, smiling as he did so, ¡°I like good bed company, but it does require a bed.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Andy laughed before he looked at Alex, prompting the question without asking. Alex laughed with a blush but shook her head.


    ¡°Bald is not my type and I¡¯m more for privacy and comfort. This is far from that,¡± she gestured at the spectacle in front of them.


    ¡°Also fair,¡± Brian said. ¡°So you guys got the numbers?¡±


    ¡°Yep, Alex has it,¡± Zed said as the group quickly got down to business. Andy brought out the list and placed it on a dry spot on the counter beneath the water dispensers and the one in Alex¡¯s hand quickly joined it.


    ¡°Alright these numbers here,¡± Andy said as he pointed at a set, ¡°are the ones from the longest wall, the shortlist here are from the shortest wall. This one here, it¡¯s the wall with entry to the hallway. We labelled it just in case it mattered and in what order we got them in. No point making multiple trips.¡±


    ¡°Nuh, I feel you,¡± Zed said.


    ¡°We actually did the same,¡± Alex said as she pointed at the labels they used.


    ¡°We found a few repeating sets of numbers,¡± Brian pointed.


    ¡°Same here,¡± Zed said.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Andy said as he nodded.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Brian mimicked the motion.


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± Zed let out while also nodding.


    ¡°Okie-Dokes,¡± Alex joined in with a nod while studying the numbers. ¡°Well...now what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Andy replied with a tight smile.

 Chapter 1.4

    ¡°Anything?¡± Andy asked.


    ¡°I think I got a Pokemon,¡± Brian answered.


    ¡°Hm? Oh yeah, it does look like a Pokemon,¡± Zed commented.


    ¡°Eh, looks more like Digimon to me,¡± Alex shrugged.


    "Anything that¡¯ll help us get out of here?¡± Andy, boringly, amended his question.


    ¡°No,¡± the trio chorused.


    As soon as they combined the list, their group found a table in The Left Room and tried to make whatever sense they could out of the numbers they found.


    Andy is attempting to turn the numbers into letters in as many languages he could remember, apparently he knew three and forgot three.


    Zed¡¯s approach was turning the numbers into puzzles and seeing if they match with anything.


    Alex tried to see if adding or subtracting, or something mathematical, based on the table¡¯s arrangement would work. Both rooms had tables arranged differently with a different number of chairs. Again, something Brian failed to notice.


    Brian just tried to see if he could do anything at all. In this case, turning the numbers into an image. Something he used to do in math class back in middle school...and the first two years of highschool¡­.


    it wasn¡¯t hard, just arrange the numbers into a way that a shape emerges. He made some pretty interesting looking stuff, but nothing that would help. So he ran to the bathroom, looked at the printed paintings, then ran back and tried to see if he could arrange the numbers into one of the creatures on the painting.


    There was the dragon fighting the knight with the princess. After that was the horse with the two horns comforting a crying girl in the woods under a moonlit night. There was a painting of a glowing underwater city with a giant turtle with a beak in the foreground along with a person clinging to its shell. A fourth printed painting had a woman flying behind some winged deer (or elk, Brian wasn¡¯t sure) using some steampunk looking wingsuit in the sky with clouds and mountain tops in the background. Then there was last painting, it was somewhere underground with a burly man with a pick-axe mining glowing crystals next to a giant sleeping furry animal.


    He really didn¡¯t know what trying to replicate the paintings would accomplish, but he felt better doing something rather than nothing.


    Eventually, though, he got bored.


    With a sigh he stood.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m going to walk around for a bit,¡± Brain said running his hand through his bald head, not even bothering to be surprised at the loss of hair this time. He received some acknowledgements but no one really said anything, too consumed with trying to figure out what to do with the numbers.


    Brian stretched as he went to grab some crackers. Zed wasn¡¯t kidding, they were dry as all hell but they had a good flavor. Better than the peanuts anyway.


    He looked at the packet of crackers, wondering where the hell do they keep coming from, before he grabbed a packet that was mostly gone and popped a cracker into his mouth as he looked around.


    Had someone noticed? Had someone escaped?


    Thoughts like that ran through his mind.


    For a moment Brian thought about telling everyone that there might be a way out. Then he shook his head.


    He wasn¡¯t normally the type of person he was acting right now, really, he wasn¡¯t. But there was a nagging fear at the back of his mind that he couldn¡¯t ignore. A numb sense of desperation, some buried animal instinct telling him to keep his mouth shut. He¡¯d only incite panic anyway...or was that just what he told himself to feel better?


    He shook his head.


    He looked around and decided to go to the video game corner. He had already given up on the idea of getting a turn, but hopefully looking at someone else playing could help take his mind off things.


    He was never really interested in video games, at least not the story aspect of it where you have to go around and collect a hundred items for no reason. He mostly preferred to play against other people like first-person shooters, races, and the like. As he got older and found himself with less free time, usually sports or work. By the time he moved out and got a full-time job, his interest in gaming had dwindled down to free games on his phone for when he was really bored.


    He knew his little sister was really into gaming. She always followed the latest trend in gaming, constantly begged him to buy her something (to which he¡¯d eventually cave-in to). Every time she¡¯d visit him and use his TV, she¡¯d always brag loudly to him about some streamer she followed. He never got into that, watching another person play, it was about as exciting as watching another person catch a fish with a regular fishing rod. He¡¯d poke fun at his sister for that and she¡¯d defend her hobby.


    If only she could see me now, Brian grimmly thought as he mindlessly watched people drive karts through some sort of road made of rainbows in outer space. Who came up with such janky-ass map?


    The crowd was loud, either cheering, jeering, or shouting commands that rarely get obeyed. It was like being a kid all over again; kids hanging out at the one spot with a console, crowding the TV, all hoping to get a turn to try the game out. He''d like to say he was mature, but Brian was feeling the enthusiasm slowly infect him.


    Everyone started cheering while others booed. Most of the controllers changed hands, Brian assumed that the winner didn¡¯t. The new batch of players got settled and the game began a new.


    The map changed followed by a small little montage of the stadium played. A simple one this time. It did one loop but it was five laps. It looks like in one section the players go up a spiral ramp, drive off it, and then drive up the way they came while avoiding drivers going in the opposite direction.


    I don¡¯t know how I feel about this, Brian thought as he heard a bunch button smashing right before the countdown started, guessing the players wanted a speed boost.


    Nostalgia, that was it, he couldn¡¯t help but remember how competitive he got when played Micky Karts when he was younger. How¡¯d he sneak away from the house and run down the street to the only kid on the block with the game and play with the other kids who happened to be there. But, like it or not, he wasn¡¯t a kid anymore and he really shouldn¡¯t be wasting his time on this.


    ¡°WOOOO!¡± a girl next to him roared loudly as one of the players got a speed boost while the other players had a misfire that ended with their karts shaking with black clouds wafting up from the karts. Exhaust maybe? He couldn¡¯t help but let out a small laugh as he covered his ear. He didn¡¯t like it but he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. It really has been a long time since he¡¯s been around a proper console.


    There were four players, but he decided to just follow the person who was in the lead.


    The player hit some floating see-through cube with a purple tinge and another display appeared in the corner of their screen, it had a bunch of objects scrolling down like a lottery machine. The image settled on a mushroom then a mushroom appeared on the player¡¯s in-game character¡¯s hand. The player made a corner, aimed for a ramp, used mushroom by eating it which caused the kart to accelerate¡­. Brian just shook his head, it¡¯s a game, logic didn¡¯t count.


    It was mostly the player fighting for first place, so he looked at the other screens. One of the other players in last place had turned into a giant chomping ball with sharp teeth and a chain for tail, bulldozing through the other players. Another player threw a basketball-sized baseball at another ingame character, causing the entire kart to flip over forward. The last Player got some sort of old school remote controller for a toy car that is shaped like a gun with a trigger and a wheel on the side, the player activated it and a small toy car shot forward to a group of ingame characters and blew up, sending a few karts flying.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Brian really wanted to say he was mature, but he couldn¡¯t help but smile at that. Odd items and characters aside, the game did look fun.


    He looked back at the player who was in first place, third place, reaching the ramp, hitting some sort of rainbow speed boost that sent him flying off the ramp that deployed some sort of glider(?) for some reason. Brian shook his head but he was smiling. As the kart glided, he spotted a billboard in the background made up of squares, five horizontal and five across.


    ¡°YESSSSSSSSS! GET SOME! GET SOME! GET SOME!¡± One of the players shouted, prompting brian to look at his direction. Which did nothing. He searched the screens and saw a player in seventh place tossing flowers like shurikens at other characters, causing heart animations to come off them and turnaround. Another player groaned, probably the one on the screen that got hit by the flower. It seems the player lost temporary control of the Kart.


    A laugh escaped him despite how much he tried to hold it in.


    He looked back and saw that another player had passed the player who used to be in the lead.


    The first couple of laps went by like that, everyone using weird items on each other. There was the banana that caused a kart to slip out of control with a spin, a can of oil that left a long line of oil that made a part of the road permanently slippery. A boomerang that was reusable but could be stolen. Just a ton of stuff. Some he was familiar with, others not so much.


    His sight was drawn to the player who hit some weird star and started flashing like a rainbow while a weird theme started playing. That player bulldozed through everything in the way, even parts of the map! The player sent another character flying before it reached a ramp. But just as the player flew off, some blue shell with wings collided with the player causing a huge explosion. Said player cursed loudly while people cheered and whined. Brian couldn¡¯t help but smirk at the misfortune. But that changed when the player started driving to catch up to the other ingame characters.


    Once more, Brian noticed the billboard in the distance. It was tucked away on a sandy part of the map that has another ramp that requires a boost to get to.


    Brian scrunched his face. Part of the billboard was filled in with black squares, numbers were added outside the squares (left and top only) while some squares had red Xs.


    He tried looking at the other screens to see if anyone else was coming up on the ramp, but they had all passed it.


    He looked at the lap counter. They all had one more lap to go.


    This time he watched the player who was in the lead, first place actually, and patiently waited until the player made to the ramp.


    ¡°EAT MY DUST, HOES!¡± One of the players shouted.


    The player in the lead activated a silver a mushroom and was able to spam it at a bunch of times, giving the in-game character constant burst of speed! A sort of tunnel vision was created on the screen, blurring everything outside the tunnel, including the bill board.


    Quickly, Brian scanned the other screens to see who was coming up next. The second player in the lead (4th place) was already flying off the ramp while tied to a spiked hornet that pulled it forward like horse, damaging other in-game characters and stealing their items. He barely had time to glance at the billboard much less observe it in detail.


    He looked at the third player in the lead (5th place), no help there.


    The left the last player coming up dead last (last place). The player was about to reach the ramp. Brian didn¡¯t know if he could trust himself to get a good glimpse from just passing by, so he made a decision he was very sure he was going to regret a lot immediately after.


    He quickly moved through the crowd, pushing people aside, immediately earning their verbal ire (even physical), but he ignored it and made his it to the players.


    He didn¡¯t have much time, he stood behind the players. The four were sitting down in chairs with a bit of cushion to them, playing as best they could. He couldn¡¯t get a good look at their faces so focused on their fingers. He glanced at the screen to see the person in last place was already halfway up the ramp and noted no obstacles in the way save a single giant banana peel, he glanced back down and tried to match the motion to the fingers. Three people were frantically moving their fingers, one person not so much, a guy to the far right. Brian quickly reached over and grabbed the controller!


    ¡°EY! WHAT THE FUCK!¡± The guy shouted, but Brian didn¡¯t give it any mind.


    It was some weird purple controller with three handles, Brian didn¡¯t have the time nor the opportunity to get a detailed look outside of finding the joystick, the guy had a death grip on the controller and was attempting to wrestle it out of Brian¡¯s hands. Brian didn¡¯t care about that, he just hoped he didn¡¯t pick wrong.


    ¡°THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?¡±


    ¡°HEY!¡±


    ¡°THE FUCK MAN!¡±


    Right away the crowd came to the player¡¯s defense, pulling and punching Brian, but he ignored it as best he could. Turns out he guessed right. He moved the gliding cart to the sand-covered area with a small ramp and the billboard tuckaway in the background. It was filled out now, aside from the red Xs, the squares colored black resembled a weird smiley face. He did his best to memorize what he could but he wasn¡¯t that strong at spot memorization to begin with, especially with his body being jerked around.


    Smiley face, one [3] bottom left, no number higher than a three, Brian told himself mentally as he let go of the control, sadly it was a little too late. One of the players from his left got done and landed a punch on his face.


    ¡°BACK OFF ASSHOLE!¡± The player shouted.


    It wasn¡¯t a strong punch, not surprising given the state everyone¡¯s in, but for that same reason he didn¡¯t have much padding, if at all. Weak or not, it hurtlike hell!


    Thankfully he didn¡¯t see stars or get woozy, but it still stunned him.


    Before he could get his bearings, he was quickly pulled away from the players, people still throwing punches with a kick mixed in the that thankfully failed and turned into a bad stump. The pair of hands holding him tossed out of the are, like a good two feet.


    ¡°Get the fuck out of here!¡± someone said followed by a string of insults from the crowd. But Brian didn¡¯t care, he just wanted to get whatever he memorized to his group.


    He pushed himself up to feet. He felt foot on his back that propelled him forward. He didn¡¯t topple though, he managed to catch himself.


    ¡°Dumb fuck!¡±


    ¡°Who does that asshole thin-¡±


    The voices disappeared completely, he was out of their bubble and in his own. It was a bit unreal to see no one else paying attention to him. He nearly got his ass handed to him by a mob of skinny, bald, pissed off gamers and no one even noticed.


    He shook the thought out of his head. It didn¡¯t matter. It was probably better this way.


    He quickly made it back to the table he was with. Alex and Andy were talking while sharing a page, Zed was still absorbed in his work.


    Brian didn¡¯t even bother saying anything, either by desperation or adrenaline, he was focused on doing one task and one task only. He just grabbed a mechanical lead pencil and a sheet of paper.


    ¡°Ey, welcome back,¡± Zed said before he looked up. He paused. ¡°DUDE!¡± he said loudly, getting to his feet. The loud shout prompted both Alex and Andy to look at him.


    ¡°Oh shit!¡± Brian heard Alex let out.


    ¡°Brian, you alright,¡± Andy asked in concern, Brian spared them a glance and saw the two move around the table.


    Brian just shook his head, more concerned by the grid he made, five by five.


    ¡°Dude, what happened,¡± Zed said.


    ¡°Video games,¡± Brian explained as he filled it out the squares, ¡°saw something, needed a better look.¡±


    ¡°Wha-¡± Zed looked at what Brian assumed was the spot where the videogames were set up, ¡°you pissed off the gamers?¡±


    ¡°Huh, didn¡¯t think they had it in them,¡± Alex said in surprise.


    ¡°Here, let me see,¡± Andy said grabbing Brian¡¯s head. Brian grunted and shook his head out of Andy¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Brian, you¡¯re bleeding,¡± Zed stated.


    ¡°Look, does this mean anything to anyone?¡± Brian said when he was done. It was a weird smiley face.


    The grid was made up of twenty-five squares, ten of which were filled in with black. The top two rows of five had two vertical rows of two squares filled in black with a single row of space in between to create the illusion of eyes. Underneath the eyes, in the middle row, in the space between the eyes was single filled-in box, the nose. Then there was a smile made up of five filled in boxes, three on the last row of five and two at the very edges of the fourth row became the edge of the smile.


    ¡°Oh right, numbers,¡± Brian said, writing a [3] right beside the last row of five with the three filled-in boxes. ¡°Um.. fuck I don¡¯t remember the others, it was a bunch of ones in twos. It also had Xs in the other boxes for some reason.¡±


    Alex, Zed, and Andy were silent after Brian explained.


    ¡°You found this in the game?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°Huh,¡± was all Zed could say.


    ¡°You said there were more numbers,¡± Andy asked grabbing a random pencil.


    ¡°Yeah, ones and twos, but each row mostly had a one beside another one, the number I mean.¡±


    ¡°Like this,¡± Andy said as he began writing numbers beside each row.


    ¡°yeah-YEAH! Exactly like that!¡± Brian said as Andy quickly finished.


    ¡°This a puzzle?¡± Zed asked as he looked at the drawing.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Andy nodded. ¡°How did I not see it before,¡± he questioned himself.


    ¡°Oh wait, I¡¯ve seen this before,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°You have?¡± Brian asked. Alex nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, can¡¯t remember the name though. Starts with an N.¡±


    ¡°Nonogram,¡± Andy said with a small smile, ¡°it¡¯s a puzzle where you fill-in squares according to the number. The spaces you don¡¯t fill in get crossed out with X, it makes filling the puzzle easier.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Alex said, ¡°and if you do it correctly, you get an image,¡± she motioned at the smiley face.


    ¡°So then that means¡­.¡± Zed trailed off as the group all turned to look at the pages with the list of numbers. ¡°...this is gonna take a while, isn¡¯t?¡±

 Chapter 1.5

    ¡°I hate this,¡± Brian said, holding a wet wad of graph paper up to one of his nostrils to soak up the blood.


    There weren¡¯t any napkins in either The Left Room or Right Room, and the bathroom didn¡¯t have toilet paper or paper towels. The toilet used has a cold water jet in place of toilet paper and next to the sinks were a couple of hand dryers. So Brian made due with what was around.


    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s growing on me,¡± Zed said with a shrug as he slid the completed puzzle forward.


    Turns out both Andy and Alex were able to figure out the puzzle, and potential variations, a lot quicker than Brian and Zed could (working together). It still took them time, so they let Zed and Brian work on a single one.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Andy said, ¡°we tried as many variations we can think of and this is what we got.¡±


    ¡°A steering wheel, I think, a bell maybe, and a rectangle with missing a square,¡± Alex listed. ¡°That last one might be a door,¡± Alex quickly added.


    ¡°You sure these aren¡¯t anything,¡± Brian asked as he looked at discarded yet completed puzzles that didn¡¯t form a coherent image.


    ¡°Not that I can think of, but they may come in handy later on,¡± Andy replied.


    ¡°These the ones wit¡¯ two different list sizes?¡± Zed asked. The group had created nonogram puzzles using various combinations of the list.


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± Alex nodded. ¡°The ones that actually formed images are the lists with the same amount of numbers.¡±


    ¡°The steering wheel is probably the video game, you know: karts...steering wheel,¡± Brians pointed out as he mimed driving with his hands in front of him, fingers griping an imaginary steering wheel.


    ¡°The rectangle might be the exit,¡± Andy said, to which the other three nodded, ¡°assuming these are what we think they are.¡±


    ¡°What about the bell? I haven¡¯t seen anything shaped like a bell,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Might not be a bell, but something like it. You know, like an alarm or a cell phone ringing,¡± Zed pointed out.


    ¡°Yeah but aside from the countdown in the game, the only thing we all hear is the¡­the....¡± Brian trailed off. Just as he did-


    VA-RMMMMMM


    -he quickly looked at the other door, the one that sucked him into the room. He turned to find that he wasn¡¯t the only one doing so. ¡°...No, that, that can¡¯t be it. Right?¡±


    ¡°I mean,¡± Alex began with a shrug, ¡°we can always hear it.¡±


    ¡°No matter what room you¡¯re in,¡± Zed added with tight smile.


    ¡°Almost like an alarm or a bell,¡± Andy finished as he stared at the door with interest.


    ¡°Yeah, I get that, but they¡¯ve got to run out of people at some point. That guy, Lester, he said they just bought us on like a list or something,¡± Brian explained.


    ¡°Plus there were times where you could hear the door open right after the other,¡± Alex added.


    ¡°Yeah I remember that,¡± Zed said. ¡°As far as an alarm goes, it¡¯s not somethin'' to rely on.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but again,¡± Andy began, ¡°that depends on whether or not our assumptions are correct, and if it is, how do they fit together?¡±


    ¡°I dunno, is there an order, like: play game, stop when ya hear a new person c''m-in, then head to the door?¡±


    ¡°But the people I saw were in the bathroom,¡± Andy said, ¡°and I¡¯m fairly sure that people would still notice those pad doors open,¡± he pointed out.


    ¡°So maybe it¡¯s one of the pictures in the bathroom,¡± Brian suggested.


    ¡°Eh doesn¡¯t explain why the rectangle has a missing space,¡± Alex pointed out.


    ¡°Alright, what if it¡¯s bell, game, and then door,¡± Zed asked.


    ¡°Collect a new person, have them play a game, and then head to the exit, which might be the bathroom,¡± Brian asked while Zed shrugged.


    ¡°Mmm, seems a bit backward when you consider how we got the hint, ¡± Andy said with a slight shake of his head.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡±Alex began, gnawing on a thumb, ¡°I think we made the wrong assumption.¡±


    ¡°Probably, but which one,¡± Brian asked, really there were many ways they could be wrong, ways he probably wasn¡¯t even aware of.


    ¡°Brian, that hint in the game you saw, what made you think it was a hint,¡± Alex suddenly asked.


    ¡°Um...¡± Brian paused for a second, ¡°nothing really. I just noticed the squares, saw the numbers and thought ¡®hey this might be something,¡¯¡± he explained. ¡°Wait, are you saying we did this for nothing?¡± He asked, hoping that was not the case.


    ¡°A Red Herring,¡± Andy asked.


    ¡°What?¡± Alex said in confusion. Even Brian was confused, so that probably wasn¡¯t due to being from a different reality.


    ¡°Itsa phrase,¡± Zed said, ¡°something meant to mislead us.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean. Let me explain. We know that magic, or, something like it, makes it so that it takes a number of people find different clues. The hint Brian found, maybe it was there the whole time. Though, I would think we would see more people walking around trying to figure something out. You said you found the clue on a map right?¡± Alex asked Brian.


    ¡°Yeeaaaaah,¡± Brian nodded, not seeing where Alex was going with this.


    ¡°As far as I know, there¡¯s only four maps,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Ditto,¡± Zed said, ¡°I counted that much, dunno about the number of items or characters though.¡±


    ¡°So you think that clue appeared because Brian showed up to watch the game,¡± Andy asked with interest.


    ¡°No, the opposite,¡± Alex said, ¡°what if the clue wasn¡¯t meant for Brian or us in general. I mean, it¡¯s natural to assume the clue was there because of Brian; we have the numbers that fit the puzzle Brian found, but what if the clue was meant for somebody else?¡±


    All three men paused as they thought about that possibility.


    ¡°...when I was there, only the winner didn¡¯t have to give up the controller, everybody else did. I think that was the system they went by,¡° Brian said.


    ¡°So that person musta won a ton of times,¡± Zed began.


    ¡°Or enough,¡± Andy added to which Zed nodded to.


    ¡°And got a clue,¡± Zed continued. ¡°So, assuming we¡¯re right, it¡¯s somethin¡¯ like,¡± He tapped the steering wheel, ¡°win in the game enough times,¡± then he touched the bell, ¡°get a bell or alarm,¡± then his hand landed on the last image, ¡°then head to the exit. Or something like that.¡±


    ¡°Huh, that...makes more sense, I guess?¡± Brian said, sort of seeing the picture.


    ¡°So...either we unknowingly skipped a step for a set of instruction we just found out about, or we found an entirely different method of getting out of here,¡± Andy stated while holding his chin between his thumb and fore finger finger


    ¡°It could also be that there¡¯s more than one way to leave and that the clues work well with each other,¡± Alex suggested.


    ¡°Still though, shady magic crap ¡¯side, this is supposed ta be a company that rakes in da dough, right? How does gaming factor inta that?¡±


    ¡°I dunno,¡± Brian said as he shook his head, ¡°anyone find out what operators are supposed to operate?¡±


    ¡°Total mystery,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°How do you make an expert?¡± Andy suddenly asked, catching the trio¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Whazzat?¡± Zed asked.


    ¡°How do you make an expert,¡± Andy repeated with a wry smile, ¡°How long does it take for you to learn to do what you need to do?¡± Andy expanded. ¡°An hour, a day, a year?¡±


    ¡°It honestly depends on the job,¡± Zed replied, ¡°Simple things like packaging at a set pace; less than hour.¡±


    ¡°Learning to drive a forklift, significantly longer,¡± Brian contributed.


    ¡°Art and graphic designs, takes a long time,¡± Alex also added.


    ¡°Right,¡± Andy said with a smile, ¡°You can¡¯t instantly create a professional, especially one for a wide range of tasks. From the very beginning this puzzle required at least two people with different interviewers to complete. Two people could have lucked into the numbers and figured out the puzzle and realize they need someone to win that kart game,¡± he thumbed the gamers. ¡°Now, the two could do it themselves, but how long would it take for them to get a turn, much less win a game enough times.¡±


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s how it is,¡± Zed said with a smile. ¡°Whoever set this up wanna see if we can do what we gotta do. Either beat the game enough times or find someone who did.¡±


    ¡°It kind of makes sense,¡± Alex said and Brian nodded.


    ¡°Though I don¡¯t think they would be willing to hear us out,¡± Brian said as he looked at the group of gamers. Some of the gamers gave him, and probably the entire group, the stink eye.


    ¡°Yeaaaaaah, you burned that bridge pretty good,¡± Zed said as he too watched the gamers. He sent them a smile and a friendly wave, they flipped the bird in turn.


    ¡°Lucky for us all,¡± Andy said, ¡°there¡¯s two rooms with games set up and I know a girl who won quite a few times.¡±


    ¡°...That her?¡± Brian couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Eyup,¡± Andy said, but he was looking around searching for something instead of watching the spectacle.


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s...a fighter ¡± Zed said with a shrug before he winced.


    ¡°She has blood on her clothes,¡± Alex commentated also wincing at the scene, ¡°ugh, that¡¯s gotta hurt.¡±


    In The Right Room, where the videogames are set up, there was a girl punching the ever living crap out of a white bald person. Brian assumed it was a guy based on the chin. The girl was naturally tanned, similar to himself, but where Brian was closer to white, she was a good deal darker. There was blood on her shirt and from his vantage point he could tell that she has a black eye. Her shirt was also torn around her midriff, exposing the naval and bruising.


    Brian swore to himself, he was sure that he would have noticed a girl like her when he was just wondering around earlier or when he was looking for numbers, but this was honestly his first time seeing her.


    Three other people noticed what was happened and quickly leapt at the girl. There was a struggle before they were able to tear the girl off the poor guy she was punching. And soon after she started punching the trio.


    ¡°...If I don¡¯t make it, tell everyone I was brave,¡± Brian joked before he approached the fight.


    ¡°Ey, I¡¯m coming too,¡± Zed said following behind.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Alex said.


    Andy grunted something but he was more engrossed with whatever he was searching for.


    Brian felt a bit more confident with Zed beside him. He wasn¡¯t scared of fights. He¡¯d had gotten into plenty before, admittedly though, most of those happened when he was shitfaced. That said, he was not exactly in great shape for a brawl either, what with being turned into a skinny kid and all. So having some backup was actually very much appreciated. Especially since the girl was handling three people on her own without any difficulty.


    As soon as both Zed and Brian got close to the fight,


    ¡°-UCK YOU!¡±


    ¡°He-WOAH-HEY!¡± Brian shouted. As soon as he tried to talk to the girl, she instantly turned and threw a punch his way. He backed away before it could hit. ¡°Easy! Easy!¡±


    ¡°Ey! We¡¯re cool,¡± Zed shouted, not at the girl, but at the trio she was attacking, ¡°We got this!¡±


    ¡°You fuckas want some!¡± She shouted fist.


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re not looking for a fight,¡± Brian said, ¡°we just wanna talk.¡±


    ¡°Talk to the fist!¡±


    ¡°WHOA!¡± Brian dipped back to avoid the the fist. ¡°Why are you trying to hit me!¡±


    ¡°Ey, girl, we just wanna-EY!¡± Zed leaned back.


    ¡°Bah, fuck it,¡± Brian said and reached to grab her fist. It buried itself in his stomach. ¡°Ooph!¡± He let out, but he managed to grab the fist.


    Taking that as his cue, Zed walked up and grabbed her other fist that was aimed for Brian¡¯s head.


    ¡°C¡¯mon calm down, we just wanna talk!¡± Zed said.


    ¡°Oh yeah then why are you grabbing my hands,¡± she asked while trying to wrestle her hands out of their grasp and trying to kick them at the same time.


    ¡°Alrigh¡¯ we¡¯ll let go¡­.now!¡± Zed let go and Brian did too. Zed put his hands up while Brian nursed the area he was punched. ¡°See we¡¯re cool.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Brian forced out.


    The girl had her hands up but she put them down. She turned to see the other people walking away.


    ¡°Whachu fafus want?¡± She asked as she turned back to look at them


    Brian scrunched his face, fafus?


    ¡°So you need me to figure out what to do next?¡± The girl asked after a quick explanation.


    The group all replied in their own way.


    ¡°Eyup,¡±  Andy said.


    ¡°E-ssentially¡±, Zed answered.


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Brian Shrugged


    ¡°Basically,¡± Alec  stated.


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± she nodded, ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± she said with a toothy smile, a bit of blood clinging to her teeth. ¡°One thing, though.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°You three,¡± she motioned with her index finger, ¡°show me your tits.¡±


    ¡°...Sorry whazzat?¡± Zed asked, his eyebrows raised.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Show me your tits,¡± She said with a smirk while crossing her arms.


    ¡°Our-our tits?¡± Brian repeated.


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she nodded as Alex slid right beside her with arms crossed with a very amused look.


    Brian looked at Zed who glanced at him with while trying to hold back a laugh. He then looked at Andy who also looked a mused, he just shrugged. Looking at the two holding in their laughter had sparked Brian¡¯s own amusement, which he was now holding in.


    ¡°Alright/Sure/¡¯aight,¡± the trio let out somewhat simultaneously. They grabbed the hem of their shirts and lifted it up to their necks to reveal their skinny frames.


    ¡°...Meh,¡± the girl said with a shrug.


    ¡°Ouch, dat¡¯s cold,¡± Zed said, letting the shirt fall down. Brian did so as well while chuckling and Andy, also letting his shirt go, let out a breath of amusement while shaking his head.


    ¡°In my defence, I didn¡¯t do this to my body,¡± Brian defended.


    ¡°Yeah-yeah, whatever,¡± she said with grin. She jerked a thumb at herself, ¡°I¡¯m Drix,¡± she announced.


    ¡°I¡¯m Andy,¡± Andy introduced himself, moving forward to give a handshake. Drix countered by putting a fist out. ¡°Oh,¡± Andy let out as he folded his hands into a fist and bumped Drix¡¯s fist with a small smile.


    ¡°Brian,¡± Brian introduced, fist bumping Drix.


    ¡°Zed,¡± said person said while also fist bumping Drix and getting a little fancy with it, though Drix seemed to appreciate it.


    ¡°Oh, Alex,¡± Alex followed up with an awkward fist bump.


    ¡°Alright, now wut?¡± Drix asked.


    ¡°Now we go to the bathroom and figure out what the bells are.¡±


    Drix grinned and open her mouth but Alex quickly said: ¡°that¡¯s not a euphemism!¡±


    ¡°A wut?¡± Drix asked.


    ¡°We think we need to find a bell or an alarm in order to leave this place,¡± Andy clarified, ¡°we think the exit is in the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°Ohhhhhh, I thought you guys were trying to get freaky,¡± Drix said. ¡°I mean that¡¯s the best part of about this whole thing, the guys actually put out.¡±


    ¡°...Sorry what?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°Hey, I got I nothing against guys trying to be chaste and all, but I mean c¡¯mon life¡¯s short. We¡¯re here for a reason, so what¡¯s so wrong with a fuck or two, amiright,¡± she nudged Andy with her elbow before heading to the bathroom.


    ¡°...different reality?¡± Brian asked, already imaging what kind reality Drix must be from.


    ¡°Yea,¡± Zed replied with a little nod with a light smile as he trailed behind Drix, Alex and Brian walking beside him.


    ¡°Or she could be joking around,¡± Alex said, the two men nodding to that with light verbal agreement. The trio looked at Drix and the way she eyed a skinny a guy with a decent skinny build.


    ¡°...she¡¯s not joking,¡± the trio said aloud at somewhat the same time.


    ¡°You alright, Andy,¡± Brian asked, Andy still seemed to be looking around.


    ¡°Huh? Oh yeah-yeah it¡¯s just...¡± he trailed off, ¡°remember those two girls I told you about?¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± Brian thought back, ¡°the morse code girls, right? Didn¡¯t trust anyone?¡±


    ¡°Right, well, these girls, for some reason, they wrote on their shirts. One had writing, I can¡¯t remember what it was, the other drew on a pattern made of lines.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone like that,¡± Alex said while looking around.


    ¡°Same,¡± Zed said.


    ¡°And I didn¡¯t see them in the other room,¡± Andy said with a tight smile.


    ¡°...Ohhhhh,¡± Brian let out as Andy nodded at his realization.


    The two girls were gone.


    ¡°Washrooms,¡± Zed said, already guessing what was happening though he was smiling, the only one smiling in their group. ¡°C¡¯mon. If people are still leavin¡¯, that means there¡¯s a shot we can too.¡±


    ¡°Right, right,¡± Alex said though with not as much optimism.


    The group turned to head to the hallway to find Drix waving at them.


    ¡°So, how do we bust outta this crazy bin?¡± Drix asked as the group entered the bathroom, not seeing anyone else.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s the question,¡± Andy said as he walked forward to look at the pictures.


    ¡°Has somethin¡¯ to do wit¡¯ bells,¡± Zed said.


    ¡°What? You mean like the buttons for flushing,¡± Drix asked.


    The group turned to look at Drix.


    ¡°What button?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°Wait there¡¯s buttons?¡±  Brian asked.


    ¡°Ohhh,¡± Zed said, ¡°everything was automated, I didn¡¯t think to watch for buttons.¡±


    ¡°Same, I honestly didn¡¯t give it a second thought,¡± Andy said.


    ¡°Uh yeah, the mandrains all got one on the side,¡± Drix repeated.


    ¡°Sorry, the what?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°Ahhh, the mandrains,¡± Drix said while giving them a puzzled a look, she motioned at the urinals.


    ¡°Oh, wall-toilets,¡± Brian said.


    ¡°Is that what you guys call them?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°Where I¡¯m from anyway,¡± Brian shrugged.


    ¡°Oh hey, they do,¡± Zed said as he inspected a nearby urinal. ¡°How did you notice that?¡± Zed asked Drix.


    ¡°Oh, I always thought about using the mandrains, but guys always get their boxers in a twist if you go in their crappers,¡± Drix explained. ¡°But everything¡¯s together here, so I thought I¡¯d try it out. Saw the thing on the side.¡±


    ¡°That...makes sense?¡± Alex said in an unsure tone.


    ¡°Wait, what about the toilets,¡± Brian asked, ¡°they have any buttons on them.¡±


    ¡°Yea-sea shells,¡± Andy said coming out of nearby stall.


    ¡°So...do I press the bells?¡± Drix asked.


    ¡°I guess,¡± Zed shrugged, his urinal flushing, ¡°nothing working for me.¡±


    BEEP


    Everyone turned to look at Drix.


    ¡°Um...¡± she let out, ¡°it did that and it¡¯s glowing.¡±


    ¡°Like, in a color?¡±


    ¡°Um yeah, Red,¡± she moved to the next urinal and moved to press something.


    BOOP


    ¡°Same color?¡± Andy asked.


    ¡°Yup, glowing red.¡± Drix then proceeded to press all the buttons that was used to flash the urinals. Each one let out a different tone that slowly filled Brian with dread. Part of him thought that they were spots taken, another part told him it was most likely another puzzle. When she was done...nothing happened.


    ¡°They¡¯re all still glowing red,¡± Zed said. ¡°The one near me, anyway.¡± Brian ran to the other side and checked the urinals, each of bell shaped buttons on the side still glowed red.


    ¡°Same on this side!¡± He shouted.


    ¡°Well now what?¡± Drix asked.


    There was suddenly another sound.


    BUM!


    ¡°It makes a sound when I press it,¡± Andy said, ¡°the button also flashed green when I did,¡± he added.


    Brian looked at the urinal in front of him. He pressed the button.


    TANG!


    ¡°Huh, how about that,¡± Brian said to himself. As Andy said, the buttons flashed green before going red as noise went silent, he went around the small wall to where the other four were.


    ¡°Looks like we got another puzzle,¡± Zed sighed.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Brian said, ¡°what happens if we hit all the buttons at once?¡± Everyone turned to look at Brian. ¡°I mean it¡¯s ten wall-toilets, five on each side, five of us.¡±


    ¡°One of us can press two,¡± Zed said.


    ¡°What about the last two?¡± Alex.


    ¡°Got it,¡± Drix said with her footwear in hand. She put a foot on the urinal and climbed up the wall dividing the two sides. She sat ont he wall with her legs on either side. Brian could only see one leg and he saw her awkwardly press the button with her toes.


    TING!


    BING!


    ¡°See? I got this shit on lock!¡±


    ¡°Alright, she¡¯s got it,¡± Andy said, taking a position between to urinals. Alex followed his example, Brian went around the other side with Zed, he gave a Brian a nod as the two positioned themselves.


    ¡°Um, on three?¡± Alex suggested loud enough for everyone to hear.


    ¡°THREE!¡± Drix shouted. Everyone took that as their cue to press the buttons.


    Instantly all the sounds the urinals let out was loud and deafening, yet no one let go of the button.


    Then the next instant it just disappeared. There was no transition, the sound just vanished.


    ¡°Did it work?¡± Drix asked.


    ¡°Nothing changed,¡± Alex said loudly.


    ¡°No it did, the buttons I pressed are green,¡± Andy announced.


    ¡°Same!¡± Brian said looking at the buttons.


    ¡°So does that mean anything?¡±


    ¡°WHOA!¡± Zed let out as he backed away from the urinal he was at.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°Yeah it¡¯s jusss...touch the urinal,¡± he said.


    ¡°Um.¡±


    ¡°No seriously,¡± he egged on.


    Brian shrugged and touched it.


    ¡°WHOA!¡± Brian let out as he too baked way.


    ¡°Wut¡¯s up,¡± Drix asked as she jumped down and walked beside Brian, Alex and Andy walked to their side.


    ¡°The thing was vibrating,¡± Brian answered.


    ¡°Yup,¡± Zed agreed.


    ¡°Oh it is,¡± Drix said putting her hand on a urinal, ¡°it¡¯s like putting your hand on a speaker,¡± she said.


    ¡°Hm, it could be that it¡¯s still letting out the sound even if we can¡¯t hear it,¡± Andy suggested.


    ¡°Makes sense, we can¡¯t hear other people talking unless we¡¯re close to them,¡± Alex said, ¡°the buttons flashed green when you press it lets out a sound. Right now the green and the urinals are vibrating.¡±


    ¡°Great, so, they¡¯re letting out sound, but we can¡¯t hear it,¡± Drix said, hand still on the urinal, ¡°how do we get out?¡±


    ¡°...No way,¡± Alex let out disbelief, catching the group¡¯s attention. ¡°Um, before I ended up here, a friend of mine forced me to watch a show with them. Um, Stardoor, basically a syfy show about these portals to other worlds in the galaxy. This was like a sequel or something set in different galaxy. There was a scene where two scientist had to press, like, four buttons on the wall that let out a different sounds that um...harmonize! The combination of sounds caused the molecules of wall to vibrate, um there¡¯s a term for it.¡±


    ¡°Resonance frequency,¡± Zed said, ¡°sound making things vibrate a certain way the right frequency,¡± he explained.


    ¡°So the walls vibrate?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°In the show, it did, like, enough for a person to walk through it.¡±


    ¡°Then that means,¡± Brian turned to look at the printed paintings hanging on the all. ¡°We all saw the painting right. Win the games, hit the bells, and then door. What if we have to go through the wall underneath the paintings we saw?¡±


    Before someone could answer, Brian took a deep breath and walked to the wall, specifically, the area underneath the image of the dragon, the knight, and the princess. He walked into the wall...and kept walking through!


    He felt icy air as he walked forward, it reminded him of the time he worked at a food processing plant. The entire work area was practically one big freezer. It wasn¡¯t the greatest job in the world, but the surplus product he got to take home helped with groceries. Not something he¡¯d do again unless he had to.


    In just a few steps he made into another room, a smaller one. The icy air was gone but he was still cold from the short walk. He quickly rubbed himself for warmth as he took the room in.


    It was a square room with a door directly across from Brian, the door had a display on the right.


    ¡°COLD!¡± Drix shouted as she walked into the room on Brian¡¯s right.


    ¡°WHOA!¡± Alex let out while shivering.


    ¡°Oh boy!¡± Andy let out with a laugh as he rubbed himself as he walked in.


    ¡°OH! That-that was cold!¡± Zed laughed as he shivered.


    Brian couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Drix said catching everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°ECHO!¡± she shouted, her voice echoing around the room.


    ¡°Oh man,¡± Zed said, shaking his head while smiling, ¡°we¡¯re out of those sound bubbles.¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± Brian.


    ¡°So that¡¯s the door?¡± Alex asked while pointing at the door.


    ¡°Appears to be,¡± Andy said.


    ¡°Well then let¡¯s-WOAH!¡± Zed said as he backaway. Andy, Alec, Drix and Brian did too.


    The floor suddenly fell with little fanfare. It broke apart loudly with pieces falling down a dark abyss. By the time pieces of the floor stopped falling, huge chunks were left, some were large enough to hold a large amount of people, others a single foot.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Alex muttered.


    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon,¡± Brian whined.


    ¡°Guess the fun¡¯s not over yet,¡± Andy said.


    ¡°Okay, now what,¡± Zed asked, ¡°like we pulling a Mario now or-¡±


    ¡°Ah guys,¡± Drix said as she stepped onto the empty space. She even jumped, the sound echoing in the room they were in. They just stared at her, dumbfounded.


    Brian stepped forward on empty space, it felt like he was standing on something. It felt smooth through his slippers but his feet didn¡¯t slip or feel like slipping.


    ¡°...guess not,¡±  Andy said.


    The group walked to the other side.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Zed let out, ¡°guess they were just fucking with us.¡±


    Suddenly, the sound of glass breaking filled the room, the dark abyss became green, and then fell down to the abyss.  Zed happened to be on the very edge but he managed to fall forward.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± He shouted. Brian quickly helped him up.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°No! The hell was that!?¡±


    ¡°Well either ya jinxed yourself or some one¡¯s fucking with you,¡± Drix laughed.


    ¡°Or it was a timed thing,¡± Alex suggested.


    ¡°Hm, something like ¡®not wasting time to reach your goals¡¯ or similar,¡± Andy added.


    ¡°That¡¯d be great if didn¡¯t almos¡¯ kill me,¡± Zed snapped. Drix just laughed.


    ¡°Alright, so now what,¡± Drix asked as she turned to look at the door.


    The door itself is the same the other doors Brian had seen, though this one has the addition of white television screen and and some sort of electronic pad without a hand outline.


    ¡°I guess you just press the the pad-thing.¡±


    ¡°Cool,¡± Drix said dryly as she did just that with her right hand.


    Words instantly appeared on the screen.


    PROSPECTIVE HIRE: DORIS FUENTES


    STATUS: DO NOT HIRE


    Brian¡¯s brow went up.


    Before anyone could say anything, some of the text changed.


    PROSPECTIVE HIRE: DORIS FUENTES


    STATUS: ADVANCE TO PRACTICAL TESTING


    The door opened.


    ¡°WHOA!¡± Drix let out before she was sucked inside, the door closing behind her.


    ...the group was silent.


    ¡°Doris Fuentes,¡± Zed said aloud, ¡°heh, no wonder she calls herself Drix.¡± He stepped forward and placed his hand on the pad.


    PROSPECTIVE HIRE: EZEKIAL HART


    STATUS: ADVANCE TO APTITUDE TESTING


    Like before, the text for the status changed.


    PROSPECTIVE HIRE: EZEKIAL HART


    STATUS: ADVANCE TO PRACTICAL TESTING


    ¡°Oh sweet,¡± Zed said before the door opened and he too was sucked inside.


    Brian shared a glance with Alex and Andy. Alex put her hands up and Andy just gestured for him to go ahead.


    Brian shrugged and walked forward. He took a deep breath and pressed his hand on the pad. Like before, text appeared.


    PROSPECTIVE HIRE: BRIAN SOSA


    STATUS: DO NOT HIRE


    Well then, was all Brian was able to think before the status changed again.


    PROSPECTIVE HIRE: BRIAN SOSA


    STATUS: ADVANCE TO PRACTICAL TESTING


    The door opened and before he could think to walk through, he was sucked into the other side, the door snapping shut behind him.


    ¡°I hate that,¡± he said.


    ¡°You me and me both,¡± Zed said.


    Brian looked at him then behind him to see a set of stairs.


    ¡°Drix already left,¡± Zed said as he lazily motioned at the stairs.


    ¡°Think it¡¯s another puzzle?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°Well-¡±


    The door opened and a yelp could be heard. Alex was sucked into the room. Both Brian and Zed helped Alex avoid falling down.


    ¡°Easy,¡± Brain said.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Alex said. She looked around, ¡°where¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°She bounced,¡± Zed said jerking a thumb up the stairs.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Alex let out.


    Once more the door opened and Andy was sucked in.


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said as Alex and Brian helped him from failing. ¡°I really hope that¡¯s the last time we get sucked into anywhere,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yeah I think hate those now,¡± Brian said.


    ¡°Ditto,¡± Zed said. ¡°Drix already left,¡± Zed explained before Andy could ask.


    ¡°Up that way?¡± Andy asked.


    ¡°Yup,¡± Zed confirmed.


    ¡°Well, unless anyone wants to stand around here a bit longer,¡± Andy said.


    Brian shared a look with everyone, no one said anything.


    Without saying a word, the four moved up the stair.


    Step by step, they slowly crept up together. Maybe they all had the same worry, that they¡¯d be flung into another series of absurd tests and not be told why. Maybe that they somehow fucked up where about to get murdered. Maybe this and maybe that, each and every thought involving a horrible maybe.


    When they made it to the top, they were in another room.


    The color of the room was still white but it was a lot more spacious, there were tables set up with white chairs that have cushions. Brian spotted a ton of white couches that looked comfy, some of what had people sleeping. There was an area where-


    Brian had to shake his head and blink his eyes.


    There was an area with food coming down a conveyor belt, some sort of sort of meat drumstick with greens and potato in various iterations.


    Brian began to move forward without even thinking, his mouth watering and his stomach rumbling. Then his vision was blocked by a floating screen.


    ¡°What?¡± Brian let out.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Hello Brian Sosa,


    We are happy to have you advance to our final round of testing, the Practical Examinations. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to inform you what this test will entail until the time of the examination. We apologize for any and all inconveniences and thank you for understanding.


    Please wait in the Prospective Lounge until the time of the presentation. Food and refreshments will be available along with many entertainment opportunities in the Prospective Lounge. Everyone is allowed 1 meal and 1 bottled beverage. We understand that this is a difficult time for you and we appreciate your efforts to embrace this new change to your life.


    Good Luck!


    Sincerely,


    APEX SOLICITATION SENTINEL inc.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Is...is that a screen?¡± Alex asked while looking at the same blue square with text Brian is.


    ¡°Oh good, you guys see it too,¡± Brian said.


    ¡°Okay. That¡¯s dope,¡± Zed said.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Andy said with a smile. ¡°You know, I might be early in saying this, but I think we¡¯re in the clear.¡±


    ¡°For now at least.¡±

 Chapter 2.1 Final Exam

    ¡°So you died on a hospital bed?¡± Brian couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Yep,¡± the guy replied as he shuffled a deck of cards. ¡°That virus was a real bitch. And this is your card,¡± he said flipping a card upright, it was the ace of hearts.


    ¡°Okay, seriously, how do you do that?¡± Brian asked earnestly with a small amazed smile.


    ¡°Magic,¡± the man replied with a grin as he put the card back in the deck. ¡°Give me time and I¡¯ll figure out how to do this shit,¡± he pointed to the entire room.


    The room...was magic. Brian didn¡¯t know any other way to put it. The screen appeared in front of everyone else that was with him, but there weren¡¯t any projectors or anything. Not only that, if you call up the screen, then it gives you the option to play music or ambient sounds like bugs in a forest or rain, Brian picked some generic mellow guitar solo. Aside from the new twist on the sound bubbles, there was also the magical furniture, the chairs and couches were magical to sit on, no matter how you did it or where, it would always feel comfortable. Also, there was some sort of regulator for meals and drinks.


    After a while, everyone followed Drix¡¯s example and went their separate ways. Zed somehow found a guitar somewhere and started playing around with it along with a few other musically inclined folk. Alex started drawing with other people using some electronic tablet and stylus. Andy started mingling with a few individuals, chatting and drinking....Drix was fucking with two guys on a nearby couch with a small crowd watching. Brian himself joined a poker game he found.


    They didn¡¯t have much to bet but their drinks. Turns out, everyone gets one plate of food and one bottled beverage(not beer, sadly), water and crackers are free and bathrooms were available.


    Neil Jenkins was the name of the guy shuffling the deck.... Long story short, Brian lost his drink.


    While Brian wasn¡¯t a professional poker player, he could tell that Neil was taking a piss on everyone who played with him. So after the last person quit, calling Neil a cheat as she left, Neil was left sitting in his own little corner with a stash of bottles(including the one Brian gambled). Brian, after silently dreading about his life, decided to politely ask Neil for an explanation of what happened...Neil fully admitted to cheating with a grin on his face. The two spoke and somehow they hit it off.


    ¡°Either way,¡± Neil said, ¡°never play with a card mechanic who can shuffle with one hand,¡± he warned Brian. He started doing just that and getting fancy with it, splitting the desk in half and moving it to other digits and ruffling the two halfs back together. ¡°You see that, you run to a different table.¡± Brian laughed a little.


    ¡°But man, I thought you had to retrain that,¡± Brian commented. ¡°Zed, the guy I made it here with, he lost the calluses from playing the guitar.¡±


    ¡°Same case here, all that muscle memory is gone, but I¡¯ve taught new dealers how to shuffle at casinos,¡± Neil explained, ¡°not ta mention, I do this for living, have done it for years, so it¡¯s not like I really forgot it. It¡¯s similar to re-learning a language you stopped using. Put in the work, it comes back to you.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Brian said with a shrug.


    ¡°How about you? What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Oh I,¡± Brian hesitated a little, ¡°I worked at a plastic injection molding company for a few years. I drove around the forklift, did odds and ends here and there for the company. I was thinking of going to college, you know, to apply for a management position.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see, any hobbies?¡±


    ¡°Nah, nothing solid, it was either work or TV and anime with beer. When it wasn¡¯t that, I was entertaining my little sister and getting her to do school stuff. I did watch football games a few times with my buddies.¡±


    ¡°Fair,¡± Neil said as he began shuffling the deck of cards again, ¡°if you don¡¯t mind me asking-¡±


    ¡°Drowned in my own vomit,¡± Brian said, guessing what Neil wanted. He rubbed his eyes, exhaustion slowly setting, ¡°last thing I remember is going to a house party, I think I scored. Then I woke up here, and some dick named Lester told me I drowned in my own vomit.¡±


    ¡°Had him too, huh?¡± Neil laughed. ¡°Yeah the guy¡¯s a piece of work, couldn¡¯t even get him to tell me anything else about this job.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Brian agreed, ¡°pff, colonizing, operator, what even is this job?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what concerns me,¡± Neil said with a slow nod.


    ¡°Yeah, at least they could let us know more about the job.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah, that too, but it¡¯s that word that has me worried.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°What? Operator? Colonizing?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ah, colonizing,¡± Neil clarified, ¡°I don¡¯t know how it is in your reality, but in mine, Germany colonized India, the Spanish and British colonized the Americas, and the Russians colonized the Philippines.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and?¡± Brian asked.


    ¡°...Those lands already had people living in them before all these countries colonized them,¡± Neil explained and he let that hang in the air for Brian to process.


    ¡°...Oh...shit.¡± Brian said seeing where the conversation was going.


    ¡°Shit,¡± Neil echoed. ¡°And if that isn¡¯t bad enough, look at the name of the company, Apex Solicitation Sentinel incorporated. Aside from just what all those words mean, what do the initials spell?¡±


    ¡°Ass incorporated...I hate this place more and more the longer I stay here,¡± Brian said.


    ¡°You and me both,¡± Neil said, picking up a bottle and extending out to Brian, ¡°dunno what this is, but from what I¡¯ve seen, it makes you more alert. Should perk you up.¡±


    ¡°Is that why we each only get one bottle?¡±


    ¡°Doubt it, otherwise we wouldn¡¯t have been able to gamble.¡±


    ¡°Pff, I think you miss pronounced ¡®steal¡¯ there, bud,¡± Brian laughed at that as he twisted the cap off the bottle. It was a clear bottle with clear liquid inside. As soon as the cap came off, he could hear the liquid inside fizz.


    ¡°In my defense, they were dumb enough to gamble,¡± Neil laughed.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Brian said as he took a sip. It was fizzy and had a good fruity flavor, not sugary but more than enjoyable than water. ¡°Mind if I ask something?¡±


    ¡°Ask away,¡± Neil said.


    ¡°Why did you admit it to me...and give me back what I¡¯m pretty sure is my bottle?¡± Brian asked as he took another sip.


    ¡°Cause you asked,¡± Neil answered, ¡°everyone else who suspected or figured it out, either left in a huff or demanded in on the action. You just wanted an explanation and you were not rude about it.¡±


    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it. I gambled that we could share and drink and relax, the gamble paid off,¡± Neil shrugged.


    ¡°Huh? We¡¯ll I¡¯m not complaining,¡± Brian said.


    ¡°Mhmm.¡±


    For a while the two drank as they watched the room...the view of Drix was obscured. A few more people came into the room, each group was never less than 2. Eventually Brain spotted two girls, he assumed, who had marking on their shirt. One had writing, the other patterns. If he had to guess, it was probably the girls Andy talked about.


    ¡°Um, know anything about those two,¡± Brian gestured at the girls.


    ¡°Oh, those two? Newp,¡± Neil shook his head. ¡°My best guess is that they¡¯re twins. Same facial structure, same eyes and nose,¡± he pointed out.


    ¡°Same bald head,¡± Brian added with a small laugh.


    ¡°Yeah, but we all have that,¡± Neil said with a chortle as he rubbed his own bald scalp.


    Suddenly, blue screens popped in front of their visions.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Dear prospective hires,


    we thank each and everyone you for interviewing for this wonderful opportunity! We at Apex Solicitation Sentinel inc. are happy to announce that the presentation will be held in five minutes!


    The panels covering the windows will open, allowing for unobstructed view of the presentation. Each Heads Up Display (HUD) can be used to watch the presentation from the comfort of your desired arrangement. The HUD can also be used in conjunction with the window to zoom in and out as pleased. In addition, you can lower and raise the volume of the presentation to fit your needs. You can also use the HUD to ask questions, either verbally or typed, though please be advised that not every question will be answered and acknowledged due to the cheer amount of people. We thankyou for your understanding and wish you the best of luck.


    Sincerely,


    Apex Solicitation Sentinel inc.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°...Wait, what windows?¡± Brian asked out loud.


    Suddenly, loud mechanical whines filled the room as the walls began to move, revealing the glass windows behind them.


    Neil and Brian shared a look. Brian quickly downed his drink and stood up.


    ¡°Hold these for me, and yeah, you can have another one,¡± Neil said while handing Brian three bottles.


    Brian accepted them, ¡°yeah, no problem.¡±


    The duo walked to the window, each holding three bottles.


    Predictably, they weren¡¯t the only one who approached the windows, but the two managed to secure a spot and stared out.


    ¡°Brian,¡± Brian turned around to see who called him.


    ¡°Hey Andy, check it out,¡± Brian waved him as he mad room for Andy to lookout. ¡°Oh, Neil, Andy. Andy, Neil.¡±


    The two man greeted each other before looking out the window.


    They were basically peering into another white room, Only this one was really wide and had a large glass wall bisecting the entire room. At the far end of the room was an elevated platform with a handful of people standing on it in business casual attire. Lester was one of them.


    ¡°He must be in charge,¡± Neil pointed at the one man in a full business suit standing in front of the podium.


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Andy agreed, ¡°pressed suit with a dark strong color and a bright red tie, no doubt, and he¡¯s the only person who doesn¡¯t look entirely miserable.¡±


    Brian nodded to that. Everyone else looked either annoyed or like they just wanted a power nap.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Brian said when he spotted a crowd of bald people started filling into the room.


    By the time they were done filling the room, it wasn¡¯t exactly packed, but he doubted people liked being crowded as such.


    TAP TAP


    The man in the suit tapped the microphone attached to the podium.


    ¡°Hello everyone,¡± he began. ¡°My name is Eric Grace and its a pleasure to meet all of you,¡± he introduced himself with smile that displayed his pearly whites.