The Phantom Of The Night

Chapter 3

In glaring LEDs' of the ceiling lights, shining on me as if I were a protagonist of a modern horror. The red marble flooring tiles I stand on, my legs slightly bend, shoulders arched as I am washing my hands with bacterial soap. Even in a decade after COVID, I survived, I take cleanliness very serious.

"Ten second wetting, accompanied with two soft pushes of the bacterial soap dispenser." My inner voice mentions, like commands to my conscious mind.

The lathering of it, washing every part of my hands, for what seems like a eternity. Then I proceed to take a napkin from the dispenser, wiping my hands slowly and softly. My mind turns to the attention of the door as I take the used napkin, pulling the door open with it before leaving. The napkin tossed into the garbage behind me as I walk back into the office. I never understood the need for morals, nevertheless friends. The pixelated carpet below softer, with the sounds of computer keyboards being pressed, indistinct conversations between other employees with their business attire. Me, amongst the males with our white collared outfits and the women, with their beige, blue, or black dresses. Do I deserve this position, should I ask for more?

As my mind wanders with these thoughts, I don't notice the hurling stapler coming my way as it smacks me across the face. My body fell in motion, hitting my head on the hardwood divider before I lay on my back. Other employees come rushing to my aide as consciousness slowly falls into the background. Their voices of concern blending into a unintelligible audio, scrambling sights as the blackness encompasses me. My eyes close shortly, with my last sight being those damned LED ceiling lights.

*A few moments later*

I awake, laying on a black couch, my eyes dart around before I feel the towel on my forehead, warm. Quickly getting up, my hand grabs the top of the couch while my eyes survey the room.

"You're in the boss' room. Her couch, her laptop, even having her signature coffee mug." My inner voice says.

I wipe my eye face with the warm towel, now standing as my boss comes in with a man in a suit. He looks at me before the boss' eyes follow, gesturing for me to stay seated as the man examined me.

"Woah, woah, too fast for you to get up. You took a nasty fall, and I had to do some DIY stitching. Are you feeling any nauseous? Any headaches?" The man in the suit says as he hands me a bottle of water.

I take the bottle of water, unzip the top and take a small sip of it. I nod no to his questions before I mutter,

"I feel fine." getting up and walking out of the boss' office. When I arrive into the cubicles, Matthew darts up and then sits back down before I check my watch, then looking outside.

The outside, dimming as the sun turns over for the moon to take its shift. Nightfall, the time for my night job. Quickly walking over to my cubicle before I grab my satchel, letting it hang over my shoulder before I walk to the elevator. I press the down button, awaiting patiently for the elevator to arrive as I make notes in my upcoming plans. Matthew walks up to me, first tapping me on the shoulder as I usually didn't notice him.

"Clocking out early?" He asks with his arms crossed.

I look at my watch, showing him the time;

"No. Just not wanting to overstay." I say, in a groaned, tired sounding voice.

He lets it got before handing me my work I need to overlook for the next assignment. I wave bye at him as the elevator dings and I step inside. The doors close in front of me as I press the lobby button, patiently waiting as I tidy my outfit before exhaling.

"Stay calm, don't overwork. You need to get past security, someone else is on your radar. Another convict, not a gangster, but a pedophile. File is under your desk at home." My inner voice says, as my consciousness goes into autopilot.