"Face The Fear, Build The Future"

Day 11

["This is a forest full of hearts. No matter how many he cuts down, the forest still remains dense."]
——————————————————————————

3rd POV

X laid awake in his bed while staring at the ceiling with an unreadable expression. Ever since he had gotten into bed last night, not once had he moved from his spot. One of his arms and legs dangled off the edge of the bed due to him falling backwards onto the bed with zero effort put into actually sleeping.

For hours he had laid awake in the deafening silence of his room with only his thoughts and the constant whispering in the back of his head to keep him company. He didn't want to hear what they had to say, and yet he still heard it regardless. Telling him to run, to escape, and to tell someone—anyone—of the shit that was happening here.

Frightened and stupefied were words that he felt could somewhat describe what he was feeling. The nervousness and paranoia kept him awake throughout the entire night while the expectations and stress made him want to pass out. Despite his calm look, his back was covered in sweat and his heart continued to beat at its fast pace that only increased the more he thought about what this new day had to bring.

He didn't know how long he could continue doing this. The pressure, the responsibilities, the expectations, the constant presence of the guillotine his head was in, all of it was just too much. The fluctuations between what his morals wanted him to do and what he needed to do was only making his mental health worsen by the day as well. If he were to be honest, the entire place was making his mental health worse and worse as the days go by, and there was nearly nothing that he could do to alleviate it.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

X didn't flinch at the high pitch noise coming from his night stand. In fact, he didn't even register the noise at all as he filtered out everything around him and focused on his worries. As the alarm continued its duty of waking up its owner, a knock came from the door. When they received no answer they knocked once more, only to receive the same result. Having no other choice, the visitor unlocked the door with their privileges and walked right in.

Of course, the visitor was Angela who immediately took notice of the Manager's state as the man hadn't even acknowledged that she was there. Nothing that she wasn't used to, but that was besides the point, because this time it seemed to be caused by something else. Since the day couldn't start without the Manager, she knew what she had to do to get the day started and over with.

Forcing away a sigh, Angela stepped forward and made her way to him. She stood by his bed and then leaned her body so she was hovering over his face. Blinking, X grew confused when there was two glowing orbs looking down at him. The Manager didn't know when two golden light bulbs were adding to his ceiling, but he most definitely remembered the lights being off.

"Good morning, Manager. Unfortunately, the time for rest is over."

Hearing her voice fill his room along with the alarm in the background, X finally became aware of who/what was in his room and what time it was. For several seconds they both stared at each other as her abrupt presence slowly registered in X's mind. With a sudden spring of energy, X sat up from the bed just as Angela stepped back to avoid a collision.

As his wide eyes slowly blinked the surprise away, X finally became focused on what was around him and slowly got off from the bed. Angela made room as she awaited for him to finish up his preparations. Noticing that she wasn't leaving, X found himself nervously turning to her before clearing his throat while glancing at her every now and then.