I take a deep breath, steady my nerves, and walk as confidently as I can toward the door at the end of the corridor.

Am I stupid for actually going through with this? A billionaire’s son just asked me to meet him in the closet to do who knows what.

It could be some crazy trap that will get me kicked out of my internship. For all I know HR is waiting in that closet ready to kick my ass out for sexual harassment.

Yet I couldn’t be more excited, couldn’t be more aroused. Butterflies churn in my lower belly. My heart races.

I stand in front of the door. Do I knock? Whisper a secret password? How exactly does one do a rendezvous in a coat closet?

I open the door slowly and slide inside.

The door closes gently behind me and I see nothing but shadows.

A pair of strong hands pulls me close, heat emanates off his body in warm, comforting waves.

“For a moment I thought you weren’t going to come.” He purrs in my ear. “I’m glad you did.”

I gasp. The hardness of his arousal presses into my stomach. I don’t even need to see it to know he’s huge. Like, “will that even fit” huge.

Freddie grabs my hair in a single fist and pulls my head to one side. His lips hover over my exposed neck.

“How I would love to take my time with you,” he whispers, “but there will be time for that later.”

His lips kiss my neck gently at first. But the soft kisses quickly turn passionate as he tugs at my ears with his teeth….

To be continued…

i have prepared for this. i’m ready. i wore my perfectly pressed, easy-to-move-in, navy blue pantsuit for this moment. i ate a good breakfast and only had one cup of coffee. i freshened up with a mint and have been sipping water just enough so that i don’t have to pee but my throat isn’t dry. i am ready.

i stand up from my chair in the university library and make my way to the fourth floor, the stairwell labled with signs that say “BE QUIET” “STUDY HALL” “PHONES MUST BE ON SLIENT” the higher you go in the library the quieter you have to be. reaching the fourth floor i take in a breath and walk into the expansive hallway stretching all the way to a normal looking door at the end. there is a small blue piece of paper to my right that has the words “dissertation defense presentations” haphazardly written on it with an arrow pointing down the hallway. you would think the signage would be more substantial considering how much of a formal affair defending one’s dissertation is.

staring down the door i continue walking closer, looking down at my watch 4 more minutes until my allotted time. behind that door lies a panel of doctors who will determine if i’m cut out to have those three little letters after my name. behind that door holds 6 hours of presentation, discussion, question and answer, verbal analysis of what i have put my blood sweat and tears into for the past 6 years. behind that normal looking door with a small “active presentations, do not interrupt” taped to it holds my entire future.

taking one last breath i reach out grabbing the handle and walk into the most important day of my career.

1997

He was told to leave the hospital room after he passed out seeing the crowning. So he left, with Hesperia’s permission and encouraginement. The sight still made him feel sick—and that was coming from someone who had seen too much bloodshed in his dad’s organization. 
He kept pacing along the floor, panicked, anxious thoughts running through his head. He was going to be a dad. He was hardly even twenty-two and he was going to be a dad. Damn. He had beat his own father’s record of having him and his brother at twenty-four. 
But it was a human child. How was he supposed to take care of a human _child? _An infant that couldn’t fend for themselves, who could only cry and cry when they needed something? How was he going to raise that child into a well adjusted adult? He winced when he heard the cries coming from the delivery room. He was trying to remind himself that she was in good hands. She had told him to leave. But he should be there for her. He was supposed to be there for Hesperia. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain she must be in. 
With a hard swallow, he kept pacing up and down the hallway, the sanitized scent stinging his nostrils. How was he going to be a dad when he was hardly even an adult himself? He wasn’t even technically with Hesperia—ugh. He hated situationships. Especially situaitonships where you had a child with the person. What was it even at that point? Was it normal? 
No, it couldn’t possibly be normal. 
His feet stepped along the tiled floor, the faint buzzing of the AC filling his ears. The lights against the white walls were blinding and he could barely keep his eyes open without feeling dizzy. Everything was too overwhelming. Being a dad was going to be overwhelming. But he had to step up. Or else he would be a bad person. He couldn’t let Hesperia and their child go through life alone when he could be there to help. 
Gaspar kept pacing, and pacing, and pacing. As if that could erase all of his fears and worries it he knew it couldn’t. 
Then it happened. 
“Mr. Madrazo?” 
Gaspar had a knee jerk reaction and whirled his head around to the door where a nurse wearing a mask was standing. He heard it; the crying and wailing of a little baby. His eyes widened. They were here. The nurse removed their mask and smiled proudly at him. “It’s a boy!” 
A boy. He was in charge of taking care of a little boy. He hadn’t even heard the crying, so wrapped up in his worries. 
Without thinking for once, he ran past the nurse, shoving her aside—rather rudely, he knew, he apologized for it late in which she just laughed and said it was fine—and in an instance, all of the worries were gone. 
Hesperia was lying in bed, her strawberry blonde hair spread along the pillows and her amber eyes were exhausted and weary. But there was a smile on her face. She was holding a small swaddled up bundle with a wisp of hair on top of his hair and a crying sound. 
All of the worries vanished when she whispered. “Do you want to hold him?” 
He was going to be the best dad he could. Bette than any other father in the world.

Like every weekday, Monday through Friday, I was on my way to my office in the Dune Rock condominium, the high-rise building I manage. As usual, I grabbed a strong cup of coffee to kick-start my day and met with my maintenance team to go over the day’s tasks. My wife, as always, was working in the office building next door in the accounting department. It felt like just another ordinary day.

“Hey, George, good to see you again!” I greeted my maintenance supervisor.

“Good morning, boss! What do you have for me today? I’m ready to rock it!” he replied with his usual enthusiasm.

“Just the usual,” I said. “We need to check a leak in Miss Coulter’s apartment bathroom, and there’s an electrical issue in the generator room. Prioritize that and then continue with your routine.”

“You got it, boss,” George replied, already preparing to tackle the tasks.

The day turned out to be busier than expected, and I had to stay late, wrapping up paperwork for the new year’s budget. I told my wife to go home without me since I’d be at the office well into the evening.

Around 8:00 p.m., I finally shut down my computer, locked up my office, and headed down the long hallway toward the exit. The building was unusually quiet. None of the usual residents were hanging around the stairwell, and I didn’t see any security guards. The eerie stillness felt strange, but I brushed it off, too eager to get home to dwell on it.

As I reached the street, I found something odd—the road was closed off with a large wire fence. I turned around, hoping to find another exit, but wandered into an unfamiliar alley that seemed to lead nowhere. It was close to 9:00 p.m. now, and the dim streetlights barely illuminated the path. I was lost. I tried calling my wife, but my phone had no reception.

“Stay calm, Ray,” I told myself. “Just go back to the condo, back to your office. From there, you can call a taxi or figure out what’s going on.”

I retraced my steps, and when I finally reached Dune Rock, everything seemed different. It was daylight again, and there were people everywhere—company directors, staff, and even my wife.

“Excuse me, what’s going on here?” I asked, bewildered.

“Ray? Is that you?” Robert, the vice president of management, looked at me with wide eyes. “Where have you been? We’ve all been so worried.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, feeling a growing sense of unease. Just then, I felt someone hug me tightly from behind. I recognized my wife’s voice, breaking as she spoke.

“Ray, I was worried sick. You never came home, and the police have been searching for you for days,” she said, sobbing.

“Honey, what do you mean? I left the office only an hour ago. I got a bit lost, so I came back. That’s all,” I said, more confused than ever.

“Oh, Ray,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You’ve been missing for 15 days.”

I pulled back slightly, staring into my wife’s tear-streaked face, trying to process her words. Fifteen days? My mind reeled, unable to grasp how a single evening had turned into more than two weeks. The world around me felt distant, as if I were caught in some strange dream I couldn’t wake up from.

But as I looked around, everyone’s eyes told me the same truth: somehow, I’d been lost to time itself.

And I had no idea how—or why—it happened.

Hailey Bell once believed anything was possible as long as you had an idea, some hope, a means to do it, and maybe just a little bit of some of the suspernatural. Here and there, that thought popped into her head. She waved it off, though, like it was never a phrase in the first place. Her mother used it frequently. After she died, however, Hailey decided to hide away from all things of her. It was simply too painful to keep. Sadly, she couldn’t be rid of memories. They came and went as they wished, but she could distract herself.

Her job was an affective way to keep herself busy. It’s hard to explain, but her work included observing new species—horrifying creatures of death and disease—that the rest of the world knew nothing about. It was safer that way. If one knows too much, they tend to lose their wits. So she was perfectly content with secret-keeping, even from those she loved. Hailey understood the casualties, she was well acquainted with them.

Only moments ago, she was closely scrutinizing a monster with a rather take-backish appearance. The image of it stuck to her mind. It was so much taller than her. Stack two, fully grown humans straight on top of each other (though I wouldn’t advise it) and one might begin to get the feel of the extreme height of the thing. Of course, scientists working in the lab couldn’t exactly get it to stand without it crumbling to the floor—it was very much dead. But they did, however, keep it on their table to find that its long limbs couldn’t fit onto the table all the way.

They could only assume it was dead. Here’s the rather peculiar thing: the creatures had no heart beat, yet its chest rose and fell. Hailey and the rest of the crew weren’t even sure if it even had a heart. Absurdities such as that wouldn’t be so out-of-the-ordinary.

Hailey quickened her feet along the polished tile. Windows upon windows upon windows, to her left. She took a right down another hall, leaving the bright morning sun into nearly equally as bright of a hallway with many doors. Doors with numbers, with labels. Some contained deceased creatures. Mostly, they were used for storage. Many of the scientists lived there—this type of job required one to work late, and it was easier getting to their destination when it lie only four floors below them.

Miss Bell was headed to her office. She didn’t live their, but she was at least obligated to possess some sort of dignified place to store her findings and reports. Plans changed, though. The key card hanging from her neck had begun to blink red. Their are different colors and meanings for each one.

Blue = assistance is needed

(A voice usually played over the intercom throughout the building, telling you which floor and laboratory to go to.)

Yellow = some sort of chemical leakage

White = board meeting

Green = assembly meeting

Red = red, can mean two things: one, that a specimen has escaped, or two, the director wishes to speak to you

Of course, Hailey knew it wasn’t the first one. The intercom had assured her of that, but for a moment her heart had skipped a beat. It had only happened once—an escaped creature. She hadn’t been working there at the time, but when she was finally accepted into the great field of horrifying scientific discovery, along with their unexpected chain of secrets, she’d heard stories.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such things, though.

She stopped, finally, at a brown door with a golden handle. The label read:

Room#22237 “Director Alexander Boff’s Office” __

She took a deep breath, fixed her stance and lifted her hand to knock politely. It’s not everyday the director speaks to an employee face to face. Hopefully she hadn’t done anything wrong. Surely that couldn’t be it.

“Do enter, Miss Bell.”

Her hand stoped short at the muffled tone. This would be her first time ever seeing the infamous Mr Boff. She twisted the handle and stepped inside.

“Ah, welcome,” the man said.

The office was the largest one in the building, no doubt. Bookshelves and all sorts of different novels and dictionaries very precisely ordered. A blue carpet that changed into polished marble towards the grand desk. Couches, chairs, and a coffee table.

She wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. But she knew it wasn’t this. The room was so…modern? Admittedly, she’d expected it to hold golden statues and framed diagrams on the walls. Instead, there were posters of bands and anime shows. It looked as though the room belonged to teenage boy.

Then her eyes drifted from around the room, to the great window behind the desk, finally fixating on a rather young man seated in its chair. His leg was carelessly propped on the expensive wood. He wasn’t even wearing work-appropriate shoes. They were blue and yellow and white with tassels undone. At least he had enough decency to wear a collared shirt. It was half unbuttoned, though and there was no tie to be seen.

Oh, wait…

She looked to the floor and rose a brow. There it was, hanging off the arm of his pearly white sofa. It was as though he’d pulled it from his neck and mindlessly thrown it across the room.

He was watching her very closely when she turned her attention back to him. This boy must’ve known she was judging him harshly. It’s not like she was trying to hide it.

He couldn’t be much older than she.

“Should Mr Boff be coming soon?” she questioned, hesitantly sitting on one of the chairs infront of the large desk. Now this boy was laughing at her. This wasn’t a very professional way of greeting someone.

There was a certain, deep melody to the laugh that made her stomach flip—in a good way, of course. Or was it bad?

“Who do you think I am?”

“Forgive me, but…” she looked him up and down slowly. Then meeting his crystal eyes once more. His chestnut hair was also unkept. “I wasn’t aware Mr Boff had a son.”

There was that unnecessary laugh once more. He finally stopped and smiled, removing his foot from the desktop, and crossing it over his leg. “I’m Mr Boff, Miss Bell, and I’m afraid I have no son—I’m only twenty-three.”

He was a year older than her.

Heat rose to her cheeks in clear embarrassment. “Oh,” was all she could manage.”

“I’ve summoned you here to share a quick chat.” Mr Boff, who looked more like a high school jock, leaned in and clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on the wooden surface. “About the latest specimen.”

“We have many new specimens, Mr Boff. Can I ask for clarification?”

“Number 999, to be exact, Miss Bell.” He slapped a picture of the thing right before her. “And no need for such formative speaking. Call me Alexander.”

She ignored the other half and picked up the picture.

There it was again—long arms and white eyes. But she nearly dropped it when she looked behind the creature to see a bloody hand. That’s when she realized it wasn’t lying on the lab table. It was standing upright. And blood trickled from its mouth as it stared directly into, what she could only assume to be, a camera. “I don’t understand…”

He drew another picture from his drawer. “That was from about an hour before you came here; this one was taken only three minutes from when you walked through my door.”

All blood seemed to run cold throughout her body. “You mean to say that—”

“Yes, Hailey—can I call you Hailey?—specimen 999 is very much alive, sorry to say.”

“That’s simply impossible—”

“Improbable—”

She shook her head. “999 had no heart beat. We were even certain he didn’t have one.”

“Almost certain, I’m afraid. You see, it did have a heart, the conniving devil. What it did, was shrink it so small it wasn’t visible to your little gadgets and computers.”

“Your gadgets and computers,” I correct. “And that’s just as equally impossa—”

“Nothing is quite as improbable as it seems at first, Hailey. I would’ve thought that your two years of experience could’ve shown that much to you, at least. Well, if you haven’t figured it out now, I suppose I’ll break the news.” He cleared his throat. “Miss Bell, I’m afraid you’ve been witnessing, first hand, what you call the _impossible, _the moment you signed up here. Now, I’m calling Specimen 999 ‘Trevor,’ and we need to exit the premises before we become his next victims.”

Hailey had so many questions swirling through her head, but the one she couldn’t seem to resist asking, was “Why Trevor?”

Alexander Boff grabbed his umbrella, coat, and fixed his hair, before shrugging. “He reminds me of my old Great Uncle Trevor.”

How unserious.

My goal was never to live forever, it was to create something that will. I would be lucking if i live old enough to remember the bad days to appreciate the quiet boring days.

I postpone my demise for tomorrow

Astor took a deep breath, begged her nerves to settle, and began walking towards the door at the end of the corridor. Keeping her eyes aimed straight in front of her, the gray, authoritative door kept getting bigger, more intimidating, along with the voice in her head calling her a piece of shit.

My name is Anna and I’ve had a pretty harsh life, abused by my family, had a lot of my friends die. You know the usual jazz and all that. But everything changed when I got my power, in the middle of a fight with 7 guys that wanted to take revenge on me. I activated my power and killed them all in a flash. Oh silly me I forgot to tell you what my power is. My power is water control and mine is more powerful then any other water control powers that’s for sure. Just wait until you see me fight. I walked down a hallway towards the end of it to the last door. I had my hands in my pocket and slowly opened the door looking inside at the 4 buff and muscular guys around the room guarding the one person in the middle sitting on his table. We were expecting you he said as he gave me a small smirk. Well I need the money so here I am. I said, while walking inside the room slowly not breaking eye contact even once. Let’s get straight to the point shall we, I want you to join us but I’ll have to see if your worthy for that first. I looked at him, my body was relaxed and I raised a eyebrow curious to hear what I have to do. and how am I going to prove myself? I asked as he pulled out of his pocket and light it. You’ll be going on a mission with one of my members. The Malfia guy said as he breathed out a breath of smoke. What are we doing on this mission? I asked. A moment of silence passed as he smoked his cigarette, and then turned to face me you’ll be going to a party of people that made me angry and you mission is to kill them and take their money. It’s that simple. He said as he looked at me. Simple? Yeah like killing everyone in a party that dared to get a malfia mad is simple they probably have something up their sleeve or they just don’t know who they pissed off. I thought to myself and looked at the malfia in front of me. So who am I going with? The guy in front of me stood up and walked over to me slowly. Your going with me he said as he was in front of me. He was about a head taller then me, but I wasn’t scared since I’ve been with many people like this. Alright let’s get going then I said as I stepped to the side. After you I said with a smirk. He scoffed on how I’m acting but walked to the door first as I followed from behind. We walked outside to his car. It was a old, red car that definitely siding look like something a malfia would have. Is this also part of the disguise or do you like old cars? I asked and tilted my head looking at the car. Oh please I’ve got a way better car then this it’s just for the disguise the people around that party always have old cars and they are rich so they will be wearing formal clothes. He did as he grabbed something from inside his car and threw it to me. I caught it quickly and looked at the soft fabric in my hands it was a dress a pretty red long dress with a slit in the side. Ok, but if you wanted to see me naked i. Front of you so bad you could’ve just asked I said with a smug smirk and a raised eyebrow. Well aren’t you a flirt, just get in the car we will change once we sneaked into the party. He did as he smirked and sat down in the divers seat. I sat down in the passenger seat next to him and said let’s get this mission on the road literally. Anyway what’s your name I asked and looked at him while he hit the pedal of the car causing me to slam back against the seat. This guy divers like a maniac I mean what have I been expecting his a mafia boss. My name is Daniel he said calmly as we drove. How can you be this cal and go this fast. I held on to the seat trying to stay calm until we got to our destination. It’s nice to meet you Daniel I said while trying to act calm. Once we arrived in front of a gas station and he parked his car near a parking garage. What are we doing here is this where the party takes place? Isasked as he said nope but it’s where we get on our free ride there he got out of the car and I followed after him. Isn’t that a bit cheep only wanting to get a free ride when his filthy Rich. I gave him a look of disappointment as he glanced back at me and noticed it. What’s that look for? Nothing I respond quickly looking away as he raised an eyebrow at my reaction. But he brushed it off. Anyway what we need to do is get inside of that truck without the owners noticing. He said as he pointed at a huge black truck. Wow really cheep i mumbled and this time he heard me. I’m just saying that’s the only way for us to find the party’s location!!! He whispered at me as I took a breath of relief and said whoa I thought you were just lieing about being the malfia and is actually a cheep hypocrite. I said as he glared at me like he was about to strangle me. Taking a deep breath he moved his focus back on the truck waiting for an opportunity. Wait for it he whispered over to me as I got ready to run. Once the riders went inside the truck Daniel whispered Now!! And ran over to the truck as I followed after him and he opened the back door of the truck, jumped in he looked over at me to see if I was following his lead and I climbed in just in time before the truck moved. I leaned over and grabbed the car doors closing them in on us. Once the car started moving all we had to do was wait for when we arrive to the party. I took a deep breath and looked over at Daniel, so how long is it going to take to reach the party? I asked and he shrugged and said I guess we’ll have to find out. The inside of the truck was dark and I couldn’t see anything as Danial walked over to me. Grabbing my hand I flinched in surprise since I didn’t expect him to touch me. What are you doing? I asked as he put the dress he got me for the mission in my hand. It’s time to get changed he said as he went back to his seat and pulled out something from his bag that I assumed was his suit. I heard the rustling of clothes and knew he was changing. What are you waiting for it’s not like I can see you change. He said as he didn’t hear me moving and continued to put on his suit. I sighed and I put the dress beside me while I undressed completely and put it on getting ready for the party. After we changed and I wore the heels he somehow had in his bag. We waited for the truck to stop. So did you bring weapons or do we have to get creative I said as I leaned back against the truck crossing my legs but he couldn’t see me since it was pitch black. I hear him chuckle let’s hope your creative cause this is the test. He did calmly and if I could see his face I’m pretty sure he’ll be examining my reaction to see if I’m fit to be one of his members. The truck came to a shale and I knew that we had arrived from the sound of music outside. Alright Iet the game begin I smirked and stood careful walking to the door of the truck, Daniel followed behind me and we opens the truck once the coast was clear stepping out into the fresh air. I was ready for a fight. My lady Daniel said with a smirk as he gave me his arm and we walked inside the party like we were invited, but we were being stared at since no one recognized us. Ooooh I know this song I said as we walked and he took me towards the dance floor wanna dance to it~ I smirked and got into position to dance. I thought you’d never ask I said with a chuckle and we started to spin as everyone made space in the dance floor watching us. I grabbed a few forks and knives throwing them at some people killing theme off as we danced. People started to panic as the security marched towards us I giggled and Danial spun me as I grabbed more blades from the table and used them like claws scratching the secretly up and dancing with one of the spinning them around I grabbed their gun and shot them in the head and took another guards gun spinning back to Daniel who kept dancing like nothing happened. Screaming and people Trina to get away was all around us. As Daniel dipped me backwards and I pointed the two guns at people short like crazy while giggling. In the corner of my eye I saw Daniel was doing the same thing and looking hot while doing it. He pulled me back up with one arm and we continued to dance and kill peoples throwing knifes and shooting guns until the whole room was a deep red color and the only thing you could hear was the sound of music playing. Revange has been served i whsiepred into Daniels ear as he smirked and replied welcome to the team Anna. He pulled out his phone and called someone over to bring us a car. Once the car arrived, we drove off and I could hear the police cars in the distance that we called over to the party to see the bloody art show we created for them. You know you looked pretty handsome covered in blood I said with a smirk. Looking over to Daniel, he scoffed and I spoke again leaning against him. But you know I bet you’d look better doing other things as well, why don’t we cerebrate~ I whispered into his ear. Fine but you brought this on yourself he said his voice deep and huskyier then usaully and without warning he grabbed me by the waist causing me to gasp and pulled me down on the gaint couch in the car as he pushed his lips on mine. You guys should get a room the driver said as he pulled down the window between us and him. The End.

The sharp crack of gunfire and distant screams reverberated through the empty halls, sent a chill down my spine. I ignore it and continued to press deeper into the corridor, moving toward the elevator. The horrifying sounds slowly subsided as I walked further down the hall. I casted one last wary glance back at the door I had just passed through hoping I wasn’t followed. Thankfully relieved to be away from the chaos happening outside.
Approaching the elevator doors, I noticed the flickering lights overhead. Finally some good news: “If I can just reach the rooftop, I can make way to the neighboring building and down towards the parking garage to where my cars parked”. The doors creaked open halfway, then froze, followed by a loud thumping noise, before slamming shut. The lights overhead turned off. I began to pry open the doors with my hands, “Aw man, please work, please work,” I pleaded under my breath pushing with all my might, but the doors remained closed and the elevator itself silent. “No, no, no”. I pressed the buttons one last time as if it would change anything.
As I stood there, a had gotten an idea: stairs. “There’s gotta be stairs somewhere or a maintenance shaft,” I shuffled my feet around the corner and sprint down the carpeted hallway, determined to find another way up. Ahead, a dim light marked STAIRS caught my eye and I rushed towards the sign and I pushed through the door.
The cool metal railing grounded me as I made way up the flight of stairs, each step echoing to the beating of my heart. Finally reaching the top floor, I was relieved. I took a break and leaned over the railing from the fatigue of running up multiple levels. Sweat dripped down my face as I patted my forehead with my sleeve. “Ughh, I should’ve probably kept up with the gym.” But who would’ve guessed that the end of the world would be right around the corner. The last time you recall doing any type of exercise like running up the stairs was back in P.E. Thank god you don’t have asthma.
Once I regained my stamina I started to move towards the platform up above. One side, there was metal door labeled “ROOF ACCESS” and directly across from it was the stubborn elevator. I pushed open the heavy metal doors and was immediately met with screaming.

Filled with adrenaline I ran in the direction where I had thought the screams came from. There, from the adjacent rooftop, I spotted a couple in distress. The woman, holding a crowbar, watched in horror as her husband battled against the swam of infected, desperately fighting for his life. The scene unfolded right before me in a chaotic frenzy. The husband, his face smeared with sweat, scratches, and determination brandishes a metal pipe against his relentless attackers and swings with all his might. Fighting off waves and waves of infected, trading blow for blow.

THWAK! I could hear the impact of the pipe against the infected. Each hit made a loud, ringing, sharp metal knock. THWAK! THWAK! Each swing, fueled by desperation, I noticed each of his movements becoming slower and slower. The screams of the infected began to fade as he fell to one knee, ridding himself of the last one that stood in front of him. The husband, now dawned with a huge gaping wound with blood running down his face, glances back at his wife with a smile before collapsing to the ground.

The wife rushes over dropping the crowbar and cradles the husband’s head in her lap. Words were exchanged between them before he stopped moving. Tears mixed with grime ran down her cheeks as she whispered assurance that help would soon arrive. Simultaneously, we both looked toward the fire escape and noticed more infected had arrived trying to break through the fence. Ignoring the imminent danger, she clutches her husband’s hand tightly and pressed her forehead against his as the horde continued its terrifying approach.

I can use this to my advantage I thought, all I needed was to find away to cross over to the next roof, and down into the parking garage. My eyes darted around until they land on a ladder, previously abandoned by the wife, who laid it down in a desperate attempt to escape before infected had attacked I assumed. With nearby piece of debris in hand, I managed to leap across the ledge, landing on the other side.

I rushed to secure the ladder, making sure it’s stable enough for a hasty escape then I begin to cross. Right hand with left foot and left hand with right foot you, moving in rhythm across and on top of the parking garage. As I brushed off the dirt from my hands, I glanced back at the women still seated beside her husband, oblivious to infected scratching their way through the gate with relentless hunger. It felt easier to suppress my empathy, yet I found myself unable to move as my thoughts clashed violently within me. At least if they break through she can be with her husband.
Suddenly, a haunting vision engulfed me: I watched in horror as my mother and sister was dragged away and torn apart by these demons.
No one intervened when we were under attack. After witnessing witness their deaths, no one came to my rescue, so why should I? Panic begin to rise in my chest as a voice screamed out time is running out. I would be just like those who stood by. “Damnit!” “Hey! You!” I shouted, trying to get her attention, but she was still focused on her husband, injured and unable to move.
“Hey! Over here!” I yelled, and finally, she looked at me her eyes wide with fear. As if she was just released from a hypnosis. I quickly glanced back at the infected closing in, their grotesque lumbering towards the fence, tearing through the barrier. The fence starts to bend. “What’s your name?” I asked urgently. “Constance” “I know what you’re going through, and I’m sorry for you loss,” the fence creaked, top hinge breaks away—tick, tick, tick. “But you have a few more seconds before those things come in and finish what your husband was trying to do, and that was keeping you safe” SCREEEEEEEECH!!!!!!, the fence groans under pressure, the middle hinge struggling under the weight. Constance jumped up with fear, torn between staying with him and taking chance at survival. “Don’t let his death be in vain”

The heaviest weight is having only a short span of time to evaluate all your actions on your way to upper management when your name has been called. Automatically thinking of all the things you could’ve done wrong, seldomly do you think about the things you did right and are being commended for. Corporate America can be the realm of opportunity but it takes just one misfired conversation to pack your things and clock out for the last time. The good news is that you have been here many times before, the bad news is that you have learned you can still never be certain. Oh what a fun game this is. I suppose one of the thrills of life is always being on your toes and prepared for the ailments.