—Well, look who we have here —the new supervisor! —said Mikel with a mocking smile.
—Mikel, it didn’t occur to you to mention that the position was for a supervisor?
—I forgot to tell you… sorry —he replied with feigned innocence.
—Hahaha, bastard! You have no idea how surprised I was when Camila told me.
Ring, ring, ring.
—Excuse me —said Lavitz as he took out his phone—. Let me see who’s calling…
Upon seeing the name on the screen, he burst into laughter.
—What is it? —Mikel asked, curious.
—My old boss. I’m putting it on speaker.
—Lavitz? Can you tell me where the hell you are? I’ve been waiting for you all morning! With that kind of attitude, you won’t get far in this company!
—I’m sorry, Roland, but I don’t think I’ll be coming in today.
—I don’t care if you’re sick or had a problem! I need you here. There are reports that need to be done today, and they’re not going to do themselves. If you don’t show up, consider yourself fired.
—Roland, I’m not coming. Not today, not any other day. I quit. You can handle your damn reports and all that backlog yourself.
—How dare you talk to me like that?! Who do you think you are?! We gave you the opportunity to work with us all these years! You can’t quit—you shouldn’t!
—You’re wrong. That company owes me for all the work I did, and all I ever got in return was more responsibility and no reward. I’ve got nothing else to say to you. Goodbye… useless bastard.
Lavitz hung up, letting the silence land the final blow.
—Hahaha! That felt amazing! —he exclaimed.
—It’s about time you told those idiots to go to hell, my friend! Tonight at ten, Marcus’s Tavern. We’re celebrating.
—Sounds perfect to me.
—If you’ve got nothing else to do, you can stay today to see how things work. Technically, you start tomorrow.
—Good idea. I’ll get familiar with everything.
—Then I’ll see you tonight. Don’t flake on me, alright?
—I’ll be there.
After Mikel left, Lavitz turned on the state-of-the-art computer in his new office and began reviewing some documents. Time flew. Before he knew it, it was already nine at night.
—Shit, it’s so late!
The offices were almost empty. Only one or two people remained. Lavitz grabbed his things and headed for the elevator. He inserted his access card and pressed the button for the first floor.
The elevator began to move, but suddenly…
Zzzzzhhh.
A sudden blackout left him in complete darkness.
—You’ve got to be kidding me… Am I seriously stuck?
The system returned seconds later. The elevator lit up again and resumed its course… only it didn’t stop at the first floor. It kept going down.
—No… no, no, no… I’m going to get fired!
Lavitz started frantically pressing the buttons, but nothing worked. The elevator descended all the way to floor 50B.
Ding!
The doors opened. He didn’t move.
He kept pressing the up button, but a message appeared on the screen:
ERROR 023.
With no other choice, he stepped out to look for help. The hallways were lit by a faint blue light. Laboratories everywhere. In some, there were caged animals: rats, dogs, cats… even monkeys.
—What kind of research are they doing down here?
Everything felt eerie, like something out of a horror movie. Lavitz couldn’t help but think of Resident Evil.
—Let’s just hope no zombies show up…
He walked cautiously until he saw three people dressed in full-body protective suits. They seemed to be talking.
—Hello! Can you help me?
The three turned at the same time and looked at each other.
—I had an issue with the elevator —Lavitz explained—. It left me trapped down here and won’t respond. I just want to get out.
—Don’t worry —one of them said—. Come, we’ll take you to the exit.
—Thank you so much! —he replied in relief, approaching them.
But as soon as he got close enough, the three lunged at him.
—What are you doing?! Let go of me! I haven’t done anything! Let me go!
—Hold him! Don’t let him escape!
Two of them pinned him down forcefully. The third pulled out a syringe filled with a deep red liquid.
—What is that?! This is illegal! I’m going to report you! HELP!
The needle plunged into his leg. Within seconds, everything went black.
—What do we do with him?
—We have to get rid of him. We don’t know what he might’ve seen.
—Let’s take him to the Soul Transportation Chamber. That thing, even if it never worked how we wanted, leaves no trace.
—Good idea. Help me carry him.
—Damn, this guy weighs more than he looks!
—Stop whining and lift him!
The three carried him into a reinforced room, with a massive bank-vault-like door. Inside, a gigantic machine covered the walls. They laid Lavitz’s body down and shut the door.
—Activate the Soul Transporter.
—Ready.
The machine began to rumble, vibrating with a deep, guttural sound.
Meanwhile, Lavitz opened his eyes.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
—What’s that sound?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
—Why is it so dark?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
—Where am I?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
—What is this place?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
—Is anyone there!?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
—Hello!? Can someone help me!?
[WARNING!]
Protocol 3456 activated.
[WARNING!]
Protocol 3456 activated.
[WARNING!]
Protocol 3456 activated.
—What the hell is this? Hey! This isn’t funny! Let me out of here!
[Soul transport will begin in:]
5
—What the hell is that?! Stop this right now!
4
—Heeelp! Somebody!
3
—Let me out, damn it!
2
—HELP!
1
—NO, NO, NOOO! STOP THIS! LET ME OUT!
0
AAARRGHHHHHHHH!
An indescribable pain tore through him. As if his body were being ripped apart atom by atom, particle by particle. It was pure agony. Little by little, his existence faded… until nothing remained.
[Soul transport successfully completed.]
Outside, the three scientists watched the system monitor in silence.
—How is that possible…?
—Weren’t all previous attempts supposed to have failed?
—No idea… Call the director!