The fluorescent buzz of YoruMart's backroom flickered with a familiar indifference, casting an eerie glow over the stacks of half-opened crates that lined the narrow walls.
The air was thick with the scent of plastic wrapping, stale produce, and industrial cleaner, a cocktail that screamed exhaustion.
It was just after 8:00 p.m., and their shift was barely halfway through.
Billy found himself elbow-deep in the broken vending stockroom, sorting through expired energy bars when he heard hurried footsteps echoing down the corridor.
"Billy! Billy! Billy!"
He straightened up, wiping sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his blue uniform.
Kaia stood at the doorway, breathless and flushed not from exertion but something more urgent.
Her phone glowed brightly in her hand, clutched like a lifeline.
"What's wrong?" he asked, instantly on high alert as he noticed her red face.
