It's not often that one questions everything, it would be too taxing on the brain, but there are moments so earth shattering that a person loses control, letting their mind free to doubt reality. Limit such instances and do not let the insanity spread. –Management Code 1737
Cole straightened his sleeves as he entered the now familiar, yet still imposing building. It was like his first day all over again, he was going into a new department, and the nerves that he had recently managed to calm due to work had resurfaced. He wasn't even sure if he was going to do anything that day.
The manager had not been very clear. The biggest take away that Cole had gotten from the eye-catching woman was that the managers were a class above the regular workers. Cole was not sure if he would be punished for not wearing his uniform, but the confidence of the manager showed that she did not even need to consider such a question.
Cole squinted at the receptionist as he handed over his keycard. Nothing was obscuring the man's face as he calmly did his job. Cole accepted his card back and moved towards the elevator. Of course he had already forgotten the receptionist's appearance. Cole did not let that bother him, he had to be focused and ready for this new opportunity.
The walls slid open and Cole stepped into the same elevator as he always did, he had noted that he never had any companions in the small compartment. It was curious, but a blessing as he did not have to bother with small talk. The elevator shifted smoothly and Cole barely noticed that he was going down, instead of heading up, like he usually did.
Cole flexed his fingers and fixed his posture just before the door slid open. He was greeted by an empty hallway. It was a large open hallway that stretched forward, before darting into a sharp turn around a corner. The walls were unlike the lobby in many ways. They were noticeably dusty and clearly were not the same painted metal that adorned the other parts of the building that Cole had seen. Peeling yellow wallpaper decorated with thin blue stripes, gave way to some sort of plaster.
The ceiling was also quite dusty and had the same wallpaper, only broken up by a light fixture every so often. The floor was not carpeted, and when Cole stepped out of the elevator it groaned slightly under his weight. If Cole's office seemed worn down, this part of the building appeared ancient to him. Cole looked around again, this time expecting to see any signs of humans. He had already been greeted by Mel when he had left the elevator on his first day, but he thought that he should not expect the same thing from every department.
"Hello." He called out. His voice echoed softly and there was no response. Not wanting to be too loud, Cole did not call out again, instead walking forward towards the bend in the hall. The lights were strong enough to illuminate every corner of the corridor, but as he walked, Cole felt the hair on his arms rise, as if he was entering a dark alley in the midst of night.
Cole brushed the feeling off, it could only be nerves. He had been expecting a guide and he had not gotten one, so he was a bit frazzled. An image popped up in his eye, a small square labeled /Can/. Cole blinked and the name flashed away, he was not going to contact Can just because he was nervous. The manager had instructed Cole to contact Can as a liaison to herself, but Cole knew that Can resented the idea of having to do more work.
Cole turned the corner and hall continued to stretch onwards, only this time there were a few doors along the wall. Cole checked the time, 6:28 am. He was early, but he didn't know if the new department would think he was late, if they didn't see him soon. Cole grimaced and walked up to the first door.
*Rap, rap.* His knock was met with silence. Cole winced and knocked once more. No response. Steeling himself, Cole reached down and tried the doorknob, the door opened with a faint creak. The room was dark. Cole pinched his temple and a faint light emanated from his eyes, allowing him to look around. It was a small room with a table and some cabinets. Cole looked next to the door, and noticed a small switch. Without thinking, Cole reached over and flicked the switch, and took a startled step back as he was assaulted with light. Quickly, he tapped his temple and his eyes dimmed, but they still hurt from the sudden burst of light.
With the room illuminated more clearly, Cole saw that the walls were that same dusty striped wallpaper from the halls, and the floorboards were the same dirty wood, maybe with a few more noticeable stains. After ensuring the small room was empty Cole reached for the switch once more, sending the room back into darkness.
Once in the hallway again, Cole leaned against a wall taking stock. Maybe this department started work later, or maybe they had simply forgotten about him. Should he just wait in the hall? Should he check every door? What if he interrupted an important meeting? What if this was a test? What if the manager had not informed them about his switch?
Cole brushed away the questions swirling through his mind. The elevator would not have taken him down, if he was not supposed to be in the hall, and that was enough for him to keep pushing forward. The next door was locked, and with no response to his knocking, Cole assumed it was empty.
The next door that was unlocked led into a room with a long table surrounded by chairs. An old fashioned screen stretched across one of the back walls. Cole smirked at its impracticality, people could easily sink their displays, so there was no use for the ancient tech that displayed images, like the screen, in an office. Making sure not to touch the walls, he had noticed that a bit of the wallpaper had rubbed off onto his shirt, when he leaned against the wall earlier, Cole walked around the table.
There were no items on or below the table, but Cole could tell that the chairs had been sat in before, they had worn down seats with some cracks in the leather covering the cushions. Besides the screen, there was nothing of interest in the room, and Cole quickly left, flicking off another light switch.
As he exited the room, Cole nearly bumped into another person. Cole jumped back in shock, uncomfortably hitting the door he had just exited. The dark wood groaned in protest, but held firm against his weight.
"Sorry about that." The man that Cole had nearly bumped into exclaimed. There was a jovial tone to his voice, that combined with the bright smile, comforted Cole.
"So sorry, I am Cole, I was just assigned to this department for observation." Cole blurted his words out, hiding a wince at the shrillness of his voice.
"Oh yeah, I think I heard something about a newcomer. I am Jan, I am the department cleaner." Jan held out his hand, and Cole gladly accepted it, feeling the roughness of large callouses along the man's fingers. Jan was not much taller than Cole, but he held himself with an aura of pride that made Cole feel much smaller.
Jan wore a similar uniform to Cole, the difference being the dark blue jacket that he wore over his shirt. His form was well hidden by the uniform, but Cole thought there was a hint of frailty in the man's figure. Jan's face housed a thin pair of lips that were stretched around a large smile. His nose jutted slightly to the side, not enough to make Cole think it had been broken, but it was still slightly crooked. Jan's eyes were blue, and he had thick eyebrows that gave way to an expanse of forehead. Jan's hair was a thinning, but well kept, brown that was a touch darker than his eyebrows. His skin looked like it might have been as pale as the manager's once, yet it had tanned and gave off the feeling of experience.
On Jan's right forearm was a tube-like tool that wrapped around his hand. Cole recognized it as an all purpose cleaner. A machine that could spray liquids, suck up debris, and transform material. For example it could vacuum a chunk of wood and turn it into a cleaning liquid in a few moments. Cole wondered how the hall could be so dirty with such a powerful tool. The one Jan had, looked like it could expand to make cleaning the halls a breeze.
"I am actually not sure where I am supposed to be right now." Cole was not going to let the first person he saw disappear without helping him.
"Oh you probably want to go to Mr. Jenkins' office. It's the one at the end of the hall." Jan's smile did not vanish after Cole's awkwardness. "It was nice meeting you Cole."
"You too. Thank you." Cole nodded goodbye and hurried down the hall. It was now 6:35 am, he might actually be late.
*Chck.* The door was locked when Cole tried it and after knocking twice, Cole looked back down the hall, hoping to call out to Jan. The man was nowhere to be seen. Cole stretched his neck, it was time to contact Can.
"What do you want?" Can got straight to the point. "I can't find Mr. Jenkins." Cole made sure his voice was steady. "Did you try his office?" Can's voice was flat as if he expected that Cole might not try to find the office.
"I am outside of it, but it is locked and there was no response when I knocked." Cole heard Can go silent on the other side of the call. After a few moments, a new voice entered the line. It was a unique enough pitch that Cole could instantly recognize the manager.
"Tap right above the doorknob and enter 1342338 into the screen that appears. You can tell Jake that I let you in if he is in there sleeping." The manager cut the call and Cole swiftly followed her instructions.
The door swung open smoothly. A faint scent hit Cole's nose. There was a dead body in the middle of the floor.