I barely slept that night. Every sound in the office—the hum of the fridge in the break room, the faint clicking of Leo's nails on the floor—made me flinch. My mind replayed the image of blood from the day before, looping like a warning I couldn't ignore.
When I sat at my desk the next morning, my laptop pinged immediately. A new message:
TASK 003:Record a 30-second video of yourself reading the following statements aloud. Submit by 3 P.M.
My fingers froze. A video? My face on the screen, my voice on record? My heart was already hammering.
I clicked to open the instructions. The statements were… odd. Innocuous at first glance, but clearly meant to unsettle:
"I belong here."
"I follow instructions without question."
"I am aware of everything around me."
My stomach turned. Every word felt like a trap. If I flinched, hesitated, said it wrong… who knew what would happen? My eyes darted around the office, half-expecting Julian to appear in the doorway and silently judge my performance.
Leo nudged my leg, grounding me. "Okay," I whispered to him. "Let's just do this. Focus."
I set up my phone on the desk, the camera trembling slightly as I pressed record. The statements sounded ridiculous in my own voice. But I could almost feel his gaze even though he wasn't there. It was there in the office itself, in the way the lights seemed too bright, the silence too deep.
I hit submit, my hands shaking. The screen confirmed: TASK 003 – RECEIVED. GOOD.
I exhaled, trying to calm my racing heart, but the sense of being watched didn't leave. Every movement of the coworkers around me seemed exaggerated, their laughter too loud, their glances too sharp. My mind jumped at shadows and whispers that didn't exist.
When I returned the next morning, the office felt… different. Cleaner. Empty. One cubicle in particular had been cleared completely. The faint smear of something dark on the floor caught my eye.
Blood.
Again.
My pulse spiked. I pressed my hand to Leo's head, trying to ground myself. I had reported one dangerous coworker before—but this… this felt like the consequence of someone else. Someone stronger. More dangerous.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, I couldn't stop thinking about Julian. The first time I saw him, the way he watched me… the way the office seemed to shift in his presence. He was in control of everything, and I was only starting to understand how small I really was in his world.
I shivered, glancing around. The office hummed with normalcy—clicking keyboards, low chatter—but I couldn't shake it. I wasn't just a new hire here. I was under a microscope. Every word, every movement, every glance mattered.
And I had a sinking feeling that Julian was waiting for me to slip.