Just another day. Certainly, it was just going to be just another day, or something. Jamie Steve sipped his coffee, trying to push away his malaise. Why did he feel uneasy? Jamie had woken up at eight o’clock on the dot, visited his favorite coffee shop at eight o’clock on the dot, and was at at work by nine ten, also on the dot. Just like every day… somehow. Jamie was… a pretty bland guy, honestly, at least on the surface. Below the surface, he was less bland, but the state of his psyche was of no importance. Average height, average build, slightly above average intelligence, etc. And he was fine with this- well, fine in that he didn’t think about it. What kind of person just sits around thinking about how normal they are? Someone who isn’t normal. And Jamie was normal. And, most of all, the normal twenty year old had a normal job at the corporate branch of a home supply chain store. Which one is not important. He didn’t talk much with his coworkers, but did his job well. And he was happy. He was happy having a boring, average life. Well, relatively happy, most of the time. As of currently he was tired and a little paranoid. Maybe it was the dreary weather, maybe it was the way his least favorite coworker stared at him while muttering to himself, but he couldn’t stop glancing around. He sighed. Maybe he should put his head down. His boss was a generally nice and understanding guy who he was sure would understand a quick nap, especially considering Jamie’s work record, which was mostly immaculate. Yeah, just a little nap. That would be alright… but soon, he would wake up to the smell of smoke. 

———————————————————

Four words that Jamie mostly never expected to hear: 

“Well, Jamie, you’re dead.”

Okay… things just got weird. How- how could he have died? How could he have- oh, the fire. Jamie didn’t remember dying, so he had solace in the fact that that likely meant that he died quickly. He just remembered waking up to the sound of the smoke alarm and howls of panic. A coworker- Dana, he believed, had pulled him from his desk, barking at him to wake up. “C’mon, we’re gonna get you out of this!” Yeah… no… He was infinitely grateful for her trying, but he was dead now. He hoped she had escaped, but he really doubted it. Now, instead of experiencing the never ending sleep he had expected, he was in a room. He was currently in an all white room. White furniture, white walls, white floors. On a white chair, however, was a man in a black, perhaps archaic suit. Maybe a Victorian-esque suit- Jamie didn’t know. Was he human? Probably not, because most people don’t have glowing red teeth. Jamie wasn’t very phased, over all, despite these strange circumstances. He just kind of groaned at the news of his demise.

“Aw, man, really? I’m really dead? That stinks.” Jamie didn’t want to be dead. Good thing he didn’t seem too dead.

The man looked intrigued by his nonchalant attitude. “Oh? The others didn’t respond like that in the slightest.”

Jamie was taken aback. “Others? Does that mean…” 

He nodded. “Yes. I have taken your coworkers as well.”

Well, he guessed that made sense. Jamie only had one thing on his mind, though. A name- the name of the man he was certain had caused the death of him and his coworkers. “Was there one named Kevin?”

“Uh? Yeah?”

Jamie rolled his eyes. Great, that guy. At least he was dead, too. Jamie didn’t like Kevin very much. Kevin was cheerful and friendly enough, and seemed like a pretty normal and nice guy, albeit more than a little strange. But at some point, perhaps a year ago, Jamie had gotten a bloody nose, brought on by cold dry weather. What did Kevin do? He stared at Jamie, with bated breath. And he never dropped his smile. It was then that Jamie knew that that man was a killer. He did nothing about that, though, and mostly tried to ignore him. But that didn’t prevent the madman from setting fire to the building, killing everyone, including himself. Jamie would deal with that when the time comes. He had some questions. 

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“…So, what am I doing here? Are you here to escort me to the afterlife?”

The man laughed, flashing his his glowing blood colored grin. Despite his rather calm and cheerful attitude, there was a certain malevolence there. “Well… no. That would be pretty boring, wouldn’t it. No, no. I’m gonna do something much more interesting. Instead of having you just be, like, dead, I am going to give you another chance at life.”

Jamie did not trust this man. Not one bit. He assumed he was some sort of god or demon, one that would probably be able to kill him in an instant. While Jamie really didn’t feel like dying again, he didn’t think that would interest his host. Especially since he literally just said what he wanted to do with him. He cleared his throat. “Could you elaborate? Please?” 

The man shook his head. “Boring. Now, before you ask, you don’t have a choice. You are entertaining me whether you like it or not. But, since you wish to know, fine. You will be sent to a random location on my home dimension, which, funny enough, is actually an amalgam of other dimensions! It’s called the Collective for this reason. The entire place is governed by a countless number of gods, and above all, the System.”

Jamie wanted to know as much as he could before he was sent to probably fend for himself. “What’s the System?”

The man laughed again. “My, you are the one of only a handful of people from your doomed office who actually asked questions.”

Jamie frowned. “Who else did?” He had an idea of who did. It wasn’t like nobody else in the office were the type to ask questions, but there were a couple of people in particular who would.

“Benjamin I think one of their names was?”

Suspicion confirmed. Jamie couldn’t help but feel bad. He felt bad for everyone except Kevin, but Benjamin had always come off as a nice guy. He kept to himself, much like if not even more so than Jamie, but was especially affable in conversation, and even expressed concern for Kevin’s mental state. He had told their boss and their HR representative that Kevin seemed a little off. He suggested that Sarah, the aforementioned HR rep, would keep an eye on him, and maybe offer some counseling. She did not follow up. Oh…

Jamie swallowed. “Who all is dead?” 

The man clicked his tongue, which, in contrast to his red teeth, Jamie realized was black. “Well, other than Kevin and Benjamin, there were… hmm… There was Wallace, Tod, Regina, Laura, Quinn, Emma, Devon, Sarah, Millie, Johnny, Delilah, May, Carrie, Lance, Fernando, William, Uri, Terry, Mary, Alvin, Dana, Samuel, and Lupe. And a lot more. Pretty huge building, and Kevin made sure he did a lot of damage!”

Aw man… No, not Dana! Guess she didn’t escape… And Wallace, who had always been a patient and reasonable boss… Some of those other names sounded familiar, some didn’t. But they all met the same fiery end, and there was one person to blame. The person who smiled at his blood with a inhuman looking hunger. Kevin. He- he killed all of those people. Probably for no reason! “I knew it. I knew it was him. That- that son of a bitch.” 

The man chuckled, still odd and calm. Really uncanny vibe, over all. “Now, I know you’re angry. But good news: You’re all going to the same place so you get a chance to have your revenge, if so desired.” 

Jamie narrowed his eyes, unsettled by the unmistakable excitement in his voice. If he were being honest, he sounded a lot like Kevin. Jamie didn’t like that. He frowned.

“Okay…? What is the System?”

The man scoffed a bit, in what sounded like a good natured way. “Basically, it determines your strengths and weaknesses, and helps you grow stronger and sometimes gain special skills- It’s hard to explain. It’s kind of like a video game.” 

Jamie sighed. “I’m sorry, but did I actually die, or am I in a coma or something… I don’t know, this seems like the kind of coma dream I would have.” 

The man groaned, still pretty amused. “Wow, kid. I can assure you you died. Want to see your corpse?” 

Jamie sneered. He had to admit he was a little curious, not to mention it would help convince him that this was real, but overall seeing his probably charred and bloodied dead body was a pretty big no from him. “Erm, no thank you…”

“Well, in that case…” The way he trailed off made it clear that he was intentionally toying with Jamie. Wait, was he about to- Jamie held out his hands, waving them frantically.

“H- hey man- Hold on, I’m not ready to-”

The man couldn’t care less. He waved cheerfully, tilting his head. Then it was dark.