It was almost evening, as a man slowly got dressed. Devon wasn't one for fancy things, so he just put on is work clothes. A white button up shirt, navy blue tie and khaki pants. This was what he wore almost every day to the office. Devon was a simple man, with no clear ambitions or any dreams to speak of. Yet he was ok with that.

It didn't take much to make Devon happy. He enjoyed the simple things in life, and accepted when he couldn't change the bad. Having graduated from community college, his ambitions were always low. Now a man of 24, he found himself settled into a decent job as a data analyst. There was absolutely nothing special about his life. And yet, he was perfectly happy.

He'd been told before that he should get out into the world more. Aside from the rare times he went out to drink with his coworkers, Devon never really went out. Home, work, and the occasional trip to the grocery store, that was about it for him. From a young age he tended to stick close to home, and had few friends. Though of course, this never bothered him.

Now it was Saturday evening, and time to go to his boss' retirement party. Devon had been invited to parties a few times over the past year he'd been at the company, though he almost always politely refused. Eventually the invites came less and less, until everyone at his work got the message and stopped inviting him all together. And that didn't bother him.

But of course this party was different. It was a formal work event, saying goodbye to his boss, who had been at the company for nearly two decades. Devon never had any strong feelings, good or bad, towards his boss in the short time he'd known him. He seemed to be a competent man who did is job well, though never seemed to be particularly personable.

Devon would have preferred to stay home tonight, but he figured it would be seen as particularly rude if he didn't at least show up. And he had nothing against his boss, so he decided to just go.

His simple work clothes felt more than enough to wear. After all, it was technically a work party, being held at the office. He probably wouldn't enjoy this party very much, but he figured he had no right to complain about such things.

The food should be good at least. He thought. And so he climbed into his trusty old clunker of a car, and set off for the party.

He arrived a minute early, seeing everyone else already there as he opened the door to the office.

"Heyyy it's Devoooon." Came a voice sounding more than a little cheery. Andre, the resident life of the party. A real people person, with an eye for avoiding awkward situations. Devon liked him a lot for that reason.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" Devon said.

"Dude, it's a party. And they're letting us drink in the office. It's going pretty damn good." Andre said with a big smile.

He had broken away from a circle of their coworkers to come over, slap Devon on the back and hand him a drink.

"What's this?" Devon asked, chuckling a bit.

"That's not how drinking works bro. Drink anything and everything, as long as it's alcohoooool." Andre put his hands in the air as if cheering the word "alcohol."

Devon forgot that Andre had been a big time frat boy in college. He was only a year older than Devon, but still seemed to be stuck in that mindset. But Andre was a decent guy, if a little immature. He never picked on Devon or bad mouthed anyone. It was hard to dislike him.

"If you say so man." Devon said with a smile. Then he took a drink. It was... strong. Devon started to choke a bit.

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"No, no. I'm fine." Devon said, waving Andre away. "Is this straight Bourbon!?" He asked.

"Hell yeah it is bro." Andre replied with a sly grin.

Devon just laughed and kept drinking. He didn't have a problem drinking hard liquor. With it being an office party he'd just assumed the hardest stuff they'd have would be beer.

"Yeeaaahhh that's what I'm talking about!" Andre cheered, and then he downed the rest of his own drink.

Devon joined their circle, although he didn't intend to talk much. The night went on, with mostly Andre talking. Sarah and Rebecca were to his left, with Beth and Hank to his right. Devon didn't have any real problems with anyone here. But talking just wasn't his thing. Eventually, their boss, Mr. Heath, got up to give his farewell speech; a company tradition apparently. By this time Devon had started to zone out from all the talking. Andre of course had him continuously drinking, which didn't help. Devon wasn't one to succumb to peer pressure. But he liked Andre and decided he could let loose a little tonight.

After a couple hours Devon was ready to head home.

"Alright man, but you're coming out drinking with us next Friday." Andre said with a smile.

Devon still wasn't much for going out. But he figured he could stand to socialize just a bit more. He didn't mind staying in by himself most nights. But he decided that making some actual friends couldn't hurt.

"You know what, I think I'll take you up on that Andre." Devon said, smiling back. He waved, and left the office, with Andre shouting "De-von! De-von! De-von!" As he closed the door behind him.

After his initial cup of bourbon, Devon wisely stuck to beer for the rest of the night. He wasn't a lightweight when it came to drinking. He'd regularly drink alone in his apartment. Again, he didn't mind this. But he couldn't deny that it did sound sad. He wasn't drunk at this point, but he definitely was feeling something.

Deciding he was still fine to drive, Devon got into his car and started it up. As he did, a jolt of pain shot through his body.

"AH! DAMMIT!" He jerked, but then was fine. Confused, he felt up and down his body, then looked up and turned his car off.

Ok, what? He thought to himself.

Cautiously he started up the car again. It turned on without incident. He thought for a moment. It was probably just a simple wiring problem. He'd take it into the shop the next day. After a second, Devon decided it was fine to drive for now. So he backed up, and took off for home.

Minutes passed, and Devon began to zone out slightly while driving. He was getting tired, and the alcohol wasn't helping. Eventually he began to feel a tingling feeling in his hands. Devon thought he'd been gripping the steering wheel a bit too tight so he loosened his grip a little. But the tingling didn't stop. It got stronger in fact. Not only that, but it started to spread up his arms.

"What the hell??"

Devon thought he might be having a heart attack. He looked for a spot to pull over as the feeling spread to his chest. But wait, he thought. Shouldn't the feeling start in his chest and THEN move to his hands? The feeling didn't stop, it quickly moved to his legs and even his face. But before he could pull over, he felt an intense pressure quickly build up in the center of his chest.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

The feeling was gone. His body wasn't tingling anymore. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He wasn't feeling anything. It was as if his whole body was numb. Devon sat there, confused and more than a little worried at what had just happened.

Then all of a sudden a red light burst from his chest, engulfing him completely. Devon tried to scream but he could feel this light fill his throat and his lungs. He could feel it not only bursting out of him, but also coursing through his entire body. It raced through his veins, into his brain, and finally burst out of his eyes and mouth. He saw his car, the road, the buildings and the night sky, all filled with this intense red light. Then everything started fading to red. All he could see was red. Right as the remnants of his world faded from around him, Devon let out a deep and terrible

"AHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh!!!" As he too, faded from existence.