“I’m sorry Jake, I really am, but this one came from the top. I tried to keep you in, but there’s only so much I can do.”
A lie, on multiple levels. The only damned thing I’m sorry about is how long it took to get this lazy piece of trash out of my department. And the only thing that the old man of a boss recommended was to do what I think was best, after telling him all the rumors going on in the office about Jake. Rumors that I may or may not have started.
“I…I just don’t get it! I know people have been talking about me, but you know they’re all lies! And even if they’re not, I work just as long and just as hard as everyone else!” Jake stammered.
He was looking at me nervously now, with the sudden news finally sinking in. Knee jerking, and hands fidgeting. He needs a ‘backdoor’, and he needs to know he’s absolutely not staying, or he may make things messy on his way out in the already shaky work-flow of the department. Thankfully, I prepared for this. I brought up a smile: sympathetic and kind, as I always do for these kinds of scenarios.
“Jake, you know how much I value you and what you do; you’ve stayed with this department for over 2 years after all, and we’ve been together ever since I was aiming for department head all those months ago-” we barely knew each other, and you never even bothered to remember my name, “- but we also need to look at the facts. You’ve consistently been at least at a 20% speed deficiency compared to everyone else here. You simply don’t stay focused on the task, going for breaks, finding a reason to leave early, and other distractions. And that’s not to mention how things are with your coworkers, even before the rumors began.”
“That’s not-”Jake stammers, trying to defend himself.
“It’s true. But you still get a lot done, and this company has benefitted from your stay. So I pulled some strings, and got you an interview at a bought up company of ours. The pay is secure, and with benefits similar to ours. I also managed to put in a severance pay; at least a month’s worth.” Your next job’s pay is certainly less, and it’s still more than you deserve. But my feelings need to be put aside if I want to do this right.
“I…. I understand. Thank you, Darius, really. I’ll… pack up my things, then.”
“Of course man, it’s the least I can do. I’m sorry it had to go like this, but I know you’ll do great, wherever you go,” I said, waiting for him to get out of my office. Once he left, I waited five seconds, and muttered to myself “And next time, watch whose haircut you make fun of, you useless sack of shit”
Well, with that out of the way, my department is now employed with only those who deserve the job, and will let me display just how well I can make a beautiful ship sail, to put it simply. The promotions will come soon, and eventually I’ll find myself at the top.
It’s been 25 years. 25 years of sleepless nights studying, endless college nights studying and working part time jobs, killing myself for a just sliver of success, and I’m finally on the road to all I could ask for. I couldn’t help but smile, though it was a different kind this time.
But all that comes later. For now, we have things to do. The current employees under me won’t have that much more work to do due to Jack’s absence, but an extra bonus to their salaries will keep them happy, and I’ll have my vetted man in the department within two weeks’ time anyways. A presentation’s going to be needed for the bi-monthly meeting with the board members, so I’ll have to get Janice and Skyler to help out with that if I still want my current projects to-
The world suddenly went white, and a burning, writhing sensation suddenly came across every single atom of my being. As though my body was being twisted and deformed, all into a single point. I’d scream, but there was no mouth, or vocal cords, or anything that once was, as all that I was, was being stretched into forever. For a millisecond or for a hundred thousand million years the feeling lasted, and then stopped, and my body became a single things and my body still burned and I was suddenly floating with galaxy-colored stone pillars and colored circles with lines sprawling the walls and-
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-and I can’t breath, or concentrate, or relax, or move, or comprehend a single awful thing that’s happening besides my screams but I do know that I’m gonna fucking desimate who did this to me. I could barely register my surroundings, but I saw men in priest’s robes mumbling to each other or chanting, and I could just spot some sort of stuffed animal in the corner of my eye. I didn’t understand a single thing, and the pain was still feeding itself on every inch of my body, but it was a comprehensible kind of pain now. My right eye, however, didn’t let up; as though it was melting and freezing all at once. Slowly, the lights started dimming, and an older man in especially golden robes stepped forward, looking at me with thinly veiled worry. I managed to stop my screams.
“Welcome, dear Hero. We understand that your arrival to our world was perhaps more…turbulent, than we’ve expected, but please bear with us as we get our best healers and explain the situation more full-” he stopped, suddenly, and really looked at me. Looked at a man with no clothes writhing on the ground and clawing at a glowing right eye, but still making sure to use his left to look at the robed priest. Looking at him, to get every single detail memorized, because if I don’t get the best Fucking reason man can conceive for why this was done to me, he was going to be the first one I mutilate. He cleared his throat, and brought back the smile that was slowly fading away.
“W-well, we’ll be sure to get you back to new as soon as possible, with no comforts spared, so for now please let us serve-” again he stopped mid-sentence, but for a different reason this time. Suddenly, the room shook violently, and a blue glowing aura was surrounding my body. The man talking was looking around for something, and I registered that his eyes were both different colors, and now glowing. There was worry and muttering among everyone, now.
“This… This is teleportation magic! Lock down the castle! Quick, get the wards back up!” He continued shouting more, but before I could parse anything else, I was already gone.
***
The pain was less this time, barely more than the excruciating misery I was already going through, and the duration of traveling an endless void was nearly instantaneous. This time, I was already on my knees, and I managed to get myself under control well enough to merely clench a fist and hold on to my right eye, as though I could heal it myself. I looked around, trying to forget the pain, and saw that this room was cruder and made of simple stone, as though I were in a cave. There were simple small torches on the walls, and dozens of glowing circles and lines lining the floor. Looking around, I noticed piles of ashes and each section of the biggest circle, and focusing my gaze on what was in front of me, I paused.
A small, aged, ugly green… thing, hunched over a cane, looked at me nervously. I could only describe it as a goblin, which further confirmed at least 2 unfortunate possibilities.
No, Darius, focus on what you need. Control your thoughts.
I looked past his body, whatever it was, and into his eyes. They were an ugly dark brown, and just barely shaking: he was scared, but there was something else there that I was too tired to see. Just behind him was another goblin thing, but more refined. That one was likely to my shoulders, were I standing, and much more lean, according to the muscles showing beneath his barely-covering fur clothes. Like an athletic teenager, except for his sharper features, flappy ears, and nose that was just a bit too big. He had a rusty metal spear held in his hands, and an anxious look on his face. He, too, was scared, but not cowed.
The pain was coming to a close, and as I was considering what to do the old thing finally spoke.
“Hero!” he stammered loudly, in a sort of broken english. “Apologize for bringing you suddenly. I elder goblin. You hear us, please!” He wasn’t prepared for this, didn’t have any sort of script prepared.
But still, ‘hero’? And what did they even need me for? Agh, the pain’s still getting to me, I can’t make sense of a single thing! My frustration at this all made the old thing even more nervous, and the tall one more defensive. Still, he continued.
“You come from different world, yes? Please have clothes and food. We talk later. Good?” The thing, nervous as he was, didn’t veer his eyes from me. He really did need something then, and wasn’t going to let his fear of whatever he’s so scared of take over. I couldn’t think of any way to ensure things in my favor, I could barely comprehend whatever’s currently trying to bargain with me for something I don’t even have, so I just nodded my head. I tried standing, only to fall back down on my knees.
Fuck, this pain’s still overwhelming me, making me weak and delirious. The old one nodded to the taller thing which suddenly started walking towards me, slowly, putting away his spear. He helped me up like some fragile princess, and I limped out of the cave, with me now being the one that could barely maintain eye contact.
A well put out fire in me burned brighter than it had in years, right there, and I made a promise. The ones that made me some sort of weak, naked man with nothing but sweat and tears to cover up with were going to be more than dead. More than miserable. More than hopeless. Because I had it all, and they knowingly took it from me; that much I was able to gleam. These things, these ‘goblins’, they were just trying to take another’s opportunity. So I’ll hear them out on what they think I can do for them, and…and I’ll go from there. Because that’s all I can do.