"God, this sucks!" yelled Raf. "I want to go home and never wake up until Christmas next year!" he spun on his chair, refusing to even touch his keyboard.

"We don't have a choice, Raf. Bear with it," I said, typing as fast as I could. "I'll promise you two gifts this Christmas if you complete your part. I'll even buy you dinner tonight... if we have time to eat, that is."

Suddenly, flames lit up in Raf's eyes. He quickly sprung up and mashed on his keyboard like a child destroying a piano, with me not knowing if he was actually doing something or just pressing random keys. But what I do know is that bribing him with food is the only way to start his engine.

I sighed, my eyes fixated on my screen. The dim glow of the office lights created a surreal atmosphere, and the rhythm of the keyboards was trying to usher me to sleep, but I couldn't, not now. It was still the middle of the day, but my energy level was low, even after two bars of Snickers. I had three but Raf ate one accidentally. The urgent project loomed over us like a daunting shadow, and the ticking of the clock steadily upped my anxiety.

Even now, the sudden announcement of our manager, Mr. Robert, echoed in my mind.

Three hours earlier

"Sorry, folks. Looks like we won't be getting any sleep tonight," Robert said.

"Sir, what's going on?" one of my colleagues asked, confusion etched on his face, and so was everyone else.

"Well... We were assigned a new project by the parent company."

"And what's this project about?"

Robert gulped. "We need to complete a brand new prototype, complete with a working code and a software manuscript."

Gabrielle stood up from his chair. "Sounds easy enough." He raised his hand. "I volunteer to help out, Sir. What's our time frame?"

A sweat slid down Robert's forehead. "Umm... by midnight."

Gabrielle didn't say anything, his face just remained still—filled with shock.

Protests and complaints filled the room, whirling a sandstorm of noise.

Robert sighed. "Look, folks. I tried to negotiate with them, but the parent company won't tolerate any delays. They'll shut down the company if this isn't finished by daylight tomorrow."

"I'm out," exclaimed the person next to Gabrielle. He turned around and continued to work. Many others did the same, refusing to even work overtime to do a seemingly impossible task.

"Please, everyone! I don't know if this will make up for it, but I'll double the salary of those who will help."

Some of them stopped and froze for a second, but ultimately, they brushed it off, sacrificing wealth for health. Even with the dire consequence of failure, they know someone else will do the work for them.

I don't know why but our manager's desperate plea for cooperation resonated with me. I could see in his eyes how much he cared for the company and the well-being of his subordinates. Any other manager would have forced us to do it.

I stood up and raised my hand. "I'll help out, Sir. I'll do my best for the company," I exclaimed, sacrificing a night's sleep, not for money, but to genuinely help out.

Robert nodded with a wide smile adorning his face. "Thank you, Mr Williams. Any others?"

"Nah, forget that," said Raf. "I have an appointment with my bed tonight. I think it'll bring me to Disneyland again in my dreams."

"Oh also, Raf. You've been appointed to this project beforehand," said Robert.

"What?!"

"The parent company reviewed everyone's records and yours stood out particularly for being too empty. They'll fire you if you don't help out."

Raf planted his face on the keyboard, not saying a word. His shoulders slumped in defeat. I slid a Snickers bar next to him, one that I'd been hiding this entire time.

"Don't worry everyone, I'll handle all the logistics. Just focus on completing the task at hand. Please approach me or my secretary if anyone else would like to volunteer. I'll be asking the other departments as well," he left the room.

And with that, we all went back to work... except for one.

With a collective sigh, both me and Raf leaned back on our chairs to rest, submerged in the sea of lines of codes and intricate designs, tired and couldn't process another thought. For once, Raf had done some work, it's quite commendable but it was nowhere near the productivity of everyone else's. Time blurred as I covered my eyes with my arm, and the distant hum of the air conditioning became a relentless reminder of our impending deadline.

"I'm so gonna file for a paid vacation," said Raf.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind going with you."

"It's a date then." Raf raised his hands expecting a high five.

Because my eyes were covered, I saw this a second too late and Raf was already awkwardly lowering his arm. I chuckled subtly.

"You better ready your wallet, 'cause I'm not the one prepaying for the plane tickets," said Raf.

"Where do you want to go anyways?" I asked, thinking of the places on my bucket list.

"Purobaburi Jappan," Raf said in a weird Japanese accent, his voice coming from his diaphragm.

"Don't you know the paperwork there sucks? You'll spend hours in the airport before setting foot on Japanese soil," I argued, basing it on what I see in videos.

"Where to then?" Raf spun in his chair.

"How about Italy? I know you'll like their piz-"

"Pasta?!" Raf interrupted.

"Sure, that as well." I then sighed. "If only we can finish this in time."

We rested for around ten minutes or so.

"Don't kill yourself over work now, everyone! Goodnight!" one of our colleagues yelled before he left the room.

My mind was so tired I couldn't even look back at who it was. Instead, I raised my arm and gave a thumbs up, while my other hand continued to type.

The sound of the office bell ringing still echoed in my ears. It was just a few minutes ago, but it felt to me like an hour had already passed. Just from the light coming into my peripheral, I could guess that the moon was about to reach its peak, while we were still here, looking at our screens all day long.

As the clock ticked past dinner hours, we were still typing away. The only sustenance fueling us were chocolate and tiny candies we had randomly stashed in our desks. At some point, Raf had left his station and plundered everyone else's stations, going low into the ground and walking in a crouch like a thief, but actually looked more like a crab. I have no clue what he has on his mind. He didn't even need to sneak around because there was no one to hide from—if you disregard me, Gabrielle, and Nila.

From the usual crowded space, it now turned into a ghost town—a dark one, since lights need to be turned off after office hours. Many people did agree to help out, and they did contribute a bit to the overall project, but then they all disappeared after hitting the seven o'clock mark, sacrificing only an hour to reap the overtime benefits our manager promised. I'm not mad in the slightest, I'd do the same if I wasn't feeling up to it, I just basically disappointed myself by expecting more out of them.

In total, four sets of typing sounds continuously echoed in the room. In the distance, near the front, an almost waterfall-sounding typing can be heard. Like the continuity of the noise from a heavy storm. I know of only one person who is capable of that, and the way he explains things is certainly in the same manner. Mine and Nila's typing was average, but it felt quite embarrassing when our sounds were trying to compete with Gabrielle's. I knew it was Nila from Raf telling me when he was scouring the office for candy. And then there's Raf, whose head was glued to the desk. The way he types, if you can still even call it typing, is reminiscent of me when I failed to enter my phone password for the second time. When compared to Raf, I felt quite good about myself, but then not really because it's him.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Suddenly, Laura entered the room. She walked to the desk beside me, wiped the leftover sand from Mr. Afton's disappearance, and set up her laptop.

"You agreed to help?" I asked her.

"Found this new fancy restaurant recently. I'll be needing more funds if I want to indulge," she said while connecting a charger to the port. "But... I wouldn't mind if you took me out instead. Saves me the trouble of working."

I gulped.

Raf kicked the floor and rolled his chair over to us, getting right into the middle. "Hey there, got any food on ya?" he asked Laura.

"Nope," she said after scanning her breast pocket.

"Bummer," he said, rolling back into his station.

The door swung open and another familiar face entered. Upon seeing this, Laura ducked her head and typed on her laptop, pretending to be just another character in the sideline.

"Woah there, what a coincidence," Alex said, instantly noticing her. "Didn't know you signed up for this as well, how dedicated you are." Alex reached out his hand to pat Laura on the shoulder, but suddenly, she got up.

"Sorry, I have to get this phone call real quick. Be right back." She then left the room, leaving Alex frozen in the same reaching motion.

Raf then rolled back next to us. "Got any food on ya?" he asked Alex.

Back into motion, Alex patted his pants. "Don't got any, sorry."

"But what's that bump on your shirt pocket?" he pointed. "It looks a bit too round to be anything else but candy."

"Sorry, not for you. It's already reserved for someone."

"Bummer," Raf said, rolling back.

"So... How's work treating you?" Alex asked.

"Not too good. There's some progress here and there, but if we go at this rate, we might be an hour late for the deadline."

"Sucks to be us then."

Suddenly, I felt a sensation crawl down my chest. From being too drawn in on my computer, I was taken aback when I saw Alex reaching into my shirt pocket.

I calmly waited for him to pull out. I took a look inside and saw two small balls of wrapped-up chocolate.

"Mind giving it to her when you get the chance?" Alex whispered. "The other one's for you."

I nodded in quiet agreement.

Then, Gabrielle appeared, sat on the station behind ours and set up his devices there without saying a word.

Raf, being ever so cheeky, or that he's trying to find every moment he can to ditch work, rolled his chair around the station and parked next to Gabrielle.

"Why'd ya come here only now? Did you feel lonely?" Raf said with a mischievous grin.

Gabrielle coughed. "Based on a study conducted in 1997, it states that working in close proximity to your colleagues boosts productivity."

"Yeah yeah sure.. but, were you lonely?"

"O-Of course not. Now get back to work before I ask the manager to withdraw your overtime benefits."

Raf rolled away, but then suddenly, he went back to Gabrielle.

"Also, got any food on ya?"

Gabrielle didn't even look at him. He simply waved his hand like shooing a stray dog while typing with his other.

"Bummer." Raf finally came back to our side.

And to complete the gang, Nila suddenly appeared from behind, like a ghost phasing in out of nowhere.

As usual, Raf welcomed her with his antics.

"How about you, why'd ya come here now? Lonely?"

I nudged his elbow. "Stop that, Raf."

Nila, unfazed, admitted, "W-Well, yes."

Raf sighed, "I really thought you were the type to be like umm ehr ah emm and then run away from embarrassment."

From Raf making things awkward, I took matters into my own hands, rolling up a stack of paper and hitting him on the head baseball style.

"Ouch!" he cried out.

Nila chuckled. "A-Actually... I was like that in college."

Laura came up to her and patted her on the head. "But you've managed to overcome it. How admirable," she praised her.

"Actually, I was like that during college too," Alex chimed in, giving a wink to Laura.

Laura sighed, "How... admirable you are as well."

But that wasn't enough for him. Alex pointed to his head and winked again, his playful smile spilling out.

Laura reached her hand towards Alex's head. He suddenly exclaimed, "Ouch!"

"You had a white sticking out," she showed a strand of dead hair to him.

"Thanks, you can keep it if you want."

Laura gave off a weird face before tucking it into Alex's polo pocket. She then took charge, reminding everyone, "We're running out of time here, people. Let's get to work."

We all responded with a collective "Yes, ma'am!" and continued the grind.

Raf, still not finished with his antics, approached Nila.

"By the way, Nila, I have a question."

She nodded, as if saying "Go ahead."

"Got any food on ya?"

Nila looked around in confusion. "Y-You already asked me that.. a while ago."

"Oh," Raf sighed.

"B-But yes I do have some more candy."

"Yippee!" Raf jumped from his chair and raised his hand forming a fist of victory.

I sighed as I listened in on them from the side. "He's such a child," I muttered in my head.

An hour must have passed when the clicking of the keyboards finally got to me. In these moments, I realized that I could have been either enjoying listening to Lofi music while I struggled to fall asleep, or I was already fast asleep on my bed. I stopped typing and leaned back with a sigh escaping my mouth. I wasn't just about to give up, but I did want a minute or two to take a rest.

Because I'm no longer focusing, I realized something. The room was noisy, but it wasn't as noisy. I'm not talking about Raf, I mean that something else had changed, and as I pinpointed it in my mind, it was the sound of the keyboards. Its speed was average, too average considering one of the people here.

I rolled over to the station behind me, the same way Raf rolled his chair like a seated skateboard.

"Hey, Gabrielle. How are you holding up the're?" I asked him, noticing that he hadn't been typing as fast as his usual self.

Gabrielle looked towards me while continuing with his work, his eyes almost seeming to slowly retract into his head, not to mention the bags under his eyes. "What made you ask that?" Even his voice sounded tired.

"Just because," I answered, not wanting to point it out.

Gabrielle stopped typing. "Fine, I admit, I didn't sleep yesterday. It's because the secretary asked me to help in fixing a newbie's document while I was busy with my own work."

I pointed to myself with a confused look.

"No, not you. A different department," he said, then he continued typing.

"Gabrielle, this isn't healthy. You know you can take a break right? Why don't you go grab a coffee and unwind a bit? We'll keep things in order."

"I can't afford to do that right now," Gabrielle said, his posture slouching. "We're running out of time."

Suddenly, Raf chimed in, "You guys talking about coffee? I want one." He then stood up and announced, "Gabrielle's gonna get coffee, does anyone else want a cup?!"

"I could use one," said Laura.

"I'll have one, thanks," said Alex.

"M-Me too," Nila raised her hand.

I winked at Gabrielle. "Well, it seems you're in too deep at this point."

Gabrielle sighed and stood up. "Fine, but make sure Raf does twice what he usually outputs. I won't give him his coffee otherwise."

Raf gave a thumbs and I glanced a look at him, fully confident that he was not up for the task. Zero times two is still zero.

Gabrielle then walked away and left the room.

"Is my coffee here yet?" Raf grumbled, spinning a pen while a sheet of paper covered his face.

Minutes turned into an eternity, and concern began to grip my consciousness. Where was Gabrielle? What's taking him so long? I don't think the others notice because they're too consumed by work, but it's already been over an hour since Gabrielle left. Be it brewed or instant, it's still an absurd amount of time just to grab six cups of coffee and a ten minute power nap.

"Wait, Gabrielle isn't back yet?" Alex finally noticed.

"Maybe he fell asleep... or fell on the stairs," Raf said.

I stood up, a mix of concern and confusion etched on my face. Raf's remark definitely added to my concerns. "C'mon, Raf. Let's go look for him."

Without a second thought, Raf stood and agreed, trying to get out of working. "It's adventure time!"

We searched every nook and cranny of the building but to no avail, there wasn't any sign of Gabrielle. Raf even flipped plants and tables expecting Gabrielle to be playing some silly game of hide and seek. We couldn't waste any more time. Only two hours remained on the clock until the deadline for submission.

We called out Gabrielle's name, the echoes bouncing off the empty walls. But there was no response, only the lingering silence that seemed to absorb our anxieties, well... mine at least. Raf was more or less enjoying this.

One detail stood out to me during our search. When I went to the cafeteria, the place I expected Gabrielle to be, I found sand that wasn't there before, just right in front of the coffee machine. It was quite odd. There was even a cup of spilled coffee on the floor, but no Gabrielle. It's like he suddenly disappeared during the middle of pouring. Maybe, just maybe, he couldn't take it anymore and went home to sleep, but knowing Gabrielle, he wasn't the type to do that.

Looking at the spilled coffee right next to the sand, my curiosity grew. I swept the liquid with my shoe just enough for it to make contact with the sand, and when it did, the sand dissolved, dyeing the black liquid with a hint of red, like adding food coloring to a mixture. But I didn't stop there. I don't know why but the next thing I knew, I was down on my knee, dipping my pinky in the liquid and giving it a quick lick. It sounds disgusting, I know, but I just felt this unsettling feeling within me that if I don't do it, it'll bother me for the rest of the night. Once it hit my taste buds, the bitter flavor of the coffee overwhelmed my tongue. It's pretty normal, but just like Alex's coworker said, there's a hint of a metallic taste, similar to when you suck on a wound.

Our search also brought us near to the manager's office. I was about to walk past it when I heard a sort of sloshing sound coming from inside. I was confused since the lights were off and I remember the manager saying that he'll work from his home.

I knocked on the door. "Good evening sir, are you in there?"

There was no response, but the faint sounds continued.

Hearing it again, it kind of sounds like sand being moved. With just that single thought, I concluded that there must be sand in the manager's office as well and a rat or some vermin is rolling around on it. Not entirely sure but I can't be wasting any more time on this.

Resigned to the absence of answers, we returned to our workstations, haunted by the unresolved questions that lingered in the air. Where was Gabrielle? And what's the deal with the sand? The clock continued its merciless march toward the deadline, and the once familiar office space transformed into a maze of shadows, secrets, and an ominous sense of impending doom.