It was 9 AM on a Monday. August 29th, to be exact. It was a nice day, too—78 degrees and a bit breezy. We were in the break room at my job celebrating a birthday. Standing in the corner near the fridge, I had my hand wrapped around a small white Styrofoam cup full of red fruit juice. My name was Asher. Asher Loveless. Yes, Loveless. I was 33 years old, turning 34 in two months.

This would be the start of my last day of work as a salesman. No, I wasn’t quitting my job or going back to school. Or any of that. In fact, today was a special day. In just a few hours from now, the world would end. People would die. Billions of them would. And they would die horribly. That included many of the people standing in this break room with me.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sad about it. I mean sure, some of these people probably didn’t deserve the way they died. But they did deserve to die. I wasn’t a psychopath, though. They did deserve it. And you’ll see why. Let me rewind a few hours and start at the beginning. It’ll be quick. By the end, you’ll think they were deserving of it too. Probably.

The day started off with all of us standing in the break room celebrating the birthday of the douchey coworker, Gray. I was in the corner, near the fridge, holding my juice. Wearing my work attire—a white button-up shirt and a tie—I stood tall over everyone. At 6’4 it was easy to tower over people. I despised it. Being tall had its perks, of course, but the cons overshadowed it.

We sang to Gray followed by a toast made by our greasy boss, Fred.

Fred was a short, balding, fat man who had some weird obsession with Gray. You couldn’t even as little as bat an eye at him without Fred spitting in your face about the value he brings to the company. Which was all bullshit. He didn’t bring any value to the company. We all knew that. In fact, Gray was dead last in sales. He was the least valuable person here. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made the company lose money. I could go on about why I thought Fred obsessed over him but I didn’t really care.

Fred’s toast touched on Gray’s value and how we were lucky to have him in our presence. It was a toast full of lies. It managed to procure some snickers from the back.

This pissed off Gray. And as luck would have it, he called me out for laughing.

“Is something funny, Asher?” asked Gray, combing his piss-stained hair with his fingers.

Smiling at Gray, I responded, “I was just enjoying the toast. Great toast, Fred.”

I threw him a couple of thumbs-ups through the air.

He bared his teeth in return. “I don’t like when you laugh,” said Gray.

Furrowing my brow, I laughed, again. How could I not? The guy was standing there in front of a bunch of people for his 31st birthday, showcasing his yellow teeth like he was a vicious dog that was about to snap at me.

This led to Gray’s savior, Fred, to fly in and pull him to safety.

“I think we are all done here. Finish up your juice and grab a slice of cake if you want and bring it back to your desk. Asher, stay put where you are. We need to talk once everyone leaves,” said Fred.

My head jerked back in surprise. Why the hell did I have to stay here? That’s how it seems to go. The bully bullies while the victim handles the consequences. I lowered my brow and turned to Evie.

Evie stood across the room staring with her sapphire blue eyes. She was another coworker of mine—well, not just a coworker—a friend. Perhaps the only friend I had in this world. I wasn’t sure if she reciprocated that friendship. It seemed befitting of my last name; Loveless. Her thin freckled arms were crossed as she gave me a tiny nod.

“Fine,” I said.

Cheryl, the older obese administrative assistant—or whatever the hell she was—decided to chime in. “Ugh, another party ruined!”

Everyone started to leave, returning to their desks. Some cut slices of the chocolate cake with cream cheese icing, a slice I had hoped to enjoy but doubted I would get the chance. Meanwhile, Gray grabbed his slice, shooting glances in my direction while mouthing the word "asshole" before exiting the room. Cheryl left with two slices stacked on a single plate, leaving Fred and me alone. I wouldn’t doubt she’d be back for another. Fred sliced himself a piece and took a massive bite, shuffling toward me.

A heavy sigh left my lips as I thought about my unprotected cubicle—Gray better not screw with my desk again.

My palms became clammy as Fred made his way closer. I turned to him, wiping my hands on my pants, and asked in a friendly tone, “What’s up?”

Fred waited to respond as he was preoccupied with voraciously devouring his colossal mouthful of chocolate cake. A glistening layer of icing covered his lips and the corners of his mouth as he chewed with resounding smacks. The smell of his noxious cologne punched me in the face as he swallowed his food and pried his lips open.

“Asher, this is what—the seventh or eighth time this year you provoked Gray? How many times do we have to do this?” Fred asked.

I grimaced in the presence of this man and resisted the impulse to take a step back in search of a breath of more invigorating air. My god, he was repulsive. Shrugging my shoulders at him and giving him a what-the-fuck look, I said, “Provoked? I didn’t provoke. I chuckled. Also, why aren’t we having this talk with Gray, too? Why is it always me, Fred? He ridicules me, messes with my things, and threatens me every single day here. But of course, you know that, and yet nothing changes. He might as well have punched me in the face because we all know that would probably result in him getting a promotion instead of being fired.”

Fred snorted as he leaned closer, his face inches away from mine. “Listen here you good for nothing prick. I swear to god if you do anything that results in Gray’s departure from this company I will…” He stopped himself, pausing before continuing in a calmer tone. “…anyway. I don’t want to hear another fucking word about this. Next time, your ass is done here and I’ll gladly drag your lanky body out to the street myself. Got it?”

Looking down at this vile man, I forced a smile “You got it, Fred.”

Fred lifted his chin up. “Good. I know you are one of the top salesmen here but that doesn’t give you the right to laugh at other people. Now get back to work.”

I nodded and walked out of the break room heading to my cubicle. As I strolled toward my desk, I noticed Gray standing beside the cubicle wall that separated mine from his, his eyes fixed upon me, nodding his smug face.

Reaching my cubicle, I glanced inside. “God dammit.”

After meticulously restoring order to my ravaged cubicle, I reorganized and stacked my belongings back in their proper places. Settling into my uncomfortable chair, I positioned myself in front of the computer monitor. Meanwhile, Gray remained engrossed in his own cubicle, occupied with his obscure endeavors. It was common knowledge that he watched movies, played games, and even delved into explicit online content, all within the confines of his workspace. I didn’t care, as long as he kept his distance, I found myself happy to tune out any of the noise he produced, no matter how explicit.

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I spent the day doing jack shit. No calls were made to clients. No emails sent. No nothing. Instead, I browsed and doom-scrolled my day away, waiting to be freed from this hell hole.

Sometime during the doom-scroll escapade, close to the end of the day, the computers in the office decided to start dying. My monitor began with an annoying flicker. I blamed it on being part of the cheap garbage Fred is known to buy. The computer ended up dying minutes later.

The same thing happened to my other coworkers around the office. A flicker and then electronic death. Gray even had the audacity to blame his computer dying on me which, of course, brought me down to his level of stupidity as we began to argue.

As we bickered back and forth about it, an abrupt noise filled the office of a door slamming open proceeded by the loud stomps of feet pounding their way toward Gray’s cubicle. Fred appeared from around the corner with his flushed face and pointed a finger at me.

“Didn’t I say to leave Gray alone?” he growled. “You are done! DONE! Get your—“ Fred’s outcry was stopped abruptly, silenced by the sudden darkness we found ourselves in. In an instant, the lights in the building blinked away, while the once-present hum of the air system faded into silence. Only the soft glow of the sunlight filtering through the windows remained, casting a dim radiance amidst the stillness.

“What the hell?” said Gray.

Soon, my feet began to vibrate. The floor was trembling. And the walls. The whole building began to shake. The shaking was slow at first but soon intensified as the ceiling tiles began to pop out of place and tumble to the ground.

At the same time, the once soft glow of light that the sun had brought us faded away, casting a dimness that enveloped everything. A sense of unease and dread spread throughout the room.

The room was silent save for Fred’s heavy breathing. He stood there wide-eyed clutching the upper part of his shirt in his hands. Meanwhile, Gray rose from his seat, his mouth slightly opened, and approached the window that faced the street.

A small shot of adrenaline coursed through my veins. Was this an earthquake? Jesus Christ, we didn’t get earthquakes here in the northeast United States. Perhaps it was a solar flare instead? I knew those could take out the electric grid. Driven by curiosity, I walked toward the window, where Gray stood, and peered outward.

Parked cars adorned the streets while the towering buildings maintained their presence. On the sidewalks, a growing congregation of people engaged in animated conversations, their voices traveling upward to the window. The tremors persisted, accompanied by the sporadic fading in and out of the light. Everything appeared to be normal, save for the enigmatic light fluctuations.

“What is going on?” I asked.

“There!” Gray pointed at the sky.

I attempted to look where Gray had pointed. “Where? I don’t see anything,” I said.

“Look up there, idiot,” said Gray, as he placed his ghastly finger on the bottom of my chin and guided my head toward the horizon in the sky.

I scanned the sky, looking for—well—anything remarkable. Large misty clouds loomed overhead, their appearance now transformed into foreboding darkness. Behind the curtain of clouds, the sky itself had taken on a somber shade of gray. I remained fixated on this sight, for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was about thirty seconds. “There is nothing—“

At that moment, my attention was caught by a subtle movement unfolding amidst the heavens, concealed behind the veil of clouds. A vast silhouette traversed the expanse, its enormity transcending the size of airplanes or ships. Instead, it extended across the entire vastness, continuing beyond the confines of the horizon.

As my eyes looked upon the darkness, a torrent of emotions surged through me, a mixture of terror, awe, and a profound sense of insignificance. My heart raced as if attempting to burst through my chest, while an icy chill ran down my spine, rendering me paralyzed in a state of fear and morbid curiosity. I felt the sense of existential dread gripping my very being, as we stood gazing at something. Something not of this world. Something immense. Something impossible. Time seemed to slow as I struggled to process the incomprehensible existence before me, my mind teetering on the precipice of sanity.

I pushed it away, with every fiber of my being, forcing my eyes to avert themselves from the sky and back into the office. My body recoiled as I stumbled backward away from the window, falling to the ground.

What the fuck was that?

Gray remained standing, staring out the window. His mouth was slightly agape, eyes as wide as saucers.

Good. I wanted to let him stare, knowing whatever that was—that thing—that had tormented my psyche—my very soul—as retribution for the misery he inflicted upon me. I craved to see him experience the pain and the helplessness of an inescapable prison. So, for a precious moment, I allowed him to soak in the dread, savoring each passing second. And then, with a fierce grip, I grabbed a handful of his shirt and yanked him toward me, causing him to tumble and join me on the ground.

Fred waddled toward us, moving faster than I’d ever seen him move. “What is going on?” asked Fred.

Neither of us answered—me ignoring him, while Gray, still unable to blink or utter a word, remained motionless on the floor.

As the commotion unfolded, the rest of the office gathered around us, their gazes fixed upon Gray and me. Slowly, Gray began to regain consciousness, his eyes fluttering once more.

The sight of concerned faces peering down at us was overshadowed by Evie, who pushed her way to the front like a radiant angel. Her vibrant yellow dress accentuated her athletic figure, and her chestnut locks cascaded gracefully over her shoulders. She wore a perplexed expression as she locked eyes with me.

“Asher, what happened? What did you see?” Evie asked, her voice laced with concern.

“I… I don’t know,” I stammered, struggling to find the right words. “Something immense, something unimaginable. It… it did something when we stared at it. Something… horrifying.”

Worry clouded Evie’s features, and she reached her hand out to me to take. I grasped it firmly, and pulled myself up to my feet, now standing face-to-face with her. I gave her a nod of gratitude and turned my attention to the rest of the group.

“Do not look outside,” I spoke with a stern tone. “There is something out there. I can’t explain it. But it’ll do something to you. I felt it…torment my very being. My soul. Whatever you want to call it.”

“Oh, please, Asher. I think you are being a bit dramatic,” said Cheryl. Evie glared at her, her mouth opening to say something.

I pointed down to Gray and barked back before Evie had a chance to. “Well, then do it. I don’t care. Feel free to join Gray on the ground afterward. I won’t be pulling you away.”

A couple of concerned colleagues knelt down beside Gray, checking if he was alright before moving to their previous positions, away from the window. The trembling had stopped but the oppressive darkness remained. Chatter and whispers about the end of the world spread through the office while Fred looked on the verge of puking.

By the next moment, the office was plunged into complete darkness. The light had vanished, leaving us all in pitch black.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to turn on the flashlight and found that it was dead. It had over 60% battery remaining the last time I checked about an hour ago. A quick glance at my wrist found the same fate for my watch. I looked to the ceiling to search for the heat detector that sat near my cubicle. The detector I was forced to change the battery for, thanks to Fred being too cheap to buy the batteries himself as the beeping noise drove everyone crazy. The tiny light that was usually found on it was nowhere to be found. We were all left utterly blind. There was not a single source of illumination to be found.

Amidst the chaos, A cacophony of screams and shrieks filled the office, intertwining with sporadic thuds of something or someone hitting the floor. As well as the sounds of collisions—people stumbling into cubicles, walls, and each other.

My heart was beating faster than ever. My ears pulsed with the intensity of my rapid breathing, and my mouth grew parched. I waved a hand in front of my face. Nothing. I extended my legs out into a wide stance and thrust my arms forward as a shield against the potential collision with a panicked coworker.

Gray’s voice erupted into shouts. His voice was trembling accompanied by the clattering of his teeth.

I shuddered.

Then, in an instant, the darkness vanished, giving way to the dim lighting once again. I noticed Gray now stood upright, as if frozen, alongside the rest of the office.

A haunting voice reverberated through the depths of my consciousness. A voice that carried the weight of eons, bearing a haunting melody that defied comprehension. It echoed with whispers of destroyed worlds and screams of lost sanity. The words vibrated within my very soul, evoking a sense of dread and unfathomable power. A voice that transcended human language, yet its message was understood all at once.

Be not afraid.