“Good morning, Ed.”

Ed wakes up, feeling refreshed after a long night's rest. The despair and confusion he was feeling all of yesterday now feels like a distant nightmare. His conversation with Urdhuri had not only reignited his determination to survive but had changed his goals entirely. Now, he desires a peaceful world without the company. Thanks to Urdhuri, I know that life existed just fine before the company was formed. The company is not the arbiter of fate like Buddie said it is, but is instead a group of sick, twisted individuals. Something needs to be done about them...

“You have an hour until your file arrives.” Buddie continues on with the morning routine, ignoring what happened yesterday. Ed decides to play along, sitting down to have breakfast before getting ready for work.

Buddie hasn’t mentioned anything that happened yesterday, he didn’t even speak when I came home yesterday. It was as if he has no memory of last night. That’s fine by me. The company is far too strong for an ordinary human like me to face, so the longer they don’t know what I’m trying to do the better. Having changed into a fresh set of clothes, Ed steps through the door into the office. If I want to destroy the company, I need a plan. Urdhuri should be able to help with that, but I don’t know how often I can visit him. I’ll play it safe and stay home tonight.

Sitting at his desk, Ed takes a break from thinking, instead choosing to relax for a while before work. He kicks back his feet, casually looking around the room.

“Morning Ed.” Zara pops out from behind him, jumping into her chair with a smile. “You’re looking a lot better than you were yesterday. I take it that your plan went well?”

“Yeah, I had some questions yesterday that needed to be answered. Luckily, I found someone who could help me. I’m feeling a lot better now.”

“That’s good. I listened to your suggestion and ran off into the room as soon as I could. Luckily, I managed to get in there when they were still stomping that guy to death. I managed to get a few good hits on him. You should have come; it was so much fun. But I am glad that things worked out for you, you looked so distracted and depressed yesterday.”

Maybe Urdhuri will have some ideas about how I can get her on my side. “Well, I’m glad you had fun. Did you manage to make any new friends?”

The two continue to converse, Zara excitedly telling him about everything that happened.

I don’t want to play the company’s games. But if I don’t, who knows what the company might do to me. Especially after what happened last night. Should I take the punishment? Or should I punish someone to maintain this facade? Ed goes back and forth in his mind, tearing himself apart trying to think of the best way to achieve his plans. Most of these people are sinners... But they deserve to face justice in a court of law, not at the hands of these freaks... Ed sighs. I should wait to see what the file says. I need more information before I make a decision.

The two fill in the last few minutes of waiting with idle chatter, eventually stopping when their files arrive on screen.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Name: Josephine Grant

Age: 34

Occupation: teacher

Biography: Born to parents Victor and Irene Grant, she grew up in a middle-class home... She graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree in education before becoming a math teacher at a small town’s high school... She gained experience working at that school for over a decade, becoming a well-respected member of the staff... One of her students, a young girl, had learning and behavioural difficulties, and because of this was bullied by some of the other students. It started off small, with the bullies calling the kid names, and making some light jokes at their expense. It eventually escalated to the point where the bullies were resorting to violence. Every day, the kid would walk into the room with a new set of bruises, but nobody mentioned anything. The bullying only got worse, and yet, Josephine ignored what was happening, and didn’t do anything to stop it, nor did she reach out to the kid and try to help them... The kid eventually took their own life...

-End of document-

If I want to destroy the company, I need to be willing to make sacrifices... What a fucking hypocrite I am. Ed opens the app and sits there for a while, trying to think of ways to prolong her survival. She doesn’t deserve to be a teacher, but if I can put off her death by even just a day, that will be a good enough start. He quickly gets to work creating a trap in his mind. I spent a full year inside one of the punishments, I wonder if I can do something similar here? “Buddie. Is there a time limit to how long the trap can last?”

“As long as the design is suitable, there is no limit to how long it can be for.”

With this information, Ed quickly gets to work. Everything is already set out for me, so this shouldn’t take too long. The school appears on the screen. Consisting of two buildings, a basketball court, and a small field, ending with the fence that surrounds all of it. The staff and students appear spread throughout the school, the models slowly going about their day. Looks like a bit over a hundred people altogether. The screen focuses in on Josephine’s classroom, showing her standing out front of a class of fifteen young students. “When did the bullying first start?”

“The student moved to the town at the beginning of the school year, the bullying started shortly thereafter.”

If I’m remembering correctly, that should mean that it’s been going on for around six months. “Go back to when the bullied student first moved to town and replace them with Josephine. I want her to experience what the student went through.” Her model teleports from the front of the classroom to an empty chair near the window.

“Is there anything else you would like to add, or do you want it all to take place within the school grounds?”

Should I add in the surrounding town, I feel like that will complicate things too much. Ed stops and considers his options for a moment. “No, I think I’m good with what I have.”

“Due to the size of your design, we will require using more people to create it in order to get it out within a similar time, however, expect it to take a bit longer than usual.”

“That’s fine by me.”

~

While Ed was designing his trap, Zara also got to work on hers. Ed said that I should give them a chance at redemption, but this guy’s a murderer, so I don’t think I have to give him too big of a chance... She creates a small empty room with a wooden chair bolted into the ground in the middle. She straps the model of the man to the chair, making it impossible for him to slip out. The victim was electrocuted due to the murderer sabotaging a generator. I think I can work with this. She adds a small generator into the room just in front of the chair on a table and connects it to electrodes placed on the model’s head and leg, creating an electric chair.

“The generator will be damaged, and will at some point turn itself on, sending electricity coursing through his body, killing him.” An animation plays of the generator humming to life, frying the man’s brain. She adds everything he needs to fix the generator onto the table, before submitting it to Buddie for it to be created.

“Thank you for submitting your plans, I will inform you both when they are ready.”