The club was full tonight. Someone was organizing a party somewhere among the crowd, music was replacing the nearby oxygen, and drinks invaded people’s glasses. Overall, the time was for festivities and rejoice—without forgetting the hangover and possible comas.
“This is the worst place for a meeting, you know?”
“Yes, but no one will look inside restrooms made of shit and vomit, uh?”
The short and overweight man and the pretty-looking woman were inside a toilet, the restrooms filled with drunk people either taking a piss, puking, chatting with their reflections in the mirror, or doing it all at the same time. The stink was unbearable. It was full of noises you didn’t want to hear. And yet the man had chosen this place, out of everywhere in this goddamn city.
“I’ll be brief,” he started. “The reports here will contain everything related to the recent fluctuation of the company’s shares. It also shows which angle is necessary to…let’s say destabilize the company. The next financial crash will crush it down, thanks to all these data, eh.”
He brushed off some sweat, and continued.
“There are all the graphs, charts everything, yes? But, to read what you need to know, you’ll need this.”
He handed her a USB drive that he took from one of his pockets.
“Inside is the software for decryption. You’ll see, it’s…something, uh, impressive. Be careful to not, lose it, eh?”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“I won’t,” she replied, taking the drive with a firm movement. “We never saw each other, right?”
The man lowered his arm, enabling her to pass through.
“No. No, this lady heading outside is no one to me, eh. Never saw her,” he continued, while pointing a finger at his skull, “I just happen to forget about her…now,” he said, his mouth evaporating a single *poof* to mark his words. “Now, please, yes?” he finished, smiling, closing the door as she left.
She got out of this horrible place, the documents now in her purse, the USB drive in her pocket. A car was waiting for her outside. She put the documents and the USB drive in a reinforced briefcase, in case of anything happening on the road. As she went for the exit, something wrong happened. She blinked. Out of nowhere, she was in the car, on the road back to HQ, her clothes soaked as if she got under the rain falling outside.
The driver was as surprised as her. Confused, even. But at this speed, on a highway, you didn’t have the right to be confused.
Hopefully, his reflexes kicked in. The other drivers around weren’t that lucky. Cars crashed into one another all around them. One collided with them, then another one. It was pure chaos.
The truck came.
It smashed the car at their right, a direct, lethal hit. The rear of the truck drifted fast and plunged on them, alongside the cargo the truck was hauling.
*
“…yes it seems…yes. It seems it’s a worldwide phenomenon. All around the world, people…no, mankind…Humanity doesn’t seem to remember the last thirty-one minutes. Tonight, an exceptional international security conference will take place among the United Nations to clarify the situation…”
“…Martial law has been enacted in several countries following the sudden wave of panic. If you and your loved ones have been victims of an accident, notify the local authorities and…”
“…yes…yes, broadcast it…Oh…my…god. What is that? Is this live?!… Fuck…”