As someone accustomed to sleeping in, Anaïs spent the rest of her morning and early afternoon napping. After all, she would be working from ten at night until four in the morning, and wouldn’t be able to sleep before at least five. Until she adjusted to her new schedule, she would snatch sleep whenever she could.

Her afternoon and early evening consisted of reading a book, doing a bit of cleaning, and spending a few dozen minutes on the Internet with the help of her laptop. When the clock struck 9:45 PM, she headed to the Cleanax offices, which, fortunately, were only a ten-minute walk away, and entered the building for her first night of work. The first of a long life. Another sigh escaped her lips.

The offices were deserted, except for Marie-Thérèse, who was slumped in her chair. Where were the other employees? A chill ran down Anaïs’s spine: what if the company had a terrible reputation? Or worse, what if it was just a front to lure young women into a deadly trap?

Anaïs had always been quick to let her imagination run wild. No wonder she was labeled a “dreamer” with a taste for adventure. Some even dared to suggest she lived in a state of delusion at times. Who were they to judge her dreams?

Marie-Thérèse sat up comfortably in her chair, greeting the young woman. She rummaged through a drawer and handed Anaïs a noisy keyring.

"Here, the keys. You know where to go, right?" she asked, kindly, smiling to put her at ease.

"Uh... yes. Where are the other employees?" Anaïs asked, nervously.

Marie-Thérèse seemed to notice her unease as her smile widened and her eyes reflected amusement.

"The other employees keep the keys so they don’t have to make the trip back and forth all the time. You’re new, we don’t know you yet. It’s your trial period."

Anaïs nodded, relieved. It was indeed a plausible and logical explanation, far from her human trafficking suspicions.

"Do you... come here just for this?"

The lady was here at ten, at twenty-two, at four when she returned... it made Anaïs wonder if she lived here.

"Oh, yes, but I don’t mind. There’s not much waiting for me at home," she laughed, embarrassed.

Anaïs only responded with an awkward pout. She didn’t want the old lady to sense her pity. People who sacrificed their lives for their jobs deeply saddened her. She was even afraid of it, to be honest with herself.

Sixty years old and nothing in life but work... Please, if any god hears me, don’t let me end up like that.

"See you later then," Anaïs said, leaving the office with the keys.

"Good luck," she heard as she closed the office door behind her.

The Paris metro: its stifling atmosphere, its smell of urine, its familiar homeless people, and all those rushing to catch their train as if taking the next one would mean the end of the world. Well, okay, the next one could be just as crowded as the last, and you had to be able to move at some point.

Even so, during rush hour the term "end of the world" is an understatement.

Fortunately for her, there weren't many people around at 10:15 p.m. on a Monday. A group of well-dressed young adults, who were eyeing her, were discussing their evening plans – starting with drinks at a bar, then heading to a nightclub, the usual routine – while a few men and women in business attire were heading home. At least, that’s what she assumed given the time. Some looked exhausted, others were visibly tipsy.

Anaïs was tapping on her phone while waiting for her metro to arrive. She was torn between the eagerness to leave the oppressive underground and the desire to stay put to avoid showing up at her job. When the first sounds announcing the metro's arrival reached her ears, she looked up.

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Her entire body froze. A lump formed in her throat. Was her mind playing tricks on her? For a split second, she could have sworn she saw a man with a black dog’s head on the opposite platform. She quickly looked away, panicked. That head looked familiar and caused a strong unease within her. She couldn't explain why.

Wait... It must be a stress-induced hallucination. Besides, I think I dreamed about it last night... It must be a memory coupled with a nervous breakdown.

When she looked up again and focused on the individual, she was relieved to find she had indeed been hallucinating. There was a man, but he was completely human: black hair, almost golden tan skin, and fine features. He was dressed in a white shirt and black linen pants with sandals, a rather unusual outfit given the weather.

He’s pretty handsome... she thought with a mischievous smile.

Her smile quickly faded when the young man's piercing gaze met hers just before the two metros arrived at the platform. She felt as if he had read her thoughts; his gaze was so intense. It was unsettling.

Her heart started pounding furiously against her ribcage when a hand rested on her shoulder to prevent her from boarding the train. A surprised cry escaped her lips. Her heart rate was about to skyrocket if she didn’t calm down.

"Excuse me," said a deep voice behind her.

The stranger withdrew his hand as she turned towards him, her own palm pressed against her racing heart. Once again, surprise was evident on her face.

"You... you were on the other side of the platform not even two seconds ago..."

This situation was starting to feel like a bad joke. Maybe a hidden camera? Or perhaps she was simply losing her mind. She didn’t know which explanation scared her more.

The young man didn’t answer. His dark eyes drifted to her neckline and settled on her necklace. Anaïs, feeling uncomfortable, closed her cardigan and held it against her chest to escape the stranger's insistent gaze.

"What do you want?" she snapped, wary.

"Come with me," he said, grabbing her wrist. “We need to talk.”

"Excuse me?" she retorted, struggling to free her arm. “I don’t think so! We don’t know each other, and I have to get to work!”

"It’s urgent," he insisted, tightening his grip, which made her let out a small cry of pain.

He immediately let go, both surprised and annoyed. Anaïs clutched her wrist to her chest, massaging it with her other hand, furious.

"Are you out of your mind? What do you want? I don’t have time for this, I need to—"

Anaïs didn’t finish her sentence, realizing the metro had locked its doors and was already starting to move. The platform was now deserted, except for her and the young man. The thought chilled her to the bone. What was he going to do to her? Her intuition told her to run. She had a bad feeling, and with good reason; the altercation was beginning to feel a lot like an assault.

If I don’t leave now, I’ll never make it to work on time! I can’t lose this job on my first day... Come on, Anaïs, you’re probably being paranoid. This isn’t a movie. It’s just a weird guy, there are weird guys every day.

"...Necklace...," she barely heard over the noise of the metro disappearing into the tunnel.

Silence.

"What?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"The necklace, it’s mine. I’d like it back, please."

Dumbfounded, Anaïs placed her hand on the gold ankh and clasped it protectively. She hadn’t expected this at all. So it was just a big joke. Or maybe he was trying to rob her. Suddenly, her wild imagination didn’t seem so far from reality.

Never heard of a thief who politely asked for their stolen item back. If he’s a thief, he’s a bad one, she scoffed inwardly.

"I don’t think so. I bought it at the Cairo souk, I don’t see how it could be yours," she replied haughtily.

She felt like he was taking her for a fool. The situation was simply unreal.

Enough wasting time with this nonsense...

"Believe me, it’s mine," he insisted, annoyed. "Give it to me."

He held out his palm to her, waiting for her to place the necklace in his hand. Anaïs stared at him for a few seconds, her gaze narrowing with suspicion and disbelief. The stranger seemed to be losing patience too, as his foot began to tap nervously against the concrete platform.

"No."

He took a step forward, menacingly, his hand still extended. Anaïs stepped back. They repeated this little dance two or three times until Anaïs was just a few centimeters from the edge. He was trying to intimidate her. And she had to admit, it was working.

When the rumble of the next metro reached her ears, a wave of relief washed over Anaïs. She could board the most crowded car, and he would probably leave her alone.

Without warning, he lunged at her and tried to tear the necklace from her neck. Anaïs screamed, pushing against the young man’s chest to try and repel him. When her attacker’s hand closed around the chain, he yanked it, breaking it, and stumbled back. Anaïs lost her balance and fell onto the tracks, headfirst. A dull pain spread through her skull and back as stars filled her vision. She was completely stunned.

"Damn it!" her attacker swore, jumping onto the tracks and grabbing her arms in a desperate gesture.

The last thing she heard before slipping into unconsciousness was the metro alarm and the screeching sound of emergency brakes. After those shrill sounds, there was only complete darkness.