Jack Wilson gazed down at his phone screen and grimaced. This was the fifth polite job rejection he had received in the past month. He supposed that it was better than the eight companies that had just ghosted him. And far better than the one jackass who had laughed in his face when he had submitted his resume at the job fair. The dark memory made him frown and he closed the email before flipping through his missed messages. 

He had two other jobs he was still waiting to hear back from, and another interview early Monday morning. So he was far from out of options, but that fact did little to take the sting out of the constant rejections. 

He quickly scanned the message from Gordon asking if he could come over to Jack's place and crash for a few hours. Jack sent the same response he always did, a simple “sure” before swapping to Mavis’s number and informing her of the bad news. She sent back a frown emoji less than three seconds later. 

The hint of a smile pulled at his lips. His friend was hopelessly addicted to her phone. The mousy brunette had been the butt of many jokes for never being able to look away from a screen, but despite that Mavis was one of his most reliable friends. Always a text away and with more random knowledge at her fingertips than him and Gordon combined. She was also his housemate. Calling her his roommate had always seemed to imply the two were in a relationship, and while Jack didn't hate the idea Mavis had made it clear that Jack was not her type. She enjoyed his friendship, but his interest in sports and the great outdoors would make her eyes glaze over just as fast as her interest in anime and physics textbooks would put him to sleep. Still, they had been friends for as long as either of them could remember, and he couldn't ask for a better housemate.

He stepped into the convenience store across the street from his apartment and gave a lazy wave to the gas station employee who looked back at him with dead eyes. Jack had long stopped caring about the man's attitude toward work, and quickly went about his business grabbing a six-pack of cheap beer and a large bag of Mavis’s favorite chips. He stood in the line for a few minutes and zoned out. 

The faint jingle of the gas station music and the smell of whatever harsh chemical they used to clean the floors dulled his senses. He wished with all his being he could just walk into the woods and run up the mountain trails outside of town, ignoring the modern world with its tax laws and rising gas prices, and just live off the land. He visualized the view from the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado, which he had climbed the year before and was now captured in a frame on his wall. He ached for the clean air and the sense of freedom he had felt. All too soon he was pulled out of the daydream as the line came to a close. He paid for the beer and chips and started his walk home. 

Ten minutes later he pushed his way through the front door of the apartment to find Mavis and Gordon sitting on opposite sides of the couch facing the TV. The local news was discussing the latest in a long line of political scandals that had been exposed, but neither of his friends seemed to be invested in listening. They both turned their heads to wave at Jack as he tossed the bag of chips to Gordon and went to put the beer in the fridge. 

Mavis yelled a friendly grunt that loosely translated into “hello”, and Gordon gave a tired wave before opening the chips. 

Mavis was dressed in clean jeans and a simple white t-shirt with her company logo on the back. She had gotten a haircut recently to keep it short for the summer. Her wavy brown hair was only a few inches longer than Jack’s own. Her skin was so pale that she almost looked like a ghost when standing beside Jack’s tanned frame, and he made a note to try and get her outside for a walk over the weekend. Her icy blue eyes were locked on her phone, and was sitting on her feet with the type of flexibility that Jack hadn’t possessed since middle school. His eyes glanced at the TV before landing on Gordon. 

Gordon looked awful. He has lost several pounds over the past three months and had deep bags under his eyes. His regularly tan skin and bright green eyes had been replaced with the pale existence of sleep deprivation. A bone-weary exhaustion was plain to see in his face and his long black hair had grown out to his shoulders and it looked like he hadn't had time to shower or shave in at least three days. He and his wife were quite surprised when she had given birth to twins. And they regretted not checking the gender of the child. Their expected single large baby had turned into two premature babies and the financial stress and lack of sleep were driving the first-time parents slowly mad with stress. Jack passed him a glass of water as he joined his friends on the couch. 

“You want to crash?” Jack asked, worrying for his friend. 

“I probably should. I won't get much sleep tonight.” Gordon responded robotically.

Mavis failed to hide a smile as she stole the bag of chips.

“Here, give me your phone. I'll let your old lady know you are stealing a nap if she calls.” Her thin fingers grabbed his phone before Gordon could finish his slow blink. 

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Gordon just shook his head and slowly stood up. He finished the water in one long sip and walked through the kitchen to Jack’s room, placing the glass down and closing the door behind him. 

“And grab a shower once you wake up!” Jack called over his shoulder.

“You can borrow one of my shirts if you need to.” 

Jack heard a deep grunt followed by faint snores through the door only moments later. 

“And that's why I don't want kids.” Mavis said, turning her attention back to Jack. 

He shrugged. He thought the babies were cute, and didn't mind the few times he had babysat for Gordon and his wife Ellie, but he could understand that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. The twins had giggled at him when he gave them his fingers to hold, and they had slept almost the entire time he watched them. He had enjoyed watching them, but he did not envy the diaper changing, feeding, or crying that he knew his friend had to deal with. 

“He may be exhausted, but outside of his job I think he is happy.” 

Mavis just shook her head. Her experience with babysitting could have been a comedy skit. The twins had been ruthless to her, and she had left that night firmly opposed to ever having children of her own. A fact that Gordon had laughed at her endlessly for, as she had been nearly as excited as he was for the baby to be born. 

They fell into a friendly silence, mindlessly watching one news anchor try to downplay the governor's involvement in the money laundering and bribery he was being accused of. Neither of the pair had anything of substance to say about the situation, so Jack let his mind wander. Mavis was on her phone, looking at memes or playing a game. They sat before their TV for a few minutes before Mavis finally finished whatever she was doing and looked over at him. Her piercing blue eyes seemed almost predatory as she scanned him. 

“Want to talk about the job stuff?” Her voice was soft and careful.

Jack shrugged. Pushing the discomfort he felt in his chest down. “What's there to talk about? I have another interview on Monday.”

She seemed to ponder his words. And the silence stretched out just long enough that he was hopeful that she would drop it.

“I could ask my dad if he has any...” She started to say but Jack cut her off with a shake of his head.

“Thank you. But I'm okay. I. .” He trailed off. He knew he was being stubborn. If he asked Mavis’s father he could have a position by the end of the week. But he wouldn't have earned it. It would be a position given out of pity because he happened to be friends with the socially awkward Mavis for most of their lives. He would be a glorified mascot at best and an actual janitor at worst. It didn't help that Jack did not like Mavis's father, and this job would put Jack very firmly in the man's debt. 

Mavis nodded, having expected his answer. But she also knew that he was getting desperate and it was clear she only wanted to help. The silence that fell between them was strained. When the news flipped over to a commercial break Jack broke it.

“How about you? Any news?”

Mavis had checked her phone again. But she put it down to look him in the eyes again. She shook her head slightly.

“The strike is still going on. So none of my team's projects have been greenlit. We are basically just twiddling our thumbs until something changes.” She sighed. “I'm honestly so bored at work I've been considering quitting and trying to start my own projects. But. .” She gestured at the TV. Jack understood, the economy was in shambles and the two of them barely pulled in enough each month to pay rent. If she quit her job they wouldn't make it to the end of the year.

Jack stood up and grabbed two of the slightly cool beer cans from the fridge. He spent a minute cleaning the three dishes in the sink before returning to the couch and passing Mavis a beer.

The two of them sat for a few minutes, just watching the TV and trying to feel some of the relaxation that the weekend should have brought. 

Jack started paying attention to the news once again when the weather report came on. He put down his beer and took note of the forecast. He smiled, the weather was set to be nice for the mornings with scattered showers in the afternoon. About as good a forecast as one could ask for in Colorado. He started running through a list of the best hiking locations he could reach from the bus stop. He didn't have the money to spend on gas to get to the more remote trails, and he refused to borrow Mavis’s car without paying for the gas, even if she would never ask. 

He was shaken out of his musings when Mavis nudged him. He realized she had said his name a few times but he had missed it. He gave her a confused look and she gestured at the TV. 

The weatherman had turned noticeably pale and was holding his hand to his ear as more information came to him. The weather forecast had changed to show dark clouds covering the entire screen in a massive cloud. Jack blinked as he stared at the screen. The news bar scrolled across the bottom of the screen and read in all bold red letters, Asteroid Impacts Northern Russia, Shockwave Felt In Paris, Cloud of Debris Projected to Cover the World.

Jack felt numb. He looked at Mavis and asked the only thing that came to his mind. “What?” 

Mavis already had her phone out, her hand shaking as she found her father's contact and hit call. The phone beeped an out-of-service alert and her face screwed up in fear as she started to spiral. 

“It's going to be ok” Jack was reaching for her when his body went rigid. A faint blue glow wrapped around both him and Mavis, locking them both in place. None of his muscles would move and he couldn't speak or blink or even swallow. The sensation grew immediately uncomfortable and he started to internally panic. 

He noticed a small bug resting on Mavis’s sleeve that seemed to be the source of the blue glow. It was no larger than a pinhead, and he never would have noticed it if it hadn't started glowing. Mavis could see a similar one on his knee. The discomfort lasted only a few heartbeats before his vision went black.