"Office politics: where merit is overshadowed by manipulation."

-Unknown

The heat rose in her cheeks as she watched the man make his way to her CEO. She had no interest in being the centre of attention. Just the thought of it made her knees weak.

“Mils, over here!”

Milly felt an arm on her shoulder and smiled when she saw it was Rain, bags under her eyes from lack of sleep but otherwise as chipper as she had been last night.

Rain led Milly over to her shop. Rain On My Parade’s doors were closed, but it was far enough away from the courtyard that the crowd was thinner here.

“Milly, you look gorgeous,” Rain exclaimed, casually feeling the silk of the gown, and smiling at her glasses, “I barely recognized you."

“I miss my hoodie,” Milly mumbled, feeling self-conscious again. It was one thing to tell herself she was not as ugly while wearing this dress. It was another thing entirely to have a friend call her gorgeous.

Milly heard the whispers starting to grow to a loud murmur in the crowd, and Milly ducked behind Rain to shield herself from view.

“Milly, this dress is perfect for you. Besides, it covers more of you than your hoodie does right now, so stop being so modest. What’s wrong?”

Milly pointed to the crowd, the whispers steadily growing.

“Oh, that," Rain said chipperly. "The bigwigs of all the companies in the tower decided they needed to be the ones in charge during this ‘emergency situation', so they convened this town hall. Classic management solution, right? They are surveying the crowd, which I suppose makes sense, and separating people into work groups. They've been at it for over an hour. The first decision they made was that everyone should wait in the tower until help arrives.”

Rain rolled her eyes. “We both know that’s not going to work.”

“No, its not,” Milly agreed, remembering the recorded memory from last night. “Waiting for help is a waste of time.”

“Yes, it is,” agreed Rain. “But with the 'wait and see' decision made, they've created three areas of work - gathering food, cleaning the tower, and management of people and resources. Guess which category the managers ended up in? I’ll give you a hint. You won’t be seeing them cleaning your toilet or out in the terrains harvesting bananas and coconuts any time soon. Oh, that reminds me,” Raid said with excitement.

Rain opened her inventory and withdrew three bottles of water, a thermos full of Dark Introspection tea, and three roast beef sandwiches.

“Don’t let anyone see you with those sandwiches,” she warned Milly. “Food is already scarce, and people are hungry. People nearly came to blows again this morning when the topic turned to food.

Milly whispered a quick thanks, then turned her back to the crowd and unwrapped half of a roast beef sandwich. She shoveled it into her mouth as quickly as she could, eyes closed in ecstasy as the tender meat and soft bread hit her tongue. It was the most delicious food she had eaten in a long, long time.

“Om my goff, Rain. Thish is sho good,” Milly mumbled as she chewed, savoring the taste.

“Thanks. It was an experiment to see if I could bring in a lunch crowd. The benefit of being a butcher’s daughter is I know my cuts of meat and how to cook them. Yesterday was going to be my first day with sandwiches on the menu, but…” she trailed off, not needing to finish the sentence.

Milly finished her last swallow and poked her head around Rain to look at the crowd, the murmurs still growing. “Do they really think they can just wait for help?”

Rain nodded. “Can you blame them? Fifteen people died yesterday. Another dozen left the tower looking for help but never returned. People have seen the monsters that are out there. The ogre’s corpse is still lying in front of the jungle entrance as a constant reminder. People are scared Milly. They miss their loved ones and they watched their coworkers die. We are lucky more people are not huddled in the offices, praying that this is all a dream.”

“I know, Rain, I know. But what will happen when they realize no help is coming? Hephaestus said the last contest went on for almost four years, and it was a failure. We need people out there, figuring out what is going on and how to win this thing. We need to be thinking long-term.”

“A few went out earlier this morning,” Rain told her. “One angry-looking fellow marched right past the managers without so much as slowing down. Out the door at sunrise and straight into the prairies. Now that was a determined man. Handsome too.”

Milly laughed. “That’s Xavier. He’s my friend. And determined is a kind way to describe him. Obsessive may be more accurate. You will have a challenging time catching his eye though, if you think he is handsome.”

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“I don't intend to catch anyone's eye,” Rain laughed, then grew more serious. “Are you headed out there too?”

Milly nodded. The moment she saw that memory last night, she knew she had no choice. Xavier had been right when he was teaching her yesterday. It may be dangerous out there, but sitting back and doing nothing would only lead to an early grave. She had to play the game. They all had to play the game.

“You should come with me today, Rain,” she urged. “It’s the only way to survive here.”

Rain looked torn, her eyes flickering between her shop and the increasingly agitated crowd. “These are hungry and desperate people, Mils. I…I’m afraid they will ransack Rain on my Parade if I leave it, maybe even take it over. It is all I have left in the world. What would I do if it were taken from me?”

Rain seemed increasingly torn, mirroring the growing shouts and whispers in the gathered masses.

Milly gave Rain her bravest look. “If that happens, then I will help you take it back,” she promised, trying to look fearless.

Rain laughed, “Well, there are rumors of a beautiful black-haired woman who took down an ogre yesterday and healed the injured. Only a couple dozen people saw her, but they say she took it down with ease. They're calling her a hero,” Rain said slyly.

Milly blushed, uncomfortable with the attention.

Unfortunately, that attention was about to get her into trouble as the whispers reached a crescendo at the elevated table in the centre of the courtyard.

“Excuse me, miss. You, in the black dress,” came a call from the table, directed at Milly. The crowd grew eerily quiet, and every face turned towards Milly. Milly’s face grew hot in embarrassment and she tried to hide behind Rain, making herself small.

“People here tell me you were one of the many, many people who participated in killing that giant beast in the forest yesterday,” Jacob Stone said loudly, cheerful on the surface but with a hard-edge underneath. There was a look in his eye that only Milly could see - a dagger pointed at her heart. “People here seem to think you have all the answers. Why don’t you enlighten us with your wisdom?”

“I… I don’t…,” Milly mumbled, struggling to find her voice as each eye in the lobby was on her.

“Come on then, girl, speak up,” Mr. Stone urged, emphasizing the word ‘girl’. “These people believe you know better than us. And we, of course, accept all suggestions on our course of action. So please, tell us.”

Milly’s tongue felt twisted in her mouth, as if she had been called on in class to answer a question she had never studied with the teacher breathing down her neck.

“I…I…don’t know. We should get out there, I guess and…,” Milly squeezed out, but it was so faint that no one could hear.

“Do you not have an answer?” Mr. Stone asked in a patronizing tone. “These are hungry people, and we all need to work together to keep us safe and fed. You must clearly agree with our position on this. I take it we can count on your support?”

It was not a question.

Milly stared into Mr. Stone’s eyes - the eyes of a man who saw her as a threat. A woman who needed to be brought under his heel. Milly had never met the CEO of Acicentre, but she had heard the stories. Stories of a charismatic man who loved power and control, who ruled his company from on high with an iron fist. She had heard rumors of the people who had raised concerns about how the company was run or about unusual accounting errors in the records, who had been shown the door moments afterwards. A man who will do whatever it took to gain and keep power and wealth.

That man’s attention was now squarely focused on Milly, a smile hiding sinister intentions. Milly froze, as frozen as she had been when facing that goblin, and could not bring herself to speak.

Suddenly, Rain grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the mountain entrance. There were shouts of protest from the crowd, and Milly heard Mr. Stone’s laugher echo across the lobby.

“Well, I’m going to take that as an endorsement of our plan," laughed Stone. "See, she's no different than the rest of you. A simple girl who is hungry and scared, and knows that order and discipline will see us through this unfortunate time. Forget her, and let’s continue with our discussion.”

Milly and Rain emerged into the cool mountain air moments later, the shouts of the crowd fading away as the glass door slammed shut behind them.

“Ugg… what a creep,” Rain said, disgusted. “He’s been playing dirty politics with that crowd all morning, belittling and minimizing anyone who looks like they might be a threat to their consolidation of power.”

“Is that what he was trying to do?” Milly asked, her face still hot with embarrassment and her knees shaking. She had never had so many eyes on her. So many people who cared what she thought. It was overwhelming. She had lived out of people’s view, in the shadows of society, without attention or expectation for so long. “Why me?”

“Are you kidding, Milly?” Rain asked, pride in her voice. “People watched you take down that creature yesterday. They saw your bravery and you inspired them. That means you are a threat to people like Stone, who build power through fear and control. He needed to minimize you. To isolate you. Trust me on this. My father and brothers are all political junkies. I know it when I see it.”

It felt like the wind was taken from Milly’s sails. This contest was dangerous enough, but now she had to worry about Mr. Stone and the other CEOs on top of it all? It was too much to manage.

Milly dragged herself over to a fallen pine log, plunking down hard as her feet seemed to give way beneath her. She felt as if the world was pressing down on her from all sides and she was struggling to breathe. Dark thoughts of lynch mobs and a sinister figure with a dagger at her back crowded her thoughts. Her breath grew rapid, and she felt small, as small as she had felt in a long time.

Rain sat next to her, wrapped an arm around Milly’s shoulders, and pulled her into a wordless hug. Milly let tears fall, sobs escaping her throat as she cried. Rain simply held her, until the tears stopped, and her heart had calmed.

In the space that followed, Milly grew aware of the cool breeze blowing through her gown. She heard ravens flying through the air. The gentle smell from the great pines above her and mist from distant waterfalls filled her. She stared at the mossy forest floor, traced with gentle trails made by squirrel and deer. It felt peaceful and helped her find her calm again.

Milly shot up to her feet. “Rain, your shop! What if they…”

“Don’t worry about my shop, Mils,” Rain laughed appreciatively. “You're more important. If they do anything to my shop, I will pick up the pieces and keep going.”

Rain smiled, adventure flashing in her eyes. “Besides, I’m not going to find new ingredients for my teas by staying in my shop, am I?”

Milly chuckled at her new friend’s optimism. “No, I suppose you won’t.”

She stared out at the mountains’ cascading waterfalls and broad valleys, feeling surprisingly calm after shedding her tears.

“Come on then,” she said, hopping gracefully onto the log with an easy leap. “Let’s go find some adventure.”