“How many did you count?” “Ah,” Nick swept some sweat off his forehead. “Five. Five boxes are left.” “Are they still sealed?” “Yeah, not opened yet.” “Hmm, we must check if it contains what we need.” It had been two weeks since Nick started his part-time job at Research Facility 4. He had worked four days in the first week and was on his third day for this week. And up until now, everything seemed quite normal. Even though there still weren’t many people around, he met a few more employees. And the working hours were doable for him.

“Martin also mentioned that they’re low on Eppendorfs'. Do you see some in there?” Eppendorfs Safe-Lock Tubes. Nick had to learn a new vocabulary since he started here. “Hmm, only one box left, as far as I see.” “I also write them down.” “Are we done, then?” “Yeah, I bring it to Linda.” Linda was the secretary sitting at the building across the yard. She worked alone and always had a big stack of paperwork on her desk. Other than her, Nick had also met Jared, the real janitor, a man in his 50’s who talked less than Sunwoo, Martin, Naomi’s lab assistant, and Kenny, whose tasks were not yet clear to Nick. Klara, the only other scientist, was on leave.

“We don’t need to clean today; Martin took care of it.” Martin seemed to have a tough schedule. He appeared to be a goofer rather than a lab assistant.

“You done?” Kenny had a very peculiar way of speaking. He was probably from the Islands, formally known as the United Kingdom. They tried to make them open their borders, too. Many people were able to immigrate, especially from the US. However, the individual countries vehemently refused to join the Union. Primarily because they had problems with each other rather than the Union’s law, it was rare that people from up there left voluntarily.

They were in the Northern region of Europe, still far away enough from the sea. When the catastrophes started, most of the people came here first. It was considered one of the safest and most well-prepared regions. Therefore a wide range of ethnicity and culture established here. Now, other regions are popular, too, and immigration laws have been tightened. Nick’s parents came here shortly after their marriage. While both were US citizens, they ensured that Nick and his brother were born here. They were really well prepared. “Whatta you think about?” Kenny examined Nick, who was leaning against the elevator wall. “Nothing. Just my parents.” “That’s not nothing.” He squinted his eyes. “Are they still alive? Your parents, I mean?” In times like these, this question wasn’t actually that weird. Or maybe it was the place they were at that made this assumption kind of understandable. “My mum, yes. My dad not.” “Oh, I’m sorry.” Nick nodded slowly. “And your family. Are they well?” It seemed like Kenny grit his teeth for a moment. “My parents are still alive, as far as I know.” “Oh.” A topic that shouldn’t be discussed further. “Good.” Nick turned away and stared at the elevator buttons. That was sure uncomfortable, even though he wasn’t even the one who brought up the topic. “Don’t worry.” Kenny's voice sounded louder in such a small space. “You’re one of us now. You’re bound to hear all of our sob stories over time.” These guys were sure to close. Nick couldn't really imagine how they sat together and shared their background stories with one another. Why would someone become so close with their co-workers? And wasn’t he just a part-timer anyway? As the elevator doors opened, Kenny stepped out humming. Nick followed him with his gaze before stepping out, too. Weird guy.

“The new one is a bit stiff. But he seems like a good guy.” Kenny leaned against the wall of the basement as Sunwoo cleaned up the last stain. “He’s just a part-timer.” He rose from his squatting position. “Nah, he definitely isn’t. If he were just a part-time worker, he would have been sent to Linda to help with the paperwork. But he was sent to us.” Sunwoo sighed. “Linda, Martin, Klara, Jared, even Lennard. They all work here as regular employees.” “Nah, Lenny’s part of the family. He only comes here 'cause it’s better than getting a regular IT guy to work here.” “You don’t get what I say. He’s just like the others. He needs money.” Kenny raised his eyebrows. “That wouldn’t make sense. I think he was picked for a specific reason.” “I don’t think so.” “And why is that.” Sunwoo looked around one last time and checked if everything was done. “’cause he’s not desperate enough. “ He switched off the lights. “We’re done here.”

“How are you holding up?” Sailom examined his friend, slouching on his seat in the lecture hall. “I’m fine. Just a bit tired. Physical labor is surely different.” “Have you already quit at the admin’s office?” “Yeah, last week.” So far, everything seemed pretty normal. Nick didn’t seem nervous, anxious, or distraught. “Hey, didn’t you say that the head of the lab was also a student here?” “M-hmm.” “Why don’t you ask around a little? Maybe there are some students or profs here who still know her.” Nick looked up at his friends. “Why should I?” “Safety measurements.” “You’re too paranoid.”, he said while rolling his eyes. Sailom’s life wasn’t easy, but he must have really been through some rough shit if he was that concerned. His brother worked in the nightlife sector. He was a manager in a shady club. Maybe it was common to get scammed there, or worse. However, the people Nick worked for were not like that. The bar he met Saint in was not the most popular around, but it wasn’t that shady either. If Sailom would see it, he probably could tell right away.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Wait! That’s it!” “Gosh, you startled me.” “What are you doing on tomorrow night?” Sailom raised his eyebrows. “Working.” “As if. Till 10 pm?” “Probably.” “Nah, that’s no good. Don’t you ever take some time off? You should have some fun, too.” The conversation suddenly took a weird turn. What was Nick trying to accomplish here? “What's happening tomorrow night that I shouldn’t be working?” “Well, I wanted to introduce them to you.” “Who?” “My co-workers.” “Huh?” Nick’s plan was perfect. Kenny told him that they sometimes went to Saint’s bar straight after work. He said they almost go every Friday, so they're probably going tomorrow, too.” If he could invite Sailom, he could not only meet his co-workers but also Saint. Perhaps he would calm down a little after checking them out himself. “Why would you want that?” His friend was not an easy one to convince. “Look. Some of my co-workers will go to the bar where I met Saint on Friday. We could meet up there. You could examine them yourself. See it as – a safety measurement.” The barkeeper, too, huh? That was actually an interesting offer. He bit his lip while thinking. “Maybe I could finish around 9 pm. And you sure you can just bring me around?” “Yeah, no problem.” Well, Nick wasn’t sure, but he would just try asking. Worst case, he would pretend it was just a coincidence. They both showed up there. He went to that bar before and even knew Saint, so it wouldn’t be that awkward for him to go there. “Then let’s meet at 10 pm. On the corner where the coffee shop is?” “Sure, let’s do that. “ “Man, I’m really excited all of a sudden. I haven’t been out drinking in a while.”

After Nick poured the last bucket of dirty water down the drain, the rotten, sweet smell hit him stronger than ever. He should really start wearing face masks. But he couldn't think about it too much this time around. This week, he had been working every day except Thursday. He got used to it by now, even know some things still remained kind of mysteries, he thought he definitely got a hang off it. Still, the only person who seemed to talk normally to him was Kenny. “You done?” “Yeah,” Nick turned around to see Sunwoo looking at him. His gaze was, as always, indifferent. “Yes. That was the last bucket.” “Good.” Pause. “Ehm, you know where Kenny is?” Sunwoo's face changed. His mimic, which always seemed so stoic, slipped as if he was caught off guard for a moment. “He is downstairs. Probably is checking the tanks.” Back to his normal facial expression. “Thanks.”

Kenny didn’t check the tanks. And he couldn't be found downstairs at all. Nick couldn't remember where all his confidence had come from the day before. He boldly talked about introducing them, but now he couldn’t even take the courage to ask one of them. “What ‘r you looking?” Nick flinched. “Kenny!” “Yeah, who else would it be?” “Ah-ha-ha.” Nervous laughter followed. “Well, actually... I just wanted to tell you that my friend and I are meeting at Saint’s bar this evening. Just in case, you guys come around, too.” “Oh, that’s great.” He patted him on the shoulder, even though it felt more like a punch. “We’re going, too.” “Nice, man. Then we see each other there.” Kenny seemed pretty happy about it. But Nick asked himself how Sunwoo and Namoi would react when they saw him there. Better not think about it now. Kenny will probably tell them beforehand.

Sailom was already waiting at the corner when Nick arrived. He greeted him with a nod. “You ready?” Sounded like they were going on some kind of mission. “Sure, let’s go.”

This time around, everything about the bar seemed more lively. More seats were filled, the music seemed louder, and even the light shined brighter. As they looked around, Nick couldn't spot any of his co-workers. “Let’s go to the bar first.” His friend agreed, and they sat down at the counter. “You're here again.” Saint recognized him immediately. “Yeah, I liked it the last time around.” He smiled conently. “And you brought a friend?” “Ah yeah. This is my friend Sailom.” The barkeeper's eyebrows raised. “Oh. Sailom.” Ah shit, Nick completely forgot that he had told Saint about Sailom before. Sailom frowned. “You know me?” “Nooo. Nick just talked about you a lot last time. So it’s nice to meet you in person.” Sailom was not convinced. “I see.” He looked at his friend and then back at the barkeeper. “Then I hope I am not disappointing you.” “I don’t think you will. “ Saint shoved two glasses over the counter. “It’s on me.” He winked and left for another guest.” “He’s really...open-minded.” Nick took a long gulp. “He sure is.” “So, where are the others?” They looked around again. “Seems like they're not here yet. Let’s just continue drinking for now.”

Two glasses later, Nick felt like someone punched him in the back. “Hey, my friend.” Kenny was as loud as ever. “Fancy meeting you here.” “Oh yeah. What’s up?” “Do you want to join our table? Ah, this must be your friend.” Nick was scared Kenny was about to punch Sailom, too. “Yeah, yeah, this is Sailom.” “Great. Join us!” Sailom gave his friend a startled look. “Yeah, yeah. We’re joining you.” Nick raised from the bar stool.“If you meet them, you’ll see they are not bad people.”, he mumbled to his friend. “Yeah, we will see.”