SEVEN O'CLOCK
1484 Words
The clock above the reception desk continued moving.
Elena couldn't stop watching it.
1:32.
The second hand moved steadily around the face as if nothing unusual had happened. The lobby had returned to normal, yet nobody in the room seemed willing to behave as though it had.
Adrian stood near the reception desk with the black card between his fingers. He had been staring at it for several seconds without speaking.
Ethan remained near the staircase.
Clara had moved behind the reception desk.
Marcus stood beside the security gate.
Nobody looked at Elena.
That bothered her more than the strange woman had.
"What's going to happen at seven?"
Adrian folded the card and placed it inside his jacket.
"Nothing if we follow the rules."
"That's not what the card said."
"It doesn't matter what it said."
"It said I have to choose who I trust."
His eyes met hers.
"You don't have to choose."
"Then why would it say that?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Elena crossed her arms.
"You keep telling me not to ask questions, but every time something happens, you refuse to explain. I'm tired of it."
His expression remained calm, but his eyes softened slightly.
"I know."
"Then tell me."
He looked toward the clock.
"At seven, the building changes."
Elena waited.
"The doors will lock."
She glanced at the entrance.
"And?"
"The elevators will stop working."
Her stomach tightened.
"What else?"
"The floors may not remain where they are."
She stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that if you enter the wrong corridor, you may not find your way back."
Elena looked at the staircase.
"How long?"
"Until the game ends."
"And when does that happen?"
"Before midnight."
She stared at him.
"That's hours."
"I know."
Elena glanced at the doors again.
"So we're trapped here until then."
"Yes."
She exhaled slowly.
"Wonderful."
Adrian almost smiled.
Almost.
Then the clock chimed.
One.
Everyone in the lobby flinched.
Elena looked up.
It was still 1:35.
The clock shouldn't have chimed.
A second chime followed.
Then a third.
The sound echoed through the lobby.
Adrian's expression changed.
"Upstairs."
Everyone moved at once.
Elena followed.
They entered the executive floor through the staircase rather than the elevator. Adrian remained at the front while Marcus stayed behind them.
The moment Elena stepped onto the floor, she noticed something strange.
There were doors where there hadn't been doors before.
Three of them.
One beside the conference room.
One opposite the archive.
One at the end of the corridor.
They were all identical.
Dark wood.
Silver handles.
No signs.
Elena stopped.
"Those weren't there."
Adrian looked at them.
"I know."
Ethan walked past them.
"That's the game."
Elena looked at him.
"You knew?"
"Everyone knows."
"Then why didn't anyone tell me?"
Ethan gave her a tired look.
"Because nobody expected you to survive the first stage."
The words were blunt.
Elena felt something twist inside her.
Adrian turned toward him.
"Enough."
Ethan stared at him.
"You keep doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Protecting her."
The hallway became silent.
Ethan's eyes moved to Elena.
"You don't understand what your presence here is doing."
Elena swallowed.
"What is it doing?"
"You changed the rules."
Adrian stepped between them.
"Walk away."
Ethan laughed quietly.
"You know I'm right."
He walked toward the staircase.
Clara followed.
Marcus remained behind.
Elena looked at Adrian.
"Why does everyone hate me?"
"They don't hate you."
"They do."
"They're afraid."
"Of me?"
"Of what happens around you."
Elena frowned.
"What happens around me?"
Adrian didn't answer.
A soft bell sounded from somewhere nearby.
Everyone froze.
A red light appeared above the first door.
Elena looked at it.
The door opened by itself.
Inside was an ordinary office.
Desk.
Chair.
Computer.
A wall clock.
Nothing unusual.
Adrian's voice was quiet.
"Nobody enters."
Elena looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because that's not an office."
The door slowly closed.
She stared at it.
"What is it?"
"A choice."
That made no sense.
Before she could ask, the second door opened.
This room looked different.
It was filled with desks.
Every desk had an employee's name on it.
Elena saw Ethan's.
Clara's.
Marcus's.
Nina's.
Sophie’s.
Then she saw hers.
Her desk was at the very back.
A photograph sat on top of it.
She couldn't see what it showed.
The third door opened.
Cold air rushed into the hallway.
Elena took a step backward.
Adrian immediately reached for her.
"Don't."
She looked at the third room.
There was no furniture inside.
Only a mirror.
A very large mirror.
Elena's reflection stood inside it.
But Adrian wasn't reflected beside her.
She stared.
Adrian looked at the mirror.
Nothing.
No reflection.
No shadow.
Nothing.
Elena slowly turned toward him.
He already knew what she'd seen.
"You're not reflected."
He looked away.
"I told you not to look."
"You never told me."
"You've seen enough."
The mirror suddenly cracked.
A thin line appeared across its surface.
Then another.
Elena stepped closer despite herself.
The cracks spread until the entire mirror looked like broken glass held together by a frame.
Then her reflection smiled.
Elena didn't.
She stepped backward.
The reflection raised one finger to its lips.
Then it pointed toward Adrian.
Elena turned.
Adrian was watching the mirror.
His face was pale.
"Don't listen to it."
The reflection's mouth moved.
No sound came out.
But Elena understood the words.
HE ISN'T YOUR BOSS.
She looked at Adrian.
He didn't move.
The mirror shattered.
The sound echoed through the corridor.
Elena screamed and covered her face.
When she lowered her hands, the glass was gone.
The room was empty.
Adrian grabbed her shoulders.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Did it touch you?"
"No."
"Did you hear anything?"
Elena hesitated.
He noticed.
"Elena."
"It said something."
"What?"
She looked at him.
"It said you aren't my boss."
Adrian's hands fell from her shoulders.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he walked away.
Elena followed.
"Is it true?"
"No."
"Then why did you look scared?"
"I wasn't scared."
"You were."
He stopped.
"You're asking questions you don't understand."
"And you're giving answers that don't make sense."
Adrian turned toward her.
"Because the truth doesn't make sense."
That silenced her.
A distant sound came from the lobby.
The clock.
It chimed again.
2:00 p.m.
Elena looked at the time.
Only five hours until seven.
She suddenly understood that every minute mattered.
They continued down the corridor.
The employees had disappeared into their offices.
Elena could hear quiet conversations behind the doors.
She noticed several people watching her through the glass.
Whenever she met their eyes, they looked away.
She didn't know which frightened her more.
The supernatural things happening around them.
Or the fact that the employees seemed to know what was coming.
At 2:20, Elena returned to her desk.
There was another note waiting.
YOU HAVE FIVE HOURS.
She turned it over.
Nothing.
She placed it beside her keyboard.
A minute later, someone dropped a file on her desk.
Elena looked up.
Nina stood there.
"Read it."
"What is it?"
"Your employment record."
Elena frowned.
"Why?"
Nina walked away.
Elena opened it.
The first pages were normal.
Her application.
Her qualifications.
Her interview notes.
Then she reached the last page.
Her name was printed at the top.
Beneath it was a date.
EMPLOYEE RECORD CREATED: 16 YEARS AGO.
Elena stared.
Her hands became cold.
That was impossible.
She hadn't even been working age sixteen years ago.
She turned the page.
There was a photograph.
A little girl.
Standing outside Vespera.
Elena recognized the face.
Her own.
She dropped the file.
It landed on the floor.
For several seconds, she couldn't move.
Then Adrian's voice came from behind her.
"Don't pick it up."
Elena turned.
He was standing beside her desk.
She pointed at the photograph.
"That's me."
"I know."
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"When?"
He looked at the file.
"Yesterday."
Her voice became quieter.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I wasn't sure."
"Sure about what?"
Adrian looked at her.
Before he could answer, every computer on the floor switched on at once.
Screens flashed.
One sentence appeared across every monitor.
WELCOME BACK, ELENA.
Nobody moved.
Then another sentence appeared.
WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.
The office erupted.
People stood.
Chairs scraped against the floor.
Someone screamed.
Ethan rushed toward the nearest computer.
"What the hell is this?"
The screens went black.
Then the clock on the wall began ticking faster.
Adrian looked at Elena.
His expression was no longer merely serious.
He looked terrified.
"Elena."
She stared at him.
"What?"
He stepped closer.
"Whatever happens next, don't let them convince you that you belong here."
Her heart pounded.
"Why?"
He looked toward the corridor.
Because somewhere beyond it, something had begun knocking.
Three slow knocks.
Then three more.
Then a voice whispered from behind the wall.
"Elena."
She didn't answer.
The knocking stopped.
And every employee on the floor turned toward her.
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