Chapter 1
Corporate Life
Written by Lola
The first morning at Marcrest Industries felt ordinary enough… but something about it didn’t sit right.
The sun glinted off the glass walls of the building, and the steady hum of air conditioners and printers filled the air. New employees walked in confidently, dressed in crisp shirts and polished shoes, all pretending to know exactly where they were going.
I wasn’t one of them.
I clutched my ID badge a little tighter than necessary as I stepped through the security gate. A uniformed guard gave me a curt nod, and a sharp beep confirmed my entry. Everything looked normal—too normal.
A man appeared from the crowd, smiling politely. He introduced himself as Simon, the company guide for newcomers.
“I’ll show you around,” he said.
His voice was calm, but his eyes… his eyes didn’t match. There was something tense about them, like he was watching more than just me. Something told me not to ask too many questions.
The tour began like any other. Offices lined the hallways, employees typing away at their computers, phone calls echoing through cubicles.
But the longer we walked, the more I noticed things that didn’t quite fit.
A locked door with no sign.
A hallway that seemed deliberately avoided.
Employees who looked at me for a second too long before quickly looking away.
“Nothing to worry about,” Simon said with a small smile, as if he could hear my thoughts.
I wasn’t convinced.
Hours passed, and the sun slowly began to set. Shadows stretched across the corridors, twisting familiar spaces into something else… something uneasy.
Simon’s steps slowed as we reached the end of the east wing.
“This area is usually empty after five,” he said quietly. “Some floors… employees don’t go there unless they’re scheduled.”
He didn’t explain further.
I didn’t ask.
But curiosity had already taken root.
Something about the building felt wrong. I just couldn’t explain it yet.
When the tour ended, Simon handed me over to my supervisor and gave me one last look. For a brief moment, it felt like he wanted to say something more.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he simply nodded and walked away.
The rest of the day passed without anything unusual. Papers, introductions, small talk.
Normal.
By the time my shift ended, the building had already begun to quiet down. The energy from the morning was gone, replaced by a strange stillness that made every sound feel louder than it should.
I stepped out of Marcrest Industries and into the cool evening air.
And just like that…
everything felt normal again.
Almost too normal.
I told myself I was overthinking things.
It was just my first day.
Nothing more.
But as I walked away from the building, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something inside it had been watching me the entire time.
I didn’t know it yet—
but that feeling would follow me back.
And by the next day…
I would start asking questions I shouldn’t have.
