Caroline sits staring out the window of the swiftly moving city bus as the blurred forms of multi story buildings and people passed by outside. Shifting uneasily against the somewhat uncomfortable seat, she tried her best to keep her eyes open. She was also trying to keep herself from leaning against the oddly dressed man sitting beside her.

Again and again, she’d brush the messy brown hair from her eyes, and straighten her glasses only to feel her lids fluttering closed. Then she would be awoken minutes later, dazed from her lack of sleep- by the grunting and shifting shoulder of the heavily perfumed, crisp suit wearing man.

Wiping the drool from her lip she apologizes and halfheartedly mumbles about her workload from the night before, while chuckling up at him.

“Ah- I-I’m sorry. I ended up having to do the entire quarterly report by myself since my coworkers… oh, ha... well you know how work can be... I’m sure...“

Trying to gaze under the rim of his hat she smiles weakly, her freckled cheeks blushing slightly as her bushy hair bounds around a set of frail-looking shoulders. Expecting some form of recognition or understanding from the fellow bus passenger she attempts to meet his gaze. Instead, she feels a cold tingle run down her spine as he looks back at her. His gaunt face is set into a thoroughly disgusted scowl deeply inset with a set of piercing, eerily focused and uncaring looking, sea colored eyes.

Shaking herself from his almost serpentine gaze she realizes the man’s appearance was stranger than simply being more well dressed than expected for the city bus. Finding herself a bit uneasy in the presence of his uncanny, angular, and almost lifelessly pale visage she retreats a bit. Reflexively grasping for her things spread across the seat around her she quickly snatches up her purse and the shopping bags she had picked up throughout the morning.

Pulling her parcels together she piles them against the windowsill on the other side of her body and apologizes again to the quiet, unblinking man. Shuffling uneasily, she tries to give him a far wider birth on the shared seat beside her. The strangely dressed fellow shuffles a bit himself, grimacing and collecting his own belongings. He shifts them onto his lap as he rigidly resets into his straightforward facing position and stares infinitely ahead once more.

This bit of social awkwardness effectively shakes her of the morning drowsiness. As she tries to distract herself from the statuesque suit man beside her, she finds her mind wandering towards the original anxiety which had kept her up in the first place.

Checking the illuminated sign flashing above her displaying the next destination of the packed bus she sees that there is still a few minutes till her stop, and she grinds her fingers against the shopping bags at her side nervously. Today was her boss’s birthday and she was already sure it was going to be a whole debacle for the day at the office.

Scott, her coworker and an athletic and boisterous young man who was up and coming in the company, had foisted most of his work for the week off onto her. It wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary for her to be used as the office work horse whenever someone wanted a day off. Or when they needed someone to cover for them, or needed extra paperwork done over the weekend.

After all, like everyone was always so quick to say, “It’s not like Caroline has anything to do anyways, right?” She didn’t even bother to argue with them, the extra pay was always good, and they were... somewhat correct. She didn’t really have anything “better” to do, technically. Besides work, her nights were pretty much filled with binge watching series online, playing games, scrolling social media, or heavy sessions of… reading.

It wasn’t very exciting, but it was the life that she was comfortable with and what she had managed to carve out for herself in this seemingly ever-shifting inner city economy. Yawning, she sees the block where the office lies approaching in the distance and watches the destination display shift above her. Her pulse quickens slightly as her mind starts to roll in anticipation of arriving at the cloistered den of cubicles. Her coworkers had seen fit to use her for not only their “bitch work” throughout most of this year, but had also taken to teasing and belittling her practically en-mass as well.

Comments on her appearance and how she dressed or the way she talked and presented herself, had become commonplace uttered throughout the office under the breath of everyone around her whenever she was around. She was afraid of what was said when she wasn’t in earshot or eyesight, having already found numerous doodles and bits of text scribbled on things around the office which told her pretty much everything she needed to know.

As far as everyone else she worked with was concerned she was just some loser, a weak woman who was made to be pushed around and trampled underfoot without a second thought. Afraid of being put on the spot or used as cannon fodder during the party, she had even gone the extra mile and splurged a bit on her gift for boss’s birthday. She breathed in nervously hoping the fancy desktop holographic display she had got him would at least distract him enough from belittling or sexually harassing her for the night.

Shaking her head of the mess of thoughts she hears the sound of the bus chimes and the hydraulic breaks shifting into place as the vehicles shudders to a halt. The sharply dressed, strangely pale man grunts and exhales. As he shifts out of the way to allow her to pass, she steps around him carefully apologizing to him again. Seeing his long arms clutching his parcels to his chest, she recognizes that he has some of the same shopping bags as her and feels a slight sense of relief. Walking away she chuckles to herself uneasily while she steps off the bus and onto the pavement.

Maybe he was just another awkward, and anxiety ridden person like herself- with a weird face or something. As the bus begins to pull away and she checks to make sure she has all of her things one last time, she looks back towards the bus and notices the odd gaze of the pale, snake eyed man looking back at her.

Feeling embarrassed she simply reflexively waves back towards him, attempting to be pleasant as the bus shifts back into gear and begins to speed away.

Shrugging, she doesn’t think much of the odd exchange and starts off towards the tall slate colored building where she works. Moving past the corporate logos and through the large entrance door she nods to the doorman smiling and quickly walks inside. Making her way inside the greets the front desk assistant before carefully moving past the people coming and going into the elevator and up towards the office floor.

However, in her absent-minded rush to self correct her rude nodding off motions on the bus, Caroline had failed to realize the similarities between her own gift bags and the nearly identical bags of the odd, sharp faced man. It was far from on purpose that she took the pale gentleman’s package, instead of the one intended for her boss, when she quickly snatched it from the pile in between the two of them on the narrow public transit seat.

The bus was now long gone, she had left the stranger with a shopping bag containing an overpriced, pointless office decoration as she unknowingly took off with his mysteriously wrapped case instead. Without understanding it, she anxiously clutches onto what she assumes to be the gift-wrapped parcel within the shopping bag between her purse and lunch.

Unaware that she’s anxiously squeezing the container holding an object that would change her life forever.

The item inside appears as a chrome, nearly featureless ball at first glance. It could easily be mistakable for any number of other toys or decorations. But in truth, it was a highly advanced piece of technology. Humming to herself Caroline carries the experimental weapon past the front desk and up the elevators of the building.

Her arrival and belongings are hardly checked or noted by the receptionist or security, and the nature of her “gift” for the boss remains unrecognized as she goes about her morning business.

Simultaneously, multiple blocks away, still sitting aboard the city bus seat the well dressed and odd faced man clutches what he believes to be his own bag tightly beside him. His long fingers run along the case holding the round novelty ball shaped desk clock within, mistaking it for the familiar case holding the device, as he makes an effort to assure himself the machine is still in his possession.

Sighing to himself, he wonders if the annoying girl who was sitting with him could have been an agent, or if she perhaps had been aware of his mission in some way. However he quickly shakes the thought from his mind as mere paranoia while the bus continues to speed along it’s path. Steadying his mind, he steels himself for the important meetup as he nears the assigned location.

A few minutes later Caroline makes her way out of the elevator, taking a deep breath as she has to pass by the company break room on the way into the main office. Before she even nears the doorway to the small kitchenette and sitting room the loud chatter coming from within reaches her ears. Having obviously missed a portion of the conversation already, she hears Scott’s deep tone alongside high pitched laughter coming from one of the other female employees.

“God- did you even see her the other day? It looked like she hadn’t even slept or whatever, the girl is an absolute mess. I think she’s got a crush on me or something, which is fuckin’ gross- I’m obviously way out of her league. It’s whatever though, I knew she had nothing better to do last week so I did her a solid and let her take my workload for me. I’m sure she needs the extra money anyways.”

Scott says brazenly as he leans against a nearby counter, taking a sip of his drink. The girlish giggling cuts off as Jennifer, an attractive red-headed accountant tosses a chip into her mouth. Her copper colored hair done up expertly alongside her make up, she parts her painted lips to speak, carelessly sending bits of crumbs flying across the break room floor.

“That’s hilarious- Do you think she actually believes she has a chance with a guy like you? Maybe if she actually took care of herself at all she could actually get a date. I can’t believe she just lets her hair flop around on her head like she does, it looks like a dirty mop. Ugh, have you seen her nails too? I think the poor thing paints them herself, they’re always flecked and nasty looking- probably can’t even afford a proper mani-pedi for herself.”

Caroline reaches the edge of the doorway stepping quietly and feeling her body shake. She tries to ignore the hurtful comments being made by two of the only people in the office who even bother to regularly speak to her. Adrenaline rushes through her veins and she tries her best to be as invisible as possible standing with her mouth slightly open in disbelief while the two carry on not even noticing her presence.

Scott laughs at Jennifer’s cruel words and after another slurp of his drink adds another bit of his own taunts to the mix.

“Oh yeah? I didn’t really notice since I don’t spend too much time really looking at her if I can avoid it... the way she just stares when I’m talking to her or starts rattling on about whatever is annoying as hell.”

Jennifer smirks and finishes her mouthful of food before going on.

“God, yeah- she doesn’t shut the fuck up throughout the day when we’re working on things together. I don’t even know what she’s talking about half the time and I just nod my head and try to ignore her honestly."

Shoveling another handful of chips into her mouth, Jen chews away for a moment before continuing to gossip.

“Ew, you know what the worst thing is though? It’s when she kicks her shoes off when she’s working- I swear you can smell her feet throughout the whole area and she doesn’t even know it. It’s like she’s just so used to being so ALONE that she just goes around stinking, looking like shit or whatever and doesn’t even notice-”

As Jen’s rapidly degrading speech continues, Caroline feels herself becoming overwhelmed and forces herself forward. The sound of her rough footsteps powering past the doorway startles the two cackling coworkers within and they clear their throats heavily, looking towards the entryway in time to see her swiftly passing by.

Whatever they say next is muffled by the office walls as she continues down the hallway. Neither of them comes out to catch her and give an explanation or bothers to offer an apology. Instead she just hears another series of boisterous laughter coming from the two of them as she opens the inner office doorway and walks inside, shutting the noise out behind her.

Now inside the office proper Caroline sighs, grasping her things against herself and making her way towards her desk. She takes a moment to appreciate the festive decorations laid out on one side of the room across the mostly abandoned section of cubicles against the wall.

Seeing a series of tables pushed together to act as a catering and gift station she sets her gift bag alongside the others. The small, gently whirring device within clacks against the table inside it’s box as she sets the bag down, still entirely unaware of what she was planting among her boss’s presents.

Nodding and giving basic greetings to the others throughout the office that happened to unenthusiastic-ally notice her presence, she quickly moves to sit down and power up her work station. Eager to take her mind off things for awhile with any kind of distraction she begins furiously typing away at the computer, chugging away at the morning’s assignments.

While she’s busy zoning in on her work on the computer screen, the office moves on as it normally does for the next few hours. Chatter emits from the cubicles around her here and there about what everyone is trying to get done during the shorter work day, what they’d done throughout the weekend and the excitement surrounding getting to let loose later on.

Caroline finds herself growing increasingly more anxious about the situation as she overhears that there’s alcohol involved with the party as a whole. The idea of being around the rest of the office workers with lowered inhibitions and in a drunken state sounds like it could be a nightmare. Another detail she overhears- that the entire affair might wear on into the late hours when the building is usually shut down for the night also worries her, she’s never usually out much later than sundown normally.

However she refocuses on her work, assuring herself that she’s just psyching herself out, that it’s totally normal to have a couple drinks with your coworkers, and that maybe she’ll even manage to make a bit of a better impression on her peers if they all spend some casual hang out time together. Shaking the nervous thoughts from her mind she gets back to typing, managing to finish the entirety of her workload for the day a bit before lunch time.

The fevered session of focused typing took it’s toll however and she leans back in her chair feeling a thin layer of sweat clinging to her body. Brushing her dark bushy hair out of her face she loosens her blouse, airing off the surface of her bouncing cleavage by pulling at her shirt. Blushing slightly as she remembers Jennifer’s comments from earlier she glances around making sure everyone is busy working, and seeing that most are at distant stations anyways she slides her legs outstretched beneath her desk.

Kicking off her flats Caroline lets out a satisfied breath as she feels the cold air conditioning blow over the sweat soaked soles of her bare feet. She had been in such a hurry to leave this morning she didn’t have a chance to find a clean pair of nylons, and the inside of her shoes were becoming an absolute swamp as her body perspired while she worked.

Sitting and wiggling her toes over the carpet as she relaxes, she spreads her legs within her skirt to let the interior of her thighs cool down as well.

Of course this moment of reprieve couldn’t last long, as she hears the sound of someone coughing behind her. Turning around she looks up towards the face of her boss, staring down his nose towards her with a look of amusement on his face. Clearing his throat he smirks before speaking.

“Having a relaxing time are we? Can you come see me in my office when you get the chance Caroline? I have something I’d like to talk to you about- before the party.”

Blushing again, she shoves her feet back into her shoes, slamming them down and sliding them roughly against the ground as she sits up in the chair trying to situate herself.

“Ah! Yes! I mean- yes sir, I can be there in a moment. I’m sorry I was just taking a moment after finishing my work for the moment. I-I’ll be right there!”

Nodding he laughs and shakes his head as he walks away, taking a sip of his drink as he walks back towards his private office door. Caroline’s eyes dance around the area as she rights herself and regains her composure, checking again to see who may have noticed the awkward interaction.

Standing up shakily she makes her way to her boss’s office keeping her head down and trying to act normal. Internally however she was panicking, could something have happened or did she do something wrong on the reports over the weekend?

Entering the decorated office she steps towards the lavish wooden furnishings where he sits waiting at his desk. Looking around for a second at the plaques and bookcases lining the walls around him she turns back to him before timidly speaking.

“Well, uh, sir- here I am. What did you need from me?” She manages to force out, trying to sound as polite as possible and unsure of the correct etiquette in this situation, or what the situation even was to begin with.

“Here, go ahead and take a seat Caroline, and you can call me Ralph by the way, there’s no need for formalities. You’ve been with the company for what, 2, 3 years now?”

Sitting down carefully, she keeps her gaze on him as she responds.

“I- well, yes, I’ve been here for almost 3 full years now. Pretty much my longest job I think actually.”

“Ah, and that’s great. Really great. The work you do is really good too, you’ve done great things for the company and we really appreciate what you do here. I really want you to know that. Unfortunately, there are a few matters I have to discuss with you…”

The look on his face of insincerity is obvious as he lets out well rehearsed words and she feels her stomach turn as she struggles to speak back calmly.

“And… what would that be, Ralph? If it’s about the reports from this weekend- I can explain-”

He laughs, interrupting her by waving his hand before he speaks over her quickly.

“Oh, no no- it’s nothing like that. Like I said, you do good work. Unfortunately this just came in from corporate, you see. They’re telling me I have to do some… downsizing here at the office, and let’s be honest. Although your work is good, I just don’t know if you’re the right fit for the staff here, you know what I mean?”

He looks away from her, idly staring around the room and taking a long sip from his mug. Licking his lips, he continues.

“Don’t you think your particular talents might be better used somewhere you’d feel more… I don’t know, comfortable?”

She looks on with a feeling of internal horror as he raises an eyebrow while he speaks, gesturing towards a packet of corporate memos he’s swinging in his hands over the desk.

“I… I don’t understand. I’m perfectly fine here- wait. Downsizing? What do you mean? Are- Are you talking about letting me go?”

He laughs in response, cutting her off again with another waving hand gesture as he lets out another well rehearsed professional verse.

“I wouldn’t say that, it’s just we’ve got to make some cutbacks on staff here to fit the budget for this year. Don’t look at it that way. You’ll be receiving a few months of severance pay and a gleaming personal recommendation from myself. Think of it more like a paid vacation. I can even put in a good word for you with some of the other offices if you’d like directly. I’m sure you’ll have no problem landing yourself another position.”

Caroline is stunned, unable to speak or even respond as he continues his severance speech. She can’t believe this is even happening, after everything and sacrificing so much of her time. Looking at the confident look on his face as his mouth continues to move she realizes there’s nothing she can even do about this, it’s already been decided before she was even in the room.

“It’s either that or I’d have to start dropping other employees like flies left and right, basically I have to give them something to keep them off our backs and you seem like the best pick. I mean, you wouldn’t want the rest of the staff and the company to suffer, would you?”

She feels something inside her start to break, and Ralph’s mechanical, word delivery batters at her psyche while she struggles to comprehend this as reality. He can’t be serious, this can’t be happening, this isn’t fair- the feelings rush throughout her mind as she tries her best to grasp everything he’s saying.

“If you’re willing to go along with this we’ll make sure you’re well taken care of until you can find another job. So, no hard feelings alright? Just try to get out there and enjoy the party today- It’s my birthday but, I want it to feel like a going away party for you too, alright?”

With a devastatingly hollow smile, he offers his tanned and hairy hand across the desk. His firm handshake grasps her weakly shaking fingers as she pushes them towards him reflexively. Still in a state of shock she mutters a few words as he hands her a pen and starts to point towards places across the corporate paperwork where she needs to sign in order to secure her severance pay and a few other matters.

Looking back up towards him she tries her best not to look as desperate as she feels. He looks back, still smiling as he takes a sip from his mug and gathers the paperwork, continuing to speak. Standing up from his desk, the barrel shape of his body stretches against the casual office shirt he’s wearing. The glittering metals of his watch and rings jingle and shine while he moves, pushing back his hair with his thick fingers.

Walking past her and across the room he opens the door for her, gesturing that she can take her leave now.

“Well, that pretty much takes care of it. Again, I’m sorry about all this, it’s just corporate- you know how they are. Don’t worry too much about it, and just have a good time for the rest of the day- hey at least you got some time off to look forward to as well, right?”

Getting up, she walks toward the door still processing and somewhat stunned by this sudden horrible news. Forcing a chuckle she nods and even reflexively thanks Ralph- the words just coming out as she slowly steps past him back out into the office. Shaking her head in disbelief she tries her best not to feel like this is some sort of walk of shame, the colorful decorations now plastered across the office space and rearranged furniture clashing heavily with her bleak state of disassociation.

Closing the door behind himself, Ralph emerges into the open office space as well a few steps behind her. Clapping his hands loudly he startles Caroline, as others across the office start to clap and hoot as well. The small crowd swarms towards the birthday boy as he lets out a shout, surging around and bumping into her dazed path as she was reflexively heading back towards her desk.

“Hey everyone! That’s enough work for today- come on! Let’s get this party started huh?!”

Ralph shouts over the cheers and applause from the rest of the office workers moving about the area, Caroline tries her best to join in as well letting out a weak “woo” and clapping her hands a few times. The awkward show of appreciation earns her a few more sneers and a look of disapproval from some of the other nearby workers who notice her odd behavior.

“Jesus Christ- Caroline- it’s just a birthday you don’t have to look like THAT- Would it kill you to at least ACT like you give a shit about anyone else here?”

Kelsey, a middle aged woman with short blonde hair who’s never slow on giving her opinions mutters under her breath. She makes sure to leans over so Caroline and the rest of the people immediately around them can definitely hear her. A few of the other nearby workers laugh and Jennifer rolls her eyes from across the group as Caroline looks towards her.

After a bit of chatter about where to begin, the mass of people starts to move towards the tables across the office where all of the furniture has been pushed aside to make a sizable party area. Some take seats, and others gather around the table as Ralph urges people to enjoy the drinks and food that others brought for the occasion.

With a brief session of the group ceremoniously poorly singing their best happy birthday to the boss, the birthday boy cuts his cake and everyone starts to mull about the area partaking in the food and various drinks.

Quickly, Caroline makes her way towards the mixed punch. Her previous reluctance to enjoy a bit of alcohol at work was entirely gone now. It had been replaced by a desperate need to silence her inner feelings, at least long enough to get through the rest of the party without the breakdown she was starting to experience becoming too noticeable.

As far as she was concerned now- there was no reason not to get a little buzzed, at least then she might be able to enjoy herself somewhat and maybe forget about things a bit. For the first half hour or so of the party she sits in a chair by herself on the outskirts of the area, near others who sit on their phones idly or chat among themselves. However Caroline just sits there nursing her drink, refilling it every few minutes while she sits in silence.

Scott and Jennifer laugh alongside Ralph and the others near the gift table, sipping their drinks and talking about where they plan on going out together this weekend for another of their bar hopping trips. At some point throughout the conversation, she could swear she saw them looking in her direction, glaring, talking in hushed tones and giggling.

Surely, she thought to herself- Ralph was going on about her situation to them, telling them about how she was getting laid off. They all looked happy, chuckling among one another while they went on with their conversation.

She tried not to listen to them as she took another sip of her drink and forced a laugh at a joke being read aloud off the phone of another employee sitting nearby. Another loud clap cuts through her thoughts, startling her dazed mind as everyone’s attention is directed towards Ralph and the others near the gift table.

“Hey everyone- Now that we all got some food in our bellies and a good buzz going how about I open up some of these gifts you lovely people all brought me, huh?!”

He says with an extra ounce of enthusiasm as his intoxication level is already rising steadily. Others around the area let out a series of hoots and cheers as some stand up and move over to the area, raising their drinks and offering another round of birthday wishes.

Caroline feels her head spinning, she didn’t drink often and as she stands up to join the others she watches as the room swirls around her- the distance to the group looking like it’s rapidly shifting as her stomach surges inside her.

Remembering she hadn’t really bothered to eat anything in her rush throughout the day, she instantly regrets the decision to drink so many cups of the heavily mixed fruity drink. Sweat starts to gather on her back and neck as she realizes that she’s probably going to be sick. Avoiding the gaze of the others she makes her way across the office away from the festivities and rushes towards the bathrooms down the hall.

No one notices her making her way out of the room with her hands over her mouth in a panic, since they’re all too busy pushing their way around the gift table, each of them vying for dibs on which gift Ralph is going to open first. All of them equally eager to impress their self absorbed employer with whichever item or accessory they bought him over the weekend.

Scott shouts above the others, insisting that Ralph needs to see his first, to which the middle aged man agrees. Reaching into the pile he grabs Scott’s gift and pulls open a small flat package revealing a heavily outdated novelty Tony Danza t-shirt. Holding it aloft he shows the crowd the image of Danza’s smiling face with his fingers pointing at himself emblazoned across it’s chest, with the words “I’m The Boss” in colorful bursting font.

The group bursts out in laughter as they continue to go through the presents. Each knick-knack, desk decoration, meat and cheese package, mug and card set getting a similar reaction out of the drunken workers as they cheer and shout at the collection of sundry goods building on the table. After a few minutes they finally come across Caroline’s bag, unmarked and unrecognizable.

“And whose could this be hmm?” Ralph says, picking it up and shaking it slightly mockingly. “Ooh- uh oh I can hear it rattling in there- sounds kinda fra-gee-lay” He laughs as Scott drunkenly snatches it out of his hand.

“Here, let me see it- uhh- Oh! This must be from Caroline huh? We haven’t done her’s yet right? The couple left have labels I think- this is gotta be her’s, whas’it even?”

Reaching into the bag, he pulls out a fairly weighty metallic case closed up with clasps and sets it onto the table. Ralph looks it over, rubbing his palms together as he reaches a meaty hand down towards the clasps.

“Ooh- whatever it is it looks expensive, this is nice packaging- I mean she could have wrapped it but this case looks pretty heavy duty.”

Opening the clasps the metallic box swings open with a small hydraulic release sound, revealing the chrome odd looking orb-shaped device seated in the center of the case surrounding by protective padding. A small screen is fitted across the surface of the device, along with a series of buttons surrounding it. Besides that it is almost featureless, save for some small ridges and vents running along it’s form and giving some segmented detail to it’s shape.

“Huh, looks like… some kinda clock or something? I think it’s supposed to be shaped like a baseball or something right?”

Ralph picks up the object and raises an eyebrow as it’s a bit heavier than he expected, looking it over he presses at some of the buttons on it and watches as numbers light up onto the screen and begin to shift with his button presses.

“Oof, more like a softball- feel this thing it’s got some heft, yeah?”

He says as he hands it to Scott, taking it in his hands he presses some of the buttons as well, trying his best to figure out how the time function works and managing to initiate some sort of timer.

“Damn yeah it’s pretty heavy, how the hell does this clock work anyways- Oh wait- I figured out how to put it in stopwatch mode, pfft. Not much use as a clock, I wonder how it is as a ball though, huh? Quick- go long!”

Scott laughs as he pulls his arm back in a pitching position, gesturing for Ralph to run out into the open space in the area beyond the tables and chairs. The rest of the employees laugh, some of them shouting to encourage the two men’s antics as they mockingly act as if they’re going for a long pass across the room. “Come on! I got this! Let er’ rip!”

Ralph laughs as Scott rears back and tosses the chrome orb into the air, numbers now flashing wildly across it’s screen as it’s been manipulated, pressed, turned and tossed. The device careens through the air over the heads of the laughing and cheering party going employees, sailing over the chairs and- directly past Ralph’s awaiting hands.

The older man lets out an ineffectual moan as his fingertips touch the surface of the sheen orb and it rolls through the air chaotically off to the side towards the nearby wall. A few gasps are let out as it smashes into the drywall and bounces off a desk- hitting the floor hard and rolling back towards the group. Ralph breaks through the immediate silence, cracking a joke to move past the embarrassing fumble as he moves to pick it back up.

“Hey- well I guess it doesn’t make much of a BALL either huh?!”

The middle age man scoffs as the group lets out a chuckle, relaxing as he reaches down to pick it up and seems unfazed by his gift potentially being damaged.

Before his fingers can grasp it though, the orb begins emitting a series of whirring sounds, followed by flashing lights beaming out from the ridges along it’s surface. People look from one to another, slightly shocked by the sudden bright light and loud noises coming from the ball, and a few laugh uneasily over the shrill siren it’s emitting.

“OW- HEY- What the HELL?! What kind of ALARM IS THAT?!”

Scott says annoyed as he covers his ears. Ralph, still standing directly over the device grabs it to attempt to disable whatever is making it react this way, furiously pressing buttons. The screen emits a series of numbers that rapidly begin counting down from 10 and his eyes go wide looking at the device, then back towards the others around him, then back towards the device again.

Opening his mouth, confused and overwhelmed by the bright light and noise he manages to get out a few words.

“Uh- hey- everyone, don’t panic but I’m not so sure this is a clo-”

However he’s immediately cut off by a loud hissing sound coming from the orb beneath his hand as it hurls itself roughly into the air. The device bursts off the floor propelled by some internal system- and marks the floor slightly with the force of jettisoning itself upwards. The shimmering ball spins in mid air for a moment, continuing it’s shrill siren as a bright light flashes over the area and a loud hissing sound emits from within it.

Some begin to scream, as others throw themselves reflexively towards the floor or begin rushing to hide under the nearby gift and catering tables- afraid the item might be some sort of weapon or bomb. Ralph falls backwards onto his ass, wildly crawling backwards away from it as it hovers at head level in the center of the area, basking the area in a bright red emergency light.

Then as suddenly as it started, the siren cuts off while the hissing noise increases in intensity. Out of the vents across the orb’s surface a thick glittering dust, some sort of vaporous mist- begins to spray out violently into the room. The strange substance begins filling the air throughout the area and spewing onto and over the people and surfaces surrounding it.

The shiny substance settles onto the flesh and into the lungs of all 24 employees in the room, filling their bodies with a tingling, which immediately becomes a burning sensation. Some drop to their knees, grasping at themselves and coughing- others fall twisting and turning in response to the effects of the unknown vapor filling their bloodstream and covering their bodies.

Pained cries are cut off and replaced by gagging, choking sounds. The party goer’s panicked movements churn the otherworldly mist into a twisting, swirling vortex of brightly colored glittering chaos.

Some rush towards the desks, others scatter towards the door to the hallway or Ralph’s office. Tables and chairs are knocked aside and tables are jostled while people clamber against, onto and over nearby objects in a blind panic gasping for air and grasping at their surroundings as they breathe in the full concentration of the vaporous serum.

One by one, then rapidly in large clusters, their bodies impact against the floor convulsing until they’re all still while the glittering vapor begins to settle. No one who was present as it was activated escapes the effects of the mist as it issues throughout the area.

In the center of the room the machine ceases it’s functions, wobbling to a stop and whirring gently. The hissing and lights fade and it’s tiny vents close as it reverts to it’s inert, simple chrome orb state while the numbers flash off the screen.

In the distance, Caroline finishes washing her face in the office bathroom, she wasn’t sure if she had just gotten sick for awhile or if she may have even passed out for a few minutes in the stall- the last few days of working non stop had really gotten the best of her. The water drains down into the basin as she stares at herself in the mirror, slightly sobered after getting rid of the sickness that almost had her falling over in the other room.

Unsure of how long she’d been in the bathroom she’s alarmed when she hears a banging sound come from the distant office- followed by a series of shouts, screams and stomping sounds. The noise is oddly muffled and distorted within the small tiled chamber. She breathes deeply for a moment as she readies herself, looking at the bathroom door leading back out into the hallway and beyond.

As she reaches the door, the sound dies down and she assumes the noise was just the party kicking up again as everyone’s likely gotten even more drunk by now. Still a bit buzzed but able to move about more easily and think a bit more clearly, she starts to make her way carefully back out into the hallway- keeping her hands near the wall just in case.

Her legs feel weak as she slams her aching soles against the ground and her body is exhausted, coated in a thin layer of sweat again after spending the time worked up and locked up within the bathroom. She couldn’t wait to just get home and relax but it seemed like a good idea to go drink something non-alcoholic, maybe eat something, before trying to make her way home.

Plus she wanted to see the look on Ralph’s smug face when he saw her gift, she had gone out of her way to get it for him and everything after all.

“Heh, yeah- right before the jackass decides to fire me-”

Caroline says muttering drunkenly to herself as she shuffles through the hallway while musing over her thoughts. Still somewhat in a state of dissociative shock from the days events, and now fairly intoxicated she surprises herself somewhat at the sudden aggressive commentary coming from her mouth.

However… she didn’t really feel the need to hold her tongue now. It may have been the added confidence of the alcohol but she realized there wasn’t really anything to worry about since she already effectively signed away her job. It felt a little good to let it out and say how she really felt, and with the booze running through her veins it even seemed like a kind of good idea.

“Fuck em all! Stupid fuckin- stupid sons of bitches! Ungrateful pieces of shit! No one gives a fuck about ME anyways!”

She laughs again at the absurdity of the situation, partially shouting while grasping the door handle back into the office and preparing herself to enter over the sound of the music playing within. Giggling girlishly at the echoing sound of the assertive tone coming out of her mouth and the feel of the vulgar insults leaving her tongue she pulls her hands back and clenches her fists.

Anxiously stomping her feet for a moment she erupts with nervous drunken laughter before trying to calm herself back down.

“Okay- Okay, alright, we’re cool. It’s cool. It’s just corporate bullshit- it’s no big deal. It’s cool.”

Taking a deep breath she grabs the handle again and pushes the door open, swinging her foot into the wide open office room and slamming it down against the ground. Blushing and trying to sound as cheerful as possible she slurring shouts into the room.

“HAPPYY BIRFHDAYYY!!”

Caroline’s voice trails off slightly as she finds herself yelling into an empty office room. The chairs and tables appear somewhat disheveled, and some kind of gray glittery stuff has been sprayed all over the party area as if they all let off some kind of party poppers or a pinata or something while she was gone.

There’s no sign of anyone though, just the bluetooth speaker still playing on it’s own, all the open presents and food that looks like people were in the middle of eating it, and a thin layer of the strange glittering dust covering the area.

Disturbed slightly by the sound of her own voice echoing into the sudden eerie atmosphere she drunkenly hiccups and giggles nervously as she enters the room, stepping slowly and looking around confused trying to figure out where everyone could have gone.