Obsidian's Reign ¹

∷ Chapter 2 ∷

CLARA HATED SHOPPING. It wasn't so much as the act of shopping that irked her; it was the people, the crowd and above all, the busyness of everything and everyone around her. It was, for this reason, she hated the financial district. The place was overrun with suit-wearing office goers who bustled about everywhere with a smartphone planted to one ear, and their eyes glued to the screen of their tablet. No one looked where they were going and they didn't have to. The crowd seemed to push them forward on their own accord.

Clara sighed as she stood to survey the crowd of technology-infused zombies. She was part of the financial district, but not quite. She was literally standing on the sidelines watching things unfold before her.

An opening among the sea of bodies presented itself to her at that moment and she plunged herself into the crowd without a second thought. She knew if she waited any longer, she would never be able to push her way through the throngs of people.

Clara seemed to be moving forward without actually moving. The people around her were pushing this way and that, and as the saying goes, she was just going with the flow. She dreaded to think of what might happen to her if she tripped. No doubt she would have been stampeded to death.

Those around her seemed to be oblivious to their surroundings. It was a wonder how they even noticed when it was time to break away from the crowd and enter the respectful building of their employment.

As the thought crossed her mind, Clara caught sight of Alphaplex Investment just a few feet away, and she immediately attempted to break free from the hold of the monstrous crowd. She struggled aimlessly at first, but soon managed after a few elbow nudges here and there.

Alphaplex Investment was an angel investment company set up by a certain James Duivel. The company provided capital for business start-ups in exchange for ownership equity. Alphaplex was incredibly successful for a company that started from pretty much nothing. The start-ups that James Duivel funded sky-rocketed in a matter of years, resulting in his company's imminent success.

It took Clara exactly two minutes to decide she couldn't do it. She couldn't work for a company as intimidating as Alphaplex Investment. Her initial decision was to give the company the benefit of the doubt, but upon seeing the place firsthand, she knew right off the bat that she could not work there. The place exuded an aura that unsettled her and she figured it was best to listen to her instincts.

She would have left. Really, she would have, had she not been unfortunate enough to clash right into James Duivel himself, spilling coffee down the front of his suit in the process.

Of course, at that moment in time, she had absolutely no idea who the man was. She did, however, notice his odd virescent eyes and his obviously expensive suit she had just ruined by spilling his equally expensive cup of coffee.

Clara had formed a perfectly structured apology in her mind but all that came out of her mouth was the word 'sorry' over and over again. The words were strung up in a row and stumbled over one another as she repeated them countless of times like a mantra to calm her racing heart.

"Clara?" came a familiar voice that somehow managed to break through the cloud of panic in her mind. "Clara Avery?"

She turned almost mechanically at the mention of her name, meeting eyes with those of Carrey Hanford, and as though she had been yanked back to reality, she immediately released the breath she had no idea she had been holding. It came as a sigh of relief; a silent declaration that help, in the unexpected form of her friend, had finally arrived.

"Clara, I knew it was you. What are you doing here so early? Your appointment isn't until—" Carrey stopped short when her gaze landed on the man standing behind her with a scowl of irritation on his face.