~G/t oneshots~

Flames and Sparks

I decided to cross post this one anyways bc it's not attached to a particular fandom. It's longer than usual so be warned lol. Mentions of fire, and maybe some anxiety.  3.3k words I went crazy lol. Enjoy!!!

This was not how the first week at her new job was supposed to go.

It had been a month since Melanie packed up her life and moved to one of the newly built integrated cities. These were made for humans and borrowers alike, taking into consideration accessibility and safety for the borrowers. As expected, not many borrowers were willing to move into these cities. So, the government offered housing discounts and opened up hundreds of jobs to entice people to make the move.

Melanie's minimum wage job and noisy apartment made it easy for her to make the switch. If moving to an inter-city meant never having to hear her nosy neighbor's kids yelling in the middle of the night, she was going to do it. It took her a while to find a job, but finally, she landed an intro position as a receptionist at a borrower office building. She started working earlier in the week.

So far, she hadn't embraced the change of the inter-city very much. Her commute to work was a drive down a road too small for humans to use. Her job was in a borrower-only office building. Even her apartment had borrower-only housing options, which she gladly accepted. She had only heard or felt the quaking footsteps of humans, which made her jump every time.

Melanie wouldn't say she was scared of humans, just slightly unnerved. She had never seen one in person before and only had preconceived notions from her parents and friends about what they were like. She knew they were big, obviously, but they varied greatly in personality. Some were gentle, mindful, and respectful of borrowers and their space while others were more curious, grabby, and less self-aware. It was mostly the random chance that Melanie didn't like. She'd never know a human's personality until it was too late.

Even though she wasn't making friends with giants, she was able to make friends with her coworkers. A few of them were new like her, and they bonded quickly. They often spent lunch breaks together, talking and chatting about their new work life and experiences being in an inter-city for the first time. It was during one such conversation at the end of her first week that chaos struck.

One of the visiting ambassadors from a different city left his cigarette lit on the table before leaving a meeting with Melanie's supervisors. The cigarette lit the desk papers on fire, and the rest of the room quickly followed. The fire alarms blared. Melanie and the others were still in the break room several floors up. They covered their ears, unsure if the alarm was a drill or an emergency.

Just then, a supervisor ran into the break room. "Fire! Everyone stay calm! This is not a drill! Do not panic! Everyone evacuate immediately!" she yelled as she ran through the room, exuding anything but calmness.

The room descended into chaos. The panicked new hires began running around collecting their belongings while trying to find the exit stairways. There was yelling, screaming, and people desperately calling their families as well as the authorities. People were crashing into each other and breathing heavily, wasting the precious fresh air that was slowly getting thinner. The temperature in the room was rising as the fire steadily climbed the floors of the office building.

Melanie had unwillingly chosen fright as opposed to flight during this ordeal. Her mind was struggling to process the chaos as she stood amidst the people bustling to get out of the building.

"Which way is the stairwell?"

"Oh god, are we all going to die?"

"Someone call the fire department!"

"Stop, drop, and roll!"

"No, we have to get out of here first!"

It was all too much. Melanie blinked blankly until someone harshly bumped against her in the frenzy, startling her out of her stupor. Suddenly, she became hyper-aware of her situation. She needed to go, to get out of here, now. The air was getting hazy and dry. Melanie stumbled a little but eventually picked herself up and began following the other office workers toward the door. Once she exited the break room, it was utter chaos among the cubicles. People were running in every direction and yelling over each other.