The 'water' made her ears tingle. All that could be seen were blurry black visions. It was a strange feeling, like all weight was lifted off and one was simply floating. In the darkness, the mind was easily mudded and the sense of weightlessness made it hard to differentiate up from down and right from left. For a brief moment it was like she had re-entered a state of non-existence. Despite the absurdness of her situation, an ethereal calmness washed over her.
Maybe it was shock, or she might have just needed time to process things. Either way she stayed absolutely still. Before she knew her vision returned. It was like her soul and body were separated, pulled through a strainer and then reconstructed. Then she felt like she was falling back, or more accurately falling into a body, her body.
The whole experience was nauseating. Her first instinct was to scream, but she stifled it before she could have attracted any unwanted attention. She lay motionless. Flat on the ground and unresponsive like a dead body - mind blank. For a time she didn't even blink.
Soon the stillness caught up to her. She blinked rapidly to stop herself from shedding tears due to irritation. Then she sat up with a start, immediately going into a fit of coughing. Her memories were vague and corrupted, even her name seemed to be locked behind strings of broken code. She moved her limbs around erratically as if to test if she were merely in a dream.
It was real, nothing seemed of place. Her eyes, her limbs, her ears, and the rest of her body seemed intact and functioning. She stood up - her feet unsteady. With one hesitant step she came closer to a big building in the distance.
Her actions were prompted by the muffled memories of instructions that she had received earlier. A warehouse job, that was why she was here. Prompted by an unseen force she accelerated towards the building in an almost robotic fashion.
As though afraid of being late, she walked rapidly. Though her speed was great, on closer inspection her movements were fairly sluggish. It was as though she was propelling herself at the greatest speed she could muster while still appearing fairly elegant. It was not long before the building was close by. Even now her actions were prompted my one thing ...
Hunger
The building was huge, a vastness that could only be combated by the ocean. She felt a sort of intimidation, but it was quickly washed away by her desire to eat. Following the previous directions, she weaved through the many rooms in the surprisingly unguarded building. It didn't take long to reach her destination.
It seemed to be a sort of eating area, like a cafeteria. There were a few people, some of them were eating but most of them seemed sceptical about something. Regardless, she went to get a plate and took some food from the buffet.
Unable to control her impulses, she grabbed a gingerbread man from among a dessert plate and took a hasty bite. Not noticing the ominous murky red of the berry jam filling. A bit odd, why would anyone put jam in gingerbread? But maybe the hosts were trying to do something unique. Looking back at the now headless treat, she felt guilty for abandoning manners amongst so many people. Even though something felt off, she could not brin herself to focus on it.
The jam spilled over the neck of the ginger man, like blood. Once she had realised this, she simply decided to take another bite., unwilling to waste a single morsel of food.
Now the jam was smudged on her face, making her look like a vampire who had messily fed on someone's life-force. Obviously engrossed in the desire to satisfy her hunger, she ignored her surroundings and the ominous nature of the desserts that were being served, like meat pies decorated with plastic tombstones. This trance like state only broke when she had emptied her plate. It was as though all of her previous actions was the result of puppeteering by an unseen force. Coming back to her senses, she could finally judge her situation properly. Even though she had walked into the building of her own violation, she knew that she was not supposed to be anywhere near it.
She could not recollect where she was meant to be, but it was certainly not the warehouse. Either way she knew she had to first collect information. Looking around, she noticed a young woman who was around her age and approached her. The girl noticed that Lady Dorthy was fidgety, her fingers playing with the zipper of her silver jacket. On closer observation, it seemed as though she was nervous and scared. Understanding that suddenly approaching the lady could spook her and possibly build negative rapport, the girl opted for a direct approach. Thea, yes that was the name she would be using.
"I'm called Thea, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Lady?", the girl identified herself, emphasising the word lady to make it clear that she was asking for a name.
"My name is Dorthy. Why do you ask? After all this is not a social gathering.", the Lady replied with a harsh tone.
"Then what is it?", the girl stoically inquired.
"It is the recruitment process for the Charles Family's old warehouse. How do you not know this?", Dorthy inquired, a sense of amusement in her voice.
"I may be out of touch. I only came here recently and since I am in need of a new job I could not ignore a possible venture. Either way, since I have not heard of the Charles I don't think they are a big deal."
"Wow, I never thought I would meet a lass that didn't know of the Charles. Ever eight years they recruit new members to work in the warehouse. Sometimes they also offer positions in the other businesses that are owned by the company. It is always a big event with lots of applicants since the pay is so good that just six years of employment would provide enough money to retire for the rest of your life."
"I guess I should have paid more attention when ___ was explaining the details to me. But can I ask, if the pay is so good why do they need to employ new staff every eight years?"
"Honestly, I don't know. I guess it might be due to the fact that despite the jobs being full time, the contracts tend to be temporary. Due to various reasons a large portion of new recruits just don't get their contracts renewed."
"Thank goodness I met you. You know so much about the Charles, it seems that you will be a strong opponent."
"Ha! Have you considered that fact that you might just be a tad underprepared. Obviously, one would learn the basics of a company before applying. Do you think everyone is as ignorant as you? I would be offended by I may excuse you since you are so simple minded."
"Verbose much.", the girl muttered under her breath as she slowly inched away from the Lady.
