Data Mutations

Next time, friendo.

"You fucking idiot!" he threw the clipboard into the lacquered padding, leaving a dent in the  polyester upholstery.

I cringed as he shouted curses and exclamations, his voice rippling through the cubicles. Lowering my head, I bit my lip. At this point, staying for the full shift was the last thing I needed right now.

There was a crash, followed by a scuffle with co-workers, and then a thud, each fracas growing exponentially louder to an unbearable degree.  Hands shaking, I retrieved my car keys from the hook of my desk, and gathered my belongings in quick succession, my arms shivering from the underlying tension. He'll be here any minute now.

As I closed my desktop and pocketed my keys, I heard the pattering of footsteps; a sprint towards my office, and a sudden shatter of glass from my window. I'm too late. Flushed with anger, Craig rushed to my desk, and shoved me against the wall, grabbing my collar and hip with his bleached-white fingertips. His fingernails punctured my skin and I yelped in pain, tears pooling from my eyes as I babbled in shock.

"You think this is fucking funny, huh cunt?" his breath fogging my glasses. The room was blisteringly hot. "I didn't do shit, fuckhead. The incident wasn't my fucking fault, alright," he indented, eyes bulged from his skull like balloons. I squirmed in his grasp, my teeth clenched and painful. "I- I don't kn-know wh..." he let go of my hip, and grabbed me by the neck, my breath becoming more bated. His grip was growing tighter as his facial features twisted and contorted unyieldingly-- and his face; oh shit, his face. It was almost as if his eyes were liquefied like ink, his pupils just smeared from top to bottom, whilst his other facial features just seemingly vanished. "I- ah-ackk," I foamed, my vision turning sideways.

"You're a fucking monster," he whispered with gritted teeth. "I'll show you a real data corruption, you-"

Just as my eyes started to roll into the back of my head, an audible crack was heard, followed by a heavy thud onto the carpet lining.

Murmuring.

I laid there, retrieving my air back, giving myself a few moments before I scrambled up and assessed the situation. Craig laid there knocked out by a fire extinguisher, his head trickling blood, while a hovel of workers crowded around us, murmuring. I felt my chest heave wearily, while a layer of perspiration covered the nape of my neck. My secretary ran up to me, clearly panicking and fretful. "Oh god, sir, are you okay? Does your chest hurt? Must we phone a doctor? Can you see clearly, or--" I raised my hand up, motioning him to be quiet whilst avoiding eye contact. It's not worth it anymore-- This isn't worth it anymore. Rubbing my temples, I walked out the office door, taking my jacket off the coat hanger and took a glance back at the crowd I garnered. Their liquefied eyes stared right at me as I left the building.

Hands still shaking, I retrieved my keys from my dress pants, feeling the looks of the workers from inside the building pierce my skin. I looked back at the complex, spotting a few of the employees staring at me eerily through the windows. "Fucking hell," I whispered. I need to get the fuck outta here. I clumsily unlocked the car door and rushed into the vehicle, being sure to lock the door as soon as I got in. Fiddling the key into the slot, I--

Oh shit.

Oh shit.

I looked back at the complex to see a fleck of an employee walk towards my car, its hands over its eyes. The figure was hunched over, clutching it's eyes sideways; crooked and oddly bent while the side of it's head was bleeding profusely. Craig.

Fuck, oh fuck. I shoved the key into the ignition, and hastily turned it.

...