Trapped in a cubicle with no way of escaping, not without getting caught anyway. Despite the numerous lights above the ceiling, they gave out little light to work off of. Ryan just sat there, slumped against his seat, staring at the computer screen, waiting for the remaining files to finish downloading. His eyes occasionally glanced up at the clock, watching the time slowly tick and eat his life away.

  Ryan groaned; the strain from his seat position worsened as he nearly fell. How long until he could find something better to do and leave his current job? He can’t imagine spending the rest of his life working here instead of doing something more meaningful. Ryan didn’t want that, but couldn’t find a way out. Where did he go wrong in life?

  He ran one hand through his dark hair and pinched the bridge of his nose with the other, hoping to block the ceiling light from hitting him in the eyes. Forget calling it quits. How much longer until he’d finish work for the day?

  “Hey, cheer up, Ryan, it could always be worse.” A voice called out from across his cubicle.

  I’m working in a place like this and feel dead inside. What could be worse than that?

  Ryan continued leaning, his head close to touching the floor, not feeling motivated to sit up straight. He didn’t need to poke his head out of his cube to know who that was. One of the few employers still around, and his close acquaintance, leaned out of his box to check on Ryan.

  “How so?” Ryan finally asked nonchalantly.

  “Well... at least you have a job and aren’t sick.”

  “Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Carl.”

  “No problem.” Carl chirped. Ryan found it hard to tell if he was being sincere or not since his voice was a little raspy.

  Ryan finally positioned himself off the chair and sat on the floor to check on him from below.

  “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be on break?” He inquired, rubbing the back of his neck. “You shouldn’t overdo it.”

  “I know,” Carl replied quickly, mindful not to talk so much. “But I want to take care of this one thing first.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, it shouldn’t take long.”

  “Well, ok, if you say so.”

  Ryan stretched his arms and returned to his chair, only to find that the download was complete. He looked over one last detail before working on his next task, cleaning up his spreadsheets. Ryan didn’t like cramping his fingers and hurting his eye sockets any longer than he needed to, but if it would get out of here faster, so be it. Anything would be better than getting another earful from his boss, Barry.

  Now that he had thought about it, he realized that there weren’t many people working for this company anymore for various reasons. Whether it be illnesses, finding better opportunities, or not wanting to put up with their boss anymore. Ryan had a hunch that it was the latter for some of them. Considering how much the guy made them overwork and put different expectations depending on who he liked more, Ryan wouldn’t blame them if that was the case.

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  He might as well have been dead from all the stress and work he’s endured. He couldn’t find any other options for work and to make money, though. Ryan rested his head on the desk, regretting dropping out of college so soon. It was like a never-ending nightmare, with no way to wake up and no sign of escaping.

  “Ryan!”

  A loud voice jolted him from his thoughts and off the desk. Ryan quickly turned to face the figure that called out to him. But when he found who stood there, his shoulders slumped, and he released another hefty sigh. It was his boss, his glare looking down on him.

  “Seriously? What now?”

  “Sleeping on the job again, I see.” Barry crossed his arms and scoffed.

  “What? No, I was taking a break!” Ryan insisted, rubbing his eyes. “The screen hurts my eyes from staring at it for so long.”

  “Uh-huh, sure. Did you get the other assignments done or what?”

  “Yeah, I just finished the download.”

  “Alright then. Since you don’t have a lot on your plate...” Barry pulled out some sheets of paper from his pockets and slammed them on Ryan’s desk. “Make copies of these on the double. We’ll need them for our upcoming meeting. And when you’re done, show up and pay attention.”

  Ryan blinked. Did he hear that correctly? “Meeting? What meeting?”

  “The one we’ll have later today after our second break. Don’t be late!” Barry demanded as he turned and prepared to storm off.

  “Fine, whatever, Barney...” Ryan rolled his eyes and muttered.

  Barry stopped in his tracks as he slowly turned his head. His expression turned to a full grimace as he heard what his employer said. A chill went down Ryan’s spine. He thought his soul would get sucked right out of his body.

  “I heard that. You'd better watch your tone, to my face, and behind my back. It’s Barry, don’t call me Barney.”

  He left again, prompting Ryan to groan again.

  What a day, as if it couldn’t get any worse. Why do I keep opening my mouth?

  “Boy, he gave you a mouthful on that one, that’s for sure,” Carl commented from the side. “You really need to watch what you say, especially regarding the workplace.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Ryan replied, slumping back into his seat and staring at the ceiling. “But I can’t help it sometimes. He deserves it, you know?”

  “If you get fired for complaining too much and slacking off, don’t come whining about it to me.”

  “I promise you, you’d be the last person I’d come to for that.”

  “Well, I can promise you, you wouldn’t be the first to get fired from that.”

  “What do you mean?” Ryan asked, raising his head.

  “It’s nothing. I’ll leave it to your imagination. Oh, but don’t tell Barry I mentioned that to you.”

  Ryan wasn’t sure what that meant, but he already felt drained of energy and had no inclination to argue, question, or even react to his surroundings. He rubbed his eyes, dry from the lack of sleep. His throat was also dry; he thought about getting a cup of coffee once break time started.

  Loud coughing took him out of his thoughts. Ryan looked over to Carl, who coughed up a storm and covered his mouth with his elbow.

  “Hey, are you sure you’re alright?”

  “Yeah, it’s—” Carl hunched over and out of his seat as he wheezed.

  “You don’t look okay. Barney shouldn’t let sick people work!”

  “No, it’s not his fault. He doesn’t know...”

  What? How come? “We need to go right away. I’ll give him a piece of my—”

  “No, wait, everyone’s busy! Besides, it started because I kept... talking and not taking breaks.” Carl looked up and gave his acquaintance a small smile, but that didn’t convince him. “You’re right. I’ll take a break as soon as possible.”

  As Ryan helped him to his feet, he still had a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind that something wasn’t right. He decided not to press Carl further and to continue with what he had done before.