“Wh….wha…. what do you mean, my soul?”

  “As I said, this little ball here is what your kind calls a soul.” She began juggling with the tube where his soul was kept. “It’s quite white, which makes it more valuable. The purer it is, the whiter it gets. You will learn about this topic later when you exceed your new hire status.”

  “Why am I still alive if I no longer have my soul?”

  “Don’t worry about this, it will get explained later. Now, please follow me.”

  'I really screwed up this time. I sold my soul to the devil for a job.'

  “I’m not this 'devil' you are talking about, and you didn’t sell your soul, you kind of pawed it.”

  She went out of the room and took a right. Chris stood still, thinking about what to do next, but again he was pushed out by an invisible force. The door closed behind him and disappeared. He looked around and became even more confused. His surroundings looked normal; it was an office. He expected to see fire and boiling cauldrons, but saw only a coffee machine and a snack dispenser.

  'I’m in an office building. If I get out, I can find a policeman or a police station, and I can get them to arrest these kidnappers.'

  “Can you come already? We are behind schedule, and we’ll be late for the new employees' training.”

  'I have to run away until it's not too late.'

  Chris began running. He saw an elevator but thought it was better to head for the emergency exit. He passed several offices and strange people without noticing. His eyes were fixed on finding the emergency exit sign. Finally, he saw the green sign he was looking for. He felt hope that he was about to leave and get home, but when he opened the door, he found himself back next to the coffee machine. He turned to go back, but the door was gone.

  “So you are that kind of guy. This survival instinct will keep you alive for a considerable amount of time. Now, please follow me.”

  'What is going on? I went out the door and got back. Am I drugged, or am I hallucinating?'

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “You are neither drugged nor hallucinating. This place is made to keep the new hires on this floor until they finish their training.”

  “Can you stop reading my mind? It’s getting annoying.”

  “It’s my job to know what you are thinking. Put a stop to this foolish struggle and follow me.”

  Chris had other plans and ran off again, this time heading for the elevator. He got in and pressed the ground floor button. The elevator went down, and he thought he had finally gotten away. When the doors opened, he found himself at the same spot next to the coffee machine. The doors closed and disappeared like before. He was ready to try another way, but he was pulled by the ear.

  “Enough with this circus performance. You will follow me now! Oh no, we are already late, I will get scolded by my supervisor because of you.”

  She began dragging Chris by the ear.

  “Can you let me go? It hurts and is humiliating. I promise I won’t run again.”

  “See. Was that too hard to follow me?”

  They walked for some time. When Chris looked behind them, he saw they were still near the coffee machine. He wanted to ask her about it, but knew she wouldn’t answer because he had made her angry. They stopped in front of two big doors leading to the conference room, and she motioned for him to go in.

  The room was crowded with strange, otherworldly creatures. Some were made of shifting goo, others had animal ears, tails, wings, or horns. A few towered to the ceiling, while others were no larger than ants. No two looked alike. The air buzzed with strange voices in languages Chris couldn’t understand, leaving him frozen in a mix of awe and confusion.

  “Swallow this and get in that chair.” She shoved a pill down his throat.

  “Why did you do that? It is disgusting.”

  “Keep your voice down and get on the chair.”

  “You two, not only are you late, but now you're interrupting my presentation.”

  Chris could now understand their weird speech.

  “Whom might you be, and who is your handler?”

  “It is me, sir, we had a little problem with him trying to run away, and got late. I’m so sorry. He is Chris from…”

  “I was talking with him, not you. We’ll have a talk after this presentation.”

  “My name is Chris Sully. I’m sorry for being late and for interrupting your presentation.”

  “Let’s see, Chris Sully, aha, I have found you, a late addition to these hiring proceedings. I hope that you are as good as the one who recommended you said.”

  “I’ll do my best not to cause any more trouble.”

  “Good. Now let’s get back to where we stopped. Does anyone remember where I was before I was interrupted?”

  “You were talking about the “gift”.” One of the new hires spoke up.

  “Right, thank you, young fella. As I was saying, the “gift” is the ability that you will awaken after finishing the training. Those who finish and awaken their ‘gift’ will become our new batch of reapers or will get assigned to the other roles in the company.”

  'Reaper? What kind of company is this? I have to find a way to get away.'