Amazon Apocalypse: Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Years have passed since that day. I graduated from college, found a job, and moved on with my life. But I never forgot Myrina or what I’d seen that day.

There were things out there we didn’t understand. But sooner or later, this apocalypse would come to Earth.

So I prepared. I built myself a little mountain hideaway, complete with everything I might need for such a disaster. It even motivated me to spend a little extra time in the gym. I’d never been athletic. Without the looming threat of an apocalypse, I probably would have spent my days on the couch instead.

I think without that warning, I would have wasted away. I would have become just another face in the crowd, dying one day at a time as I wasted my life away. But every time I looked at Myrina’s token, I felt new determination flow through my veins.

I would survive this apocalypse. I would kick its ass, and then, when it was over, I might even see Myrina again.

***

“You’re late,” said Sakura as she opened her door without looking up from the screen in front of her desk.

Sakura was my boss and also the daughter of the company’s owner. She was a slim woman of Japanese descent on her father’s side, though I wasn’t sure she’d ever been there herself. Her hair had a gentle curl from her mother’s Italian heritage, and she wore glasses that made her look like a schoolteacher. In public, she talked with stiff formality, and she walked like she was constantly trying to prove she was worthy of her position for her competence, not just because of her father. All in all, she was a tiny bundle of ferocity.

“So, what’s this super secret meeting all about?” I asked as I closed the door. The moment I did, Sakura’s stiff back melted, and she closed her computer screen. She was a little too obsessed with making sure she projected the right image around the rest of her employees, but somehow I had won her trust.

“Craig,” she said. “He has to go.”

“Oh boy, what did he do this time?” Craig was the office asshole. He was a security guard, but not a real one. He’d been a nepotism pity hire after he flunked out of police academy and had only got in because Sakura’s father had owed someone a favor. It turned out there was a reason he’d flunked out of police academy, not because he got framed for smuggling in drugs like he claimed.

He had this complex about everyone needing to quake in their boots when they saw him. Maybe he mistook the fear for respect. Or maybe he was just an asshole. But whatever the reason was, he’d been a source of constant problems.

Problems that had been shuffled down the chain of command all the way to Sakura at this small branch of her family’s company. And now I suspected she was hoping to shuffle the job off to me.

“He’s been harassing that intern, Bridget. Blonde hair, pretty eyes. Cute girl. Firm ass. I saw you looking last time she went on a coffee run,” Sakura said, speaking as plainly as though she were talking about the weather.

I held up my hands. “Hey, I may or may not have looked. I admit to nothing!”

Sakura pushed her coffee cup aside and placed her hand on top of mine.

“I know you were just looking. It’s fine. Craig finds her attractive as well. But you can control yourself. Craig is the one I'm worried about.”

I sensed this was taking a dark turn. “What did he do?”

“Nothing yet, but he’s been harassing her every time she enters the building alone. Bridget hasn’t made a complaint yet, but I’ve been watching the security camera footage and know she’s been dodging him whenever she can.”

I shook my head. Sakura really needed to learn to relax. Not only did she run half the department by herself, but she also watched the security cameras like a hawk to keep an eye on everyone in the office at all hours.

“So you want to get rid of him before it becomes an issue?”

Sakura nodded. “The trouble is, Craig is a big man. And his file from other departments is that he can sometimes be aggressive, especially with women. He’s going to try to intimidate me if I fire him.”

“I see. So you want me to kick him to the curb instead? I’ve got to warn you, he’s going to demand to see you anyway.”

Sakura shook her head, readjusting her glasses as they slipped down her nose. “No. I’ll tell him he’s fired myself. I just want you to stand behind me so he doesn’t think he can scare me.”

“You have a high opinion of my intimidation factor,” I chuckled. I wasn’t in terrible shape, but Craig definitely took steroids. That was probably part of the reason he had to do the constant dick-measuring alpha male bravado he was so fond of.

“I just don’t want to be in a room alone with him. Especially when I know I’m going to make him angry,” Sakura said, lips drawn tight. “I need someone I can trust.”

I gave her a pat on the back. “Well, you’ll have to make do with me.”

Sakura smiled. “And after this is done, I have another favor to ask you. My father is hosting a social event, and it will look odd if I show up alone. I’ll give you double overtime to keep me company.”

I chuckled. “Sakura, if you need an emergency date, just ask. I can’t say it sounds like fun, but I’ll do it. And you don't have to bribe me either. I may be your employee, but I don't mind keeping you company outside of work.”

Sakura laughed. “Right... an emergency. I’ll email you a reminder and set an appointment to get you a good suit. The party is in three months, so you have time to get something tailored. I’ll lend you a company card to pay for it.”

I spent a few minutes teasing her a bit about using Daddy’s money, and she took it in stride. She needed some mental preparation before firing Craig, as whatever he did afterward was probably going to ruin the rest of her day. Mine, too, if he was enough of an asshole about it.

Eventually, though, we could delay no longer. So I sighed and picked myself up off the corner of her desk where I'd been sitting and headed for the door.

“All right, let’s get this over with. I’ll call Craig in and stand behind you while glaring menacingly.”

***

Hunting Craig down proved rather difficult. He wasn’t in his office, which explained why Sakura was watching the security cameras. He clearly didn’t take that part of his job too seriously, since he didn’t even have the program open. Instead, he was flipping between a bodybuilding forum, a swimsuit magazine, and one of those cashgrab clicker mobile games.

If we were in high school, I would have called Craig a jock stereotype. I guess he’s the rare asshole jock who has the connections to keep being an asshole, even moving into the real world.

From what Sakura said earlier, I thought to check for Bridget. Sure enough, she was out on a coffee run, and people were wondering what was taking her so long. But I was pretty sure I knew.

Bridget had been using the rear entrance to avoid him until now, but he must have caught on because that was where I found him.

“These are getting cold. Please move,” Bridget asked.

“I’m just saying, it’s rude of you to bring coffee for the damn key jockeys, but not for a hard-working man of the law like me. It’s downright disrespectful,” Craig said.

“You didn’t ask,” Bridget replied. “Now, everyone is expecting me. Please let me through.”

“I think you need to apologize. Make it up for me. And in the meantime, I’ll be taking one of these.” Craig snatched one coffee and took a swig. He regretted it a moment later and spat the coffee back out on the ground. “The fuck is this? Peppermint? Yuck.”

“That was supposed to be Sakura’s coffee...” Bridget grimaced.

“Well, she can have it. I’m taking this one. And then afterward, you can clean that shit off my boots,” Craig said as he gestured to his spit and peppermint coffee all over the ground, some of which were indeed on his boots. He grabbed another cup of coffee, this one of a more acceptable variety.

This guy was a piece of work. I mean, yeah, he was a douchebag, but I hadn’t expected him to be quite this much of a prick. Maybe Sakura hadn’t been kidding when she said he was even more of an asshole when alone with women than he was with the guys in the office. I figured it’d be best to cut his crap out now. After today, neither Bridget nor anyone else would have to deal with it again.

“Bridget, there you are! People have been wondering where you went. Come on.” I waved as I descended the stairs, and Bridget ducked under Craig’s arm and escape. While she passed, I plucked Sakura’s coffee, now covered in Craig’s spit, and took it from the tray. “And you can keep this." I handed the poluted coffee back to Craig.

Craig glared at me. I sensed him lean forward onto the tips of his toes. In doing so, he loomed a little taller.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Craig snarled.

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head at Bridget's retreating form. I could see her peeking at us through the door as it closed. “Do you always talk like that with women?”

I didn’t enjoy seeing people thrown away. A lot of companies in this day and age are callous with their employees, in my mind. It didn’t take much for a wage slave to find himself without a job. But this asshole? Yeah, he deserved to go, and I would be happy to see him pack his things and head out the door. I was already planning to lead the office in a little cheer once he was gone for good.

“And? So what if I do? Do you think you run this office just because the slut in charge thinks you’re her friend? Have you ever fucked Sakura yet?” Craig moved closer, pressing his chest against mine. He was admittedly half a foot taller than me and twice as wide. But I held my ground. Bridget was waiting for me just up the stairs, and I’d positioned myself in front of a security camera. I knew Sakura was watching.

“Then it's no wonder you have such a hard time finding love. As for Sakura, that’s not any of your business. And I suggest you not worry about your affairs because you’re about to have some bigger problems of your own. Follow me. Sakura wants to see you in her office.”

Something primal seemed to realize I’d gotten the better of Craig in that exchange. I’d beat him at his own game, and it made me feel a little smug. It was a mild reaction, but enjoyable nonetheless. Perhaps I could see why Craig did it after all.

But Craig’s reaction was anything but mild. He wore an expression of pure fury on his face. But like a beaten dog, he followed with is head hung low.

Bridget scurried out of the way, and I led Craig to Sakura’s office. I held the door open for him and closed it once we were inside, much to the staring of everyone in the office. Bridget’s nervous look and Craig’s furious scowl drew a lot of attention in the otherwise boring course of day-to-day affairs.

“So Craig,” Sakura said, prim and proper with her glasses square on her brow and her lips drawn tight. Gone was the playful and friendly look she shared with me. This was a serious business woman ready for a serious task. “I’ve gotten several reports of troubling behavior from you.”

Craig snorted. “Save me the bullshit, Sakura. Your dad owes my dad, so I got this job. And what’s he doing here?” He jerked his chin at me.

“To make sure you don’t do anything stupid,” I said.

Craig scowled, then turned to Sakura. “Tell him to get lost or fetch you a cup of coffee like that stupid intern forgot to do.”

“Craig, you’re not in any position to be making demands,” Sakura said as she closed her laptop and pushed it aside. “You’ve been passed off from department to department. I’m going to break the cycle. You’re finished here.”

“What?” For the first time, Craig looked surprised.

“You’re fired. Pack your things and be out of here before the hour’s up. Your employment here is terminated, effective immediately.”

“You can’t just fire someone without reason!”

“Actually, I can. You’re employed at will. At my will, specifically. And I will that you no longer work here.”

“I’ll get a lawyer,” Craig threatened. “You’ll be out on your ass, and your daddy’s company will have to write me a fat check for wrongful termination.”

“Hmm... wrongful termination, you say? It seems to me I’ve got records of multiple accounts of harassment from female coworkers and two of violence from your male coworkers. And if asked, I’m pretty sure a few of your fellow employees would have something to add that isn't on the records.”

“I want to speak to your father,” Craig said.

“Why? Is speaking to the ‘slut in charge’ not enough for you?”

For the first time, Craig’s face paled. Sakura had been listening to our conversation out in the hall.

“Look, being a slut isn’t all that bad. I meant it as a compliment, really. It means--“

Sakura held up her hand to shut him up. “Just get out.”

Craig turned, threw me a look that could kill, and then left Sakura’s office.

As soon as the door locked, Sakura’s fierce look drooped, and she sagged into her chair. “Whew. That was a scary one. I thought he was going to tear up my office for sure.”

“You did great. High five!” I congratulated her. I bet a lot of people in the office were going to be doing that soon.

But before we could celebrate, a message lit up before my face. The text glowed, surrounded by a blue box that filled my vision. No matter how I turned, I couldn’t see anything except the message.

Welcome to the multiverse. Now initializing.

This process may induce some discomfort.

<Note>

So as you've probably guessed, I've changed some stuff up with Craig. His plotline was just something I came up with on the spot during the last version of the story, but this time I'm working it into the foundations of the story. As a result, he's showing up right at the start in conflict with our protagonist.

Also, Sarah's name has been changed to Bridget, because I don't want to have two characters whose names start with an 'S' in the main cast.

Also I condensed all of the old chapter 2 into just a few paragraphs up top. I didn't want to spend too much time before the integration, so I figured I might as well just show you the results of Carter's preparation rather than have to deal with reading through a lengthy summary of several years before getting to the integration where the story starts.