Hamlin Inc.

Chapter 2 - 1

Chapter 2 - 1

11.23.2016

16:48

Tom Hamlin

"Why did you need to play in the rain?" Sam asks jokingly. "I just needed to." I leave it at that and start walking down the hallway. Sam looks very confused. "I haft to get dry, I have a towel in my office. Then we will go to the break room." She pushes her bangs out of her eyes and obediently follows. The hallway is very linear, it doesn't branch off anywhere, just continues on until it reaches it's end at my office upstairs. Of course there are doors on either side of the hallway, but those don't count as branching off. The wallpaper is beginning to rot off the walls and making the halls look sad and weak. It makes me depressed thinking about how this very hallway used to be pristine and bright yellow. Now it is disgusting. "You know Hamlin, your soaking your carpets with water." She laughs and I follow suit. It is good to laugh, as long as it isn't at someones pain. I know the feeling of being laughed at. "I don't care, it is the latest time it has been washed." I continue to laugh and slowly come to a stop and stare at Sam. She is wiping a tear from her eye, it is a cute tear. 

"Sam, whats wrong?" I ask as I put my hand on her shoulder and look down at her. She raises her head and meets my eyes for a moment before looking away. Another tears streams down her cheek and she looks back up at me, staring at my nose. She is probably disgusted at how it curves. It is probably what everyone thinks when they see me. I am a horribly, ugly man. "My dad used to joke with me like this..." Sam covers her face with her small hands and lets tears flow onto them. I can still see them, her hands aren't hiding anything. "Yeah, but I bet they were a bit more childish." She giggles and looks back up at me. Her face freezes and she pulls away from me, rubbing her arm awkwardly. I didn't realize I put my arm around her shoulders. This is just awkward now. "Let's go." I say in hope of avoiding talking with her for a little bit.

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We reach the stairwell and quickly climb the stairs. The only annoying thing about not doing any construction when I bought the building was that I haft to walk up these stairs every day. Especially now that I live here. My office is the only good thing left about this building. It is cleaned daily by myself and I try my best to pick up any trash I toss onto the floor when I'm writing in my notebook. I like to write, it gives me freedom from this hellish realm I live in now. If only I could leave this place forever and just... Go somewhere else. Sam breaks my thoughts by punching me in the arm. "Ow, what was that for?" She looks at me playfully with a big smile on her face and punches me again "For ignoring me." Sam punches me a third time and I look at her face dearly without reason. "Why would I do that?" I say mockingly, as if I am talking down to her. She takes the joke with another punch. My arm can't take anymore play. "Stop, my arm can only take so much." I laugh and look forward at my office door. It is open. I must have forgotten to close it earlier.

Suddenly a black figure darts out of the room, running towards us. As they come closer I can tell it is a man. I glance at Sam who reaches down towards her side. Her gun, it isn't there. Sam looks into my eyes and I can tell she is scared. She hasn't had to do much in a long time, a few months at the very least. I catch a glance at the mask he is wearing as he passes by us and down the stairs. The tiger mask. The same one from a year ago. It all comes rushing back into my mind as I hold my head and spin around back at my office. If it's anything like last year, bodies are probably piled in my office, waiting for me to see them. Sam's face forces it's way into mine and our lips lock for a spit second before I push past her and stumble towards my office.

Fire bursts into the hallway, steaming past as and I jump to the floor. My ears ring and Sam's obviously do too as she is cupping her ears in her hands. She is curled onto the floor. Why does this need to happen? None of this needs to happen. Everything blurs and blackens. Sam doesn't need to be dragged into this. Hands pull on my coat and toss me over their shoulders. I can't fight back right now. I see Sam, lying on the floor in a chalk outline stance. I am too powerless to do anything about it. I can't save her. Her body is motionless as I loose sight of her down the stairwell. My vision blurs and blackens into nothingness. I am gone. This is all over.