"It would be very easy." Mark Koenig mused as he looked down at the city below. Cars crawled in and out of his vision like scrambling ants and the wind caressed his body softly, threading its spectral fingers through his coarse hair. "It would be very easy to jump down and end the madness my life has become."
He was on the highest floor of the building, ten dizzying floors above the ground. If he jumped now, an instant death would be guaranteed.
The thought was enticing - he would finally be free - and he stepped closer to the railing, close enough to place his hand on top of the cool, metal barriers.
"Don't even think about it."
Koenig shrugged at the command, an airy jig of his shoulders and turned to meet the gaze of his long-time friend, Sean Bishop.
"Sean."
Sean nodded at him, his empty brown eyes scolding Koenig thoroughly. "We got ourselves into this mess together. If you're going to die, you are going to do it after we've resolved this problem."
Koenig looked away, clasping his hands behind him wearily. The warm touch of the setting sun was not comforting in the least, it only reminded him time was running out, time he could not afford to lose. "I was told Volunteer 117 died as well."
Removing his glasses, Sean cleaned them before putting them back on. A grim look outlined the features of his face. "Julia's pain sensors amplified in output just before they went off, so we can guess her death was not a merciful one. I already have the name of a potential Volunteer."
Sean sorted through the papers he had brought with him, and handed over a few to Koenig. "His name is Mikel Ark, a promising programmer who graduated a few months ago from the Revere Institute of Technology, the man who created Dominic."
A slight sound of disbelief left Koenig at the information and while he looked through the papers, Sean continued his briefing. "If you approve it, we already have a faux position opened in the department for him. Depending on whether he accepts it or not, he could be in No Blessed before next week."
Koenig looked at the grinning brown face imprinted in the paper before him, knowing what he was about to do. This man, Mikel, looked younger than his daughter. "Contact him. Seeing as he is recently graduated, he will not hesitate to accept our offer."
He dropped the documents on the glass table between them and faced the railings again, guilt weighing down on his mind. This had been the status quo for so many months, yet he had not gotten used to the remorse that assailed him each time he approved yet another death. "His family?"
"He has a strained relationship with his parents and has an older brother he calls infrequently." Sean's tone was curt as he rearranged the documents in his hands. "If he were to go missing, there is little they would be able to do to find him."
"I see. I only hope he will succeed where others have failed."
Koenig devoted his attention to the city's nightlife as it slowly came alive. The sun faded gloomily, spreading a thick coat of darkness amongst every inch of land, as far as the eye could see.
Each day, he watched it to remind himself. He watched it so he would not forget the burden that bored down on his shoulders. If one of the Volunteers did not switch off No Blessed soon, he doubted there would be a planet left.
The neighbourhood was always at its most quiet in the night, one of reasons Mikel liked living here. There were no noisy children, no prying neighbours and no nightclubs nearby. It was as close to heaven as he could get.
He got out his key and opened the door, the grocery bags in his hand hitting the doorway in his hurry. The rancid scent of the soup he'd forgotten to store in the freezer the day before filled the air and with a frown Mikel realized it'd gone sour.
Ignoring it, he threw the bags down on the kitchen table, mentally filing them in the 'Do Later' drawer of his mind and swiped a bottle of cola from the fridge. There were much more important things to be done than sorting out groceries, and taking care of rotten food.
Since his graduation nearly a month ago, job offers had been pouring in from every corner of the country, from Kanga to Boria and Mikel revelled in the pride that flooded him each time he logged into his email and yet another offer awaited him.
He had expected it, what software company would let Dominic's creator slip through their grasp?
The project was one Mikel had worked on for several years, a computer virus capable of automatically hacking and completely overwriting system software, no matter how powerful the security system. He had coined it Dominic and after it's presentation at his graduating ceremony, Dominic had made Mikel famous, perhaps too famous.
He began outlining polite letters of rejection as well as a letter of acceptance in his head as his system booted up, sipping at his drink leisurely.
So far, his best options were Accel Innovations and Beam House Projections, both offering equally attractive positions that made it hard to decide which company he would choose.
Mikel felt more than a little proud at his name making headlines in the top newspapers. He was sure his parents must have seen them, and although they had not called to congratulate him, he had not expected them to. He had inherited his pride from somewhere after all. They would not admit defeat so easily to him, but he would make sure they eventually did.
He was in the middle of deciding if he wanted to listen to Sia or Jon Bellion while he worked when he saw it.
It was tucked in the middle of Facebook notifications and reminders from various graphic art sites he belonged to but Mikel could clearly see the soft red glow that indicated it hadn't been read, and what was even better, the header: Nuroh Inc.
His fingers trembled softly as he guided the mouse cursor to it and clicked it open, ignoring the hundreds of unopened messages that demanded his attention. Nuroh was a gaming giant, a multimillion enterprise widely recognized all around the continent.
If they were extending an offer to him, of all people, then it would have to be absolute luck.
The email opened, and he drew his chair closer to the table, impatient to read what was written. There was
no way...
Dear Mikel,
On behalf of Nuroh Inc., I heartily congratulate you on your recent graduation from the Revere Institute of Technology. Based on your remarkable grades, we at Nuroh Inc. are proud to offer you a position in our programming department as a Junior Programmer, as well as a tester in the development of one of our upcoming projects.
If interested, reply via this link - [noblessedV.118] - as soon as possible.
Sean Bishop,
Vice President,
Nuroh Incorporated.
Shocked, he let the bottle of cola fall from his hand as he read and reread the short but promising email, ignoring the cold sticky feel of soda on his bare leg.
Nuroh was offering him a place in their company. Nuroh Inc.!
Mikel gasped quietly, threading his hands through his short stubbly hair. This - this was too good to be true. His eyes locked on the glowing link. Without hesitation, he clicked on it and was immediately redirected to another site.
As it loaded, he picked up his phone, scrolling through his measly number of seventeen contacts. He had to tell Tyler about this, no matter how busy his brother might be. He was being offered a job by Nuroh Inc.!
This was his opportunity, his breakthrough - it was just what he needed to show his potential. Nuroh's name could open doors in any tech related company, it would shoot him to the top of the industrial world.
After the phone rang for the fifth time with no answer, Mikel gave up on it and turned his attention back to the glowing screen in front of him. The site had finally loaded and was displaying a single set of numbers.
It didn't even have a name, and for some reason, the 'back' icon was not working, no matter how many times he clicked on it. Picking up his phone again, he typed the numbers in, deciding to at least check if they made up a phone number even though they were not the right number of digits, and tapped the call button.
Someone picked up on the first ring.
"Mr. Ark, is it?" a warm voice asked. For a moment, Mikel forgot he was supposed to answer, surprise painted on his face. Was this real?
"Y-yes. This is Mr. Bishop?"
The man on the other side laughed, a polite chuckle that held no real mirth. "Call me Sean. Since you called this number, I assume you are accepting the offer Nuroh Inc. has extended towards you."
"Of course. I'm honoured that I was considered, given the fact that I have little experience." Mikel's other hand grabbed the side of his shorts anxiously and his feet tapped in sync together on the floor as he spoke.
"That will not pose a problem, it will be an honour to have you in our team. I will be expecting you at our doors by 9AM, where we will finalize our terms of agreement and conclude all other formalities. I look forward to working with you Mr. Ark."
"Likewise Mr. - I mean Sean, likewise. Goodnight."
Sean cut the line first, and for a few seconds, Mikel stared off into space, his phone falling to his lap.
Suddenly he jumped up from his chair and punched the air violently, barely noticing as his phone hit the floor with a less than subtle thud.
"Yes! Yes!" He laughed loudly, rubbing his face and lightly slapping his cheeks. "Yes! Yes!"
Koenig listened to the whoops of 'Yes!' coming from Sean's phone as the man on the other side laughed in joy. He cocked his head.
"I have never heard anyone so happy to go to their death," he said as Sean tapped the screen and the voice died down until there was nothing left of it. The wind had disappeared now and the moon was half eaten in the sky but the night was cold, chilling him through the thickness of his woolen jacket.
"To be fair to him, he doesn't know what is really going to happen to him." the sides of Sean's mouth tilted callously. "He should be able to laugh if he wants to, because I doubt he'll be able to do so in No Blessed."
"That is, if he's able to last the first five minutes. Remember Volunteer 86?" Koenig asked, a dismal half smile shaping his thin lips.
Sean's nod was grim. "His sensors went blank less than ten minutes after he went in."
Koenig shook his head in mock pity. "What makes you think this Mikel boy will be any different anyway?"
"I do not." Sean pocketed his phone. "I only hope he can buy us some time before he is killed. At least by then, I would have found another suitable Volunteer."
"I've tapped his phone," he continued, "so we'll be able to hear his phone calls and track his location, in the event he misses the appointment tomorrow."
"Very well." Koenig nodded and rested his chin in his hands. "Tomorrow, we send another one."
"I am already working on deleting the email I sent to him, and erasing this call from his phone log. In case his family does decide to look for him, they'll meet dead ends."
There was silence between the two men for a few minutes and the balcony became very quiet, its silence interrupted only by the honking of cars down below.
"What do you think will happen to us," Sean asked, staring intently at Koenig, "when we can't send Volunteers into No Blessed any more?"
Koenig did not answer immediately but his eyes sparkled menacingly at the question. "We will cross that bridge when we get to it."
Thank you for checking out No Blessed, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!