The man sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the open doorway. Time seemed to pass more slowly than ever, knowing that every second may be his last. He was certain that he would meet death this night. A shadow passed across the doorway as someone went by just outside. He tensed up, gripping the knife behind his back even more tightly, his heartbeat so rapid he could feel it without trying. He held his breath in anticipation, and tried to not even blink, imagining someone was about to run in at any moment. He had never wielded a weapon against another person before, and was certain he could provide little to no resistance against an experienced killer, but he had to try.

He finally exhaled after over a minute had passed, and nearly began to cry from relief. It seemed as though he wasn't the target of whoever had been in the hallway. He knew that didn't mean he was any safer than he had been, and kept his guard up for the remainder of that seemingly endless night.

Maintenance Log

6:02 - Furnace temperature too high at start of shift.

6:04 - Added 19 liters of coolant to regulator tank.

6:07 - Still too hot, reduced set temperature by half.

6:08 - Added 9 liters of coolant to regulator tank.

6:11 - Removed a full unit of fuel from current fuel tank.

6:14 - Logged temperatures, panel displayed two different numbers, disregarded first.

6:16 - Temperature confirmed, within acceptable range.

Journal Entry

Date: February 21st

Today while working in the baking section of the cafeteria, one of the researchers came up to get a box of large blueberry and poppy seed muffins for the staff in his laboratory. I gave him a baker's dozen and charged him $28. However, he responded by pointing out an error I'd made in entering the individual price, and stated the total should be $39 instead. I asked him why he'd point out such a difference, and he responded by saying he wouldn't feel right if he hadn't. I didn't punish him for being honest, so he just paid $30 and left the change with me.

Interview Transcript

Campbell: "How are you today?"

Bannerman: "Great! And yourself?"

Campbell: "Oh, I'm fantastic. We've very little to discuss here, it seems everything's in order."

Bannerman: "That's good to hear."

Campbell: "I just have a quick question. Could you tell me when you first became interested in viral research?"

Bannerman: "Well, my own entrance into this field was the result of someone else leaving it."

Campbell: "Oh? Please, continue."

Bannerman: "You see, four years prior to the beginning of my career, my father had retired. He had dedicated his life to virology, and the way he talked about it made it seem incredibly interesting. When he stepped down, that was the day when I felt a place I needed to fill in the world. Through hard work and perseverance, I ended up at the top of my class, and eventually here."

Campbell: "That's quite an impressive story, I'm glad to have heard an answer like that. You can look forward to hearing back from us about employment, consider yourself hired though. You'll get a call no later than two weeks from now."

Bannerman: "Thank you, I'll look forward to it. Take care."

Scrap of Paper

307154870562795-549-1942343454942642341641418412422-294124224148648461411471

"Partly removed, the rest replaced, sequentially followed, correctly displaced."