Realistic or Modern From Spreadsheets to Dead Peeps

[Dezz]

From Spreadsheets to Dead Peeps

A one x one between Dezz and goodbyeskyharbor​

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Theodore "Teddy" Rhom​

The days seemed to run together for Theodore Rhom. By the time he realized he was stuck in a routine he hated, it was almost too late to leave. His job was comfortable in the current economy. The city he lived in had plenty of unique areas and places to visit. His family was nearby. It just seemed like it was too much to risk.

Yet he suffered with unflinching monotony. His own skills and intelligence had allowed him to continue to play the game effectively and move up positions, yet there was an innate hunger in him to find what his true purpose was. It was just too much to do for someone like him. He would likely end up working for this company until he retired and then he could try to find what he wanted to do. Only another 43 to 48 years to go.

In college he was always affectionately called Teddy by his closest friends. There was never a concern with his grades and he was always proud to be at the level he was at. Friends envied his ability to avoid studying for even the hardest exams, but in reality Teddy just studied harder between classes. He was always quite observant of anyone in his classes that could keep up with the discussion and homework. More than just doing it - really taking time to learn about what it is they were there for. That's when he first noticed a girl in his class. His nature deemed that it was only something to note, so he hardly paid her much attention. Though he never approached her, this girl stuck in his mind for some time as a sort of kindred spirit.

Teddy's closed of behavior ensured that he had great acquaintances but no truly close friends walking across the stage. This lack of a support group meant he ended up moving home initially after college and applying for jobs there. This suffocation on his social life eventually meant that it died completely. By the time Teddy landed his first real job, he could only celebrate with his parents. It was closer to the city and the commute from his parents place was a bit much. He ended up taking an apartment in the city - a quite, small place that only just checked the boxes of a livable quarter.

His first day was one he would remember. He started with one other new hire - none other than the girl he had noticed in his classes. She had somehow ended up in the same company as him. To someone more spiritual than Teddy, he would have believed it to be some kind of serendipity. Yet for him, he shrugged, considering it to be another interesting fact.

A few months after their start date, it was a crisp fall day. The leaves danced in the wind just outside of Teddy's office. His eyes only glanced up to see them between his tasks. They were a small amount of joy that filled his mind when he was able to see it - reminding him of better days. He had just finished a particularly tough task when he wanted to reward himself with the fall aura. In it's place was something that he would never have expected. A tsunami the size of the tallest building in the city was in the horizon. A rumbling started to shake he building. His heart started to jump out of his chest.

The only thing he could think to do was make his way away from the windows into a utility closet. Then the screaming started.

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

​

Elena Luque loved her job. She knew that perhaps, she could do better, but she was comfortable here, and it was enough for her. It was better to settle into something she knew back to front, could actually use her degree for, instead of waiting around for something big to come. Of course, that didn't mean that she had to be stuck here forever, though. She had no plans to stay stuck at this very desk until retirement whisked her away, definitely not. With enough perseverance, she could climb up the ladder. Some of her co-workers who had been there a bit longer than her snickered at her go-getting attitude, knowing that she was more than likely going to stay at that desk, but she paid them no mind. The monotony hadn't broken her yet.

Perhaps the man that had appeared in her life so much understood. Teddy, wasn't it? He was the other relatively new hire, but despite the fact that'd been through school and now worked together, Elena didn't know him too well. She passed his desk each day and sometimes chatted to him about spreadsheets, but that was basically it. She wasn't at this job to make friends, after all. She had no desire to be mean, exactly, but she couldn't get too friendly. Teddy, or anyone else that worked on her floor, could easily be competition. Friendliness and getting a bit comfortable could come later. For now, she had to work, and work hard.

She had arrived early that morning, in typical Elena fashion. She had a strong coffee and a blueberry muffin, then commenced with the first task at hand. Sure, spreadsheets weren't the most exciting thing to look at, but it was a way to get further to the top. She'd do it without complaint. Before long, she got into the groove, the office becoming a little more alive around her. By that, at least, she meant that people were chatting, mugs were being placed down on desks, and pens were rolled around. Any life in the other, more experienced employees had been just about sucked out by now. The noises didn't bother her. The only thing that threw her off ended up being the fact that, well, her phone would not stop going off. It was on vibrate, so she knew that it wouldn't be disturbing any coworkers, but it was certainly starting to bother her.

What on Earth was the matter? She wasn't the biggest fan of pulling her phone out at her desk if it wasn't being used for work purposes, but she had to tell whoever was on the other side to shut up and leave her to her work, thank you very much. When she did open it, however, her heart dropped.

The cause of her phone blowing up was a bunch of relatively short texts from her sister, Jennifer. She was five years older than Elena, and her parents deemed her the more... successful one. Even though the sisters were decently close, Elena still didn't know exactly what Jennifer did for a job. Their parents' didn't either. When pressed, she would say she was a scientist. That was all they could get. Elena had no idea what she specialised in, and at this point, the thought of asking had made her feel a little bit nervous. Perhaps it was best to leave Jennifer be, in that regard. She scrolled up to the top of the string of messages, and told herself to read properly.

- elena
- i'm sorry
- things are about to get really bad
- i'll try to meet you later
- i love you
- i love you
- tell our parents i love them if i don't meet you
- and you tell them too
- elena
- are you there
- please answer!!!
- get somewhere safe alright and soon

There were more after that as well. The first one looked as if she was trying to tell Elena more, but she didn't get a chance, and the following ones were nonsense. She knew her sister wouldn't play a joke on her like this. She rose from her desk almost violently and rushed down the hall, paying no mind to anyone or any sights around her. Somewhere safe... and soon? She couldn't get to the basement, and she knew using an elevator in an emergency was never a good idea, right? The only place that stuck out to her was a utility closet. Would it work? Who knew. Maybe she'd just look utterly stupid.

Once the door was shut, Elena fished out her phone to call Jennifer, but her phone now read 'no service.' Her eyes widened, and she went to reboot it, sure it was an error her phone liked to throw up sometimes. There was always good service in the building! It clattered to the floor before she could turn it on, though, as the building began to shake and she grabbed a shelf to try and steady herself. Oh, God... an earthquake? She didn't even think they got them here. In her bones, she could feel this was bad, but she didn't want to believe it. No. It would be fine. Jennifer was just being dramatic... it would be fine.

That said, when the door opened, she let out a shriek, fumbling around for a light. Her own scream was met by more outside, and the awful sound of glass breaking. Oh, shit. Oh shit...

The light blinked several times before finally exploding into view, and Elena was met with the sight of Teddy. Once again, they'd found themselves in the same place, but she couldn't laugh about the coincidence. She could barely choke out any words at all, even.

"What..." she began, the rest of the words sticking in her throat. She could hear rumbling outside, and more shrieks. There were words muddled in, but she couldn't catch them. "What happened? What do we do?"

Of course, it was silly to expect Teddy to have any answers at all, but the questions rolled out before she could stop herself.

 

[Dezz]

​

Teddy threw open the utility closet and jumped in. A light flickered in his face, but he was more concerned about getting away from the breaking windows and chaos. The light finally settled on his face, which looked more animated with fear than it typically does during his working hours.

"What..." the woman he was in the closet with began. He felt the building start to shake more and so quickly grabbed a chair in the closet and braced the door. He figured a simple lock wasn't going to stop a massive wave. He collapsed backwards a bit, turning to face the person he was sharing the closet with. She continued, "What happened? What do we do?" He blinked a few times before he could make out the face of the person he was with.

It was the girl from his classes and whom he was hired with. He couldn't believe he was seeing her again under these circumstances. He prepared to answer but the shaking got so violent that he fell next to her in the closet.

"Tsunami." He managed to mutter among the violent shaking. The screams grew in anticipation. "It's coming for-"

A mythic crash was heard just followed by a shattering of glass. Shrieks went silent and a large amount of water started to enter the room. Teddy did the only thing he could at the moment and held onto his coworker. His eyes watch the levels of water to ensure he kicked the chair off the door just in case.

For a while, the water started to slowly move up, but it did eventually go back down. Teddy exhaled with intense relief, quickly attempting to stand. His legs did not agree to that request. He quickly fell down and splashed back into the water.

"It... it came out of no where." He managed to stammer. He looked right at the woman to find any semblance of a next step. "It was the largest wave I've ever seen in my life. We're not even that close to the ocean... how did something that big possibly hit us here in the city?"

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

​

A tsunami... a damn tsunami... in this city? She wasn't sure how it could even be possible, but there was no time to think too hard about that. Instead, Elena's mind was completely frozen, unable to help herself from letting out a scream as water filled the room. Her phone was certainly gone now, and with it her connection to Jennifer - if she was even still alive out there, but would they be going soon too? As the water rose, she couldn't even scream again, instead watching it intently until it finally began to subside, holding onto Teddy so tightly that she wouldn't be surprise if it was causing the poor man some pain. When she used to watch disaster movies, she was highly critical of the characters that would just stand there in fright, muttering at the screen for them do something, only for the character to remain in place and meet some sort of miserable end if they happened to not be the protagonist or one of the other few allowed to survive. Now, she was one of them, it seemed, and that was finally enough to have her... somewhat snap out of it.

Her, an unnamed, quick death in a disaster movie? Never. She knew that she wasn't exactly... well equipped for an emergency like this, more familiar with what was expected if one was caught up in a fire or car accident in terms of having a plan, but she wasn't too critical of herself. Who expected to be caught up in a tsunami here, of all places? Still, she wished that tsunamis had been one of the research rabbit holes she occasionally got sucked down while Googling in front of a silly dating show on TV. Then, she'd at least have something.

Her first order of business was holding out a hand to help Teddy up. It felt like the easiest place to start, but she was still so shaken that it was tempting to be sucked back into the frozen state she'd been in only minutes ago. Sitting here in the water and waiting, whether it be for a end or some help, was more enticing than she would ever admit out loud, but she couldn't give in. She had to see if Jennifer was alive, and of course, their parents too... and her friends... there had to be more people out there than her and Teddy. He had to have people he was worried about too, right? That was a thing they would have in common that had a bit more... substance to it.

"The roof," Elena said, the words appearing to come out of nowhere. "We... we should go up to the roof. Who knows what it's like further down... but maybe, someone will spot ud if we're up on the roof. Someone has to be out there. A rescue team... a helicopter or something." Someone had to be out there. This would be a gigantic news story within the next fifteen minutes at most, she was sure.

 

[Dezz]

Teddy took the outstretched hand, slowly coming to his feet. At this point Teddy thought this was nothing but an incredibly vivid dream. He would have to wake up and get to work - he never had dream he could remember... or feel so intensely. The cold sting of the water. The intense shaking of the building. The piercing screams that were silenced. It was unlike anything he had ever seen in his day to day life. His mind started to race - what would he need to do in a situation like this? What was his goal? Why did he need to survive?

There wasn't a long list. Thinking about it deeper would only cause more confusion. Teddy decided that right now the best thing to do was accept the reality of the situation and remove any unknown variables he could. The first was finally taking the time to learn the name of his coworker - something he had never thought necessary.

"There's a lot going on. Right now we don't know what we're going to see if we make for the roof. What can I call you so that if things get rough we can stick together?" He stretched his hand out towards the girl in the closet. "I doubt you recall me, but I'm Theodore. For ease of calling out, though, call me Teddy." He looked down at his drenched clothes and instantly knew that if this was a prolonged survival situation that they would need to find somewhere dry. Staying in soggy clothes could invite other problems - many of which Teddy didn't have a full understanding of.

There was a small bit of fear in Teddy's eyes at this point. Not only because of the fear of death - but the fear that the fact he had nothing to live for would come back to bite him. His eyes danced over to the girl in the closet. He wondered what her dreams, hopes, friends, and family were to her. Were her desires worth his effort? He made it his initial goal to find out.

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

​

While hard to think straight, Elena soon came to the realisation that as best as she could, she had to consider things... in the middle. She couldn't freeze in fear, but she couldn't rush over her thoughts to take action. Staying put would likely lead to trouble, but bursting out the door with 'go for the roof' being her only idea felt like it wouldn't get them that far either. She still felt like going for the roof was the best idea, as it was never as simple enough as heading for the front door in situations like these. Who knew what it was like outside to start with... going further down in the building only enhanced her anxiety. It felt like wandering into a sinking ship.

She was so far into her own head that she almost missed Teddy's words, but she pulled herself out of her thoughts and told herself that just for this moment, she had to focus on right this second. With quite the strained smile, she shook his hand. "Teddy. Alright. That... that's good to me." She nodded at him in a rather firm way that felt a little awkward, wanting to say that she did somewhat recall him, but it didn't feel too important to say right now. Maybe if they made it out of here. "I'm Elena. Elena Luque. You... you can just call me Elena." She laughed for a second, realising there was no real need to specify that, but it was done. Even something as simple as saying her name felt challenging right now.

"Right. I... I suppose we should... head on our way." It was the wrong phrasing and she knew it, but there was no time to stress over something like that. She thought about trying to dig around in the water for her phone, but she didn't want to risk possibly cutting herself on anything sharp that had fallen off the shelves, and what was the point anyway? It was screwed, no doubt. What repairman in the world could do anything with something that water damaged.

With a deep breath, Elena opened the door. She closed her eyes as she did so, slowly stepping out of the utility closet. Only then did she open her eyes. "Christ..."

The previously bustling office space couldn't even be called a shell of itself at this point - a rotting husk felt more apt. The windows were destroyed, but there was little noise outside. If she listened harder, perhaps she'd pick up on vague sounds of panic out in the world somewhere, but she couldn't focus enough. Her eyes scanned the room, the lights flickering and water dripping from the ceiling, the furniture in disarray and papers all over the place. She wanted to stop by her desk and see if there was anything she could save, but she was too afraid to move any further, and again, it didn't feel like there was much of a point.

 

[Dezz]

Teddy nodded to himself, carefully trying to ensure that he'd be able to remember Elena's name. The water was decently cold, but up to this point Teddy wasn't sure he could still feel his legs. It all kind of blended together in the fog of panic that had settled over him since the building basically exploded around him while he was in this closet.

Shaking his head, he nodded when Elena went to open the door. He was sure what he was about to see would be forever burned into his mind, so he swallowed deeply and exhaled. The building had basically been utterly ruined. He glanced at the spot his desk used to sit but it appears to have completely blown away by the chaotic tides. As Elena wandered toward her desk, something horrific caught Teddy's sight.

The man that used to be his boss, Rob, was not pinned underneath his old desk and barely keeping his head above water. He quickly dropped to a knee and attempted to lift the desk, but to no avail.

"T-teddy.. is that.." Rob managed to squeak out, barely holding his neck up. Once he realized that it was a futile attempt, he did the only thing he could. Put a knee under his head so he could stop struggling to keep above the water.

"Sir, I..." Teddy whispered.

"Theodore. I need you to do me a favor. My worst fear is dying through drowning. I need you to help me find a quicker, less painful way." Teddy began to feel numb. This man was sitting in his office only a few minutes ago and now he was so far gone that he was asking for the impossible. He felt the panic growing. How would he do this? How could he do something like this? The first move he made was to grab a piece of debris and ensure his head was well above water. He nodded slowly and set out to find something to help.

There was a few, lucky people walking around. Teddy could only think of walking towards Elena right now. He stumbled a bit, but eventually made it near where she was. Before he could open his mouth, he heard a struggle from the direction he came from. He slowly turned to see Frankie, one of the receptionists, standing over a now submerged Rob. She caught that Teddy was watching so she barked, "There's no time to find tools that will do the water's job. Don't you dare judge me. After all this man put me through, he got what he deserved." She rushed off further in the building, clearly uncomfortable with this room now.

Teddy turned back towards Elena, hoping for some kind of answer. How could things have gotten so critically inhuman so fast? He felt his legs turn to jelly and leaned against a piece of debris, trying to catch his breath.

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

After a moment, Elena pushed herself to head over to what remained of her desk. Even over something that seemed so small, she couldn’t tell herself that it had no point. No. Once she started thinking that way, she’d given up, and that was no way to get out of here. As Teddy did some exploring of his own, she fished through the wreckage, trying to find anything she could save. She was careful to not touch anything electric, just in case, and reached down to grab a frame. It had broken in all the chaos, and the image inside was slightly water damaged now, but she didn’t care. If anything even worse happened out there, she wanted something to remember her family by, so she carefully retrieved the image from the frame and slid it into her pocket.

While she was mostly preoccupied with the picture and seeing what she could find through the wreckage, she wasn’t immune to what was going on around her. Vaguely, she could hear Rob’s croaks, someone shuffling off, and the sound of a struggle. When she looked up, she wished she hadn’t. Holy shit… had things really escalated to this? She knew, though not from experience that survival changed people. She just never expected it to happen so soon. She was indeed relieved when Frankie shuffled off elsewhere, but it didn’t count for much. After witnessing that, she was thinking about things… differently.

For as long as she could remember, Elena was all about work. This place was no different. All that mattered was climbing the ranks, and she wasn’t here to make friends. She didn’t consider herself to be rude, exactly, but there were some people she couldn’t stomach. There were others that she’d locked horns with. It was never too serious, but in a situation like this, perhaps those moments would come back to bite her. Quickly, she bent down to retrieve a pair of scissors from a tipped over mug, briefly thinking about bringing it with her too, but she refrained. It wasn’t exactly useful. Some sentimental things would have to be left behind.

“Come on,” Elena said as she shuffled over to Teddy, but she tried her best not to be rude. Gripping the scissors in one hand, she reached for his hand with her other, moving to lead them further into the building. She was searching for the stairs to begin the climb to the roof, knowing the elevators would be well and truly out of commission.

As soon as they left this room of cubicles behind, Elena froze. Looking more than a little freaked and standing there with one shoe on and a cut on her leg was Meredith, a coworker that Elena knew all too well. They were… unofficial rivals. It was obvious that Meredith wanted to climb the ranks too, and she wasn’t shy about it. If Elena said something, Meredith did more. If Elena stayed late to get more done, Meredith stayed later and got even more finished. It was never ending. Out of everyone in the damn building, Meredith was probably who Elena wanted to see the least.

“Meredith,” Elena said brusquely, gripping the scissors. Could she ever use them if it came down to it? She hoped not.

“Elena,” Meredith said back. Her attention then turned to her companion. “And… Theodore. You’ve made it.”

Elena wanted to leave, but she didn’t have it in her. She was stuck here now. “Yes,” she said quietly. “We’re trying to get out of here. To the roof.”

She couldn’t throw the woman under the bus or leave her behind. Regardless of her feelings, she’d feel guilty forever. She just hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite her.

“Oh,” Meredith muttered. She closed her eyes for a moment and reached to hold onto the wall, her leg obviously giving her grief. She was going to slow them down for sure. “Good thinking, I suppose. If we can get up there, this is.”

“We’re going to try. It’s better than going deeper down,” Elena insisted. She looked over at Teddy with a sigh. “So… where should we head to next? Should we go to the stairs right away… or look for some supplies?”

 

[Dezz]

Teddy was still adjusting to the horror he just took in. His mind went back to all the times he spent trying to impress his boss, trying to ensure he had the means to improve in the company. To not know he was suffering with a fear of drowning was shocking. Worse yet, his fear was realized today. This was a new world.

When Elena grabbed his hand, he was able to ground himself in reality. This is the world they were in. He mostly kept to himself but he knew others would use him to advance their own desire to live. He decided to pocket a few pens and a box cutter. He was sure that a box cutter wouldn't really help but it was potentially a difference maker.

Once he gathered his tools, Teddy joined Elena as she turned the corner. They came face to face with Meredith. He hadn't worked with her much but the office knew there was some tension between the two. This could prove to be dangerous.

He watches the eyes of Meredith. She seems to be eyeing up both of them, slowly seeing if she could trust them. Once they both were shown not to be aggressive, she leaned on the wall. Teddy could see she was harboring an injury. Might help if they need to attack her. Wait. What the hell was Teddy thinking? Has he lost his humanity??

Elena looked to him and asked for the next move.

"Based on... Well.. circumstances we should gather supplies. I don't know how much you can move Meredith but we shouldn't split up much. You'll have to hide while Elena and I hunt for anything we can." He glanced towards Elena.

Once he said this, he turned and started to lead the way through the destroyed office.

"Let's hit the break room first. We'll need food if things get bad."

He walked in and a sight of gore and death greeted him. The stench of freshly dead coworkers caused him to get physically nauseous. That said, he knew they needed snacks.

"Elena, you don't have to come in here. I'll get the snacks." he steps slowly over the corpses and finds the vending machine tipped over. He grabs a box and starts to fill it.

Outside of the room, Frankie approached Elena, aggressively holding up a fire hydrant.

"So you had the same idea as me? Well, I'll have to take what I need from you then. Looks like you met an untimely demise from a hydrant!" She charged recklessly.

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

Right. Food. That was a good idea. Her lunchbox was most definitely wiped away and she didn’t like the idea of eating sugary vending machine food, but she couldn’t exactly be picky at a moment like this. She and Meredith both nodded, her rival apparently along for the ride for awhile at least, and followed Teddy down the hall. While it felt like a cowardly thought, she was glad that she didn’t have to go inside. She could smell something awful from out in the hall, and she knew that it would only worsen as time passed by.

Meredith had always been a stubborn woman, and the dire situation had only made that stronger. Despite her injury, she did her best to keep up with Teddy and Elena, even as her wound reopened and blood ran down her leg. It hurt like hell, but sitting here and groaning in agony wouldn’t exactly get her any help. She had to keep going. Once they got to the roof, some helicopter had to spot them, and then this would all be over. Things were bad… but the world couldn’t be over out there.

When Teddy disappeared into the break room, both girls followed his words. Meredith did her best to ignore the pain from her wound and crouched down behind a file cabinet that had remained standing despite the carnage, more than content to leave Elena out in the hall. Better Elena than her. It sounded heartless… but it wasn’t meant that way completely. Elena wasn’t hurt, and while the scissors weren’t much, she was armed. She’d have at least somewhat of a chance.

She didn’t expect anything to happen, though. All she could hear were sounds of rustling in the break room, Elena pacing back and forth, and the dripping of water for the most part. She didn’t like to think about any noises of others elsewhere in the building. She wasn’t the most liked individual, and she didn’t want to get into fighting for resources just yet. Frankie, however, seemed to have another idea.

Elena had no time to think. Frankie was coming right at her and she couldn’t even think about plunging the scissors into her, so she did the first thing her body told her to - get the hell out of the way. Frankie, however, was moving too fast to change course. With horror, Elena and Meredith watched as Frankie’s shrieks of anger turned into a cry of fright, the receptionist hurtling out of the remains of the window and onto the street below.

“Oh… oh my god…” was all that Elena could choke out at first. Her hands shook, and she could feel tears brewing. “Did I kill her, Meredith?” It was all her mind could jump to. She was running and she moved and if she hadn’t… it was too much, and she couldn’t handle the silence. “Did I? Did I?!”

“No! For goodness sake, it wasn’t your fault!” Meredith snapped back. She had wanted to remain cordial for a bit longer, but she couldn’t hold herself back anymore. “Frankie freaked out, you dodged, she fell. What were you supposed to do, let her hit you? She was always fucking crazy anyway. I can think of worse people that could’ve taken a fall like that.”

Tell us all how you really feel, Meredith, Elena wanted to say, but she didn’t want to fire up the woman further. Best to keep her on her good side for now. “Alright,” was all she murmured instead, wiping her tears away with her wrist. She could cry later, she told herself. Now was time for survival.

Meredith got up from behind the file cabinet, and peeled into the break room. That was a mistake, but she didn’t let the sight of gore deter her. “Can you hurry up there, Theodore? We don’t need enough to feed an army. I want to get to the roof before Elena here floods the place again with her tears!”

 

[Dezz]

The water was stagnant in this room. It seeped into every surface like a plague and filled the room with a stench Teddy wouldn't soon be able to repress. The box was almost full when her heard Meredith. If Elena was crying, surely it was because she had seen the horror of this place. He quickly grabbed one last bag of chips before shuffling out of the room with a pained wince.

"Alright. I have some foo- what happened out here?" Teddy's eyes went to the broken window. There was traces of blood and he quietly looked down to see the body of Frankie. He slowly turned around, a bit horrified.

"Did.. did she try to attack you?" He murmured, coming over to Elena. He had watched what she just did to their boss. It was no small leap of logic that she might come for anyone else. As he glanced back towards the window, he couldn't help but see the city. There were other buildings collapsing into the swell of the ocean water. Explosions and fires succumb to the currents. The murky depths can only hide the morbid fates of anyone who had the misfortune of being in the city. Would he join them by the end of the day?

He shook his head, remembering that time could be of the essence in this situation. The building creaked slightly, teetering under the stress. This prompted Teddy to shake his head, standing quickly.

"We need to get to the roof, Elena. I have enough food to last us a couple days if the need is there." He lifted the box and glanced over at Meredith. "Actually, if you don't mind..." He gently placed the box into Elena's hands and walked over to Meredith.

"Look, we don't know how much time we have." Teddy stated. He turns around, slightly kneeling. "Just hop on. Don't want the wound getting infected by anything in the water."

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

​

Elena prided herself on staying composed - especially at work. She took any bullshit requests with a smile or a curt nod, thought she dealt rather well with people getting under her skin, and no matter what happened or what level of stress she was under, she did not cry. The thought of crying at work was something that made her utterly want to die. It was weak, useless, and would make her look like an easy target, she was sure. Perhaps she should've been a bit easier on herself considering this wasn't something she could ever expect to be faced with, but instead, she was harsher on herself than ever. Meredith's words were just the icing on the cake, and she could feel her patience with her rival ready to wear completely thin.

"I'm not crying!" Elena shouted. As she did so, she wiped a few more tears away. Meredith's smirk only made her insides burn, and she found herself gripping the scissors tighter. Could she? Meredith was injured, and she'd never liked her much... and that would mean there was one less person in her way for a promotion if things ever managed to get back to normal...

Wait, what on Earth was she thinking?! Luckily, Teddy emerged from the break room before she could think about those thoughts any further. Like that, her anger just about faded away, and the fear bubbled back up to the surface. "She did," she said shakily, keeping her gaze fixed completely on Teddy. She hadn't forgotten things completely in such a short span of time. "I... I couldn't hurt her... so I moved... and she couldn't move and-"

"We need to get to the roof, Elena," Meredith snapped. Frankie flying out the window had freaked her out too, but she was trying to deal with it differently. It sucked, yeah, but she could angst about it after they got out of this situation.

Grudgingly, Elena nodded. She had to think about survival, but the sound of the remainder of the glass breaking paired with Frankie's screams would be something sure to haunt her for a long time. She watched as Meredith hopped on Teddy's back, arms wrapped around him tightly. She could see her expression falter for a moment, but she was determined to be brave about her injury. While Elena still didn't like her, and she doubted she ever would, she had to admire that about her. Her leg injury didn't look pleasant in the slightest.

"So... how does one get up to the roof, anyway? I didn't even know one could," Meredith asked once she'd gotten comfortable. Elena forced a smile that came out somewhat smug, glad that she had some knowledge that could be useful in a situation like this.

"Well, the average employees can't. When I started here, I studied the fire escape map - you know, just in case anything happened here, and I noticed that the path to the roof was on there," she began. Meredith looked at her and frowned, as if to say 'get to the point,' and Elena soon continued. "I saw it for myself a month or so ago. A maintenance worker about... one or two floors up from here had a door open, and I asked him where it lead. He told me there was a staircase behind there that lead to the roof."

"Right," Meredith nodded. "So... we wade through the mess, try not to get attacked by any crazies, and go up those stairs to the roof and get rescued before the building falls to bits? Sounds easy enough."

Elena nodded. She wanted to believe it, but then one other piece of the puzzle clicked into place for her. "I'd like to think so... but well, I'm sure one would need a key to open the door leading up to the staircase. You can't have anyone going up to the roof when they feel like it."

"Shit," Meredith muttered. "Anyone know how to pick a lock? Come on, I'm sure even a stick in the mud like you would have rebelled a little at some point."

Elena frowned, but ultimately decided to be the bigger person and say nothing. Instead, she looked over at Teddy, trying to digest this fork in the road.

 

[Dezz]

​

As Elena jumped on, Teddy could feel her dead weight pretty much immediately. He could tell she was absolutely taking advantage of his offer to help. He was always someone that tried to do the right thing. It got him into a lot of unfortunate situations late in college, which may have been why he stopped trying to get close to people. That said, he figured that if he was the one who suffered but the right thing still was accomplished, it was a worthy sacrifice he was willing to make.

Some of the water started to drip... at least he thought it was water. Upon a second glance he realized it was the blood from her wound. This wasn't an overnight fix and they needed to get her into a spot where they could at least attempt to start fixing this. He wasn't sure if he knew any way to do so... but he refused to leave her to her fate alone.

Meredith and Elena stared to muse about how to get to the roof. Teddy readjusted his grip on Meredith's legs. He got a slight flush of bashful feelings having never carried a girl like this. He could feel her legs clearly in his grip. He decided to brush it away for now given the circumstances.

"Shit," Meredith muttered. "Anyone know how to pick a lock? Come on, I'm sure even a stick in the mud like you would have rebelled a little at some point." Teddy glanced up to see her expression and then back to Elena. She didn't look thrilled with that comment, but still looked over to Teddy for some kind of input. He shook his head and looked at her.

"I've never picked a lock but I think I know where the weak points of a two hinge door are." He glanced to Elena. "It would take a lot of force from the both of us, but I think we can manage."

Teddy sloshes through some of the water, glancing at the murkiness that is held within. He shivers, feeling a cold connection to the ocean as a whole. He wondered about the unique, terrifying situations taking place across the world right now.

Upon arrival at the stairs, Teddy glanced back at Elena. "I'll be counting on you to watch our back as we go up. I won't be able to react quickly." He started up the stairs, gripping Meredith tightly as he ascended. Leaving the water was an incredible boost of morale.

In the distance on the floor they were on, a group of younger men started to come into view. For awhile they appeared distant but once they caught sight of Elena they approached rapidly. It looked like they had various things in their hands: A broken pipe. A large piece of wood. Part of a filing cabinet.

"Hey - what are you doing over there?" One of them barked.

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

​

Elena nodded, following Teddy and Meredith in the direction of the stairs leading up to the roof. She did her best to have hope. Trying to break down the door together felt like a far better idea that rummaging around in the building for a key they may not even find, but nervousness remained in her stomach all the same. The sight of Meredith's wound as she walked behind her didn't help, but she told herself to try and gain a strong stomach... as if it was that easy. She'd have to get used to things like that if she were to keep going. The same went for the water, though it was a less extreme thing than blood. She kept glancing down at the water as she went, half to ensure she didn't injure herself on anything floating around in it, half to see if she could find anything useful. It somewhat kept her mind of what happened with Frankie, so she kept with it.

So far, nothing useful had caught her eye. A few pieces of wood floated by, which she did think of grabbing, but it would likely be a bit too heavy and she didn't want to risk dropping the box of food. She also saw various items of clothing, unable to help feeling sick when she spotted a lone shoe or a stained jacket, wondering who they belonged to and what had became of them. Face down picture frames bothered her the most. She almost wanted to stop and turn them over, see a glimpse into what the lives of the coworkers she'd disregarded for so long were like... but what was the point? It would likely only make her feel worse, and she didn't want to fall behind.

They arrived at the stairs at last. Elena nodded at Teddy, reminding herself not to retreat into her own head as they ascended. They were counting on her, and she'd do her best as if this was any more normal job at the office. Perhaps that was a more manageable way of dealing with this whole thing - just treat it like another task to do her best at. "Alright," she said. "I won't let you down."

Leaving the water made Elena feel better as well. She did her best to keep up, trying to get used to the narrow stairs as fast as she could. It was difficult in her heels, and while unrealistic, she hoped she could get her hands on some more practical footwear soon enough. It was the least of her problems, though... especially when she heard rather brash voices what felt like not too far away.

Elena froze, gripping the railing tightly in one hand and the scissors in the other as she turned. The sight of the men and their makeshift weapons soon made her tense. There was no way they could be easily disposed of like Frankie, and running would only maximise her chances of tripping. It's not like they could evade them anyway. Once they were up on the roof, there was nowhere to go but down or inside the rescue helicopter she hoped would show up soon. It was hard for her, a person that regarded the people around her as competition even before she ended up in a life or death situation, but she decided to be honest. It felt like the simplest way to solve this.

"Trying to get to the roof," she called back. She did her best to be calm, composed, give the illusion that she most definitely knew what she was doing, thank you very much. "It feels like the best possibility of rescue." The next part was the hardest of all, but she felt it had to be done if she was taking this approach. "You can join us, if you like. We'll definitely need strength to break down the door."

She choked back her sigh. Trying to appeal to their egos made her feel a little ill, but if it meant avoiding conflict, it had to be done.

 

[Dezz]

​

The men approached quickly, as if not wanting to lose sight of her. The leader looked like a young, freshly graduated athletic man. His smirk showed no signs of wavering amidst the chaos that surrounded them. The two men with him looked older. They were clearly sore from whatever they did to hide, sporting bright blue and black bruises across their faces and arms. They didn't seem to be any worse off, chuckling alongside the main man as they closed the gap between Elena and themselves.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing all by herself trying to break down doors?" said the leader, leaning against the door frame. He acted as though he couldn't hear anything else she had said, instead poking her box with his crowbar. "Wow, we have a smarty over here, boys. She thought to gather us up some snacks as we wait upstairs for the building to collapse. You wouldn't mind sharing, would you?" He started to peer into the box.

"I know this one. She started this year. Ellie or something." One of the men grunted.

"She also said 'we' and 'us'. I wonder if any other pretty, smart girls are hiding around here." The other added.

"Shut up, you two. Worried about little girls. We have a snack right in front of us." He narrowed his gaze and the men started to circle around her.

--
Teddy made it to the top of the stairs, carefully covering his steps and holding a hand up to Meredith's mouth. If one noise was made then Elena would likely be in further danger. He didn't have a lot of time to put something together, but he knew that they had the numbers advantage as well as weapons. He turned to Meredith as he placed her down and held up a finger to his mouth. He glanced around at the basically empty floor they were on and found a heavy looking printer. He quietly unplugged it and moved towards the ledge.

He glanced down at Elena. He tried to catch her eye so that when she saw him he could motion her to back up the stairs. The element of surprise may be their only way to win in a full out fight. He didn't see how many of them were down there but if at least the leader could be hit, they would have a chance to retreat.

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

Elena had never felt smaller in her life. Their gazes made her feel sick, and while she tried to remain strong, there was little she could do to stop fear from seeping into her eyes. It only amused the men further, and it truly sank in how stuck she was. Her words were stuck in her throat. What was there even to say? She couldn’t threaten them. There was no way she was going to beg or plead. She could do nothing except hope.

While she didn’t catch Teddy’s gaze, Elena found herself stepping back, unable to do anything else. It gave her just enough room to avoid being hit by… whatever had been dropped over the ledge. As an awful crunch filled the hallway, she took the opportunity to run up the stairs, doing her best not to trip as she did so. The remaining men were certainly pissed, but for now, stayed by the side of their ailing leader. Their shouts that they were coming for them reminded Elena that they definitely weren’t out of the woods yet.

“Thank you,” Elena said, looking over at Teddy. She knew it had to have been him. Meredith’s bored expression seemed to confirm this further, though Elena could detect some fear in her eyes. She wasn’t invincible. If they caught up with them again, she certainly couldn’t fight. They had to get out of here before they found themselves in any battles they couldn’t win.

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve said thanks, now can we go?” Meredith snapped, taking a step forward. She couldn’t hide her wince as she did so. It made her feel a little more human, though Elena wasn’t sure if that was awful of her to think or not.

“Of course,” she simply said back, response curt. Meredith would likely always grind her gears, but Elena was quickly learning that there were much bigger enemies out there.

 

[Dezz]

Despite his best efforts, it appears Teddy would have to time this on his own. Luckily Elena didn't freeze and started her way up the stairs. The moment the leader stepped onto the staircase he let go of the immense weight. The deafening crunch was harrowing. Teddy dared not look to see the devastating effect the printer had on the leader but when Elena appeared and said thank you, he knew that it was worth the cost. He swallowed heavily before nodding.

Hearing Meredith snapped him out of his daze, knowing that the two men would seek vengeance if the damage was severe enough. Teddy's eyes scanned the floor quickly. There were mostly empty cubicles among the few bodies that littered the floor. He could hear the men downstairs bickering and knew it wouldn't be long.

"Elena we need to block this door. Buy us some time." He slammed the door and locked it. There was a heavy cabinet nearby so he rammed into it, toppling it over in front of the door.

"Alright. L-let's go." He blinked a few times before picknig Meredith back up. Nothing in his life prepared him for this level of animosity and it was set upon him quicker than he could formulate a thought. "I think our best bet for now is to keep moving up. We'll need to deal with everything carefully. If we can't find a good place to sleep fatigue will take us before nature does."

He moved to the next staircase and looked for the door that Elena had pointed out below. "You mentioned that this was the way, correct?" He continued to look, again being slightly distracted by the ever present pursuit of the men he dropped the printer on. On top of that, the waves splashing along the building served as a constant reminder of the horror that was just beyond the walls. The feeling of Meredith against him was enough to keep him grounded and focused, but the massive ocean put a primal survival instinct into him.

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

​

Already, there were so many things that Elena knew that she wouldn't forget. Her sister's texts and the disaster that followed, the sound of rushing water, Frankie's actions and her scream as she tumbled out the window, and now the crunch that resulted from whatever Teddy dropped on those men. She wasn't sure how she felt - grateful felt wrong, but at the same time, she wasn't sure how to describe it. She'd have to sort through it later... if she ever got out of here. The more new enemies they bumped into - and with each groaning sound that came from the building - the more she doubted. Still, she did her best to keep her head held high. She didn't want to look weak, have Teddy regret saving her, or give Meredith more things to snark about.

Elena nodded when Teddy spoke, coming out of her daze. She made herself speed up, grateful that Meredith was now quiet, but every step made her feel like she was wading through molasses. All she wanted to do was collapse, and the thought finally made her register Teddy's words about sleeping. As much as she tried, her anxiety couldn't help catch up with her. She knew she wasn't built for this. She was bult for spreadsheets and stapling and analysis and tasks that... were not very usual right now. It was scary to think about. This wasn't her. All the things she prided herself on were useless. It would take more than awhile to deal with that realization.

"Do you think the building will hold much longer?" She didn't know how ominous all the creaks the building was making truly were - but she didn't want to take any chances. "And... what if we miss the rescue team?"

"They won't send just one rescue team, Elena," Meredith said, turning her head for a moment to look at her. "Have you ever watched the news? They look for people for days when this sort of shit happens."

Elena let out a sigh. She hated saying this. She really did, but she had to concede. "I suppose you're right," she muttered, another sigh accompanying it. Pride shone in Meredith's eyes, and now satisfied, she turned to face Teddy's shoulders again. "One of the conference rooms could make a decent resting spot," she said, hoping that this was a less stupid thing to say. "As long as we can find an... empty one, of course. We can sleep on some of the chairs and use some of the other ones to board up the doors. We might be able to find some more heavy things in there to use as weapons too." The last part was especially painful to say, but there had to be more people like Frankie and those guys around here - and by the sound of it, not all of the guys downstairs were dead either. Fighting, at least for now, seemed like the norm... and it was yet another thing that Elena wasn't equipped to deal with.

 

[Dezz]

"I don't think anything is going to hold long against the constant strain of the ocean... we may have to think of another route if the worst happens." Teddy felt sweat form around his brow when he considered any other option. Jumping into the ocean was essentially risking your life for a small chance at escape. As Teddy heard the exchange about the rescue team, he couldn't help but swallow hard. He had thought about it in the closet before. He assumed there was not going to be a rescue team for something this big.

Teddy shook his head and said, "Alright if we're going to head inside then I'll need you to be as subtle as possible. If I'm carrying Meredith I can't react quickly if people up here have gone rogue. Just try to cover my back without making yourself known until you need to." Teddy was focusing exclusively on how to get to a spot where he could begin to process what was happening.

With a subtle force, Teddy pushed open a door towards the top of the stairs. Peering inside there were a few huddled groups of men and women. Unfortunate as it was, there were also a few corpses. No one even noticed their arrival so Teddy tried to move quietly from office to office. Eventually he got tired and sat down near a smaller group who looked over to them. A young woman crawled over and looked at Meredith's leg.

"She looks hurt," she murmured. "I have a bit of medical training if she needs to treat that cut."

Teddy shot Elena a look, almost as if to confirm she didn't get any strange vibes before he let Meredith down.

 

[goodbyeskyharbor]

​

We may have to think of another route if the worst happens. Teddy's words went in Elena's ear, then right out the other. She could allow herself to register them, for them to soak into her brain so she could absorb the true reality of this situation. Elena was all about planning, structure. She lived each and every day by the book, knowing exactly what was going to happen - and that was how she liked it! Something like this... was not in the plan, to say the least, but Elena was going to deal with it the best she could. And what did that mean, exactly? Trying to cling to any sort of plan she could. It was all laid out in her head. They were going to rest, the building would hold, and they would continue on their journey to their roof, where a helicopter would sweep by and rescue them. There. Easy. It was going to be fine.

Sure, Elena.

Elena remained quiet as they ventured through the building, holding onto her scissors tightly. Every noise made her heartbeat faster, a distant scream or a groan from the building making her feel nauseous. By the time Teddy found the small group inside one of the rooms, she was more than ready to sit and try to calm herself the best she could, but she told herself not to be ruled by emotions right now. She analysed them carefully, and ultimately gave Teddy a nod.

"Finally," Meredith said. As soon as she hit the floor, her confidence faltered. Elena could see some fear in her eyes as she tried to stretch out her leg, allowing the woman to look at it. There was no way she could mock her for it. She's sure she'd be doing far worse if it was her with the injury.

As the woman attended to Meredith, a man came over to greet Elena and Teddy. After a moment of thinking, a name came to mind - Ethan. He was sweet, harmless enough. He tried to insert some fun into the monotony of spreadsheets and meetings - as much as he could without getting in any trouble. Now, his demeanour was strikingly different, but not in a way that gave her the creeps. He was just... solemn. As weird as it was, it fit.

"What's it like out there?" He asked the two softly. "We were in a meeting when it happened. It was a miracle we made it. We... we don't really know what to do next, though." In typical fashion for him, though, he tried to find some sort of positive. "We... we have soup if you're hungry."