I woke up with my head pounding and a terrible ringing in my ears. I sat up, yawning and turning my alarm clock off. I was only half awake, so I splashed some cold water on my face before making a quick protein shake and heading out the door. I hopped in my used truck and headed to work. Nearly as soon as I hopped out, my co-worker Josh walked up.

  “Hey, Lucas, me and the others were going to head out to lunch during noon break. Do you want to come?”

  “Sure,” I replied. It wasn't that I was antisocial, I just felt that it was time to get things done when I was at work. This was why my answers tended to be one word long. Josh seemed to get this, which was why I liked him. “Alright man, see you there.” I walked into the bank, nodding to some guards as I passed. I worked as an accountant, but fortunately, most people I interacted with were in a hurry and not prone to discussion. After four hours of boring, routine accounting, we headed out to lunch. My co-workers were Josh, Chris, and Jason. Chris was usually chill, content to just work in his corner. Jason was very outgoing and social, but he was still at least slightly tolerable. I was broken out of my stupor by Jason.

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  “Do you know what you want to eat?”

  “Uh, I'll just have a beef sandwich.”

  “Toppings?”

  “All of them,” I sighed, just wanting this discussion to be over.

  “Any angry clients today?”

  “No.”

  “I had this really grumpy guy who kept arguing we stole his money,” He said. He continued to talk, but I managed to just tune him out. Suddenly, an earthquake shook the entire building, and I dove under a nearby table. The roof started falling, but my co-workers managed to make it to the parking lot. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was a glowing blue screen displaying the words, System Integration Co

  mmencing.