[b]SEO Headoffice Hallway [/b]

Everyone’s eyes followed the vile sailing through the air. A jade mist trailing in the wake. A synchronised blink when the container was deftly retrieved by Jessamine who made the enterprise seem quite effortless. 
Julien simply smiled at the unfolded events. 

“Jess, please just go drown yourself!” Zach hollered across the hallway. Eyes averting in case he got a stern telling off by his master.
Fleur’s eyes widened whilst her pupils constricted. Like a rabbit facing the headlights. She reluctantly accepted the vile. Lip quivering as she tried to contain her anxiety and heartbeat galloping at 280bpm.

“Dgeeze don’t drop it!” A familiar voice remarked snidely.
The vile slipped out of the rabbit’s sweaty hands like a bad soap, before she promptly caught it again. Breathing a sigh of relief.

“Girl... you’ve got the shakes REAL bad!” Athena continued. Hands on her hips as tapped her foot impatiently.
Rey bit his lower lip. Attempting to have a look at the Director only to find his eyes unable to make contact. He shoved his hands in his pockets, whilst turning to look at both Xell who was still face down on the floor. And then Fleur who was still holding the vile with trepidations.

‘This has got really complicated... all I want to do is art... why am I here?’ He looked from side to side, before biting his nails.

‘Get a hold of yourself. Surely this can be solved amicably.’ He thought with a deep breath. 
Raising a finger, he finally found it within himself to speak.

“Please... I don’t want him to die...” he blurted out in uneven doses “he’s just... just Xell. The office guy. Trying to make ends meet. Complying with rules and regulations.”

“Please can we just find a safe way to wake him up?” He regarded the vile with reservations before continuing.

“He’s never done any harm to anyone,” he looked at each and every one individual. From Zach, he simply got an indifferent look look. From Crispin, a shrug of the shoulders. As if to gesture the notion ‘sure, whatever you say.’ Athena’s look was unsurprisingly, that of a scowl as she sized Rey up and down. All Fleur could offer was a vacant nod. Jessamine beamed with a valiant smile, which was perhaps the kindest gesture he had received for a while. At least someone was humane in this group.

The Director, on the other hand… left Rey’s eyes practically chained to the ground. He couldn’t tell whether it was in his head or not, but the presence of this ominous being almost felt like he was a lamb in a slaughterhouse.
Distant dull tones resounding in the air which did little to calm his breathing rate.

“You didn’t think to ask for my opinion?” The silence was broken. A voice with low octaves that was formal but sinister. Belonging to the Director.

Rey gasped. Eyes flitting up and down as if he was sticking his hand in fire. The red eyes were flaring with colours alternating between burning cinders and a drowning sea of bleeding souls.

“All actions have a consequence my dear boy. Why do you think you’re all here?” The Director opened up his palms in a summoning manner which was to address the cohort. Eyes circling the parameters whilst he spoke.

Crispin rubbed his eyes and pushed his head forwards- having to have a double take. In the right palm was another eye embedded in the boss’s skin. Sclera completely crimson red with a cat or snake like iris. Crispin retracted his head and gritted his teeth as the eye appeared to call his bluff and stare back at him.

“Seems your silence says it all,” Julien feigned a facepalm. The smile giving away that he wasn’t expecting one in the first place.
He looked up again. His jovial mood fleeting as a crushing look of murder caused his eyes to constrict.

“Ms Thompson, you’re left handed, aren’t you?” He asked, now adopting a formal tone.
Fleur looked up again, eyes widening beyond their limit.

“...no... no I’m right sir...” she reluctantly held up her right hand. Vile secured in her left.
Before she could elaborate, an all mighty crack followed by the tearing of organic tissues could be heard as Julien raised a claw and slashed the air. His eyes flashing like thunder before glowing an ominous red. The former chesire cat grin was replaced by a merciless frown on his face.

Julien’s pantomime tearing notion was synchronised with the shearing of flesh from Fleur’s right shoulder. Grinding and twisting of cartilage and trabeculae bone could be heard as each ligament was torn asunder. 
Sparks of paralysis shot up her central nervous system as the arm plummeted limply and hung from its socket. 
A flesh wound was left deep enough to cut through the shoulder bone joint but not enough to pierce the skin padding on the other side. Crimson blood pooling out onto her torso.
Concealing her cries, she bit her lower lip to the point where that, too, bled. Her knees buckled as she whimpered with tears streaming down her cheeks. Vile gently rolling out of her hand against the marble.

“Oh my... just stop!” Robyn jumped over to catch Fleur before she fainted. Falling down on his knees as he supported the rabbit and cradled her. Eyes tightly shut with his back turned to the cohort. His body acting like a human shield.
Fleur’s eyes opened and closed. A slight wooziness causing her peripheral vision to become blurry and static. She could see pairs of eyes peering from above her. Belonging to Athena and Jessamine.

“... is... is it bad?” She turned to ask Robyn with a nervous laugh. As if clinging to some hope.
The rabbit could see the inky crimson start to well up upon Rey’s white shirt. Despite the harsh lights of magenta and violet enshrouding them. 

The bleak dull tones of ambience continued in the air. Like the sinister wind turning an organic fan.
Athena looked away and folded her arms.
“... honey... just don’t look...” 

The somber Director relaxed his arms before shaking them out. As if to dust himself. The purple hues dimming a bit to cast the room into further darkness.

“Stupid girl, if you’re right handed, why are you holding the vile in your left hand?” He raised his head with interest “unless, of course, you saw this coming and tried to trick me. Knowing you’re going to need your dominant and reliable hand for the future endeavours. In which case, bravo. I commend you.” 

The purple beast turned to look at Jessamine. Expression unreadable as he studied her cautiously. 

“You caught it, you own it.”

“It’s ok, I won’t dismiss you. Yet…” he reassured with an evil snigger. 

“Mr. Ocelot. You’ve experienced adverse drug reactions,” Julien turned to look at the cat. His 3rd eye held out with splayed fingers which eyed him vigilantly. The tall beast paced up and down whilst dictating the scenario “our colleague here took Pill X this morning issued by Mr. Maynard. It was meant to keep him focused but instead, instilled high levels of anxiety. Mr. Weaver also, in fact, had a stash of his own drugs and took one of those this morning. Let’s call it pill Y.”

The devil reached one end of the room. Turning over his shoulder as if to make sure the candidates were still listening.

“Mr. Weaver appeared to exhibit some unhinged behaviour towards a request given by Ms. Thompson this morning and was then, injected with serum Z. He passes out, and has still not woken up. A stranger such as me, tells you to try serum A to revive him.” His eyes turned away and a smile could be seen on his side profile.

“Are you going to listen to me or take a different path?” he had his back turned. 

“You’ve got 7 minutes to decide.”