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The hot steam radiating off the coffee Intern was holding flew up into the air, becoming visible under the fluorescent lights. Secret Agent crossed his arms, right across Intern on the opposite side of the office, his hips leaned against the edge of the table as he gazed at Intern—who was staring at the grey wall, with the peeling paint already revealing the grey concrete underneath. Their eyes remained blank, their smile still extending across their face like always.
The silence between them stayed for a while, what only broke the silence was the quiet buzzing of the coffee machine making more coffee.
Secret Agent could clearly tell there was something on Intern’s mind, but truthfully he’s not too sure of it. Their eyes were basically just the void staring back at you, so there’s really not much you can study off of that. Secret Agent’s tail flicked thoughtfully.
Intern hummed, “You know, Clerk,” they spoke up. Breaking the silence. Secret Agent snapped out of his thoughts, “Hm?” He replied back almost immediately, his ears poking up alerted, clearly not expecting the sudden interruption of the silence. Intern remained silent and still for a moment, staring at the wall like it might attack them—though, it actually might. The fluorescent lights above them flickered.
“I got to take a sneak at the employee list today,” They started while turning around to meet eye-to-eye knowingly with Secret Agent. “It seems that you weren’t on it,” They chuckled. Immediately, Secret Agent’s ears flattened against his head and his pupils narrowed into pins. The air around them grew tense, yet Intern played it off. Whatever Intern was implying, Secret Agent didn’t appreciate it.
Intern began slowly approaching him, closing the distance between them; during that, they had immediately noticed the sudden change in Secret Agent’s body language; flattened ears; shrunken pupils; and his twitching tail. They dryly snickered as they brought the cup of coffee nearer to their mouth. “Quite the reaction,” Intern mocked with a fake surprised tone. He stopped a few steps away from Secret Agent, Secret Agent looked into their eyes, trying to decode whatever was going on inside their mind. Secret Agent stayed quiet, yet alert—he couldn’t exactly tell where this conversation was going.
Maybe Secret Agent didn’t know that he, himself, was scared, however all he could know was that his heart was racing—rhythmically thumping against his ribcage as he heard it through his own ears—the air in the room becoming indescribably suffocating for him as he looked into intern’s knowing eyes. Yet, Intern’s smile remained unwavering.
Intern continued without hesitation, “It’s a smart move,” They said, Secret Agent could’ve sworn he saw their grin get wider. “Taking advantage of the chaos..” Secret Agent titled his head, still waiting for where this was going. His heart beating faster anxiously.
“To blend in…” Intern took one sip of the coffee. Secret Agent took a moment to register that, his tail immediately shot up, but Intern’s action stopped him from doing whatever he was planning to do.
Intern opened their mouth, their smile finally extending from just a thin line spread across their face, it revealed their sharp elongated teeth, some seemingly stained with blood. Their tongue was unnaturally long. “It’s cute,” they cooed cynically. “How similar we are.” They leaned closer to Secret Agent. Secret Agent felt his air get stuck in his throat as he viewed the sight before him, an anomaly so boldly presenting their weapon in his face.
He felt his spine straighten and his hands raced before his mind to cage Intern’s throat. Secret Agent was shocked by what he did, it caught even himself off guard. Intern stumbled back but immediately regained their balance, they felt their air get knocked out of them. Part of Intern was terrified, terrified of dying, but another part wanted the agony to end.
The cup of coffee fell out of their grip, shattering loudly onto the tiles upon impact. Some of the coffee falling onto intern’s grey sweatpants, staining it.
Secret Agent felt sweat drip down his face. His hands trembled on Intern’s throat. What was going on? it shouldn’t have ended this way, It went against his morals. He did it just for mere escapement —and now it held him at a chokehold.
Secret Agent couldn’t deny it, He knew from the start all along, if only he hadn’t been so selfish. He could puke from the guilt— no matter how hard he tried to act apathetic to that fact. He did this not to feel pain, and now the guilt was just uppercutting him.
Intern laughed, “Scared?” They asked, looking into Secret Agent’s terrified eyes. Mockery dripping from their tone. “That is sooooo unlike you,” they sneered, their grin still unforgivingly the same. Secret Agent panted, their breathing suddenly getting quicker and their chest contrasting into a suffocating feeling. His heart felt like it was thumping against his ribcage.
“Shut your mouth! You vile demon!” Secret Agent roared, yet his voice trembled with something raw, maybe even vulnerable. “I could kill you right here— right now,” he threatened, his voice shaking, intern cut in with a taunting snort. “You could’ve drawn out the gun and shot me,” they reminded Secret Agent with a belittling tone.
“Or better yet, kill me before this conversation could’ve even happened,” They reminded again. Secret Agent glared at Intern. He couldn’t find the retaliating words, either way, he was basically choking on his own air.
“But you didn’t,” Intern said snidely, their hands drifting towards Secret Agent’s arm. They hummed again, their eyes gleaming with sardonic amusement. Intern let out a puff of air through their nose, that sounded like a stifled giggle.
Intern leaned closer, their warm breath meeting Secret Agent’s face—carrying the unmistakable of animal blood, yet mixed with the smell of coffee. “I wonder why you didn’t,” they asked with a tone that purposely tested Secret Agent’s boundaries, their grip now tight on Secret Agent’s wrists. Intern could feel his hands trembling slightly around their throat, it felt warm, a harsh contrast to their cold body—Intern couldn’t deny that a part of them was drawn to it.
Secret Agent felt sick to his stomach as reality hit him with a hard blow. He had been so selfish to let this anomaly run free because of his own curiosity that he stupidly used as escapism from this suffocating life he now lives.
He couldn’t take the pressure anymore, he was undoubtedly paranoid at each turn no matter how stoic he may have seemed. He held the responsibility for the safety of everyone around him—and it was choking him and basically torturing him. He had to keep such a strong face, but in truth, his finger was always trembling over the trigger.
Secret Agent always knew who and what intern was all along, but when they had arrived—it had tested Secret Agent’s waters. The thrill of curiosity could distract or even replace his misery—something he felt like he so desperately needed, so he let them through consequence-free, through all the safety protocols, and his own righteous morals. He should’ve realised how cruel of him it was.
He has witnessed many animals cry, over their long lost loved ones, or just from pure terror and fear, and all that was because of blood-thirsty anomalies like Intern.
And yet, Secret Agent let this one off the hook— he let this one test his morals, and his empathy. And for what? Doing that, it was disregarding the pain of the victims without a second thought, and he still did it. Because he needed some stupid, utterly ridiculous and apathetic coping mechanism..
He cruelly indulged deeper into whatever sick ‘romance’ story he formed with Intern, because he felt as if he needed it. It was a thrilling, intense sensation that distracted him from the pressure, misery, and depression he felt.
Could anyone even blame him? Everyone does cruel things, especially in a gruesome and inhumane environment like this— Secret Agent isn’t the worst animal to exist.
Secret Agent snapped out of it, ignoring the ringing in his ears, he let go of his tight grip around Intern’s throat with trembling hands. Intern gasped as the air entered their lungs, giving them a refreshing sensation. They didn’t cry, they didn’t erupt in anger or cruel laughter. They simply stayed quiet, a part of Intern felt weirdly numb and empty to this but another felt disdain, disgust, and anger yet also sympathy for him.
Secret Agent silently turned his gaze down to the floor, his eyes being a spectacle to the mixed emotions he felt stirring deep within him. The clothes felt so tight on him, and the room felt so humid, he felt like he was going to actually puke, his stomach had a sensation like it was twisting in knots and he could feel the acid building up at the back of his throat, His head practically stabbing daggers into him.
Secret Agent gaze flickered between the tile floor and Intern’s eyes. But in the end, he shoved Intern aside, and without a word, stormed off of the office, holding his head in his hands with a pained and anxious expression, while anxiously adjusting their tie with his shaky hand—like that’s going to help with anything—and sweating profusely.
Intern observed how their breathing became intense—their chest rising and dropping rapidly, as well as their body language in general. Their hands lightly roamed around their own throat, still feeling the phantom hands around it and the sensation of the air being restricted from them. They kind of felt sorry for Secret Agent, they used to be a normal animal too, and they used to experience the same pressure and stress as Secret Agent. So they obviously knew how it felt.