We went through a maze of unassuming corridors and hallways, passing some very pissed off looking guards (I recognized a bunch of them, I just hope that they didn't take anything I did personally), until eventually we went through one of those huge military style doors, the ones that are remotely operated and were air tight. Just a little past that was a row of white doors, and it was here that Kelley stopped us.

I looked around, trying to find any hidden cameras or recording devices that could be lurking around. However, this particular hallway looked like all the others, although I guess it was slightly wider than the ones we passed though earlier. Still a bland shade of grey though; you'd think such a massive organization could afford to paint their hallways. Or maybe it was going for that whole “brutalist” style of architecture, I've never understood it. On the far left side of the hallway was a large wooden door that had a sign which read “General Affairs Sector” and to the right was the metal door we passed earlier, the door had huge red letters plastered on its surface that read: “AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY, DO NOT ENTER”. I could see nothing out of place, no cameras, no ominous men in black observing every movement, just a nicely swept hallway... but that could just mean that things are well hidden. I guess I was still a little paranoid about the whole experience, but after the stuff I've lived through, there's always a reason to be extra careful. You'll never know when and where a ravenous hoard of zombies will pop up!

God I hate zombies.

I turned back to the spot we stopped at and saw Kelley pull out a little crumpled piece of paper from her pockets, she checked the rows of scribbles on it and slowly led us to one of the white doors: number 1032.

“Ok Frank,” Kelley said, picking up and reaching into one of the plastic bags she held until she found a little key card and opening the door, “this is going to be your new place for a while! I was the one who picked out the furniture and layout, and I think I over did myself this time!” With that she opened the door wide and stepped inside, obviously overjoyed with her job.

I peeked my head into the door, scouting around a bit. And you know what? The place actually looked pretty damned good. Immediately to my left was a pretty modern washroom, and what appears to be a jacuzzi in the corner. As for the room itself, there was a sophisticated queen sized bed snuggled into the corner of the room, equipped with delicate silk blankets and a set of fluffy red pillows – my ex would have probably called them “velvet pillows”, because having ovaries could apparently make you distinguish fifteen shades of the same colour. Next to the bed was a very fancy looking oak (or mahogany, or redwood, or pine; I have no idea really) dresser, a matching night stand, with one of those Victorian style lamps sitting on top of it, and a big standing mirror off to the side to top it all off.

On the other side of the room was a massive wooden table – holding a gold candelabra at its centre – and a chair that looked more like a throne tucked to the table's side. Beside the desk was a pair of bookshelves that dug into the walls, shelving literature from Shakespeare to Darwin, all old looking and obviously expensive. The room was topped off with some red and white floral wallpaper, an exquisite Persian rug under the wood floor boards and, of course, a chandelier. And even though the room itself was no larger than a standard living room, the furniture made the space seem huge. It was kinda hard to believe that I was going to live here.

I stood there speechless for the who-knows-how-many-times that day, stunned that so much money was put into the room for someone who was just entered the organization – and not even by choice. But still, who am I to complain about company benefits?

“You know what? I think you really did out do yourself this time. This room is... exquisite! You have my thanks, Ms. McMuller.” I said as I entered the room, immediately finding the bed and plopping down on the warm, velvet blankets. After the hell I've suffered through, the bed felt like I was lying on top of the clouds. I could definitely get used to this.

“Just Kelley is fine, I never did like my last name, and calling me Ms. McMuller just makes me sound so old! But never mind that, I've only just gotten to the good part! Wait till you see what comes with the room!” With that Kelley opened the dresser, shoved me out of bed and towards that general direction. I staggered a little and glanced in. What I saw was a row of clean, newly ironed clothing; everything from business suits to plain white t-shirts were neatly hanged, along with an array of pants and shorts.

“We weren't sure what size you were so you'll find a little bit of everything in there. You can sort out which clothes fit and whatnot later, just put the ones that don't fit or the ones that you don’t like in that” she said, pointing to a little basket beneath the clothes, “and one of our lovely housekeepers will replace it with something more to your size and liking. You can just call them when you've sorted everything out.”

“Um, Ms. - err I mean Kelley, I don't have my cellphone on me anymore, I pretty sure one of your guys took it when I was knocked out. So how exactly am I supposed to call anyone?”

“Oh, I do apologize for earlier, but the guards were just doing their jobs. Seeing a couple of them after your little skirmish tells me that you're a lot better off than they were! And don't worry, we got you covered on communication as well! You'll love this.” she replied, taking something else from one of the plastic bags and handing it over to me, “It's sort of like a cellphone, but it probably works a little bit differently from the ones you're used to. Since we're kinda deep underground and all, your average cellphone wont get any kind of reception, so the higher ups had the brilliant idea of installing our own cellphone tower. It comes with internet – fastest thing you'll find too! 20 GB of storage, voice command, and a little panic button on the side in case of... certain emergencies. Well, I'm sure you'll never have to use it, but if you do you'll get help within 2 minutes. Just press and hold the red button for 15 seconds and that should do it, but remember, emergencies only. Oh boy, I wouldn't want to be the poor sap who pressed that little button without a good reason, the higher ups take that kind of thing pretty seriously – a little too seriously if you ask me, it's all work and no play for them, and that can do horrors to the brain!

“Ah, here I am blabbering on again, you really do have to stop me when I do that, I know it's kind of rude to be the only one talking all the time, and it's a habit that I'm really trying to fix, but it still slips by every now and then. I'm sure you know how it is. Oh, and before I forget, I've taken the liberty of putting all the contact information you'll need in your phone. I'm sure that some of the people I've added might be new to you, but you'll find out who they are eventually, so I thought to myself, why not save you the trouble of adding them later when I could just do it now? I'm sure that you can figure out the rest of the phone's functions yourself, but just to be sure, do you have any questions?”

“No, I think I'm pretty good now,” I said, smiling at the 5'2 condensed ball of happiness despite the rough day I've had, “thanks again for the cream puffs and the room, but I think I can handle everything else by myself.”

“Wonderful! I'm sure you've had a tough 24 hours, so feel free to just relax and check out SIDNA HQ when you're feeling up to it, it really is a lovely place and I'm sure you'll make a friend or two! Now you'll find a wallet with some spending cash in the drawer over there” she said, pointing to the huge wooden desk, “and there's also a spare set of key-cards. And remember, Frank, if anything's bothering you, anything at all, do give me a call, I'll be more than happy to help you out. Oh, and one more little thing I forgot to mention, we generally don't use our um... abilities outside unless it is absolutely necessary, it's just to keep the peace and all, but do remember it.”

With that and a huge smile on Kelley McMuller's face, she gave me a little hug (standing on tippy toes) and left, closing the door behind her as she went.

I chuckled at myself, thinking back on everything that's happened; never in my entire life would I have foreseen this kind of situation, even taking into consideration the strange situations I've been through since I found out about my ability to teleport. But you know what? This isn't so bad, the company's got really great perks, and I can only imagine how the pay is – probably a whole lot better than my dull lab job. Stipend pay is basically the same as legal slave labour if you ask me, and anything's better than pipetting hundreds of samples mindlessly.

I closed the closet behind me and went to fetch the wallet that Kelley pointed out earlier, I hadn't even noticed that I didn't have mine on me until she mentioned. Well, it wasn't like there was a whole lot in it ever since I got fired from my job. I opened the top drawer of the desk to find an unassuming black leather wallet, and inside was a thick pile of bills. I pulled them out and counted: ten 20 dollar bills, five 50 dollar bills and five 100 dollar bills in all, a nice sum of $950 dollars. That was more money than I would see from a month's worth of work with my old job. You know what? This deal is beginning to sound better and better.

I put the wallet back in the drawer, and finding nothing better to do, I jumped back on the bed and decided to take a nap. It felt like forever since I've last slept comfortably and without worry, and to be honest, it felt weird. I felt kind of empty, the usual pieces of doubt and concern boggled down in my mind weren't there, and I had no idea how to react to it. After who knows how long, I managed to fall into a deep slumber; the fatigue finally taken over.