SOMEWHERE IN SOUTHWESTERN AMERICA, 2021 AD, Monday, 12:34 AM

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Devin Santos turned off his car and laid back in the driver’s seat, basking in the 12 AM Monday moonlight. He had just gotten into the parking lot of his apartment complex from another long day of work and it was taking everything in him to not scream like a lunatic in the car. He didn’t want the neighbors to think even lower of him, if that was even possible. Ever since he started working in ‘customer service’, which, for him, is just a corporate bullshit way of saying that he is a cashier at the local Walmart, he has been slowly losing his damn mind from the people he has had to deal with.

From drunk middle aged men who stumble around the store, knocking things over (which I’ll be forced to put back in place) to get the liquor area in the back of the store, to the frankly obnoxious kids who run around the store screaming and squealing. To Devin, it has gotten to the point where his senses at work have dulled to the point of nothing.

Some random person is berating him for no reason?

“Here we go again,” is his first thought.

The toilet has been clogged by yet another asshole stuffing toilet paper or whatever the hell in the toilet this time?

“At least I’ll be working in the back for the rest of the day.”

Occurrence after occurrence, day after day, Devin has worked there for so long that all the things that would seem absurd and unusual in a store to the common customer have become things that he just has to toil through.

“Damn it,” he thinks, “if I could leave this job I’d be gone without even sending the two weeks notice.”

Sadly for him though, that wasn’t an option, he needed the money to pay his rent, with the little remaining after that going into food and tuition for the local college. And at the end of the day, there wasn’t enough money to splurge on something substantial.

Finally calming down, he gets out of his car, makes sure to lock it, and walks to his apartment.

The apartment complex and its buildings aren’t special or noteworthy. There were seven different buildings. Six of them were the two story apartment buildings, they were made out of brick and each had ten apartments. As for the last building, it was a small office for the landlord to sit at his desk and nap all day. In addition to the buildings, there was a small pool in the center of the apartment buildings and a basketball court that had its nets quickly stolen every time a new set was installed.

Not wanting to grab the attention of his neighbors, he quickly went to his building and entered his apartment.

Compared to the outside, the inside of his apartment… really wasn’t that much different. Even though he has lived in the same apartment for the past few years, he never really got to decorating his small abode.

Quickly tossing his keys into the small kitchen area after closing the door, he heads straight for his couch and plops himself on it.

Sure he may have the energy to try to walk to his bed to pass out, but it was much easier to flop on the closer-to-the-door couch rather than spend a few more seconds walking. Quickly feeling the allure of sleep overtake him, he allows himself to relax, close his eyes, and goes to sleep, unaware of what will happen in the next few hours.