Chapter 4: 2. Just a Normal 9-5

Genesis started off his opening duties by going over the paper reports that the night shift guys left. As per usual, these past couple of days there had been little to no activity and the energy of the Origin was determined to be pretty stable. The report further stated that there had been no howling sounds that indicated the emergence of any monsters either, which Genesis felt immense relief at. However, he knew that they would be due for the emergence of a monster any day now because that was how the pattern usually went for the Origins. Not every day but surely at least once or twice every week. Despite the Halcyon Origin only spitting out low-level monsters that were basically the equivalent of livestock and pets, classified as E and D-level monsters respectively, he still couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous every time it would happen.

Undeterred by the stress and perils of working as an Origin Monitor, Genesis was unlike most people that worked in the facility. He was different because he genuinely loved his job and felt as though he was serving his city by watching out for its safety. Not only did it mean that he was always close to and watching the coolest Origin in the world, but it also meant that he was sometimes able to interact with Champions. It also didn’t hurt that he was with his best friend every day, that was just another plus about it.

Origin Monitors were exactly what their title dictated: they were in charge of keeping track of the Origin. They observed its daily activity, reported about it to the local government and media and kept watch for any monsters that would materialize from the portal. The monitors were also responsible for calling Champions to either wrangle the low-level monsters to put them on specialized beast farms or fight the more high-level hostile monsters that would emerge. In the rarest of cases, monitors would raise the National Origin Emergency Alarm, but that had never happened to Halcyon before so Genesis didn’t know what the procedure would be in that case. He prayed that he would never have to find out.

“Do you want to do the morning check-in with Champion Simmons or should I?” Gabriel pointed at the communicator screen when they were done organizing and checking reports.

“I-I can do it today!” He said enthusiastically. Usually, it would be Gabe who would do it, but Genesis felt different today. Perhaps a little bit of spicing up in one’s routine was good. Dialing Champion Danae Simmons’ number into his workstation’s communicator screen with shaky fingers, he rehearsed his greeting to her and what he was supposed to say.

“Hello?” The young man was startled that she picked up so quickly.

“G-good morning Champion Simmons! This is Genesis Roa, Origin Monitor at the Halcyon Facility. Will you be set and good for being the on-call Champion today?”

“Oh shit, is that you piggy boy? Uh, yeah I’ll be there.” She didn’t have her camera on, but Genesis could hear the disgust and ridicule in her voice anyway. He felt his keenness immediately plummet.

“Thank you for your confirmation and correspondence–,” he began to say, already regretting the interaction.

“Oi shithead, wait a second. I have something I wanna say,” she said gruffly.

“Y-yes ma’am?” He felt like prey, heart pounding at the thought of what he could have possibly done so wrong so early in the morning.

“Don’t do this shit again. I don’t like hearing the sound of your voice in the morning.” She hissed, practically seething venomously. With that statement she ended the call, not waiting even for a second for the young Monitor to respond or say anything more.

“Understood,” he muttered softly, even though she was already long gone. He turned towards his best friend, trying his damndest to stop his eyes from watering. He felt utterly humiliated. The poor kid had never been good with aggression. Genesis Roa was a lover, not a fighter despite his interests.

“That fucking bi–!” Gabriel looked about ready to fall over from indignation, a vein protruding on his forehead, jaw clenched so hard Genesis began fearing for his teeth.

“Gabe! Dude, seriously it’s okay, it’s okay.” He squeezed his friend’s shoulders in an attempt to stop him from standing up and going on a rampage. “Please just… don’t do anything about it. I don’t wanna cause more trouble.” Genesis wiped his eyes with his sleeve and slapped his face a couple of times. After taking a couple of deep breaths he regained his composure. And just like that, he was over it.

“…I’m sorry she said that to you. That was fucked up.” The shorter man ran his hand through his short black hair and scratched at his nape, fidgeting the way he always did when he felt stressed or guilty.

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“It’s fine,” Genesis said as he began focusing on the next task at hand, which was logging into the communications systems. Turning back to his screen, he forced himself to focus on his job. There had always been a reason why he liked his daily routines; because change like that just wasn’t a feasible thing for someone like him who was scared of everything.

— — —

After less than half an hour of being in the office, the duo was able to finish their opening duties. That left them with another half hour of rest and reprieve since they finished early.

He and Gabriel went up to the rooftop of the office and sat on the lone bench there. It was usually where people went for a smoke break, but in the mornings when it was just the two of them, they would go to the rooftop and use it as an Origin observation spot. They sat in comfortable silence, simply watching the portal.

No matter what anyone thought about it, the crimson Origin was a beautiful sight. Dangerous, no doubt, but anyone who would deny its magnificence was lying to themselves. It had the usual features of Origins. It had a rectangular shape, the width of its base was a little under two dozen meters and its height was twenty stories tall. The empty space in the middle of it made it look like a titan’s empty door frame. The thousands of inscriptions of the Empyreanian language covered its every surface, and the empty space at its center was filled with something that looked like black smoke that stayed perfectly pristine and still no matter how hard the wind blew. The only reason that fog-looking screen would ever move was to indicate that a beast was about to come out of the portal. However, its scarlet hue was always what everyone regarded it for. Nobody knew why it showed up like that, not even the Empyreans when they were asked, but it was still gorgeous nonetheless. Genesis zoned out for a bit, taking in every bit and detail about the structure.

“Hey, time to go.” His friend clapped his shoulder after what felt like a brief eternity. Checking his phone, Genesis noted that they had fifteen minutes left before group check-ins began. As the two young men walked into the office floor, they saw that a lot more people had come in and were already settling into their workstations. There were now about a dozen people in the room, some talking amongst themselves, but no one greeted them or even spared them a glance.

Genesis felt his heart sink a bit when he saw that the six spots at the front of the office floor were empty. They weren’t here yet. They had always opted for an entrance, making a show out of teasing him and his friend in front of everyone.

“Well, if it isn’t the dickhead duo. You guys are such good dogs, cleaning up the Facility for us!” An obnoxious and nasally voice hollered, feigning a tone that one would use when praising their pet for doing a trick. His taunt was followed by laughter from his posse who stood directly behind him like some wall. Genesis tensed up and froze, suddenly panic-struck that the group was approaching him and Gabe. They weren't fast enough at getting back to their workstation, standing in the middle of the floor as Javier and his thugs swaggered over to them.

Sometimes, on the toughest of days, it seemed that nothing was favorable for a guy like him. Sometimes, it seemed that the monotony he valued very much turned against him, leaving him with no one except Gabe and his mom on his side.

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