Chapter 3. The Reason

“It's not good enough. What is this? How could things be this way?" Chadler Donovan lost it and scolded Vincent Cox, a senior member of the IT team. It is Vincent's job to keep the servers that Horus Tech Corporation, a business that provides security systems, in good shape.

"Yes, sir. I checked. There is no break at all; server three should be fine.” Vincent tried to show that it was wrong by arguing.

Chad got more angry instead of taking it. He didn't think twice about scolding Vincent while he was sitting at his desk in the middle of the room, with only a partially see-through fiber wall between them.

"You think your job is for kids? Don't work here if you can't be thorough!" Chad yelled again. Vincent could only have a low gaze. There is one mistake. While the process was going on, he went out for lunch for a short time. It turned out there was a hole that Vincent hadn't fixed, which let data slip through and made customers angry.

"I'm going to try,"

"No need. You're just wasting my time!" Chad cut in cruelly. He didn't even care if everyone was watching him scold Vincent.

“Sir, please. I can fix everything," Vincent asked pitifully in front of Chad Donovan, which would cost him his job.

“I don't care what you want. You won’t be able to recoup Horus’ losses this time because of customer complaints!” Chad pointed at Vincent. Vincent started to gasp, and he looked around.

Vincent let out a gasp and looked around. Vincent said, "I'll fix it," again, hoping to save his job.

"I don't care. Don't expect any company to accept you!” Chad's threat made Vincent's eyes widen. Now he will definitely be fired.

Some people started laughing at him. Vincent is indeed a geeky guy who has only worked for six months after being unemployed for years after graduating from college. From one corner, Heather Meadow also looked at him with a disappointed look.

"Get your things together now. You are fired!" Chad yelled again. As if hit by lightning, Vincent went limp as soon as Chad fired his gun. Vince, who was lost, seemed to be made fun of by his coworkers one by one.

"Please don't. Vincent began to cry and said, "Please don't fire me!" He begged Donovan to help him.

"Speak to the wall!" Chad laughed and then went into his office, where he told Vincent he was fired and left him in tears. Some of the people who had laughed at him were still making fun of him when he turned around.

But what could regular staff members like Vincent do? Many other people who want to work will be competing for their spots because it's not easy to find work in New York.

Vincent doesn't know what will happen to him now. He no longer has a job, so it will be hard for him to pay all of his bills, like rent, mortgage, health insurance, and other living costs.

Vincent limped back to his desk to get his things because he was tired and sad. Everyone in the room was back to working on their own projects. Vincent Cox is not important to anyone.

He looked up when Heather called out, "Vince?"

"I thought you were smart, but you're even dumber than the last senior IT staff," Heather said, making Vincent feel even worse about himself. When Vincent looked at Heather, she was shocked and looked down at him without laughing.

"I hope you understand what went wrong." Have a nice day!" He went on again, then turned around and walked towards Chadler Donovan's room like nothing was wrong. Donovan is the CEO of Horus Tech Corporation.

Vincent could only look at Heather as she walked away. Vincent told this woman how he felt about her, but he no longer has a job. He got into all of this because Chad Donovan didn't give him a chance. Vincent often works past the standard work hours, but he was fired right away when he made a mistake.

Vincent tightened his hands because he was angry, upset, and ashamed. He gave the door to the CEO's room a sharp look. Vincent lost all hope and could not think straight.

"Made him pay!" Get rid of him! Someone told him something in his ear. Vincent started to breathe more quickly. It seemed like it was going to blow up.

"Kill him!"

***

Vincent's eyes slowly opened. It's not very clear because there is dirt near his eyes. Pain—yes, his body felt a bit sore. His fingertips moved slowly. He got up slowly, then turned around. The sun was starting to rise, marked by the bias of its rays over the walls of the buildings flanking the alley where he was lying.

The sound of a baby's voice made Vincent frown. He sat down, and across the fence, baby Kyron was sitting there, crying in confusion.

Vincent was confused and stood up a little unsteadily. He looked up, then his eyes blinked.

"Oh, my glasses!” he said, suddenly shocked. Vincent looked like a fool looking for glasses, even though he could see very clearly. When Vincent finally found his glasses, he put them on, but his vision was blurry. Only then did he realize that his vision was normal—even too normal.

“I can see clearly. My minus is gone," he added it again, turning his hand to look at it. He could even see baby Kyron crying because his trousers were starting to be bitten by mice. Even though they were almost ten meters apart.

"Hey!" Vincent shouted, running towards baby Kyron, then, without realizing it, jumped over the three-meter-high fence and landed perfectly. His hand quickly grasped a mouse the size of an adult's fist in front of baby Kyron, who was starting to stop crying.

Vincent squeezed the mouse. The rodent squealed in pain. Her little eyes were getting rounder, as if they were going to jump out. Vincent can't control his strength, and BOOM, the rat explodes in his hand. His blood splattered like a bursting water balloon and slightly hit Vincent's face.

He only realized he had killed the plumber rat a few seconds later. Baby Kyron even chuckled while clapping his hands. Meanwhile, Vincent frowned in surprise.

“Are you even laughing? Are you happy to see me kill rats for you?” Vincent joked, somewhat annoyed at baby Kyron, who was still giggling at him. Vincent's nose smelled the rat blood that stained his hands. He brought his palm closer, and he smelled a rather interesting smell.

It was very strange because, in the past, he was always nauseous with the rancid smell of blood. But now I feel like I want to lick it. But no, that's rat blood, isn't it?

Vincent simply wiped his palm on the side of his trousers. Now he stood up and wondered what he had just done. Didn't he just jump over the fence like he was half-floating?

His hand felt his neck, and he felt a wound, but the blood had dried. Vincent was confused about what he was experiencing. He turned to baby Kyron, who was still looking up at him.

"If I was able to jump over the fence earlier, do you think it was a coincidence?" Vincent asked Kyron. Kyron just chuckled with a sweet smile without clear language. Vincent nodded again. Now he is confident enough to try again. He should be able to jump twice over the high fence.

"Look at me!" he said again to Kyron as he took a running stance and then jumped over the fence. Unfortunately, he wasn't tall enough.

"AAAHHKK!"