Today started out like pretty much any other day.
I woke up 2 minutes before my alarm, got dressed, had my breakfast
and went to work.
When I arrived, I methodically punched my timecard and went to my
work station. I put on my gear and started hand painting my portion of the
zagets, like I do 6 days a week, like I've done for the last 14 months.
Each day, I pass by the sign, "X days since last
accident". Last I checked it read "443 days" and was pretty
happy that nothing had happened since even before I started working
there.
Zaget assembly was a tough and tedious job. There were 24
stations, most manned by 4 people. Most of the big parts were assembled by
robotic arms, but my job was to hand paint the logo and a few other details as
the zaget passed on the assembly line. There were only 2 people at my station.
Me and Taylor.
I have to admit, I wasn't too liked here. I have always been a
little socially awkward and when I tried to befriend people, it just wouldn't
work out. I didn't mind too much. I enjoyed solitude and preferred to stay away
from company gossip. Who cared who was dating who anyway?
Taylor was pretty and popular. She already had a boyfriend and was
always really nice when she had to turn down all her potential suitors.
People always came around to talk to her. She tried to include me,
but no one else wanted to talk to me. Sometimes she and I would have pleasant conversations
about our favorite superhero movie when no one else was around, but it wasn't
too often.
For the most part, the assembly line never stopped. We all took
shifts and someone was always working. I was a little sad because I was hoping
she and I could take a break together every once in a while since she was the
only person who would talk to me.
It was time for lunch. I had my usual: turkey and cheese sandwich
on rye with a little bit of mustard and green lettuce, a medium sized fuji
apple and cran-grape juice.
After my lunch break, I clocked back in. I glanced up at
the sign again and saw that it now read "0 days since last
accident".
I don't care for drama, but I was very curious about what had
happened. I headed back to my station and noticed that the assembly line
stopped and everyone gathered in my area.
"Taylor!" I thought. I hope she's ok!
I hurried over and tried to force my way through the crowd. I
caught bits and pieces of conversation and tried to ask a few people what
happened.
"One of the robot arms went haywire..."
"...never saw it coming..."
Frantically, I continued to make my way to my station. Everyone
was too wrapped up in themselves to even notice me.
"...died instantly..."
I finally got to my area.
There Taylor was, sitting in her usual spot, softly crying. I went
up to her and touched her arm. My touch didn't register. It was like she
couldn't feel it.
"Taylor, what's wrong? What happened?"
I looked up. The medics were placing a body on the stretcher.
"How odd," I thought, "those pants look like
mine."
Then I realized... those were my
pants. I was getting zipped up in that body bag.
