The Primal Hunter

It was just another boring Monday morning. The sparse rays of sunlight that found their way through the blinders’ narrow gaps did little to disturb the man sleeping deeply on the bed. However, the serene peace was short-lived as the accursed sound of his alarm began its daily ritual of ruining a good dream.

Jake, previously enjoying the sweet embrace of his blankets, was startled awake, fumbling around until his hand finally found his phone. Grumbling, he rolled out of bed and started his usual morning routine, preparing for yet another day at work.

He went for a warm shower, a quick breakfast, got himself dressed, before he finally grabbed his stuff and headed out the door. The entire morning routine was done in less than half an hour.

Walking down the stairs to his car, he had an intuition that the day was going to be interesting. He didn’t know why as everything was as usual so far, but he couldn’t entirely dispel the feeling. Maybe someone brought donuts?

Traffic was terrible as usual, living in a big city and all. He spent most of the time not actually driving but sitting in the endless queues of the morning rush. He had considered cycling or maybe running to work, but then he would have to shower and get dressed at work, and that just sounded bothersome.

As he finally pulled into the parking lot, he got out, grabbed his bag, and headed on inside the corporate office that had been his workplace for the last couple of years. The building itself was a massive monstrosity of glass, with way too many floors. It wasn’t all that out of place, though, being surrounded by similar structures.

As he got inside, he was greeted by the receptionist, Joanna. She was a middle-aged woman, who always wore these large earrings, and more makeup than an entire class of high school girls would need in a week. If Jake had to describe Joanna in the easiest way possible, it would be a soccer-mom stuck in a perpetual mid-life crisis. The reception was located only a couple of meters away from the elevators, so greeting her in the morning was a natural routine for most employees.

“Morning, Jake, had a good weekend?” she asked, with far too much energy for this early in the morning.

“Same as always, how about you?” Jake answered politely, knowing what was to come.

“Oh, it was great! You know me and Mike tried to…” she replied with vigor, explaining in great detail, giving Jake déjà-vu to last week, where the exact same scenario seemed to have played out.

far too long conversation about inane subjects with her, the arrival of the elevator finally saved him, allowing his escape as

by a calm, open-office space. Seems like I was one of the first to arrive today, he thought, as

somehow found it peaceful to immerse himself in the spreadsheets, financial reports, and whatnot. He worked in the financial department, and if he said

had a knack for picking out the excellent stocks and avoiding the bad ones. He had always had a good

elevator. After the initial morning greetings and polite social exchanges, the

the most immediate tasks, he began to feel a bit tired once more, clearly having not gotten enough sleep. Most others in the office had learned by now

a bit of a loner and chose activities based on not interacting with others. Heck, when his dad forced

future was looking bright if he said so himself. He wasn’t an extraordinary person, but just another face in the crowd. And he kind of liked it that way. Standing out

finished his thoughts, his superior, Jacob, walked over with a

the others are heading out for lunch, you wanna come?”

good,” Jake replied

would call a born leader. Excellent social skills, an affinity for reading people, and making you feel comfortable around him. He was one of the

guy called Bertram. Big and brooding would be one’s first assumption, but he was actually a big

is that Jacob’s family was filthy rich. It was quite honestly a miracle that Jacob hadn’t turned out to be an entitled brat, instead of the

to the women in the office. His hair always seemed to sit impossibly perfect, his suit

few sentences, even with someone like Jake. The fact that Jake wasn’t the type to create problems in the office, but only deliver reliable results, naturally

agreed on going to lunch. Because with Jacob along,

to the elevator together with Jacob and Bertram. Talking along

her husband, getting into the same elevator he, Jacob, and Bertram were heading into. Said elevator quickly got cramped, as three others were already in

Jake's department. She was a year younger than him, slim, blonde, and quite frankly everything that Jake would refer to as