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.

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

calm, open-office space. Seems like I was one of the first to arrive today, he thought, as he found his way to his desk. Booting up the

now. His job was what many would describe as boring, yet he somehow found it peaceful to immerse himself in the spreadsheets, financial reports, and

investments, his official title being a business analyst. Jake had a knack for picking out the excellent stocks and avoiding the bad ones. He had always had a good

more made their way off the elevator. After the initial morning greetings and polite social exchanges, the noise slowly died down as everyone

Most others in the office

and chose activities based on not interacting with others. Heck, when his dad forced him into doing some kind of sport to get him out of his

if he said so himself. He wasn’t an extraordinary person, but just another

superior, Jacob, walked

buddy! Me and the others are heading out for lunch,

sounds good,”

that people would call a born leader. Excellent social skills, an affinity for reading people, and making you feel comfortable around

Big and brooding would be one’s first assumption, but he was actually a big softie. Apparently, he had taken care of Jacob while

hadn’t turned out to be an entitled brat, instead of the man he was today. He was popular in the office

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

someone like Jake. The fact

was also the reason why Jake agreed on going to lunch. Because with Jacob along, he knew it wouldn’t

elevator together with Jacob and Bertram. Talking along the way about work and the meeting they had planned for after the lunch

her husband, getting into the same elevator he, Jacob, and Bertram were heading

Caroline was a coworker working in the human resources department, who shared their office space with Jake's department. She was a