City of Blood and Iron

The Re-Onboarding

The heavy metal door of Sub-Basement 4 clicked shut with a sharp, final sound that locked me inside a pitch-black room.

I stood still in the dark, my hand hovering over the wooden stamp on my desk. The air felt heavy, tasting of ozone and wet iron. The flickering fluorescent lights overhead buzzed once, then flashed back on with a blinding white glare that made me squint.

The cardboard box on my desk was gone. In its place sat a glowing red terminal screen that rose directly out of the wood like a digital hologram.

Words formed across the screen in bright, neat letters.

Employee 404-A: Kyle Vance. Status update: Re-onboarding sequence initiated. The previous simulation collapse has been logged as a minor administrative error. Please confirm your compliance.

I am not playing your game anymore, I said out loud to the empty room. My voice bounced off the concrete walls.

A sharp, mechanical laugh echoed from the ceiling speakers. It was Director Thorne, his voice smooth and entirely unbothered, as if he were sitting in an executive lounge instead of a damp municipal basement.

Game, Kyle? You thought destroying a local master server meant you quit the corporation?" Thorne's voice filled the room from every direction. The city of Seattle is just one small branch office. The real board of directors operates across thousands of realities. And your contract was never held by a local server. It is bound directly to your bloodline.

Before I could reach for my stamp, the floor beneath my chair cracked open. A thick column of glowing red light shot up from the concrete, forming a cage of energy that wrapped around my arms and chest, pinning me tight against my chair.

Let me out of here!" I strained against the light, but the energy bands held like steel.

"We tried to give you a quiet desk job, Kyle, Thorne continued, his tone turning cold and professional. "We let you stamp minor shadow monsters for ten years. But since you prefer the hard way, we are skipping the middle-management tier. Your sister Elena is already being processed on the upper executive floor. Her new crown is waiting."

The red screen on my desk shifted, displaying a live video feed from a massive glass throne room high above the clouds.

Elena was sitting on a cold, floating chair made of dark metal and glowing runes. Her hands were locked in heavy light cuffs, and her eyes were glowing a bright, terrifying amber. She was not crying. Even through the screen, I could see the sharp, calculating look in her eyes. She was looking at the camera lens directly, sending a silent message straight to me: Do not give them what they want.

She looks great as a queen, doesn't she? Thorne chuckled over the intercom. "All we need now is your final signature to complete the merger. Sign the new contract on your desk, Kyle, or watch your sister's mind get formatted into a blank database forever.

I looked down at the desk. A glowing red pen materialized on the wood, resting right on top of a new document that listed every human life in the city as corporate collateral.

My heart hammered against my ribs, but the cold focus I had learned in the white room rushed back into my veins. Thorne thought he had won because he controlled the screen, but he forgot one very important detail about municipal work.

I never read the fine print. I only check for code violations.

I stretched my fingers as far as the light cuffs would allow, sliding my hand across the desk until my fingertips brushed against the heavy wooden stamp I had hidden behind my coffee mug.

You think you own the system, Thorne? I asked, my voice dropping into a calm, steady tone.

I am the one who writes the rules, Thorne replied sharply.

Then let me file a formal complaint, I said.

With a sudden burst of strength, I broke free from the light bands just enough to grab the heavy wooden stamp and slam it straight down onto the glowing red document.

THWUMP.

Golden light erupted from the page, clashing against the red holographic screen with a deafening roar that shook the entire basement. The red terminal flickered wildly, and the live video feed of Elena began to glitch and break apart into thousands of static lines.

"What did you just do?" Thorne's voice over the intercom suddenly sounded thin and panicked.

I pulled my cheap plastic pen from my pocket, clicked it twice, and drew a massive, jagged line right through the digital signature box.

I just filed a counter-suit, I said, a dangerous smile touching my lips. "And my department inspector is auditing your office right now.

Before Thorne could answer, the metal door of Sub-Basement 4 exploded inward in a shower of golden sparks and flying steel.