Maphira explored the entirety of the strange office, which was exactly the same as the set from the show The Paper Company Office, without any luck in finding Vai. She’d even gone into Mitchel Scarn’s office, complete with his “World’s Best Boss” mug. Maphira had to admit that whoever had put this place together had gone to great lengths to get the details right.
It wasn’t until Maphira went to the accounting section of the office that she noticed something odd. The back wall had a door that did not exist in the show. Where could it possibly lead? With how thorough the office fitout business from Melbourne had been in creating this place, it surprised her that they would have anything that wasn’t accurate to the show.
She approached the strange, out of place door of this office and placed her hand on the doorknob. Turning it slowly, she pulled open the door, revealing a metal walkway over a massive pit of darkness. Standing in the centre of the walkway was Vai, with her back turned to Maphira.
“Vai?” Maphira called out, her voice echoing throughout the chasm. “What are you doing?”
The woman slumped her shoulders, then motioned for Maphira to come closer, without turning. As Maphira approached, she was reminded of that scene from the first of the Space Battles sequels, where Kyle Ron is tested by having to slay his father, Hane Single. Suddenly, she thought it might be better for her to turn around and continue admiring the best office interior design Melbourne had ever seen.
Instead, she decided to be brave and continue on. Eventually, she met Vai at the centre of the walkway, and still the woman did not turn.
“We are in a lot of danger,” Vai whispered. “Tread carefully.”
“How do you know?”
Vai shrugged. “Did you see that tv show, Octopus Game? I’m getting serious vibes of that from this situation. Dr Ratroti is playing with us before the kill.”
“Oh,” Maphira said. She did not like the sound of that.
