I kicked aside a stack of papers, scattering onto the carpet. I looked around at the office, run down and abandoned. I remembered how tidy it had been, how organised, before… well.
Before.
‘Jackpot!’ I heard a hushed cry behind me, and turned to look as Alex came out of the staff kitchen. He held a couple of packets of noodles aloft in victory, stuffing them into a rough-sewn leather bag as if the Others were going to arrive and steal them from him.
‘Nice work,’ I nodded, taking one last look around the office.
‘What’s your problem?’ he asked, adjusting his mask. ‘You knew this place?’
‘Yeah,’ I said softly. ‘I worked here for a few years. Quit a couple months before it all broke down and moved out west. Probably the only reason I survived.’
‘Where did you sit?’ Alex snorted. ‘Did you have a cubicle?’
‘None of those were here when I was,’ I frowned. ‘They must have had someone come in and redo the office fitout. Melbourne used to be just there,’ I whispered, pointing at what was left of a window.
‘Well, it’s not any more,’ Alex said, absentmindedly picking up a desk toy and putting it in his bag. ‘No use dwelling on the past.’
‘I guess,’ I sighed. ‘I wish I could have seen it though.’
‘I thought you had an apartment there?’ Alex frowned.
‘No, I meant… I meant the new office design and renovation. Melbourne… Melbourne I saw plenty of.’
‘Well you’ve seen it now,’ Alex said, getting antsy. ‘Look, the sun is almost down, and we sure don’t want to be caught in here when it gets dark.’
‘You’re right,’ I nodded, my hand unconsciously rubbing at the scars on my neck. ‘We better go.’
He shuffled out ahead of me, checking the hallway was clear as I took one last, sunset-lit look at the life I’d used to know.