Escape Clause

Work on Monday was weird. Not only was Megan not there, but there were other coworkers missing. Missing and unremembered. We went from having forty employees to having twenty-two.

I worked in the Accounting Department. Usually, we had three people working there, but without Megan, it was just two. It was hard, but I could handle it. But Rich, my supervisor, didn't look well. He looked like he was trying to remember something, but couldn't.

One of the coworkers that had gone missing was his friend. They always went on break at the same time, smoking out in the cold. His friend would walk into the Accounting Department with a grin and then would bump fists and walk outside together.

He looked at the door, like he was expecting something to happen, then shook his head. "I hate it here," I heard him whisper. He worked throughout his break.

Finally, at the end of the day, I saw him staring at the door, again expecting some non-existent person to walk through. When no one did, he stood up and opened the door and walked through.

"Rich," I said, going through the door to try to talk to him. Perhaps, with some coaxing, he could remember like I did. I went to where he had last been, but he was gone. I asked my boss if she had seen Rich, but when she asked who that was, I knew I was too late.

Rich was gone and forgotten.