"Your still here Nic?" questions Rosy, the night janitor.
"Yeah, just finishing some paper work, Rosy. I'll be out of your way in a few minutes," answers Nic.
"Well hurry up then," grumbles Rosy jokingly. "I still have plenty to do now that they've cut back the janitorial staff."
Smiling, Nic replies, "Yes ma'am. Right away ma'am."
"Oh, how is that kitten you took in doing?" asks Rosy as she leaves Nic's office.
"He's doing great. When I took her to the vet, they said that all she needed was some love and a home. Oh, and I named her Tibs."
"That was sure sweet of you. To bad there aren't more people out there who would do the same," replies Rosy. "Have a good night Nic."
Smiling, Nic answers "You too, Rosy."
Nicholas Harmwell, the Jello Packaging Plant's chief safety inspector, found the kitten in question while walking to a nearby grocery store for some milk and bread. Along the way, while stopped at a crosswalk waiting for the light, he barely heard a cat meowing for help. Looking for the source, he spotted a kitten hanging on to a storm drain grate, trying not to be swept away by the water rushing past it. Just as the kitten lost its grip on the grate, Nic made a wild grab, and managed to save the kitten from a watery death.
Huddled in Nic's hand, the kitten rubbed its face against Nic's palm and seemed to meow a thank you. The kitten has black fur, except for it's paws, which are white. Seeing the kitten start to shiver, Nic pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped the kitten in it. Since the kitten didn't object, Nic put the bundle inside his jacket, with the kitten's head sticking out of the collar. The kitten, purring now, looked up and meowed its thanks again. Nic looked into the kitten's eyes, and noticed they are the exact same shade of blue as his. He turns around to head home, but a bystander in a dark fedora stopped him by saying, "Should of let 'er drown. Now she'll be nothin' but trouble fer ya."
At the sound of the strangers voice, the kitten stops purring and lays back it's ears. The kitten starts to growl, and tries to bury itself into Nic's jacket, as if to get away from the stranger. Nic is normally an easy going guy. However, just like the kitten, something about this stranger made Nic very uneasy. Overshadowing that, though, was Nic's anger at what the stranger had said. Turning, Nic balled up his fist and decked the man. With a surprised "oof!" the stranger fell to the ground. Turning away, Nic headed home with his newest family member in tow.
Still smiling, Nic finishes filling out the forms, stands up and grabs his jacket. Leaving his office, he heads down the hall towards the office of Zachery Jeolen, the plant's manager. Reaching the office he finds the door unlocked, so he steps in and drops the paperwork on the desk. As he does this, the phone starts to ring and the answering machine picks up.
"Jeolen, I found it very rude of you to change your phone number and not tell me," drawls a dangerous voice. "However, I'll excuse you this time as long as you pay me my money. 'Cause if you don't, I'll have to make things very uncomfortable for you. You have until the end of the month." The answering machine beeps, signifying the end of the message.
"This is none of my business," Nic thinks to himself, "so I'll just forget it." Turning to leave, a title on some other paperwork catches his eye. It reads "Budget Estimates." He picks it up and starts to read. "That's not the amount I said my department needed in the next budget! It's way to high!" Nic thinks to himself. Taking the paper, he makes a photocopy of the report, and then returns it to Mr. Jeolen's desk. Putting the copy in his jacket, he turns and leaves the office, then heads for home.
The next day, Mr. Jeolen walks into his office.
"Hello Nic, how are you this morning?" he asks.
"I'm great Mr. Jeolen, how about you?" replies Nic.
"Well, could be better, could be worse I guess," answers Mr. Jeolen. "I want you to go over this budget estimate and ok it for me."
Knowing what it will say, Nic gives the paper a quick glance before saying, "This number is way to high for my department, Mr. Jeolen. Why?"
"Um... W-well, I thought that you might need a bit extra. Just sign by your department, please," Mr. Jeolen replies quickly.
"You know I can't do that. Does this have anything to do with the phone call you received last night, Mr. Jeolen?" As soon as Nic says it, however, he regrets it.
"What did you say? WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" screams Mr. Jeolen.
"Last night, when I was dropping off my forms, I overheard the answering machine pick up the phone call," admits Nic. "I can't sign this budget, Mr. Jeolen. I hope you understand why."
"If anyone hears about this Nic, you'll be a dead man, got it?" threatens Mr. Jeolen. With that, he storms out of the office, slamming the door.
Getting up, Nic starts to rub his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He picks up the phone and calls Ed, one of his employees.
"Hi Ed, you ready to inspect the vat?"
"Yup, I'll meet you there, Nic," replies Ed.
At the jello vat, Nic and Ed prepare the safety gear and Ed helps Nic lower himself down into the empty vat.
"So I hear that Mr. Jeolen stormed out of your office today," Ed says. "What was that about?"
"I'd rather not talk about it Ed. It's between Mr. Jeolen and me," replies Nic.
"Oh. Sorry I asked, Nic," apologizes Ed.
"Don't worry about it Ed. It's nothing," assures Nic.
Suddenly, the vat turns back on, and liquid jello starts to fill the vat. Nic hears two gunshots, and then the rope goes loose. Nic plunges the last 10 feet to the bottom of the vat, but luckily, he lands on his feet.
"What the hell's going on up there Ed?" yells Nic worriedly. A moan answers him. Nic then sees Ed. His body is twitching in pain, and blood is pouring from his chest. Ed stumbles up to the edge of the vat, and then falls over. He lands with a sickening thud.
"ED!" cries Nic in alarm. He runs over to Ed's crumpled form and lifts his head above the rising jello, in time to hear Ed whisper "Nic... J-Jeolen..." He coughs, and blood starts to run out of his mouth. With a last gasp, Ed closes his eyes and dies.
By this time, the jello is up to Nic's knees and is rising rapidly. Regretfully, he lets Ed's body sink to the bottom of the vat.
"JEOLEN!" screams Nic, furious now. He runs over to the emergency ladder and starts to climb up. When he reaches to the top, Nic yells, "What the hell are you..." before he's cut off by a savage kick from Mr. Jeolen. Thrown back, Nic falls back down into the vat. Luckily the vat is now half full, and it breaks his fall.
"Ya know Nic, I realized something after I left your office," Mr. Jeolen yells down. "I realized that I couldn't trust you. Just like I couldn't trust my secretary, or any of the idiots working here. So now I'm going to fix that." Mr. Jeolen pulls a handgun out from behind his back and fires three shots. The first two miss, but the third catches Nic's right shoulder, making him cry out in pain. Mr. Jeolen tries to fire more shots, but the gun jams.
"Stupid piece of #&%$!" screams Mr. Jeolen, completely out of control now. He rips a nearby pipe off the wall, which starts to leak natural gas. Oblivious to this, Mr. Jeolen starts to swing the pipe at the control panel. Amidst his swinging, he knocks a lamp off a nearby desk into the vat, shattering the bulb. The lamp's cord, however, stays plugged into the wall. Electricity flows through the jello, attacking Nic's body. Wracked with pain, he slowly sinks to the bottom.
For reasons beyond the knowledge of current science, Nic's skin starts to absorb the jello, merging with it in ways unknown. Nic, from screaming in pain, soon runs out of air and is forced to fill his lungs with the jello. Strangely, he is getting oxygen from the jello. Instinctively, Nic swims to the surface. When he reaches the surface, though, he continues to rise. Recognizing his only means of escape, he aims towards the ceiling windows, crashes through one, and leaves the factory.
Mr. Jeolen, completely ignoring Nic and the outside world, continues to pummel the control panel with the pipe. It starts to spark, and only seconds after Nic escapes through the window, ignites the gas. The explosion rocks the plant, shattering all the windows for blocks around.
Through only the sheerest of luck, Nic manages to get far enough away from the factory before it blows. Confused and weak, Nic flies toward his apartment, and crashes through his living room window. Unable to continue, he collapses on the floor and passes out.