The digital clock on Jay's monitor flipped to 6:54 PM.
The glowing blue numbers reflected faintly against the dark glass of the screen, merging with the outline of his face until the two blurred into one image. For a moment, he didn't recognize himself. The reflection staring back at him looked distant, hollowed out, like someone wearing his features instead of living inside them.
The engineering floor had emptied out hours ago.
Rows of swivel chairs sat abandoned, some slightly turned, some pushed back as if their owners had left in a hurry and never returned. Loose cables curled across the floor like discarded wires from a forgotten machine. The overhead lights had dimmed automatically, leaving only the low glow of monitors and the quiet, constant hum of servers filling the space. It sounded almost alive like the building itself was breathing in slow, mechanical rhythm.
Jay sat at his desk, shoulders slightly hunched, fingers resting over the keyboard.
