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Work Location: Literally My Grave

Work Location: Literally My Grave

Short Story · Emotional Realism
By:  Wish FayeCompleted
Language: English
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10Chapters
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Synopsis

Feel-Good Story

Plot Twists

Mind-Bending

Male POV

Workplace

Face Slapping

Detective

I sat in the driver's seat as the GPS chimed, "You've arrived at Northpoint Corp. Check-in successful." I looked up. Graves. Nothing but graves. My phone buzzed. My boss tagged me in the group chat: [Zane Zander, system says you checked in ten minutes ago. Where the hell are you? The whole company's waiting. Learned how to spoof your GPS to slack off?] Cold sweat slid down my back. I stared at the fresh headstone outside my window. My photo was on it. My hands shook. I tried to send my boss a video—no signal. Just dead bars. No service. So how did I check in? Worse— In the rearview mirror, someone in my exact outfit rose slowly from behind a dirt mound. Could it be... Was I already "dead"?

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I whipped my head around.

The figure in the mirror flickered—then vanished into the weeds.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Before I could steady myself, my phone rang.

The screen flashed: [Boss.]

No signal... right?

I fumbled and answered.

"Zane Zander! What the hell are you pulling?" Ryan Lloyd's voice blasted through the phone. "Meeting's about to start. Senior management is waiting for your report. Where are you?"

I swallowed. My throat felt like sand. "Mr. Lloyd, I—I ran into something weird. I followed the GPS. It said I arrived, but I'm in a cemetery!"

A beat of silence.

Then he exploded.

"A cemetery? You still drunk? The system shows you clocked in at your desk at 8:55. It's 9:10. You're not on any camera! Faking sales wasn't enough? Now you're spoofing attendance?"

"I didn't use anything!" I shot back. "I'm in a cemetery. My headstone's right outside the car!"

The call disconnected.

I stared at the dark screen. A chill shot up my spine.

Check-in successful?

I was here. So who checked in for me?

I looked at the headstone again.

The stone was gray and fresh—too fresh.

A photo was pasted on it.

My employee ID photo from when I first joined.

Below it, letters in red:

[Zane Zander]

[Placed by Jay Zander]

Jay Zander.

My younger brother.

My biggest rival at Northpoint Corp.

My head buzzed.

Last night at the department dinner, Jay kept refilling my drink.

He helped me into the car. Said he'd called a driver.

Then I woke up here.

This wasn't supernatural.

Someone was trying to bury me.

I shoved the door open. My legs buckled, almost dropping me into the mud.

Weeds and dirt mounds stretched everywhere. Cold wind cut through them.

I had to get back.

If I made it back, I could fix this.

I reached for the ignition—

Ping.

A message popped up.

Northpoint Corp group chat.

Jay posted a screenshot of the attendance log:

[Zane, if you don't want to show up, just say it. Pulling a fake check-in like this drags the whole department down. Mr. Lloyd hates fraud. You're asking for trouble.]

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10 Chapters
Chapter 1
I whipped my head around.The figure in the mirror flickered—then vanished into the weeds.My heart slammed against my ribs.Before I could steady myself, my phone rang.The screen flashed: [Boss.]No signal... right?I fumbled and answered."Zane Zander! What the hell are you pulling?" Ryan Lloyd's voice blasted through the phone. "Meeting's about to start. Senior management is waiting for your report. Where are you?"I swallowed. My throat felt like sand. "Mr. Lloyd, I—I ran into something weird. I followed the GPS. It said I arrived, but I'm in a cemetery!"A beat of silence.Then he exploded."A cemetery? You still drunk? The system shows you clocked in at your desk at 8:55. It's 9:10. You're not on any camera! Faking sales wasn't enough? Now you're spoofing attendance?""I didn't use anything!" I shot back. "I'm in a cemetery. My headstone's right outside the car!"The call disconnected.I stared at the dark screen. A chill shot up my spine.Check-in successful?I
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Chapter 2
The group chat blew up.People who never liked me piled on:[Always thought Zane's numbers were off. Guess this isn't his first time.][If he's faking check-ins, what about those old contracts...?]I stared at the screen. My knuckles went white.Jay, you're ruthless. You're trying to crush me.I opened the camera, ready to record and drop it in the group.If they saw this—If they saw the stone with my name—They'd know I was being set up.I aimed at the headstone and hit record.The screen flickered.Battery dropped from 80 percent to 1 percent.[Low Battery. Shutting down.]The phone went black."Damn it!"I tossed it onto the passenger seat.Someone messed with it. No doubt.Footsteps sounded behind the car.Rustle... rustle.Dry weeds crunching.My eyes snapped to the rearview mirror.The guy in my exact suit was back. Less than thirty feet behind me, gripping a shovel, staring at my car.Mask on. Just his eyes showing.And yeah—those eyes? Straight-up murde
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Chapter 3
Still no signal.Yeah—this phone was messed with.Fake location locked in. Signal blocked. Even the battery readout was fake.Jay used to work in tech. This was his lane.I slammed my fist on the wheel.Just roll over and lose?No.Hell no.Then it hit me—emergency kit in the trunk.My old phone. The one I replaced.Backup. Powered off the whole time. No way Jay knew.I rushed to the back, popped the trunk, dug through the dusty kit.Found it.It was my old phone, one corner cracked.My hands shook as I hit the power button.Screen lit up.Thirty percent.Signal—two bars. Weak, but it'd do.I pulled up the map.Blue dot blinking:Westside Cemetery—abandoned section.Twenty-five miles from downtown.I glanced at my main phone.Still dead. Same frozen nav screen.Northpoint Corp parking garage. Lower Monterra.Just like I thought. My main phone was hijacked.The old phone buzzed.A text. From Mr. Lloyd. Company-wide."Due to Zane Zander's serious violations, h
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Chapter 4
Didn't matter. I had one shot.Get into that conference room before the papers hit ink, and I could flip this.A sharp curve rushed up. I jerked the wheel. The rear kicked out, sliding wide.Then—A black pickup tore out of the trees.No headlights. No plates.Like a damn ghost, it came straight at me.Bang.The crash hit hard and loud.My SUV got shoved sideways—six feet easy—almost tipping into the ditch.The pickup didn't stop. It backed up, lined me up, and gunned it again.Yeah. Not blocking me.They were here to kill me.I caught the driver for a split second—Black mask. Cap low. But that gold watch? It flashed in the sun.I knew that watch.Looked just like the one Jay gave security captain Peter Black for his birthday.So that's the game. Teaming up with security.That explained the keys. It explained how my car vanished without a trace.Rage burned through me.You wanna ram me to death?I've spent ten years tearing up highways, slipping past eighteen-whee
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Chapter 5
I didn't head to Northpoint.Pulled up outside a busted little phone shop instead.Mason's place.Old classmate. Total tech genius.I rushed in and slammed my hacked phone on the counter."Mason. I need a favor. Check the location software. I want the install logs and usage records."He looked me over—mud, mess, borderline unhinged. "Damn. You crawl out of a war zone or what?""Skip it. Move. This is life or death."No more questions. He plugged it in and started typing.Two minutes. Code flooded the screen."Got it." He pointed. "Developer mode's on. Hidden app—'GeoShade.' Spoofs location, messes with your screen, drains your battery whenever it wants. Installed at..."He paused."Last night. 11:30."Right then.I was blackout drunk at the table. The phone was just sitting there. And right next to it—Jay."Can you export it?""Yeah. I'll print the backend logs. Everything's here."Printer kicked on, spat out a page packed with data.I grabbed it, shoved it in my ja
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Chapter 6
The room went dead quiet.Everyone just stared.Jay moved first. Stood up. Panic flickered—gone in a second."Zane! What happened to you?"He walked over, all fake concern. "Too much stress? I told you to see a therapist—"I slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me!"He stumbled back two steps."Zane! What is that attitude?" Mr. Lloyd slammed the table and stood. "Late, no notice, dressed like this, and now you're making a scene? Do you have any respect for company rules? Jay's been begging for you. And this is how you treat your own brother?"I looked at him, ice cold. "Mr. Lloyd—if I said I was never late, never absent... you believe me?""Bullshit."Jay cut in fast. "Attendance records don't lie. You weren't here, but you faked your check-ins. And now you roll in looking like this—what, pity play? You think we're stupid?"He pointed at me. "You weren't absent? Then where'd all that mud come from? Don't tell me you tripped outside."I smiled.Cold.I bent down, yanked off
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Chapter 7
"I have an alibi! Dropped you off, went straight home. My neighborhood cams can prove it!" The more he talked, the worse it got. Voice shaking.I just watched. No reaction."An alibi?" I tilted my head. "Jay, you're smart. You didn't get your hands dirty."A beat."But you missed one thing. The second you bring in help, things crack."I slid a hand into my pocket. Cold plastic."On my way back, someone tried to run me off the road. Pickup truck. Guy couldn't drive—wrapped it around a tree. Took off, dropped this."I set the access card on the table.Name facing up.Peter."Jay... that ring a bell?"***The second he saw the card, Jay went ghost pale.Yeah. He knew it.Peter. Head of security.Also the guy Jay bought.Mr. Lloyd picked it up, checked the name. His face dropped."Peter's card?" He looked at Jay. "Why does Zane have it? And what crash?"Jay's lips shook. "I—I don't know! Maybe he found it! Or stole it! He's changing the subject! What does this have to do
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Chapter 8
He looked at me, pure hate in his eyes. "Zane! Don't get cocky! I'm not done! Why are you always better than me? Top sales, Mom and Dad favor you, even Mr. Lloyd backs you! I just wanted you to lose everything once. Is that so wrong?"I walked over, looked down at him.The guy who used to call me brother."You messed up thinking my patience was weakness." I kept my voice flat. "And you crossed the line. Some paths—you don't come back from."The cops cuffed him. "Jay Zander, you're under suspicion of assault, unlawful detention, and property damage. You're coming with us."They dragged him out, still yelling.Didn't matter anymore.A few claps started.Then more.Louder.The same people who trashed me in the group chat were all smiles now."That was insane. What a comeback!""I knew you were set up!""Mr. Zander, take care of us next time..."Their faces made me sick.Didn't show it.This was work. These were people.I fixed my torn collar, gave Mr. Lloyd a short nod. "
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Chapter 9
"Thanks, Mr. Lloyd."I stepped out.Sunlight hit hard.My phone rang."Mr. Zander? This is the county jail. Jay Zander has requested a visit. He said that if you refuse, you'll regret it."I frowned.Even now?What else could he possibly want?...Fine.I'd go.At the county jail, Jay sat across from me behind thick glass.Head shaved. Inmate uniform. Thinner. Eyes hollow.When he saw me, he grinned. Pale teeth."Zane, you won. But I left you a little gift. I messed with your brake pads. If you'd stayed on the road any longer yesterday, they would've failed. Too bad—you got lucky."He leaned in, grin twisting. "But don't celebrate yet. The guy I hired? Total psycho. Didn't get paid. He'll come looking for you."Jay broke into manic laughter.The guard grabbed him and dragged him out.I watched him go.Felt nothing but a dull weight.My brother.All the way to the end—still the same.After leaving the county jail, I headed to the parking lot.Near my car, that feeli
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Chapter 10
The same guys who used to buddy up with Jay?Now pale. Jumpy. Sitting stiff as they might snap.No one even breathed too loudly.Like the next one getting dragged in could be them.I pushed the door open.Let my eyes sweep the room.Anyone who met my gaze dropped it fast.Power does that.So does guilt.But I didn't wipe them out.A full purge? Feels good for five minutes. Then it wrecks the company.I wasn't stupid.I signed a few quiet transfers. Finance, key positions—swapped in people I trusted.The rest?Fence-sitters stayed.Clean it too hard, and there's nobody left.This isn't some moral courtroom. As long as they could work and make money, I didn't care where they stood before. Or what they said behind my back.Fear works better than loyalty anyway.***At my first department meeting after that, I took Jay's old seat.My fingers were tapping the table.Soft.But everyone felt it.Message was clear.Still a Zander running this department.Just not Jay.
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