Work Text:
Noah stood alone on the balcony, resting one arm on the railing while the other held a lit cigarette. He gazed at the familiar scenery below. The streets were strangely clear despite it being late evening and somehow he felt as if he understood the circumstances of the faceless people below him.
A small group of people walked along the uneven sidewalks, talking to each other about their latest bets, miming with their hands, laughing about their losses, swearing they'd make it back if they tried hard enough. If they just kept trying. They continued walking with that attitude, but the odds weren't in their favor. Noah watched them wondering when they'd slip up, when they'd lose everything and be evicted. He wondered when his own fate would catch up to him and the same would happen to him. Work hadn't been very good lately. But then again, when had it ever been?
He brought the cigarette to his lips and closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he was in the monitor room.
Three desktop monitors, two phones, and various camera control devices sat at his station. He hesitantly exhaled—employees weren't allowed to smoke indoors—and looked up at the ceiling for the smoke alarm. It was missing, as were the light fixtures, leaving the room dim and eery, lit only by the screens. The games seemed to be playing out normally, but as he looked back at the desk that stretched across the wall of the room, he realized nobody else seemed to be at their station. He was shocked he hadn't noticed sooner that he was alone.
The phone rang. His hands shook as he lifted it.
"Can you confirm the bet of the patron wearing the white suit at N-9281-R231?"
He started scrolling through the list of facilities on one of the computer screens. "Yes sir, your report has been received and will be investigated," he said.
He rewound the footage of the camera. The player's stack of chips: one white 500 Ahn, one red 10,000 Ahn, two blue 50,000 Ahn, and… one chip that was cut off by the edge of the screen. He furrowed his brow and leaned in closer to the monitor.
The phone at the station next to his rang.
Then, the phone at the station next to it.
He clenched his jaw. There was no way he'd be able to finish the work shift like this. He wanted to smoke but the cigarette had disappeared. He hadn't realized when.
He stood up to reach the other phones but was interrupted as the various screens on the desk and walls began to multiply themselves. They slowly encircled him, preventing him from reaching the still-ringing phones. More and more phones rang, sometimes answering themselves, but they were too far away for him to respond to the callers.
"Someone replaced the roulette marble with a sphere from G Corp at Q-198-OF1929…"
"There's a patron card-counting at the blackjack table at K-1928-R029…"
"Hello? Is anyone even there? I'm definitely going to file a complaint to your department chief about this…"
A moving and growing mass of screens obscured his vision. The displays were painfully bright, but he couldn't look away. He couldn't miss anything. He couldn't make an error and be yelled at. He couldn't lose everything now after he'd worked so hard. He willed down tears and stared at the screens.
Patrons frantically threw cards and dice across the tables, never pausing long enough for any result to be verified. Dice were thrown from one screen to another. Dealers switched tables with each other, sometimes mid-game. His heart raced in his ears. Card decks from two different games were shuffled into each other; diamonds, spades, and hearts colliding with months, flowers, and animals. The Joker and Rain Man danced together on a stack of multicolored game chips. The roulette wheel spun endlessly. He felt dizzy. One thousand million Ahn littered the floor. Two dice shattered into glass as they hit the table. The sound was cold and sharp in the back of his neck. There was no time to write down any of the names or numbers. Every person's face was blank. He wanted to scream.
The screens around him started flickering and cracking, shutting off one by one and leaving him engulfed in claustrophobic darkness.
He jolted awake, immediately aware of the uncomfortable amount of sweat on his body and the beating of his own heart. The wind whipped at the fabric walls of the tent.
He swallowed. "Emma…"
The large familiar paw reached toward him. He reached back and held it tightly with both arms, trying to absorb its warmth. He buried his face in its soft fur. He inhaled, face surrounded by the familiar scent, and sighed. The dream started to fade as he remembered he was safe here. A familiar scent, soft fur, and warmth. Yes, he was definitely safe and calm now that someone was there with him. Someone who always exuded an aura of safety and comfort and had for the last six years. He felt the other man's heartbeat. He would never have to see the screens of the monitor room again. He would never have to worry about being fired or evicted again. They could stay here forever. Together. He rested the side of his head on the pad of the paw and closed his and Emma's eyes.