All in a Day's Work

The sound of screams tore through the air as people ran for cover. She took one look at the undead creatures, skin hanging off their bones, a nauseating smell emanating from their corpses and took up a fighting stance, her daggers glinting in the moonlight.

Beep. Beep.

Emma blinked, the image dissipating rapidly. "Miss Summers! Stop daydreaming, and answer the phone!" With a nod at her supervisor, she pressed the button. "Thank you for calling Pheeler Ltd. You're speaking to Emma. How may I direct your call?" As she dealt with the customer, her gaze flickered up to the large clock on the wall; five minutes to go before she was done for the week. The call ended and Emma sent out the promised pre-paid label before turning her attention back to the time. Five... four... three... two... her finger hovered over the log off button... one. Quickly she pressed down, and a red light flashed, confirming she was no longer in danger of receiving any further calls.

"Thank the Maker." Oh crap! Emma glanced around surreptitiously to see if anyone had heard. One woman was giving her a raised eyebrow; Emma felt her cheeks burn; seriously, could she be any more of a nerd? Ah, screw it! She had her whole weekend planned, which involved playing Dragon Age: Origins, getting down and dirty with Alistair, and lots of coffee.

Two wrestling matches later and Emma was finally off the bus. She straightened her clothes, took two steps and then the heavens opened. Lifting her face to the sky, blinking under the onslaught of heavy rain, she muttered, "Really? You couldn't wait ten minutes?" With a mumbled oath, she began walking, grimacing as her clothes became saturated and her shoes squelched with each step.

Standing at the kerb in the pissing down rain was not Emma's idea of fun. As she waited for the lights to turn green, the rain bounced off the tarmac, the noise almost deafening in its intensity. As soon as the lights changed colour she started crossing the road. Emma turned her head sharply as she felt a pain in her hip. Unfortunately, the torrential rain and her own hood restricted the view of anyone passing by.
"Look where you're bloody going!"
No one replied, or if they did, it was lost in the sound of the wild weather. With a resigned sigh, she quickened her pace, intent on getting home and losing herself in her beloved game.

With a smile lighting her face, she pushed the front door closed, dropped her bag on the floor and kicked off her soggy shoes. Emma said a quick hello to her cat, Jess, before heading to the bathroom for a nice hot shower. Afterwards, she made for the bedroom, a thick towel wrapped around her long brown hair. She pulled on her Team Alistair t-shirt and a pair of boy shorts, dried her hair and dropped the towel in her laundry basket, before heading to the kitchen.

While waiting for the coffee to brew, she had a rummage through the fridge and finally picked up a sausage roll. She added milk to her coffee, gave a tentative sniff to the food, and after deciding that it wouldn't kill her she walked into her sitting room and switched on the computer.

As she waited for it to boot up she looked around the rented flat, noting that the shelves could do with a clean. At least she didn't have a lot of photo frames to dust. Well okay, she had none. A lack of family was to blame for that. "And no boyfriend," she added as an afterthought. Jess jumped up at that moment, pushing his face into her hand for a stroke. "Perfect timing as always, puss." Emma smiled as she rubbed around his ears. The large black cat glared at the keyboard sitting on her knees, before curling up into a ball next to her leg.

She clicked the icon on her desktop, smiling as the familiar music started to play. A crack of thunder sounded close by, followed by a bright flash of lightning. Normally, she loved a good storm, just not when she wanted to use the computer. "Ah, bollocks! You've got to be kidding me!?" She moved the cursor to the Resume button, but hovered over it for a moment, wondering whether to risk her computer. Another crack of thunder, this one loud enough to shake the building, helped her decide. With a fair bit of swearing, she moved the cursor to Quit. Before she could press the button, there was a blinding flash of light, a searing pain, a moment to realise she'd screwed up big time, and then darkness.