Under the flickering glare and hum of the fluorescent lights, a young man in a lab coat stared nervously at the screen with tired, drooping eyes. Numbers displayed in a tiny box on the screen slowly counted down. The numbers 00:00 flashed on the screen and the young man didn't dare make a sound as he held his breath. This was the moment of truth, would his efforts be for naught, or would he be forced to go back to the very beginning yet again? There was a palpable pause before the machine went into its cooling phase. Laughter, that only the truly insane could appreciate, escaped through the doorway into the empty hallway outside the tiny room.

The results of the first sample displayed on the screen, showing everything was within acceptable parameters. Many hours earlier the machine had come out of calibration. Usually the very contaminants it tested for sometimes clogged the machine. Now that everything was right with the world, he only had about, oh... 500 more samples to run and, of course, everyone wanted rush turnaround. He leaned back and rubbed his hands across his face, then pulled them through his hair.

Looking at his watch, Danny decided this was definitely going to have to run all night. Fortunately for him, once he started a batch of samples he technically didn't have to be there. He just prayed no hiccups happened while he was away. It was already past 8pm so there was no reason he was staying here any longer. He was starving and his back was killing him from bending over the table, mixing and remixing the required calibration solutions.

He picked up his mobile phone and turned off the lights to the room out of which he worked. Walking through the lab, he quickly confirmed that he was indeed the last one still working that night. His boss had helped him earlier, before she had to leave for a family event. She was a great boss and thus he was very understanding. He had done this long enough, he knew he could eventually fix the issue.

While opening the back door to the lab he saw that it was pouring rain. He made sure the door locked behind him before running to his lone vehicle in the employee parking area. Being the last one there, he didn't want to be at fault for leaving things vulnerable to theft. Financial transactions for the lab were all done electronically, but some disreputable groups were always looking to acquire some of the chemicals stored there to help mix up compounds for more... recreational purposes.

Danny stopped by his favorite burger joint, picked up supper, and headed towards his house. After renting an apartment for years he decided he would upgrade to a home. He had set up a rent-to-buy deal with the owner and was making small improvements when he had time. Hopefully he could save enough to buy it outright.

The town he lived and worked in was on the small side. There were quite a few industries in the area and this small town was smack-dab in the middle of them. The local industries that utilized the lab were willing to pay the increased costs for the quick turn around, and thus Danny was able to make a decent salary. Increasing rental costs in the town drove Danny to look for a way to purchase a home. If the town continued to grow he could easily see his plan to purchase becoming an excellent investment.

Pulling into his driveway, he sat in the car and watched the rainwater flow down the sides of his house's roof. It was letting up a little but he didn't see it stopping anytime soon. He seriously wished at that point he could have found a house with a garage. No one else lived with him. His last girlfriend was months ago. The small town didn't host a plethora of young single woman looking to date a "devilishly handsome" chemist. His hopes of finding someone nearby were slim. Hopefully the town would grow some and bring in more people.

Sighing, he quickly grabbed his dinner and jumped out into the night, racing up the concrete walkway to his front door. Right as he got to his front step he slipped and fell backwards. As his perspective turned skyward, Danny could see the burger bag and keys he had been carrying, as they now flipped in the air. They seemed to orbit each other in some sort of intricate dance. The soda cup in his other hand was simply crushed in his grip, releasing its contents in a dark arc. He let out a high pitched scream, that would not be recognized by many to come from a male of his species.

Danny had not just fallen backwards but also slipped to the side. The side of his head found the brick of the raised bed next to his porch. He was struck across his temple and one of his eyes. Pain lanced through his head and he groaned piteously. His car's headlights had yet to automatically shut off. In the light from the vehicle, Danny had been unable to see what he had slipped on.

Opening his good eye he noticed something floating and flipping his way through the rain right above him. He turned his head to look at it and winced as he felt the unevenness of the bricks below him. The edges of the bricks dug into the back of his scalp, causing him to hiss involuntarily. Through his one good eye he could barely make out a rectangular shape. As it fell into the light cast by his car, he caught a glimpse of a professionally-done photo of a woman on the front. Groaning once more, he realized it was more than likely some local realtor, wanting to help him sell "his" home.

The brochure floated slowly down and landed right on top of Danny's good eye. Groaning at the insult added to his injury, all he could see was her mouth. Those teeth seemed to be brighter than was possible given the amount of light that made it over to him from his car. Inhumanly white teeth grew to encompass his field of vision. Through the rain and his own moans he could have sworn he heard the maniacal laughter of a man coming from behind him. As he tried to turn to look for its source, a new pain shot through his head and his world quickly faded to black.