Gemotions

The headache began as a dull throb behind her eyes and quickly escalated into a pounding crescendo. She stared blankly at the screen, at the complicated code she had dedicated her career to understanding, all the while watching her replacement, a girl of twenty-three with piercing blue eyes, take it all in with unsettling ease.

She was suddenly acutely aware of every creak of the chair, every hum of the computers, every sound, her hands felt clumsy and awkward as she attempted to demonstrate the simplest commands.

Her carefully constructed world seemed to be crumbling before her eyes. The feeling was a cold weight in the pit of her stomach, a leaden anchor pulling her down into a deep, dark abyss.