Between Assignments

Written by Luckie Krog

The breakroom hums with its usual low, ambient vibration. A few Witnesses amble about, the quiet broken only by soft conversation and the rhythmic tapping of Monitors. On the wall, the announcements screen scrolls through rotating updates in Syntaric. One line flashes briefly with an ad: Cleanse — Reset Your Energy. Restore Your Clarity.

A018 steps inside holding a container marked with the Cleanse logo. Their gaze scans the room until it lands on B058. Their face brightens.

B058 – Welcome back!

A018 (smiling, a little lopsided) – Good to be back.

(They slide into the chair beside B058.)

B058 (bumping their shoulder) – Sooo... where did you go this time?

A018 (sighing contentedly) – I pathed with a small group to this node with no Beings. We just played and explored. It was a crystalline structure, and in the colder regions you could skate across the surface like glass. No effort at all.

B058 (smiling at A018’s joy) – I love that. Sounds like a perfect reset.

A018 – It was. I was getting really entangled with Estelle before I left, and it was making it hard to Witness.

B058 – Thanks for taking relief when you needed it. What the hell would I do with myself if you got decommissioned?

A018 (nudges B058’s shoulder) – You and I are way past rookie mistakes like Entanglement. We've been doing this too long.

B058 – Yeah, but I know things with Estelle were getting tough. We’ve been doing this for millennia, but that doesn’t mean we care any less. I mean, we can’t care less. They’re our Beings.

A018 (sobering briefly) – Fair enough. (Their eye narrows suddenly and they point to B058 with suspicion.) Speaking of which... F337 said you have my Monitor? What’s that about?

B058 (looking mischievous) – Took you long enough to ask. At least that proves you actually unplugged.

A018 (rolling their eye, fiddling with the Cleanse container) – What are you up to, 58?

B058 (pulling out the Monitor from behind their back) – Why are you assuming it’s something bad?

(A018 gives a pointed stare.)

B058 – Wow. Eons of friendship, and this is the trust I get.

A018 – Just tell me. You know you’re not supposed to take a Monitor unless you’re relieving someone.

B058 (guffaws) – 18, come on! It was literally the end of F337’s shift. I was just delivering it to you. Are you seriously about to go full Witness Ethics Code on me?

A018 (quirking an eyebrow) – Depends. Are you gonna tell me what the Void’s going on?

B058 (shoving the Monitor toward them) – Fine, fine. I try to surprise you with our closest co-assignment in two thousand years, and I get treated like a common criminal. Completely appropriate.

(A018 catches the Monitor before it slides off the table and looks up, startled.)

A018 – What did you just say?

B058 (still avoiding eye contact, smirking) – Oh, now you want to talk.

A018 (exasperated, trying not to grin) – 58, did you just say we’re co-assigned? How?

B058 (lays arms flat on the table, clearly enjoying the moment) – Estelle and Jenny met.

A018 (disbelieving) – That’s impossible. They live on opposite sides of the country.

B058 (grinning) – I know.

A018 – And Estelle’s been taking care of her dad full-time for a year.

(B058 nods.)

A018 (gripping their Cleanse container with barely contained frustration) – 58, I love you, but if you don’t start explaining, I will throttle you.

B058 (laughing heartily) – You’re really making this reveal worth it.

A018 – B058!

B058 (raising hands in mock surrender) – Okay, okay. What did F337 tell you?

A018 (shoulders slumping) – Not much. Just that you had my Monitor and the info for my hand-off.

B058 (smirking) – Not bad. I wasn’t sure they’d keep their mouth shut.

A018 (warning tone) – 58...

B058 – I’m spilling! I’m spilling!

(A018 leans back, arms crossed.)

B058 (expression softening) – First of all, Lucas passed on.

(A018’s face shifts instantly—shock, then hurt.)

A018 – Why didn’t they call me back?

B058 – You were on relief. You know we don’t pull Witnesses at risk of Entanglement into an HSE. Especially not when coverage is solid.

(A018 is already nodding before B058 finishes.)

A018 – Yes, no, of course. I know. I just... didn’t expect that to happen while I was gone.

B058 (quietly) – I know. You both thought he’d hold on a while longer.

A018 (looking away, speaking softly) – But we've seen enough to know how impossible that is to predict.

B058 – Doesn’t make it easier to Witness.

A018 (murmurs) – May he rest well.

B058 – His moments were seen.

(A pause stretches between them. A018 twists the Cleanse lid shut, then sets it quietly on the table.)

A018 – So what happened after that? How did Estelle and Jenny meet?

B058 (grinning again, leaning back) – Well, you know Jenny’s always been a free spirit.

A018 (dry) – That’s one word for it.

B058 – I’ll forgive the judgmental tone given the news you just got.

A018 (smirking) – How gracious.

B058 – Anyway, Jenny was living in Phoenix, working as a vet assistant. Then she went to Vegas for a cousin’s bachelorette party... and stayed. Landed a gig as a concierge at the Flamingo.

A018 (shocked) – That woman never ceases to amaze me.

B058 (shrugging with a crooked grin) – I’m rarely surprised. But always entertained.

A018 – So... where does Estelle come in?

B058 (growing animated) – That’s the best part. You know Estelle—always had her shit together.

A018 – Of course. It’s just been her and Lucas most of her life. Even as a kid, she tried to take care of him.

B058 – These Beings, man. They’re made of a hundred contradictions but still pick two traits to define themselves. Spend their lives ignoring the rest.

A018 (rubbing their face) – Estelle definitely was that type.

B058 (grinning) – Emphasis on was.

A018 (eyeing them) – What happened?

B058 – First, know that Estelle and Lucas had everything perfectly arranged. Lucas passed at home, in the night. Estelle wasn’t there at the exact moment—and honestly, I think that was best. He got to say goodbye the day before using that blinking system she created. He told her he loved her. And to live.

(A018 smiles, eyes glistening.)

B058 – The funeral was small, just as they planned. Estelle cried, but people like her... it never hits all at once.

A018 (quietly) – No, it doesn’t.

B058 – Then came the surprise: Lucas left her a ton of money. Investments. Life insurance. Everything.

A018 (jaw drops) – Stars above.

B058 (grinning) – So guess where our straight-laced Tennessee girl went with all that cash and freedom?

A018 (disbelieving) – You’re kidding.

B058 – Met Jenny on her second day in Vegas.

(A018 shrieks, startling the room. They wince, apologize, and turn back to B058.)

A018 – And they hit it off???

B058 – Of course.

A018 – That’s... not who I pictured Estelle with.

B058 – And yet—look at us.

A018 – Not exactly a compelling case, 58.

B058 (laughing) – Seriously though, I kinda wish you’d been there to Witness it.

A018 (smiling genuinely) – Really? That good?

B058 – That good.

A018 – HSE?

B058 – I think so.

A018 (barely containing another shriek) – Tell me everything.