My job was finally done. After I selected the file and submitted it, I shut down the computer and slid out of the chair I had been sitting in for however long it had taken me to do my job. The room darkened when the screen light went out; forcing my eyes to take a moment to adjust. Despite working on this project along with a handful of other tasks for so long, I still felt wide awake, alert, and enthusiastic. It was time for phase two.

As I stepped forward, the floor creaked under my feet. The sound was surprisingly unsettling to hear in the deathly silence of the night, so I couldn’t help but cringe. I cautiously inched my way further; testing the floor before committing to another step. A handful of footsteps led me to an old, worn door. Ever so slowly, my hand pulled the handle down and opened the door. Ever so painfully slow, attempting to avoid allowing the door to squeak, I slipped through the narrow opening. I had successfully made it past my first obstacle, but what awaited me beyond the door would prove to be more of a challenge. Across the hallway that stretched out in front of me, a staircase served as my finish line. Actually, checkpoint would be a better comparison, but I’ll explain that in a minute. The hallway was littered with lasers, naturally, so I had to focus on maneuvering my way through those before I arrived at the stairs. Weaving my way through the red lines suspended in the air was almost like a dance. Ducking here and lurching there, I’m surprised I didn’t lose my balance. Eventually, I made it to the top of the stairs and examined the next leg of this secret triathlon. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I began my silent descent. About half way down, I must have triggered some hidden mechanism because the floor seemed to vanish right from under my feet. Thankfully, there was a railing that I was using, so I saved myself from plummeting to my doom. Clinging onto the railing for dear life, I shimmied the rest of the way to the bottom. My arms ached by the time I was able to set foot on solid ground again, so I paused to shake them out before walking across the new room. I found myself face-to-face with a locked storage unit, which I knew contained what I was here for. Eager to get my hands on the prize, I reached into my pocket to retrieve a wiry tool. Manipulating the tool, I popped the lock open and stuck my hand in to grab the prize.

The golden crackers were sufficient enough to satisfy my midnight snack needs. That being said and done, the mission was a success. I finished up my snack and made my way back upstairs to my room where I would collapse on my bed and immediately fall asleep. Dodging lasers and shimmying down the stairs railing really takes the energy out of a person.