I Just Clocked In, Why Did My Bullying Coworkers Die

1: 1

I was about to be late for work when Irene James, the supervisor who'd framed me for stealing my old company's R&D, called:

Clara Henson, where are you? Are you at the office?

Do not clock in. You hear me? You cannot clock in!

I froze. Why?

She was shaking all over, her face wild with terror.

"Because... the second you clock in, I die."

I snapped at her that she was insane and hung up. She kept blowing up my phone:

"Don't clock in! Whatever you do, do not clock in! I'm coming right now, just don't clock in!"

I couldn't even.

Back when I worked there, she went after me every way she could.

She even teamed up with other coworkers to frame me for stealing company R&D.

That got me fired. Blacklisted across the whole industry.

Now I was long gone, and she still wouldn't leave me alone.

At that thought, I jabbed my finger down on the time clock a few times, seething.

"Psycho. You tell me not to clock in, so I won't? Watch me. Clock in and clock your ass out."

But I'd barely sat down when my phone lit up. Group chat, 99+ messages.

The first one stopped me cold:

"AHH! Someone's dead! Irene... Irene just got blown up!"

...

My head went off like a bomb, everything inside it blank.

Irene... was dead?

I thought of her on the video call, face frozen in terror, screaming at me not to clock in.

My heart nearly stopped beating.

But how was that even possible? I just clocked in for work. How could that kill someone?

The chat was already in an uproar:

"No way. How'd she die? She was fine, how does someone just explode?"

"Who's joking with you? Little Wang from R&D told me himself. Said Irene was rushing out the door in a hurry and boom, she went off. The police are there and everything..."

This was the vent group for all of us ex-Yuhui wage slaves.

Whenever something juicy happened over at Yuhui, someone would drop it here and everyone would pile on.

I never expected this round would be about Irene's death.

I was about to ask, when the person sent a photo.

In it, Irene lay in a pool of blood, drenched in it, her head gone.

My stomach heaved right there. The whole thing scared me half to death.

It was real. Irene really was dead.

I stared at the message she'd sent me before she died. Don't clock in. Those three words stabbed into my brain like needles.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Why did Irene call me right before she died, telling me not to clock in?

It wasn't like I had superpowers. There was no way clocking in could actually kill her, right?

Sure, she'd framed me into getting fired, but I wouldn't kill her over something like that.

It's a coincidence, I told myself. It had to be.

But after work, some pull I couldn't explain sent me straight to Yuhui Tech.

I leaned in for a look.

The blood at the entrance had already been cleaned up, and there were still people inside pulling overtime.

I couldn't help thinking, capitalist bastards. Someone dies and the wage slaves still have to grind.

I turned to go, and Toby Donaldson from the operations department actually spotted me.

"Clara? What are you doing here?"

It was a little awkward. When I left the company, Irene and I had gotten into a screaming, physical fight in the office.

Now she was dead, and here I was, showing up. Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

I cleared my throat lightly.

"Nothing. I just... just heard Irene died..."

Toby sighed and pulled me aside, dropping his voice.

"Ugh, don't even get me started. This morning, she'd barely gotten to the office when she suddenly shot up out of her chair!"

"Then she went tearing out like a madwoman. She'd just reached the door when boom, she blew up!"

"Man, that scene. It was terrifying. Everybody was scared out of their minds."

For no reason I could name, guilt prickled at me.

"So what did the police say? She was perfectly fine, how does someone die in an explosion?"

"Right? You know what, it was her head that self-detonated. They found a damaged chip on her body. Early read is high-tech crime."

Those two words, high-tech, let me breathe again.

High-tech, that I knew nothing about.

And after I got fired, I never saw Irene again.

Toby suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"High-tech. How do you even investigate that?"

"Our company does chip R&D. Supervisor James threw her weight around here the whole time. You think she was short on enemies? Who's to say some coworker didn't off her?"

I kept my head down and didn't answer, but inside I couldn't have agreed more.

Back then, Irene deliberately framed me for stealing company R&D and got me fired.

And when she blacklisted me across the whole industry, I really did want to kill her.

But I had a new job now, steady income, none of that soul-crushing mess.

If she hadn't suddenly called and told me not to clock in, I'd have all but forgotten she existed.

Once I was sure this had nothing to do with me, I said my goodbyes and left.

But the moment I got home, someone yanked me into a corner.

The first thing they said nearly scared me to death.

"Clara, why did you kill Irene?"

2: 2

A shudder ripped through me.

When I focused, I saw it was Reginald Delgado.

He was HR at Yuhui Tech. Word was that when Irene James died, she died right in front of him.

Right now Reginald's face was frozen in terror, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.

I grabbed his shoulders and dropped my voice into a furious hiss.

"Reginald, what the hell are you talking about? When did I ever kill Irene?"

But Reginald's trembling fingers pulled up a video.

"But... why would Supervisor James call you right before she died and tell you not to clock in?"

My scalp went tight in an instant.

I looked down. On the screen was Irene, face wild with panic, screaming into her phone.

"Clara Henson, don't clock in, do you hear me, you can't clock in!"

"If you clock in, I'll die!"

Reginald had actually seen Irene call me. And he'd filmed it.

I snatched the phone out of his hand.

"That was her losing her mind. Her death has nothing to do with me! You can't take it seriously. Have you... told anyone?"

"I didn't tell the police!" Reginald answered at once. "You always looked out for me at the company. How could I ever turn on you?"

But then he shrank his neck down like a kid who'd done something wrong, staring at me.

"But I heard Dustin Armstrong tell the police that you killed Irene! He even told them to haul you in for questioning right away..."

"That's bullshit!"

Dustin Armstrong, that bastard!

Back when Irene set me up, he was the one who gave false testimony saying he saw me steal the company's R&D, the one who got me fired.

I fired off a message to Dustin on the spot.

Warning him that if he dared spread lies about me again, I'd sue him for defamation.

Looking at Reginald's uneasy, suspicious face, I patted his shoulder.

"Reginald, thank you for telling me all this today!"

"You have to believe me. Irene's death really has nothing to do with me. I haven't even seen her in half a year. I wasn't anywhere near the scene when she died. How could I have killed her?"

Hearing that, Reginald finally let his doubt go.

"Okay. Got it."

After I saw Reginald off, I went back inside, took a cold shower, played a few rounds of games, and only then went to bed.

Except the moment I fell asleep, I dreamed of Irene and Dustin beating and humiliating me back at the company.

Everyone around us was laughing. Dustin crouched down holding a time clock.

"Come on, clock in!"

"This'll be your last time clocking in at Yuhui Tech!"

I shook with rage, snatched the clock away, and started jabbing at it wildly.

The whole time one thought pounded in my head: Die! Die! Every last one of you, die!

But the next second, his head snapped like a twig, one crack, and thudded to the floor by my feet.

Then, one after another, everyone's heads dropped to the ground in front of me.

In my ears came Irene's hoarse, shredded scream.

"Don't clock in!"

"Don't clock in!"

"Don't clock in!

I jerked awake in terror, cold sweat soaking through my clothes.

I'd actually dreamed Dustin croaked too!

I grabbed my phone right away to see if Dustin had replied.

Turned out he'd sent something, taunting me.

"Clara Henson, you're the goddamn killer. Just wait, tomorrow I'm sending your ass to prison!"

I blew up on the spot, fired back a "you're out of your damn mind," and blocked him.

But after that, no matter what I did, I couldn't fall asleep.

Irene's words kept echoing in my ears.

"If you clock in, I'll die."

The next day, I dragged myself to work half-asleep.

The moment I came out of the subway, I saw Dustin stuffing his face at the bun shop by Subway Exit B.

I rolled my eyes, muttered a curse about my rotten luck, and turned to head upstairs.

I'd just clocked in and was heading for my desk when my phone suddenly buzzed like crazy.

"Oh my God, Dustin's dead too! He split his own head open with a knife!"

3: 3

Dustin was dead too?

The world tilted black. My knees nearly buckled.

What was going on?

I raised a shaking hand, staring at the time clock in front of me, terror pushing straight through me.

Once was coincidence. But twice?

Why was it that the instant I clocked in, someone dropped dead at that exact moment, every time?

Yesterday Reginald had said a few coworkers here had died in strange ways before, too.

There was no way my clocking in had caused those, was there?

While my head was a tangled mess, chasing an answer I couldn't find,

a crowd suddenly poured through the office door. I looked closer, and it was all my former coworkers.

"Clara Henson, get out here!"

"Was it you? Did you kill Supervisor James and Dustin and the rest of them?"

They rushed me without a word. I couldn't dodge in time, and someone smashed a brick into my forehead.

Blood came pouring out. The pain almost knocked me out cold on the spot.

Seeing it, my coworkers hurried to block them, shouting furiously:

"What are you doing! People died at your company, so call the police and get the cops. What are you doing making trouble at our office!"

But the furious crowd didn't care about any of that.

Every one of them was worked up, glaring at me through gritted teeth:

"Who else could it be if not her!"

"In this whole company, she's the only one who had bad blood with Supervisor James and Dustin! And she clashed with the others too, Alex and the rest of them, and every single one of those people is dead!"

Someone shot back:

"So on what basis do you decide she killed them? Just because they had bad blood?"

"You need evidence to accuse someone of murder. Security footage, fingerprints, a witness, anything. You've got none of it. On what basis are you calling her a killer!"

My coworkers backed me one after another, demanding they produce proof.

The Yuhui Tech crowd instantly lost their nerve.

"But Dustin told us Supervisor James was killed by Clara Henson, and he said he had evidence!"

I fired straight back:

"He said he had evidence? Then why didn't he hand it to the police!"

"Dustin loved bragging and running his mouth. He says something and you just believe it? Well, I say I didn't kill anyone. Why don't you believe that?"

They hesitated, watching me.

"But he also said... that you were going to kill every one of us."

I almost laughed from the anger.

I pulled up the company's security footage, pointed at myself on the screen, and said furiously:

"Take a good look. When Irene James and Dustin died, I wasn't anywhere near the scene."

"I don't have a damn body double. How could I have killed them?"

Watching myself clock in at the front desk on the footage, my palm tightened without my meaning it to.

Yes, the times Irene and the others died matched the times I clocked in.

But that didn't prove I'd killed them.

Even if they noticed it, it couldn't pin the crime on me!

But by that afternoon, they had me cornered at the office door again.

"Clara Henson, you're still saying it wasn't you!"

I stood there blank.

Then they shoved Reginald out in front, and he looked at me, face full of guilt:

"Clara, I'm sorry. The video... they found the video!"

My head went off like a blast.

Last night, hadn't he deleted the video right in front of me?

"It wasn't me. I didn't kill anyone!"

I waved my hands, panicked, but they flung down an attendance log:

"Still lying. If you didn't kill anyone, then explain these clock-in times!"

"Dustin already dug into all of it. Ever since you came to this company, they started dying off one by one in bizarre ways. You planned every one of these murders!"

I looked down, and the clock-in times on that attendance log

matched the times Irene and Clark and the others died, exactly!

I froze, stunned.

"No, I didn't! I'm being framed!"

I was just about to explain when a group of cops walked in:

"Clara Henson, we suspect you of involvement in the deaths of Irene James, Dustin Armstrong, and others. Please come back to the police station with us for questioning."

4: 4

Because of that video and my attendance record, they hauled me into the police station.

I rushed to explain that Irene and the others dying had nothing to do with me. It was all coincidence.

But they didn't buy a word of it. "Still lying! We've already verified it. All five victims' times of death line up exactly with when you clocked in!"

"And you've got bad blood with Irene and the rest. She framed you for stealing company R&D, got you blacklisted across the whole industry. You have a strong motive."

I honestly couldn't explain it. Why did the times I clocked in for work

match the times all five of them died, right down to the minute?

But I knew for certain, I had not killed anyone.

I stared, drained, at the criminal investigation captain across from me.

"Captain Larson, please, believe me. I didn't kill anyone!"

"Yes, I had a grudge with them before, but I wouldn't murder that many people over something so petty!"

"I didn't even know clocking in could kill people. So how would Irene have known?"

Captain Larson clearly wasn't buying my story.

"Don't try to change the subject. You had a grudge with several of the dead. It's no surprise Irene suspected you."

"She investigated you in secret, found that three of the victims' times of death matched your clock-in times. Suspecting you isn't unreasonable at all."

"Your company's time clock is linked to their phones. The moment it reads your fingerprint, it kills them, doesn't it?"

I was so furious I couldn't get a word out.

Just as I thought they were about to pin the murders on me, an officer walked in holding a report.

"Captain Larson, the analysis is back. It's just an ordinary time clock. And there's no hidden software installed on any of the victims' phones either."

Captain Larson's face changed at once.

In the end, with no hard evidence, they had no choice but to let me go.

Once I got home, I collapsed onto the bed like every ounce of strength had been drained out of me.

My head was full of it, the last two days, Irene and Dustin dying those horrible deaths.

Right then, in the silent, pitch-black room, a familiar sound started up.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I shot upright, every hair on my body standing on end.

That sound...

Step by step I moved toward it, and pulled open the drawer.

A familiar time clock sat right there in my drawer.

My pupils shrank in an instant. "This... how is this here!"

Hands trembling, I picked up the time clock, and a wave of pure terror washed over me.

Before I could even make sense of it, the door slammed open from outside with a bang.

Captain Larson stormed in with a swarm of officers, and I was pinned down against the desk on the spot.

"Clara Henson, what did you do! Are you trying to kill every single employee at Yuhui Tech?"

He raised his phone and pulled up a photo,

my old coworkers all covered in blood, faces twisted in agony, sprawled across the floor.

Then Reginald came in, weak, propped up by an officer, staring at me in horror.

"Clara, why would you try to kill me too?"

I shook my head, panicking. "It wasn't me! I didn't clock in!"

But Captain Larson punched me, furious.

"The clock that kills people turns up in your home, and you're still lying!"

They moved to drag me away,

and the instinct to survive made me thrash with everything I had. My body slammed hard into the time clock on the desk.

Bang! The clock hit the floor, and a flash of red light shot out.

My mind roared, and all at once I understood everything.

I finally knew why every time I clocked in, someone died.

I wrenched myself free and screamed until my voice tore.

"Wait! I didn't kill them! I already know who the real killer is!"