Alright so this is a compilation of all 3 parts so far! I am still deciding which direction to go with the following parts!
In the Eyes of danger Part 1
Evan stretched his arms—and almost lost his balance. The train rattled and swayed back and forth, and gave Evan’s inner ear a run for its money. People all turned and looked at Evan as if he were stupid. Admittedly, these people were all commuter veterans, and it was Evan’s first day at his new job. He’d get better in time. It was just that he had been spending the last few nights studying up on all different types of insurance. The firm he was about to work at was utterly prestigious, and that intimidated him. But, this job is what he had been studying for all throughout school.
For a moment, Evan had a terrifying thought that this was as simple and as plain as his life was ever going to be. Evan got off the bus and walked across the platform huddled around the other commuters. As they walked down the steps to the street below, an older woman caught his eye. She was holding on to the railing very carefully. She was moving along with the others, but something about her didn’t feel right. Evan kept moving—until he felt this gut wrenching pull in his stomach. His imagination strobed images of the woman, from the fibers in her coat to the suede of her shoes to the imperfections in her jewelry and her trembling hands.
Evan rushed down and pulled his way through the group so he was right below her. Suddenly, she tripped and fell—right into his arms. Everyone stopped moving and looked. If Evan hadn’t helped her, she surely would have tumbled to her death.
Older woman: “Thank you, young man—Thank goodness you were here…”
Evan stared off into the distance. He had only felt the urge to get to her moments ago,
Evan: “Yeah…Thank goodness…”
Evan walked into his new office to see people running around frantically. New claims were being handled at break neck pace. Lawyers were phoned-in, and bosses were consulted. That Boss, Evan began to realize, what the most integral part.
“Who are you?” barked Charles, one of the senior claims handlers.
“My name is Evan, sir.”
Charles: “Evan? You’re the new fresh meat, right? I'm Charles. It's a Pleasure to have you meet me of course! and everyone else here. You’ll be working under me. And Craig. And Mark. And Nick. And Tony, even though God doesn’t even know how he’s still here. Bottom line is, a lot of people are gonna ask you to do a bunch of things—and all you gotta do is do ‘em all. It’s no big deal. Half hour lunch breaks, too. Not a bad perk.”
Evan: “Um…I’m looking to do my best, sir.”
Charles: “Here, give these to everyone,”
Charles handed Evan an unruly wad of cards.
Charles: “Business owners, anyone who you think would do something dangerous…skateboarders. Give them cards. And people who you think would never do anything wrong—living saints—give ‘em to them, too.”
Evan: “So, everyone?”
Charles: “See? You’re a master. This is insurance. We’re in the business of doing business with the right people.”
Charles walked off as if that was going to be the only time they ever spoke.
Evan had a feeling it wasn’t.
In The Eyes Of Danger Part 2
Papers lay all over Evan’s desk. He had been there for hours, slaving away to make sure he had an incredible first day. He looked up—the clock read nine-fifteen. Yikes. Well, at least he still had more time to figure out how to make the day more effective.
Ping!
Evan got an email notification on his phone. The subject read: Meeting at 9:15. What!? he thought. What kind of manager does this?
Evan hurried into the meeting area to see the room packed with people. Lines and lines of menacing men in suits from all different businesses had been called in for an important meeting.
Charles slowly orated a speech he had surely worked on for weeks.
Charles: “Thanks, guys. Thanks. You’re all really important. That’s why you’re here. But, the fact of the matter is—and I gotta admire myself for having the nerve and moxy to tell you all in person—some of you are having way, way too many accidents and legal water to even be worth looking at. And I’m looking at all of you to show I’m not really like that. But the deal is we gotta cut ya—some of you, to be exact.”
A moment of silence, slowly, slowly died.
“What!?” cried one of the men. “What kind of manager does this?”
Charles: “Well, it’s not really me, guys. This burden is felt all across our company…”
Charles looked around the room—and then to Evan.
Charles: “Evan has a divine, fresh knowledge of insurance. He can tell you exactly what I mean…”
Everyone turned and glared at Evan. He glazed over them and sized them up, one by one. His neck tingled and his knees quivered. Is this how a prestigious organization ran itself?
“Well, I…” he said, stumbling through his speech. As he looked down the line his mind began to flash. From their suits to their shoes, ties, and little hairs on their eyebrows, Evan saw deep into their pasts and even further into their future. Each one had a different color to them. Some were bright white, some were immense shades of red, and some were nearly black.
“I…” he looked at the first client: bright white. “You’re a good bet.” Good bet, he thought. What the hell does that even mean. Why would I say that? But his voice seemed to carry itself. He looked to the next client: a swelling burgundy red. “I don’t know about you. Probably three—no, five—deaths and accidents within your business today related to cranes and stuff like that.” Evan began to sweat. It was as if he didn’t have control over his speech. The next client was a completely opaque shade of black in Evan’s mind. “You…You’re going to die on the way home—“ Then, Evan started to look down the row and started calling out numbers,
“Two. Eight. Four. Zero. Zero. One—“
“ALRIGHT!” Charles squabbled. “What I think…uh…Evan…means to say is that we’re cut throat. We’ll be calling you all over the next few days and we’ll figure out what to do.”
Suddenly, Charles seemed upset and defeated, “You know what—Why don’t you all head out of here. I’ve said what I need to say.”The businessmen left the meeting room. Charles seemed to ponder as the rest of the employees kept dead silent. “Evan…you should probably pack up.”
IN THE EYES OF DANGER PART 3
Evan sat at his desk. He had blown it. An hour in to a promising career and he had blown it. Pack up? Pack up what? He had hardly done anything. He looked up at the clock. 12:00. Well, at least security hadn’t hounded him to get out. Maybe there was a shred of niceness somewhere in this place—although he hadn’t seen it. If only there was—
“EVAN!” Charles walked in. Evan hurried to grab everything on his desk, but Charles sat down. “You’re a real bastard, you know that?”
A moment passed, and Evan worried that Charles actually expected an answer.
[Charles] “That schmuck died…”
Evan“I’m sorry?”
[Charles] “Pretty rough coincidence. You condemn him to death, and then he dies.”
Evan felt terrible, “Oh…Well…Sir, I know this place isn’t for me—“
[Charles] “But then that other thing you said—about the other company—the five deaths…They’ve already had three this morning.”
Evan “Sir, I was just out of my element there, I’ve never—“
[Charles]“They’ve never had any accidents before. That’s coincidence beyond coincidence…As were all the numbers you called out.”
Evan “What?”
[Charles] “Do you know these people? Do you know them?”
Evan “I…”
Evan’s mind drifted off. As he remembered each man from the meeting, he started to see, as if he were watching a movie in fast-motion, every single fatal accident.”
Evan “I mean, there’s a crane collapse, a burst water vein, and a drowning—they’re all possibilities.”
“WHAT!?” Charles yelled. Evan almost fell out of his chair. “Those aren’t possibilities—“
Evan “I’m sorry—“
[Charles]“That’s exactly what they are.” Charles stood up and folded his arms. “You’re telling me that’s your best guess—and it’s matching everything we’re getting phoned in.”
Evan, still trying to come to grips with everything himself, shrugged,
Evan“I just got that feeling when I looked at them.”
[Charles]“Alright. Pack your stuff up.”
Evan reached again for his papers—a few more minutes now to be free from Charles.
[Charles] “You’re coming down and taking the office next to mine. Cancel whatever your half hour lunch is. We’ve gotta move you through ever client of ours.”
Charles started to walk towards the door, “I don’t care if a lonely old woman needs help with her medication. If she’s gonna die and require us to pay up—We’re not touching her.”
Charles stormed out. Evan sat, speechless. Whatever this power was—he had no idea what it meant. And yet, Charles had already figured out how to turn it evil. Was he really about to deny insurance to poor old people by looking into their future and knowing when they and those around them were going to die?
In his heart of hearts, Evan knew that he could use this power for good. He’d just have to figure out how it worked.