Suspense Short - Clocking In

On the first day back to work after the long holiday, I dragged my weary, sleepy self into the office building. The joy of the break still lingered in my heart, and I was filled with annoyance, feeling like this was just another endless stretch of workdays. The building's hallway was pale and dim, the air conditioning too cold, sending shivers down my neck. I lazily raised my hand to tap the time clock. "Clock-in successful." The mechanical voice was unremarkable, yet it sounded unnervingly close, like someone whispering right by my ear. The moment I pushed open the office door, all sound instantly ceased. No colleagues chatting, no keyboard typing, not even the sound of breathing. All my colleagues were seated upright at their desks, everyone's fingers hovering over the same key on their keyboards, frozen in place. Every computer screen, every cursor position, was identical down to the last detail. The daylight outside was bright, slanting across the entire office area. The floor was impossibly clean—in the entire office, only I had a shadow. My spine instantly went cold, and I couldn't move. The computers automatically powered on, and dozens of files popped up on the desktop. The years stacked backward, all saved at the exact same time, on the exact same second, on the first day back to work after each consecutive holiday. This wasn't a bug. Just then, the entrance sensor beeped again. "Clock-in successful~ Welcome back." This time, the voice wasn't cold. It was gentle, familiar, and sounded exactly like my own voice. I turned around in terror and saw another version of myself, looking utterly fed up, stepping through the doorway. They were looking down, complaining about the post-holiday blues, completely oblivious to the bizarre scene before them. And my body was slowly becoming transparent, lighter, losing its weight. I frantically braced myself on the desk, trying to escape, and looked up to see the reflection on the computer screen.