Robert Benson, 52 year old janitor of a high end gym

As I push the mop bucket into the closet I feel endlessly relieved that I'm done, it's been a long day and my knees are killing me. Ever since I took over the janitorial duties on top of the rest of my work I rarely get out of here before 8pm, not that there's anyone waiting at home, my wife passed away almost a decade ago and I've lived alone ever since. I'm just getting a little to old to be pulling 12 hours shifts every single day, I wish Hannah would just hire somebody already. I feel like I've seen atleast 10 people come in for interviews and she has turned down every single one.

As I walk through the empty gym I can hear the faint sounds of someone hitting a punching bag in between the rolling sounds of thunder outside. Considering we're closed I assume that's Hannah's wife Jane, still training hard as ever. They got married not to long after John died and left the gym to Hannah. A lot of people around the gym assumed it wasn't a coincidence and Jane is just in it for the money, but I couldn't disagree more, Jane loves that girl more than anything in this world as far as I can tell.

I walk toward the noise, as I enter the boxing area I see her stop and lean against the ring for a quick breather...

"Ma'am I'm going to head out for the day, would you like me to turn out the lights for the rest of the gym?"

She gives a huff rolling her eyes "Duh Bob that's your job..."

She knows I hate being called Bob but still insists on it.

I stammer "Oh I just thought you might want... I just... Um... Sorry yes ok I'll go turn them off... Goodnight ma'am."

She clears her throat "Oh hey before you leave Hannah wanted you to go up on the roof and check the dish, she said there was some kind of connection issue with the treadmill TV's."

"Oh I can do that first thing tomorrow ma'am... With the storm and all I just don't know if now is the best time..."

She takes a long drink from her water bottle "Just do it now Bob, Jesus we pay you a fortune, the least you can do is pretend like you are worth it."

I grimace, she's not wrong in one respect, I do get paid well, but that's only because of the contracts I signed with John before he died. He was a good man and respected his workers. But to imply that I'm not worth what they pay? That's absurd! I do everything, cleaning, fixing, ordering, I basically run this place! Hannah sits in her office all day doing god knows what and Jane here just works out and trains 24/7. Whatever... If she wants to be disrespectful that says more about her than me. I'm retiring soon anyway, my 401k is stacked so at the end of the year I'm done.

"Y...Yes ma'am... I'll do it before I leave..."

She squares up with the bag already ready for another round "Well what are you waiting for? Stop staring at my ass and get on it."

As I bow out of the room I feel a literal pain in my neck. How hard is it to be kind huh? Everyday either Hannah or Jane have something unkind to say. A lot of the time it's about how sweaty I am, which like I told them I can't help because of a genetic condition I have, hence the reason I chose to work somewhere full of sweaty people. Sometimes it's about how lazy I am, which again is just absurd, I work harder than anyone here and they know it. Here lately they have been commenting that I'm staring at them inappropriately, which don't get me wrong they are beautiful woman, but I'm not staring! Hell I haven't been with a woman since my wife, I've retired that whole part of myself, I in no way objectify them or treat them differently than anyone else.

I turn out the lights for everywhere except the boxing section, then take the back doors outside. The rain is coming down hard and the wind is making it worse, blowing it sideways and in my eyes. I shiver as I start climbing the long service latter to the roof, once I get halfway up I stop to huff and puff. Back in my prime this would have been easy, but these days not so much. Ever since my wife died I've progressively gotten heavier, gotta fill the whole with something I suppose. These days I'm about 260, Which on a 5'9 frame is not ideal to say the least.

Once I reach the roof I immediately see the problem, the wind has knocked the dish on its side. I jog to it quickly, I want to get it back up and get out of the rain as fast as I can. Lightning streaks across the sky as put the dish back into place and begin trying to reinforce it. It's so damn dark up here, luckily though my phone is water proof so I turn the flashlight on and put it in my front pocket so I have atleast a little bit of visibility.

As I tighten the final screw I feel a strange tingle, the hairs on my arm stand on end and my heart skips a beat. It's as though time freezes for a second, I can no longer hear the wind and rain in my ears, I can no longer feel the chill in my bones. I feel weirdly at peace for a brief second, like the feeling of waking up in my wife's arms.

The last thing I see is a flash of light as a jagged blue arc of electricity hops from the dish to my chest. The last thing I feel is my phone super heat and begin searing my skin. The last thing I think before I pass out is silly...

"Sheesh... I really should have done this in the morning huh?"