DAY TWO…
I am not sure how long I laid on the floor of that bathroom. Maybe it was shock, maybe it was disbelief that had just happened or maybe it was just embarrassment – Either way, I didn’t report it or call the police. I didn’t want to believe it myself, let alone trying to convince anyone else.
Rayray, my rottweiler, must’ve thought it was his lucky night as I had him sleep in my bed.
That next morning, I considered calling in as I hid under the comforter. It felt unnaturally cold in the bedroom.
“You know! You know it was just security, right Rayray? Just another asshole guard trying to be big and bad. Prove he’s got the balls and the badge.” The dog only whined and pawed at my foot.
“Yeah, I know. Get up and get to work.”
…ØØØ…
I yawned and drank from another hot coffee as I waited for the elevator to come. Yeah, another! Don’t judge.
A rusting sedan went by slowly and worked its way down the row of parked cars. The parking garage was windy; my breath plumed in the brisk morning air. I was a bit early – it was 7:22 am.
Again, I chided myself for living yet another winter in Pennsylvania. My mother and brother lived just outside Miami. That’s where I should be – not standing here in this refrigerator!
The bell signaled the elevator car arrived and the doors slid open. I walked in and flicked the dead cigarette from my hand behind me.
As the doors closed behind me, I wondered aloud, “Did I leave the reports on the printer or did I even get those to my desk before…” I didn’t finish the sentence. Finishing meant completing the thought and the thought scared the living shit out of me. LAST NIGHT NEVER HAPPENED!
Instead of talking more to myself which is a bad habit of mine, I pushed for floor 8.
At floor 4 the overhead lights bloomed brighter and buzzed like a beehive.
At floor 5 the elevator jerked once.
NO! SHIT, NO!
Floor 6 dead stop. The elevator brakes screeched angry.
Like anyone else would in that situation, I banged repeatedly at the buttons. Hammering the open door button. Nothing worked.
“REALLY?” I shouted. “After last night, now I am about to get stuck in an elevator?”
I hit the intercom button next. “Hello? Can you help me?”
No response.
Suddenly the elevator belled chimed, but the car didn’t move. It was still on floor 6.
“Hey out there! Can you get me out? Get help!” I started slapping my hands on the metal doors.
Normally, I don’t get claustrophobic or even nervous inside elevators. But I was still a ball of nerves from the encounter the night before and this just didn’t feel right.
The elevator bell chimed again.
I shivered as it was somehow getting colder in the tiny elevator.
Hitting the intercom again, I screamed, “WAKE THE FUCK UP!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!”
Another bell chime and then the lights cut out. Once more I was standing in complete darkness, scared witless.
Then the elevator doors opened slowly. The lobby on the 6th floor was also pitch black. Nothing could still be seen, only heard.
Do I run? What’s happening? I began to hyperventilate. Where are all the lights?
A fourth bell chime.
The elevator floor shifted with new weight – someone had stepped inside next to me! They never said a word.
I held my breath for what seemed hours, tears streamed down my face.
He was back. And deep down, I knew he would be. I could hear his wispy breathing, smell the grey-green muck from his boots and feel his eyes crawl all over me!
I was completely frozen in place.
Right by my left ear, “Three days… I will have you in three days.”
Screaming like I was on fire, I bolted out of the elevator and down the hallway of floor 6.
…ØØØ…
Two hours later, security (my “heroes”) found me balled up under a desk in the Payroll Department. I had bitten each of my fingernails off and somehow tore the skin off three toes when I lost my shoes.
Work has imposed a “vacation” for my own good, however, they did admit to me that they found mud tracks in the hall and elevator.
Today is January 22nd — the third day since this started. I won’t let Rayray leave my side in the apartment and I keep my cell phone charging.
I am not insane (I wish I was. Then there was a chance for a cure or some wonder drugs to put me into a stupor!). Nothing like his has ever happened to me and no one in my family has ever had issues with mental health. I don’t do drugs or drink much and live a pretty normal, healthy life. I am so lost!
It never occurred to me how many times a day that I am alone. We all are alone at least six to a dozen different times during the day. Car rides, bathroom breaks, eating in the breakroom, working late at your job, shopping through the clothes rack in the store, reading in your bed at night, alone in the grocery aisle… elevator rides. We all take it in stride.
But what if something really is hunting me when I am all alone??
Four days… I will have you in four days.
Four days… I will have you in four days.
Four days… I will have you in four days.
Four days… I will have you in four days.
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