Title : Fright Night

Rate : PG

Author : Indie

Disclaimer : All characters belong to the author

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The phone on her desk rang. She was busy with her programming on the computer that she didn’t hear it ringing. Once… twice… three times… she blinked and shook her head.

She reached the phone and picked it up.

"Hello……….. Yes sir, I’m still on it……."

The voice on the other end was of her boss.

She sighed, "Yes sir, I’ve tried that too and it didn’t work. Someone must have messed up with the data, sir. Or worse, erased it…… Yes sir. I will notify you as soon as I can get access to it…… Oh.. you’re going home. OK, see you tomorrow, sir." She slammed the phone down and got back to her work.

Work, work, work. She’d been working hard for the whole week trying to retrieve some very important computer data that had been lost or erased by someone. Most likely, a hacker hired by their competitor. She even slept in the office. She brought her backpack with some clothes. Infact, she brought everything from towel to toothbrush so that she didn’t have to go out of the building.

The office was small, located on the eighth floor of a nine-floor building. It consisted only of 3 rooms. Her boss’ room, the finance people room and the main computer room where she worked. Only five people worked in this small office, not including one security guard. The company was a new one, dealing with net providers, but it was getting bigger.

Her partner, Peter, already left since lunch. He had slept here for three nights and now it was his turn to go home. So, she had to stay for tonight covering him. He said he would be back early in the morning. Very early he said, probably at 5 or 6 a.m. to help her finish the work.

She worked and worked, barely noticed the time anymore. After a while, she heard a thudding noise on her window. A familiar sound of a gondola hitting the frame of the window. Who would clean up the window at this time of the night, she thought. She looked at the window for one second and looked back to the computer screen, after glancing at the clock. It was 11.15. Phew, time did fly, she sighed.

Thud… thud… There, that noise again. Now she stopped her work and wondered. She was sure that the building management always lifted the gondola to the top floor if not used and tied it up on the roof of the building. She glanced over to the window, but the horizontal blinds were shut.

She stretched her arms, and drink her already-cold tea. She could use some rest now. She raised from her seat and went to the window. She pulled the cord and the blinds lifted up.

It was dark outside. She could see lights from the neighboring buildings, but most of the buildings were dark. She put her face against the window and covered the sides of her eyes with her hands to shield the light.

She looked around. Nothing. No gondola. What was that sound? She looked across her room to the other window. She walked towards the window across the room. Maybe the noise came from that window, she thought.

Tap.. tap.. tap… Someone, or something was tapping on the glass. She walked and quickly pulled the cord to open the blinds. Nothing. Damn it!! She was sure she heard a tapping noise on the glass.

"I’m too tired and I need rest." She spoke to herself. "I’m on the 8^th floor. Bats!! That’s it, it must be bats."

She walked back to her desk and took her empty mug. She went towards the water dispenser and pour herself some cold water. Suddenly she felt hungry. She remembered there was a small Chinese take away near the building and it opened until midnight. She looked at her wristwatch. 11.30, good.

She left the office and swiped her ID card on the door. A moment later she was on the ground floor, walking past the security guard. He smiled as she walked pass him.

It was nice to get out of the building. She looked around and the street was nearly empty. She bought some chinese noodles and some snacks and carry them back to the building.

The security guard nodded at her as she passed him and she continued towards the elevators. She couldn’t see the guard post from where she was now. She went on walking and arrived in front of the toilet doors.

Wait a second, she thought. I must have made a wrong turn. She walked back towards the corridor. Nope. This way leads to the toilets, she said. What happened with me? I must be really really tired.

"OK, stay calm and think. Which way is it to the elevator? You enter the building, and you see the security post just opposite the entrance. Go pass the security post, then turn right is to the elevators corridor, turn left is to the toilets. Now I’m in front of the toilets. So I must go straight forward to the elevators."

She started walking her way to the elevators. She looked to her right and saw the back of the security post. Right, she thought, I would be back in the office in a minute. She quickened her pace and arrived in front of the elevators.

"NO!" She screamed as she found out that they were not doors of the elevators but the toilet doors. She dropped her food bag and ran back the way she came.

"No. No. This can’t be true. This is a night mare and I’m now sleeping in my room in the office." She started crying, still running. She stopped and closed her eyes in front of the-supposed-to-be toilets’ doors.

She breathed heavily. With tears on her cheeks, she opened her eyes.

"Jesus, thanks."

She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, and pushed the button to call the elevators. There were only two elevators serving this small building.

She looked across the corridor and shuddered. What was she thinking back there, she thought. It was clear that she took the wrong turn in the first place.

The doors to the elevator opened up in front of her. She quickly stepped in and push button number 8, sighing in relief. She turned her back to look at herself in the mirror in the back of the elevator wall…..

To find that she was staring at concrete wall. She started hyperventilating. She turned slowly to her right and saw two basins with a long wall mirror. The toilets were on her left side and she was standing across the entrance door.

"No! I don’t believe this. I refused to believe any of this." She was in panic now. She turned the water tap and washed her face with cold water.

"Wake up!! This is a dream. Wake up!! She screamed. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was standing, breathing heavily, her hair messed up and she was shaking in panic. She licked her lips groggily.

"I’m calm. I’m calm." She said in a much steadier voice. "Go out and find the security guard. Why didn’t I think of it earlier? Silly girl." She ran her fingers to straighten her hair, and walked out of the toilet.

Once again, she was standing outside the toilet, facing the long corridor. She walked fast and stopped dead on her track. To her left was the security post, empty. The guard was not there. She was about to go to that direction when she realized that she was on the wrong side of the corridor. She had come from the toilet, so the security post was supposed to be on the right side, not left.

Ding! The sound of elevator door opening.

"Right!" She said, "I’m on the right side." She slapped her face with her hand, and was surprised to find that her face was dry. She just washed her face with cold water in the toilet. She stood, confused.

Something caught her attention. It was the light of the elevator flickering. She ran back along the corridor as quick as she could and caught the elevator door before it closed.

Hurriedly she pressed button number 8 and looked up to the small screen. She was once again breathing heavily. She was really tired now from running back and forth in the corridor. She stood impatiently as she saw the number on the screen.

1 ………… 2 …………… 3 …………… 4 ……………. 5 …………… 6 ………… 7 ………. Stop.

"What now!!" She pushed the button number 8 again and again and again. It was still on, but the elevator was stuck on the 7^th floor.

When she was about to call the emergency call button, she felt the lift moved. She looked up to view the screen.

7 …… 6 …… 5 ……

"No, no, no!!! Go up, go up!!" She started to cry. She kept pressing the button number 8 with her finger. The light of the button was still on, also the ‘up’ button was on. The elevator was supposedly going up. Yet, it was going down….

5 …… 4 …… 3 …… 2 …… 1…… Stop.

She was crying hard now and waited for the elevator door to open. She let go of the button and stared at the door.

"Open! Open!!" She kicked at the door, screaming and crying at the same time. She was so scared and confused.

Suddenly the elevator moved, going up. Again, she stood looking up at the screen. Her body was shaking with tense and fear.

1…… 2 …… 3 …… 4 ……

Her little foot tapping on the floor, impatiently. Up, up, up… she wished.

5 …… 6 …… 7 …… 8 ……

She took one step forward, ready to step out as soon as the door opened. Her gaze was fixed at the screen.

8 …… 9 …… stop.

"No! Let me out!" She cried hysterically. "Please… let me out!" She sobbed.

Nothing happened. The elevator was stuck at the top floor. She felt her knees weak. She looked at the panel and saw that the button number 8 was still on. She reached the emergency button and pressed it.

Nothing happened. No one answered. She pressed it once more, "Hello, security!!"

No one answered.

Suddenly the door whooshed open. Revealing darkness. The ninth floor was closed and all the lights were off.

She trembled and slowly reached the panel and pressed the close button.

"No. I won’t go in there." She whispered to herself.

As if the elevator knew what she wanted the door whooshed close. She felt the elevator was moving down. She fell down on the floor, still staring at the screen.

Down and down to the first floor, and stopped. Just like the first time. Only this time the door whooshed open.

As quickly as she could, she stood up and stepped out. The door closed behind her and once again, she found herself standing in the middle of the corridor. She turned to see the elevator doors and screamed hysterically to find that she was infact standing in front of the toilet door.

She felt sick and tired, scared and confused, all together mixed up in her mind. She started to feel dizzy and quickly entered the toilet and vomited. She flushed the toilet and walked across the room to wash her hands.

She looked at her face, again, in the mirror. With trembling hands she washed her face with cold water. She walked out of the toilet and this time she determined to find the security guard.

Walking slowly, she turned left. Left, she thought. She was on the side of the elevator corridor. She closed her eyes and ignored the thought. She kept on walking……

Ding! The sound of elevator door opening.

She stopped and glanced back to see the light of the elevator flickering.

She touched her face…… it was dry. It started all over again.

"NO!!!!" She screamed and fell down to the floor, fainted.

* * * * * *

She opened her eyes slowly and saw a blurred face. She tried hard to focus. Slowly her vision came back to normal and saw Peter’s concerned face.

"Are you OK, Sarah?"

"Yes… I think so. What… what happened?"

"You mean, you don’t remember?" Peter asked.

She shook her head and Peter helped her stand.

"I came to the office and didn’t see you at your station. So I decided to finish up the work.. but it too wasn’t progressing much. So I came back down and asked the guard if he’d seen you leaving. He said he saw you came back carrying a paper bag around midnight. He had not seen you left the building since then. I got a bad feeling and started to check around. And here you are."

Sarah looked around her. She was standing with Peter, in the toilet.

"C’mon Sarah. You better go home and rest. You look like shit. I’ll finish up where you left."

"What time is it, Pete?"

"It’s only 5 o’clock. I told you I would come early. And lucky you, I came earlier."

Sarah stared at him blankly.

"You OK, Sarah? C’mon let’s go." He took her arm and led her out of the toilet.

"Oh, don’t forget your bag." He grabbed the paper bag and gave it to Sarah.

Sarah looked at it and walked out. She stared blankly at it. She didn’t remember bringing it in with her to the toilet.

They were walking along the corridor, with Peter still holding her arm. He pushed the button and they waited in front of the elevator.

Ding! The sound of elevator door opening.