C (7:21)

Clock.

B (7:22)

I was dozing off because of the effect of the painkillers they gave me. They situated the guy who appeared to be about my age. The nurses eventually left after introducing the guy to me. His name was Ben. After they left, Ben asked me what I was in for. I told him and then asked him the same question. He told me he would rather not say. I thought that was kinda weird. We were both silent for a while until a nurse popped in and asked if we wanted her to put in a movie for us. We both said no. The nurse said OK and walked out of the room turning off the light as she did. Some light from the hallway kept the room barely lit. I looked over at Ben and his head was facing forward at the wall. Some time passed and I adjusted my pillow and tried to get comfortable in order to fall asleep. I was looking at the ceiling of my hospital room and thought about random things when Ben suddenly asked me, you think you might fall asleep soon? His question caught me off guard and I didn't respond for a few seconds. After thinking about his unusual question, I answered, um, yeah, probably. I am pretty tired. Why do you ask? Ben then said back, because. Because when you do, I'm gonna kill you. For a moment I thought he was joking and I even smiled and let out a very small forced chuckle. He did not smile back. He just looked at the wall. I realized he was asking seriously and my heart started beating very fast. I finally replied to him, are you serious, man? He then leaned his head back and said, yep. I hit the nurse call button on my bed and she walked into the room promptly. She asked what I needed and I told her what Ben had said. She looked at him and still looking at the wall, he said, I will do it. She told him he wasn't funny and that he would be switching rooms. She then called in another nurse and the two of them rolled his bed out of the room. When he rolled by, he covered his head with the covers and screamed in a way that showed me he was very obviously not well. This scared me half to death. About 30 minutes later, the nurse walked back in and I asked who he was and what that was about. She told me not to worry about it and that they put him in a room by himself. I told her that really creeped me out and I was scared and asked if he could possibly get back to my room. She said that was very unlikely as he was blind. I have a story to tell you. This happened at my house when I was about 11 years old. This one day, I believe I was playing video games when I heard a knock at the door. My parents were in their room talking and I ran to the door and looked through the window next to it to see who it was. It was a police officer. I thought that was kind of cool, not realizing something could be wrong and opened up. We had a metal screen that was locked. The police officer first said, hi, are your parents home? I told them yes and asked if he would like me to get them.

C (11:08)

He responded with, are you sure there.

B (11:12)

Aren'T any cars in the driveway or out front? Can you open the screen so I can talk to you for a minute? I said back, uh, yeah, they're here. Their cars are parked in the driveway. One second. I then yelled out, dad. And my dad replied, yeah. I walked over to their bedroom door and told them a policeman was at the door. My dad looked concerned and got up. He walked over to the front door and the police officer was now gone. My dad looked at me confused and said there was a cop at the door. He then unlocked the screen and walked outside. I stayed in the house and my dad walked back in a few seconds later. What did he say? Are you sure it was a cop? I replied, yeah, he was wearing the outfit. He asked if you or mom were here. My dad shrugged and said, weird. He didn't say anything else. Did he say something was wrong? I shook my head no. My dad shrugged again and walked back into his room while I went to the couch and resumed my video game. A few days later, another police officer came to our house. This time my dad answered the door. The cop said to my dad, hello sir, sorry to bother you, but we've had some calls from people on this street clear claiming a man came to their door dressed as a police officer. Did he by chance come by here? My dad told them what happened a few days previous and then the cops hit my dad with a bombshell. They said that the man was not a cop at all, but a man pretending to be one, trying to locate children who were home alone. This happened in Antioch, California. It was around 2:00am I was at a friend's house, safe in warm, sheltered suburbia. We were having a lot to drink, chit chatting, enjoying ourselves. Of course when you're having fun, time hits the fast forward button and those few minutes turn into an hour. I had too much to drink. My friend has a bit of an abrupt bedtime so I had to dodge out early, still intoxicated. I felt too shameful, thinking I would be asking too much to stay in his house to sleep off the drunkenness. I suppose he was either too rude or too drunk to consider it himself. Whatever. Sometimes a little inconvenience makes you appreciate everything else. I needed about another hour or so to sober up and drive back. As fast as time passed during my stay, it decided to drastically slow down as soon as I stepped out of his house. It was a cul de sac area, a concrete jungle with the stem of the street breaking into a fork alongside the road. My car was parked. The only street light that worked was in the middle of the cul de sac circle about 80 yards away. I stumbled towards my car, produced my keys, felt the metal line up, opened my door and shifted to the back seat. Because this was a dark, strange and unfamiliar neighborhood, I took the leftover newspapers and a sweater in my back seat to cover myself up. I wanted to camouflage myself and not just be some guy awkwardly sitting in his car waiting for time to pass in order to drive home. I couldn't fall asleep. The uncomfortable feeling of a cheap backseat bed enshrouded in darkness didn't make the chance of slumber even easier. It felt too ominous and of course my mind began to wander. I thought of worst case scenarios like how the police would shine their lights on me through the window or a drunk driver hitting my car and wait. In the distance. About 100 yards away, I could hear footsteps approaching the gravel scuffed with each step forward, growing in proximity but periodically taking stops. I wondered why until it made sense in my mind. Whoever it was was probably looking through cars carefully with the intent to steal one. I couldn't recall how many cars were on the block, but I counted three full stops until he was at my window, breathing. I froze. There was no more than one foot between us. The car encapsulated me as I lay hidden beneath backseat clutter, forming myself into an object, trying my hardest to be unnoticeable, unmoving, and simply not there. I see.

C (16:32)

See you, said a 40 plus year.

B (16:37)

Old man in a perverse baby talk. Imagine when you were playing hide and seek and one of your friends tricks you into coming out. He said it in that tone of voice, as if baiting me, like he was questioning whether the clutter in the.

C (16:53)

Back seat was just clutter or a person.

B (16:57)

I did not want to move or check the window. I remained cluttered. Give me an Academy Award. My body reacted by minimizing my breathing so much that I felt paralyzed. I dare not look. My eyes fixated on the back of the passenger seat. I did not blink. I did not move. I did not breathe. My heart was pounding so hard it shook my body with each throb. He circled around the car. My ears didn't fail me.

C (17:33)

I heard the steps.

B (17:35)

I felt like I was part of the car. I could feel him touching the trunk as he carefully pressed down on it, as if to test the alarm, as if to test me. I was in the middle of fight or flight. I couldn't do either without elevating danger. I was frozen and hoping that he was bluffing.

C (17:57)

He circled the car again.

B (17:59)

The door handle to my right jiggled. He was pulling it multiple times. I see you. Same tone. I see you. Same tone, but more agitated and stressed. More convinced that he was trying to make that clutter move, revealing itself to be of his expectations that it was me. My muscles tensed like a cow before slaughter. Tap, tap, tap. That had to be metal against glass. Take a penny right now and tap your window. A crowbar. A knife.

C (18:49)

A rock.

B (18:51)

A weapon. My eyes fixated on the seat in front of me, never averting my gaze like he was. I was covered enough to where I couldn't see beyond the seat in front of me. I know I couldn't see him, but I could feel his eyes resting on top of me. My name is Poker Face. What's your name? The voice changed in a lower, demented and serious tone. My mind forced a visual. It wasn't anything human. I already accepted my death. I was ready to be shot in the head. Ready to take a life changing bullet. Multiple knife wounds just make this sleep bearable, not excruciating as you drain me of life. I wouldn't know how to react. My thoughts grew dimmer. I imagined my friend waking up the next morning after a calm night of safe and sound sleep. Only to discover my mutilated, defiled and bloodied body hanging outside my car door. It was then I heard nothing but my own heart. What was this person doing now? Just staring at me in the middle of the night? Talking to me? Or a messy pile in the backseat? Time froze. The footsteps were being swallowed in the distance. He left. I waited another hour until the sun showed hints of itself. I jumped in my front seat and bolted out of there wide eyed and sober.

C (20:45)

I've always found creepy, mysterious things fascinating.

B (20:50)

I always have.

C (20:51)

Even as a kid, my parents used to put me to bed by telling me scary stories. Scary stories about monsters, vampires, witches and ghouls. I like to refer to these kinds of stories as old school scary stories. These stories are nothing like the scary stories you hear nowadays about murderers and kidnappers. Unlike vampires and monsters, murderers and kidnappers are real, making it more frightening. The old school scary stories never scared me that much because I knew none of the stories were real.

B (21:28)

They were fake. It was all fake.

C (21:31)

After all, there's no point in being scared of things that aren't real, right? Well, that's initially what I told myself whenever I would get scared. However, I had no idea of what lay in store for me as I got older. I am currently 20 years old. I live alone just outside of a town in a tiny apartment. I'm a student with a part time job, so a tiny apartment is sadly.

B (22:00)

All I can afford.

C (22:01)

My best friend Emily comes to visit me sometimes. We have been best friends since middle school. Emily and I had decided to have a sleepover at my place this weekend. Emily was going to sleep on an air mattress while I took the bed. The days leading up to the weekend consisted of studying, working and sleeping. When Friday finally showed up, I got excited. I waited until Emily was done working her shift and then she came over to my place. The clock was around 8pm when she turned up. We had something to eat and sat down to watch a movie. When the movie was finished, the clock struck 11pm Emily went to the bathroom. While I started tidying up a bit, my phone suddenly vibrated. I didn't check it at first because I Thought nothing of it.

B (22:52)

Little did I know that would be.

C (22:54)

The biggest mistake of my life. After I was done tidying up, I realized that Emily had spent an unusual amount of time in the bathroom. I grew a little concerned about her.

B (23:07)

Absence, but I quickly brushed it off.

C (23:10)

Reassuring myself that she was probably just fixing her makeup or something. I sat down on the couch and checked my phone. It was a snap from Emily.

B (23:20)

She had sent me a picture.

C (23:22)

That's odd, I thought to myself. The concerned feeling I had a moment ago came back stronger. I tried reassuring myself again. Maybe she had sent me a snap to let me know that she was fine. I opened the snap. I screamed. I was horrified. How could this have happened? I was right here. Tears started streaming down my face. I was sitting on the couch, shaking like a Chihuahua. The picture contained an unconscious Emily with the words, Looks like your friend needed a time. Time out. I rushed to the bathroom as fast as I could. That was probably not a smart decision, but at that point I didn't even care because I had to help Emily. When I opened the bathroom door, there was no sign of anyone. There wasn't even a sign of a break in or an open window. Nothing. How on earth could someone have broken into my home? I had been in the apartments all day. I started panicking.

B (24:30)

I had to call the police.

C (24:32)

I pulled out my phone and dialed the emergency number. A policeman picked up the phone.

B (24:38)

Hello?

C (24:38)

What's your emergency? I answered hurriedly. Hello, my name is Mia Cavanaugh. I live at 34 Hill Park Avenue. My friend Emily Fieldman has gone missing. You need to hurry, please. The policeman on the other line replied, okay, we'll be there right away. I hung up the phone and sat down on the couch. My phone vibrated again. I knew I had to look, but I didn't want to. Another snap from Emily I opened.

B (25:08)

Was.

C (25:08)

A picture of a terrified Emily with a knife held to her throat and a person in a black mask standing behind her with the words stating, be careful what you say to the police. Police, or she will get it. I tried to study the background, but I couldn't make out anything. It was all black behind them. The picture had been taken with a blitz showing only Emily and the person in the mask. From the looks of it, the person in the mask seemed to be a man. Regardless, how did they know that I had spoken to the police literally seconds after I had hung up the phone? At least I had evidence now because of the picture they had sent me. There wasn't a timer on the picture, so I could show the police without taking a screenshot of it. That way the kidnappers wouldn't know I had shown the police. A thought quickly appeared in my mind. If they knew I'd spoken to the police seconds after I ended the call, then they would have found out. If I had shown the police this picture and if they would have found out about the picture, then they might have killed Emily. I feared that I would have to find the perpetrators on my own or Emily was going to die. The police showed up about 10 minutes after our phone call. I opened the door and greeted them. I knew I had to lie to them. It was a false emergency. Emily had gone to the store without me knowing about it. I'm terribly sorry. The policeman looked stern and replied, are you sure?

B (26:43)

Because if that is the case, you.

C (26:44)

Have a risk of facing a $1,000 fine or ending up in prison. I recognized the policeman's voice from the phone call and answered, yeah, I'm sure. I'm so sorry. I really did think she was gone. The policeman sighed. Well, you sounded pretty concerned on the phone so we believed you. We'll let you off with a warning this time, but if it happens again, you will be charged a fine. Worst case scenario, there is a possibility of you ending up in jail. So please be careful when calling us for emergencies.

B (27:19)

Yes, absolutely.

C (27:20)

It won't happen again. Goodbye. I said.

B (27:24)

Goodbye.

C (27:25)

Have a safe night and take care of yourselves. The police then left.

B (27:31)

I closed the door.

C (27:33)

My phone vibrated again. I knew who it was.

B (27:36)

Immediately. I looked at it.

C (27:40)

A snap from Emily. I opened was a picture of Emily tied up in a chair. Her eyes were red and puffy. It looked like she had been crying a lot. The text on the picture read, Good job love. We'll reward you for your cooperation. I sighed. What reward were they talking about? I'm not even sure if I wanted a reward from them. My phone vibrated again. Another snap from Emily. This time it was a picture inside a warehouse with some cars in it with a text stating this is your first clue as to where Emily is hiding. The picture I had received was dark and it was hard to make out where it was. The cars that stood lined up looked really familiar. That's when a thought popped into my head. Of course they are in the abandoned warehouse for cars. That place used to be Emily and I's hangout spot when we needed a break from the world. I knew what I had to do. I drove my car to the old warehouse and parked outside the building. I made my way inside. Nothing. The sun had gone down. So the warehouse was pitch black. The only sound that could be heard was my footsteps as I tried to find my way in the darkness. I took out my phone and turned on the flashlight. I tried to find a light switch, but I had no luck. I walked further in and discovered a door. I opened it, and on the left side of the door, on the wall.

B (29:22)

Was a light switch.

C (29:23)

I flicked the switch, but there was no light. Of course, I thought to myself, this place is abandoned. There is no electricity here anymore. In the middle of the room was a chair. I approached the chair cautiously, afraid someone was going to jump out from the darkness and kidnap me too. But nothing happened. I looked at the chair and realized that this had been the chair that Emily was tied to. But she was no longer here.

B (29:56)

Hello?

C (29:57)

I said, getting nervous.

B (30:00)

I did what you asked me to.

C (30:02)

Now, where is my friend? But to my dismay, no one answered. My eyes then fell upon the cars that were lined up. I spotted a note hanging on the windshield of one of the cars.

B (30:16)

I made my way to the cars.

C (30:17)

And took the note. It read, here's your second clue. I turned the note around, but there was nothing there. I looked up, trying to spot something, but the room only held the chair and the cars. My phone vibrated. I took it out, knowing who it was. Another snap from Emily. I opened it to be faced with a tree. Why in the world would it just be a tree? I studied the background as well as the tree. And that's when I made the realization it was the tree where Emily and I had carved into the trunk. That we would be best friends forever. I recognized that one of the branches had grown in an odd way.

B (31:08)

That's what made the tree special.

C (31:10)

Which is why Emily and I chose that tree.

B (31:13)

I just really wish I was right.

C (31:16)

And not that the kidnappers had taken a picture of another tree. But I had to go for Emily's sake. I drove to the forest where the tree was and parked my car in the parking lot by the entrance. I got out and started to walk up that all too familiar path. While walking further into the forest, a flashback suddenly hit me. A flashback from the first time we walked here together. Some boys in our class chased us.

B (31:45)

All the way up here because they.

C (31:46)

Wanted to beat us up. We ran from them and hid in the woods. And that's when we decided that we would be best friends forever. After walking for a while, I had to turn away from the path and head into the thick forest where there was no path to guide me anymore. This walk took longer than I had remembered because of everything that had happened. It felt like one minute lasted 20 minutes. I started to pray to keep Emily safe and that I would find her in time. To be honest, I wasn't really religious. But I was so desperate, it was better to be safe than sorry. I started to run. I got there soon enough, but there was nobody there. I walked up to the tree and there was the carving. Our carving.

B (32:39)

E M BFF While looking at it.

C (32:45)

I smiled, remembering the good times. I traced my finger alongside the E in the carving. That's when my emotions got the best of me. I started to cry. I hugged the tree, wishing it was Emily who stood in my arms and not a tree. After I had cried a whole lot, I had to start looking for clues. I let go of the tree and began my hunt. After a while, with no luck, my phone vibrated once again. A snap from Emily. I pulled out my phone and opened it. I could tell that the picture was taken in our schoolyard. In the place where Emily and I first met each other. I couldn't see Emily in the picture though, and that freaked me out. I placed my phone in my pocket. I had to get there as fast as I could. I ran down to my car and drove off. I parked my car in the school's parking lot and got out. I had to find her. It was the only thing that mattered. I started walking down the schoolyard. I couldn't see anything. My head turned to the side and that's when I spotted the place which was where the picture was taken. My first encounter with Emily. All the memories came flooding back. The same old tiny shed with the same old tree beside it.

B (34:18)

I walked towards it.

C (34:20)

I had a feeling I would find my next clue. Or better yet, Emily inside the shed. As I got closer, I noticed that someone had left the shed door to the shed ajar. I opened the door to the shed and looked inside. It was dark, but the room was illuminated by the moon. There was a desk and a chair standing in the middle of the room. I walked to the desk and found a note. The note read, final destination is Emily's place. Can you reach her in time? I waited for the all too familiar Snapchat notification. Nothing happened. I couldn't stand here all night, so I ran back to my car and sped off towards Emily's place. I sat the whole time hoping that Emily was okay. I couldn't think of anything else. I reached Emily's place as fast as I could and ran inside. There was nobody there. I admit that maybe barging into her house like I just did wasn't a great idea, but I was desperate. I tried calling out Emily's name, but no one answered. I searched downstairs for her, but to no avail. I went up the stairs but could not see anything. Her room was the last room. I looked inside. She had to be here, I thought to myself while slowly opening the door. What greeted me was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen. Emily's body lay on the floor. I ran over to her and held her limp body in my arms. I started sobbing. I couldn't believe it.

B (36:13)

How could this have happened?

C (36:15)

I hugged her even though I knew she wouldn't hug me back. I sat there for what felt like eternity, hugging her tight, like I would never let her go. I had lost my dearest friend, My best friend. The one who was always there for me. The one who knew more about me than anyone else. I spotted her computer. While I sat hugging her, it was turned on. I lay Emily gently down on the ground again and went to investigate it. When I got to her computer, I saw that it was logged into what could only be the dark web. Did she use this? A chat was opened where I could see that she had been chatting to someone. Someone that threatened her. He wrote things like, I will kill you and I have your address. I know where you live.

B (37:16)

I could tell by the looks of.

C (37:17)

These messages that he wanted money. I clicked out of the page because it was too menacing to watch. When the page disappeared, I found some videos of me on the computer. I pressed play on one of them and it showed me while I was talking to the police on the phone. There was another video of me when I was at the warehouse. And another one of me when I was in the woods looking at the tree. They had put up surveillance cameras and filmed me while I searched for Emily. That's how they knew when to send me the snaps. I looked up and found printed screenshots and hanging on the wall behind her computer of Emily and I's chat. The times we talked about. The places I had been to. Like the tree and the place we first met. That's how they knew these places meant something to us. What is this? I said to myself, overwhelmed with what I was seeing. My phone vibrated. I took it out and looked at it. Another snap from Emily. My heart started to beat faster. A tear fell from my eye. I was so scared. I knew who it was. I picked up what was left of my courage once again. And I opened was a picture of me from behind. I suddenly heard Emily's closet door creak open. I whipped my head around and gasped. It couldn't be lunchtime. I count down the hours every day, looking forward to just this time. It's the highlight of my workday every day. I eat at 1630 hours inside the break room every day. The room itself is unremarkable. You could find it in any office across America. Maybe the world. Tile floor, white ceiling with those asbestos and cardboard type cutouts you could push out with your hand if you wanted. There's a plain Formica topped table that could fit five people comfortably.

B (39:42)

Six if that weird guy pulls up.

C (39:43)

Another chair to bother you while you eat. The one time of day you have to yourself. The room's size itself is too small to even think about getting a running head start. You might be able to take five steps forward and back, maybe the same side to side. A refrigerator barely fits in the corner. Looks to be from the Carter administration. I put my water bottle in there for after lunch. A microwave from the post nuclear era whirrs on the counter. The lazy Susan indeed earns its name quietly and slowly turning a Tupperware containing leftover taco salad. Above the counter stands a handful of cupboards. What's inside? No one knows. No one opens them. Must not be anything too important. Ding. Taco salad. Prepare for destruction. Two walls of this break room are covered in plate glass. The outside view is like the room, unremarkable. A concrete parking lot. A tree. A square squirrel. So exciting. Luckily there are long vertical plastic beige shades that you can turn to shut the outside world down.

B (41:10)

Which I do.

C (41:12)

I review the first part of my day as I do every day during lunchtime. Nothing much happened, just like every other day. That's why this is the highlight of my day. Every day. I have four hours left. I work a strange schedule. Somewhat of a split shift being that it's currently in the middle of winter.

B (41:37)

It usually gets dark by the time.

C (41:38)

I finish my meal. I mean, pitch black. Sadness sets in knowing my chosen food item has only a few bites until complete disappearance. Back to work. Back to wishing I hadn't ended up here.

B (41:57)

Oh well, there's always the thought that.

C (41:59)

Lunchtime is just less than 24 hours away. I have noticed through the blinds there is a car in the parking lot.

B (42:07)

With its headlights on.

C (42:09)

Not uncommon. Many other people work here and there is multiple businesses around. It stayed there, pointed toward the break room for some time. I doubt whoever is inside is paying attention to where I'm at. After all, this is on the second floor I'm sure they're just getting ready to leave after their respective workday. With that, I wash my Tupperware out in the sink, which I forgot to mention, and start getting ready to head back. One last look outside. The car is still there, headlights on. I gingerly step to the side of the wall length window. Slowly pushing one of the shades aside, I get a closer look. Just a normal car. Looks like a Chevrolet of some sort. Too dark to see who was inside. There could be four people or none. It's too dark. Finally I shake it off. I don't know why I've been so.

B (43:15)

Focused on this vehicle with its headlights on.

C (43:19)

Back to work. Back to dreaming of my next lunchtime.

B (43:24)

Before I leave, I always turn off the lights. Even though I'm not paying the electricity.

C (43:29)

Bill, I still think it's proper to turn a light off when you're not in the room.

B (43:35)

Flip lights off. Crap. I forgot my water.

C (43:41)

I consider just leaving it in there for tomorrow. One step back inside, the break room freezes me. As mentioned, the lights have been turned off, so I am now in darkness looking outside. The car has turned their headlights off as well. Could be just a weird coincidence. Could be more than that. Either way, it's weird and struck me as disturbing.

B (44:11)

I left the break room and came back in just to make sure I was actually seeing this.

C (44:17)

Yep, sure am.

B (44:20)

The car is there now, blending in.

C (44:22)

With the darkness surrounding it. They just turned off the lights this the second I turned off the light in here. Sorry, there's something that's off about this. After battling myself for several seconds, the logical part of my brain wins.

B (44:39)

Thankfully, it's nothing.

C (44:42)

Just get back to work.

B (44:44)

You still have a lot left to do.

C (44:47)

The quicker you get back, the quicker lunchtime will come. You can enter the break room once.

B (44:52)

Again and this time maybe a bit.

C (44:54)

Earlier when it's lighter. My head shakes, accompanied by a smirk. You're going crazy man. I turned to walk out the door. Except there is no door now. How do you explain this? How do you explain this? The same place I have been coming to for years just mysteriously boarded the only entrance point. I run my hands along the wall.

B (45:31)

I try in vain to feel where.

C (45:33)

The doorknob used to be. I try to stay calm until the phone rings. And it's not my phone that I left in my work area.

B (45:45)

There's an old corded phone on the wall near the refrigerator.

C (45:50)

This break room never had a phone.

B (45:53)

Let alone one bolted to the wall.

C (45:56)

It has that old metallic ringing sound.

B (45:59)

Like an actual bell is being struck.

C (46:01)

In the innards of the phone behind the big plastic numbers. One step is all it takes to be within arm's reach with a shaking arm, more shaking than I'd like. I put the receiver to my right ear.

B (46:18)

Um, hello. You love this place so much, don't you? Well, now you can't leave. Isn't that poetic?

C (46:36)

I pull the receiver back, looking at the mouthpiece with a puzzled expression.

B (46:40)

Like that will solve the million questions I have. Now I'm getting annoyed.

C (46:46)

Quickly, I put the phone back to my mouth. Look, this is obviously some kind of fever dream. Or maybe the taco salad was bad. But this isn't going to wor. Silly. Just silly.

B (47:01)

Silly. You must pay.

C (47:09)

An insanely high pitched sound burrowed into my ear. After that last word, I threw the phone down and covered my ears. The sound seemed to fill the entire break room. I crawled underneath the table, the one that comfortably fits. Five, six, if that weirdo insists on joining, I think the floor is shaking. And just like that, it stops. Crawling out from under the table. I expect to see broken glass in general disarray, like an earthquake just passed. Everything is where it was good.

B (47:50)

I cautiously look outside.

C (47:53)

Oh, thank goodness.

B (47:55)

The car is gone. The door.

C (47:59)

Yes, the door is back. I reach for the handle. My water. Oh, forget that. Just get out of here. Stepping outside the break room into the.

B (48:12)

Garden I have always liked. The immaculate row of multicolored roses. My favorite flower.

C (48:21)

Pinks, whites, oranges, and of course, reds.

B (48:27)

It smells wonderful. It smells.

C (48:32)

There's no garden here. I have never seen a garden in my building. Ding. The microwave stops. The lazy Susan stop Stops. My taco salad sits in its covered bowl, looking toward my left. Outside, the car is gone. In its place stands an ominous figure. I can't see the face, but it is no doubt looking at me, blinking.

B (49:04)

And it's gone.

C (49:07)

No person, no car. Only 24 hours until my next lunchtime. The light is back on. Better turn it off. Don't want to waste energy.