Today is my first day at work. I'm a little nervous since I've never worked in this field before.

My new job has me analyzing popular data trends to figure out who and what is popular. I already have a little experience in the field but nothing professional or with cash on the line. Hey! a voice suddenly blares out at me. I jump like a scared cat and manage to blurt out ah- Yes? Turning around I see that it is Jonathan, a male coworker, who was heading towards me. Since I am taking a break by the water fountain it is not very surprising that he wound up calling to me. You see Jonathan is a very laid back guy who doesn't take his job entirely seriously. Others have mentioned that he can be annoying at times because he can be a 'slacker' as they've said. Sorry man, didn't mean to startle you like that! This from Jonathan, with a beaming smile on his face like he'd just won the Olympics. I respond It is not your fault. I'm still just not... Not really used to this place yet. A questioning look comes across his face Why the pause? You make it sound like this place is haunted or something... It kind of feels like it. I haven't been here long but some of those hallways in the back really creep me out. Yah, I know what you mean about those. It's a pity that you have to work in the back there. It's gotta be awful cramped and all that. I smile weakly It is just temporary, they say, so I should be out of there soon. The smile finds its way back on Jonathan's face Yah! So you've got nothing to worry about! Slapping me on the back he makes his way back to his cubicle from the break area. I cringed at the thought of having to head back there, to my 'office', it was a cramped little room that was probably originally meant to be a storage closet of some sort. To get there I have to pass several abandoned rooms with junk laying all around them and even turn a couple of corners. When I am in that room it's almost like I am completely separated from the rest of the building. As I headed back I ran into another Samantha, a female coworker, whom I have actually known for several months. She smiles and says How are this coming along? Getting acclimated to everything alright? I respond Yes. Though I'm still a little uncomfortable with the room I have been placed in. I am sure it really is just temporary. I hope so. You're s'posed to be over by me. The smile on her face spread a little. Now, I should point this out, I have never been very good at gauging people's emotions nor have I been very good at reading people's faces. So the obvious is sometimes very unclear to me. Samantha and I head our separate ways while a slight look of melancholy colors her face. As I start the dreadful journey through the poorly lit hallways I wondered how long it had been since anyone else had used the rooms I am passing by. After turning the last corner I stopped dead in my tracks. Standing in front of me was a confused looking woman who was looking side to side as if she were lost. Stammering a little I said You seem lost... Can I-? I get interrupted mid sentence as she lunged at me grabs my hands in hers and says Yes! I'm completely lost! Please help me find my way! He presence is palpable. It would be impossible to ignore her in a room full of people and her body moved in all the right ways to keep someone's attention. She continued speaking I tried asking another man earlier but he was no help! A little flustered by her beauty I responded Sorry, I will do my best to make up wherever he failed. I don't know where the sense of confidence came from but the way she looked me in the eyes just brought it up from somewhere deep in me. It was almost as if she had some magical power to make men stupid or something. A giant smile beams across her face, it's almost as if the hallway itself gets brighter when she says I'm trying to find the office of ---- and I keep getting lost on my way there. I couldn't make out office she was looking for but for some reason felt emboldened enough to give her

directions Ah, That's right over by Damons office. You take a couple of turns the get out of this stretch of hallway then you go strait left. You keep walking until you find the water cooler. From there it will be strait to your right. I honestly do not know what is to the right of the water cooler. I have only been here for one day and I have yet to memorize everything. The smile remains on her face while she says Thank you! She then proceeds to run by me and around the corner. Her departure was silent, as if she weren't even there. I proceed to my office with a smile plastered across my face. Try how I might though I couldn't recall our conversation. I know that I gave her directions to somewhere but I cannot remember where. Though I do remember exactly what she looks like. She was about my height. Long black hair brushed strait as if she had spent hours on it this morning. Deep blue eyes like you'd never see on a normal person, they sparkled like stars and sucked you right in with their piercing gaze. Her skin was pale like snow and her lips slightly pouted but full of color. Even her finger nails, painted blue with little clouds randomly placed on them. She wore business style trousers, a kind you don't really see these days. She also had a white dress shirt on with a black blazer over top of it. The dress shirt had been unbuttoned part way showing ample amounts of cleavage from her well-endowed body. Even her lack of shoes, which did not strike me as odd for some reason, rang perfectly clear in my mind. After a little while I managed to get back into my work flow and completed my projects slightly ahead of time. I am surprisingly well suited for this position. ==================The next day=========== I'm at the break cooler again. I simply cannot stand spending too much time in that room. It always feels like someone is watching over my shoulder and trying to get my attention. As I mentally prepare myself to head back to that room Jonathan pops out of nowhere and slaps me on the back. Slapping people like that seems to be his thing. Why do you always hit people like that? I ask, rubbing my back. With a giant grin on his face, he responds Because I saw it on a TV show once and haven't gotten over it yet! Seems like a likely cause for someone such as him, so I say That fits you perfectly. He continues grinning You think? Thank you. There's something I wanted to tell you but I forget what it is... A look of confusion comes over his face as he brings his hand to his chin, I say If it's important you'll probably tell me later. I really must be getting back to work. He smiles a little, far less than usual, and says Alright, that works I suppose. while nodding. I leave him at the cooler and head back to me office. On the way there I note that Samantha, my female coworker, was not there to greet me. In the time that I have known her she always made a note of meeting me at a regular time whenever she could. Actually I hadn't seen her all day. It is possible she just was not in today. So I continued on my way down the hallways and towards my office just to stop in my tracks at the last bend. The woman from yesterday was back. This time she has her arms held across her chest and her head down as if she is sad or afraid. She is leaning against the wall as I slowly approach her and reach out my hand to her. Her head suddenly shoots up and her piercing gaze fixes on me. Tears are at the edges of her eyes, as if she'd been holding back crying. Flabbergasted a little, I say Are you alright? Is there anything I can do to help? She shakes her head slowly as she pushes herself from the wall using her rear-end. I cannot help but take a quick peak as she walks shortly to the centre of the hallway her gaze still focused on me. She continues to shake her head as I say If you're hurt anywhere then maybe I can get someone to help. We have trained professionals in the building-

She stops me in mid sentence by taking a sudden step forward and slamming her foot on the floor. I take a step back as I am unaccustomed to people expressing anger towards me. As I open my mouth to speak she angrily mutters I tried that yesterday and you failed. Confused by what she means I ask Were you unable to find the room? If so, I am sor- She interrupts me again It's not the room! I know where the room is! I need to find my way out of this damn hallway! her body became very animate as she leaned forward with every shout and shook her head side to side a bit. This last statement took me by surprise. How can you be lost in a hallway that has on entrance? I begin to ask her this when she interrupts me again You're not different from the last man, aren't you!? This piqued my anger a little. I do not know why as I am not normally someone to get angry, but it was something about her panicked gaze as she shouted at me Don't lump me in with someone I don't even know! She leaned back a little and her eyes grew wide, it was obvious to even I that she had not expected me to shout. I even used contractions, I make a point of never using contractions when I speak. We are silent for a few moments, feels more like a few years, then I say I'm sorry... I shouldn't have shouted at you. She nods her head in agreement and whispers something that I don't quite make out. This next part still confuses me. I know it was the wrong thing to ask, I knew it then and I know I was aware that I knew it but for some reason there was a question I just had to ask her. Gulping a little because my throat suddenly became hoarse I asked her What is your name? The rest of our conversation began to slip my mind even as I grasped for it while she responded with Shi-shi A few minutes later Samantha was walking to Steven's office in the back thinking to herself how much she'd like to just tell him how she feels. As she approached she readied herself to speak, clearing her throat like she always had to do when she spoke to him Samantha started speaking Hey, Steven! Jonathan wanted me to tell you that he remembered what he was gonna tell you earlier. It was something about the legend of a girl who managed to get lost and di- Samantha stopped in mid sentence when she stepped in something and a certain iconic smell hit her. Looking around her hands went to her face and a scream erupted from her throat as she observed a hallway literally completely covered in blood and torn flesh. Falling to her knees she began crying as she looked up and saw the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on sitting on her knees and licking her fingers clean. ==================Epilogue: Two Weeks Later=========== Jenny, a girl who works for the company, was speaking with one of her friends as the water cooler. She said You know that they say you can still here screaming and crying from that back hallway, and even the occasional shouting like a man is having an argument? Her friend replies I remember seeing a beautiful girl in that hallway this morning. Maybe she was with the police or something... I mean, we don't have anyone like that in the office do we?