Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-24996913-20141027053552

Okay, so this one was one of my favorites to write. I will admit I wrote this in about two hours nonstop, but I think grammatically it's quite sound. Hope you enjoy.

Living in an economically declining town is something no young adult lacking experience could ever get used to. I work two jobs, breaking my neck for minimum wage that doesn't even fill my gas tank most of the time, let alone feed me for the remainder of the week. I struggle relentlessly to balance out two jobs and online courses, but it becomes a hassle, even for someone as strong willed as myself. Though I struggle to make due with my current situation, I've made time to search high and low for a job good enough to take the stress of having to keep two jobs away for good. It's not healthy to overwork, even if that's what you have to do to survive in this world.

So, when I received a call from an unknown number, I didn't hesitate answering, believing it could be an employer calling about setting up an interview. By chance, my presumptuous thoughts were accurate.

"Hello, is this Ms. Patel?" The voice on the other end questioned.

I nodded before remembering my nod would go unnoticed on a phone call.

"Yes, this is she," I said, anxiously.

There was a slight pause before the man began speaking once more.

"How is your day, Ms. Patel? I hope I'm not intruding on your time," He said, the sound of movement on his end invading the silence of my bedroom.

"Oh no, you're not intruding on anything important. May I ask who this is?" I questioned, my anxiety becoming too erratic to calm.

Though I could not see the man's face, I felt as if he were smiling, relieved I had ended the small talk and delved right into the core of his intentions.

"Ah, a business woman... I admire that. Well, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Malcolm Lancaster, the man who will commence the interviewing process, shall you accept the offer, and I am calling to present to you a possible position at Weimer's Corporations. We are a very prestigious business, and we think you would make an excellent addition to our company. This is a one time offer that requires an answer as soon as possible," He said, matter-of-factly.

I didn't hesitate whatsoever. Once the words escaped his mouth, my silence ended.

"Of course I accept," I said, anxiously.

Once again, it felt as if a smile stretched across Mr. Lancaster's face as a sigh rung out over the phone.

"Excellent. Will you be available in, say, two hours? This interview is an urgent one, and I wouldn't schedule it this prematurely if I did not see you an excellent fit for the company," he explained.

Though the sun was well below the horizon, I couldn't pass up a potential job.

"Sure, where exactly am I to meet for the interview?" I questioned, rushing over to my closet to pick out a suitable outfit.

"Perfect. The address to our office building is 133 Emerson Boulevard Suite 316. I look forward to seeing you there," he said, before ending the call.

His abruptness was strange, but I knew for a fact that Weimer's Corporations was a legitimate business. Their starting salary there was twenty dollars (for the lowest position) an hour and up. Besides, the man was probably in a rush, just as I was at the moment to squeeze into an itty bitty black dress. Normally, I wouldn't use my looks to up my chances of being hired, but, for some reason, an urge surged through me. I absolutely had to get the job. I needed it.

So once the clock rested on 8:30pm, I made my way out of my stuffy apartment, and drove onto the less than busy streets. It was raining slightly as I drove, which calmed my nerves a bit. The roads glistened beautifully ahead, as I made the final left turn of my drive. Up ahead, I gazed upon the red bricked building. It looked so... sad. Lightning cracked overhead as I approached the last intersection of my drive. Even though the rain picked up, causing my windshield to fog up and drown in raindrops, I still stared ahead, my eyes set upon the red bricked building.

Beeeeeppppp!

A horn caught my attention as I ran the red light of the intersection.

"Asshole!" I heard someone yell, as I continued down the street.

I let out a sigh, resting my hand across my chest as if to catch my heart from jumping from its confines.

"Jesus Christ," I muttered, pulling into the parking lot.

After calming down, I stepped out of the car, adjusting my dress. From the corner of my eye, as I walked to the entryway, I noticed people exiting their vehicles.

"Great, competition," I said, pulling open the door.

Immediately, the chilly air hit me hard. Though it was fall and the night's were usually quite cold, inside of the office building felt like a freezer. I quickly threw my arms around my torso, shielding me from the uncomfortable chill.

"You must be Ms. Patel? You're the first one here. I like you already," an elderly man approached.

I immediately recognized his voice as Mr. Lancaster's. He extended his hand out to me, and I shook it like a true professional to win him over even more.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Lancaster," I greeted, smiling excitedly.

He seemed to gaze into my eyes far longer than anyone else had in my entire life. Because my mother always said the eyes held the integrity of an individual, I kept my eyes on him, forcing them not to roam elsewhere. He seemed to acknowledge my gesture, as he smiled once he noticed my stare didn't budge.

Before we could speak any further, a group of people entered into the room, their clothes soaked in water.

"It's raining cats and dogs out there," one man said, dressed in a tailored business suit.

I gazed over the crowd of people, analyzing them. Almost instinctly, my eyes met with a woman within the crowd. She was dressed provocatively, her red skirt no longer than those plastic rulers. Her eyes met mine as I stared at her, and she almost smirked once she saw the disgust evident on my face.

"Please, everyone follow me," Mr. Lancaster spoke, gesturing towards the back conference room.

Everyone quickly filed behind him, pushing and shoving their way down the elongated, narrow hall. Once each person walked into the room, Mr. Lancaster turned towards us and pointed at the chairs pushed into the humongous conference table.

"Each chair has a name on it. Find your name, and take a seat," he said, turning away and walking towards the only chair far away from the others.

Everyone quickly found their seats, and patiently waited as Mr. Lancaster approached his. Before the interview commenced and Mr. Lancaster began his rhetoric, I took the time to look around the room at the faces of my competitors. On each side of the table were three people, coming to the total of six. The three men were handsome, sophisticated in appearance, and well groomed. None of the men were without a double digit suit, comb over, or a tie. The women, however, were dressed like one another. Though they were attractive women, they all took my advice and dressed to get the job. Unfortunately for them, their attire resembled club-wear.

Before I could further analyze my opponents any more, Mr. Lancaster took his seat and began speaking.

"As you all know, there's a bit of a storm brewing outside, so don't be too surprised if the power goes out. This is an old building, built back in '66, so I just wanted to inform you of that before we get started," he said, sifting through Manila folders.

Everyone nodded, fidgeting in their chairs as the thunder cracked loudly outside.

"Okay, so let's get started. As you all know, this is a family owned business that has been up and running for centuries. Though this building may be old, it's still much newer than many of our buildings worldwide. Hopefully you all know that this position is one of clerical duties, and requires exceptional decision making skills, intelligence, company based ethics, countless hours, a very flexible schedule, and the ability to file paperwork as needed. I do want to inform you all of the overtime also. Does anyone have a problem with staying after work?"

Everyone shook their head, minus one woman parallel to me. She rose her hand, acquiring Mr. Lancaster's attention.

"I have children. I'm not sure if I could do overtime. It depends on my schedule," she explained, hesitantly.

Mr. Lancaster picked up a folder, presumably the woman's in question, and looked over it.

"Oh, children. That's completely understandable, Ms. Hitton. I must have overlooked the fact that you have a family," he said, red-faced.

Though I felt almost bad for the woman, I couldn't help but relish in her flaw. I knew it was wrong to feel such a way about someone who brought life into this world, but, in order to be successful, you have to make time for work, regardless of children. Quite frankly, she wasn't willing to make that sacrifice.

"Well then, we will discuss that in the future, but, for now, let's continue with the interview," Mr. Lancaster said.

The woman sat back in her seat, before the lights began flickering.

"Don't mind the lights. They'll readjust soon," Mr. Lancaster explained before moving Ms. Hitton's folder to the left of him.

"As you may or may not know-"

Suddenly, the lights completely shut off. At first, I panicked, moving around frantically in my seat, but once I grabbed ahold of the person's arm next to me, my worrying died down. As I sat still, clutching the stranger's arm, I could hear shuffling, as if the man on the opposite side of me was rattled by the darkness. Before I could panic further, a crackle of thunder permeated throughout the darkened room before the lights flickered back on.

"Sorry about that. Shall we continue?" Mr. Lancaster spoke.

Everyone nodded, pulling their chairs closer into the table, collecting their calm once more.

"As I was saying, you may or may not know, but the position I am offering today will only be bestowed upon one of you lucky applicants. Though I have asked to hire more than one, it is within the company policy that only one applicant be considered for this particular position," he explained.

Quickly, I noticed a change in body language around me. The men sat upright, staring at one another as if the women weren't also in the competition, and the women... wait. There was only five of us.

"Excuse me, I hate to interrupt, but where is Ms. Hitton?" a man asked before I could.

Mr. Lancaster grabbed for another folder, presumably the man's that made the outburst.

"Mr. Vick, that's your name correct?" he asked.

The man nodded, wrinkling his forehead in confusion.

"Maybe she left," the woman in the red skirt said, shrugging.

Mr. Lancaster seemed to smile at red skirt's outburst, once more grabbing a folder within the pile of folders. Only this time, he set hers to the right of him.

"Perhaps she went to the restroom, Mr. Vick. Your guess is as good as mine," Mr. Lancaster said, moving his folder to the left.

Immediately I picked up on the correlation between setting folders to the right and the left. Right meant you were doing well, left meant you weren't. So, because I picked up on that fact, I nestled into my seat, waiting for the chance to impress Mr. Lancaster. That bitch in the red skirt stood no chance against me.

"Before being interrupted, I was going to say-"

Once again, before Mr. Lancaster could continue speaking, the lights went out. Just as before, thunder cracked, rain poured loudly upon the roof, and the sound of shuffling nearby grabbed my attention. Quickly, I abandoned all previous speculations of Ms. Hitton going to the restroom. Matter of fact, I knew once the power reemerged, Mr. Vick would also be absent from the room. And, just as I thought, once the lights filled the room once more, there was no Mr. Vick in sight.

"Okay, back to what I was saying. As someone who has been with this company since I was your age, I can tell you that there is nothing else out there with benefits nearly as good as the benefits offered to you by Weimer's Corporations. We take pride in treating our employees just as well as we treat our customers. With this company, customers are secondary to you guys," he explained, smiling.

Almost immediately after Mr. Lancaster ended his speech, once realizing Ms. Hitton had not returned, and yet another person had gone missing, the man beside me spoke up.

"I don't know what is going on, but every time the lights go out, someone else is gone. I'm sorry, but I don't want to be apart of this any longer," he said, standing up abruptly.

Just as the man made it to the door, Mr. Lancaster spoke, holding up a folder.

"Mr. Bates?" he questioned, a smile still on his face.

The man turned around before the loudest of booms rang out all over the room. Just as it had countless times before, the power went out, returning us all to the darkness. This time, no one remained silent. Screams rung out in the room, as warm liquid splashed upon my face and torso. Just as quickly as the lights went out, they powered back on. To my surprise, Mr. Bates was gone, but the stains on my dress were still evident.

"What the fuck?" The woman in the red skirt screamed, staring at me.

I shook my head furiously, frightened by the look in her eyes.

"It's blood. It's fucking blood!" The men shouted, standing up from their seats.

Slowly, I lifted my hand to my forehead, breathing heavily as I did so. Once my finger touched the thick substance, I knew exactly what they thought of me.

"I-I didn't do this," I said, standing up as the men approached.

The bitch in the red skirt stared at me with hateful eyes, accusing me of something I did not do.

"He was right next to her, now he's gone, and there's blood all over her!" She yelled.

The men continued towards me, unraveling the ties around their necks. I continued backing away in the direction of Mr. Lancaster in hopes he would interject in the witch hunt. But, unbeknownst to me, Mr. Lancaster had assumed a strange position atop the conference table, separating himself from the madness.

As I ran for my life, begging for him to help me, he just stood there, watching as the men chased me. He stood there, watching as the bitch in the red skirt blocked me from escaping their grasp. He stood there, watching as they tied me to a chair with their ties.

"I didn't fucking do anything!" I screamed, struggling relentlessly.

The men began to gather their belongings, as the woman dialed 911.

"You're fucking nuts, lady!" The bitch in the red skirt yelled.

Almost as if in slow motion, I watched her finger move towards the call icon on her phone. I swear, to this day, I remember the exact look on her face, the exact placement of her misplaced eyelash, and the exact high pitched scream, that startled everyone within the room, right before the lights went out.

I still remember the screams, I still remember the warm liquid splashing across my face, I still remember the smell of burning sulfur as something big brushed against my arm. But, once the power resumed, no one but Mr. Lancaster stood within the room.

"Congratulations, Ms. Patel. As I expected, you are the lucky winner. Now, I'm going to help you out of those restraints, but first I want to provide you some key information," he said, walking cheerfully towards me.

Before he spoke, he knelt down to my level, making eye contact.

"As I said before, there is only one person allowed this particular position. Because you now hold that position, my presence is no longer of importance to the Weimer's, therefore, I wish you well. And remember, do as they say," he said, releasing me from the chair.

Once I was free, before I could run out of the door, the lights powered off, and once again, I was engulfed in darkness. 