The line beeps and I add, “So much,” even though he can’t hear me. My emotions overflow and I throw my phone, pain behind the force that smashes it against my door. My emotions are suffocating me. I can’t take it.
I stand up, not sure where I’m going, but I need to occupy my mind. I need to escape this feeling. I need to escape the pain. The sequence, I tell myself. Think about it. Think about the message. Figure out what it means. I start walking, exiting my office and walking toward the human resources office. I enter the dark office and search through files, looking for a clue. An hour later, I have nothing. I stand up again and walk toward the warehouse. That sequence has to relate to production in some way. I enter the warehouse that is now empty, as we don’t run winter night shifts.
I start walking the assembly lines, looking for that fourteen-digit sequence, checking every possible place: on the parts, on the vehicles, in the paperwork at each station. I’m at this for a good half hour when I decide the foreman’s office is where I need to be. I hurry that direction and I’m about to enter his office when the lights go out. I freeze in the utter, complete darkness, sucking in a breath, and willing myself to remain calm. It’s a power outage. Nothing more. I reach for my purse that’s in my office with my destroyed phone.
A sound, a tiny sound, jolts me. Someone is here. There is a whisper in the air. Someone is right beside me. I launch myself forward to run, but it’s too late. Someone grabs me from behind.
THE END FOR NOW...