Tara Pennington glanced up from the huge pile of notes and forms on her desk and sighed. The office was almost empty; everyone who could afford too had already left for the evening. Tara was staying till five today because she had already used up a lot of her sick time and it wasn’t worth it to leave early and get stuck in traffic anyway. The only other people left in the office were Ronnie and Tab.
Ronnie was a supervisor and the most hated person in the office. She was tall and thin with angular features and way too much muscle for a woman. She had long legs, dark hair and dark eyes. She was also an out lesbian and she made no bones about it. She constantly tried to flirt with the married women in the office and took great pleasure in embarrassing them. Tara was one of her favorite targets because the small woman was very shy, retiring and she was physically intimidated by Ronnie. She was also pretty naïve and from the Midwest, having moved to New York only three short months ago. Ronnie seemed to take sadistic glee in affronting her Midwestern values and seeing her blush.
Tab didn’t work in the office and was Ronnie’s partner in crime. She worked three floors down as a security guard in the claims department and was only up here to screw around with Ronnie until they could split. Tab was a big woman, not just tall like Ronnie, but big and she was ugly where Ronnie could at least look attractive when she wanted too. Tab’s face was flat, her nose had been broken a few times and her eyes were a strange shade of green. Her big hands were rough and her knuckles were scarred. She wore her red hair in a severe buzz cut that left her looking like her scalp was rusting. She simply scared Tara to death and the small blonde avoided her like the plague.
They were both standing by the water cooler and Tara watched as they both took some pills. Tara wondered what they were taking and then decided she didn’t want to know. She was alone with them and they weren’t harassing her so she was happy. The small blonde had no interest in drawing attention to herself, especially when the three of them were alone in the office. Tab and Ronnie did everything together and one of the most embarrassing things in her life had been the day in the cafeteria when they sat on either side of her and discussed the woman they had picked up and taken home to “double team” the night before. Tara blushed just remembering it and went back to her paper work. A few minutes later she was startled by a knock on her office door. She looked up to find Tab and Ronnie standing there.
“Come on girl, let’s blow this place,” Ronnie said. They both seemed to be in a good mood and Tara was glad of that. Ronnie could be a bitch when she was in a bad mood and Tab was just plain scary. She glanced at the clock and saw it was five till four.
“Y’all go ahead, I really need to stay ‘til five,”
“Fuck that, I gotta close up tonight,” Ronnie said amiably.
“I’ll do it,” Tara said.
“Screw it, I’m already signed out at five, just leave your time-card blank. When numb-nuts comes in and asks, I’ll tell him you left when I did. He won’t buck me,” Ronnie said.
“I really shouldn’t,” Tara began but Tab interrupted her.
“Get up bitch, that X is going to hit soon and I don’t want to be stuck in this shit hole when it does,” Tab ordered.
Tara reluctantly rose, grabbed her purse and followed the two of them out, it never even occurred to her to not do as Tab ordered. Ronnie stopped to lock up and Tara hurried to the elevators. She was glad Tab had stopped with Ronnie and she pressed the call button several times. The elevator seemed to take forever and she found herself pushing the button again and again. She didn’t want to have to share an elevator with Tab and Ronnie, especially if they were taking drugs.
She breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang and the empty car opened, she had just stepped in and was about to hit the button when she heard Ronnie shout.
“Hold it!”
Tara hesitated only a second, but moved her finger from the ground floor button to the door open one. She probably could have gotten off if she had pressed the button, but she didn’t want to have the two of them angry with her. She could stand their company for the ride down, after all, what could happen in that short a time, she thought?
The two of them ran to the car and once inside Ronnie pressed the button and the doors slid shut. Tara moved to the back corner of the car and hoped someone would join them soon. The two gay women made her extremely nervous.
The elevator began a smooth descent when the lights suddenly flickered and they were plunged into darkness. The lights came back on and the elevator began to move again. Tara barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief when the car shuddered to a stop and they were again plunged into utter darkness.
“What the fuck?” Tab’s disembodied voice called from the front corner of the elevator.
“Terrorists!” Tara blurted out in abject fear. She had always hated the dark and was mildly claustrophobic She could see nothing at all in the inky blackness and felt her skin crawl.
“Relax chicky, it’s just a brown out. Lights will be back on soon,” Ronnie said confidently.
Tara shrank into the corner, where she could feel the walls on either side of her and sank down to the floor. Nameless dread washed over her and she fought to keep from vomiting. Her skin was clammy already and she started shaking.
“How long is this shit going to last?” Tab’s voice seemed to echo in the small chamber.
“Relax bitch, what’s the matter? Afraid of the dark?” Ronnie called.
“Fuck you, I ain’t afraid of nothing and there ain’t but one bitch in here,” Tab said. Her voice was different, higher pitched and surly. At least it seemed so to Tara.
“How bout that, Tab thinks you’re a bitch Tara, what do you say to that?’ Ronnie’s voice called.
“I’ve never been mean to anyone,” Tara said. Her voice sounded very small and fearful. Ronnie and Tab both laughed.
“She didn’t mean a bitch like that,” Ronnie said. Tara was starting to shake harder, she could feel the rising panic and tried to fight it down.
“I don’t understand,” she said. At least their voices let her know she wasn’t alone. If she had been she knew she would be in real trouble.
“Well, it’s like this. Me and Ronnie are butch, a lipstick lez is a bitch. So you’re a bitch, ‘cause you sure as hell ain’t a butch,” Tab said.
Tara was slowly getting her fear under control. She chose to ignore the comment, and concentrated on breathing deeply. Her breath came in shuddering gasps.
“You alright?” Tab asked.
“Yes,” Tara said with difficulty, “I’m just a little claustrophobic,”
Tab started to say something derogatory, but Ronnie interrupted her.
“So, where ya wanna go tonight?” Ronnie said. Her voice had moved to the front of the car, near the control panel.
“I don’t care. We just need to get there soon; this is good shit and something is getting fucked tonight,” Tab said and laughed.
“Yeah, my pussy is already tingling,” Ronnie said.
Tara blushed furiously and for a few moments forgot her fear, but it welled back up as soon as the silence came again. The dark she could stand with effort, but when coupled with silence and a small space it was terrifying beyond rational explanation. She always remembered the time as a child of six she rode out a tornado alone in an abandoned storm cellar. It had been filled with bugs and rats, unseen scurrying in the absolute darkness. They had crawled over her and bitten her and she had screamed until her voice cracked. She was nearly catatonic when her father found her and it had taken years before she could even manage to sleep without all the lights in the house on. Even now she had a nightlight on her nightstand at home.
