Free Crossroads by Mary Ting

pointing
to the wall right next to the first dressing room. Just as I
reached for the switch, the lights went off; it was
pitch-black.
    What was going on? This couldn’t be
happening. Maybe Patty forgot to tell me that the lights went off
automatically. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this.
Although I could see some dim lights from the parking lot
glimmering through the windows, it was still dark, and I could
barely make anything out. Then I heard a soft eerie voice call my
name. “Claudia…”
    I didn’t answer. I thought I was
losing my mind. Then I heard my name being called again in the same
creepy voice. “Claudia…”
    Hearing my name for the second time
was a sure sign that I was not delusional. Immediately I panicked.
I knew for a fact that there was no one here except me. I calmed
down and decided to answer, thinking that maybe Patty was playing a
joke on me. “He…ellooo. Anyone there?” I asked quietly.
    “ Claudia,
commme.”
    “ Who are you? How do you
know my name?” I demanded. “Patty, is that you? You can stop now!
I’m on to you! It’s not funny anymore! You’re scaring me!” I was
envisioning Patty turning on the lights, laughing, and telling me
it was her way of initiating a new employee. Please let it be her,
I prayed.
    “ Follow the light,” the
voice continued, ignoring my request.
    When it spoke again, I knew with
certainty that it wasn’t Patty’s voice. The voice was very enticing
and for some unknown reason, I wanted to go to it, even though I
was scared for my life. Suddenly I was in a hypnotic state; I had
no control of where I was going, though I could see and hear
everything around me.
    “ Claudia, Claudia…come to
me.”
    I was walking toward the light, which
was glowing around a door. As I placed my hand on the doorknob, the
bright light began to fade. I didn’t want to move, but my body and
mind were not in sync. I could see my hand twisting the doorknob,
even though I was screaming inside telling myself not to open it. I
could no longer resist, and I succumbed to the calling that would
lead me into the darkness.
    As I obediently walked into the room,
the door behind me slammed shut. The loud bang jolted me out of the
trance, leaving me to wonder why I was there. Immediately I turned
to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Twisting, pulling, and
turning the knob every way possible was useless. With my back
against the door, I searched the pockets of my jeans, only to
realize I had left my cell phone next to the register. What could
happen in fifteen minutes? I remembered telling Patty. I should’ve
kept my mouth shut.
    Feeling hopeless, I suddenly noticed
something glowing down low, just adjacent to the door. It was
something other than the moonlight beaming through the small
window. Something was plugged into the wall, and the tip of it was
bright so that you could spot it easily. As I reached to examine it
with my hand, I was relieved to find that it was an emergency
flashlight. I had never been so happy to see one. I grabbed it and
looked around to see where I stood. Several tables were lined in
the middle of this huge room with stacked clothes: jeans, T-shirts,
dresses, and much more. I would have never guessed the storage room
would be this big.
    As I walked closer to the tables, I
thought I saw someone or something. A rush of fear swept over me,
and every nerve in my body awakened.
    “ Who are you? What do you
want?” I said out loud, holding the flashlight closer and tighter
to my chest as I trembled with fright. But there was no
response.
    I couldn’t tell what it was at first,
until it whooshed past me, almost knocking me over. My heart
started thumping faster. A black cloud of fog was what I thought I
saw. My eyes were glued to it as it swooped up to the high ceiling
and then disappeared. Was it a ghost? I couldn’t believe what I had
just seen, but there was something definitely there, something
menacing. As it materialized again and