Chapter Two - Sally
The Prudential Building had a gymnasium in the basement. It was on Lower Level One, located above the Parking levels.
The occupants of the Prudential Building complained that only two of the bank of six elevators serviced the lower levels; if you were coming down from above the ground floor you were likely to have to get out and change.
Not that Sally was concerned; she was going up. She had changed into her gym gear on the eleventh floor and gone down to use the gym. It was her ritual to do so every day after work. She could take her workout clothes down to the gym and change in and out of her office attire there; but she hated the smell of the crowded gymnasium women's change room. By changing on the eleventh floor after work she had the small ladies room to herself. None of the secretaries worked back much after seven pm.
One of the two elevators had a sign that read 'out of order' taped to the door. Sally tutted and was about to press the elevator call button when the other elevator arrived. The bell binged and the little arrow pointed up. Perfect!
Sally was scrolling on her phone when she entered the elevator and barely took notice of the man in the dark suit at the back of the elevator. She absentmindedly pressed the button for the eleventh floor dropping her gym bag to the floor and was delighted when the elevator shot past ground where it often stopped to pick up more passengers. But being so late in the day it wasn't surprising.
What was surprising was when the elevator suddenly shuddered to a halt and the lights went out.
"Fuck!" Sally barked.
Her face reddened in the dark.
"Sorry. It's just I'm in a rush. I'm going out with my boyfriend tonight," Sally apologised.
The man at the back of the car said nothing.
Sally shrugged and pointed the light from her phone at the blank call buttons and pressed them all. Nothing happened. She used the light to open the door to the emergency phone and found that some vandal had ripped the cord out.
"Fuck! Well at least the air conditioning is working," Sally said hopefully.
"Isn't there supposed to be emergency lighting?" she asked hopefully.
Still nothing from the man.
"Talkative type aren't you," she said sarcastically.
She stared at the face of her phone and her heart sank. There were no little bars; she had no connection.
"What about you? Do you have any service?" she called out to the man.
Nothing.
"Fuck!" she spat and began sliding and pushing keys on her phone.
Her hands were still greasy from the gym and she dropped it. It skittered across the floor and the glow from its screen faded. The elevator was dark, the only light source a single LED.
Sally was picky about her sports clothing and liked to show off her toned body. She was wearing black Lorna Jane seamless tights with sheer inserts in the thighs and a pink lycra sports bra that hugged her small firm breasts and exposed her midriff. Her feet were shod in pink Nike trainers and white anklets.
She knew that some of the girls at the gym laughed at her for leaving her makeup on while she worked out, but to Sally, looking good was as important as feeling good. Her eye makeup was heavy; black eyeliner and mascara, contrasted with mauve eyeshadow. She wore rouge to define her fine cheekbones and red long-lasting lipstick on her pouted lips.
Her long blonde hair was worn in a ponytail. At twenty-three years of age she was the epitome of the young city girl who wore the right clothes, drank the right coffee, went to the right nightclubs and only dated the right handsome young professional men.
Her makeup, like her gym clothes was expensive; Maybelline and Loreal. Her perfume had intermingled with the perspiration from her workout as it dried in the cool air and she was glad she didn't smell bad; even if the guy in the elevator was being a jerk.
