The man in the black suit story

"Do you know exactly where you're going?" asked my brother as I leaned over my seat to look for
my I.D. "I'm supposed to go in Gate 21, and unload at booth three," I said as I sat back down. I
clipped the I.D. badge onto my shirt, and looked out the window. "Gate 21?" my brother asked.
"Where is that?" He turned his green Celica into the station parking lot, and looked around. "Left, I
think," I said as I gulped the last of my Big Red. I angled the air vent at my face to enjoy the last
of the cool air before the car came to a stop. Outside it was 101 degrees.

"No," said my brother as he got out of the car. A rush of hot air flew at me. I sighed, and got out
also. "I meant, where is it?" my brother asked. "I don't even see a sign for it," he said as he
opened the trunk. I glanced over at the large building behind us. "It's over there. See?" I said
pointing. "It just fell down. The sign was lying on its side, covered in rust, and littered with leaves
and stray weeds. "Hmm," said my brother as he turned back to the car. He pulled out my cart, and
set it on the ground. "Doesn't uh, look like its used a lot does it?" he asked as he began loading my
cart. I frowned and looked at the entrance to the gate. It was a little shabby looking.

"Kathleen's just trying to scare me," I said angrily. She even told me a scary story about this place
to keep me from coming. She doesn't want me to do well at this job." I kicked one of the back tires
of the Celica out of frustration, and then felt stupid for doing it. I looked back at my brother, who
had an eyebrow raised, but didn't say anything about it. "What story?" he asked instead.

I rolled my eyes, and finished loading the cart myself. "It was nothing," I said. "Just a stupid
story." I made sure everything was balanced, and then I tipped the cart to get it rolling. "Thanks
for giving me a ride," I said as my brother got back into his car. He waved, and pulled the Celica
out of the driveway. I turned back to the gate entrance, and looked inside. It looked normal
enough, except for being very dark, and somewhat dirty. It really did look like it hadn't been used
in a long time. Suddenly the lights flickered on, and I felt much better. These "tunnels" were used
by a lot of people to take merchandise and equipment to specific sections of the building. I looked
at my watch. It was 3:45. I needed to be at the booth in 10 minutes. Plenty of time, I said to
myself, and I pushed the cart inside.

I walked briskly down the hall and came to a left turn. As I turned the cart, I became aware of a
strange smell. It was an old smell. Dusty, and maybe smoky? I wasn't sure. I wiped at my nose
absently, and as I did, I realized that I was rolling the cart across a very large brown stain on the
concrete floor. "Ew," I said as I jumped off of it. I checked to make sure that there wasn't
anything on my shoes, and then continued to push my cart. I could tell that this hallway was
about as long as the other had been, and it also made a left turn. "That can't be right," I said
aloud. With my eyebrows furrowed, I continued slowly towards the turn.

A door, which sounded like the door I was supposed to be going to, slammed loudly. Good! At least
somebody else was in here. "Hello?" I asked. My voice echoed, but I got no response. The lights
above me flickered, but stayed on. "Hello? Is anybody there?" I called again. Still no answer.
Finally I could hear the sound of somebody walking briskly my way. They were getting close to the
turn as well. "Hello!" I called again. The lights flickered again, and continued until I reached the
corner. Suddenly a man dressed in a black suit and hat, darted past me. He was walking very fast,
almost running down the hall. For some reason, he reminded me of a member from The Rat Pack.

I was shaken by the sudden appearance and departure of the man, but glad that it was nothing
really strange. He was just in a hurry, that's all. Feeling better, I rounded the curve and stopped
still. The lights were flickering even more down this hall, but I could still see the same brown stain
on the floor. The smell had become stronger, and my breath caught in my throat as I looked to the
end of the hall, and saw another left turn. This couldn't be happening!

I pushed the cart hard and moved almost at a run. The objects in my cart bounced around, in
danger of falling out. After I neared the halfway point, I heard the door slam again. An odd
squeaky sound erupted from my lips, and I approached the left turn with dread. I could tell by the
sound of the approaching footsteps that they were also moving very fast. The footsteps grew
louder and louder until finally, the same man rushed past me again. That is it! I didn't even look
back at the man this time, but ran with my cart around the corner. A few things did fall off, but
when I saw the brown stain again, I just left them. It was only moments before I hit the midway
point of the hall again, and then came the sound of the door slamming.

My cart was barely staying together as I pushed it harder and harder. I ran as fast as I could with
it. Chocking sobs rose upin my throat, and tears began streaming down my face. Why was this
happening to me?

I nearly tripped on a box that had fallen from my cart when I neared the end of the hall. Half
screaming, I threw the cart aside, and continued without it. The lights were flickering like mad. I
reached the turn at almost a full run, and the man arrived as well. There he came, rounding the
corner at full speed as I was. I couldn't see his face, or anything really because of the lights, but
the flickering had a strobe effect, and the man appeared to be moving in slow motion. Because we
were moving so fast, it was harder to control my stride, and his arm banged mine as he passed. It
was solid! For whatever reason, this event frightened me more than anything else had so far.

I turned the corner, and just as I saw the brown stain again, the flickering stopped, and the lights
turned off. I slowed to a stop, and tried to see in the darkness. Nothing. Thankfully there was no
sound other than my hectic breathing and hammering heartbeat. I reached my hand out to grip the
wall, and tried to make my way forward. Instead of screaming, whimpering sounds came from me,
and echoed down the hall. The lights flickered briefly, and I sobbed loudly as I saw that I was
halfway to the next left turn. Had the hallway been light, I might have just sat down and waited
for someone else to find me. But in the dark�

And then it came. The door slammed, and the footsteps began. The lights flickered again. Getting
closer. "Why are you doing this to me?" I sobbed as I clung to the wall. The footsteps grew louder
and then stopped. I stopped as well, and listened hard in the dark. I tried to be quiet, but the sobs
seemed involuntary because I was so afraid. The lights flickered again, and there was the man. It
was only for a second, but I saw the man in black, standing, not running down the hall. He was
waiting for me. I panicked, and it was hard to take in the stale air. Lights, and there he was again,
and then gone. "Why?" I half screamed at him. He had still been standing at the end of the hall.
In the pitch black, his footsteps began walking towards me, and I sank to the floor, wrapping my
arms around my legs. "Why?" I screamed again. The sobs wracked my body, and I held my eyes
shut tight as he got closer. I buried my head in my arms tightly and continued to sob.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped right beside me. "Are you okay?" a man asked. I cautiously lifted
my head and looked up at the young man standing over me with a flashlight. "What?" I managed to
get out as he held his hand out for me. He helped me up, and motioned for me to follow him. "It's
just a power failure Ma'am," he said. "The lights will be back on soon." I followed him in stunned
silence down the last part of the hall. Panic seized me as we turned the corner, but there was only
a door there that he held open for me. Bright lights poured out of the building, and hurt my eyes..
I moved to walk through the door, and turned my head to glance back at the hallway. There just
beyond the yellow light's reach was the man in the black suit watching me leave.