The elevator dinged as the doors slid open. Cindy walked inside, her high heels clicking against the floor. Men, who she knew by sight, flanked her, all dressed in suits. She flipped her hair with her fingers and walked forward as somebody pressed the button for number twenty-five, her floor. She held her dark leather briefcase and stared at the backs of the men and women in front of her.

Around her neck was a new necklace. A box had been delivered to her office and was lying on her desk when she came back from lunch yesterday. Cindy asked her secretary who delivered it, but she didn’t know. The necklace was gorgeous. She held it up to the light and the stone sparkled. It was neither dark nor colored, nor was it an opal or diamond.

The elevator opened and the people around her walked out. She was alone and forgot about the necklace as the elevator traveled up to her floor, the numbers glowing as it moved up. She thought of Southern California, where she came from. She was still trying to adapt to living here in New York. Outside, it was snowing and cold, and she couldn't get used to the weather.

Cindy recalled the warm climate and beautiful skies of California. Yet, her job, and her promotion were centered in New York. In fact, her rise to the prestigious Ames and Zucker Financial services was mesmerizing. She wished her friend, Lazarus, could see her. They were friends in high school and college. She had a major crush on him way back in Junior year in high school but he was always looking at the cheerleader, Yvonne. The elevator opened and she walked out toward the hallway.

Her office was at the end of this corridor. She opened the double glass doors and her secretary, Charlotte, greeted her.

"Hello, Cindy, do you want some coffee?"

"Yes, please. What time is the meeting?"

Charlotte said, "At 8:30, Mr. Ramble wants an update on the Langers account."

Cindy nodded and went into her office, placing her briefcase on the desk. Today was a big day. The Langers account was one of the large hedge funds that she managed. She was brought in to check on the last manager's figures and investments. Something had gone wrong. Half the money in this hedge fund had gone missing. She and her staff had been trying to piece together the problem.

She took out several large files from her briefcase. Cindy had many meetings before, but this one, for some reason, was making her nervous. Charlotte came into her office and placed the coffee on her desk.

Cindy said, "Thank you. Can you remind me about my boyfriend's birthday dinner tonight?"

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"Yes, I got the present you told me to get."

"Thanks, I have been so busy with this meeting."

Charlotte smiled. "It’s fine. I got what you picked out. It will be great."

"Thank you again. You are my life saver. Where is the gift?"

"It will be delivered today."

"Thanks."

Her secretary went to her desk. Cindy was thinking that her secretaries had been getting younger of late. She was on her third one this year.

***

Cindy was seated in the meeting room. Everything was set up. Her boss was stationed in Seattle and would patch in a call. Today, it was an audio and video conference.

"Terry," she said, "is everything ready."

A skinny man typed into a computer, standing rather than sitting. Terry was the IT man, who oversaw everything from fixing downed computers to printer jams. He looked at her, his large glasses making him appear almost comical.

"Yes," he said absently.

Cindy knew that something was wrong. She could tell from Terry's posture and uncommunicative shrugs. She had been through many of these video conference calls and knew it didn't take this long to set-up. She even prided herself that she could have set this up herself in an emergency if needed.

She edged closer to him, sensing something was amiss. The laptop was on, yet the screen had wavy and curly lines on it as if somebody was spinning and moving on the screen. The closer she got to the computer, the more the screen became agitated, branches of white snow falling on the moving pixels. She thought about the course she had taken in the computer program, Photoshop, when she took a picture of herself and used some of the filters to change it to something scary and hideous.

Terry cursed, and said, "We need a new computer."

"We have no time. They are waiting for us."

She heard a noise, rumbling close to her, a sound so sweet, like twinkling bells and starry skies. Cindy turned, looking for the sound. It made her feel the wonder of the world, as though it had become larger.

The phone before her rang in a shrill tone, constant and berating. She tore herself from the sweet song, turning toward Terry, but he was not there anymore, nor was she in the room.

She stood upon a large dark cavern. Before her were gigantic round cylinders. The darkness spread around her like a lurking beast. A humming noise vibrated from the cylinders.

"Cindy?" Terry said.

Terry's voice sounded far away from her.

"Yes, I’m here."

Cindy was back sitting in the board room.

"There is something wrong with the computers here. Can you reschedule the meeting, or call it in?"

Cindy's mind was confused. She still saw the large containers and the darkness swirling, calling her.

"Right," she said and reached for the phone. "I will call Mr. Ramble. When will this be ready?"

"Tomorrow, I have to check on all the wires and get another laptop."

"Fine, whatever it takes."

Cindy wished tomorrow would never come. She was not to know that the beginning of the end was near.