<span style="color: #BFBFFF"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic">“Damn it!” Helena hissed beneath her breath as she tried standing on tiptoe as if that would magically bring the bars to her. On a deserted road in the middle of nowhere, her arm up in the air with the brilliantly-lit screen flashing at her, she searched for decent reception. Grumbling about the unreliability of modern technology and why it’d not progressed beyond having no dead zones, she looked down each stretch of road, the only real lights being her headlights and what light had come down through the trees was muted at best. A sigh escaped her, her phone lowering back down so she could watch it intently as she began her walk down the stretch of tar, no car in sight to worry about.<br/><br/>No sound seemed to reach her as she continued her walk along the road, only the sound of her heels clicking and her heart pounding in her ears kept her company. Even her phone sounded miles away as her mind began to run away with her, every horror movie she’d watched playing out in vivid detail. How many had she seen where they’d been trapped on a deserted road? Turning off for a motel wouldn’t work; killers worked out of those. Turning down side roads set you up to get ambushed. Staying on the road with a broken down car was no good, either. Getting picked up to catch a ride would end in the same fate. No matter how she spun it, she’d get murdered.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Relax. Those are movies and this is real life. Nothing like that happens here. Nothing. You’re fine. You just need a signal. Keep walking.</span> Her mind berated her for the stupid train of thought she’d carried on with, but even its stern tones did little to sway the ominous feeling that crept up her spine. She felt cold despite the weather being warm. The hair on the back of her neck stood at attention, goosebumps peppering her arms. Glancing around, still, she saw nothing. No one around and no curious animals standing off to the side as she wandered, arm once again outstretched, searching for the elusive signal.	<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">SNAP!</span><br/><br/>A branch at her back broke, a few birds taking flight and causing her to jump out of her skin. Her phone bounced in her grip, struggling to catch it, barely managing to keep it from crashing to the ground as her heart hammered wildly. “It’s just the birds,” Helena panted to herself, hand clutching at her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. But, even saying aloud, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched, eyes scanning for whatever was responsible for the feeling, completely exposed.<br/><br/>Another sound had her jerking in the other direction, her eyes wide as her body remained frozen in place until the urge to run took hold, too much to ignore. Without warning, she made a break for her car, ditching her shoes as she went, the panic etched into her features as she ran for the headlights, ran for cover, ran for what security her sedan could offer her.</span></div></span><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>“HELP!” she screamed, jerking awake as the world filtered back into view, a cold sweat coating her forehead as she scrambled to her feet. Her coffee fell over, splashing across the floor as her chair toppled over, as her planner went flying, back pressed to the wall as she tried to block some unseen assailant from catching her.<br/><br/>“Helena!” a voice called in response, another joining the new chaos that was her office. Liv, concern and panic etched into her features, rushed in, trying to help with whatever threat was present. “What’s happened??”<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">Go over your checklist</span>,</span>her mind tried to caution her.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">Where are you?</span></span>it asked.<span style="font-style: italic">I’m in my office in the middle of the city.</span>Already her heartrate was lowering steadily, despite her still frozen and tense stance.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">What’s around you?</span></span>her mind asked next.<span style="font-style: italic">Liv is with me. My desk is in front of me.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">And what time is it?</span></span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">It’s ten in the morning…</span><br/><br/>And there it went. The fear and panic that gripped her left her system, leaving her feeling deflated and foolish…with a concerned friend still waiting for an explanation. “Uh, sorry,” was all she managed at first, clearing her throat. “I watched a horror movie last night and I guess, after not sleeping well, I sort of…dozed off?”<br/><br/>It was as pitiful an explanation as any, but one that Liv didn’t seem to question. In fact, no one really had yet since the incident; no one knew the truth that lay behind her new, infrequent but sudden outbursts. As far as they were concerned, she was merely a horror movie fanatic with a poor constitution for it which left her drained. No one knew she couldn’t stand to be alone since that night, that it still haunted her dreams, and her waking moments.<br/><br/>“You need to find a new hobby,” her friend chided her before going off to call the janitor to help clean the mess. “Especially since you have a newer account to try and land today.” At that, Helena’s face blanched, eyes wide. “…You forgot, didn’t you?” Though no verbal answer was given, the wince spoke volumes for her. “You’re lucky I took it upon myself to create your profile for you while also setting up your town car,<span style="font-style: italic">with</span>another coffee to make sure you were ready for today.”<br/><br/>“What would I do without you?”<br/><br/>“Fall asleep again and miss the meeting altogether?” Liv answered with a small smile. “You have an hour to get your bearings and prepare so take a few moments, decompress, and then go out there and nail it.”<br/><br/>With an affirming nod, Liv left the room, leaving Helena to her own thoughts, her hand still resting on her chest above the still strained and erratic heartbeat.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">You can do this. This is what you need. A new job. Something to focus on. You can do this.<br/><br/>A new client is exactly what you need right now. Pour your energy into that, and everything will go back to normal.<br/><br/>It has to.</span>