 It was monsoon season in Northern Arizona, and every day the sky would be filled with darkened clouds and bright flashes of light coming from within them, creepy, but beautiful. On one of these particular stormy nights, I was working the graveyard shift, my least favorite of all the shifts, and what I did for a living wasn't exactly too glamorous either. I was what you'd call a fuel island attendant or porter for a local truck stop. I basically cleaned up after every tourist, trucker, and any kind of motorist you could think of. And alongside that, my job was to keep the place maintained and looking shiny, glamorous indeed. On this particular night, I was cleaning shoe marks off of a toilet seat in the men's bathroom when I got called to the front. Josh to the fuel desk, please. I rolled my eyes and began to pack my caddy full of cleaning supplies and headed to our back room to put it in its rightful place, the top of a wastebasket. When I got to the front, I was greeted by Caitlin, our graveyard cashier, and probably the hottest girl I've ever met, and more or less the reason I wanted to be on grave. I know you're going to hate me, but there's a fuel spill on pump three. She said, all right, I said with an irritated sigh. It was pouring outside. But of all the time someone could forget how to properly fuel a friggin semi and they choose a night like this, I thought to myself, I eventually cleaned up the spill, went back inside and continued where I left off in the men's. When I finished, I was called up to the front again. When I got there, no one was there. Caitlin was gone. Caitlin, I said, no response. I went outside to go through the employee side door. I knocked and waited for someone to hopefully be there to open it. The door quickly opened and Caitlin pulled me in. What the hell? What's going on? Quiet. She whispered. She looked uneasy, scared even. What's wrong? I asked, you see that van? I looked over my shoulder to see a white utility van parked outside the fuel lanes. What? It's just one of those cable company vans. I don't see anything wrong. I said, then why don't I see any advertising on it or license plates? Just hearing her say that made me feel a little uneasy. No license plates on a white van in the middle of the night screamed trouble, especially in a somewhat secluded area like this. How long has it been parked there? I asked nervously. It's been about two minutes. It just pulled up turned off its lights and it's been sitting there ever since. Could you see a driver? At this time of night, heck no, you'd be better off signaling a helicopter from underwater. They could have just parked there to sleep. I replied, that's possible, but it's still creepy. She said she was fidgeting like a nervous wreck while leaning towards me as if looking for protection, talking about the details of the van and realizing how suspicious the whole situation was made it feel more and more unsafe to set foot outside the building. But unfortunately, I had no choice in the matter to even get to my work area. I had to go outside. Well, what are we going to do? She asked, try calling the manager. Maybe she'll know what to do. She might have us lock up the store if we tell her there's a possibility of a robbery. I replied, at this moment, I wasn't sure what to do. Calling the manager just seemed like the best option at the time. Caitlin went into the break room and called the manager. I followed her in but kept an eye on the van outside. I leaned against the door frame to the break room, still watching the van. The lamppost greenish white glow just barely overshadowed it. I stared into the front blackened windshield. I could almost feel someone peering back. I couldn't see them. But maybe they could see me. I couldn't bear to gaze into that abyss any longer. Like an idiot. I looked away. I overheard Caitlin asking our manager what we should do due to the fact that we probably woke her. She wasn't quick to answer in questions. Heck, she was probably half asleep during this conversation. Should we just lock up the store to be safe? Caitlin asked. I could hear the slight muffled mumbling of her voice over the phone. Caitlin eventually got off the phone with our manager, but it wasn't to bear good news. Not with a look she had on her face. My heart sank to my stomach, though look was enough to tell me that we were going to be here for the night. Some might say we were overreacting, but something inside us just knew the people in that vehicle did not have our best interest in mind. Whoever was driving it certainly knew how lighting worked. He or she made it impossible for us to see them, but we were as clear as day. We wanted to keep looking, but we knew we had a job to do. At this point, going outside and into the store felt like a death wish. I dreaded even thinking about it. Well, I got to get back to work. I couldn't believe I just said that. What? Now? Yeah, I'm not getting paid to stand around and stare at vehicles. This isn't a car dealership. I replied, All right, be careful. I turned the doorknob, fighting everything in me, to just say, screw it, I'm staying inside. But I wasn't about to be a coward in front of the girl of my dreams, stupid I know. Part of me wanted to believe that these people could just be random crackheads who didn't give two shits about the appearance of their vehicle. But that was pretty farfetched at this point. I opened the door, stepped outside into the humid air and turned to see the van, still sitting there menacingly, watching me. I felt exposed and I knew that feeling wasn't going to change when I stepped into the store. I went back to doing my daily cleaning and maintaining. We didn't get much unusual activity for a good three hours. We got our usual customers, truckers, pothands who couldn't put together a sentence, foreign motorist, etc. But we never did totally ignore that vehicle. Hell, we couldn't. Josh to the front, please. That shakiness in her voice did not sit well with me. Something was wrong. I hesitantly peeked through the crack in the door. I couldn't see anything. So I went into the main store. Caitlin was standing at the counter. Yes, I asked. She pointed outside. All of the van doors were open and there were no sight of the driver or passengers. Did you see anyone get out? I asked. She shook her head. I didn't see anyone, not a single person. Did you see the doors open yourself? She shook her head. So you're saying that the people in the van could have made it to the building. She just shrugged nervously. She was trying to keep calm, but ultimately failing. Frankly, so was I. Looking back on it, I realized there weren't any semis or vehicles the entire time the van had its doors open. Only ours were parked out there alongside it. Like everyone just disappeared. We never once saw someone get out of the vehicle the entire 10 minutes we stared at it. It just sat there, still soaking in the rain underneath the quiet flicker of the lamp light. The temptation to go over to the vehicle and get this bullshit over with was strong, but I wasn't going to take any risks. After a few more minutes of inactivity and absolutely no vehicles pulling into the place, we heard something fall in the back room just down the hallway from us. We both turned in the direction the noise came from. The sudden smack of an obvious broomstick made my stomach turn. It had been on a hook. Someone was in here with us. Caitlin, there's someone in here. What makes you so sure? That was the sound of a broomstick falling off a hook and were the only staff members on the shift. I replied. I could see her start to tremble under the weight of the situation. Her eyes began to get teary. And then the power cut off and we were engulfed in darkness. Everything went silent. Go into the break room, lock the door and don't come out until you hear me knock three times. I said, I'm going to go check out what's going on with the power and maybe put an end to this bullshit. Don't do anything stupid, Josh, please. She replied. I know. But I have to get the power back on. We're sitting ducks like this, I'll be fine. Just go into the break room and lock the door. I'll be right back. I began walking down the hallway, fighting every urge to turn back. The door to the back room was cracked open. I peeked through the crack. I couldn't see much of anything. The dim glow from an emergency light barely highlighted objects in the room. I opened the door slowly and quietly, making sure not to warn any possible intruders. Entering gave me goosebumps and the hair on the back of my neck began to stand. The constant sensation of being stared at was overwhelming. The electrical panel was directly under the emergency light and aligned with a shelf so I'd be completely visible and exposed. There's got to be another way, I thought. But there wasn't. I was going to have to move quickly and just hope that something didn't jump at me from the darkness. I began to move towards the panel. I was shaking. I was trying to control my breathing. I remember seeing my breath in the light. What the hell? I mumbled under my breath. The power wasn't off long enough for it to get that cold. I got to the panel, tried to get the cover open. It wouldn't budge. I saw a bundle of keys hanging on the wall next to me. I quickly turned and looked behind me to see nothing but pitch blackness. The longer I stared into that blackened void, though, the more I got the feeling I was being watched. I shivered and I grabbed the keys. I started to slide the key into the slot and heard something shuffling behind me. I turned and looked. Still nothing. My breaths became more frequent and my eyes widened. I twisted the key until I heard a click. I heard the sound of shuffling again. I ripped the cover open, flipped the switch, and nothing. No power. I began frantically flipping more switches, but nothing worked. We were stuck in darkness and there was nothing we could do about it. I heard something start to move behind me again. This time it was closer. I stared into that black void and heard the sound of a loud exhale. Hey, you better get the hell out of here. I've had enough of your bullshit. I'm gonna call the police. I stupidly said. And that's when I heard the darkness repeat what I just said, but it was my voice. Hey, you better get the hell out of here. I've had enough of your bullshit. I'm gonna call the police. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I ran out of there as fast as I could. I could hear the sound of objects falling over and being thrown behind me. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins. I've never ran that fast before. I remember looking at the front counter and the exit door and in the heat of the moment, I just vaulted over the counter. I smacked my knee mid vault and I crashed into the floor behind it. I waited for a few seconds, listening for movement. And that's when I heard the sound of a door opening. I gathered myself and sat up. I peeked over the counter and looked down the hallway to see the back room's door still swinging. I could hear the hinges squeaking. I didn't see anything. So I crawled over to the break room door trying to keep myself hidden as best I could. My knee was killing me. I remember that being the first time I actually noticed it. I quietly knocked on the door three times. She didn't answer me right away, so I knocked again and the door swung open and Caitlyn rushed me in. You okay? She asked. My mind was in shambles. I didn't even answer. Josh, are you okay? Yeah, yeah, I'm all right. I replied. What happened? Where's the power? The power switches don't work. Whatever's in here with us literally cut the power. I replied. What are we going to do? I don't know. Call the police. That's when we heard the faint sound of footsteps outside, but they were slow and steady like whoever was out there was just wandering around. Caitlyn's eyes widened. We didn't know what we were going to do. We just wanted this madness to end. And that's when I thought of the only thing we could really do. Make a run for it. Running outside and being exposed to whatever was in the lobby definitely wasn't something I wanted to do. But staying here and dying didn't seem too exciting either. I must have had a scared look on my face because that's when Caitlyn asked, What? What's wrong? You're going to think I'm the biggest moron on the planet, but I struggled to say what I was thinking. I knew it was possible. Suicide. We're going to have to make a run for it. You're joking, right? Why can't we just stay in here with the door locked until morning? Because we have a better chance of dying in here than just running to our cars and getting the hell out of here. I replied. She began looking around the room, I could tell she was contemplating. Was it a good idea? We didn't really know. We just needed to get out of here, and that's all I cared about. Okay, let's go. She said, I nodded and began reaching for the door handle. I slowly turned it, anticipating every second, praying that whatever was out there wouldn't hear or see us opening it. The door creaked. I quickly stopped, just hoping that nothing heard that. I waited for a few seconds before I started pulling the door open. We crawled to the next door, trying to keep ourselves hidden. I slowly stood up to see the main lobby vacant. Shadows were its only residence. It was deathly silent, like time seemingly stood still. It was strangely intoxicating. We took the chance we had. We rushed out of the door towards our cars, sprinting as fast as our legs would let us. I unlocked my car, got in, and slammed the door. I fumbled around just trying to slide that damn key into the ignition. I was pissed at myself for taking that long on a simple task, but the heat of the moment had made it difficult. I was just about to turn the key. When I heard a strange noise come from Caitlyn's car, my heart started pumping. I thought it was going to burst from my chest. Caitlyn wasn't in her car. I frantically looked around me. I couldn't see her anywhere. She was gone. Her vehicle's door was just left hanging open. I rolled my window down. Caitlyn! I shouted. No answer. Just the sound of the rain beating on the roof of my car. Shit! I said in frustration. I couldn't just leave her there. And that's when I noticed all the lights turn on in the building. And that the van was gone. I haven't seen her since that night. The police are still searching for her. Nights are sleepless now. I keep dreaming about a white van soaking in the rain, sitting underneath a glow of a lamp flickering in the dark. And what always wakes me up is when a voice whispers.