Hex tidbit 1

Late May was among the busiest times of year at the New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles. Procrastinators born under the latter Taurus and early Gemini signs waited between those eager to register a motorcycle or a speedboat for the upcoming summer weather. Various customers foolishly arrived during the lunch hour of a weekday in hopes of tending to their business in the confines of their alloted work breaks. Everyone was a stranger, and few words were spoken between them, yet the DMV was still a hectic scene of noise and chatter.

The clicking high heels of a professional woman in her late twenties echoed against the dark tile of the lobby. Her rambling earpiece groomed her straight blonde hair behind her left ear. She flipped disorganized paperwork in her right hand to view her wristwatch. 11:59 AM.

"No, that won't be a problem at all. I can meet them this afternoon."

Locating the elevator in the lobby, she was too preoccupied to pay any heed to the older maintenance man fixated on her. 'Just some pervert,' she thought, feeling his eyes follow her. His line of vision changed to her papers as she passed him by, his lips mouthing out the name he scanned on the yellow form. 'Vanessa Tyler,' he muttered while soundlessly commiting to memory. She quickened her pace to catch the closing elevator doors.

"Fine. Yes. It's a date then. I have the listing in the car. Will do. Thank you, bye bye."

Vanessa flipped her phone shut while squeezing into the cart between a wide shouldered construction worker and a slim red head in a short floral dress. The collective wiff of dried sweat and overly applied perfume attacked her from either side. She concentrated on holding her breath until her first chance to exit. The doors slid to a close and the cart brought its half-dozen passengers upwards.

An unexpected jolt activated the emergency light, casting a reddish hue. The elevator stopped abruptly between floors. The passengers exchanged looks and shrugs, grunts and sighs.

"Oh what the.. come ON!" A short dark woman protested in animated impatience, "Shoulda taken the stairs..."

"There was a wet floor sign blocking the stairwell entrance," a thin man with bright red hair responded.

The cart rattled and shook its captives once, then twice.

"What was that?" The floral dressed woman squealed.

The construction worker studied the nearest wall. A surge of what looked like lightning raced upwards against the wall. The large man pointed, "What the hell was that?"

Vanessa frantically peered around at the lightning surges zapping along the ceiling and each wall with more frequency. The air in the cart grew heavy, making each breath more difficult. Vanessa fell against the back wall, slouching into unconsciousness. One by one, they collapsed to the floor...