Samara was sat staring at her computer screen, a noise somewhere in the background was getting louder and louder. People all around began to move slowly, like zombies waking up. She trudged down to the car park for the fire drill. ‘Hi, Samara is it?’ asked a familiar voice from behind. A cold fear flashed up from her stomach, snaking itself around her throat. She turned around. She could have mistaken the man stood in front of her for Frank from a distance, but close up his eyes were darker and his nose much straighter. ‘Are you ok?’ the man asked. ‘Sorry, you made me jump’ said Samara. ‘Sorry’ the man said, seeming flustered. ‘I’m Mark, just started here and Tony told me to come and see you about a pass for the building.’ ‘Oh yes’ she said, ‘I’ll grab you one when we get back in. ‘Thanks’ Mark said and smiled. People started to shuffle back towards the door, Mark turned to look and Samara escaped into the crowd.

Samara couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that had been stalking her all week. It had been almost 10 years since she’d moved; away from her family and what friends she had left, but she hadn’t looked back for the fear of Frank creeping up behind her. Running was the only coping mechanism that could really drag her up out of the depths of her own mind. The evening was still light so she went out. As she rounded the corner into the park She near collided with someone coming out. ‘Frank’ she exclaimed, her breath catching in her throat, ‘what are you’, before she could finish the sentence her eyes came into focus. ‘Oh hi,’ Mark said, ‘sorry about that’ he gestured awkwardly. When she didn’t say anything, he ventured, ‘it’s Mark, from work’. Samara noticed the blue-black edges of a tattoo that flashed from a t-shirt sleeve as he raised his arm. She wondered if it was the same tribal mess that Frank had, it couldn’t be…

The end of the month was marked with the office summer ball. Samara went out of desperation to feel like a normal person. She sat alone beneath a huge chandelier drinking the free table wine. People around her were chatting animatedly with each other in a blur of cuff links and cleavage. She may have had too much already. Frank came over and sat down in the empty chair next to her. ‘Hi’ he said nervously. ‘Hi Frank’ she said and shrunk back into the chair. ‘Oh er it’s Mark’, he said and tried to laugh it off. ‘I er I just wanted to ask if you’d fancy going for a drink some time?’ he asked almost wincing. Samara looked at him levelly. ‘I’ve got one already’ she said holding up the almost empty wine bottle. She couldn’t understand what he was doing there and so clutching the bottle to her chest, did the thing that came instinctively; she ran. Mark stared after her.