“Where will you go?” Samuel asked Cassie as they walked down the sixteen flights of stairs, occasionally passing people but not once being accosted by them. It seemed like people were slowly giving up hope, like they had come into Trident looking for answers but very quickly accepted the fact that there were none. There was an air of defeatism around them, lowering morale and making Samuel wish to be outside with the sun and the fresh air. “Do you live nearby?”
“I’m out in the suburbs,” Cassie replied. “But my aunt is just a couple of blocks away. I think I’ll go there.”
“Good idea,” Samuel smiled, “it’s best to be with family. Stay inside and stay safe until we know more about what’s going on. If there really is anyone on the nineteenth floor, then we’ve got to believe they are doing everything they can to fix this. I’m sure we’ll hear from Trident again soon enough. This can’t be permanent.”
Cassie nodded and returned her boss’s smile, though she wasn’t sure how much she believed him. He hadn’t been there when everything kicked off inside the building, her memory was hazy at best, but Cassie would never forget how frightened she had felt. “And you? Where are you going to go?”
“I’m not sure,” Samuel admitted as they finally made their way out of the building and into the street. The lobby of the building was full of people, but not in the same sense it had been when he’d first made his way back in after lunch. Then people had been practically rioting at the front door, now the mood was much more sombre. People still wanted answers, but they were gradually beginning to realize they were unlikely to get them waiting on the ground floor of the Trident building. As a result, many had left the area, meaning the street directly outside was much less crowded too.
Samuel was just about to answer Cassie’s question, when his eyes landed on a body about fifteen meters from their position. A body that he recognized. Hauser. Mr. R. Hauser. There was a woman hunched over the body sobbing, undoubtedly the same woman who had been screaming from the ground as her husband, partner, son, friend – whatever he was to her – stood in the window of the Trident building threatening to jump.
A lump formed in Samuel’s throat as he stopped and stared at the body, unable to move or formulate words as he remembered the short conversation he had shared with the man. Nothing was talking him down from that ledge. He had been so determined to jump, so convinced that life as he knew it was over with no hope for recovery. Still, Samuel wondered what it was that he had discovered on his computer. He questioned how Hauser had been so convinced that it was the end, how he could have so much steadfast evidence so quickly after the event. There had to be something, but until that moment arrived, Samuel was determined to keep going. He wouldn’t jump, he could never jump.
“Sam? Samuel? Are you okay? Sam?”
It took several repetitions of his name for Samuel to realize that Cassie was talking to him, his focus entirely consumed by the body on the ground. Blinking and finally looking at his companion, he saw a worried expression and a look of sympathy in her eyes.
“Are you okay? It’s awful isn’t it,” she glanced at the body. “He must have been inside the building too.”
Samuel swallowed and nodded. “Awful,” he repeated. He didn’t know what else to say, the look on Hauser’s face as he stood in the window haunted Samuel. He wanted to go over to the woman and speak to her, say that she was with him in his final moments. But what solace would that bring? The woman deserved to mourn in peace, an interruption from a stranger was not what she needed.
Finally focusing back on Cassie, Samuel realized he needed to say goodbye to the young woman, but once again faltered. There was no way of saying whether he would ever see her again, or whether he would even know if she made it to her aunt’s house safely. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” He asked, placing a hand on Cassie’s arm in a friendly yet concerned manner. “You know where you’re going?”
Cassie nodded. “What about you?” She’d never received an answer before. “Where are you going?”
Samuel paused to think for a moment. “To my parents’,” he decided. “Long Island.”
“Are you sure you’ll be able to get there?” Cassie questioned, looking around at how the city had quickly ground to a halt. “Is the subway still working?”
“I’ll work it out,” Samuel replied. “Don’t worry about me.”
An awkward silence drew out between the two colleagues after Samuel’s words. Neither of them really knew what to say or how to say goodbye. Their relationship had changed in the last hour and it made the atmosphere between them feel different. Samuel half wanted to give Cassie a hug, but he worried whether that would be deemed inappropriate. In the end there was nothing more than a verbal farewell shared between them, leading to Samuel turning away and walking off into the crowd. He didn’t look back. He couldn’t bring himself to. Staring straight ahead, Samuel made his way
