The walk over to the annex was everyone’s least favorite when trying to reach my father.

The path was only maintained about 100 feet from the main building exit doors; beyond that, you had to walk through the ‘garden.’ It had been beautiful once, but that was years ago. No one maintained it anymore because there was an atrium inside the main building now, which bloomed with flowers and other plants year-round.

This skeleton of a garden was depressing and frightening as soon as the sun started to go down. Things scurried about amongst the dead bushes and leaves. But this was only the appetizer to the rest of the disarray that awaited once you did reach the annex.

It was a building that had been standing for close to 80 years, and it looked every bit its age. The paint was long chipped away, rain-stained along every wall. The windows were rectangular slits that felt like an afterthought to the original design, and many were boarded up along the first floor.

The front doors clicked as I scanned my badge. The only piece of modern technology in the whole building, and it was only installed because my father kept losing the keys, thus the broken windows. The rest of the inside was run on whatever technology was installed during the last modifications, which was long before I was born.

No one manned the front desk; there wasn’t even a security guard stationed out here. There was no need.

The electric buzzing of the overhead lights followed me as I reached the elevator doors. I pressed the call button and silently prayed that it was working; I was not looking forward to having to climb 10 stories if it didn’t.

I heard the rattle of wires and metal as it made its way down.

It landed on the ground floor, and I heard the doors basically sigh as they slowly opened, revealing the dim and dank mirror interior. I waited a few seconds before stepping inside. Not trusting that it wouldn’t suddenly just drop away, finally putting itself out of its misery.

The elevator shook and shuddered as it agonizingly ascended the ten flights.

Would climbing the stairs have been safer? Most definitely, but I just wanted to get to Father’s office and get this debriefing over with as soon as possible.

I was thrust forward when the elevator finally reached the 10th floor and lurched as it positioned itself. Now came the next trial: would the doors actually be aligned? It was a common complaint among those who had been summoned to meet with Father. It was that or the doors just didn’t open and they were stuck, to wait for father to open them or until the elevator deemed it time to let them out.

The doors didn’t open. Not after 5 minutes. Not after 10 minutes.

I took my cell phone out of my pocket, but there was no service.

Of course.

Another one of the perks of the annex was that it was a dead zone for cell service.