horror story: the woman under my desk

I wasn't going to post this but it still messes with me.

This happened not long after I started at a new company. Small office, admin work, nothing scary about the job itself. One night I had to stay late because a document deadline was the next morning. My boss usually stuck around when there was overtime but he had somewhere else to be, so.

Just me. Alone.

Midway through grinding through paperwork my boyfriend texted. I sent back a quick "busy, lots left to do" and went back to work. It wasn't even that late, I remember thinking I'd be home soon. I got up to grab coffee from the vending machine in the hallway and that's when I heard it.

[knock knock]

Small. Quiet. Coming from the door.

I chalked it up to being tired. Misheard something. But as I walked toward the door it happened again, way louder this time.

[KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK]

I checked the CCTV monitor on my desk. Nobody outside. Zero. The hallway was completely empty.

I went back to my desk. Legs not really working right at this point. Called my boyfriend, hands shaking. And then the lights just. went. out. Like a blackout but only in the office, everything just gone dark.

I wanted to run. I told myself to run.

My legs wouldn't move.

I looked down.

There was a woman under my desk. Sitting in the little space where you tuck your legs. She was holding both my ankles. Just gripping them. And she was staring up at me with absolutely no expression on her face at all.

I passed out.

Next thing I know there's pounding on the door and I hear my boyfriend's voice. He said my call had connected but I stopped responding and he just drove over. The call log was still running when he got there.

Nothing like that has ever happened to me since.