Writing Dump

Halloween: Elevator

Chris looked at himself in the rear-view mirror before moving out of his drive way and onto the street. He sighed and his eyes turned to the radio, the clock read 9:21 AM October 31. He looked at himself again, the circles under his red eyes, his mask that wasn't even on right. "Dont even need a costume to look like a zombie." He mumbled, looking at the limited cars on the road.

As his eyes searched for a spot in the parking lot, he could see a white figure in the corner of his eye but he paid it no mind, its probably one of those car wash guys. He put the car in reverse and checked his mirror. A woman with hair covering most of her face was climbing the back of his car. He blinked and the woman disappeared before he opened his mouth.

He stared where the woman was, expecting something that could make sense of what he saw. Anything at all.

A honk from his right broke him from his trance and he stuttered with his movements trying to get into the spot, hitting the vehicle stop. He put both hands on the wheel and rested his forehead on his knuckles. "Its too fucking early."

He brushed it off, opening the car door and stepping out.

His mind went blank as he walked through the metal detector and guard. The elevator opened with a ding and he entered. "L1." He said to the elevator operator as he stepped in. They sat in silence as he noticed the witch hat and some halloween decorations in the elevator. The elevator opened and he stepped out into the mall.

With limited people, Chris wanted to make this as quick as possible. All he needed was tempered glass for his phone. "It should only take a few minutes." He said as he got on the escalator.

He found the part of the mall with multiple stands that sold phone cases, phone repairs, and other things for affordable prices. "How much is your cheapest tempered glass?" He asked, pulling out his phone and showing it to the woman. "5 dollars." She said, pulling out the plastic tempered glass.

He put his phone on the counter and grabbed his wallet out of his pocket for a 5. He noticed something behind the woman as he looked up. The girl that was climbing on his car earlier had her hair covered face resting on the woman's shoulder.

Chris stood frozen. 5 dollar bill folded in his hand staring in shock. "Sir?" The woman looked behind her. Chris blinked and the girl was gone.

"Apologies, it's too early." He put down the bill and took his phone back, placing it into his pocket. "Thank you."

As he stood on the escalator going down, he kept thinking about it. Was he hallucinating? What was going on with him? "Maybe if i just sleep once i get back it'll stop." he mumbled, absolutely baffled. It felt like under a minute but somehow he was at the front of the elevators again.

It opened its doors, "B1." As he stepped in. Obviously not focused.

Once he turns around he looked at the operator. She was wearing a halloween costume. Her hair looked like a cheap wig but everything else was pretty nicely detailed. He realized that the B1 button wasn't lit up, "B1." he repeated.

The operator pressed a button on the bottom that had a sticker that was mostly peeled off. You couldn't see what floor it was. Her finger had over grown nails with dirt underneath. He stumbled back as the realization hit. Before he could react the elevator suddenly shifted and it felt like it was falling, the lights flickered and as Chris struggled to stay upright and sat on the floor looking around frantically for support, the operator wasn't even reacting. It felt like she didnt even feel it. The elevator doors would start to open a few inches to reveal limbs, eyes, bones, anything that looked like it was decomposing then closing again. Chris was horrified but not a sound left his mouth. His eyes wide, his grip on the railings in the side tight, falling for what felt like an hour. Until it stopped.

The lights became steady and Chris could stand properly, the doors remained closed and on the top of the door it said B1.

The door opened and Chris ran out in a haze. He looked behind him and there was no one in the operator seat. A guard walked around the corner and took a look at Chris and the elevator, "Sir, that elevator is out of order. Were you stuck Inside?" He asked, walking toward Chris.

"Yes. It kept rapidly falling and the lights kept flickering for what felt like hours. The floors kept going through what kinds of numbers and the doors would open ever so slightly to show some fucked up people." Chris explained, then realized how absolutely mental he sounded. "Sir, it wasn't moving when it was out of order, the cameras showed no one was inside." The guard gave a blank expression.

Before Chris could say anything he saw the digital clock near the elevator. It read 10:32 AM, November 1.