The Elevator Game

Episode 4: Let's Play

The ding of the elevator rung throughout the empty lobby as the doors pulled open. The lights were still on, illuminating the white floor and linen walls. 

"Are you guys ready?" I barely whispered. I walked into the elevator first, followed by everyone else. 

The elevator was a bit bigger than the janitor's closet, meaning we all had to squish in to fit. The doors closed after Kenji entered. 

The elevator waited for us to press a button, to give it directions. 

4,2,6,2,10, 5, 1.

"I memorized the floors," I said. "the first number is four." 

I leaned forward and pressed the button with the number four on it. The elevator gave a slight shake before moving us upwards. 

I looked at the little screen high above all the buttons, the numbers changing as the elevator moved floors.

2

.

3

.

4

The elevator slowed to a stop as we reached the fourth floor. The doors opened. 

"What floor is next?" Kenji said. 

I took a deep breath before pressing the button with the number two on it. "Second floor."

The doors closed once again. The elevator shook again before lowering us down to the second floor.

It didn't take long before we reached the second floor. The doors opened again before I clicked the number six button. The doors closed once again before lifting us up. I took a step back from the elevator buttons, Gigi stepping aside. No one spoke a word. Instead, there were sounds of feet shuffling nervously, or quiet breaths. The tension in the air was noticeable, so thick that it could be cut with a knife.

"How many more floors left?" Cole asked. 

I looked at him, then back at the position indicator. "Four, if the game doesn't work."

I saw Cole frown from the corner of my eye. "What do you mean, if the game doesn't work out?"

"When we reach the fifth floor, we are supposed to press the first floor button. When we do that, it is supposed to bring us to the tenth floor again, which would lead us to the other dimension, but if the elevator brings us to the first floor, then the game didn't work."

Cole nodded slowly. "Alright, sounds good." 

"What if the game doesn't work?" Julian whispered. 

"Maybe we have to restart, or maybe we can't." I reluctantly said. 

I heard Gigi gulp next to me.

The elevator dinged, signaling our arrival on the sixth floor. I pressed the number two button again, the elevator bringing us down. 

The quietness of the elevator made the trip down to the second floor much longer. Each passing second felt like an eternity. 

We finally reached the second floor, and now we had to go up to the tenth floor. I pressed the number ten button, and the elevator began it's trip to the tenth floor. 

My heartbeat increased. After the tenth floor, we had to go down to the fifth floor, where the creepy lady would appear. If the game worked, then we would meet face to face with her. The thought of a phantom lady entering the same elevator ride as us creeped me out. I clenched my fists beside me, my nervousness finally setting in my system.