The Elevator

My ending.

Okay, so this is a little author's note. Bare with me here. In my English class we read a story called "The Elevator" by William Sleator. If you have not read it, I recommend that you do, so that this will all make sense. If you have read the story, then you know that it leaves off as a cliffhanger. Well, my assignment was to complete the story. And I did. My version will be the first one posted, and my friends have begged me to make up some alternate endings. So I have. I hope you enjoy reading them! Sorry for the long author's note!

*This chapter is dedicated to my friend, Malickae. Mostly because you were the first person besides my brother to read it, and you loved it. Oh, and you threatened me to do this, so thanks.*

My ending~

"Hello, Martin," she said, and laughed, and pushed the stop button.

Martin stood like a deer caught in the headlights. Well, a deer on crutches caught in the headlights. His eyes were as big as saucers, and his mouth hung open, showing off his blue and grey braces. One too many thoughts were running through Martin's head at that very moment. How did she know my name? Why did she push the stop button? Did she know my father would get off and leave me here alone? Did she know I would somehow be condemned to the elevator? Then the thought that scared Martin the most, does she know where I live?

There was an eerie silence, at least to Martin it seemed that way, along with tension. Tension so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

The fat lady continued to stare at Martin with her small eyes, still smirking. He just stood there, dumbstruck. He kept opening and closing his mouth, trying to find the right words to say. But with his luck, none came to mind.

Martin felt the anxiety kick in of being stuck in an elevator with a lady the size of two people, whom he knew nothing about, but she seemed to know him. His breathing started to falter and his vision was getting blurry.

He then mentally kicked himself, thinking of what his father would say if he saw his son standing there like a coward. Martin quickly stood as straight as his crutches would allow.

Martin cleared his throat. "Um, I, I, um," he stuttered. He just couldn't think of what to say. If it were any other stranger, in a different situation, Martin would have been a social butterfly. But no. He was in an elevator that could barely fit three people, with a lady that scared the living day lights out if him.

He once again attempted to gather the words to form a sentence. This time, he was somewhat successful. "W- w- what do y- you want?" Martin stuttered for a second time.

The fat lady smiled, showing off a set of teeth that clearly hadn't been well taken care of. "Oh, Martin. It's not what I want, it's what he wants," she said in a sickly sweet voice.

Martin instantly wore a puzzled expression. It was then that he heard a strange ticking noise that confused him even more.

She laughed rather obnoxiously, causing her green coat to wrinkle a bit. Then one of Martin's worst nightmares occurred.

The elevator fell.

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The blaring police sirens surrounded Martin's apartment. There were commands being yelled at some of the firemen about to enter the building. The ambulance pulled up to the scene, as well as two more police cruisers trailing behind.

"What happened here?" Asked police sheriff, John Connors, as he straightened out his hat.

"An elevator fell, a boy, Martin Grimes, missing," his deputy replied, looking over his notes in confirmation.

"Any witnesses? Evidence? Anything?" John asked.

"No," his deputy replied with a frown.

John just nodded, walking over to the building. As he was about to enter, Martin's father came walking out, with one arm wrapped around a lady in a red cashier uniform, with a 'Hello, my name is Terry' pin, and the other around a rather large box, with a green M on the front. They looked like a happy couple, going out for lunch. John thought nothing of this, for all they were to him were residents at the apartment.

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