One Shot Stories

XXXVIIII ~ Men In Tailored Suits

    I lean back against the cool, metal wall of the elevator and avoid eye contact with the other people in the moving contraption. An awkward silence fills the air. Stealthily, I analyze the fellow passengers.

     A woman in workout clothes silently bobbing to the music that emits from her earbuds. A teenager, dressed in all black, keeps his head down. A man in a tailored suit keeps checking his watch and looking up to see witch floor we're on- a nervous tick. A lady with pretty, dark skin stares at her phone.

    Then there's me. Dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt after coming back from work.

    Someone clears their throat.

    I look up from gazing at my hands. It's the man in the suit. His bright gaze sweeps the small compartment. Everyone looks up at the man, confused. Then he speaks.

"I bet you're all wondering why I've gathered you all here." He says slowly.

    What?

    I watch in horror as the man's hand slams the emergency stop button. The mechanical vessel comes to a screeching stop.

"Hey!" The lady on her phone exclaims.

     The man holds up a hand.

"Sir, I'm pretty sure none of us know you." Says the woman in workout gear, pulling out her earbuds.
"Not directly." He says.

     The woman with her phone scowls.

"I'm not dealing with this today." She mumbles.

    My eyes flick down to my watch. 5:30.

    The teenager sighs and looks up.

"When you hit that button," He says, pointing at the emergency stop button. "It calls the fire department. They'll be here in four minutes."

    The man grins.

"Very smart. That's why I'll have to do this in under three minutes."
"Do what?" The workout lady asks.

    Not answering the question, the man pulls out something from inside his coat. In a flash, I see the man rush forward and stab the woman. No sound leaves her mouth as she falls to the ground.

"Oh hell no!" The lady with dark skin shouts.

    She pulls out her phone and begins dialing a number.

"Tsk. Tsk. I don't think so."

    I watch as she gets the same fate the other one did.

"I'm done with life anyways." The teenager says softly.

    He pulls out a small white pill an pops it into his mouth. The teen begins to convulse as foam spills out of his mouth. Then he collapses to the floor, dead. I snap my head up to see the guy creeping towards me. My eyes widen as I see the flash of the knife.

    Then everything goes dark.

     A ding pulls me out of my deep, dark thoughts. I blow out a breath. It was only a daydream. I glance down at my watch. 5:29.  I take a sharp intake of breath. I look up just as the man in the tailored suit clears his throat.

•••

Shocker.