The man getting off the lift said something strange to me as I got on.
"Do not get off until you reach the ninth floor." Not any exceptions."
I said, "But my interview is at 5."
"I'm going to say this one more time. Wait until you reach ninth before getting off. There is no other safe floor.
Something about the way he said it made it stick in my head. He really meant it. He also looked tense, like he was fighting every urge in his body to tell me that.
As the doors shut, I asked myself, "Who the fuck says something like that?"
Worry came over me as I went to press the button for the fifth floor. I pressed it and shook it off. The person was most likely just crazy.
There was a lift ride. A TV was mounted on the top corner of the lift and was playing the weather channel. There was also a mirror on the back wall of the lift and music that sounded like it was from a cosy bar. Kind of normal stuff.
"We're now on the fifth floor."
Strange—I don't think I've ever been in a lift that told you what floor it was on. I knew this would get old really fast if I worked in that building.
DING!
The doors opened at 5. A woman was sitting at the front desk in the area in front of me. She got up from her seat.
"Mr. Hey, David! You're ahead of schedule!"
The man's warning from before kept playing in my mind.
"We'll be ready in a moment for your interview." Please feel free to take a seat while we wait.
I replied, "Uh, thank you." "If I'm, uh, early, could I come back in a minute or two?""
"Stop it! We'll try to make things go faster. He's been looking forward to meeting you."
The doors to the lift began to shut. I kept them open. I didn't know what to do, but everything looked good. The receptionist did seem a little antsy, but other than that...
As I stood there, I looked over the office space behind the front desk. Everything looked fine: there were desks, people working at computers, and a kitchen. Not very interesting.
That is, besides the painting at the very end of the office hall. It was very big. I wasn't sure what the picture was of, but I saw a bunch of workers looking at it, almost as if they were admire it.
"Do you believe your wife's name is Melissa?""
That question from the front desk worker shot right through me, and I froze. The job application form never asked for my wife's name, as far as I can remember.
"I take it that you two want to have kids? Do you want to name the baby boy Sam if it's a boy?"
What. The. Fuck? This was something I had never told anyone, not even my wife, before, even though she was right on the money.
Before I could answer, the people in the office around the big picture started singing "Happy Birthday" out loud and in perfect sync. Someone brought the image a birthday cake and gave it to it. After squinting a bit, I saw that the portrait was a very big version of my high school yearbook picture.
I pushed the "close door" button and backed into the lift. It took a long time to register, which made me freak out.
Put it down. Put it down. Put it down. Let's get it on.
The doors finally started to close after what seemed like forever. As they shut down, I heard the front desk worker say -
"Johnson, I really want to know what your insides taste like."
Fuck. Me.
Nineth floor. I had to get to the ninth floor.
I found the button for the 9th floor and hit it. I pushed the button again because I thought the first time wasn't enough. Once more. Please move the furniture to the ninth floor. No matter how many times I tried, nothing worked.
No way. I told myself, "I'll go back to the first floor." Going back to the beginning.
The 'G' button wasn't there when I went to press it. That one button is no longer there. Fuck.
I felt like I was squeezing in. To keep from having a full-on episode, I took a few deep breaths.
The lift began to go up again. The number 11 lit up on a panel above the lift doors.
The lift was being called?
To calm down, I started to talk to myself. "It's okay, the 9th floor will be called soon." I'll get off there.
I noticed that the club music in the background had changed as the lift got closer to its new stop. The song "Happy Birthday" was now played with instruments. Huh. I have no idea why this thing thought it was my birthday.
I took a quick look at the TV weather report. The good news was that it would be sunny all week! Bright spots.
"We're now on the 11th floor!" DING!
When the doors opened, I hung out in the corner of the lift next to the. There's no reason to have another scary event, right?
A very old woman got on the lift.
Okay, I'm sure it will be simple to explain this to her.
As the doors shut, she smiled at me.
I asked, "What floor?" with a lump in my throat."
Say, "Ground floor please."
Sorry, ma'am, but that button isn't there. We could wait until someone tells us to go to the 9th floor."
"9th? "No, I think I'll just go to the second floor instead."
She went to the button and pressed it.
"Ma'am, I don't believe it's safe to–"
"The second floor is full of my friends." Everything will be fine.
She then pressed it. I didn't feel comfortable squeezing an old man in a lift that looked like it was haunted. But I tried again to get her to agree –
"I know this sounds strange, but I've been told that the second floor is probably not safe." I really think we shouldn't get off until 9 o'clock."
She laughed.
"Dear, everything will be fine. I like to make the most of every chance that comes my way. It's too bad that you missed out on the chance. I'm sure the people on 5 are very upset."
I backed into the lift's corner.
I could see the old woman in the back mirror of the lift. She looked awful. Another world.
"We're now on the second floor."
The doors were opened. She gave me another smile and then left.
I stuck my head around the turn to see what was on the second floor. It was wet. It looked very old. It looks more like a cave than an office. A low rumble was heard.
A man in a fancy suit walked up to the lift doors and held them open so they wouldn't close.
"Are you leaving here too, champ?" Five was after you, I heard. I believe we can make you a better deal.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure, buddy?" There is an eight hundred thousand dollar salary every hour.
"I'm fine."
"I kid you not, buddy. "As payment, we take out your eyes so you don't have to see him."
It got very dark on the floor. I could hear the low rumble getting louder and longer in my ears. The boss grabbed me by the collar and tried to pull me out of the lift all of a sudden.
I held on to the ends of it. Fuck. Fuck!
I kicked and hit him in the head. For a short time, I was able to get him to let go of me while I frantically pushed the "close doors" button. Thankfully, the lift replied much faster this time, and the doors closed right away.
I pressed the button for the 9th floor again. Not working. Instead, I pressed 8. Do anything to get off this awful floor.
The lift started moving, and I heard a loud bang on the door. It feels like a hard knock.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
As I watched the floor numbers go up -
3… 4… 5…
The banging kept going. The same amount of noise. What the heck?
Sixth floor, seventh floor, eighth floor
There was still banging on the door.
"Now we've reached the 8th floor—"
I pushed the 23rd floor button. When we got to 8th Street, I pushed the "close doors" button right before the lift doors opened. The banging kept going, and the lift doors started to get dented.
The lift kept moving up.
9…
10…
11…
The banging got less loud.
14…
15…
And got softer.
19…
20…
21…
And went away.
"We're now on the 23rd floor."
It was no longer there. Thanks very much.
I let out a breath. It felt like I was very close to disaster.
The doors were opened.
I looked around the new floor and saw that I was back on the first floor. At least, that's how it looked. Did I get away? Was I free at last?
A man stood close to the door. I thought I recognised him, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Hey, man," he said.
Was this the person who left the lift at the same time I did?
"...hey."
"Man, it's over. He told me, "You got out."
I felt calm and happy at the same time, but I had to fight it.
"But you said the ninth floor was the only one that was safe, right?"
"That was a lie." You went with your gut, and you were right. The 23rd floor. The real floor that is safe. "Man, you can leave now."
I stayed.
"Someone here really wants to see you."
I was stuck.
"He wants to hire you. "He believes you will do well."
What the hell wasn't I able to move?
"He is across the hall." Okay, I'll go get him. Just look at him. At first, it will feel a little off, but after that, everything will be fine. The job will last forever. Lots of good things. Even though it's on-site, a new job is still a great birthday present, right?"
I looked down at the ground. And I had to force myself to say it: "It's not my fucking birthday."
As he walked off to get... whoever he was going to get, he told me, "Relax, man." Don't swear at work. "This is a family."
It felt like I could make small steps forward and back. A real snail's pace. Slowly, I moved my finger towards the "close door" button.
I thought I heard steps. He was going to return.
I pushed through with everything I had. I pressed the button.
There was some strange force stopping me from moving, but when the doors shut, I fell to the floor.
He said, "I'll let you two talk more on the lift," and I heard him say it.
What?
I felt compelled to look around.
I was shocked to find nothing. It was the same as it had been every time.
A long breath out. I was done with everything. At this point, I would have rather died than keep putting up with this nonsense.
As I thought about what to do next in this hopeless position, I noticed something odd. The button that led to the 9th floor was on. A scary-looking shade of red.
My phone started to ring before I could do anything else. I looked at the call.
It was my spouse.
I replied.
"Babe. It's crazy that I didn't even think to call you—I'm stuck in a lift with crazy stuff going on—maybe I should call the police? **** I–"
"Hun. "Do not go to the ninth floor."
"What? "Wait, how do you even–"
"Honey, it's a trick. You need to believe me. The man before you lied to you. It's not secure.
"None of this was safe! How do you know everything that's going on?!"
"Hun, all you have to do is trust me."
I took a break.
"Then what do you want me to do?""
The other person on the queue was a devil this time.
It means "GO TO YOUR INTERVIEW."
When I hung up the phone, I pressed the 9th floor button quickly. The lift began to go up again.
The faint sound of the demon's voice coming from my phone kept going even after I hung up the phone.
Remember to "GO TO YOUR INTERVIEW."
PLEASE GO TO YOUR INTERVIEW.
Please go to your interview.
I grabbed my phone and threw it as far as I could. I stomped on it in anger. The strange sound of "GO TO YOUR INTERVIEW" slowly stopped.
But all of a sudden, the lift began to shake. It kept going up, but it was going up faster than usual. Everything went really, really fast all of a sudden. It felt like the 9th floor was now a long way below me.
It was like being on a ride at the amusement park without any breaks. Not tight. Not safe. Going up at a crazy fast rate, almost like it was falling up.
"But I hit nine!"I was so angry that I screamed to myself.
It wasn't important.
"We're now on the 41st floor."
What the fuck is going on?
I fell to my knees because the lift was going faster and faster.
"We're now on the 90th floor."
Not even button number 52 was reached.
"We've reached the 141st floor."
Fuck.
"We've reached the 230th floor."
"We're now on the 401st floor."
It felt like a bullet was going through me. As we went up, the lift lady's nice voice got deeper and deeper.
"We're now on the 840th floor."
The voice began to croak. This time, a sound from hell –
"Now we're getting to *SOMEWHERE NICE.*"
A quick stop. The lift came to a stop. But the doors wouldn't open. There was no way to tell what floor we were on on the wall above the lift doors.
From where I was sitting, I could only describe the sounds coming from outside the lift as hell. Low groans of pain. Making noise. A dark song.
Was this the place I was meant to get off?
I heard a soft tapping on the lift before I could think about the question any further. A voice from the outside –
"Are you ready to trade?""The voice said.
For some reason I still don't fully understand, I chose to bite.
"Explain yourself."
"What if I get to go home and you stay on this floor forever?""
"Uhm. "Uh, I guess I'm fine..."
"But I want to go home so badly."
There were hints of a child's voice in it. What the hell?
"I-I'm sorry, kid," I said.
"Don't worry."
There was a strange silence between us.
The child said, "He told me he wants to wish you a happy birthday."
"Uh... I think he's wrong. It's not my birthday today.
It was "It is," he said. "Today is the start of your new life." "Happy birthday."
…?
"Watch the TV," he says.
What?
The weather was the only thing that had stayed the same on this whole terrible trip, so I looked at the TV in the upper corner of the lift.
Instead, what looked like CCTV video was shown on the TV. CCTV video that isn't very clear of the lift I was in. A live feed of this very time.
But I was lying down on the TV. With a big smile on my face, I looked up.
And something on the ceiling above me. Taking a good look at me.
Him.
The lift lost its lights. As the lift fell, I closed my eyes and screamed for my life to be
saved.
I waited for it to happen.
For what I knew would kill me.
It's coming.
This is it, dammit.
I'm not ready yet.
I'm not prepared at all.
"We're now on the ninth floor."
DING!
The doors were opened.
What the heck?
The 9th floor?
I looked out the window of the lift.
One more front desk.
Is this really the -
A voice from outside stopped me in my tracks.
"Are you going to come out or what, you ***** moron?""
I stood up. The feeling of not trusting someone, or worry, as you might call it. My gut feeling of fear. It was no longer there.
I felt good.
No way.
I got down on the ground and walked up to the counter.
I was given what looked like a lift button by the front desk worker.
It was "for the ground floor," she said. "One time use only."
It was mine, so I took it and went to the lift.
After that, I turned around to face her again.
"May I please take the stairs?""
She turned her head away.
"You won't like the stairs at all if you didn't like the lift."
Okay then.
It was time for me to go.
As I put the button back where it belonged, I said a prayer to myself.
It fit without any trouble.
The lift went down after I pressed it. The ride was smooth.
"We've reached the first floor."
DING!
As I was about to leave, I saw that the ground floor button was again missing. That's strange. I didn't think about it for too long.
I walked out of the building, ready to leave like a bad person.
A woman was running onto the lift, which I saw. I tried to stop her, but I couldn't.
The most I could do was put my hand on the door to let her know something before it shut.
"Do not get off until you get to the ninth floor." Not a problem."
She only smiled at me.
"Happily Birthday, Johnson!"
