Write about a character who’s stuck in an elevator when the power goes out.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 254 stories

“Jupiter” by Zilla Babbitt

It was a crisp May morning when the sun blinked out.And it's a go! came the cry and with a mighty heave the silver-braced elevator moved up, choked, and shivered to a stop. Inside, Jupiter worked her cuffs off with her teeth, sighed in the storm of siren silver dust, and tried hard to think. Above her, the immense pale yellow light flared down, smiled with all its teeth, and shut out. The outline burned in her vision long after the sunned light forced to a sto...

80 comments 80

Read story

“Muz's Intermission ” by Rhondalise Mitza

Muz found herself wondering if she really was that funny, or if Triscin was just so joy depraved that he found solace in her lame sense of humor. She sat across from him at the hospital cafeteria table and continued to crack jokes at him, marveling at how much prettier this boy looked when he wasn’t sobbing. “What sits at the bottom of the sea and twitches?” She asked him. He blinked, somethin...

28 comments 28

Read story

“Short Delay in Service” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

(Dedicated to Jonathan Blaauw for no particular reason.)Her: “Hey—that looks like quite a load! Do you need any help?” It’s the new guy from account services. Is he coming into the elevator? He’s even better looking close up. Much better looking. Did I put on antiperspirant or deodorant this morning? Either way, this might be a problem if he stands too close. Him: “Hold the door. Please, just—hold the door!” Just hit the OPEN DOOR button for God’s sake. It literally is the one that rea...

43 comments 43

Read story

“Together” by B. W.

There won't be any other parts to this, its only gonna be a one time thing and the reason if you see it why it says "fantasy" is because the two characters are neko's or whatever their called, theyre sorta like what Lia is except not a demi-god. Paris is a wolf Neko (like i said kind of like Lia) and Avi is a Fox neko (not a nine tails though- or at least thats what i think they're called) sorry if i got anything wrong with that and enjoy.Paris was tapping her foot while her ears kind of twitched she was standin...

145 comments 145

Read story

“The Devil is stuck” by Moonchild XOXO

It had all supposed to be a normal day, but… it wasn’t.James was woken brutally in the middle of the night by a phone call.“Wassamatter?” he asked drowsily. A voice snapped at him. “You’re supposed to be awake at this time of the day, James!”James chuckled into the phone. “It’s not even day, Benjamin. Get your head together.”The other person, named Benjamin, sighed. “Stop insulting me with your odd timings, you devil. I’m an angel, and I have to do your job. You were supposed to be on the night shift, ...

26 comments 26

Read story

“The CEO and the Elevator” by Kristin Neubauer

The CEO of a multinational corporation owned not one, not two, but three cell phones. They buzzed, chimed, trilled and blared at all hours of the day and night. She also had two tablets, four laptops, 12 offices and 30,000 employees all over the world.The CEO arrived at the office before dawn each morning and left late at night. In between, she fixed unfixable crises, negotiated unnegotiable deals and ran un-runnable meetings.When she wasn’t fixing crises, negotiating deals and running meetings, sh...

58 comments 58

Read story

“Delayed Apology” by Writer Maniac

"It wasn't my fault; she made the move..." I mumbled under my breath, practising my apology. Linda was the love of my life, and Evelyn knew that. I knew that Evelyn used to have a crush on me, but I thought that she would stop pursuing me after I started dating Linda. I was wrong. So wrong. She put her lips against mine and kissed me. And Linda witnessed it. What is wrong with me? I should have pushed her away, I should have. And it's not like I kissed her back. I didn't. But no one would believe that. If I were in a similar situation, I ...

22 comments 22

Read story

“Apartment 17A” by Scout Tahoe

Under normal circumstances, Enzo wouldn’t talk to strangers on elevators. He would lean against the cold metal, gripping the bronze handle to the point of white knuckles, and hum along to the cheesy music under his breath. But these weren’t normal circumstances. He entered the platform, his bulking figure taking up almost half of the space. Cradling the bag of pistachios with one hand, he used the othe...

24 comments 24

Read story

“As Clear As Day ” by Erick Morin

The metallic doors slide open, moving to the chime's cadence, signaling the arrival of my transport. My reflection is distorted by the steel as it's pulled apart, allowing me to step inside. I hold my hand at the edge of the cold metal frame, waiting for someone else to enter. No one follows. The doors are slow to close, perpetuating a forced maneuver, an onus task. I always get the feeling I should be anticipating someone—or something. The vessel craves more than one soul, but it only gets me. I move my finger towards the terminal of but...

28 comments 28

Read story

“Stuck” by BeInspiredAbstracts/Etsy SarahGreenwood

1. Audrey In two three four, hold two three four, out two three four. Audrey repeated the mantra to herself as she practiced the breathing exercises. She looked at her reflection in the elevator door. She was ashen, almost anemic looking. The anxiety rolled over her like an old frenemy: heaviness in her chest, the foggy brain, the urge to run and escape. It reared its head in even in the most mundane situations. This however, a stuck elevator, was ...

21 comments 21

Read story

“I Should've Took the Stairs” by Andrew Krey

I hated lifts, but Fred wouldn’t take the stairs. He was always annoying, but he’d have a complaint for every step he was forced to take. It would’ve been unbearable as we live on the top floor. So I waited for the lift. The doors opened, and Mrs. Peacock stared back at me, weighed down by her shopping bags. I stepped inside, and pressed the button for the twenty-fourth floor; it clicked and glowed red. I nod...

52 comments 52

Read story

“Stuck with You” by Bianka Nova

“Get ready! One, two, three–” I jumped and the dark elevator shook a little.“STOP IT! Bea, don’t!” Pol’s voice bounced off the steel walls of the elevator car. “Are you trying to get us killed?”“I was just trying out this thing to see if it’d restart. Maybe it just got stuck or something.” I replied with the confidence of someone who has fixed many glitches by simply rebooting a computer or hitting really hard and persistently the sides of a TV.“Please, stop messing up,” he pleaded, hi...

36 comments 36

Read story

“Stuck in the Elevator” by Rebecca Lee

“It’s stuck,” he said, taking off his glasses to peer closer at the buttons on the panel by the door. “Yup, it it’s stuck.” He put his glasses back on, and turned to look at me, like he expected me to do something.A zillion thoughts just ran through my brain, as I closed my eyes for a second. I could feel the tension band already tightening around my head. This was not the day to get stuck in an elevator, and most certainly was not the day to get stuck in the elevator with my grandfather.I sighed. “Pops...

26 comments 26

Read story

“Iced Lucid” by Skyler Woods

Justin could hear people screaming outside the elevator doors. It all started when the power went out. Justin had his 4-year-old daughter, Abigail, on the elevator with him. The young man had to be brave for his little girl. Something terrible was happening. At first, Justin felt lost, until he pulled out his phone and saw the news headlines.A woman killed her fiance at a local nightclub. Witnesses say the woman decapitated him with her fingernails and teeth. Authorities shot the woman, killing her. But sh...

23 comments 23

Read story

“Lower-Level, Lower-Stress” by Meggy House

I was standing in one of the office's three stark silver elevators next to a very sweaty man in desperate need of fresh deodorant. Or fresh perfume. Or a fresh wardrobe change. Seriously, who wears a suit with orange checks? I checked my wrist. Shoot, I had forgotten a watch. I guess I would have to check my cellphone. I patted all around my waistline, then realized that because women’s clothes never ha...

6 comments 6

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who purposefully causes a power outage.

Thriller and Suspense – 148 stories

Write a story where the power goes out on a spaceship or submarine.

Adventure – 87 stories

Write a story about someone feeling powerless.

Narrative – 289 stories

Write about a family who decides to camp out in the back yard during a power outage.

Funny – 114 stories

Contest #58

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Lights Out

$50

Prize money

892

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 11, 2020 EST

Won by Julie Bissell 🏆

Title: In the Dark

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Tired of MS Word?

Join the revolution and write your book in a tool designed for authors. 🙌

Includes FREE typesetting to print-ready PDF & EPUB files, track changes and collaborative editing.

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write about a character who’s stuck in an elevator when the power goes out.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 254 stories

“Jupiter” by Zilla Babbitt

“Muz's Intermission ” by Rhondalise Mitza

“Short Delay in Service” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“Together” by B. W.

“The Devil is stuck” by Moonchild XOXO

“The CEO and the Elevator” by Kristin Neubauer

“Delayed Apology” by Writer Maniac

“Apartment 17A” by Scout Tahoe

“As Clear As Day ” by Erick Morin

“Stuck” by BeInspiredAbstracts/Etsy SarahGreenwood

“I Should've Took the Stairs” by Andrew Krey

“Stuck with You” by Bianka Nova

“Stuck in the Elevator” by Rebecca Lee

“Iced Lucid” by Skyler Woods

“Lower-Level, Lower-Stress” by Meggy House

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who purposefully causes a power outage.

Write a story where the power goes out on a spaceship or submarine.

Write a story about someone feeling powerless.

Write about a family who decides to camp out in the back yard during a power outage.

Contest #58

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

892

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: