A Shared Experience

“Hold the elevator!” I yelled from across the lobby. Normally, I would walk up the stairs to get some exercise in and because my fitness tracker could get snarky when it felt I hadn’t shifted my butt enough. Today, however, I was running late and as the elevator was there it seemed like the easiest option. A man in a crisp navy suit stuck his arm between the closing doors, causing them to bounce open again. I smiled and muttered a quick thanks to the man as I slipped inside. The elevator was pretty full, which made sense for 08:58 on a Wednesday morning. I focused on my coffee, anxious not to spill a drop and ruin someone’s day. 

It appeared to be one of those days where every floor is required, either by someone alighting or joining the crush. I felt my frustration rise with the elevator. We seemed to be crawling upwards. I tapped my foot in an outward display of my irritation. It seemed my attempt to save time had backfired. I had a meeting at 09:15 and I had wanted to print the briefing documents beforehand. It seemed that I would have to read from the screen and rely upon everyone else being able to access it in their emails. 

The doors closed and the elevator departed the fifth floor. Nearly there. Only three others were still in the elevator with me. I didn’t recognise any of them. Perhaps they were clients?

Ssssssscrrrreeeeeeeeech. 

The elevator juddered to a halt and the lights flickered out, veiling the elevator in an eerie darkness. 

After a few moments, I heard a whirring sound. Then, a singular light in the centre of the elevator’s ceiling came on. It cast a harsh fluorescent glow that made the situation feel even more like a horror movie.

My heart stuttered along with the elevator and then took off at an impossibly fast pace. It thumped a staccato rhythm that caused my chest to ache. I looked down and saw that some of my coffee had splashed out of the small drinking hole and onto my brand-new suede pumps. Goddamn it! They had been an expensive gift to myself after a particularly stressful week. Evidently, I didn’t deserve nice things. The annoyance about my shoes had distracted me from the more pressing problem. Maybe it was my brain’s way of preventing me from sliding into fear and panic. Focus on what you can control, and all that.

I glanced around at my fellow passengers. The man in the crisp navy suit that had held the doors for me was rolling his eyes and checking his phone. He saw me looking and smiled that smile that people share when experiencing the same thing; sort of like “typical, isn’t it, but what can you do?”. I smiled back, feeling the dimple in my left cheek make an appearance. 

In the corner, a tall, rotund man with greying hair was also typing furiously on his phone, before looking skyward in desperation. 

“There doesn’t seem to be any reception in here”, he said, slipping his phone into his breast pocket. 

The final person trapped in the elevator was a short woman, she looked to be about forty years old with dyed red hair. She leant over to the control panel and pressed the button labelled with a bell icon. A ringing sound echoed around the confined, metal cube. It felt weirdly wrong, but I couldn’t explain why it made me uncomfortable. Maybe it was because I wasn’t used to hearing that sound in this particular environment.

The ringing continued for another minute or so before someone answered.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” a man with a thick New York accent said.

“Yes we can hear you! There are four of us trapped in this elevator,” the woman replied. There was silence from the other end of the line. We looked at each other, confused and concerned. More silence.

“Sorry about the delay, I went to go and alert my superior. Power’s gone out, city-wide blackout I’m afraid. There isn’t much to be done until it comes back on.” All of us in the elevator groaned.

“Any indication of how long that will be?” I asked.

“I’m not too sure ma’am, this is a developing situation, you see. We’ll get you up as soon as we can.” I thanked him anyway, it wasn’t his fault after all. The silence returned. The atmosphere was awkward. Everyone was either looking at their phone or down at their feet to avoid eye contact. I checked my phone. Still no signal. At least if the blackout was city-wide, my boss wouldn’t be able to yell at me for being late to the meeting. Silver linings.

The man in the navy suit slid down the wall until he was sitting cross-legged on the floor. He looked up at me and arched his eyebrow as though daring me to join him. What the heck? Sitting down sounded pretty appealing, especially given the height of my heeled pumps. I sat down and leant back, enjoying the relief my feet felt. The other two remained standing. 

“So what brought you to this elevator today?” The man in the navy suit asked. His tone and body language were that of someone interviewing a hopeful job applicant. I laughed drily.

“Well, I was inspired by the previously efficient performance of this elevator and I saw it as a way to reach the goals I have set for myself, namely the sixth floor.” The man nodded solemnly at my response and then pretended to scribble some notes in an imaginary notebook.

“Hmmm, I see, I see. Well, thank you for coming in miss...?” He tailed off, waiting for a response.

“Hawkins. Lucy Hawkins.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Hawkins. I am Mr Luke Davis.” He stuck out his hand for me to shake, which I did. Firmly. He smiled, showcasing even, white teeth. I felt myself blush involuntarily and quickly averted my gaze. 

The other man decided to join us on the floor.

“Henry Irvine, I work in accounts.” He nodded at us as he shifted his bulk until he was comfortable.

“Well welcome to this meeting in elevator three on this fine Wednesday morning Henry,” Luke said jovially. The woman rolled her eyes, seemingly feeling as though she was above such childishness. 

“Now”, Luke began, drawing my attention back to him. “I suppose the most important question to ask is whether anyone here has experience of being trapped in an elevator?” Henry and I shook our heads. “So this is uncharted territory then. Nevermind, I think this situation requires teamwork and some innovative thinking outside the box. A good brainstorming session should do the trick.” 

“What brings you to elevator number three then Luke?” I asked. He definitely wasn’t a member of my department, and I didn’t recall seeing him around the building before.

“I had a meeting with the acquisitions department. Frankly, I feel that this is more entertaining than that meeting would have been.” I nodded. That sounded like the meeting I was supposed to be leading. He was probably correct in his assumption. “What about you Henry? Would you rather be going through the accounts or here in this elevator with us?” Luke asked, grinning widely. 

“The elevator wins it. I always wanted to be a park ranger, strangely enough. The fresh air, the open skies... Seemed like that was where I was meant to be. Then my girlfriend announced that she was pregnant. Accounting may be dull, but at least it pays the bills.” 

“How old is your kid now?” Luke asked.

“My boy is nineteen now. I also have a daughter who is seventeen. This job allows me to pay for their college tuition. What about you Lucy? Did you always see yourself here?” The question struck me. I didn’t have a clue where I wanted to be when I left college. Financially secure, obviously. But I had always envisioned greater freedom, more control over what I did every day. Somewhere along the road, I forgot this ambition. 

“If I’m being honest Henry, I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up.” I smiled softly and then looked towards my feet, feeling self-conscious about this personal revelation.

Suddenly, the elevator shifted slightly. The bang that accompanied this slight movement was terrifyingly loud. The sound reverberated through the elevator shaft and stunned us all into silence. In the corner, the woman whimpered. I stood and went over to where she was huddled. She had her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. 

“Hey there sweetie. What’s your name?” I said as soothingly as possible.

“J J J Jenna” she stuttered. I nodded and took her fists in my hands. I tried to ease them open and saw crescent shapes etched into her palms from where her fingernails had been digging in. I wanted to provide comfort. I wasn’t feeling overly keen about the situation myself, but I saw myself as good in a crisis. 

“I am sure we will be on our way soon. They’ll be working as hard as they can to get us out.” My words were punctuated by another loud bang and the elevator felt like it dropped an inch. Jenna began to cry. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks and splashed onto the floor. “Does anybody happen to know how old this elevator happens to be?” I asked into the silence. Everyone shook their heads. The building itself was around thirty years old. I was assuming that the elevator had been regularly maintained since then.

“What is the one thing you want to do before you die?” Luke asked. “I can start?” he added when none of us responded. “It sounds really simple now, but I always wanted to design and build my own house. I had a vision of it being comfortable. Practical but beautiful furniture pieces. The house would be surrounded by green fields and old trees. Peaceful.” Luke had a faraway look in his eyes as though he was looking out across the verdant grassland, while white, fluffy clouds travelling across the bright, blue sky. I could sense it. I could see his dream. It sounded heavenly, especially because they were trapped in a harshly lit, cramped metal container. 

“I always wanted to rent a boat with my wife and sail down the French Riviera. In the evening sun, we could dance on the deck. Her dress floating around her angles, her hair flowing down her back. She has always been the most beautiful thing in existence. I just want the chance to show her how much she means to me. We could relive our youth, at least for one more moment.” I smiled at the glow he had about him and the passion I could hear in his voice when he spoke about his wife. It was touching. I glanced at Luke and saw him staring at me intently. I felt my blood rush around my body and I felt hot and fidgety under his scrutiny.

“What about you Jenna? What’s the one thing you want to do?” Luke asked, still staring at me.

Jenna looked caught off guard. She was still crouched over in the corner. She wasn’t crying any more. She just seemed shocked or almost vacant. There was a moment’s pause, but then she started to speak.

“I wanted to open a book-store.” She smiled tremulously. We urged her to continue. “There would be nooks with comfortable sofas so people could relax and enjoy their book. I would want a small café in the corner. The shelves would be overflowing with books and there would be stacks on the floor once the shelves ran out of space.”

“That sounds magical”, I replied. “Your dreams all sound wonderful.”

I supposed it was my turn to share. I had never really thought about what I wanted to achieve or do before I died. I was only twenty-four and, foolishly, I had hitherto thought myself invincible. In my mind, I saw myself in each of their dreams. Owning a shop, dancing as the sunset and the stars began to twinkle, in a rural house with an endless sky and dogs that ran across the wide, open space. I also saw flashes of what my life might look like if I stayed here, at this company. Maybe I would climb the career ladder? Stability, security, predictability. To be honest, that sounded ideal. I wasn’t one for spontaneity; being stuck in a lift was as much adventure as I could comfortably handle. 

Another creak sounded and the elevator walls shook, interrupting my train of thought. A voice crackled through the intercom. 

“Unfortunately, the elevator is shifting more than we would like. We’re going to lower you manually down to the fifth floor, and then we can get you out. We’ll take it nice and slow.” Luke indicated we understood. We braced ourselves. I found myself clutching Henry and Luke’s hands, hoping they didn’t notice how clammy mine were. I called out to Jenna, trying to calm her, but she was whimpering and sniffling too much to hear me. 

Then, the elevator began to move downwards. It didn’t move with the smoothness you would normally expect from an elevator. Instead, it shook, jolting us with each incremental movement. I focused on my breathing, trying to drown out my fear. My senses had become heightened and each screech of metal against metal set me on edge. My arm hairs rose as goosebumps covered my skin. Years of sweat and the trapped odour of hundreds of people over decades burned the back of my throat, as did that metallic scent that only elevators have. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

The elevator came to a halt. I felt it make contact with something beneath the floor. I felt marginally more secure. A loud, obnoxious sound filled the air, causing us to jump. Then daylight began pouring through a widening gap as the doors were forced apart. Jenna hurried out. I took a bit longer to gather my things and pick up my now freezing cold coffee before I stepped out. 

Beautiful fresh air and bright, warm sunlight. I inhaled, taking in great gulps of refreshing oxygen. I shook the tension from my shoulders. I waved at Henry and Luke and thanked the engineer who had managed to get free us from our metal cage. I then hurried upstairs to speak to my boss who announced the presentation was to be postponed until next week given that the blackout was still causing problems.

When I arrived at work the next day, I walked straight passed the elevators and took the stairs. I saw Henry and smiled. He returned my smile before hurrying on his way. It was strange. Henry, Luke, Jenna, and I had all shared this experience, shared deep truths and revealed our vulnerabilities. Yet, all I felt capable of was a smile. We weren’t friends, but we were no longer strangers. 

I would give my presentation to Luke next week and maybe we would flirt some more. Maybe it would develop into something more. Or, maybe it would be like our time trapped in an elevator was no more than a dream. All I knew for sure was that I would always choose the stairs over an elevator.