The Elevator

The Elevator

By Jim Keane

Todd rolled up the sleeve of his blue suit, checking his silver watch, and tapped the close button in the elevator several times like a Morse code operator. Hurry and close before someone else comes. He had five minutes to get to the forty-second floor for his interview with Vericom, and if the elevator door closed without somebody else slowing it down, he would make it.

The number forty-two glowed on the elevator panel. Police sirens wailed outside the elevator, and down the hallway, a woman screamed from the entrance of the building. The temptation to poke his head out the door entered his mind but disappeared. Don't be late. You need this job. Unemployed for a year, this was the most promising interview he had. The elevator doors closed, but he heard clip-clops like a racing horse at Belmont close to the elevator. Someone else was in a rush, but he wouldn't hold the door and be late. Let them get the next one, and he mashed the close button. The elevator doors almost touched when a hand blasted through.

           Todd's nose wrinkled, and upper lip rose as he backed up to let a woman enter.

           The first three buttons of the woman's white blouse were undone, and her black hair ruffled. "Made it." She said, and her cheeks flushed, gripping her tan leather pocketbook.

           Todd's eyes shot down to her exposed chest but made a quick recovery before she noticed. Was that blood on her chest? "You okay?"

           The elevator doors slammed, and the elevator hummed and rose.

           The woman's hands shook as she buttoned her blouse. Her chipped nails had specks of red in the cuticles. "There's a…" She said.

           Todd's eyes narrowed and got closer to the woman. Did she need help? What had happened to her? She looked like she had been through something terrible as her face contorted. "What did you say?"

           She struggled to press the lowest of the three buttons and shook her head as tears welled. "There's a...maniac downstairs."

           His eyebrows rose, and before he could say anything, the elevator shook with a jolt, and the lights snapped off. There was a loud bang outside, and the elevator shook. The woman screamed, and Todd groped in the darkness to find her, console her. But as he reached toward her, she cried louder. Something sharp dug into his cheek, and Todd recoiled as fiery pain raced through his face. The elevator dropped, and he stumbled, lost his stomach, and then the elevator lurched to a stop. His hands went to grip anything in the darkness.

           Todd's right hand went to his face, felt warm liquid, and thought it was blood. His left hand groped out to the woman. He heard her breathing heavy, and the breaths became labored.

"Take it easy," Todd said. Did she scratch him? It felt like a knife had dug into his skin. "Don't worry; the lights will come back on."

           The lights flickered and then snapped on. The escape hatch on the ceiling of the elevator opened, swinging back and forth like a pendulum. She had her hands pinned against the elevator wall with the pocketbook in her left hand. Her eyes were wide, and her breath was rapid. She looked like a trapped animal.

           He looked at the blood-caked that ran in the lines of his right hand and then watched the woman. "It's okay now." There was a dull throb in his cheek, and he winced when he touched the cut.

           Her head lowered and looked at her black boots that stopped right before her grey skirt. "Did I...cut you?" She met his eyes and looked away.

           "It was an accident," Todd said and clenched his fists. This wasn't fair, and he was so close to doing the interview. Why did this woman have to rush on the elevator? His hand dug into his suit pocket to get his cell phone to call Vericom and let them know he was stuck in an elevator, but it wasn't there. The company would understand, he hoped. He shook his head and wanted to get off this elevator.

           "Let's see if the elevator will move," Todd said, and his long arm reached over her shoulder and pressed forty-two. The light wouldn't come on. "Damn, we're stuck, and I'm going to miss my interview." He pushed all the buttons, but none of them would work. Veins throbbed in his neck, and he stepped back to the other side of the elevator.

           "It looks like we're stuck here." Her lips formed into a tight-lipped smile.

           What's so funny? "What happened downstairs?" Todd asked her.

           But before the woman spoke, the speaker on the ceiling of the elevator squelched, and Todd jumped. "This is the Police. We cut the power to all the elevators." Todd looked up at the speaker, and then the voice came back. "We're searching…" Todd leaned closer as the voice on the speaker faded and then returned. "For a fugitive. Please be patient."

           Todd massaged his temples. They weren't getting out of there until the Police questioned everyone in the building. Vericom told him the interview was down to him and another candidate. "We're not going anywhere." He turned his attention to the woman, and he saw her eyes wide, staring into space. "What happened downstairs?"

           The woman dug into her leather pocketbook and searched for something. Her eyes darted, and she grinned as her hand gripped something, released it, and took her hand out. Her attention returned to Todd and put her chest out. "A woman killed a man with a knife. She was crazy, and she turned on me. I struggled and escaped."

           Todd's eyes and mouth opened wide. "That's amazing. I hope they catch her."

           She shrugged, her eyes shifted up to the ceiling of the elevator, and there was an escape hatch. "Yeah."

           Todd tapped his feet and checked his watch. "Where are the Police? I got to get out of here."

           Her head shook from side to side. "All you care about is yourself." Her nose rose and wrinkled. "My husband cared about himself."

           Todd crossed his arms. "I'm one unemployment check away from being on the street. He didn't need a lecture. This job could change everything.

           He heard voices, and he rubbed his hands together as they approached them. "Good, they're coming. We can get out of here."

           There was a change in her demeanor. She stabbed a finger at him, and her eyebrows lowered. "You're not getting out of here." She ripped a knife out of her pocketbook, and it glinted when she twisted it in her fingers.

           Todd stepped back and knocked into the cold metal of the elevator. "What?" He said in a low, audible tone he barely recognized. His trembling hands were up, and his eyes were wide. He felt as if a hand broke through his rib cage and grabbed his heart. The woman the Police were looking for was standing with him all this time.

           She darted at him, leading with the knife. Her unblinking crazed eyes glared, and lips narrowed as she plunged the knife into his chest. Her breath was in big gulps, and she stabbed several times again.

           Todd screamed as his splayed fingers groped at her, and he collapsed on the floor. Fiery sensations raced through his body. The pain was excruciating as blood-drenched his shirt and seeped to the floor.

           He heard the footfalls race to the elevator. The woman jumped up on his shoulders like a cat, and her high heels dug into his skin. Then, a high heel drilled into his head, and he grimaced as she scaled up the elevator and through the escape hatch, disappearing into the blackness. He tried to speak to rescuers on the other side of the elevator but gurgled blood. His skin turned pale, and his eyes closed with his mouth agape.

           The firefighter and police officers opened the elevator with the elevator key, and they pushed it open. The cops rushed in with their guns drawn and slipped on the blood that spread on the floor. Police looked up through the escape hatch and said on the radio, "She's in the elevator shaft on the west side of the building." The firefighter walked over and felt Todd's pulse, and his eyelids drooped, and shook his head.

           "Get a body bag for this one." The cop said.

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