So, I guess I’ll start with saying that I wasn’t the best student. My parents were pretty patient with me until my senior year. I was barely passing. I was lucky to get the occasional C. By my surprise, and frankly my parents, I ended up graduating. Though as soon as I was no longer a high school student, my parents immediately put pressure on me to get a job. Instead, I foolishly decided to give community college a try. After 3 three years I dropped out and moved back in with my parents. This time I had to no choice. They demanded help with bills rightfully so. I was now 21. I had to get a job.
~
At first, I made accounts on all of the job offering apps that I possibly could. Everything I could find was either a job that I was completely unqualified for, or a job I just couldn’t handle working at. I searched for weeks, and I even applied for a few. Though I’ll admit, by the end of it all, I sort of wanted a boring desk job. Mindless work to pass the time and getting paid for it sounded right up my alley. So, I started looking for exactly that. A normal, boring office job.
One day when I was scrolling through social media, I came across a link. It was a corporate company that seemed to be advertising positions in their workplace. Curious, I clicked on it. It was everything I was looking for. A small cubicle with a computer typing in data. I should’ve known it was too good to be true, but I went ahead and applied anyways. Within 45 minutes, I received an email offering an interview the next day at the office. Strangely, at the end of the email it read: “If you arrive on time and dressed appropriately, the job is already yours.” Now I know that should’ve been a warning sign, but I was over the moon.
The next day I told my parents the news. Their ecstatic faces made me feel more confident than ever. I showered, did my hair, dressed in my best suit, and put on my best pair of dress shoes. I asked my parents for their opinion and their smiling faces and warm embraces said everything I needed to know. I felt good. Better than good actually, I felt great. I gave my mother one last kiss and headed out the door. The entire drive there, all I could think about was how I was about to nail the perfect job. Most of all, bring in some money for the first time ever.
As I approached the building, it looked pretty typical. It was almost a high rise, but not quite. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, but I shrugged it off as it being an off day for the workers, and only managers or higher ups were working. Although, it was only 5:45 in the morning, so maybe everyone else was still waking up and getting ready. So I thought. I could not have been more wrong.
I walked through the big glass doors into a lobby with floral wallpapering and vintage tile. It was startling and beautiful at the same time. It felt like I was taken back in time as soon my foot entered the building. While in awe, I knew I had to hurry as my interview was at 6. There was no lady sitting at the front desk. There was only a check in list. I simply signed my name and made my way to one of the four elevator. I tapped the up button and waited excitingly.
The doors opened to an empty elevator with floral accents on the walls. I had never seen an elevator like it, and honestly thought it was a little cool. I examined the floor buttons and saw there was only 6. The building from the outside looked much, much bigger. Maybe 10 to 12 floors at the very least. My interview was on the 6th floor though, so I wasn’t too worried about it. I pressed where I needed to go and watched the old elevator doors shut. I listened to the creak that indicates the elevator is starting to move and all I could do was smile. Until I felt the shaft stiffen and the elevator stop.
FLOOR 1
I swear on my life, my own mother’s life, that I pressed that 6th floor button 30 times when I saw I was stuck on floor one. My biggest worry at the time was being late, and an outdated elevator breaking down was just what I needed at the time. After repeatedly trying to get the elevator to close and take me where I need to go, I decided I would find the stairs and make my way up through there.
The first thing I noticed was the first floor had a completely different aesthetic. The walls were a pale yellow, and the floor made of shiny white linoleum. The entire floor has a light but distinct smell of something rotten. Not constant, but it came and went frequently. There was no desk, and only two doors at the end of an unsettling long narrow hallway. Thinking one of them had to be the stairs, I just randomly picked one. I decided to go through the left door first.
It was a huge room. I’m talking big enough to be a living room in an upper-class home. But, it had no wallpaper. It was completely decorated in mirrors. Every single wall. No furniture, nothing. I gave it a quick glance until I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was a girl. A young girl. She had her head in her hands and appeared to crying. Until she lifted her head. Not only was just smiling, she was laughing without any facial movements. She just smiled.
I’ve never been one to believe in that kind of thing. The paranormal or whatever you want to call it. So I bet you could guess what I did next. I ran the HELL out of there and bolted into the room just adjacent to it. My heart was beating so fast that it took me a minute to realize it was another elevator. I had never seen an elevator inside of a room, but I was scared beyond belief and wanted out of there. Now.
In my panic, I again hit the sixth button. I was sure I could still make it. The slight feel of relief I felt when the elevator started moving quickly faded as the doors opened onto the second floor.
FLOOR 2
I clenched my teeth in frustration. If Im honest, terror as well. I slowly stepped out of the elevator and started examining my surroundings. This room was different. It was just one big open lobby with a little blue door all the way to the right. I didn’t want to. I promise you I didn’t. But, I had to.
I walked past the deteriorating blue wallpaper and set my shaking hand on the doorknob. I slowly walked in. The room was again empty and vacant. Except one lonely window. I thought I saw my parent’s car, so I decided to take a look because I needed some support right now.
Then a faint lullaby started to play. Something my mother sung to me until I was 10. Even when I begged her too stop. I listened for a moment, and then it was gone. Instead, it was replaced by a blood curdling scream. Thinking something happened while when they were trying to park, I decided to look because it sounded like my mother was in pain.
It was indeed my parent’s car, but instead of them being outside the building, I was watching the car accident that killed my sister 15 years ago. Seeing her in that car happy and smiling, and then watching her getting taken away again shook me to my core. But what got me the most, was it was replaying over and over. And that scream was from my mother. The wails of losing a child.
Wanting to see literally anything else, I quickly spun around to leave. I was greeted by another open elevator. On the back written blood was,
“TIME TO GO UP. UP. UP. UP.”
I ran into the elevator, hit the sixth button and knew what was about to come. Well, I thought I did. I looked up, and saw the girl smiling in the faint reflection. That’s when I realized I had absolutely no idea what was about to happen.
FLOOR 3
I bit my nails waiting for the door to open. All I wanted to do was leave. But every elevator was in a different space, and I could only go up one floor at a time. I waited for the inevitable. Then, the doors finally opened. I swallowed hard and began to observe the floor ahead of me.
Everything was an unsettling green color. There was an office desk and one chair. It reminded me of an abandoned doctor’s office. I almost missed the door, because that too was also the same weird green. I just wanted to get this over with.
As I entered the room, I immediately noticed a noise. It was a scratching kind of sound. Like mice in the walls, or someone scraping the wall with their nails. The rotten stench I smelled earlier was now stronger and more persistent, but only in this room. All four walls had black mold somewhere on them. I involuntarily gagged as I started to observe the room.
Suddenly, I hear a knock at from the door behind me. There was a tiny peep hole through the door so, I took a look. Optimistic it was a person coming to finally help me, I peeped through the tiny hole. It was the girl, the same one with that insane smile. She was bloody, and her eyes were gone. There were only hollow sockets where they should have been. I spun around and put my back against the door. As I tried to catch my breath, I realized the once ugly green colored walls were now stained with blood. A lot of blood. My shoes sloshed around in the puddles of blood beneath me. Even if that girl was out there, I had to leave.
I swung open the door, and there it was. The once ugly green wall across the small corridor had turned into an elevator. I stepped in and pressed where I needed to go. I held my breath as I heard the elevator shaft creaking and shifting upwards.
FLOOR 4
I was much less hesitant this time. When the doors opened, I immediately stepped out without a second thought. This floor was the tiniest one I had been too yet. As soon as you stepped out of the elevator, the door was right in front of me. There wasn’t a big open room with wallpaper or flooring, just a door.
I slowly reached for the doorknob and walked inside. Instantly, I was back at my grandmothers funeral. My entire family seated, staring straight ahead and not saying a word. There was no crying or stories about how wonderful she was. Nothing. They just stared straight ahead. My grandmothers open casket was in the front. It was almost identical to her actual funeral, the funeral I missed. Everyone was being completely still and silent.
I started to walk up to my grandmother’s casket. As I passed each row, the people that were seated seemed to break their neck to watch me. By the time I reached her casket, the entire room was staring at me, and they were all smiling with their heads turned 360 degrees. Their eyes felt like daggers, and I couldn’t help but to feel they wanted to hurt me. They looked like my family, but I knew they weren’t. The funeral happened 8 years ago.
When finally looked down at my grandmother, she too was smiling. Her eyes were wide open, but she never blinked. Then all of a sudden she raised her right arm with her pointed her finger upwards. She never lost that creepy smile. I turned around to run out of the room, but everyone and everything was gone. All that stood in front of me was an elevator. It was already open.
I stepped inside.
FLOOR 5
I rushed out of the elevator as soon as the door opened. I knew I had to play whatever game was happening to me. I needed to get it over with. But this time, I stepped out and into my living room. The scratching sound I had heard earlier was ear piercing now.
My mother sat on the couch I had just seen earlier in the day. She was crying hysterically. As I got closer I realized this was the moment she found out my sister had passed away. One thing was different though. She was scratching our wooden coffee table. Hard. I watched as fingernails flew off of her fingers. After the tenth nail, and spun her head 180 degrees. She smiled that awful smile. Then she spoke.
”It should have been you. Do you like seeing your sister bloody? Do you like that she can no longer see? Why wasn’t it you?”
Finally, it dawned on me. This place is taking every traumatic event I’ve had and replaying it but making it intolerable and misconstrued. Over and over again. The thought was fleeting and I just wanted the next elevator as soon as possible.
Blood soaked the couch, the rug, my mother’s clothes, and the coffee table. When I wiped my tears, blood soaked my hand. I slowly backed up and got ready to run. When I turned around, my living room was gone. I was now in the lobby again, except now there was no front door.
I walked up the receptionist desk. It was still empty. I looked down at the sign in paper. I clenched my teeth and felt the stream of tears run down my face as I read the sign in sheet. The only name on there was mine with one tally mark. It read:
”10 tally marks. Promotion on sixth floor.”
I’ve been here for two weeks, and I still only have one mark. If my parents see this, just know that I tried.