Skyrise Nightmare

A young mother and child take a horrifying ride.

Damion pushed the elevator button and soon he and his mother, Tasha, were whisked upward to the 27^th floor.  Damion, who had turned two a month ago, watched as the numbers above the elevator door lit up as they passed each floor.  He felt like he was going into space.

Tasha held her son in her arms.  She could see herself in the elevator door.  She was a young woman, only 19 years old.  She caught herself staring at the necklace she wore around her neck.  The heart charm that dangled on it seemed to glint traces of her past, when things were better than they are now.  She would’ve been lost in the moment, if only the elevator hadn’t of dinged as they approached their floor.

The doors swung open and they left the elevator.  Greeted by a quiet and eerily comfortable hallway, they walked down the hallway to their destination, room 316.  Tasha knocked on the door and it soon opened as Mrs. Collins, their social worker, greeted them warmly.

Mrs. Collins had been their caseworker for the past year.  She was very nice and loved her job.  She gave nothing but praise to Tasha on how well she was doing with her case.  She was proving herself a fit mother.  The meetings would soon stop being so frequent, from once a week to twice a month.

After they had exchanged words, Mrs. Collins escorted the Hispanic mother and child to the elevator.  Damion pushed the button for the elevator.  It was probably the only thing he enjoyed about the trip.  The elevator dinged as the doors opened and a handful of people exited, leaving it vacant for the two to enter quietly.  Damion reached for the first floor button and pushed it.

Just as soon as the doors were about to close, a shout came from the hallway, “Wait!  Hold the door!”  Tasha held her arm out, stopping the elevator doors from closing.  Damion watched in amazement as the doors stopped and opened back up.

Another young girl entered the elevator, catching her breath.  “Thank you.  I really don’t feel like going down the stairs today,” she said as the doors closed again.  Tasha saw the badge on the girl’s shirt.  It read, “Sarah.”

It didn’t take long for Tasha to realize who it was.  “Sarah?  Sarah Tyler?” she asked, eyeing her cautiously.

“Oh my God!  Tasha!” she exclaimed and they gave each other a hug.  “Girl, what’s been going on?  I haven’t seen you in a couple of years.”

Tasha smiled slightly and took her baby’s hand.  “Nothing much, really.  I had my kid.”  Damion slowly retreated behind his mother.

“Aww, he looks so cute,” she said as the elevator dinged again and it opened at the 22^nd floor.

“How many times have I already told you to quit being an annoy brat?” Mr. Lenox scowled at his teenage son.  “I’ve tried being nice about it, but now I just can’t deal with you.”

“Dad, come on!  You can’t be serious about taking me to a daycare.  I’m sixteen, for crying out loud!” Jason exclaimed as they made their way into the elevator.  “What’s next, you gonna put a diaper on me and make me suck on a bottle?”

Mr. Lenox blushed, slightly embarrassed by his sons antics in front of strangers.  “I apologize for my son’s behavior,” he spoke softly.  Turning back to his son, he ended the argument.

Tasha watched, slightly disgusted by their behavior, praying that her child never turns out like that.  Damion, too, thought to himself on the situation, hoping that his mother never gets that mad at him when he’s older.

The elevator stopped once again at the 20^th floor.  An elderly woman stepped inside and looked at the passengers.  Turning to Tasha and Damion, she smiled slightly, “Oh, your brother is very cute.”

“He’s not my brother, ma’am,” she replied as Damion retreated behind her once more.  “He’s my son.”

“Your son?!” she jumped back, surprised and offended.  “That’s your son?  Why, you’re just a kid yourself!”  Very disgruntled, she leaned back against the elevator wall as she mumbled on about how children never brought up children and that they should be married.

Tasha tried to ignore it, but Damion made her smile as he view his opinion, sticking his tongue out at her.  ”Damion,” she whispered in his ear, “be nice.”

18^th floor and one more joined the ranks.  Dr. Johnson, a man in his mid 30s entered the elevator and assessed the group.  Looking to the Lenox’s, he pointed to them.  “Abusive father and juvenile delinquent; probably due to lack of communication between the two.”  Turning to Tasha and Damion, he shook his head.  “Let me guess, your mother didn’t love you enough.”

Taking offense, Tasha held her son in her arms and snapped back, “For your information, she loves me very much.”  Instinctively, she reached for her necklace and stroked the heart charm with her index finger.

“I bet she was married to your father too,” Mrs. Onry barked as she crossed her arms.

The elevator shuddered, sending everyone to their knees.  The lights flickered and soon died.  Sarah screamed loudly while the others slowly got back up.  Mr. Lenox helped the old woman up and Jason helped up Tasha and Damion to their feet.  Tasha helped Sarah up and calmed her down.

“What just happened?” Dr Johnson asked.  Before anyone answered, the light fixture above them all came apart and fell on top of him, crushing him and eventually killing him.

Sarah screamed louder now and began to hyperventilate.  Jason laughed as he watched the blood flow down the wall.  “That was cool!” he shouted as he pointed.

“Shut up, Jason,” his father said, pulling him away from the dead body.  “What happened?”

“Looks like the elevator stopped,” Tasha replied.  An obvious answer, but she had nothing else better to offer.  She held her son close to her, clenching the necklace tighter in her hand.

Mrs. Onry took one look around and scowled at Tasha.  “It’s your fault!  You brought this down on us, sinner!”

Mr. Lenox barked, “Lady, shut up.”  Jason stepped back slightly as the elevator soon tumbled downward again, sending everyone to their feet once more. 

A loose power cable fell down and caught Mrs. Onry in the chest, sending hundreds of volts into her body.  Smoke began pouring out of her ears before she finally died.  Sarah went into convulsions and soon collapsed, suffocating and was next to go.

All that was left was  Tasha, her son, and the Lenox’s.  Mr. Lenox reached for the elevator emergency call button.  “Hi, is there anyone out there?  We’re trapped in the elevator and need help!”

The speaker sparked and caught Mr. Lenox in the eye, blinding him.  He stumbled over Mrs. Onry’s body and soon fell victim to her same death from electrocution.

Jason screamed, “Dad!  No!”  He ran to help his fallen father, but found himself dangling on the edge of a hole that formed below him.  Losing his grip, he fell down five stories and broke his neck.

Strangely, the elevator opened back up at the fifth floor and both Tasha and Damion exited, running for their life to the stairs.  Once they finally reached the bottom, they were greeted by several emergency units that arrived on the scene. It was one of the scariest moments of their lives.

Author's Note

I wrote this story in a creative writing class a long time ago when i was still in high school it is not my best work but i still liked the story.