The Elevator

“Help! Can anyone hear me? We’re trapped!”

Josie screamed at the top of her lungs, but no one seemed to hear. They were in the back of the building, surrounded by concrete and likely sound proof walls. The emergency lights kept flickering, which gave Josie a headache. She continued to scream for help.

“Will you shut up?” Alex said, “Clearly, no one can hear you.”

Alex was sitting down, legs spread out on the floor. He pulled out his headphones, and plugged them into his iPod. He figured that the elevator would move eventually. Someone would realize that it was broken, and they would be out of here in an hour or less.

“Well at least I’m doing something,” she said, “You’re just sitting on your ass.”

“They’re going to fix it,” he said, “Don’t worry.”

“And what if they don’t? I don’t want to die in here.” she said, leaning against the wall.

“Can you calm down for a minute?” he asked.

“Ugh,” she groaned, “We need to find a way out of here.”

Josie looked around the small space, looking towards the ceiling. She saw a small door, which looked like an emergency exit. When she pushed on it, the tile fell onto the floor. She covered her head, then looked back up. The ceiling tile was covering up a metal door.

“Well shit,” he said, “You actually found a way out.”

She reached for the door handle and pushed up. It didn’t budge. Alex got off the floor and pushed as well, but it was still stuck.

“It’s locked,” he said, “Who the fuck locks an emergency door?”

“Try pulling the doors open.” she said, “Maybe we’re stopped on a floor, and we can just walk out.”

“I doubt that, but I’ll give it a try.” he said, gripping the ends of the doors.

Alex tried to pull them apart, but unfortunately, he wasn’t very strong. Neither was Josie, who joined in, trying to pull the door open. They both let go, letting out an exhausted sigh.

She leaned her head back in defeat, almost in tears, “We’re never getting out of here.”

“We’re going to be fine,” he said, “Just calm down.”

“Stop saying that we’re going to be fine,” she said, “Considering that this is all your fault.”

“How is this my fault?” he asked, “I can’t control the fucking elevator.”

“You made us come in here to get your stupid pot.” she said, “It’s your fault.”

“How was I supposed to know it was going to break?” he asked, “I’m mad about this, too, you know. I’m going to be late for my album release party.”

Josie remembered the party and started to panic even more. Her boss was going to not only fire her, but kill her, if the guest of honor didn’t show up. She would lose her internship and her future career.

“Fuck!” she shouted, “This isn’t happening.”

“It’s happening, and blaming me isn’t helping the situation.” he said.

They both started to calm down as they sat on the floor, trying to come up with a solution. Alex pulled out his phone, which was slowing dying.

“I don’t get it, why doesn’t my phone have a signal?” he asked, holding it up.

“Who knows,” she said, “The world is out to get me today.”

“Why are you always so negative?” he asked, “It’s like, something goes wrong, and suddenly the world stops.”

“It might as well, because if we don’t get out of here, I’m going to lose my internship.” she said.

“So? You’ll get another one,” he said, “No big deal.”

Josie looked at him, knowing that he didn’t know what it was like to have a real job. All he knew was singing, and fame. He didn’t know desk work, or idiot bosses. He didn’t know how hard it was to get an internship like this. She applied for countless positions, and this was the first that called her back.

“Fuck you.” she said.

“Well, intern, wouldn’t that be a great way to pass the time.” he smirked.

She looked at him in disgust, turning towards her watch. They had been in here for an hour, but it felt like an eternity. She prayed that someone would rescue them, or that Alex would stop acting like an asshole.

She knew that neither of those things were going to happen anytime soon.

"My name isn't intern," she said angrily, "It's Josie."

"Intern, Josie, chauffeur, what's the difference?" he said.

"The difference is, one is a respectable thing to call someone, and the other is rude." she said.

"Well, maybe I'm rude." he said, "But you're still a bitch."

Josie couldn't come up with words. She knew she was strong, but she never anticipated running into a monster. She needed to find a way out of here.