Someone Gets on the Elevator by Himself and Is Never Seen by His Friends or Family Again
1/1
Michael rushed to pack up his laptop and notebooks knowing he was late picking his partner up. His partner Sebastian had already started blowing up his phone, for the last hour the love of his life had been texting and calling him telling him to hurry up as they were going to be late for the Halloween party his Sebastian had spent weeks organising for a wealthy client.
Michael was the last to leave tonight, all his colleagues had already left for the night; each one having parties of their own to attend. Making sure he had everything Michael checked he’d switched his monitor off and double checked he’d locked his desk draws before heading for the door to his office. Lights buzzed and clicked as they all flashed back on causing Michael to rapidly blink as his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright lights of the office.
He continued to make his way through the office avoiding Halloween decorations his colleagues had put up around the room. Cardboard cut outs of different mythical creatures were placed around the open plan office; some had the fake webbing covering them whilst others had fake blood dripping down their clothes. Bats hung from the ceiling along with spiders and more fake webbing which caused half the worker to ninja out when they walked into the webbing. Rather than the usual sticky notes on the glass walls and doors the occupants of the office had huge stickers of different Halloween characters like mummies and witches stuck to them. Too many people had walked into the glass not realising it was there so the sticky notes had been randomly placed on the glass with writing telling people to not walk into the glass.
Michael managed to avoid any stray webs as he eventually made it to the elevators at the other end of the office. He pressed the button and silently waited for the elevator to ding when it got to his floor, as he waited he looked around the office, eyes catching different decorations that had been set out over the past week. It reminded him what he would be going home to knowing his partner loved this holiday.
Michael jumped when the ding of the elevator echo throughout the office, the massive metal doors rolled open exposing the moving containers mirrored insides. The metal containers innards proved to be brighter then the entire office as Michael had to shield his eyes with his free hand as he stepped inside. The doors rolled shut behind him, dinging once again. Michael pressed the ground floor button and took a step backwards waiting on the lift to descend.
Michael’s eyes focused on the red numbers above the door, watching them change with each level he descended. The elevator came to a stop then it reached the ground floor doors screeching open from disuse exposing a very dark and destroyed office.
The room was in disarray, desks were over turned, wires hanging from the ceiling like vines in a forest. Ceiling tiles had crumbled to dust covering every surface like snow. There was glass everywhere, sparkling within the moonlight like grains of salt during the winter, bundles of it spread around the doors and where the windows had been. The light breeze blew the blinds, forming Mexican waves around the room.
The silence unnerved Michael more then what the state of the room did. It looked like a bomb sight, and if he didn’t know any better he’d be thinking that his office was being used for a movie. The elevator he was still standing in looked exactly as it did before the doors opened.
He stepped out of the lift looking left and right, eyes lingering on the holes dug into the walls. The doors to the lift rolled shut behind him slamming loud enough to knock the air from his lungs as he flinched at the deafening sound. The doors looked old, worn covered in marks that could resemble claw marks but from what he couldn’t imagine.
The crunching of glass drew his attention from the lift doors to the rather empty office behind him, his eyes set on a shadow that suddenly merged with the never ending darkness. Ignoring it, Michael made his way across the room, heading straight for the double doors that lead out onto the street, trying his hardest not to make too much noise.
The outside world appeared just as ruined as the office had been. Cars overturned, cars on fire that was spreading to nearby buildings. Chunks had fallen from buildings like they’d been shot at with more than guns, there was no electric lights to be seen, the only source of light Michael could see was from the fire and the moon.
What was left of the street lamps still standing had started to rust, the glass casing for the bulbs had been smashed including the bulbs themselves. Sirens could be heard off in the distance, not like any sirens Michael had ever heard before.
A red glow caught his attention to his right, down the street there was something heading his way. It was then something pulled him back inside the building he’d just left. A hand covering his mouth stopped him from calling out until he was now hidden from the red glow.
The person responsible for dragging him back in side looked through the blinds before turning to face Michael and taking his arm before dragging him further into the building. Michael was stunned this person, this man was his Sebastian yet he didn’t seem to recognise him. He stood watching this other Sebastian close the door to the office they were hiding in and check the windows.
“What are you looking at? Why the hell were you out there at this time?” He sounded exactly like his partner yet he was different, he looked different. He looked like he’d been living on the streets for years, hair wild and unkempt, rags otherwise known as clothes riddled with holes and covered in dirt. “Well? Do you speak or not?”
Swallowing the lump in his throat Michael stepped back, his back just touching the wall enough for him to lean against. “What happened here Seb?” He asked, testing the water with this man who resembled his lover.
“How do you know my name?” The other Sebastian stared at him, analysing his every move, looking for any signs that Michael could be the enemy.
“Because I know you Sebastian or at least I know another you.” The man shook his head in disbelief as he started pacing.
“How is that possible? I’ve never even seen you before.” He stopped to really look at the stranger he’d pulled from the street. He really looked at this man, clean shaven, hair silky and shiny, beautifully tailored suit with not a single crease. The man was too clean to be living like people were having to live in this world, brought to the point of almost extinction, those still living made best of what they could underground.
“I don’t know, all I know is I was finishing work and took the elevator and when the doors opened I was here.” Michael looked up at Sebastian, his thoughts running a million miles as he tried to figure out how he somehow ended up in an alternative universe.
“That makes no sense those doors haven’t opened for years.” Sebastian sighed as he moved to lean against the opposing wall. He shook his head as he looked back to the man who claimed to have entered his world through those doors. “What’s the other me like?”
Michael smiled at the thought of his lover, he didn’t know what to even tell this man who was obviously very different to the man he was engaged to. “He’s different, he’s energetic, excitable, outgoing too. I’ve never met anyone like him before.”
The other Sebastian nodded seemingly understanding exactly what Michael was talking about. Maybe this Sebastian and Michael’s weren’t so different after all. Michael took the silence as the best opportunity to ask what had happened to the world. “What happened here? How did your world fall into ruin?”
“I don’t even know how it started; I just remember our world being taken over by these shadows. The military tried to destroy them, they almost destroyed us.” Sebastian looked at the nearby wall watching the light shimmer through the blinds; he fell silent watching the light return before continuing. “The shadows massacred every human they could find. There are few of us left; those who are still alive retreated below ground.”
“When did this all happen?” Michael asked gaining the other Sebastian’s attention.
“A year or two ago, I can’t really remember. It’s hard to tell what time of year it is now, the shadows changed everything.” Sebastian lowered himself so he was now sitting against the wall facing Michael. “What time of the year is it in your world?”
“Was your favourite holiday, the other you has spent the last two weeks planning the biggest Halloween party to date” Michael smiled once again at the thought of his lover. He caught the smile creep onto the others face, he still reminded Michael of his fiancé, there was something there that showed that this world hadn’t completely changed the man sitting opposite him.
“We’ll head back to the camp in the morning; hopefully someone there can help you get back to him.” Michael nodded, the smile still present on his lips, the mere thought of getting back to his Sebastian was enough to give him hope. “Get some sleep it’s a long time until morning.”
Back in the other world Sebastian stared down at his phone wondering where in the world his fiancé was. It wasn’t like Michael to ignore his phone, sure he stayed late at the office but he never once failed to reply to a single text.
Sebastian’s worry only grew as the days went on; there was no sign of Michael anywhere. Sebastian had called the police the very next day who hadn’t found any clues that lead to Michael’s whereabouts. As the days turned to months it became more apparent that Michael gone and wouldn’t be coming back. The police abandoned their search claiming Michael to be legally dead.
The day came where Sebastian had to face Michael’s family the day when they all knew they would never see him again. That was the day of his funeral. The sight of the coffin was enough to crack Sebastian up, there was no body how could they legally justify that his fiancé was really dead and not just missing? He kept telling people he didn’t believe it, that he would keep looking.
Michael was the last to leave tonight, all his colleagues had already left for the night; each one having parties of their own to attend. Making sure he had everything Michael checked he’d switched his monitor off and double checked he’d locked his desk draws before heading for the door to his office. Lights buzzed and clicked as they all flashed back on causing Michael to rapidly blink as his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright lights of the office.
He continued to make his way through the office avoiding Halloween decorations his colleagues had put up around the room. Cardboard cut outs of different mythical creatures were placed around the open plan office; some had the fake webbing covering them whilst others had fake blood dripping down their clothes. Bats hung from the ceiling along with spiders and more fake webbing which caused half the worker to ninja out when they walked into the webbing. Rather than the usual sticky notes on the glass walls and doors the occupants of the office had huge stickers of different Halloween characters like mummies and witches stuck to them. Too many people had walked into the glass not realising it was there so the sticky notes had been randomly placed on the glass with writing telling people to not walk into the glass.
Michael managed to avoid any stray webs as he eventually made it to the elevators at the other end of the office. He pressed the button and silently waited for the elevator to ding when it got to his floor, as he waited he looked around the office, eyes catching different decorations that had been set out over the past week. It reminded him what he would be going home to knowing his partner loved this holiday.
Michael jumped when the ding of the elevator echo throughout the office, the massive metal doors rolled open exposing the moving containers mirrored insides. The metal containers innards proved to be brighter then the entire office as Michael had to shield his eyes with his free hand as he stepped inside. The doors rolled shut behind him, dinging once again. Michael pressed the ground floor button and took a step backwards waiting on the lift to descend.
Michael’s eyes focused on the red numbers above the door, watching them change with each level he descended. The elevator came to a stop then it reached the ground floor doors screeching open from disuse exposing a very dark and destroyed office.
The room was in disarray, desks were over turned, wires hanging from the ceiling like vines in a forest. Ceiling tiles had crumbled to dust covering every surface like snow. There was glass everywhere, sparkling within the moonlight like grains of salt during the winter, bundles of it spread around the doors and where the windows had been. The light breeze blew the blinds, forming Mexican waves around the room.
The silence unnerved Michael more then what the state of the room did. It looked like a bomb sight, and if he didn’t know any better he’d be thinking that his office was being used for a movie. The elevator he was still standing in looked exactly as it did before the doors opened.
He stepped out of the lift looking left and right, eyes lingering on the holes dug into the walls. The doors to the lift rolled shut behind him slamming loud enough to knock the air from his lungs as he flinched at the deafening sound. The doors looked old, worn covered in marks that could resemble claw marks but from what he couldn’t imagine.
The crunching of glass drew his attention from the lift doors to the rather empty office behind him, his eyes set on a shadow that suddenly merged with the never ending darkness. Ignoring it, Michael made his way across the room, heading straight for the double doors that lead out onto the street, trying his hardest not to make too much noise.
The outside world appeared just as ruined as the office had been. Cars overturned, cars on fire that was spreading to nearby buildings. Chunks had fallen from buildings like they’d been shot at with more than guns, there was no electric lights to be seen, the only source of light Michael could see was from the fire and the moon.
What was left of the street lamps still standing had started to rust, the glass casing for the bulbs had been smashed including the bulbs themselves. Sirens could be heard off in the distance, not like any sirens Michael had ever heard before.
A red glow caught his attention to his right, down the street there was something heading his way. It was then something pulled him back inside the building he’d just left. A hand covering his mouth stopped him from calling out until he was now hidden from the red glow.
The person responsible for dragging him back in side looked through the blinds before turning to face Michael and taking his arm before dragging him further into the building. Michael was stunned this person, this man was his Sebastian yet he didn’t seem to recognise him. He stood watching this other Sebastian close the door to the office they were hiding in and check the windows.
“What are you looking at? Why the hell were you out there at this time?” He sounded exactly like his partner yet he was different, he looked different. He looked like he’d been living on the streets for years, hair wild and unkempt, rags otherwise known as clothes riddled with holes and covered in dirt. “Well? Do you speak or not?”
Swallowing the lump in his throat Michael stepped back, his back just touching the wall enough for him to lean against. “What happened here Seb?” He asked, testing the water with this man who resembled his lover.
“How do you know my name?” The other Sebastian stared at him, analysing his every move, looking for any signs that Michael could be the enemy.
“Because I know you Sebastian or at least I know another you.” The man shook his head in disbelief as he started pacing.
“How is that possible? I’ve never even seen you before.” He stopped to really look at the stranger he’d pulled from the street. He really looked at this man, clean shaven, hair silky and shiny, beautifully tailored suit with not a single crease. The man was too clean to be living like people were having to live in this world, brought to the point of almost extinction, those still living made best of what they could underground.
“I don’t know, all I know is I was finishing work and took the elevator and when the doors opened I was here.” Michael looked up at Sebastian, his thoughts running a million miles as he tried to figure out how he somehow ended up in an alternative universe.
“That makes no sense those doors haven’t opened for years.” Sebastian sighed as he moved to lean against the opposing wall. He shook his head as he looked back to the man who claimed to have entered his world through those doors. “What’s the other me like?”
Michael smiled at the thought of his lover, he didn’t know what to even tell this man who was obviously very different to the man he was engaged to. “He’s different, he’s energetic, excitable, outgoing too. I’ve never met anyone like him before.”
The other Sebastian nodded seemingly understanding exactly what Michael was talking about. Maybe this Sebastian and Michael’s weren’t so different after all. Michael took the silence as the best opportunity to ask what had happened to the world. “What happened here? How did your world fall into ruin?”
“I don’t even know how it started; I just remember our world being taken over by these shadows. The military tried to destroy them, they almost destroyed us.” Sebastian looked at the nearby wall watching the light shimmer through the blinds; he fell silent watching the light return before continuing. “The shadows massacred every human they could find. There are few of us left; those who are still alive retreated below ground.”
“When did this all happen?” Michael asked gaining the other Sebastian’s attention.
“A year or two ago, I can’t really remember. It’s hard to tell what time of year it is now, the shadows changed everything.” Sebastian lowered himself so he was now sitting against the wall facing Michael. “What time of the year is it in your world?”
“Was your favourite holiday, the other you has spent the last two weeks planning the biggest Halloween party to date” Michael smiled once again at the thought of his lover. He caught the smile creep onto the others face, he still reminded Michael of his fiancé, there was something there that showed that this world hadn’t completely changed the man sitting opposite him.
“We’ll head back to the camp in the morning; hopefully someone there can help you get back to him.” Michael nodded, the smile still present on his lips, the mere thought of getting back to his Sebastian was enough to give him hope. “Get some sleep it’s a long time until morning.”
Back in the other world Sebastian stared down at his phone wondering where in the world his fiancé was. It wasn’t like Michael to ignore his phone, sure he stayed late at the office but he never once failed to reply to a single text.
Sebastian’s worry only grew as the days went on; there was no sign of Michael anywhere. Sebastian had called the police the very next day who hadn’t found any clues that lead to Michael’s whereabouts. As the days turned to months it became more apparent that Michael gone and wouldn’t be coming back. The police abandoned their search claiming Michael to be legally dead.
The day came where Sebastian had to face Michael’s family the day when they all knew they would never see him again. That was the day of his funeral. The sight of the coffin was enough to crack Sebastian up, there was no body how could they legally justify that his fiancé was really dead and not just missing? He kept telling people he didn’t believe it, that he would keep looking.