By John Hughes
Steve stood in stunned silence as he watched the cat give a final twitch. He didn’t see it dash across the road. He wasn’t paying much attention, for he had been thinking about the trip he was planning. It was going to be one fantastic Labor Day weekend. He knew that he still had a couple of weeks to get through before it arrived, but he couldn’t help but daydream about camping out next to the river.
“I’m sorry.” Steve whispered as he grabbed the black limp tail, dragging it to the curb. Taking out his handkerchief, he wiped his face, trying to force down the bitter burning sensation in the back of his throat, he had never killed anything before. Steve took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves as he got back behind the wheel. He looked at the clock on the dashboard; it read 7:13 am. He had exactly 17 minutes to be at work, and it would take him at least another 30 to get there.
His boss would have a cow if he was late. Jake, his boss, counseled him last week about being tardy, stating that he was showing a pattern. It seemed that every Friday he would come in anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes late, and had put him on a final warning, stating that the next time it would result in disciplinary actions.
He pulled into the parking garage with 5 minutes to spare; amazed that he had made it in time. He had borrowed on many yellow lights, and even ran a few red ones, thankful that there hadn’t been any cops around.
Steve grabbed his briefcase and dashed to the elevator, noticing that the doors were standing open, as if whoever was inside knew he was running late.
Out of breath from the short run, Steve punches the button on the panel that marked his floor. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, not only from the run, but because he hated this elevator. The ancient contraption’s maximum capacity was four people, yet to Steve that was pushing its limits.
“Thanks for holding the elevator for me; you probably just saved my life.” Steve told the woman who had been staring at him.
“Was something chasing you?” She whispered.
“Not exactly,” Steve grinned. “My boss would probably fire me if I was late again.” He glances at his watch, realizing he had two minutes left to get clocked in before he was officially late.
He shifted his gaze to look at her. She was attractive, wearing a low-cut black dress and stockings. He had noticed them right away; she had been adjusting her garter as he had dashed inside. Her glistening black hair was shoulder length, styled where it covered one side of her face, leaving her with a mysterious, exotic look. Her cherry red lipstick, contrasted with the paleness of her skin. With all the black she was wearing, the red glistened brilliantly in the elevators dim light.
The elevator lurched to a stop, jarring Steve and the woman. The lights went out plunging them into darkness.
“Shit!” Steve exclaimed.
“I think you spoke too soon about me saving your life.” The woman spoke in a hoarse whisper.
He could almost see her teasingly licking her lips as she had whispered that one sentence.
“Sorry about the language, I just hate this elevator, it’s always breaking down.”
“Well, you know it’s Friday the 13th, so you have to expect some bad luck today.” Again, she whispered, as if afraid a louder noise would send them plunging back to the parking garage.
Steve was trying to control his panic, every creak and groan of the elevator echoed in the shaft making him feel like they were dangling over a yawning abyss.
Groping in the dark, trying to find the emergency button and telephone, Steve stops his search, as a strange scent wafted in front of his face. It was unpleasant, and strangely familiar, like he had smelled it recently.
“What the hell?” Steve exclaims, as he pulls his hand back from where he thought the control panel would have been.
“Excuse me?” the woman whispered.
“Something just sliced my hand! I think I’m bleeding.” Steve had taken his handkerchief out and was pressing it to the back of his hand. It was burning something fierce. To make matters worse, his handkerchief was still damp from earlier that morning, the salty sweat causing even more discomfort as it mingled with his blood, causing the wound to sting.
The smell was even stronger now, he realized he could identify it, and that terrified him. The cat that he had run over this morning smelled like that. He must have gotten some of it’s urine on his hand. He soon realized that the musk was coming from the woman; he could hear her moving around, as if she was stalking him.
Steve, sensing movement, backed into the corner of the elevator, just as something slammed into the spot where he had been. He could hear her breathing, right in front of him. It was more of a hiss of air, escaping from her lungs. He was slammed against the wall, feeling his feet leave the floor.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you to watch out for black cats crossing your path?” Her voice had grown huskier, full of menace. “Especially on Friday the 13th.”
Steve’s screams echoed up and down the shaft, startling the two people waiting on the elevator in the parking garage.
Having arrived just as the elevator doors closed, John cursed his luck at missing it. His co-worker Tina walked up just as the screaming started.
“John, did you see how many people were in there?” Tina asked after calling building security.
“I’m not sure; I know there was at least one man in there. Tell them they might get some medics too, he sounds like he’s tearing the elevator apart.”
They could hear banging noises and hysterical screams coming from the closed doors. John could sympathize with the person or people in there, for he was claustrophobic, and probably would be doing the same or worse if he was trapped in there. Now he was glad he would be late for work, otherwise he would have been trapped inside as well.
“We have help on the way!” Tina screamed into the crack of the doors.
The screaming stopped after that. John and Tina looked at one another in amazement, at first thinking they had both suddenly gone deaf.
“Hurry up boys!” a gruff voice came from the stairwell entrance. The building manager was a burly sort of guy. He was followed by a couple of the maintenance workers and some medics.
“Hurry up and get this thing open, there are people trapped inside.” The manager barked at the others. “I thought you said they were screaming in there?”
“They were, but right before you came, they stopped, and everything got quiet.” Tina explained.
“That’s the way to fix things fast!” The manager said with pride as the elevator started moving back towards the parking garage.
“Sir, we haven’t started working on it yet.” One of the workmen advised as he walked around the corner, just as the elevator stopped on their level.
Quick as lighting, something black and shinny streaked out the doors as they were just starting to open.
“Poor thing must have been scared to death, trapped in there with all the noise.” Tina exclaims noticing the cat darting behind the wheel of one of the parked cars nearby. Tina could see its bright green eyes glowing like fire as it looked back at her.
Turning back to scold whoever had been in the elevator frightening the cat that way, Tina screams and faints, as the doors finally come to a complete rest, revealing a scene out of a nightmare.
The entire elevator was coated in bright crimson, congealing and cooling into a dull brown. The man in the elevator looked as if he had swallowed a bomb, for his chest and stomach were gone, splattered around the chamber. His intestines were still oozing from what was left of his body, a lung sliding down the back wall. Bits of him were even dripping from the ceiling, making a dull thud on the soaked carpet.
The cat, watching everything from the safety under the car, purred. Turning to leave the underground parking garage, the cat was intent on finding another victim for Friday the 13th.
Steve stood in stunned silence as he watched the cat give a final twitch. He didn’t see it dash across the road. He wasn’t paying much attention, for he had been thinking about the trip he was planning. It was going to be one fantastic Labor Day weekend. He knew that he still had a couple of weeks to get through before it arrived, but he couldn’t help but daydream about camping out next to the river.
“I’m sorry.” Steve whispered as he grabbed the black limp tail, dragging it to the curb. Taking out his handkerchief, he wiped his face, trying to force down the bitter burning sensation in the back of his throat, he had never killed anything before. Steve took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves as he got back behind the wheel. He looked at the clock on the dashboard; it read 7:13 am. He had exactly 17 minutes to be at work, and it would take him at least another 30 to get there.
His boss would have a cow if he was late. Jake, his boss, counseled him last week about being tardy, stating that he was showing a pattern. It seemed that every Friday he would come in anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes late, and had put him on a final warning, stating that the next time it would result in disciplinary actions.
He pulled into the parking garage with 5 minutes to spare; amazed that he had made it in time. He had borrowed on many yellow lights, and even ran a few red ones, thankful that there hadn’t been any cops around.
Steve grabbed his briefcase and dashed to the elevator, noticing that the doors were standing open, as if whoever was inside knew he was running late.
Out of breath from the short run, Steve punches the button on the panel that marked his floor. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, not only from the run, but because he hated this elevator. The ancient contraption’s maximum capacity was four people, yet to Steve that was pushing its limits.
“Thanks for holding the elevator for me; you probably just saved my life.” Steve told the woman who had been staring at him.
“Was something chasing you?” She whispered.
“Not exactly,” Steve grinned. “My boss would probably fire me if I was late again.” He glances at his watch, realizing he had two minutes left to get clocked in before he was officially late.
He shifted his gaze to look at her. She was attractive, wearing a low-cut black dress and stockings. He had noticed them right away; she had been adjusting her garter as he had dashed inside. Her glistening black hair was shoulder length, styled where it covered one side of her face, leaving her with a mysterious, exotic look. Her cherry red lipstick, contrasted with the paleness of her skin. With all the black she was wearing, the red glistened brilliantly in the elevators dim light.
The elevator lurched to a stop, jarring Steve and the woman. The lights went out plunging them into darkness.
“Shit!” Steve exclaimed.
“I think you spoke too soon about me saving your life.” The woman spoke in a hoarse whisper.
He could almost see her teasingly licking her lips as she had whispered that one sentence.
“Sorry about the language, I just hate this elevator, it’s always breaking down.”
“Well, you know it’s Friday the 13th, so you have to expect some bad luck today.” Again, she whispered, as if afraid a louder noise would send them plunging back to the parking garage.
Steve was trying to control his panic, every creak and groan of the elevator echoed in the shaft making him feel like they were dangling over a yawning abyss.
Groping in the dark, trying to find the emergency button and telephone, Steve stops his search, as a strange scent wafted in front of his face. It was unpleasant, and strangely familiar, like he had smelled it recently.
“What the hell?” Steve exclaims, as he pulls his hand back from where he thought the control panel would have been.
“Excuse me?” the woman whispered.
“Something just sliced my hand! I think I’m bleeding.” Steve had taken his handkerchief out and was pressing it to the back of his hand. It was burning something fierce. To make matters worse, his handkerchief was still damp from earlier that morning, the salty sweat causing even more discomfort as it mingled with his blood, causing the wound to sting.
The smell was even stronger now, he realized he could identify it, and that terrified him. The cat that he had run over this morning smelled like that. He must have gotten some of it’s urine on his hand. He soon realized that the musk was coming from the woman; he could hear her moving around, as if she was stalking him.
Steve, sensing movement, backed into the corner of the elevator, just as something slammed into the spot where he had been. He could hear her breathing, right in front of him. It was more of a hiss of air, escaping from her lungs. He was slammed against the wall, feeling his feet leave the floor.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you to watch out for black cats crossing your path?” Her voice had grown huskier, full of menace. “Especially on Friday the 13th.”
Steve’s screams echoed up and down the shaft, startling the two people waiting on the elevator in the parking garage.
Having arrived just as the elevator doors closed, John cursed his luck at missing it. His co-worker Tina walked up just as the screaming started.
“John, did you see how many people were in there?” Tina asked after calling building security.
“I’m not sure; I know there was at least one man in there. Tell them they might get some medics too, he sounds like he’s tearing the elevator apart.”
They could hear banging noises and hysterical screams coming from the closed doors. John could sympathize with the person or people in there, for he was claustrophobic, and probably would be doing the same or worse if he was trapped in there. Now he was glad he would be late for work, otherwise he would have been trapped inside as well.
“We have help on the way!” Tina screamed into the crack of the doors.
The screaming stopped after that. John and Tina looked at one another in amazement, at first thinking they had both suddenly gone deaf.
“Hurry up boys!” a gruff voice came from the stairwell entrance. The building manager was a burly sort of guy. He was followed by a couple of the maintenance workers and some medics.
“Hurry up and get this thing open, there are people trapped inside.” The manager barked at the others. “I thought you said they were screaming in there?”
“They were, but right before you came, they stopped, and everything got quiet.” Tina explained.
“That’s the way to fix things fast!” The manager said with pride as the elevator started moving back towards the parking garage.
“Sir, we haven’t started working on it yet.” One of the workmen advised as he walked around the corner, just as the elevator stopped on their level.
Quick as lighting, something black and shinny streaked out the doors as they were just starting to open.
“Poor thing must have been scared to death, trapped in there with all the noise.” Tina exclaims noticing the cat darting behind the wheel of one of the parked cars nearby. Tina could see its bright green eyes glowing like fire as it looked back at her.
Turning back to scold whoever had been in the elevator frightening the cat that way, Tina screams and faints, as the doors finally come to a complete rest, revealing a scene out of a nightmare.
The entire elevator was coated in bright crimson, congealing and cooling into a dull brown. The man in the elevator looked as if he had swallowed a bomb, for his chest and stomach were gone, splattered around the chamber. His intestines were still oozing from what was left of his body, a lung sliding down the back wall. Bits of him were even dripping from the ceiling, making a dull thud on the soaked carpet.
The cat, watching everything from the safety under the car, purred. Turning to leave the underground parking garage, the cat was intent on finding another victim for Friday the 13th.
3 comments:
Wow, this is quite impressive. lookin 4ward to see more quality stuff :D
hi john, i really like your site. i'm new to this and have some questions, if you go to ktmae blog you can see how i've started and leave a comment on how to get a hold of you that would be great.
thanks.
I always said NEVER LEAVE HOME ON FRIDAY THE 13th and you just drove that home.Great story!
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