The Elevator . by V. S. Bohrer

The Elevator

It was a black, rain soaked, windy night, when the woman made her way through the revolving door to the lobby of the apartment building where her mother lived.  Recently widowed, her mother had decided to sell the country home and move to a senior housing complex that was closer to her family, doctor and church.

    

The  woman was loaded down with  shopping bags, as her mother had requested several needed items from local grocery and hardware stores.  The woman had hoped that the night clerk would would be available to help her with the cumbersome bags, but the lobby was empty.  A florescent light by the elevator flicked on and off, casting an eery glow to the area by the elevator entrance.  She thought of taking the stairs, but her mother lived on the seventh floor.   Instead, she said a silent prayer that the elevator was working as she entered the elevator and pushed the button for her mother's floor.

The door slowly closed, and the elevator moved downward for just a moment.  Then with a grinding of gears, it sprang upward.   The woman breathed a sigh of relief, and placed all of her parcels on the floor along with her purse.  Now she could relax and enjoy the solitude as the elevator lifted her to her destination.

When the slow elevator screeched to a halt at the fourth floor, the woman pushed the alarm bell. it didn't go off.  Instead the elevator lights went off and the woman was engulfed in total,silent darkness.   "Don't

panic!", the woman thought as she reached into her coat pocket for her cell phone.  With cell phone in hand, she tried to call the fire department for help.  Because of the ongoing storm,  and the howling wind, and the fact that she was stranded in a elevator that was pitch black, she was unable to get a signal.  "Don't 

Panic!",she thought.  Realizing that it was useless to try and yell for help.  She was stranded in a dark, sound proof box.

Quietly and slowly she sank down to sit on the floor.  Then she remembered that her cell phone had a flashlight app..    At last something worked!  She thought she'd play a game or two while she waited for the elevator lights to come back on..  Her cell phone cast an eery blue light as she became engrossed in her game of Bejeweled.  She didn't hear the scratchy flutter of wings or the squeaky cries of the bats in the elevator shaft. She looked up as the elevator door  started to open, then stopped.. All the woman saw were what seemed to be a hundred tiny red eyes slowly surrounding her .  She Screamed...............

The next morning, when the janitor opened the elevator door, he only saw some bags and a woman's purse scattered on the floor.  " Boy, some of these old folks can sure leave a mess!, he exclaimed as he viewed the littered floor.  "One of the ladies left her purse."

.