The elevator was over capacity, but the number of people just didn't add up. And I kept catching this faint, metallic whiff… like blood. Unless… unless there was someone else in here. Someone I couldn’t see. 01 My name is Alex. I pulled a late one at work today, didn’t head home until 8:30 PM. Normally, the elevators are pretty dead around this time. But tonight, it was packed. The doors hadn't even closed yet when the ding-ding-ding started up from the ceiling panel. I knew that sound – the overweight alarm. Instantly, we all just kind of looked at each other. Nobody wanted to be the one to step off. I glanced around at the other eight people. Everyone looked average size. Except for this one young woman clutching a leash, tucked in the corner, practically hugging her big dog close to her side. If I remembered right, she was the last one on. Ding-ding-ding— The noise wouldn't stop. The vibe in the elevator got tense. Nobody actually said anything, but all eyes drifted towards the woman with the dog. I was just about to squeeze past the older guy in front of me to get off when I saw her step out, pulling her dog with her. Her hair was super dark and long, almost like it was dyed black. When she looked down, it hid most of her face. The second she was off, the dinging stopped. The elevator started going up again. It reached my floor pretty quick, and I hurried out. Fumbling for my keys, ready to unlock my door. Suddenly, something hit me. That elevator’s weight limit is for 11 people. Back then, counting me, there were only nine of us. Even throwing in the large dog, we should have been well under the limit. Unless… unless there was another “passenger” we couldn’t see. Couldn’t see… who would that be? The hairs on my neck stood up. I whipped my head around, glancing back towards the elevator lobby. It was quiet. Too quiet. Two thoughts started battling it out in my head. Go back or don’t go back? The hand holding my keys was trembling slightly. I thought about it. Might as well. Better safe than sorry, right? Maybe it was like in the movies. Maybe there was someone invisible in there. Or maybe… a body. I walked back to the elevators and waited for one to come down. A few minutes later, the doors slid open slowly. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I swear I smelled that weird, coppery scent again. Blood. Seriously? Could there actually be a body in here?! I stepped inside, looking all around. It looked totally normal. The only place someone could hide… would be on top of the elevator car itself. But how would anyone even get up there? That bloody smell seemed to come from everywhere at once. I couldn’t pinpoint where a body might be hidden. I thought about calling the cops, but then figured, why borrow trouble? Best not to get involved. I quickly stepped out of the elevator and headed home. Weirdly, I thought I heard a faint whisper behind me. Sounded like a woman’s voice. Couldn't make out the words, but a chill ran straight down my spine. After that night, every time I got in an elevator, I couldn't help but scan the whole thing. But the next day, the bloody smell in that specific elevator was gone. So, to this day, I don’t know if it was all in my head, or if the body had been moved. Until a week later, when two cops knocked on my door. My stomach clenched. I opened the door and asked what was up. One of them asked, "October 27th, between 5:00 PM and 8:30 PM, were you home?" I thought back. That was the day I'd called in sick and slept literally all day. The next day was when I worked late and had that weird elevator thing happen. The memory of that night in the elevator flashed back. I couldn’t help asking, "Did… did someone die?" The two cops exchanged a look, their faces getting even more serious. 02 I told the police everything that happened that night, exactly as I remembered it, and took them to the elevator in question. It looked the same as it always did. I hadn’t smelled that weird bloody scent again since that one time. The officers checked the elevator thoroughly. I wanted to help look around, maybe find some clue. But one of the cops shot me a look. "Mr. Evans, could you step out here with me for a moment, please?" I followed him out. He started jotting things down in a small notebook while asking, "You said you were working late at the office. Can anyone verify that?" "Yeah, definitely," I said. "The security guard downstairs, old Mr. Henderson, he always leaves last. I said goodnight to him when I left." Besides, even if he wasn't there, there are security cameras by my workstation. The cop seemed suspicious of me. That made me even more curious because, judging by their reactions, it seemed like they had no idea there might have been a body in the elevator. And when I asked if someone died, they just gave me that look – they didn't deny it. So, who died? And why were the police talking to me? I rent this place. Theoretically, nobody in this whole building, maybe even the whole complex, should know me. I keep to myself, don't really hang out with anyone here. Were the cops really just doing routine questioning? "Okay, Mr. Evans. We'll verify what you've told us. And we'll look into the information you provided today as soon as possible. Have a good day." I nodded, watching the elevator doors slide shut. A few hours after the police left, I found out why they'd come. Someone really had died. And technically speaking, the victim was connected to me, sort of. His name was Mark Zhou. He worked at the same company, but in a different department, so we rarely saw each other. But that night, the night of the elevator incident, Mark had disappeared. His phone's last signal pinged at the company building. At that time, my apartment was the closest known location tied to anyone from the company, which is why the police suspected me. I had absolutely no idea Mark lived in the same apartment complex as me, with his parents. Just hours after the cops talked to me, Mark's parents were downstairs asking around for Alex Evans. I happened to be taking out the trash. When they asked me, I forced myself to stay calm and said I didn't know who that was. Because I saw Mark's dad was holding a kitchen knife, his eyes bloodshot red. I was terrified if I admitted who I was, he’d come at me right then and there. After dumping the trash, I stayed outside the complex for a long time before coming back. By then, the police had arrived and were taking Mark's parents away. Mark's dad was really losing it, just like I thought. It took several cops to wrestle the knife away from him. I stood watching from a distance with other residents. That's when I overheard some people whispering. "Can't blame 'em. If my son died like that, so brutally, I'd hunt down the killer myself, consequences be damned." "Tell me about it. Killing him and then leaving him in a place like that... how'd they even manage it?" I sidled closer and asked quietly, "How do you guys know all this?" The person who spoke looked surprised, maybe pleased to have drawn attention. The guy next to him chimed in, "Hey, you don't live in Building 2? You didn't see all the cops earlier?" I live in Building 2. I patted my chest, trying to act casual. "Oh, yeah, no, I was out when they showed up. Just got back." As soon as those people left, my phone rang. It was one of the cops who’d been to my apartment earlier. The number looked familiar – I’d just called it back not long ago for something work-related, ironically. The officer on the line asked me to come down to the station. I knew this was coming. Because when the police questioned me earlier, I hadn't told them the whole truth. I didn't just know Mark Zhou. We used to be pretty good friends. Not long ago, I'd borrowed a large sum of money from him. And after he disappeared, I was the first one to really notice something was wrong. That's why I'd been so paranoid lately. Because I suspected he hadn't just disappeared. I suspected he'd been murdered. And his body was hidden somewhere in this building. I'd seen it all in my dreams. 03 When a colleague you were once close to suddenly vanishes, normally, you'd be worried, right? But the moment I heard Mark was missing, I felt this huge weight lift off my shoulders. Mark Zhou was gone. Which meant that huge chunk of money… I didn’t have to pay it back. Obviously, that was something to be happy about. But the relief didn't last long. That thing happened. Not the elevator thing. The night before that. I had a dream. In the dream, I saw Mark, covered in blood, running towards me like a madman. He kept screaming for me to save him, but I was terrified. I turned and ran, scared he'd catch me. When I finally looked back, Mark was gone. A thick fog rolled in, swallowing everything. I got lost in it. But the dream wasn't over. In the fog, I heard Mark screaming in pain. Over and over, I saw him burst out of the mist. But every single time, he never truly escaped. Because right behind him, always, there was a dark shadow. From far away, the shadow looked like a woman with long hair, dressed all in black. The dream ended with a terrifying series of dog barks, and then I jolted awake. Snapping back to the present, I repeated, "Yeah. In my dream, I saw the entire process of Mark being murdered." Could something like that actually happen? At first, I didn't believe it. But ever since that dream, weird things started happening around me constantly. Like the elevator incident. And like that woman with the long black hair, walking her dog. It felt like everything was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't figure out what. The two officers sitting across from me exchanged glances. They clearly didn't buy my story. They got up and left, leaving me alone in the small, dimly lit room. A few minutes later, Mark's parents burst in. Before I could even register what was happening, a fist slammed into my face, knocking me to the floor. A dull ache exploded in my nose, and something warm and wet started pouring out. I clapped a hand to my face, looked down, and saw it was covered in blood. Then the cops rushed back in, pulling Mark's furious father off me and helping me up. Mark's dad screamed at me, "You heartless piece of trash! You'll get what's coming to you!" Before he could finish, the cops dragged him out the door. Maybe it was the sight of my own blood, but something snapped. I actually chased after them, yelling at Mark's dad through the doorway: "Are you crazy?! What does your son's death have to do with me?! Why are you doing this to me?!" Yes! I borrowed a lot of money I couldn't pay back, but I would never kill someone over it! Never! "You!" Mark's dad seemed choked with rage at my defiance. He paused, then roared, "Are you telling me you didn't see him that day?!" That day? Which day? One of the officers clarified, "The day before Mark Zhou disappeared." Ah, right. The day I had the dream. I shook my head. "No, I didn't see him." The officer continued, "We've already been to your company. You called in sick that day, but you didn't go home. You were seen near the entrance to Shadow Creek Mountain wearing hiking gear." "Around the same time, Mark Zhou received a call from an unknown number, then quickly requested leave and left the office." "During that time, his father called him. Mark said he had urgent business. We tracked his phone until he entered the same surveillance blind spot near the base of Shadow Creek Mountain." What the cop was saying felt… familiar. No, more than familiar. It felt like I’d lived it. Like I really had gone up the mountain, called Mark from a burner phone, lured him there. And then killed him. Cut him up. Carried the pieces away, and finally, dumped them on top of the elevator in my building. Just like the dream felt. Real. The officer's voice pulled me back sharply. "He went there to meet you, didn't he?" His voice was quiet, but I heard every word. "Because you were his only friend."
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