The second the elevator doors closed, I received a text message: [Be careful. There is a murderer in the elevator.] I was staring at the other five people in the elevator, stunned. After a sudden, terrifying plunge. The elevator broke down. 01 The girl standing near the door lost her patience first. She smashed the emergency button a few times. When nothing happened, she started frantically pounding on the elevator doors. The little kid next to her was terrified by her actions and burst into tears, burying his face into the chest of his curly-haired grandmother. To my left was a man in a business suit. He originally wore black-rimmed glasses, but the violent jolt of the elevator’s sudden drop had sent them flying. In the chaos, someone had stepped on them, crushing them to pieces. To my right was a guy who looked like a college student. He wore a black canvas backpack and stood on the left side of the elevator, knees bent and back hunched, cowering in the corner without daring to move an inch. I slowly stood up from the floor. I remembered the digital display showing the 30th floor right before the lights flickered twice. And then we were in a freefall. It was faster than a drop-tower ride at a theme park. No one had time to react. The impact of the sudden stop threw us all to the floor. The main lights in the elevator were dead. Only a tiny emergency light in the back corner cast a pale, weak glow over us. 02 "Do any of you have cell service? Hurry up and call 911." The college kid was the first to speak up as he gathered his bearings. The others quickly remembered to pull out their phones to call for help. But me? I was staring at the last text message on my phone. Lost in thought. [Be careful. There is a murderer in the elevator.] Just a few simple words, enough to make anyone’s blood run cold. The message came from an unknown number the exact second I stepped into the elevator. But right now, none of us had any signal. I couldn't reply to ask what it meant. I quietly swiped the message away. I stood in the furthest corner. Silently observing everything. 03 There were six people in the elevator. The trendy, fashionable girl was named Ashley. She was a live-streamer. The little boy was Toby, about four years old. The woman with him was his grandmother, Martha. The guy in the suit lived on the 32nd floor. He was a mid-level manager at a corporate firm, and everyone called him Rick. The guy next to me was a college freshman. He lived on the same floor as Rick. His name was Kevin. And me? I just moved into this apartment building. I lived on the top floor. I had seen them around before. But we weren't close. Right now. I stared at them, my mind wandering. Is there really a killer in here? But I didn't have time to dwell on that. We needed to get out first. "I don't have any service. What about you guys?" The others silently looked at their screens, their expressions unreadable. But I knew. They had received that text message, too. 04 "What the hell is this? A murderer?" Ashley said impatiently, "Is this some kind of hidden-camera prank show? This is so lame." She started pacing around the small space, looking high and low. "Let me find the hidden cameras." Rick's glasses were broken, so he had to hold his phone inches from his face. His squinting eyes suddenly focused. A flash of pure terror crossed his face: "Are one of you a murderer???" The older woman sitting on the floor rolled her eyes at him. "I slaughtered a fish this morning to make stew. I'm a fish murderer, not a people murderer." The others had similar reactions. They assumed it was a sick prank. No one took it seriously. "Do you guys have a signal?" Kevin asked, turning his phone on and off repeatedly. "I don't." "Me neither." "The emergency button isn't working either. What the hell is going on?" "I don't know. The HOA sent an alert in the building app this morning saying the security camera wiring burned out. They said they were fixing the cameras, not the elevators." "So... the cameras in here are dead too." Ashley looked up at the camera dome in the ceiling. "Could there really be a killer?" ... Everyone started talking over each other, the small space echoing with noise. Kevin, growing impatient, walked over to the elevator doors, trying to pry them open with his bare hands. Just as he managed to pry a tiny crack open, I quickly stopped him. "Stop! Do you know what floor we're on? You can't just force the doors open!" "What if we're between the 9th and 10th floors? You pry that open and you'll fall straight down the shaft." Hearing me, he stopped what he was doing. I was right. During the freefall, the digital display flickered and died. We had no idea what floor we were actually stuck on. This apartment building had 35 residential floors above ground and 3 levels of underground parking. Regardless of where we were, forcing the doors open was a death wish. "The safest thing to do right now is stay put," Rick said, understanding my point. "Let's just wait. When other residents realize the elevator is broken, they'll call 911." Ashley shifted over to the elevator doors. She took off one of her high heels and started banging the pointed heel against the metal door, over and over. The sound of metal clashing travels far. I pressed my ear against the door and listened for a long time. "The speed of sound is 340 meters per second. Listen to the echo—it sounds hollow." "We're at least seven or eight floors above the ground." Kevin clearly didn't believe me, his face screaming: Are you for real? I ignored him. "Don't believe me? Try opening the doors and stepping out, then." He pressed his lips together and went quiet. By this time, the little boy had stopped crying. The elevator had dropped so fast that his lollipop had flown out of his hand and landed on the floor. He wiped his runny nose. He crouched down to pick up the lollipop. But suddenly, he pointed at a dark puddle behind Kevin and giggled. "Hehehe, Grandma, look! Ice cream. The ice cream melted into water." 05 Everyone followed his finger. Kevin was leaning against the elevator wall. The black backpack on his shoulders... Drop by drop, a dark red liquid was seeping out of it. The dark red liquid slid down the elevator wall and pooled into a red puddle on the floor. At the same time. A metallic, metallic stench silently crept through the enclosed space. The smell mixed with Ashley's heavy perfume. It made my stomach churn. The atmosphere turned incredibly eerie. Ashley gasped. Everyone stared at the dark red puddle, a collective, terrifying silence falling over us. In that moment, the text message flashed in my mind again: [There is a murderer in the elevator.] Martha quickly pulled Toby close to her. I silently took a step back. Rick held his briefcase up like a shield. "Holy shit, what's in your bag? Why is there so much blood?" 06 The elevator was dead silent. Everyone was waiting for Kevin’s answer. The red liquid pouring from his bag, combined with the heavy stench of blood... It was hard not to let our imaginations run wild. Kevin frantically waved his hands. "No, no, no! You misunderstand! I bought steak, it's in my bag. I got trapped in here before I could put it in the fridge. It's been too long, it thawed, so the blood water leaked out." Ashley lowered her high heel. "Really?" But Rick was still on high alert. "I don't believe you. Open it and show us." Ashley scoffed. "You're so paranoid. Who hides a body in a backpack? Besides, what could fit in there? A severed head?" As soon as she said it. She seemed to realize how horrifying her own words were. The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. Her voice trailed off completely. She shrank back, standing closer to Rick. "Y-Yeah... I think Rick is right. Open it... let's see." "It... it wouldn't actually be a head, right...?" She took a sharp breath after her last sentence. 07 "Why should I show you?" To our surprise, Kevin flatly refused. "I have personal items in my bag. You're invading my privacy." His refusal caught everyone off guard. If it really was just thawed steak. Why wouldn't he show us? He stood in the corner, hiding the backpack behind him. "I'm not a murderer anyway. This is ridiculous. Do you guys actually believe that text message? It's obviously a scam. Didn't you see the web link at the end of it? Phishing texts always do that. You click the link, and they drain your bank account." Kevin wasn't wrong. At the end of that short, ten-word message, there was indeed a string of characters that looked like a URL. But no one could click the link right now. Because there was absolutely zero signal in the elevator. Hearing Kevin’s explanation, the group relaxed their guard just a fraction. But my eyes never left his black backpack. I was too curious about what was inside. 08 The elevator had been broken for over two hours. There was zero movement from the outside. It felt like no one had even noticed we were trapped in here. Even though Kevin’s explanation sounded plausible, everyone was still wary of him. Because he stubbornly refused to let us see what was in his bag. Martha squeezed closer to me with Toby in her arms. The burly, broad-shouldered Rick felt like the safest person to be near. Rick swallowed hard, clutching his black briefcase against his chest. I quietly pulled the keys out of my purse. It was the only thing I had to defend myself. The elevator was dead silent. Only the sound of the little kid sucking on his lollipop could be heard. Right then, the emergency light flickered twice. After the third flicker. Pop. The light died completely. The elevator, suspended in mid-air. Plunged into pitch-black, suffocating darkness. 09 In the dark, fear multiplies. An adrenaline spike sent my heart racing, and my body began to tremble slightly. The warning text and the puddle of blood. It pushed everyone's emotions to the absolute limit. Even the slightest rustle would make us scream. When the only light in the elevator died. Ashley instinctively lunged toward Rick for safety. The sudden darkness made everyone forget they had flashlights on their phones. 10 I don't know how much time passed until someone finally remembered their phone's flashlight. A blinding beam cut through the dark. Ashley turned on her light. Rick stood up, following the beam of light. "Damn property management. They collect so much money every year, and the elevator's been broken for two hours without anyone coming to fix it." He got on his tiptoes and smacked the emergency light a few times. After a few good thwacks, the light miraculously flickered back to life. "This light probably won't last long. We need to get out of here fast." Once my eyes readjusted to the light, I rubbed them. That was when I felt a heavy weight pressing against my leg. I turned my head and saw Toby's grandmother leaning against me. She was slumped against my leg, sitting on the floor, perfectly still. Toby was in her arms, happily chewing on his lollipop. I shifted my leg slightly, and she collapsed flat onto the floor. Looking closer. There was a massive pool of blood spreading from beneath her. 11 Toby's grandmother was dead. Right here in the elevator. Her carotid artery had been cleanly sliced open. She died right next to me. It was unimaginable. Just a few minutes ago, she was talking to me. And now, she was dead. She died without making a sound. Her features were twisted, her eyes unfocused, staring wide open in dull, lifeless terror. But she was right next to me the whole time. How could she not have fought back at all? I was paralyzed with shock, my mind going completely blank. Toby clearly didn't understand what was happening. Once I snapped out of it, I quickly pulled him into my arms. Ashley had collapsed onto the floor in sheer terror. Rick, keeping his cool, took off his jacket and draped it over Martha's body. Kevin stood frozen in place, trembling violently. When the emergency light had gone out. He was the closest to Toby's grandmother. He was shaking from head to toe, beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. "It... it... it wasn't me." "It... it was her own fault. She tried to grab my bag." "It wasn't me, I didn't mean to. I just pushed her away. It wasn't me." He frantically waved his hands, desperately denying it. 12 "You did it on purpose! You killed her! You were right next to her!" Rick roared at him. His eyes were bloodshot, like a rabid beast. "I said it wasn't me! Don't you fucking frame me!" Rick, fueled by adrenaline and rage, punched Kevin in the head. Kevin's lip instantly swelled up. "You're a fucking psychopath! I saw you arguing with her down in the courtyard this morning. I never thought you'd actually use this chaos to murder her!" "Grab his bag! Quick! The murder weapon is definitely in his bag. We'll be heroes when we get out of here! We caught a murderer barehanded in an elevator!" Ashley snapped out of her daze and quickly assisted. While Kevin was dazed from the punch, she snatched his black backpack. The scrawny Kevin was no match for the burly Rick. He was quickly pinned to the ground. "Search his bag. The weapon is in there." "I... I'm too scared to open it." Ashley kicked the backpack over to me. "You... you open it." I looked at the blood-soaked backpack. Fighting back my nausea. I slowly unzipped the peeling zipper. The moment it opened, a putrid stench hit my face. Disgusted, I grabbed the bottom of the bag and dumped everything out onto the floor. But when it all spilled out. Everyone froze. The dark, mangled mass wasn't a steak, and it wasn't a knife. It was a black cat that had been gutted and mutilated. The dismembered cat had originally been stuffed into a plastic bag. But the turbulence of the falling elevator had caused it to tumble out. The bloody water from the bag had soaked through the entire backpack. This was what Kevin was hiding from us. He had a sick fetish for torturing and killing animals. And he didn't want anyone to find out.
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