[ WP ] Short story that takes place in a single elevator ride .

*Ding. * 
 
 The mirrored steel doors slid open. Inside the elevator stood two men. The man in the far corner was thin, probably middle-aged with thinning hair and sunken shoulders. He wore a brown suit and carried a matching leather briefcase. He looked down at his feet and glanced at me for only a moment before hiding behind his thick-framed glasses. 
 
 To his left a younger man in a plain blue t-shirt and jeans leaned against the wall. He was tall, with dark longish hair. Athletic and olive-skinned, he had brutish features. He started apathetically upward, at nothing in particuar. 
 
 I stepped in the elevator and stood in the center of the car. I nodded at the man in the corner and he weakly nodded back. The young man looked at me down over his square jaw and made a gesture with minimal effort. I pressed the button for 17 and turned around, facing forward. 
 
 The doors stood closed. I looked at my reflection, the younger man still visible behind me due to his height and the breadth of his shoulders. The older man had shrunken into his corner. I dwarfed him but then the young man dwarfed me. 
 
 As I looked forward, minding my own business, I heard a deep voice from behind me. `` You should do it.'' I looked over my shoulder. The young man was still looking up. 
 
 `` Excuse me?'' 
 
 He looked at me. `` I did n't say anything, man.'' 
 
 I faced forward again. The man in the corner was still looking down, his briefcase held in both hands against his thighs. Another voice, higher, said `` It's not worth the risk.'' 
 
 I looked over my shoulder. His eyes met mine for a moment. Was I hearing things? 
 
 Above the door, the number 4 lit up. I started at the numbers for an eternity. 
 
 `` What's the worst that can happen?'' The younger man had circled around to my right and was looking at the numbers now. He did n't look at me. His mouth did n't move at all. I closed my eyes and held my hand to my forehead. I have n't been sleeping much lately. I've had too much on my mind. What could I do? I've been working the same dead end job forever. Was n't it time for a change? I've got ideas, and they're good. They're better than anything *my* boss has come up with. 
 
 The other voice spoke up. `` You've got plenty to lose.'' I looked up. Seven lit up. Would I never get there? I needed to get out of this cramped space. My office upstairs was not great, but it was *mine. * It was familiar. It was comfortable. I had a steady wage. Retirement fund, good benefits. 
 
 `` But it's not enough, is it?'' The young man was looking at me now, with half a smile on his face. He had really spoken to me this time, I was sure of it. Marie wanted more. A bigger house, kids, a better life... and she deserved it. 
 
 From the corner, the other voice spoke up. `` Or she could wind up with nothing.'' He was looking up at me, still shrunken into his corner but addressing me, engaging me. 
 
 `` What are you doing?'' I asked. 
 
 ``... helping.'' He replied. The young man spoke up at my side. `` How many promotions have you been passed up for? How many ideas of yours have been shot down? Do n't you deserve a little more respect?'' 
 
 I looked up. *Six? * 
 
 Again, from the corner `` Do n't rock the boat.'' 
 From my left `` You're dead in the water!'' 
 
 The man in the corner took long strides forward, standing to my right. 
 
 `` Let the water take him where it will! It's better than drowning!'' 
 His shout surprised me. I took a step back, but they were still on either side of me, close, breathing down my neck. The smaller, older man had become somehow taller. The young man shrunk back, looking visibly shaken. 
 
 The older man laid a hand on my shoulder. He spoke to me gently. `` Just let it be.'' 
 
 I shrugged his hand off and looked again at the numbers above the door. 21? Had we gone past? Why did n't he doors open? I hit 17 again. 
 
 The young man spoke up. `` You're not ready to go there yet. You have to decide. You have to *do it. *'' 
 
 I walked closer to the door, staring straight forward. The men stood behind me, one over each shoulder, looking into me in the mirrored doors. `` Do it!'' said the young man. `` Keep steady!'' said the older man. They kept repeating these phrases over and over again. I shuddered, the heat from them making me sweat. I could n't breathe. I looked at the numbers again. They were bluffy, fuzzy. I closed my eyes. 
 
 `` SHUT UP! GO AWAY! I WILL FIGURE THIS OUT MYSELF!'' 
 
 *Ding. * 
 
 The doors opened. As I stepped out onto the carpet I looked over my shoulder. I felt a cool breeze as I watched the sliding doors close on an empty elevator. I walked through the office toward the boss' door. 
 
 `` What can I do for you Steve? I'm a busy man.'' 
 
 `` Charlie,'' I said, `` I've made a decision.''
