[ WP ] There are 6 people on an elevator . It suddenly shuts down and a voice from the speaker said : The elevator will only function if there is only one left alive .

Twenty four hours after the voice sounded through the intercom, the six of us were convinced that it wasn ’ t a joke. Tired and hungry, with fingers red and blistered from trying to pry the doors open, I sat down in the corner and listened to the bickering between Ted and Henry. 
 
 The latter tried to convince us that he was a doctor, but since Margret sat down, clenching her throat as her pulse sped up to the point of us being able to see it jumping up and down in the soft spot of her neck, he changed the subject anytime we looked to him for help. 
 
 “ Selling cannabis doesn ’ t make you a doctor, Henry. Nor does it make you a pharmacist, in case you want to jump on the I-Misspoke train. ” 
 
 “ Oh, can you shut up about it already? ” Henry responded, sitting down next to me, and dragging down on my coat. “ So, I ’ m not a doctor. ” He shrugged. “ Sorry for trying some self-preservation. ” 
 
 I pulled the corner of my coat out from under him, and wrapped my hands around my knees, setting my chin in the gap between them. Margret ’ s face went pale, and her lips turned a light shade of purple that made her look something between dead and frozen. The thought of her dying came as a guilty relief to me. I hated myself for thinking it, but couldn ’ t chase the thought away. 
 
 The medication she needed wasn ’ t with her, and thus far, we had no way of getting her any. If five had to remain, Margret certainly wasn ’ t one of them. And if she could just get it over and done with, the rest of us could get out. Though, I didn ’ t believe that entirely. 
 
 Ted snorted, and looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. I had gone up there about ten hours ago, and as soon as I touched the ladder, the elevator shifted up, and the voice came back, warning me to get down before he made the whole thing plummet down. 
 
 “ S-someone will come, ” Margret ’ s weak and frightened voice sounded. 
 
 *No, they won ’ t. * I looked up, and met Hannah ’ s gaze, who had her hand wrapped around Margret ’ s shoulders. The empty stare she sent my way let me know that she thought the same. 
 
 “ Maybe we just have to vote on who remains, ” a new voice sounded. All heads turned to the light-haired teenage girl who had yet to say anything in all the time that we ’ d been here. 
 
 Ted sent a glance down to Henry, and looked up at the speaker. “ Is that it? Do we just have to choose? I vote Henry. Who agrees? ” 
 
 I lifted my hand, avoiding Henry ’ s gaze that I felt fall upon me at the shift of his head. Hannah raised Margret ’ s hand, and then her own. 
 
 Some other hands came up, all eyes facing downward into their laps to avoid catching Henry ’ s eye. Ted was the only one who looked at him, and straight in the eye, with a gleeful grin. 
 
 “ What? NO! ” Henry stood up, dusting off his pants. “ Why me? She ’ s got one leg in the grave! ” He pointed at Margret. “ Raise your hands for Margret! Who ’ s with me? ” 
 
 Hannah clicked her tongue. “ She needs help! ” 
 
 “ We all do, ” he boomed, his face turning red. 
 
 * “ Is that your final choice? ” * the speaker sounded. 
 
 “ Yes, ” we said in awkward unison. 
 
 The elevator doors opened, revealing a small gap for us to climb through. Henry approached it and was held back by Ted ’ s hand which he shook off, and attempted to push past the lot of us. 
 
 Hannah and I picked Margret up by her knees, and lifted her toward the gap. The others attempted to subdue Henry, who screamed and kicked. I heard someone puff out air, and turned back to see Henry double up, and coughing. 
 
 We pushed Margret ’ s leg through, and heard a gasp come out the other end. 
 
 “ What is it? ” I asked. 
 
 “ I think I liked it better inside, ” Margret replied in a shaky voice. 
 
 Hannah linked her fingers, and motioned me to stand atop them with a flick of her eyebrow. I stepped on, and pulled myself through the gap, feeling hands on my thighs as the other ’ s helped push me up. 
 
 My eyes widened as I reached the top. “ *Five come up. Four come out, * ” a big white poster read. Red ink dripped down from every letter. Dust clung to the floors, and weds hung from every corner. A ladder lay broken and on its side, and the windows covered in old newspapers. The room looked abandoned. An old office building that never saw completion, perhaps. 
 
 “ He was just here, ” I whispered, talking mostly to myself. My stomach turned over with nausea, and my body vibrated with a whirl of missed sleep. I wasn ’ t surprised by the turn of events. We should all have known that it wouldn ’ t just stop with a choice in the elevator. 
 
 The gasping sound of a struggled came from behind me. Four people had emerged, but Henry was only half through. His hands slipped, and were caught by Hannah and Alfred, a middle aged man with a scar above his left eye, who started to pull him out. I saw him swing back in a kick, and heard a muffled “ Ow, ” sound from the elevator. 
 
 “ Oh my God! ” Hannah exclaimed seeing the sign, a glint of tears filling her eyes. 
 
 When Ted ’ s feet touched the ground, I saw a brief grasp of Henry ’ s fingers before the door closed and the elevator hummed away. 
 
 ***** 
 
 More stories here, /r/AlinaKG
