How to Go to Another World by Using the Elevator [Oneshot]
Title: How to Go to Another World by Using the Elevator
Paring: Taoris
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Doing things out of boredom can have serious consequences
a/n: originally posted on AFF please excuse any mistakes i make with format as i'm not used to posting here
link to elevator ritua
"Teacher, teacher! Please tell me the elevator story again!"
"Not right now Tao. Teacher is very busy."
"Please?" Tao pouted in a cute way.
"Fine...but this is the last time I'll ever tell you, okay? I really don't want to tell it again."
"Alright teacher, I know it must be very hard for you to tell that story."
The teacher began her story, "It all started eight years ago, when my little sister disappeared at my father's work..."
---
I stretched and rubbed my wary eyes. I had been working for more then ten hours but the work was still barely even half way don I knew I shouldn't have taken that vacation to the mountains. Who would know that the two weeks I'm out of work I get slammed with the most wor I stood up and stretched. The office building was clear of people and I could still smell the fresh paint. The company had just moved into a new office building. Well it wasn't exactly new, it was rather old, but it had been redone, and the company moved right in. The only thing that gave away the fact it was such an old building was the rickety old elevator
The thought of the elevator brings the story my nanny used to tell me when I was a little boy to my mind. It was about how her little sister had disappeared one day at her father's work building, only to have her bloody corpse show up in the elevator four months later. I had always been intrigued by that tale, and one day I asked her what she thought happened to her little sister. All she told me was, "She did the elevator ritual."
Once I got a little older I researched the 'elevator ritual' on the internet, and luckily found the ritual, in which it can take you to a different world if done correctly. I had always been too afraid to do it, and never saw an opportunity since it had to be done by yourself, and there was a very slim chance I could successfully do it without anyone else getting into the elevator while I perform it.
But I'm all alone in the building now. The clock on the computer screen flashes 1:18 am, and it's a holiday. Not even a security guard is in the building. Trying to find an excuse for a break, I decide to live out the childish desire and preform the elevator ritual. As I walk down the empty hallways, passing each office with the unusual glass walls, I finally reach Kris's office. I find it unusual, the object of my unrequited affection comes to work everyday, even on holidays. But today the glass door with the silver knob lacks even a fingerprint, and the black chair lacks any bottom imprint. I shrug, maybe he was sick today.
Finally I reach the elevator and press the down button, being on the eighth floor. The chrome doors open with a sweep and I step inside. I take a deep breath, already feeling the stupidity of the current situation, but it has helped clear my mind. So I press the fourth floor button. The elevator travels down to the fourth floor like normal, and opens up to the dark, empty halls. I press the second floor button and the elevator travels down. Then the sixth floor, second floor again, and finally the tenth. The doors open up to the dark tenth floor and I take a deep breath before pressing the fifth floor button, a woman is suppose to get on at that floor and I'm quite nervous as to what will be lurking in the dark halls
After a couple of seconds of battling in my head, I press the fifth floor button. The elevator travels down, beeping every time it passes a floor, I feel like I'm being lowered in the depths of hell as the elevator finally stops at the fifth floor, and the doors open with a sweep
The light from the elevator illuminates a young woman standing there.
I back into a corner of the elevator in fear as she gets into the elevator. She in no way resembles a monster or witch. Her black hair is tied into a tight bun, and she's wearing a white blouse, black suit jacket and pencil skirt. She looks exactly like someone who would be working at this building. The woman simply stands there, not saying a thing, or even passing a glance to me, and I almost think for a second she may be an employee of the company occupying the fifth floor who is in my current situation, except that she has been given the luck of finally finishing her work and is now returning home. I press the first floor button and she doesn't flinch, probably because that is her destination. But as the doors to the elevator shut I then notice she holds no briefcase, and her outfit lacks even one pocke Where's all her stuff
Suddenly the elevator jerks upward and the lights inside begin to flash, but yet the woman doesn't even bat an eyelash, and the horrible fear has suddenly settled in my stomach as the ritual once again appears in my hea The elevator will take you up to the tenth floor instead of the first
Inside my head I battle between pounding the eighth floor's button and running out of the elevator before it's too late, but yet I don't want to considering how far I am already, and the fact that this might never happen again. Before I have time to settle on a option, the elevator dings and the sign reads '10'
I close my eyes and take deep breaths, not knowing what the hell will be on the other side of those doors. The doors finally open and sunlight shines through. It's daytime, and this isn't the tenth floor, it's the eight. I step out onto the white marble flooring and hear the woman press another button. I look back and she's smiling at me. Her smile appears warm, but something flashes in her eyes that will never leave my mind until the day I die. As the doors are just about to close completely, the woman appears to explode, morphing into a horrible monster made of human entrails before she finally disappears and the door shuts
I take a deep breath and look around the floor, slowly walking around until I heard the taps of someone typing on the compute Someone is here.... emained silent, fearing who could be typing and turned a corner, a majority of the offices with their glass walls were visible now, and that's when I saw him
Kris was working on his computer like any other normal day, his blonde hair was neatly brushed, and he wore a white collared shirt. He was beautiful. "Kris?" I whispered.
He looked up from his computer and saw me through the multiple glass walls despite how quiet my voice was, "Hello Tao." he smiled
"H-Hi Kris." I slowly walked towards him as he got up from his chair and exited his office. "What are you doing here?"
"Working of course, like every other day." He was standing in front of me and I could smell the cologne off of him. "What brings you here today?"
"Work I guess...like every other day." I answered, trying to wrap my head around the situation
Kris nodded, "Yeah, work is good. I'm just finished everything I need to do today, how about we go out?"
I was caught off guard by his words as I gazed out the window. It was empty, everything was empty. The streets had parked cars, but nobody walked around, the stores were dark and closed. I glanced around the office building, looking at all the empty offices that once contained my friendly coworkers. Now all that was left of them was my memories and a desk and computer
"Sure Kris, let me just get something from my office."
Kris nodded and I walked down to my office, still being able to seem him through the glass walls. My heart was beating fas That isn't the real Kris. That isn't the real Kris. That isn't the real Kris. You're in some different world and the real Kris is probably asleep in his bed or somethin But nonetheless I still couldn't calm my heart from exploding through my chest. I had liked Kris for a long time, however we never passed the boundary of being coworkers. Now here I was, about to go out into this new world with him. Just the two of us. Forever just the two of us. Or at least I hoped
I reached my office and opened the large glass door. My office was clean as usual, and looked exactly the same ask when I left. The only difference was there was no large stack of unfinished work with a note from the receptionist saying, 'Boss wanted me to give this to you. It's the work from when you left.' I was almost disappointed, I really missed everyone. I sighed and walked out of my office, there was nothing to retrieve from it, I just really wanted to see what had changed
I returned to Kris and we walked down the hall into the elevator, in which I almost fainted at the sight of it once more. But nothing had changed in the elevator, it was the same old elevator I had taken so many times before. It lurched downwards and we reached the first floor without a problem. My shoes clicked against the cold marble floors, nobody was around. No security guards, no receptionist, no vendors. I was starting to get scared, especially of Kris
I walked next to Kris, following him, wherever he wanted to go. We walked down the streets in silence. He simply looked forward and kept walking, not even giving me a glance. He had a small smile on his face. "So Kris..." I tried to calm my nerves, "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere."
I continued to walk next him. Kris's hands were stuffed inside the pockets of his black suit pants, and his pace gradually got faster. Soon I found myself chasing after him like a lost puppy. "Kris wait up! You're walking too fast."
Kris slowed his pace and I began to walk side by side with him once more, "Sorry. I didn't know I was walking that fast." he shrugged
"It's okay." I smiled. We were passing many empty shops and restaurants that usually catered to the come and go of business people on busy weekdays. "At least give me a hint of where we're going?"
"Nope. That would ruin the surprise."
I slowed my pace slightly as fear began to consume me from inside. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go home so badly. But then something occurred to me. I didn't know how to get home
Kris glanced at my fear stricken face and made a small smile before grabbing my hand and intertwining his fingers with mine. His hands were warm and I realized this was the first time I had ever made physical contact with him. I calmed down, and we continued to walk straight ahead, our steps in perfect synchronization. If I could stay like that forever, it would be fine with me.
"Don't worry." Kris smiled, "We're almost there."
I looked around, perhaps for something awful. But all I saw were the usual shops, restaurants and a park kids at the nearby elementary school liked to play at after school. Kris turned in and reached the park. He pulled me down and we sat down on a bench. "I like it here."
I tensed up a bit as he grabbed my hand once more. I looked up into his perfect eyes, were they the same eyes I had admired from a far all those years? No. There was something very different in those brown eyes. "Are you real?" I boldly asked
Kris turned to me, looking surprised. "Of course I'm real, Tao. What kind of stupid question is that?"
I was still scared, but I needed to get to the bottom of this. "No, you're not real." His hand grew very cold and I tried to pull away but his grip tightened. "Kris..."
"It's not nice to ask such rude questions. Perhaps you just need a vacation from all the work." He replied calmly, staring straight ahead
"But if you're real...if this world is real. Then where are all the people?" I tried to say in a whisper.
"What other people? There have never been other people here. Don't be silly."
"I think you're being silly, Kris! I don't like this one bit...I...I just want to go home." I felt like I was on the brink of tears. Kris simply turned to me, made a faint smile and cupped my chin. His face moved closer to mine until our lips finally made contact. His soft lips were warm against mine, and my heart felt like it was about to explode out of my chest. After all those years of chasing after Kris, he was finally kissing me, and it felt so real. Like there was nothing scary or fake about it at all
"I love you, Tao." Kris whispered into my ear
"I-I love you too." I muttered, the words getting stuck in my throat
Suddenly a horrible scream rang through out my ears and into my hea Help me! Help me! Oh please someone help me! This isn't what I like at all! Get me out of here, oh someone please help m An image flashed through my eyes of a girl, bleeding from the ears, the words were muffled, like something was lodged into her throat
I pushed Kris away from me with a large shove and ran out of the park. "Tao! Tao! Where are you going?! Don't you dare wander anywhere without me...you know what they say..." Kris's words disappeared as I ran farther away.
Home...the elevator...I need to get to the elevator...maybe then I can get home. I ran through the streets, past the dark empty restaurants and in the dark windows I saw images flash by of people walking down the sidewalk, they're images being reflected in the dark surface. They turned to me all at once and I noticed they had no faces...just spirals
"You know Tao...it's not nice to run from your lover." I looked behind me, Kris was there, he was barely moving his feet but yet he was getting closer and closer. His beautiful face bore a horrible smile, that was ripped and bloody from the edge of his mouth to his ears. His beautiful brown eyes contained not even a hint of a soul, and to top it off he was holding a meat cleaver. A fucking meat cleaver
That was the last straw, I broke into a run that should've had made me the fastest runner back in high school. I felt him approaching, I was only five blocks away from the office building now. I was running faster and faster, my feet pounding potholes into the asphalt. Three blocks. Kris was close enough to reach out and touch the hair on my neck.
The young girl's voice ran through my head again, and I saw her reflection in the buildings. She was running, her knees were bloody from what I guess were from falling down so many times. She was constantly looking back and I realized she was in the exact same situation I was in. She was being chased
I turned around and felt Kris's warm breath running down my neck. "C'mon Tao, don't be stubborn now."
I ran faster, as fast as I humanly possible. One block...
I grabbed the door of the office building and swung it open. My feet clicking on the clean marble floors, but as if planned I slipped and felt the cold marble met my face. Kris loomed over me, the bloody smile large on his face. He dropped the knife and kneeled next to me. I was so tired from running, I could barely even murmur a word
Kris's warm hands cupped my red cheeks, and the bloody slit smile appeared to be as happy as a mother looking at her child for the first time. "Tao..." he whispered. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you."
And for once, I really believed him
Kris's face leaned in his cold lips brushed against the my top lip, making me lean in for more. His full lips planted themselves on mine once more, and his warm tongue slipped into my mouth. Our tongues played with each other, our faces touching. The warm blood from Kris's face smeared onto mine, making me snap back into reality. I pushed him away violently.
"No! Stop!" I yelled at him, standing up and wiping the blood away fro my face. "You're not real, and I will not be swayed by your actions!"
He slowly got up and began to approach me slowly, his eyes were dark. "Tao. I'm sorry, I really am."
Kris suddenly appeared in front of me. His fingers wrapped around my neck, his fingernails turned into claws and began to dig into the skin of my throat
"L-L-Let me go!" I squirmed, but his grip was inhuman, and I feared the end when I felt the small stream of warm blood drip from my neck
My vision blurred as I felt the last of my life be drained from me, I tried to find something nice to look at. Kris's face, though cut from ear to mouth, still had beautiful eyes, no matter how soulless they were. I looked up into his eyes...they were different from any of the eyes I had seen on him before.
They were my eyes
Kris spoke, his voice came out muffled, as if a female and male voice morphed into one. "It is almost complete...once I'm done with you, the elevator will close up until the cycle repeats itself. Like an unraveling spiral. As soon as I'm finished with you the final signal will ding, and nobody will be getting in or out."
I let out once last kick, and one last struggle, but it was no use at all. I closed my eyes hoping for the best. Suddenly, I felt Kris's grip loosen, and I fell to the floor in a heap
I was alive, and I had no time to check why Kris had let me go, all I heard was a scream and the pounding of his footsteps against the marble floors as I heard him scream, "Go away! I got rid of you long ago! Why the hell are you still here?! You're suppose to be trapped in the elevator!"
He screamed once more as I furiously pressed the up button on the elevator and the shiny doors opened five seconds later. I rushed in as I heard Kris running to the elevator. I hit '10' and the doors began to close. Kris was standing outside the doors, I backed away in fear he would jump in. But he just stood there, staring at me. The cuts on his face had healed and were barely noticeable now, and his brown eyes were sad. The doors closed, and that was the last I saw of him.
I was shaking in the elevator as the elevator traveled up. I had no idea what I was going to do next, I just wanted to be as far away from Kris as possible. I pressed '10' on impulse
The elevator was silent, but as a I passed the fourth floor I heard a small shriek. I jolted my head forward and came face to face with a girl's bloody corpse.
"The cycle is complete." Her eye sockets raised in a smile as her slit mouth formed one
I watched as her arms were ripped from her body, and her feet cut off. Her legs were hacked apart until she was nothing but a smiling torso
I was frozen in fear. The body kept starring at me
At last I closed my eyes as the elevator dinged to signal my arrival at the tenth floor.
---
"Tao...Tao...Wake up honey, it was only a bad dream. It's okay it's not real."
"Or is it?"
"Tao! Tao! Wake up!"
I felt myself be shook awake. I screamed with a horrible voice, fearing the corpse girl had finally got to me. "Get away from me!" I screamed
"Woah, woah. I was just checking to see if you were okay." It was Kris. He looked around my office, filled with the work I had so hardly worked on all night. "Did you stay here all night?"
I looked around my office. I had fallen asleep on my des It was all a dream? But it felt so real...I guess that's what they mean when 'dreams feel real when we're in them.' I let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Sorry Mr. Wu, I'll make sure to make it home and not fall asleep in my office.
"That's perfectly fine. Just as long as you're okay. Since you finished your work why don't you go home and get some rest?"
I nodded while rubbing one of my eyes. "Thank you."
"No problem." Kris smiled as he began to exit my office. The small scars that ran from his mouth to his ears perked up as he smiled. "Oh and before I forget. This was in the in box for you." He handed me a small folded piece of paper before leaving
I slowly unfolded the paper and looked at it. It was written on a neat piece of memo paper in neat blue ink. It looked like a little kid wrote it by the font
Dear Tao,
I have a surprise for you! To find it, please follow these instructions
1. Get in the elevator (make sure you're alone)
2. While in the elevator go to these floors in this exact order: 4th→2nd→6th→2nd→10th (Make sure nobody else gets in while you're doing this or the surprise won't work!)
3. When you arrive at the 10th floor go down the the 5th floor
4. When at the 5th floor, a woman will get into the elevator with you. (Do not speak to her)
5. After the woman gets in, press the 1st floor button.
6. The elevator will go up to the 10th floor instead of the 1st. Don't worry. This is the surprise
Just follow these instructions and a great surprise will be there for you
See you soon,
The name was too messy to read
I had never heard of this ritual before, but I decided since I was bored, and honestly not very tired to give it a try. Plus it was still holiday. Only Kris was in the building and he was hard at work at whatever. He never left his office to go down to other floors.
I walked down to the elevator, get in, take a deep breath and press the fourth floor button.
Paring: Taoris
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Doing things out of boredom can have serious consequences
a/n: originally posted on AFF please excuse any mistakes i make with format as i'm not used to posting here
link to elevator ritua
"Teacher, teacher! Please tell me the elevator story again!"
"Not right now Tao. Teacher is very busy."
"Please?" Tao pouted in a cute way.
"Fine...but this is the last time I'll ever tell you, okay? I really don't want to tell it again."
"Alright teacher, I know it must be very hard for you to tell that story."
The teacher began her story, "It all started eight years ago, when my little sister disappeared at my father's work..."
---
I stretched and rubbed my wary eyes. I had been working for more then ten hours but the work was still barely even half way don I knew I shouldn't have taken that vacation to the mountains. Who would know that the two weeks I'm out of work I get slammed with the most wor I stood up and stretched. The office building was clear of people and I could still smell the fresh paint. The company had just moved into a new office building. Well it wasn't exactly new, it was rather old, but it had been redone, and the company moved right in. The only thing that gave away the fact it was such an old building was the rickety old elevator
The thought of the elevator brings the story my nanny used to tell me when I was a little boy to my mind. It was about how her little sister had disappeared one day at her father's work building, only to have her bloody corpse show up in the elevator four months later. I had always been intrigued by that tale, and one day I asked her what she thought happened to her little sister. All she told me was, "She did the elevator ritual."
Once I got a little older I researched the 'elevator ritual' on the internet, and luckily found the ritual, in which it can take you to a different world if done correctly. I had always been too afraid to do it, and never saw an opportunity since it had to be done by yourself, and there was a very slim chance I could successfully do it without anyone else getting into the elevator while I perform it.
But I'm all alone in the building now. The clock on the computer screen flashes 1:18 am, and it's a holiday. Not even a security guard is in the building. Trying to find an excuse for a break, I decide to live out the childish desire and preform the elevator ritual. As I walk down the empty hallways, passing each office with the unusual glass walls, I finally reach Kris's office. I find it unusual, the object of my unrequited affection comes to work everyday, even on holidays. But today the glass door with the silver knob lacks even a fingerprint, and the black chair lacks any bottom imprint. I shrug, maybe he was sick today.
Finally I reach the elevator and press the down button, being on the eighth floor. The chrome doors open with a sweep and I step inside. I take a deep breath, already feeling the stupidity of the current situation, but it has helped clear my mind. So I press the fourth floor button. The elevator travels down to the fourth floor like normal, and opens up to the dark, empty halls. I press the second floor button and the elevator travels down. Then the sixth floor, second floor again, and finally the tenth. The doors open up to the dark tenth floor and I take a deep breath before pressing the fifth floor button, a woman is suppose to get on at that floor and I'm quite nervous as to what will be lurking in the dark halls
After a couple of seconds of battling in my head, I press the fifth floor button. The elevator travels down, beeping every time it passes a floor, I feel like I'm being lowered in the depths of hell as the elevator finally stops at the fifth floor, and the doors open with a sweep
The light from the elevator illuminates a young woman standing there.
I back into a corner of the elevator in fear as she gets into the elevator. She in no way resembles a monster or witch. Her black hair is tied into a tight bun, and she's wearing a white blouse, black suit jacket and pencil skirt. She looks exactly like someone who would be working at this building. The woman simply stands there, not saying a thing, or even passing a glance to me, and I almost think for a second she may be an employee of the company occupying the fifth floor who is in my current situation, except that she has been given the luck of finally finishing her work and is now returning home. I press the first floor button and she doesn't flinch, probably because that is her destination. But as the doors to the elevator shut I then notice she holds no briefcase, and her outfit lacks even one pocke Where's all her stuff
Suddenly the elevator jerks upward and the lights inside begin to flash, but yet the woman doesn't even bat an eyelash, and the horrible fear has suddenly settled in my stomach as the ritual once again appears in my hea The elevator will take you up to the tenth floor instead of the first
Inside my head I battle between pounding the eighth floor's button and running out of the elevator before it's too late, but yet I don't want to considering how far I am already, and the fact that this might never happen again. Before I have time to settle on a option, the elevator dings and the sign reads '10'
I close my eyes and take deep breaths, not knowing what the hell will be on the other side of those doors. The doors finally open and sunlight shines through. It's daytime, and this isn't the tenth floor, it's the eight. I step out onto the white marble flooring and hear the woman press another button. I look back and she's smiling at me. Her smile appears warm, but something flashes in her eyes that will never leave my mind until the day I die. As the doors are just about to close completely, the woman appears to explode, morphing into a horrible monster made of human entrails before she finally disappears and the door shuts
I take a deep breath and look around the floor, slowly walking around until I heard the taps of someone typing on the compute Someone is here.... emained silent, fearing who could be typing and turned a corner, a majority of the offices with their glass walls were visible now, and that's when I saw him
Kris was working on his computer like any other normal day, his blonde hair was neatly brushed, and he wore a white collared shirt. He was beautiful. "Kris?" I whispered.
He looked up from his computer and saw me through the multiple glass walls despite how quiet my voice was, "Hello Tao." he smiled
"H-Hi Kris." I slowly walked towards him as he got up from his chair and exited his office. "What are you doing here?"
"Working of course, like every other day." He was standing in front of me and I could smell the cologne off of him. "What brings you here today?"
"Work I guess...like every other day." I answered, trying to wrap my head around the situation
Kris nodded, "Yeah, work is good. I'm just finished everything I need to do today, how about we go out?"
I was caught off guard by his words as I gazed out the window. It was empty, everything was empty. The streets had parked cars, but nobody walked around, the stores were dark and closed. I glanced around the office building, looking at all the empty offices that once contained my friendly coworkers. Now all that was left of them was my memories and a desk and computer
"Sure Kris, let me just get something from my office."
Kris nodded and I walked down to my office, still being able to seem him through the glass walls. My heart was beating fas That isn't the real Kris. That isn't the real Kris. That isn't the real Kris. You're in some different world and the real Kris is probably asleep in his bed or somethin But nonetheless I still couldn't calm my heart from exploding through my chest. I had liked Kris for a long time, however we never passed the boundary of being coworkers. Now here I was, about to go out into this new world with him. Just the two of us. Forever just the two of us. Or at least I hoped
I reached my office and opened the large glass door. My office was clean as usual, and looked exactly the same ask when I left. The only difference was there was no large stack of unfinished work with a note from the receptionist saying, 'Boss wanted me to give this to you. It's the work from when you left.' I was almost disappointed, I really missed everyone. I sighed and walked out of my office, there was nothing to retrieve from it, I just really wanted to see what had changed
I returned to Kris and we walked down the hall into the elevator, in which I almost fainted at the sight of it once more. But nothing had changed in the elevator, it was the same old elevator I had taken so many times before. It lurched downwards and we reached the first floor without a problem. My shoes clicked against the cold marble floors, nobody was around. No security guards, no receptionist, no vendors. I was starting to get scared, especially of Kris
I walked next to Kris, following him, wherever he wanted to go. We walked down the streets in silence. He simply looked forward and kept walking, not even giving me a glance. He had a small smile on his face. "So Kris..." I tried to calm my nerves, "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere."
I continued to walk next him. Kris's hands were stuffed inside the pockets of his black suit pants, and his pace gradually got faster. Soon I found myself chasing after him like a lost puppy. "Kris wait up! You're walking too fast."
Kris slowed his pace and I began to walk side by side with him once more, "Sorry. I didn't know I was walking that fast." he shrugged
"It's okay." I smiled. We were passing many empty shops and restaurants that usually catered to the come and go of business people on busy weekdays. "At least give me a hint of where we're going?"
"Nope. That would ruin the surprise."
I slowed my pace slightly as fear began to consume me from inside. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go home so badly. But then something occurred to me. I didn't know how to get home
Kris glanced at my fear stricken face and made a small smile before grabbing my hand and intertwining his fingers with mine. His hands were warm and I realized this was the first time I had ever made physical contact with him. I calmed down, and we continued to walk straight ahead, our steps in perfect synchronization. If I could stay like that forever, it would be fine with me.
"Don't worry." Kris smiled, "We're almost there."
I looked around, perhaps for something awful. But all I saw were the usual shops, restaurants and a park kids at the nearby elementary school liked to play at after school. Kris turned in and reached the park. He pulled me down and we sat down on a bench. "I like it here."
I tensed up a bit as he grabbed my hand once more. I looked up into his perfect eyes, were they the same eyes I had admired from a far all those years? No. There was something very different in those brown eyes. "Are you real?" I boldly asked
Kris turned to me, looking surprised. "Of course I'm real, Tao. What kind of stupid question is that?"
I was still scared, but I needed to get to the bottom of this. "No, you're not real." His hand grew very cold and I tried to pull away but his grip tightened. "Kris..."
"It's not nice to ask such rude questions. Perhaps you just need a vacation from all the work." He replied calmly, staring straight ahead
"But if you're real...if this world is real. Then where are all the people?" I tried to say in a whisper.
"What other people? There have never been other people here. Don't be silly."
"I think you're being silly, Kris! I don't like this one bit...I...I just want to go home." I felt like I was on the brink of tears. Kris simply turned to me, made a faint smile and cupped my chin. His face moved closer to mine until our lips finally made contact. His soft lips were warm against mine, and my heart felt like it was about to explode out of my chest. After all those years of chasing after Kris, he was finally kissing me, and it felt so real. Like there was nothing scary or fake about it at all
"I love you, Tao." Kris whispered into my ear
"I-I love you too." I muttered, the words getting stuck in my throat
Suddenly a horrible scream rang through out my ears and into my hea Help me! Help me! Oh please someone help me! This isn't what I like at all! Get me out of here, oh someone please help m An image flashed through my eyes of a girl, bleeding from the ears, the words were muffled, like something was lodged into her throat
I pushed Kris away from me with a large shove and ran out of the park. "Tao! Tao! Where are you going?! Don't you dare wander anywhere without me...you know what they say..." Kris's words disappeared as I ran farther away.
Home...the elevator...I need to get to the elevator...maybe then I can get home. I ran through the streets, past the dark empty restaurants and in the dark windows I saw images flash by of people walking down the sidewalk, they're images being reflected in the dark surface. They turned to me all at once and I noticed they had no faces...just spirals
"You know Tao...it's not nice to run from your lover." I looked behind me, Kris was there, he was barely moving his feet but yet he was getting closer and closer. His beautiful face bore a horrible smile, that was ripped and bloody from the edge of his mouth to his ears. His beautiful brown eyes contained not even a hint of a soul, and to top it off he was holding a meat cleaver. A fucking meat cleaver
That was the last straw, I broke into a run that should've had made me the fastest runner back in high school. I felt him approaching, I was only five blocks away from the office building now. I was running faster and faster, my feet pounding potholes into the asphalt. Three blocks. Kris was close enough to reach out and touch the hair on my neck.
The young girl's voice ran through my head again, and I saw her reflection in the buildings. She was running, her knees were bloody from what I guess were from falling down so many times. She was constantly looking back and I realized she was in the exact same situation I was in. She was being chased
I turned around and felt Kris's warm breath running down my neck. "C'mon Tao, don't be stubborn now."
I ran faster, as fast as I humanly possible. One block...
I grabbed the door of the office building and swung it open. My feet clicking on the clean marble floors, but as if planned I slipped and felt the cold marble met my face. Kris loomed over me, the bloody smile large on his face. He dropped the knife and kneeled next to me. I was so tired from running, I could barely even murmur a word
Kris's warm hands cupped my red cheeks, and the bloody slit smile appeared to be as happy as a mother looking at her child for the first time. "Tao..." he whispered. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you."
And for once, I really believed him
Kris's face leaned in his cold lips brushed against the my top lip, making me lean in for more. His full lips planted themselves on mine once more, and his warm tongue slipped into my mouth. Our tongues played with each other, our faces touching. The warm blood from Kris's face smeared onto mine, making me snap back into reality. I pushed him away violently.
"No! Stop!" I yelled at him, standing up and wiping the blood away fro my face. "You're not real, and I will not be swayed by your actions!"
He slowly got up and began to approach me slowly, his eyes were dark. "Tao. I'm sorry, I really am."
Kris suddenly appeared in front of me. His fingers wrapped around my neck, his fingernails turned into claws and began to dig into the skin of my throat
"L-L-Let me go!" I squirmed, but his grip was inhuman, and I feared the end when I felt the small stream of warm blood drip from my neck
My vision blurred as I felt the last of my life be drained from me, I tried to find something nice to look at. Kris's face, though cut from ear to mouth, still had beautiful eyes, no matter how soulless they were. I looked up into his eyes...they were different from any of the eyes I had seen on him before.
They were my eyes
Kris spoke, his voice came out muffled, as if a female and male voice morphed into one. "It is almost complete...once I'm done with you, the elevator will close up until the cycle repeats itself. Like an unraveling spiral. As soon as I'm finished with you the final signal will ding, and nobody will be getting in or out."
I let out once last kick, and one last struggle, but it was no use at all. I closed my eyes hoping for the best. Suddenly, I felt Kris's grip loosen, and I fell to the floor in a heap
I was alive, and I had no time to check why Kris had let me go, all I heard was a scream and the pounding of his footsteps against the marble floors as I heard him scream, "Go away! I got rid of you long ago! Why the hell are you still here?! You're suppose to be trapped in the elevator!"
He screamed once more as I furiously pressed the up button on the elevator and the shiny doors opened five seconds later. I rushed in as I heard Kris running to the elevator. I hit '10' and the doors began to close. Kris was standing outside the doors, I backed away in fear he would jump in. But he just stood there, staring at me. The cuts on his face had healed and were barely noticeable now, and his brown eyes were sad. The doors closed, and that was the last I saw of him.
I was shaking in the elevator as the elevator traveled up. I had no idea what I was going to do next, I just wanted to be as far away from Kris as possible. I pressed '10' on impulse
The elevator was silent, but as a I passed the fourth floor I heard a small shriek. I jolted my head forward and came face to face with a girl's bloody corpse.
"The cycle is complete." Her eye sockets raised in a smile as her slit mouth formed one
I watched as her arms were ripped from her body, and her feet cut off. Her legs were hacked apart until she was nothing but a smiling torso
I was frozen in fear. The body kept starring at me
At last I closed my eyes as the elevator dinged to signal my arrival at the tenth floor.
---
"Tao...Tao...Wake up honey, it was only a bad dream. It's okay it's not real."
"Or is it?"
"Tao! Tao! Wake up!"
I felt myself be shook awake. I screamed with a horrible voice, fearing the corpse girl had finally got to me. "Get away from me!" I screamed
"Woah, woah. I was just checking to see if you were okay." It was Kris. He looked around my office, filled with the work I had so hardly worked on all night. "Did you stay here all night?"
I looked around my office. I had fallen asleep on my des It was all a dream? But it felt so real...I guess that's what they mean when 'dreams feel real when we're in them.' I let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Sorry Mr. Wu, I'll make sure to make it home and not fall asleep in my office.
"That's perfectly fine. Just as long as you're okay. Since you finished your work why don't you go home and get some rest?"
I nodded while rubbing one of my eyes. "Thank you."
"No problem." Kris smiled as he began to exit my office. The small scars that ran from his mouth to his ears perked up as he smiled. "Oh and before I forget. This was in the in box for you." He handed me a small folded piece of paper before leaving
I slowly unfolded the paper and looked at it. It was written on a neat piece of memo paper in neat blue ink. It looked like a little kid wrote it by the font
Dear Tao,
I have a surprise for you! To find it, please follow these instructions
1. Get in the elevator (make sure you're alone)
2. While in the elevator go to these floors in this exact order: 4th→2nd→6th→2nd→10th (Make sure nobody else gets in while you're doing this or the surprise won't work!)
3. When you arrive at the 10th floor go down the the 5th floor
4. When at the 5th floor, a woman will get into the elevator with you. (Do not speak to her)
5. After the woman gets in, press the 1st floor button.
6. The elevator will go up to the 10th floor instead of the 1st. Don't worry. This is the surprise
Just follow these instructions and a great surprise will be there for you
See you soon,
The name was too messy to read
I had never heard of this ritual before, but I decided since I was bored, and honestly not very tired to give it a try. Plus it was still holiday. Only Kris was in the building and he was hard at work at whatever. He never left his office to go down to other floors.
I walked down to the elevator, get in, take a deep breath and press the fourth floor button.