RULES NOBODY TELLS YOU
1536 Words
The elevator did not move.
Elena stared at the closed doors while Adrian remained between her and the other side. His shoulders were tense, one hand resting against the wall as though he were listening for something beyond the metal.
The silence inside the elevator was worse than the noise had been.
Elena could still hear Ethan's voice.
Why did he save you?
She looked at Adrian.
"What did he mean?"
Adrian didn't answer.
"Why did he ask why you saved me?"
"Because he shouldn't have seen it."
"Seen what?"
His jaw tightened.
"Forget the question."
"That's impossible."
He finally looked at her.
"Elena, listen to me. The moment those doors open again, you stay behind me."
"And then?"
"You don't speak to anyone."
"Why?"
"Because they aren't all employees."
A chill travelled through her.
She stared at the elevator doors.
"Then who are they?"
Adrian looked away.
"I don't know."
Elena almost laughed.
"You don't know?"
"I know enough."
"Apparently not enough to stop this."
His eyes hardened.
"I told you I can't stop the games."
"But you can interfere with them."
He went still.
Elena remembered what had happened earlier. The creature. The elevator. The way Adrian had appeared exactly when things became dangerous.
"You broke a rule yesterday, didn't you?"
He said nothing.
"You weren't supposed to save me."
His silence answered for him.
Elena's stomach tightened.
"Why?"
Adrian looked at the elevator display.
The number remained frozen at ten.
"Because you were going to die."
That wasn't the answer she wanted.
It was somehow worse.
The lights flickered.
The elevator jerked.
Elena grabbed the railing.
The display changed.
9
Then 8.
The elevator started moving again.
Neither of them spoke.
When it finally stopped, the doors opened.
The lobby was on the other side.
Elena almost stepped out.
Adrian caught her arm.
"Wait."
She looked at him.
The lobby looked normal.
Reception desk.
Security gate.
Glass entrance.
Everything exactly where it should be.
But there was nobody there.
Not a single person.
The building was silent.
Elena slowly stepped out.
Adrian followed.
She looked toward the reception desk.
Clara's chair was empty.
The clock above the desk showed 1:17 p.m.
She checked her phone.
1:17 p.m.
The time was correct.
That made everything feel even stranger.
"What happened to everyone?"
"They're still here."
"Where?"
Adrian looked toward the glass doors.
"They can't leave."
Elena's eyes moved to the entrance.
She walked toward it.
The automatic doors didn't open.
She waved her hand in front of the sensor.
Nothing.
She pushed against the glass.
It didn't move.
"What?"
Adrian came up behind her.
"Don't."
Elena turned.
"I can't get out."
"I know."
"You said I should go home."
"I know."
"You knew I wouldn't be able to."
"I didn't know the game would choose you."
Elena stared at him.
"The game chose me?"
Adrian didn't answer.
That was enough.
She stepped away from the doors.
"Why?"
"That's what we're going to find out."
The reception phone rang.
Both of them turned.
It rang again.
Elena remembered the note.
NEVER ANSWER THE PHONE AFTER MIDNIGHT.
It wasn't midnight.
She looked at Adrian.
He shook his head.
"Don't."
The phone continued ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then it stopped.
A second later, the elevator bell sounded.
Elena looked over.
The doors opened.
Nobody stepped out.
A folded piece of paper lay on the elevator floor.
Adrian approached it.
Elena stayed behind him.
He picked it up.
His expression changed.
"What?"
He handed it to her.
There were only two lines.
THE BOSS HAS BROKEN THE RULES.
NOW THE EMPLOYEES MUST DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS TO HER.
Elena looked up.
"Who wrote this?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
His eyes met hers.
"I wish I were."
A sound came from upstairs.
Then another.
Footsteps.
Lots of them.
Elena turned toward the staircase.
People were coming down.
Employees.
One after another.
They appeared from the upper floor, walking slowly into the lobby.
Ethan was among them.
Nina.
Sophie.
Clara.
Marcus.
Others Elena had seen throughout the building.
They stopped several feet away.
Nobody spoke.
Their expressions were different from before.
Fear had been replaced by something colder.
Anger.
Elena moved closer to Adrian.
Ethan noticed.
His mouth tightened.
"You see?" he said.
Adrian looked at him.
"Go back upstairs."
"No."
"Ethan."
"You've never done this before."
The room became silent.
Elena looked between them.
"Done what?"
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"Protected someone."
Adrian's expression remained cold.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"We all saw it."
"Then you should know better than to interfere."
Ethan's eyes moved to Elena.
"She's the reason the game changed."
Elena felt a knot form in her stomach.
"I didn't ask for any of this."
"I know."
His voice was surprisingly calm.
"That's why everyone is afraid."
"Afraid of me?"
"Afraid of what happens when he chooses someone."
Elena looked at Adrian.
"What does that mean?"
Adrian didn't respond.
Clara stepped forward.
"Stop."
Ethan turned toward her.
"Why? She deserves to know."
"Not here."
"Where then?"
Clara's eyes moved toward the ceiling.
A faint ticking sound had begun.
Elena heard it too.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Everyone looked upward.
The clock above reception had stopped.
Its hands were moving backward.
Elena's heart sank.
Adrian immediately turned toward her.
"Stay beside me."
The ticking became louder.
Then every light in the lobby went out.
A scream came from somewhere behind the employees.
Someone ran.
Footsteps scattered.
Elena felt Adrian grab her hand.
"Don't let go."
The emergency lights came on.
Only three people remained standing in front of them.
Ethan.
Clara.
Marcus.
Everyone else had disappeared.
Elena looked around.
"What happened to them?"
Nobody answered.
Then the reception phone rang.
This time, all three employees looked frightened.
Adrian released Elena's hand.
"Stay here."
"No."
He looked at her.
"I'm coming with you."
"You don't understand."
"I understand that every time you tell me to stay somewhere, something worse happens."
His expression softened for a fraction of a second.
Then the phone rang again.
He walked toward it.
The ringing stopped.
A voice came through the speaker.
"Adrian."
He froze.
Elena saw the color leave his face.
The voice continued.
"You were warned."
Adrian slowly picked up the receiver.
"I know."
"You broke the rule."
"I know."
"Then she pays."
Elena's stomach dropped.
Adrian's grip tightened around the phone.
"No."
A low laugh came through the receiver.
"You don't make the rules anymore."
The line went dead.
Adrian remained still.
Elena stepped closer.
"What did it say?"
He put the receiver down.
"Nothing."
"Adrian."
"Nothing."
The lobby doors suddenly opened.
Cold air swept inside.
Elena looked toward the entrance.
The street outside was visible.
People were walking past.
Cars moved along the road.
Everything looked normal.
For one brief second, Elena thought they could finally leave.
She stepped forward.
Adrian caught her wrist.
"Don't."
"But the doors are open."
"I know."
"Then why can't we leave?"
He stared through the doorway.
"Because that's not the outside."
Elena looked at him.
"What?"
Adrian pointed.
She followed his finger.
Across the street stood a woman in a red coat.
Elena didn't recognize her.
The woman was staring directly at the building.
Then Elena noticed something.
No cars passed through her.
People walked behind her.
She wasn't part of the street.
She was standing there like an image placed over it.
The woman slowly raised one hand.
She pointed toward Elena.
Then smiled.
The doors slammed shut.
Elena stumbled backward.
The lobby lights went out again.
When they returned, the woman was standing inside the building.
She was only a few feet away.
Elena couldn't breathe.
The woman looked ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Red coat.
Black shoes.
Wet hair.
A pale face.
She turned toward Adrian.
"You're making this difficult."
Adrian stepped in front of Elena.
"Leave."
The woman smiled.
"You always were stubborn."
"Who are you?"
Elena whispered.
Adrian didn't look back.
"Don't speak to her."
The woman laughed softly.
"She has questions."
"She doesn't need answers."
"Everyone needs answers eventually."
The woman reached into her coat.
Elena tensed.
She pulled out a small black card.
The same kind Adrian had taken from the hidden compartment upstairs.
She dropped it onto the floor.
It landed face-up.
There was a single word printed across it.
ELENA.
Adrian stared at it.
The woman stepped backward.
"First game."
She smiled.
"One player."
Her gaze moved to Elena.
"One protector."
Then she looked at Adrian.
"And six hours before the rules change."
The lights went out.
When they came back, the woman was gone.
The card remained on the floor.
Elena picked it up.
The back contained a list.
Six rules.
The first five were crossed out.
Only the sixth remained.
WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES SEVEN, CHOOSE WHO YOU TRUST.
Elena looked at the clock.
1:31 p.m.
She had five and a half hours.
Adrian took the card from her.
His face had become unreadable.
Elena looked toward Ethan, Clara and Marcus.
None of them would meet her eyes.
For the first time, she understood why.
This wasn't simply a game.
They were waiting for something.
And whatever happened at seven o'clock would force every person in the building to choose a side.
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