HOUR BEFORE SEVEN
1591 Words
The scream upstairs lasted only a few seconds.
Then silence swallowed it.
Nobody in the lobby moved.
Elena stared at the clock.
6:55 p.m.
Her phone still showed 5:16.
She checked it twice.
The time on the phone hadn't changed.
Neither had the battery percentage.
Everything else had simply jumped forward.
"Adrian."
"I know."
He was looking toward the staircase.
Another scream came from above.
This one was closer.
Elena instinctively moved toward the stairs, but Adrian caught her arm.
"No."
"Someone needs help."
"That's exactly what it wants."
"What wants it?"
He didn't answer.
The emergency lights flickered.
Ethan came running down the stairs.
He stopped when he saw Adrian.
"She's awake."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Who?"
Ethan looked toward the upper floor.
"The woman."
Elena felt the hairs on her arms rise.
"The woman from the conference room?"
Ethan nodded.
"She's walking around."
"Where?"
"Everywhere."
A soft laugh echoed from the staircase.
All three looked up.
Nobody was there.
Elena swallowed.
Ethan stepped backward.
"We need to stay together."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because that's what it wants."
Ethan looked at Elena.
"See? This is what I'm talking about."
Adrian ignored him.
"Everyone stays in the lobby."
"You're leaving?"
"I need to check the floor."
Elena stepped forward.
"I'm coming."
"No."
"You're the one who told me not to leave your sight."
"That was before."
"Before what?"
Adrian looked at the clock.
6:56.
"Before the building changed."
He walked toward the staircase.
Elena followed anyway.
He stopped after three steps.
"You never listen."
"Not when nobody tells me anything."
A faint expression crossed his face.
Not quite amusement.
Not quite frustration.
Something in between.
"Fine."
They climbed together.
Ethan followed several steps behind.
The executive floor looked completely different.
The lights were dim.
The desks had been pushed slightly out of place.
The glass walls reflected the emergency lights in long red streaks.
Elena looked toward her desk.
Her computer was off.
But someone was sitting in her chair.
She froze.
The figure had its back toward them.
Long hair.
Cream blouse.
Dark trousers.
Elena's clothes.
Ethan whispered, "Don't."
The figure slowly turned.
Elena's heart lurched.
It was her.
Not exactly.
The face was hers, but the expression wasn't.
The other Elena smiled.
Adrian immediately stepped in front of her.
The figure tilted its head.
Then it spoke.
"You took too long."
Elena's voice came from its mouth.
Adrian stared at it.
"You don't belong here."
The other Elena laughed.
"Neither does she."
It pointed toward the real Elena.
Elena felt her stomach twist.
The figure stood.
For one strange moment, it looked completely normal.
Then it walked toward them.
Adrian raised his hand.
"Stop."
It did.
A few feet away.
The figure looked at him.
"You broke the rules."
"I know."
"You touched her."
"I know."
"You protected her."
"I know."
Its smile widened.
"Then you know what happens next."
Adrian's expression remained unreadable.
"What happens?"
The figure looked at the clock.
6:57.
"Three minutes."
It disappeared.
Not dramatically.
One moment it was there.
The next, the space was empty.
Elena stared.
"What was that?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Ethan walked toward her.
"That's what we've been trying to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"You aren't the first Elena."
She looked at him.
"What?"
Ethan's face had gone pale.
"Forget I said anything."
He walked away.
Elena followed.
"Wait."
He didn't stop.
She caught up to him.
"You can't say something like that and then walk away."
He finally turned.
"I shouldn't have said it."
"Then explain."
Ethan glanced toward Adrian.
"Ask him."
"I have."
"And?"
"He doesn't tell me anything."
Ethan gave a bitter smile.
"Then maybe you're starting to understand why everyone hates you."
Elena's face tightened.
"I didn't do anything."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Because you survived."
She stared at him.
"Survived what?"
Ethan looked at the clock.
6:58.
His voice dropped.
"The first game."
Elena felt cold.
"I wasn't even working here sixteen years ago."
"You don't have to work somewhere to be part of it."
Before she could ask another question, Adrian appeared beside them.
"Ethan."
Ethan immediately stepped away.
Adrian looked at Elena.
"Come."
"No."
He paused.
She folded her arms.
"I want the truth."
"You'll get it."
"When?"
"When it's safe."
Elena laughed quietly.
"Nothing here is safe."
Adrian looked at her for a long moment.
"Exactly."
The clock ticked.
6:59.
Everyone on the floor stopped moving.
The employees slowly emerged from their offices.
Nina.
Sophie.
Clara.
Marcus.
Others Elena barely knew.
They gathered along the walls.
Nobody spoke.
The atmosphere had changed.
There was no panic now.
Only waiting.
Elena looked at Adrian.
"What's happening?"
He didn't answer.
The clock's second hand reached the twelve.
7:00.
The lights went out.
Every door on the executive floor slammed shut simultaneously.
Elena jumped.
Then a bell rang.
Once.
A deep, heavy sound.
The lights returned.
The floor was empty.
Everyone was gone.
Elena spun around.
"Where did they go?"
Adrian was still beside her.
Ethan was gone.
Clara was gone.
Everyone was gone.
Only the two of them remained.
Elena looked toward the staircase.
The doors had disappeared.
The elevator was gone.
The windows were covered by thick black curtains that hadn't been there before.
She walked toward the nearest office door.
The handle wouldn't turn.
"Adrian."
"I know."
She looked at him.
"Are we trapped?"
"For now."
A speaker crackled overhead.
A woman's voice filled the floor.
"Seven o'clock."
Elena stared upward.
"Welcome."
The voice continued.
"Your first choice begins now."
Adrian's expression hardened.
The speaker clicked off.
A second later, Elena's phone vibrated.
She checked it.
A new message appeared.
CHOOSE.
Below it were two names.
ADRIAN VALE
THE EMPLOYEES
Elena stared at the screen.
Another line appeared.
ONE WILL REMAIN WITH YOU.
Then:
ONE WILL BE LOCKED AWAY.
She looked at Adrian.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
The phone vibrated again.
YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES.
Elena looked around the empty floor.
"Where are the employees?"
"They're still in the building."
"Where?"
"Somewhere."
"Can we find them?"
"Not before the time runs out."
She looked at the phone.
"Then this isn't really a choice."
Adrian's eyes met hers.
"No."
"It wants me to choose without knowing what happens."
"Yes."
Elena thought for a moment.
Then she noticed something.
The names on her phone were not equal.
Adrian's name was written in black.
THE EMPLOYEES was written in red.
She showed him.
His face changed.
"Don't choose yet."
"Why?"
"Because there's something else."
"What?"
He pointed toward the far wall.
A door had appeared.
It was small.
Almost hidden behind the filing cabinets.
Elena approached it.
There was a tiny glass window.
She looked through.
Inside was a room.
The employees were there.
All of them.
They stood silently, facing the wall.
Ethan was among them.
Clara.
Marcus.
Nina.
Nobody moved.
Elena turned toward Adrian.
"They're there."
"I know."
"Then we can get them out."
"Maybe."
He tried the handle.
Locked.
Elena looked through the glass again.
Ethan suddenly turned his head.
His eyes met hers through the tiny window.
He raised one finger.
Then pointed behind her.
Elena turned.
Nothing.
She looked back.
Ethan was now facing the wall again.
A message appeared on her phone.
DON'T TRUST THE MAN BESIDE YOU.
Elena slowly lowered the phone.
Adrian watched her.
"What did it say?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Then she smiled faintly.
"You want me to choose between you and the employees, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm choosing neither."
Adrian stared at her.
The speaker crackled.
The woman's voice returned.
"Interesting."
Elena looked upward.
"You said I had to choose."
"Everyone chooses."
"What if I refuse?"
Silence.
Then the voice laughed.
"Then we choose for you."
The lights flickered.
The locked room behind Elena filled with darkness.
The employees disappeared.
Elena rushed toward the glass.
"Ethan!"
No response.
The room was empty.
She pressed her hands against the glass.
"Where did they go?"
Adrian stood behind her.
"Don't panic."
She turned.
"Don't tell me not to panic!"
Her voice echoed through the empty office.
The speaker clicked again.
CHOICE REJECTED.
The clock changed.
7:03.
NEW RULE.
Elena's phone vibrated.
She read the message.
BEFORE MIDNIGHT, FIND THE EMPLOYEES.
A second message appeared.
THE FIRST PERSON YOU FIND WILL LIE TO YOU.
Then a third.
THE SECOND WILL ASK FOR YOUR HELP.
Then:
THE THIRD WILL TRY TO KILL YOU.
Elena stared at the screen.
Adrian stepped beside her.
"We're leaving this floor."
She looked at him.
"Where?"
He pointed toward the corridor.
A door had appeared at the very end.
Unlike the others, this one had a number.
13.
Elena frowned.
"There's no thirteenth floor."
Adrian's expression was grim.
"There isn't."
The door slowly opened.
Cold air spilled into the office.
Beyond it was a staircase leading upward.
Elena looked at Adrian.
"How high does it go?"
He stared into the darkness.
"I don't know."
The door opened wider.
Somewhere above them, a woman began humming.
Elena recognized the tune.
She had heard it before.
In the video.
The little girl had been humming the exact same song while standing beside Adrian sixteen years ago.
Elena looked at him.
"You know that song."
Adrian didn't deny it.
"Yes."
"Who was the little girl?"
He looked toward the staircase.
"Keep moving."
"Adrian."
"Elena."
His voice was quieter now.
"That girl was you."
The humming stopped.
A single footstep sounded above them.
Then another.
Someone was coming down.
And this time, Adrian didn't tell Elena to run.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD