The Ninth Floor

The Ninth Floor

01/13/2000 ) : Good morning, Mr. Henderson ( : Morning, Chloe. How's college going? ) : It's good, listen... did you hear about what happened last night? ( : No, what happened? Chloe glanced down both ends of the hallway, as if making sure no one was listening. The building was strangely quiet. Only the hum of the fluorescent lights and the distant sound of a broken TV seeped into the atmosphere. ) : Someone jumped from the ninth floor Henderson frowned. His apartment was on that very floor. ( : What do you mean, someone jumped? Chloe swallowed hard. Her face looked almost gray under the yellowish light. ) : They say it was... weird. Nobody heard a thing, and when the police got here, the body... It was gone. Like it had just gotten up and walked away. A chill ran down his spine. He had lived in that building for 15 years, and nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened. But something about the way Chloe said it unsettled him. ( : Do you know who it was? —he asked. She shook her head. ): No, just that they were from apartment 12... and the worse part is. Nobody knew them. There were no records of anyone living there. The super swears that door's been sealed for years. Silence returned, heavier this time. They both looked toward the elevator as they heard a "ding." The doors opened, but there was no one inside. Just a strange, damp smell, like wet earth and metal. Henderson swallowed and, for some reason he didn't understand, glanced at the panel: the elevator had come up from the ninth floor. Chloe took a step back. ): I... I have class, I should get going. She left in a hurry, and Henderson stood there staring into the elevator, feeling the air grow thicker. He finally stepped in. As the door closed, he saw his reflection in the back mirror. Then the door shut. The elevator began to descend. He hadn't pressed any button. When it stopped on the eighth floor, the smell was unbearable. The light was flickering, and from down the hallway, someone was waiting, smiling. +: Hello, Mr. Henderson ( : Hello... who are you? + : I'm Mark, I just moved into apartment 12 ( : On what floor? +: The ninth one ( : You haven't heard— + : The news? Yeah, what a shame what she did. She must have been through a lot to jump. Young Chloe was a great girl. From outside the building, a person is seen walking slowly away, listening to blood-curdling screams coming from within. ) : Hehe... music to my ears.