Published: 2025-09-26

The elevator kept going up and up. The building had almost two hundred floors and translucent walls that allowed passengers to admire the entire country beneath them. It was a sight to see. It was almost 9:00 PM; the building would close as soon as the last elevator ride finished. Five people rode on the elevator: Barry, a high school teacher; Conan, a washing machine repairman; Donna, a housewife; Fatima, a janitor; and Gary, an out-of-work man in his early thirties. They didn’t know each other, except for Donna and Fatima, who were friends since childhood and came to see the building together. It was the day before a long weekend, and the building was busier than ever; the employees couldn’t wait to finish the day off and go home.

The elevator reached the top of the building, and the occupants got out to a balcony from where they could appreciate the whole city. There were tower viewers installed to allow the visitors to better appreciate the view. The stars appeared to be reachable from there, and the moon, barely visible from the ground, was as big as a watermelon.

Donna and Fatima looked through the tower viewers and talked to each other about the wonders they could see from up there. “I can see your house!” would one say, “Well, I can see yours!” would respond the other. Barry looked at the sky, searching for constellations. “Which ones would be visible tonight?” Thought Barry. Conan was a simpler man; he paced the balcony unimpressed with what he saw, but still seemed to enjoy the experience. As they were absorbed in their own thoughts, the elevator behind them closed and started descending. Nobody noticed; it was a nice night, and the view was gorgeous. Why pay attention to anything but what was in front of them?

Back in the lobby, the elevator’s doors opened, and Gary came out of it. The last elevator had finally descended. It was what the employees were waiting for. They said goodnight to Gary and started closing for the day.

Barry looked at the sky, unimpressed. Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Draco could be seen as always, but he couldn’t recognize any other constellation. Maybe, as an English teacher, his knowledge of astronomy was not nearly as good as he thought it was. The rest of the visitors started to congregate in front of the elevator; Barry understood it was time to leave. They all waited patiently for the elevator to arrive; Barry took a quick look at the controls and let out a chuckle. Fatima considered this a rude gesture.

“Excuse me, fatso. What’s so funny?” Fatima said.

Barry was in fact a larger-than-average individual, but he didn’t let that bother him.

“Well, besides your complete lack of manners, which I do find particularly amusing in a lady such as yourself, it would seem you have forgotten to operate the elevator.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“The button, madame. You forgot to push the button.”
“What kind of idiot do you think I am, Mr. Fancy Pants? It’s not the first time I see an elevator. I know how they work.”
“I beg your pardon, madame. It was not my intention to imply such a thing.”

As Barry and Fatima discussed, Conan reached for the controls and pressed the button. Barry’s eyes got as big as plates. He made his way to the front of the group and pressed the button multiple times, but the indicator light didn’t turn on. He knelt in front of the door and put his ear to it. The rest of the group was bewildered by his actions.

Barry stood up and said, “The elevator is not coming. We are trapped here.”

The rest of the group looked at each other, not understanding what Barry had just said.

“What do you mean the elevator is not coming?” Donna asked.
“The controls. They did not light up when we pressed the button, and I could not hear the elevator being lifted.”
“It’s two hundred floors, genius. Of course, you’re not gonna hear the elevator coming up until it’s near us.” Fatima said.
“You are mistaken once again, madame. The rotor that pulls the elevator up sits at the top of the building. We should be able to hear it operating after pressing the button.”
“Makes sense.” Conan said.
“Look, Mr. Fancy Pants, I don’t care if you have a degree in elevators or something. We don’t want your opinion. We are going to wait patiently for the elevator to come and get on with our lives.” Fatima said.
“Very well. I apologize if I have caused you any trouble, madame.” Barry said.

He sat quietly in a corner with both hands folded over his knees. Conan walked to him and made him company.

“We’re trapped. Aren’t we?” Conan said.
“It would seem so.” Barry replied.

Half an hour passed, and the elevator didn’t arrive. Fatima was still not convinced by Barry’s words, but Donna thought otherwise. She walked up to Barry; Fatima followed, trying to stop her by pulling her arm.

“Excuse me, sir. It seemed you were right. About everything. What do you think we should do?” Donna asked.

Without hesitating, Barry said, “I think the first thing we should do is all get naked.” “Are you out of your mind!? You think just because we are trapped here, you have the right to have a good time?” Fatima said.

Donna had already started to undress.

“Don’t listen to this idiot!” Fatima said while trying to cover Donna’s body.

“‘Having a good time,’ as you call it, would be indeed a poor decision. We must conserve energy at all costs, and that’s why we should all be naked. The temperature will drop to the low tens during the night; our clothes won’t provide enough cover. We can make a blanket from our torn clothes and pile together to share our body heat. That way we won’t die.” Barry said.
“You are a disgusting man and a pervert. I’ll wait by myself near the elevator. Tomorrow the elevator will work and I’ll get out of here.”
“Perhaps you are forgetting something, madame. Tomorrow begins the long weekend. We will not leave this building until Tuesday morning, that is, approximately 83 hours from now.” Barry said.

Fatima, who was already on her way to the elevator, stopped.

Donna stood up naked, shaking due to the night’s coldness, and extending her hand said, “Please, Fatima, come with us.”

Fatima felt frustrated and humiliated. She walked towards the group and started undressing. Conan started undressing too. Barry followed.

“First,” said Barry, “we make a blanket with our clothes. We will tear them apart, thus it can cover more surface. We will make holes in them with our keys and sew them together with our shoelaces. Since the ladies’ shoes don’t have any shoelaces, we will use whatever else works. We will sleep next to each other, hugging. Since the madame does not seem to be fond of me, she will be placed in the right end, while I will take the opposite end. The ladies can hug each other frontally; we men will do the same. Conan’s back will touch Donna’s. We will cover ourselves with the blanket for extra heat, and during the day, it will protect us from the sun. Since speaking and crying consume precious resources and energy, we will refrain from doing so. All we have to do is survive until Tuesday morning, or, if we are lucky, until someone comes during the weekend for whatever reason, but I would not count on it. We will keep an eye on the elevator’s controls anyway. Does the plan sound good?”

Everyone nodded, and they began working on the blanket.

Four nights and three days passed, and in the morning of the fourth day, the elevator’s controls illuminated.

THE END.