Jack Young, Femi Foster, and the old man were in the elevator, which was slowly descending. Through the glass walls, you could see the scenery outside—this skyscraper was easily the tallest in the area.
"This building is as tall as my status. In this little city, nobody ranks higher than me. Mayors come and go, but I stay put, so what I say matters more than the mayor. In a position like mine, of course I run into weird stuff, but nothing as bizarre as what you two are talking about." He looked out at the view, then turned back to them: "I don’t believe a word you’re saying."
Femi Foster had already spoken to this old man on the phone before, but he didn’t buy a single word of her story. Honestly, no normal person would believe this stuff, so Jack and Femi weren’t surprised.
Femi Foster tried her best to persuade him: "I know it sounds impossible, but two people have already died because of it."
"I know." The old man nodded nonchalantly. "I know who they are, I know their backgrounds and resumes—because they all worked for me. But that doesn’t prove anything, especially not that ridiculous ‘Death’ theory. Miss Foster, I know you’re a novelist. Novelists have wild imaginations, maybe you’ve just gotten a little too lost in your own stories."
Femi Foster’s eyebrows knitted together. "Are you saying I’m crazy?"
"No, I’m saying that ‘Final Destination’ would make a great novel." The old man glanced at the elevator’s floor indicator, then basically told them to leave: "Alright, you two, thanks to a certain jerk, I spent two weeks in the hospital before I got better, and I’m still not in the best mood. So, if you don’t want me to call the cops, just ride this elevator down to the first floor and walk out the front door. And don’t bother me again."
Femi Foster was about to blow up after hearing that, but Jack Young raised a hand to stop her. She looked at Jack, only to see him scanning the area with a serious look, as if a major threat was nearby. Even the old man was spooked by Jack’s expression and glanced around the cramped elevator—there was nothing there, just empty space.
"Ha, save it. You trying to scare me?" the old man immediately snarked.
But Jack Young said in a low voice, "It’s here."
"Huh? What’s here?" The old man still didn’t sense anything, shooting Jack Young a contemptuous look. "Still playing the supernatural—"
Before he could finish, the old man saw something flicker across the opposite wall of the elevator. The elevator’s four walls were made of smooth alloy—not quite reflective like a mirror, but you could see vague shadows. And now, right across from him, something pitch-black was spreading, seeping out and filling the space.
The old man whipped around. Behind him was another alloy wall—and that one had shadows spreading, too. There were only three people in the elevator, nothing else from start to finish. But now, all four alloy walls were getting covered in murky shadows, like a black curtain dropping outside and wrapping the whole elevator in darkness.
The old man pointed at the elevator wall in disbelief. "Do you see that? You—you’re messing with me, aren’t you!"
There was a loud buzz and the speeding elevator suddenly screeched to a halt, like a car slamming on the brakes. Jack Young reacted instantly, grabbing the other two so they didn’t fall. He checked the floor indicator: twenty-one. Grabbing the old man by the collar and pulling him close, Jack stared him down: "Listen, I don’t have time for your nonsense—because it’s already here. Believe it or not, your only job now is to survive, no matter what!"
Sweat broke out on the old man’s forehead. He didn’t care about Jack’s roughness anymore and immediately grabbed the emergency phone in the elevator. "Hello? What’s going on? Why did the elevator stop?"
A panicked voice came from the phone: "No idea, must be a mechanical failure—we’re working on it!"
Creaking metallic noises echoed from all sides. The old man finally felt the danger: "Open this damn door now! I need to get out of this elevator!" Suddenly, this metal box didn’t feel so safe.
Before the person on the phone could answer, Jack Young shoved the old man aside and went to the elevator door. "Hand me a key." Jack took a slightly larger metal key from Femi Foster, slid it vertically into the crack, and twisted it. With a creak, the door opened a finger’s width.
"The pressure on this door isn’t right." Normally, you can just use a key to open a gap in an elevator door without much effort. (I’ve tried it—it works. But then the elevator triggers an error and stops, and if you’re unlucky, you’ll get thrown into The Box.) But this elevator was way tighter than usual. Femi Foster braced the key while Jack Young grabbed both sides of the alloy door and pushed hard—crash! The elevator doors burst open, but instead of a hallway, all they saw was a solid wall.
"We’re stuck between two floors, in the gap." Jack Young looked up. "We need to find another way out."
"No way," the old man forced a laugh. "Maybe it’s just a regular malfunction..."
There was a crack, like something snapping, and the whole elevator dropped two centimeters.
"The cables are starting to break—we need to move, now." Jack Young kept his cool, smacking the ceiling twice. The first hit triggered his super sense, showing him the weak spot. The second hit shattered it, and with a bang, a panel fell open, just big enough for someone to crawl through.
"Quick, let me out first!" The same old man who kept saying he didn’t believe now scrambled for the exit, totally panicked.
Jack Young frowned, then suddenly grabbed the old man and yanked him back.
"What are you doing!" the old man yelled.
Jack Young ignored his shouting, lifted Femi Foster by the waist, and easily helped her up through the opening. Then Jack hopped up onto the elevator roof himself. Looking around, the two of them were now inside a sealed elevator shaft, with a thick steel cable hanging down from above, split into eight thinner cables holding up the elevator. Now, one cable had already snapped, and the second was about to go.
"Quick, pull me up!" The old man grabbed the edge of the hole, struggling to climb. Halfway up, he got stuck—his belly wedged in the gap, unable to go forward or back.
The old man’s face went pale instantly.
"That’s why I wanted you to go last. Also," Jack Young squatted down and looked him in the eye, "Cool B kicked you to save you. Calling him a ‘jerk’ really pissed me off. So, yeah, I’m gonna be a little rough with you."
Snap! The second cable broke. Jack Young quickly grabbed the broken cable, threaded it under the old man’s armpits, wrapped it around his chest, and tied it off behind his back. He tugged hard—still holding.
Snap! A third cable broke. The old man kept struggling, panicking: "No, I can’t get out like this, I’m gonna lose a layer of skin!"
Jack Young wrapped his left arm around Femi Foster’s waist, gripped the thick main cable with his right, then glanced down and shook his head: "Then you’d better start losing weight."