Unlucky

 

Harper had lived in the Bellview Towers for three quiet years. Twelve floors, a rooftop garden, and an elevator that hummed like an old lullaby. She’d always found it odd there was no button for the 13th floor, just a gap between 12 and 14.

One stormy night, after a late shift, she stepped into the elevator alone. It groaned to life, flickered once, then jolted.

The panel lit up: 13.

She frowned. There was no 13. She reached for the emergency button, but the elevator had already stopped. The doors creaked open.

A dim hallway stretched ahead, lined with faded wallpaper and sconces that buzzed with weak yellow light. The air smelled like mildew and something faintly metallic.

Curious, Harper stepped out. The floor was eerily silent.

The doors slid shut behind her.

She turned, but there was no button panel. No elevator. Just blank doors.

Harper called out. No answer.

Behind her, one door opened slowly.

And from the darkness inside, something stepped forward.

The hallway swallowed her scream.

The elevator never came back.

The building still doesn’t have a 13th floor.

But sometimes, late at night, the light flickers between 12 and 14. Just for a second.

***

200 words

200 words on the dot for an unlucky story? Maybe that's me changing the luck. I've always liked how some buildings don't have a 13th floor, though... or at least don't mark it as 13. I originally thought I was going to go more Sideways Stories from Wayside School here - more silly instead of scary. But I didn't know what would happen... and still don't, honestly. What do you think happened to Harper?