IntShoWriMo 2014: Day 4

Day 4: Box Fever

Today’s Prompt: The department store elevator shuts down on the way to the fourth floor, with you and ten other people in it. You remain calm but other people begin to panic. Write this scene and the dialogue between characters.

— Courtesy: WritersDigest.Com

Word Count: 1,312

            “Last time I was in an elevator and this kind of shit happened things took a bad turn and one of the guys croaked,” A woman standing close to the doors said.

            “And when precisely was that, madam?” A man gone in years said.

            “Two, three, four, five years ago,” Said the lady.

            “On what floor was the elevator when it got stuck?”

And the answer came flying right back. “About the third or fourth floor.”

All eyes in the elevator shot up to the display panel. The electric potential in the atmosphere went up a few notches.

            “Ya gotta be kidding me. I don’t believe that hype you cooked up. A ball of crap and old women’s fables, is what it is.” The old man eyed the lady. Well, I can’t say he stared hard or was only looking in her direction cause the place we were in was dark with the lights out.

            “I swear on my mama’s grave.” The lady’s voice had increased in pitch. “Why would I lie when I’m also stuck in this circuit just like everybody else?”

            “Because some people major in giving other people a heart attack,” The old guy said. “Besides being under a lot of stress can lead to running off at the mouth.”

            “I am not under stress, sir.”

            “You’re stuck in this mess with us, lady. Ain’t you?”

“Excuse me,” a masculine executive voice said. Probably, the guy I’d spotted donning a three piece suit earlier when all the lights were on. “Shouldn’t we concentrate our energies on finding a way out of this jam?”

An alarm went off someplace overhead.

            “What on God’s earth is that?” Some guy topping a face cap said. That moment of urgency made his voice come out in a squeal.

            “People, if there ever was a way out of this situation, it is not racketing and panic,” Some dude, standing in the center of the elevator, said. “Let’s get ourselves to…” Read more here IntShoWriMo 2014

Eneh Akpan

June 4th, 2014