Tony was waiting for the lift to arrive of his residential building. He was in dire need of some sleep as he was returning from a night shift. He cursed at the Lift for keeping him waiting for long. He remembered that a circular was posted on the society WhatsApp group, It said that the lift requires maintenance so people using it need to be cautious. As it was the only lift in the standalone property, He either had the option to wait for the lift to arrive or he could've taken the stares. He decided to wait for the lift as he had no strength left to take the stair. While he was blaming himself for renting a flat in such a problematic property, he heard the lift arrive.
He entered the lift and pressed the button of his floor. When the door of the lift started to shut, he heard a loud scream requesting him to hold the lift. He extended his hand to disturb the sensor so that the lift door would slide back open. He looked straight towards the lobby. He saw a female running towards the lift with her sipper in one hand and mobile + keys in the other. She rushed into the lift and thanked Tony with a broad smile.
The lift door shuts, and it starts moving upwards. The lift crosses the first floor. Tony looks at her through the reflection of the mirror starting from her running shoes, he met her eyes as his gaze reached towards her face. She too was looking at him through the mirror. They gave each other a smile and Tony extended his hands awkwardly towards her and introduced himself. She exchanged her greeting and said that her name was Tina.
The lift moved up a few more floors and they suddenly felt a jerk and the lights flickered. The emergency light of the lift went on and they started listening to a pre-recorded audio clip. The audio clip mentioned that the occupants need not panic, as the lift is facing a technical issue. The message stopped after it was repeated thrice.
Tony tried to have a look at the lifts control panel. He heard a loud bang, Then another one and then another. Tina who went to bang the door frame for the fourth time was stopped by Tony as he held her wrist and requested her not to panic.
Tony: "Tina hey I understand it is a very unfortunate situation to be in here, but we need to control ourselves".
Tina sighs and requests Tony to leave her wrist which he had kept held into his hand.
Tina: "Tony I am not sure when you moved into this property. But in case you were not aware. The 7th and the 8th floor are not occupied and the chances of anyone calling for a lift at 5 in the morning to be used is very rare".
Tony was not aware of this fact and heard Tina complain to herself that she shouldn't have returned to the to take her air pods she had forgotten and should've just gone for the run.
They both tried to keep sane as much as they could and asked each other a few questions trying to pass the time sitting on the floor. Tina looked at the watch after some time and saw that it was 5:30. Only half an hour had passed since they were stuck, and she was now feeling restless.
She looked towards Tony and noticed that he had fallen asleep. She looked at him closely and found Tony to be a handsome man in his late twenties. Tina was in her mid-Thirties.