The Voice in the Elevator

The building had twelve floors.

But the elevator panel had thirteen buttons.

Everyone ignored it.

Because the 13th button didn’t light up.

Didn’t work.

And according to the building manager — it didn’t exist.

The New Tenant

Rizwan moved into Apartment 804 on a quiet Thursday evening.

The building was old, but not abandoned. People lived there — quietly, distantly, like strangers sharing the same silence.

On his first night, he noticed something odd.

At exactly 9:22 PM, the elevator moved on its own.

No one called it.

No one entered.

It simply went up.

Stopped.

Then came back down.

He checked the floor indicator.

It skipped from 12… to nothing… then back to 11.

He frowned.

“Faulty system,” he muttered.

But something about it didn’t feel like a malfunction.

Night Two

At 9:21 PM, Rizwan stood inside the elevator.

Waiting.

Testing.

9:22.

The lights flickered.

The elevator jerked slightly.

And before he could react—

The doors closed.

He hadn’t pressed anything.

The elevator began to rise.

1… 3… 5… 8…

His heart started pounding.

“Stop,” he said instinctively, pressing buttons.

Nothing worked.

The panel froze.

Then—

A soft voice filled the elevator.

“Going up.”

Rizwan froze.

It wasn’t the normal robotic voice.

It sounded… human.

Low. Calm.

Almost familiar.

The Missing Floor

The elevator passed Floor 12.

Then the display went blank.

Total silence.

No movement.

No sound.

For a moment, he thought it had stopped.

Then—

The doors opened.

But not to any floor he recognized.

The hallway outside was dim.

No apartment numbers.

No lights except a faint flicker at the far end.

The air felt colder.

Heavy.

Wrong.

Rizwan stepped out slowly.

“Hello?” he called.

No answer.

His footsteps echoed too loudly, as if the space was bigger than it looked.

At the end of the hallway, there was a single door.

Half open.

Light spilling from inside.

The Room

Inside was a small room.

Bare.

A chair.

A table.

And on the table—

A phone.

Ringing.

Rizwan hesitated… then picked it up.

“Hello?”

Silence.

Then—

His own voice replied.

“I told you not to come here.”

He dropped the phone.

His heart slammed against his chest.

“No… this isn’t real…”

The voice continued.

“You always ignore the signs.”

Rizwan backed away slowly.

“This place isn’t a floor… it’s a choice.”

The room suddenly felt smaller.

The walls closer.

The air tighter.

“What choice?” he whispered.

No answer.

Only silence.

The Truth

Behind the table, a mirror hung on the wall.

Rizwan looked into it.

And froze.

The reflection wasn’t moving with him.

It stood still.

Looking directly at him.

Then it spoke.

“You don’t remember, do you?”

Rizwan stumbled back.

“What is this?!”

The reflection stepped forward.

But Rizwan hadn’t moved.

“This is where you ended,” it said calmly.

“Ended?”

The reflection tilted its head slightly.

“The night you chose to give up.”

A sudden flash hit his mind—

A memory.

Standing on the rooftop.

Alone.

Empty.

The same weight in his chest.

The same silence.

“I… I didn’t—”

“You did,” the reflection interrupted. “And this place exists because of that choice.”

Rizwan’s breathing became uneven.

“No… I’m alive…”

The reflection smiled faintly.

“You’re repeating.”

The Escape

The elevator bell rang suddenly from behind him.

Ding.

The doors were open again.

Waiting.

Rizwan didn’t think.

He ran.

As he stepped inside, the voice returned.

“Last chance.”

The doors began to close.

“Choose differently.”

The Decision

The elevator dropped.

Fast.

Too fast.

His heart pounded violently.

The memory of that rooftop… the feeling of giving up… it all came rushing back.

He understood now.

This wasn’t a place.

It was a moment.

A loop.

A second chance.

The elevator stopped.

Doors opened.

Back to the real building.

Floor 8.

Everything normal.

Everything quiet.

The clock on the wall read:

9:22 PM

Same time.

Same moment.

Waiting for the same choice.

Rizwan stepped out slowly.

This time… he didn’t go to the rooftop.

The Next Night

At exactly 9:22 PM, the elevator moved again.

But this time…

It didn’t stop.