The Elevator That Skipped the 13th Floor

It was nearly midnight when Clara stepped into the empty elevator of the Stenson Corporate Tower.

She pressed “14.” The elevator blinked and began to move. But instead of the usual mechanical hum, a deep silence swallowed everything. The floor indicator flickered:

11… 12…

Then — nothing. No 13. No 14. The elevator stopped.

The doors opened into a hallway she'd never seen before.

The lights above buzzed, casting shadows that twisted unnaturally. Paintings on the wall depicted people she thought she recognized — her coworkers — but their eyes were missing.

She stepped out.

As Clara walked, the floor behind her vanished into black fog. Phones rang from abandoned desks. A child’s laughter echoed from the copy room. Her own voice called her name from behind a door labeled “13.”

She opened it.

Inside, she saw herself — asleep at her desk, with a clock ticking backwards and a sticky note that read:

"Don’t wake up."

She backed away, but the door slammed shut.

And the elevator was gone.