Sebastian stepped into the elevator. The old machine creaked slightly under the shift of his weight. He remembered how much nicer the elevators were at his old job. He needed to move on. There were four other people on the elevator, all of varying ages. One old man looked like he was about to crumble into a fine dust. The lady next to him looked to be about ten years younger. There was a man in his forties and a man in his thirties. He smiled and nodded to them, but received no response. They just looked straight ahead. He got in and selected his floor and followed suit with the rest of them as he stared stiffly at the door. The elevator whirred and slid upwards for fifteen seconds. Looking to his right, he found the old man somehow looking older. The elevator came to a stop, and the old man walked up to the door. It opened and nothing but inky blackness could be seen outside. The old man took one big step and fell, vanishing into the darkness. The doors slid closed as Sebastian began to sweat. He looked at the old woman and noticed that she now looked the same age as the old man had initially been.
“What’s going on here?” Sebastian asked, worriedly.
The elevator came to a second stop and the doors slid open, revealing the same inky blackness.
“Life. that’s all.” The old woman smiled, and stepped forward into nothing.
Riley Thielman, an author living in Seattle, Washington, writes stories in his basement. He has always been an avid reader, and has been casually writing short stories for almost 2 years. A vivid imagination and hyper-fixated inspiration often drive him to begin writing a story.
Modern Flash Fiction 