ep 4
Xavier spots a landline phone on a desk and rushes to it, his hands trembling as he dials the number.
Static crackles on the line, followed by an unsettling silence.
No response comes... Frustrated, he slams the receiver back down.
His eyes then fall on a CCTV camera mounted in the corridor. An idea strikes him.
Xavier
/To himself/
Maybe someone’s watching.
He grabs a pen and paper from a nearby desk, scrawls the word "HELP" in large, desperate letters, and holds it up to the camera.
For a moment, he stares into the lens, hoping for a response. Nothing happens.
Xavier
/Dropping the paper/
Useless!
A realization dawns upon him—something is terribly wrong with the elevator. Steeling himself, he decides to take the stairs.
Xavier bolts into the stairwell, determined to escape the ninth floor. He takes the stairs two at a time, his footsteps echoing in the eerie silence.
As he descends, the numbers painted on the walls blur past him. He stops, panting, and looks at the floor number.
Xavier
/Out of breath/
Still… the ninth floor?
Confused and terrified, he runs again, faster this time, but every descent leads him back to the same landing:
THE NINTH FLOOR.
Panic sets in as he realizes he’s trapped in an endless loop.
Xavier
/Shouting in frustration/
No, no, no! This can’t be happening!
Out of options, Xavier remembers the watchman. He sprints to the cabin door, where he’d seen the watchman smoking earlier, and begins banging on it.
Xavier
/Pounding the door/
Hey! Watchman! Are you deaf? Open up!
Through the small glass window, the watchman notices Xavier and gets up from his seat. He pulls out a key and fumbles with the lock.
office watchman 1
/From the other side/
Yes, sir. Hold on, I’m trying to open it.
Xavier
/Impatiently/
Quick! I don’t have time for this!
The watchman twists the knob repeatedly, but the door refuses to budge.
office watchman 1
/Confused/
Sir… it’s stuck. I think something’s wrong.
Xavier
/Angrily/
Stuck?! Are you kidding me?
As he yells, he notices blood trickling from the watchman’s nose. Xavier’s expression shifts from anger to concern.
Xavier
/Pointing/
Hey, you’re bleeding. Your nose…
The watchman looks at Xavier with hollow, distant eyes. Slowly, he pulls a blade from his pocket. Xavier freezes in horror as the watchman raises it to his throat and, in one swift motion, slits it.
Xavier
/Screaming/
NO! HEY! WATCHMAN!
The watchman collapses out of sight.
Suddenly a bloody handprint smeared on the glass window as his body slumps.
Blood begins to ooze through the gap beneath the door.
Xavier stumbles backward, his legs shaky. He stares at the growing pool of blood with wide, disbelieving eyes. Unable to process what he’s just witnessed, he turns and bolts back to the office.
Once inside, he finds a desk and crawls under it, curling into himself. His breaths come in short, panicked gasps. The silence is oppressive, broken only by the faint hum of the building’s electrical systems.
Xavier
/Whispering to himself, trembling/
This… this isn’t real. This isn’t real… it’s just a nightmare. I’ll wake up… I’ll wake up…
A faint sound—a low, rhythmic tapping—echoes from the far end of the office.
Xavier
/Freezing in place, his heart pounding/
Is someone there?
Summoning his courage, Xavier walks toward the source of the noise. His footsteps echo unnaturally loudly in the empty space.
Xavier
/follows the source cautiously/
The sound is coming from the document room.
He slowly opens the door.
Ria
/bursts out, breathing heavily; glaring at Xavier/
You?! What are you doing here?
Xavier
/staring at her in disbelief/
Wait, you’re here too?
Ria
/accusingly/
Don’t play dumb! It was you, wasn’t it? You locked me in here, didn’t you?
Xavier
/frowning/
Why on earth would I lock you up?
Ria
/rolling her eyes/
To take revenge on me, obviously! Ugh, why am I even wasting my time arguing with you?
/grabs her purse and storms toward the corridor/
Xavier
/alarmed/
Wait! Where are you going?
Ria
Home. Unlike you, I don’t plan on spending the entire night here.
Xavier
/urgently/
Listen, there’s something wrong with this building—a ghost or something. It’s not letting anyone leave this floor. I’ve tried everything!
Ria
/pausing to glare at him/
Oh, give me a break. Stop making up stories to scare me. I’m not falling for it.
/enters the elevator and presses the ground floor button/
Xavier
/panicking/
Hey! Don’t take the elevator—it’s controlled by the ghost!
Ria
/irritated/
Are you coming, or not?
Xavier hesitates, then reluctantly rushes in before the doors close.
The elevator begins to descend but stops at the second floor. The doors open.
Ria
/stepping out and looking around/
What the—? This isn’t the ground floor.
Xavier
/still inside, watching nervously mumbles/
I told you.
Ria
/sighs and steps back into the elevator, pressing the ground floor button again/
The doors close and open, but once again, the elevator doesn’t move.
Ria
/frustrated/
Ugh, what is wrong with this thing?
She decides to take the stairs. Xavier stays near the elevator, cautiously observing her as she begins her descent.
A moment later, Ria stops in her tracks and gasps.
Ria
/looking up at Xavier/
Wait... how are you up there?
Xavier
/confused, waving at her/
Hi?
Ria
/panicking, climbing back up/
This can’t be happening.
She reaches the same spot and freezes. Turning to her side, she sees Xavier's figure again, standing just a few steps away. It was like a loop—no matter how much she climbed up or down, she stayed stuck on the same floor.
Xavier
/calmly, trying to reason with her/
This is what I’ve been trying to tell you. We can’t leave. We’re trapped here. Let me explain everything—
Ria
/taking a deep breath/
Alright... fine. But wait, I just remembered—there’s a watchman on the sixth floor. We should talk to him. He might know something.
They re-enter the elevator, aiming for the sixth floor. But instead of stopping, the elevator rises further and then abruptly halts mid-way.
Ria
/nervously/
Why did it stop?!
Xavier
/terrified, clinging to the elevator wall/
I... I don’t know!
Suddenly, Ria sits down on the elevator floor, rummaging through her purse.
Xavier
/alarmed, stepping back/
What are you doing?!
Ria
/pulling out two pens/
Just trust me.
With swift, deliberate movements, she draws a circle on the floor. Inside a circle, she carefully sketches a star. Around the edges, she begins writing...
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