Elevator

“Alice!” Wendy screamed at me. “What’s going on?” she shouted with a vibration in her voice. As blood rushed up my body, I felt cold, I was trying to avoid fainting. The elevator shook one more time and came to a complete stop. Wendy was pale and she was grabbing my arm with force. I looked at Isabel, she was mute, her face petrified. It was silent, I could only hear the girls breathing and the sound of my heart pumping. I wanted to vomit.

It was just us in the elevator, we came to play bridge with Marion, our friend who lives in the building. The elevator smelled like metal, dry air and a touch of rubber, it was the typical smell of Marion’s elevator. Wendy was dressed in a green plaid jumper, brown purse and white gloves.   Accenting her outfit with a brushed silver watch, brown belt and pearl earrings, the same style as always.  She has always been afraid of the elevator, she says that she is claustrophobic.  Isabel was wearing a red flowery dress adorned with a golden broche over her left shoulder, a black purse and reddish bandana tied around the strap, a long gold necklace and a thin metal watch, she always dressed very elegantly.

Wendy was squishing my arm with both hands, she was terrified.  I looked at her eyes and said calmly, "Wendy... somebody is going to fix this soon, just calm down, you are with us.  Nothing is going to happen."  Tears popped from her eyes, she was in panic and I didn’t know what to do to calm her down.  Isabel was quiet, staring at me without saying a word, tense, and then suddenly, “We are going to die! Help! Somebody Help!” She started pounding the door with her fists.  Suddenly my throat squeezed, I had trouble breathing.

My forehead got warm, I felt I needed to open my jacket, unbutton by shirt. I looked at Isabel, she was slowly putting her head down as she leaned against the rear wall of the elevator.  She held her face with both hands and with a piercing scream she shouted, “We are all going to die today!” and she begin crying, choking, coughing and spitting.

In that moment I realized that I was on my own.  If I didn’t kept them calm we were going to have a collective heart attack and die of fear. As I was going to catch their attention. The light of the elevator went off. Both Wendy and Isabel hugged me nervously.  Isabel looked at me and said, “do something Alice....get us out now!”

I realized that I had my cell phone, I dug in my purse and dialled 911. The voice on the other end answered, I told her that we were trapped in an elevator at Marion’s building.  I asked them to rush help and bring an ambulance quickly as Wendy and Isabel were not feeling well. The voice on the other end told me to stay calm. “Take a moment to calm yourself,” she said soothingly. Alice could hear Wendy and Isabel repeating, “we are going to die, we are going to die.” “She said that there are very few reports of people actually dying in a trapped elevator,” I reassured Isabel and Wendy.  “Panic could cloud your judgment,” the operator continued, “stay calm. Most likely you will just have to wait for a few minutes until the elevator starts working again,” “Did you try to press a button?” she asked. “Nothing happens,” I replied. “Try the open door button,” she advised.

I have called emergency services already and help is on its way. Remain calm and wait for the help to arrive,” she reassured and continued, “Try singing, dancing, play cell phone games and anything else you can do to keep you and your friends calm until help arrives.”

I hung up the phone, I couldn't see their faces, it was pitch black....  They kept on squishing me really hard. My throat was better, I was gaining more control slowly.  They, on the other hand... were not improving at all.  "OK girls," I shouted, "we are all going to sing Camptown Races."  I noticed that they were letting go of my arms. I started singing, “The Camptown ladies sing this song, Doo-da, Doo-da.......” All of a sudden, there was a noise like bending metal, squiiiiiick...tick...tick...track and the elevator plunged down a foot and stopped.

All three shouted a terrifying scream, “Please God help!” There was a metallic taste in my mouth, it must be blood I thought. And now, both were squeezing my arm harder than before.

Wendy was 37, 5’ tall and fairly thin with a contemplative look on her face, her hair was black, a soft and light hair. Her face was long and gentle with a soft aquiline nose, her skin was smooth with a sweet expression. She was the quietest of all four, the most timid and perhaps the shyest. She married Tom early and had two kids that live in the East.

Isabel was 35, a tad taller at 5’8”, her red hair was short, thin and straight.  I have always envied her lovely hair.  Thin... perhaps 135 lb.  Her face was classically beautiful, thin and without much flesh.  The bones noticeably reflected a quiet essence of sensual maturity and confidence. Her deep blue captivating eyes were akin to a clear sky in the summer. Her skin was always so soft and she smelled nice, perhaps she reminded me of my Mom.

I was 37, like Wendy, we all went to the same high school and we had been friends since then. 5’2” tall, blond hair, good looking I would say.  I was the youngest of 5 siblings, all girls.  I had experience in life thanks to my sisters and the laziness of my parents who didn’t spoil me.  I guess they were already tired of raising girls so I figured out how to do everything on my own.

I looked at my phone to check on the time, we had been trapped only 5 minutes I figured, it seemed like an eternity.  My mind was confused, I was torn between helping the girls or taking care of myself.  The fear of dying was making me reminisce about my life at the speed of light.  Images and thoughts flashed through my mind.  I went to my Johnny’s birth, my first child, the pain, the fear, the absence of George, my late husband, grabbing the midwife’s hand and trusting her in this trance.  I went to the first time I made love with George, I was 17, excited, terrorized, ashamed, happy. When I was only 13 and I stole my Dad’s car from the summer cottage at the lake.  I wanted to drive so badly, it was pure adrenaline that ended up in me being grounded that whole summer. It was worthwhile. The feeling of dizziness when we smoked at school.  The emptiness I felt when my Dad died.  I loved him so much, more so than my Mom.  I started sharing this with Wendy and Isabel, they started loosening their grip on my arm.

I lost track of time while talking about my life, loud knocking on the door startled me, somebody was calling us. It hit me that we were still trapped in the elevator. The girls grabbed my arm again with anxiety.  “We are here,” I shouted to the man outside, “Get us out.” The girls were shaking.  The elevator started squeaking again...squiiiiiick...tick...tick...track and then plunged down another foot and stopped.  And then dropped again another foot and stopped. “Help me God,” Wendy cried, “Help I don’t want to die,” her voice was drowned out by the man’s shouting on the other side of the elevator door.  I could feel her heart close to my arm beating harder and harder.

“Hurry up,” I shouted, “we are not feeling well anymore.”  Wendy’s hands began to let go of my arm and I felt that she was falling so I tried to grab her but one of my arms was still frozen by Isabel. “Wendy passed out,” I said to Isabel, “we need to put her feet up, let me go and help me with the feet.” Isabel could not let go, she was paralyzed, scared, not reacting to my instructions. I shook her away from me to help Wendy who was lying on the cold elevator floor.

“We are going to die,” she whispered as she let go of my arm. “Get her feet off the floor,” I said to Isabel, get a grip I thought, as I was reaching for Wendy’s feet.  The elevator began to squeak again and again dropped another foot.  I was getting ready to go down like a rock, I was preparing and feeling that weird sensation of falling, like the one I have dreamed about a few times, when you jump from the top of the stairs and you feel as if you are falling, free falling.

I could hear that people from outside were putting something in the door to open it.  A metal blade or something I thought, it was in the top of the door. Suddenly the door started opening and a ray of light flooded the elevator. I was blinded, I made an effort to look down to see Wendy. She was motionless and Isabel was sitting with her arms around her legs. I felt that Isabel was floppy, I had her by her feet and could not see any sign of movement.

The door opened wide, I could not look towards the rescue people, the light was blinding me. I noticed that we were below the floor by at least 5 feet. “We need to act fast!” the man exclaimed, "tell your friend to come to us."  I grabbed Isabel by underneath her arms to get her up, she was loose, I couldn't get her to stand up.  “Isabel!” I cried, “You need to stand up dear...now!” I insisted.  Nothing, Isabel was motionless. “Hurry up Maam,” the man said in an imperative tone, “The elevator is about to go down for good!”  I shook Isabel, nothing, it was like she was in a trance, somewhere else.

“I can’t get her up,” I called to the man, and then in desperation asked, “what can I do?”  “We have to take you out now," he said, "there is no more time."  I looked at Isabel and I slapped her face as hard as I could, she woke up instantly.  “Stand up dear,” I said, “we have to go.”   Heavy and slow she stood up and walked to where the man has his arms extended.  “Give me your hands,” the man instructed Isabel, “and you push her up quickly,” he ordered me.  The elevator began to squeak again.  Isabel struggled to get up to the opening and the man grabbed her by the arms and pulled her out of the elevator quickly.

“How are we going to take Wendy out,” I asked the man.  “Maam...we have no more time, you need to get out of there,” he said in a compassionate but strong tone, “Give me your hands.”  The elevator was making that scary noise again.  As I had his hands, he started pulling me, I felt that my arms were going to separate from my body, the elevator drop another foot, there was only 2 feet between the floor and the ceiling of the elevator and my feet were off the elevator floor. I was trying to push myself up but the wall was slippery, my stomach was as hard as a drum. I needed to get out of there fast.

The man pulled me and my body began to slide up and onto the floor.  Moments after I was out of the elevator, I heard this scream.  Wendy had woken up and she was scared, she wanted to get out.  The elevator plunged again.  The man look at me and the noise of the metal giving up flood the place, and then the silent and the noise of the cables unwinding and the cage sliding in a free fall and boom. The elevator had stopped at the bottom of the shaft.  I turned around to look at the man, he held me and nodded his head. There was silence. I hugged Isabel and a tear ran down my face.