1 The Kiosk

Hana's presence was like a shadow: dark hair, dark skin, dark clothing. Anyone would have assumed by her somber countenance and the grim black color of her dress, that she was in mourning--maybe even on her way to a funeral service.

And people always had something to say.

"My condolences."

"I hope you're alright, dear."

"Poor thing, would you like a coupon? I even have one for flowers." That's a new one.

The forty-something year-old woman at the cash register smiled, thin lips pulling taut and the wrinkles around her mouth deepening. Hana spotted the odd texture of her skin and noticed her splotchy make-up immediately. She sneered.

"No, hag. Keep the change and buy some anti-aging cream. Your old is showing."

Hana grabbed her newly-bought parasol and turned on her heel, striding away from the mall kiosk.

That woman encompassed the two things that Hana couldn't stand: nosy people and pity. It was gross. It made her feel gross. Hana shuddered, gripping the parasol's handle tightly.

The mall was crawling with people and every person Hana bumped into towered over her like an ominous building. Hana wasn't short, but the passing glances of strangers left her feeling small, and so her shoulders curled in and she crossed her arms. The gloomy air radiating from her sparked the pity in their eyes--that pity, again.

Pity. It was always pity.

Hana scoffed. The stupid old woman at the kiosk was to blame for the insecurity curdling inside of her. Or maybe it was her fault for letting it get to her so much?

Whatever. Not like it mattered.

She glanced at the escalator going down to the fourth level and squirmed, the bunches of people standing on the steps dissuading her. To her right, elevator doors opened up and the cabin emptied, leaving no one else inside. Hana hurried in and pushed the first floor button until the doors closed.

Her shoulders slumped and her arms fell to her sides.

She bought her parasol, but buying groceries would have to wait. Tremors began to set in and she slumped against the cold metal of the elevator wall.

The elevator pinged and began to slowly descend. Hana took little notice of it.

'Mom's gonna be mad.' She thought, glaring up at the circular lights on the ceiling. 'It's not my fault, that kiosk lady--'

The cabin jerked to a stop and Hana stumbled, clutching the parasol with one hand and pressing her other hand against the wall to steady herself.

"The hell?" Her eyebrows furrowed and she whipped her head around the elevator cabin, as if an explanation was hidden inside.

A beat of silence passed.

The elevator is stuck, she realized.

Dread swirled in her gut as she stood upright, but Hana knew she couldn't let herself panic, not now. It wasn't even that big of a deal, right? Elevator falls are rare, and in the event that an elevator gets stuck, there are safety measures.

Hana reached for the emergency call button, her finger pressing it once, twice, three times just to be sure. It beeped, once, twice, and--

"Hello, this is the Elevator Hotline Service. Are you alright?"

Hana's trembling settled and she breathed. "Yes, but the elevator is stuck."

"I see. Don't panic, everything is gonna be just fine. You'll be leaving soon."

The voice on the line was gentle and soft, a sweet tone that reminded Hana of an older woman, maybe someone like her own mother. There was something familiar to it.

"Leaving? Someone's on the way, right?" Hana questioned.

"Yes, something is on the way."

Something? What did that mean? Hana shifted and bunched up the bottom seam of her dress between her fingers.

"Well, as long as help is coming, everything is fine."

"Help?" The woman sounded confused, as if the word was something she hadn't even considered.

Unease had Hana sweating, the temperature of the elevator seeming to raise by twenty degrees at least. Warmer temperatures didn't usually phase her, but this whole situation felt off. The stuck elevator was strange, and so too was the woman on the line.

Hana opened her mouth to speak, despite the strangeness of the woman, but the words crumbled in her throat.

The elevator fell.

She was weightless. Her body lifted into the air and slammed into the ceiling lights, a vague burn of heat reddening her dark skin. Spittle and strained screams flew from her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at the floor of the elevator.

Hana tried to breathe. She tried so hard to breathe, but wind stormed in her ears and stole the breath from her lips.

The lights were flickering on and off and the elevator was breaking apart, pieces of debris hurling itself around her. A shard of debris stabbed her in the gut. Blood sprayed the walls in abstract splatters.

Her ears were ringing and she was so dizzy, but Hana managed to catch a steady, almost jovial voice among the chaos.

"[Welcome to the game], you dumb brat. Keep your goddamn change. You're gonna need it more than me."

The world slowed, stretching a second into what felt like eternity. The debris paused in the air, the spray of blood stilled, and the wind froze.

The voice was so familiar. And the change, what--

Oh.

The kiosk lady.

Everything rushed back into focus, time speeding up, and Hana's final moments were filled with clarity, yet also deep confusion.

The elevator crashed to a stop on the first floor, her body crashing along with it. Hana's arms and legs ripped from their joints, smacking into the crumpled metal walls.

The elevator pinged.

The doors opened slowly, a loud wail as they struggled for the last time. The opening didn't lead to the first floor of the mall, but was instead a blue wall of digital text.

[Player 001, congratulations! You have been hand selected for the beta version of Elevate: The Game. Have a swell time!]

Hana's head rolled past the wall of text, disappearing as the elevator doors squealed shut. Her detached limbs and the broken parasol glitched into silhouettes of blue code before disappearing along with it.

Hana was dead.