Exceptional Elfin Elevator Short : Trouble Ender by Bill Schott Stuck in an elevator writing prompt entry

The elevator ride was advertised as the Trouble Ender. Several members of the Gazelle Elves had pooled their resources and created the device. Its successful uses had been widely touted and several hundred people had lined up to take a ride in it. There were claims that the ride from the top floor of the Eland Center to the lobby would alter the course of the passenger's life forever. From the throng, a handful of people were selected and appeared for the long walk up to the fiftieth floor. It seems that the elevator ride up was only taken by the Elfin Galiptod, who supposedly enchanted the chamber prior to its magical descent. All others would have to take the stairs. The stairs were no trouble for Albert Kudu. He was just eighteen, cherub-cheeked, freckle-faced, and had energy for days. He could hardly wait to get to the top floor so he could jump out a window. He knew he wouldn't die, not really. The story of taking the elevator was only a ruse to allow him access to the supernatural building and its mysterious properties. He felt that this was a place he could scratch his suicidal itch, yet survive. Nyala Impala was a private escort, who was following her client for the evening, Father Klipspringer, to the elevator's starting floor. The priest had a penchant for bizarre cult rituals, and the lure of the Trouble Ender was more than he could resist. He also enjoyed the company of beautiful women, whom he would entertain, laugh and frolic with, then return, untouched to their handlers. Sable Gerenuk was having the best time going up to the upper levels on the shoulders of her dad. Sable was a paraplegic. She dreamed that the ride down the elevator would return the use of her legs to her. Lech Gerenuk, Sable's father, wore a grin as he easily carried her up the many stairs. Her collapsible wheelchair hung from his side. He was secretly filled with inner turmoil as he had embezzled several thousand dollars from the bank at which he worked. He had hoped to have some experimental surgery performed on Sable, to keep the hope alive that she might walk again. The final person ascending the stairs with the group was the mega-rich mogul, Spring Oryx. Her personal wealth dwarfed most other pseudo tycoons, as did her greed. She had earned her first dime by stealing tooth-fairy change from under her brothers' pillows and had never looked back or regretted anything. Her lust for money and power had driven her through seven husbands (one of which was an unindicted homicide), nine hostile takeovers, and various and sundry also-ran lovers. Her plan for the deluxe descent was to quadruple her money and leave the Eland Center as the richest woman in the world. After twenty minutes of climbing, the prospective elevator riders assembled in front of the conveyance doors. There, as if on command, the elevator doors slid apart and out stepped the Gazelle Elves Grand Galiptod. "Mony thank yous for obsalving the silent ascension protocol." Spoke the Galiptod in a curious vernacular. "Yule patience en coop-ration will be rewarded." "We will be using the elevator separately, of course," insisted Ms. Oryx. "This is quite not so," returned the elfin leader. "All will twavel together." "Where are the windows, sir," asked Albert politely. "I can't see any at all." "Windows to de soul, here," smiled the elf as he pointed to his eyes. "De west ah in the lobby below us." Lech Gerenuk unfolded Sable's chair and gently lowered her into it. "Let's wheel you in sweety." "Is good to go," chimed the Galiptod. With that, the assembled entered the elevator. Lech pushed Sable to the far left corner of the eight foot square chamber, stood facing the door, and pulled her back to him. Albert sidled up to him, dejected that he wasn't presently sailing out a window. Father Klipspringer and Nyala found the opposite corner and faced out from both the rear and side walls. Finally, Spring Oryx planted herself in the center of the vertical cable car and directed an impatient glare at the elfin leader. "Shall we go?" she asked, with a hint of condescension. With that, the Elfin Galiptod pressed a button in the lobby, uttered the word "Shimmer," and waved as he disappeared behind the closing doors. The guests were each suddenly, though secretly, aghast that they were to ride without a guide. "When this contraption reaches the lobby I will immediately purchase this building and have it razed." snorted the dime-stealing rich lady. "It's pretty tall now," suggested Albert. "Maybe you could add a few windows. Put some upstairs." "No, you dolt," she snapped. "I will reduce this monstrosity to a pile of bricks!" "You are being mean!" blurted Sable from her wheeled apparatus. "Silence infant!" she responded, shooting a blood-freezing stare at the young girl. "Watch your mouth lady!" issued Sable's dad. "I'm a civil guy - but I'll feed you your purse if you say one more thing to my child!" Father Klipspringer stepped quickly between the two quarrelers to quietly pursue peace. "I trust the elevator will start soon." All parties cooled and sought opposite corners. There was a slight jostling movement followed by a quick up/down jerk. It was enough for Ms. Impala to step sideways on her left high-heeled shoe and twist her ankle. She screamed and dropped to the elevator floor. The priest attempted to grab her, but Albert had just squatted on the floor in front of him and he fell over the teen and also hit the floor. Sable laughed and fell out of her chair on purpose to join the fun. The elevator suddenly began its descent. Lech and Ms. Oryx, the only two standing, could feel their feet seem to leave the floor. "Oh my God!" screamed the multi-millionaire. "We're falling!" Lech Gerenuk thought about that elevator ride as he walked his daughter out of the shimmering hospital. The operation had been a huge success. Sable could not only walk, she tapped danced up and down the three steps at the entrance of the building. He was so happy he could return the funds he had stolen and be forgiven. Everything was okay now. Father Klipspringer relaxed on the shimmering beach with a cool tonic and decent tan building on his muscular frame. He'd left the order and had become a successful gigolo on the island of St. Croix. Nyala Impala was his manager and spiritual adviser. The fifty story plummet ended in eight seconds. The car stopped abruptly at the lobby. When the elevator doors opened automatically, two passengers were found flattened to the floor of the gravity trap. The late Ms. Spring Oryx was wearing a broken and tortured face. Her countenance was torn, bloody, and reflected the horror and disbelief of her final seconds of life. The second victim, a young teen just entering manhood, lay face up on the floor of the deadly chamber. He had one eye popped out, laying on his cherub cheek, and a huge smile stretched across his freckled face.   Writing Prompt Write a short story. The topic is: > Stuck in an elevator <. Minimum length 700 words. Maximum Length 4,000 words. Here are your characters- 1, A very rich, very greedy woman who was just told she has less than a year to live. 2, A child (boy or girl) who is in a wheelchair 3, A man who just embezzled thousands of dollars from his job. 4, A woman who is a private escort 5, A priest 6, A teenager (male or female) who is planning to commit suicide Recognized

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