Trapped in an Elevator with an Enemy by Godfrey Green

Trapped in an Elevator with an Enemy by Godfrey Green

The elevator doors slowly closed. I was alone, except for one other person, I was vaguely aware of, over to the side and slightly in back of me. The elevator started to climb.  I looked at the shiny brown walls and felt slightly trapped. Wouldn’t it be awful, I thought, to be stuck in this elevator? I recalled images I had heard of and even seen: an elevator stuck in mid-air, with the danger of falling with a smash.

I’m glad. I thought. I’m glad…The elevator jerked to a halt. Was I imagining it? But it was a jerk and another smaller jerk. No, we were not moving.

I looked at the other passenger. I looked hard. I had seen that face before. Wait a minute! It was Mandy. Oh no! She looked at me, seemingly without recognition. Then a faint awakening.  She knows me, I said to myself. But I pretended. “I never thought this would happen,“ I said.  

“Me neither.” Her voice was so small and timid.

“I’ve heard about it so many times. I guess we should press a button,” I said.

I was searching. “Where is it?”

“Here.” She pointed. It said alarm. 

“Should I press it?”    

“Yes.”

I pressed it. In the distance, I could hear it ring.

“I wonder how long they take,“ I said.

She shrugged.

Isn’t she even nervous? I thought. But then, how could I know? She is so stiff anyway. This is the same Mandy. The pixie who stabbed me in the back. Unwilling to face me. Well, now she is facing me. I wanted to tear her apart, but I must restrain myself, wait. Mandy, small, in a conservative flowered dress. Her brown hair long and flowing. The same Mandy! Pixie!

Does she recognize me? 

At first, I had a great deal of confidence. Someone will come quickly to rescue us. How will they do it? We are between floors. Can they move the elevator to a floor? How?

“How will they reach us?” I asked the supposed Mandy.

She shrugged again.

I was feeling some irritation.

“Haven’t you ever heard of elevator rescue?” I pressed.

“No.”

I was exasperated. I had visions of ladders, cranes, blasting off an elevator wall.

I confronted her. “You don’t like to talk, do you?”

“It doesn’t help,” she said.

What would happen if nobody was around? I wondered. How could we escape. How long could we breathe? My searching eyes saw air vents. So how much air was coming through them?

I began to drum my fingers on the wall.

Soon she said, “That’s pretty irritating.”

“Yes, so what do you want me to do? You won’t even talk. Should I sing?” I began to hum a tune.

“That’s also irritating.”

I attacked her with my eyes. “You do remember me, don’t you—Mandy?”

“Godfrey,” she whispered.

“Aha! So you were pretending all along.”

“I was not pretending. You didn’t ask if I remembered you.”

“How does it feel to be stuck in an elevator with the man you stabbed in the back?”

“What?”

“You heard what I said. The man you were afraid to face.”

“That’s not what happened.”

“Yes it is. Little Mandy, so afraid, she went to the boss and begged him to do her dirty work!”

She reddened. “Not true.”        

“Then what is true?”

“Not what you say.”

It had been more than ten minutes. And we had not heard a sound. The walls of the elevator seemed to be closing in. it seemed to be heating up, but was it just my nervousness?

I put my finger on the alarm button and pressed and kept it there.         

“You may break it,” she said.

“So you like being stuck here?”

“With you? Hardly!”

“It’s no use!” I said. “We’ll be here until tomorrow morning.”

I hated to think of what would happen when bodily functions imposed.

“So how does it feel facing the one you were so afraid to face back then?” I challenged.

“I wasn’t afraid.”

“Oh yes, you were! Went to the strong man because you were so weak. What does that say for women’s rights and equal opportunity for women?”

“This has nothing to do with…”

“Oh yes it does! If a woman can’t face a man to reprimand and dismiss him.”

“What you say is all wrong,” she countered.

“It’s what happened.”

“It’s not…”

“Then what happened?” I challenged.

“I hardly remember…oh, yes, you were behaving impossibly. You were not listening to anything. You…”

“I always listen—to everything!”       

“You argued about everything.” She was getting excited. “You disrupted.”                  

“Only concerning important issues.”

“You were also making it hard for me to do my job and the children were afraid of you.”

“Children afraid? Never! You are just making up lies now.”

“It’s all true.”

“Just making up stuff because you have no legitimate defense.” I shouted.

 “You are a liar!” she flared up., her face distorted and red.

“Ha! Little pixie Mandy, angry. Aren’t you cute with a red face and trembling all over?”

“You were always that way!”

“What way? I’m just straightforward. I tell the truth.” I felt very self-righteous. 

“You tell your own truth. You are obsessed with yourself.”

”No, you are just a pixie—afraid of the truth. You couldn’t even face me! Coward!”

“Because I knew you wouldn’t listen. But you would listen to Brad. 

“Bullshit! You were so afraid.”

“I was not! “

I moved toward her. “You are even afraid now.”

She shrunk against the wall. “I—I’m not…” But she was shaking.

“Because you are wrong and you were wrong then! And you knew it. Thought you could just get rid of me the easy way—and it worked. So you could just forget about it. Never thought you would encounter me—years later—alone!”

“It’s all false!”

“What are you going to do now?” I asked.      

“Are you really a violent person?”

“What do you think? You hate me so!” 

“You’re the one who hates!”

“Listen!” I cried. Did you hear that?”

“What?”

“That noise.”

“I didn’t hear any noise.”

“I heard something I swear.”

We both listened, but all was silence.

“They’re never going to come,” she said. “I’m stuck in here with you. Just kill me, if you want.”

“You do feel very guilty, don’t you?”

“I do not.”

“Ah, but you do.”

“No.”

“Of course you do. I was there to help children and you couldn’t even have a little patience with me.”

“Oh, you—you were impossible.”

“Nonsense.”

“I couldn’t even do my job. You were interfering.”

 “I was only doing what was right. I was hired to be a friend to children and I was doing my job. Only you didn’t like me.”       

“Hah! That’s not what I saw!” She scorned.

“I think you don’t like men.”

Mandy blushed and squirmed.

“You’re a lesbian, aren’t you?” I shouted.

She blushed even more.

“Oh, you don’t like men—except for that mamby-pamby Chris.”

“Chris was just helping me. Chris was very responsible. He was a wonderful help.”

“Sure!” I jeered.

She shrugged and turned away from me. “I don’t care what you think!” 

I looked at my watch.

“It’s 6:00!” I said. “Nobody will come now. The building must be closed.”

Finally, she did look afraid. “What shall we do?”       

“We could try to escape.”                                                      

“Escape? How? There’s no way!”

I searched all over. No space under the door. I pulled on the edge of the door hard to the side. Of course it wouldn’t budge.

Would there be a way to pry it open? But we had no tools. The ceiling looked well sealed around the edges. Everything was sealed. The door was the only place that wasn’t sealed.

“We’re stuck here until morning,” said Mandy. “I hate to think what will happen when our natural functions summon us.”

“You’re not even afraid,” I said, “and you were so afraid of me back then!”

“I wasn’t afraid,” she repeated.

I looked in her eyes. “You were such a coward!”

“Again!” she said and started humming, looking away from me.

“OK, what can you do now to save us?” I asked.

“Maybe we shouldn’t talk so much, to preserve air,” she countered.

“Isn’t there air coming in?” I pointed to the slits high on the wall. Was it possible to enlarge them?

I raised my hand and could feel air.

“We’re Ok,” I said.

“OK?” She questioned.

“We can breathe.”

“But for how long?

 “We can breathe.”

Suddenly the elevator heaved, as if something had given it a tremendous shove.

“What was that?” shouted Mandy

Again, the elevator shook.

There were muffled voices that sounded far away and yet near.

“Is anyone there?’ I shouted. “Hello! Is anyone there?”

No answer. But the voices went on.

“Hello!” Mandy joined in. “Should I scream?” she said. “I should scream.”

She screamed loudly. Then as loudly as she could.      

For the first time, watching her, listening to her, I felt fear. This Pixie girl, how could such a blood curding sound emanate from her? What rage in this person? Her face was no more pixie, but witchlike, he hair stringy, her teeth long.

I began pushing the bell as hard as I could, over and over.      

Mandy banged her fist against the wall, then nursed it. “Damn it! Damn it to hell!” she cursed.

I stared in surprise. “You can curse like that?”

“Yes, damn it!”

“I can’t believe it—Mandy the pixie.”

“Don’t call me that—you—you shithead!”

“Wow!”

“Yes, you always were one!” she shouted.

“And what about you? What are you?”

The voices were the same. They seemed below, yet far away.

“I” said Mandy. “I-I…”

“Can’t get it out, can you?” I teased. “What will you do now?”

“I—I…”

“I know. You will do NOTHING,” I said. “There’s no one to tattle to. Just the two of us.”

“Oh shut up!” 

“At least you’re not afraid of me anymore.”    

“What will YOU do?” she countered.

“Try to get out. Those people are not going to help us. I don’t know how they could not hear us!”

 “They just keep talking as if we were not here!” she shouted. Why don’t you people just shut up if you won’t listen to us and help us?”

“They are deaf,” I said.

“Don’t you wish your husband were here?”

“I don’t have a husband.”

“Oh? How come?”

“I just don’t.”

“That’s right, you’re a lesbian.”

“I didn’t say…”

“If we could…” I searched again, painstakingly. “If we could just find an opening.”

The vent near the top of the wall. If I could open it. But how to get up there?

“What are you looking at so hard?”

“The vent, of course.”

“Why?”

“What, you think a body can fit through it?”

“I don’t know.”

“If I could get up there and look…”

I examined Mandy. “If only you were a man—if only you were strong!” I need a strong body that I can stand on, not a spindly pixie like you!”

“Oh yeah? I’m stronger than you think.”  She tensed her arms and showed little round biceps.    

“Sure! You’re a HE MAN.” 

“I am!”

“So, you can carry me? On your back?”

She said yes. So we gave it a try.

She bent and put her palms flat on the floor, braced herself. “OK, I’m ready.”

”Now I’ll really kill you,” I said and climbed on her, holding onto the wall

I examined the vent. “If only I had a tool. Do you have a knife?”

“How would I have a knife…?”

“Anything sharp.”

“No.” 

“A pen?”

“What good is a pen?”

“Not much.”

“There’s no way!” I said and jumped off her.

“That’s what I told you,” she reiterated.

“Pixie!” I exclaimed.

“Shithead!”

“Bitch!”

“Bastard!”

“Cunt!”

“That is too dirty!”  You are not a gentleman

“You are not a lady.”

“People have said I am.”

“I can see why you don’t have a husband.”

“Why?”

“You are too bitchy. No man would stay with you. And you would go behind his back report him for not paying his taxes, keep a record of his driving violations and turn them into the police.”

“I don’t have a husband because—I’m gay!”

“Aha! I knew it! You don’t like men!”

“Not men like you!”     

“Not any man!”

“What about Chris who was at the place, who we have already talked about? I was friendly with him.”

 “Spindly Chris. OK, he was probably also gay—at least fairy-like.”

“You don’t have to insult Chris he’s not here!”

I look her over. “So, you’re gay—a lesbian, and hiding it!

“I’m not hiding it!”

“You were at that place.”

“No, it just never came up.”

“Because you didn’t want it to come up. Is that why you’re not afraid of me now?”

“What?”

“Because you are not a real woman.”

“I’m real! You are a bigot!” she replied.

“I’m a realist.”

“You are a woman-hater!”

“You are a man-hater!”

“I like decent men.”

 “Listen, I have to tell you something,” she said. “I-I have to urinate. What should I do?”

“Oh ho!”

“No, really!”

“Well, if you have to, you have to do it. You don’t want to wet your pants. That would be a mess.”

“But it’s—it’s so nasty.”

“Do it in the corner.” I point.

“OK, don’t watch me!”

“OK.” I turn to look in the opposite corner.”

“Oh, this is so awful!” she said. 

“Just do it!”

“Don’t you ever have to urinate?” she asked.

“No now. What if we have to do the other thing. How will we manage that???”

She urinated with a splashing stream.

“OK, I’m finished. “

“At least the elevator is level,” I said.

But we had to stand to one side, avoiding the whole corner.

“Now I did an embarrassing thing, you have to do an embarrassing thing,” she challenged.

“Are you nuts?”

“No.”

“Don’t tempt me. I could do it, but you wouldn’t like it.”

“Do it anyway!” Do anything! We are stuck here. We may die! Nobody cares! Take off all your clothes! Have an erection in front of me!”

“Uh! What? OK, Should I rape you?” I start to approach her.

She screamed “No!” She backs into the other corner, as if to push her way through the wall.

“But you said…”

“Not that! I’m crazy! But not that crazy! Please!

I draw back. “Well, be careful what you say.”

“OK, you want to see something?”

I jumped in the air. I started to bang on the walls with all my might. 

“You are crazy!”

“Yes, I’m crazy!”

“I’m crazy, too.”

We were jumping around, shouting, singing, etc. (Avoiding the urine.) 

She started laughing. I started laughing.

I sat on the floor. She sat on the floor beside me.

“What will we do now?”

“What can we do?”

“I’m tired.”

“I’m tired.”

We heard a voice just below.

“Hello, is anyone there?”

“Yes!” I shouted. “Yes, we are stuck in here. Can you help us? Please help us!”

“Who are you?”

“We are two people who are stuck in this elevator.”

“How did you get stuck?”

“The elevator just stopped,” I shouted.

“You must be stupid.”

“How? Did we do anything to stop the elevator?”

“Elevators don’t just stop without help.”

“This one did.”

This one did,” repeated the voice.

“Well, are you going to help us?” I said.

“Well, are you going to help us?” the voice echoed back.

“You are not funny,” called Mandy.

“You are not funny.”

“Idiot!” she cried.

“It takes one to know one,” the voice came back.

“Listen!” I called. “We are in trouble and this is not a joke. Please see if you can help. Someone in the building—maybe a night watchman.”

There was no response—no more noise.

We waited.

“Maybe he has gone to get help,” I said hopefully.

“An idiot,” said Mandy.

“But if he gets help, we will forgive him.” 

“And I may even forgive you.”

“And I you.”

We stayed on the floor.

“Maybe we can sleep,” I said.

SLAM! Something hit the elevator from below. We both started. Another and another. Instinctively, 

Mandy leaned toward me. “I’m scared!” she said. “Someone wants to kill us.”  

Another one! Without thinking, I took her in my arms. “They can’t get through to us.”

“B-but…”

“We’ll be safe.”

It stopped.

“I’m afraid,” she said.

“There’s nothing we can do. Relax.”

The lights went out. 

She laughed. “I never thought I’d be stuck in an elevator in the dark with you!”

“Nor I you!”

“It reminds me of the time when I was a little girl and my parents left me alone. I was so lonely!

I’m sorry I threw you out,” she murmured. “I was angry. I should have talked with you first. I just didn’t want a scene. I don’t know why. I always hated scenes and tried to avoid them.” So Maybe I was a coward.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have been so angry with you. It’s just that I thought I was doing well with some of the children—and that you undercut me, and didn’t want to see the good”

“B-but you were…never mind. It’s over. I like you now and what you’re doing.”  She said.

“Well, maybe I could like you. You do have good qualities….” I

“Oh, really!…” she said.

“You do, but maybe you shouldn’t be so afraid—especially when there is no physical harm…” 

“How did I know that you…?” she started.

“No, let’s not go there.” I cautioned.

“OK, OK.” She said.

“But you don’t know what I have experienced. Especially as a lesbian: the belittling, the insults…”

“OK”

“Well, you couldn’t understand…’ she dropped off.

“I could. Look, to tell the truth, I said. “I’ve never been confident. In fact, I needed the children to buoy me, to give me acceptance—and you took that away from me.”

“Sorry. But I was also not confident. I was afraid the children would turn on me.”

“But they didn’t know you were…”

“But they could suspect. It’s not exactly a secret. I was also afraid I would fail.”

I was looking hard at the elevator wall, esp. in the back corner. 

“Hey, what—what is that?”

“What?” she asked.

“Am I mistaken? No, it’s a…”

I struggled up and went over to the corner.

“It’s a crack—a hairline crack.” I felt the wall with my fingers.

“There’s a slight separation here.”

She came to see.

I pulled on it. Finally got it to move—slowly—slowly—an opening emerged. Darkness beyond.

“Amazing!”

“Amazing!”

I looked for steps of some kind. I got down on my knees and felt along the edge. A ladder. There was a ladder in the corner.

“Come,” I said.

She peered anxiously into the dark. “You want to go down there?”

“It’s our way out. You can do it. I’ll help you.”  

I clumsily backward placed my feet on the ladder and steadied myself.

“Come,” I called.

I carefully stepped down one rung.

She faced backward and gingerly put her feet on the top rung.

Slowly we progressed down backward. 

“You can do it,” I reassured, “just go slowly, one step at a time.” 

“I—I…”

She slipped. “Oh!” I caught her…

Voices became audible.

My feet touched the bottom floor.

“People are there!” I said.

Flashlights were beaming.

“Are you OK?” said a voice.

Mandy touched the floor in front of me.

“You’re a little late!” I said to our supposed rescuers.

“We heard that someone was in the elevator.”

“Not anymore!” I said.

“Where were you when we needed you?” shouted Mandy. Suddenly she burst into tears. 

“It’s Ok now,” I consoled, patting her shoulder.

She threw herself into my arms, sobbing. 

“Thank you!”

“Thank you!” I said.

* * * * THE END * * * *
Copyright Godfrey Green 2026

Image Source: Jason Dent from Unsplash.com