Shafted [ONC 2022]

Simple Comforts

Rukiya was of the opinion that nothing could soothe away the stress of a long meeting quite like a steaming cup of hot chocolate. So, as soon as she'd been set free from the clutches of corporate bureaucracy, she'd made a beeline for the Brew Crew Cafe.

It was Grayland Tower's latest addition, opened to appease the workers on the top floors who complained about having to go all the way to Baker Boys on the ground floor if they wanted a quick lunch. The smell of fresh wood, mixed with coffee and tea and enveloped Rukiya like a warm hug–a feeling she hoped would carry her through the weekend. Only a few patrons milled around in the plush leather seats and booths, tapping away at laptops or scrolling on their phones.

Over her head, a wall-mounted TV displayed footage of firefighters battling a blaze that had engulfed six buildings on the upper west side. Below it, a red ticker flashed across the screen, predicting anywhere from eight to twenty inches of snow along the east coast as a storm moved in from up north.

A shit night all around. Rukiya's gaze moved from the TV to the wall of glass windows flanking the dining area. East Hapton stretched out in an expanse of glittering lights. Buildings rose like stone sentinels, standing high over streets that cut the city into neat squares. Beyond it all was the harbour, where boats lulled on the dark gray waters, backdropped by the last dregs of sunlight.

By now, everyone would either be in their homes, hunkering down for the impending storm or out grabbing last-minute supplies. Rukiya planned to head straight home after grabbing dinner. She liked the cold, but the cold didn't like her.

"Warrick?" the Barista called.

Rukiya snapped her attention to the young brunette behind the counter and put on a smile. "That's me."

"One beef mushroom and cheese panini, one tuna melt with extra cheese. One chocolate caramel latte and one hot chocolate. Enjoy your evening."

"Thank you." She gathered the bags in her arms and backed away from the counter and nearly crashed into a man heading for the door. The drinks sloshed around and a hand shot out to catch the tray before she lost hold of it. Cedar and geranium flooded her nose.

"Sorry," a husky voice came from behind her.

"It's fine, I got it." She adjusted her hand on the tray and looked up at the person, who almost cost her a cupful of comfort. He was fallow-skinned and dark-eyed, topped off with thick dark hair. She would've cussed him out if he wasn't so pretty. "I should've been looking where I was going."

"No problem." He gave a smile that crinkled his eyes at the corners and headed for the exit.

Rukiya groaned as her cell phone buzzed from within her messenger bag. He balanced the sandwiches on top of the drinks and dug under the heavy black coat draped over the leather flap to fish it out. Her boyfriend's face lit up the display–a photo of him holding up a giant margarita from their trip to Miami.

"Yes?" she answered as she exited Brew Crew.

"What do you mean 'yes?' Where are you? Been waiting down here for ages."

She rolled her eyes again. "You've been waiting for five minutes, Ty, and I'm headed down there now." She'd tell him she stopped to get dinner, but he'd complain about that too. That was all he ever did these days. Complain. "You never cook anymore," he'd say. Even though she'd made him breakfast that morning.

"Whatever, just... hurry up." The line went dead, and she scowled. The urge to take ten more laps around the building out of spite was strong, but it wasn't worth getting stuck in a blizzard. She settled for grinding her teeth and cussing him out in her head instead.

Up ahead, the elevator doors parted and the gentleman from the cafe stepped inside, his attention on his phone.

Rukiya picked up her pace as much as she could without jeopardizing the drinks. "Hold the elevator, please!" His head snapped up, and he reached over to push a button. "Thank you," she said as she breached the double doors. The doors slid shut, and the elevator began its descent.

She couldn't wait to get home, soak in a nice, hot bath, and crawl under her heated blanket with a good book. Ty would probably hop on his Xbox then play until the power inevitably went out. They'd stopped playing video games together since she three-stocked him in Smash. Fragile male ego and all that.

Rukiya hazarded a glance at her elevator companion. He was dressed snazzy, much like everyone who visited this tower, in a dark blue suit with a crisp white shirt underneath. A coat of the same colour was draped over his arm, and a backpack hung off one shoulder. His attention wasn't on his phone anymore, but on the glowing elevators buttons. He regarded them with a frown and pinched brow.

Though Rukiya didn't understand why until she glanced at the buttons herself. They were only on floor seventy-two. Usually, it only took thirty seconds for her to be halfway down the tower. Another five seconds ticked by before the button for the button for the floor seventy-one lit up.

Dread pooled like ice water in her stomach, and she tightened her grip on the drink tray. She wanted to ask the gentleman if he thought something was wrong, but talking to a stranger on an elevator was a silently agreed upon taboo, like blaring music from your phone aloud on the subway. So, she watched the buttons too, a sheen of sweat breaking out on her forehead. With each shuddering beat of her heart, she counted the seconds that bled into minutes before the button for floor seventy lit up.

Rukiya swallowed and begged the little red light to move on. Floor seventy sucked. All those stuffy, country club, golfing, mayo chuggers who thought they were better than everyone else did business on floor seventy. The elevator gave a mighty shudder that threw her off balance. Her back hit the wall, and she bit down on her tongue. A metallic screech echoed off the walls, and the lights flickered.

The noise came to an abrupt halt, like a firework dissipating after its deafening boom. Rukiya stood frozen in pace, back against the cold metal wall, chest heaving and arms shaking so much the coffee and hot chocolate sloshed around in their cups.

What the fuck just happened? She tried to voice the thought aloud, but the words got stuck somewhere in her throat. The lights returned to normal, their usually negligible hum sounding like a swarm of bees.

"Are you okay?" the gentleman asked. He held fast to the meta bar that ran along the back of the elevator, and his feet were braced, shoulder-width apart.

Rukiya managed a jerky nod. "Are we stuck?"

"It's fine." He started pushing the buttons, seemingly at random. "The doors won't open, so we may be in between floors." He held down the call button. "Hello? Is anybody there?" Silence came through the intercom.

Rukiya swallowed the bile pooling in her mouth. "Maybe, try the alarm?"

He pushed it. Then pushed it again. Then mashed the button like he was playing an old arcade game. "Shit."

She slid down the wall, her knees failing her. No amount of hot chocolate was going to soothe this away. "We're stuck."