It was late. I just got off the bullet train. I was tired and hungry. The bus from Heihe, my hometown, to Harbin took almost six hours. The bullet train was as fast as advertised, but it took almost 17 hours. So, in total I had been travelling for over 24 hours. I wanted to check-in to a hotel and sleep, but I had an appointment to keep. I was supposed to start my new job as a buyer for a high-end brand. I had a video call a week ago and they offered me a job, I jumped at the chance because I’ve always wanted to work in fashion, but there were no opportunities in in my hometown. Sure, Shenzhen is far, and I wouldn’t be able to see my parents often, but for my dream job I would do anything. I took a taxi from the train station straight to the address the company gave me. It didn’t look like the picture they sent me. I asked the driver, and he confirmed it was the right place. The building looked older and a little worn down. I had my luggage delivered to the company dorm a couple days before I left so I didn’t have to worry about it. Anyway, I went inside to talk to the receptionist. A young lady with ghostly pale skin and a depressed look on her face pointed me towards the elevators.

“18^th floor, take the elevator on your right.” She said.

I took the elevator. I did one last makeup check with my smartphone camera before the doors opened. The lights flickered as I arrived at my floor. I thought it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. A balding man with thick glasses greeted me outside the elevators.

“Welcome, I’m Cāng head of human resources.”

“Nice to meet you Mr. Cāng. I’m Ai Liu”

“Right this way.” He said.

I followed him down a long white corridor with lots of empty offices.

“Where are all the other employees?” I asked.

“Oh, most people work the day shift, that’s why it feels empty right now.” He said.

“Ah, I see.”

“This is your office.” He said as he pointed to a dingey space with a dusty desk surrounded by a small tower of boxes.

“Would you excuse me? I need to use the lady’s room.” I said.

I walked to my executive bathroom. It had a western style toilet. I pushed the handle because I wanted to see it work, but nothing. No, water. I tried the shower next to it, but all that came out was a little bit of dust.

“I think my bathroom is broken. None of the fixtures work.” I said.

However, Mr. Cāng was nowhere to be seen when I exited the bathroom. I called out into the vacant hall, but all I heard was my own voice echoing back at me. I felt like I had been duped. I went to look for Mr. Cāng to give him a piece of my mind. I walked all around the 18^th floor, but he was nowhere to be seen. I took the stairs down one level, because I thought I had remembered HR being on the 17^th floor, according to the new employee materials they emailed to me. When I opened the stairwell door I saw a very similar site, a long white corridor and lots of empty offices, but at the end of the hall I noticed there was some construction. I don’t know what drove me to check, but I just had a feeling that something wasn’t right. I pulled a clear plastic sheet away and looked inside. There was a gap in the wall. I squeezed through the gap and on the other side I saw something unnatural. Machine pistons pumping and red-eyed lights staring back at me. Hot steam hissed and roared. I thought I had blundered into a boiler room, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I was in some kind of trap. I ran for the elevator. I pushed the button for the first floor. The elevator lights flickered again. I took out my phone, just in case the lights went out. I could feel my heartbeat pounding in head. The doors opened and I stepped out of the elevator, but I hadn’t gone anywhere. I was still on the 17th floor. I stared back at the gaping maw of the elevator and decided to take the stairs. I went down one level and opened the doors, 16^th floor. Good, I wasn’t crazy. I went down fifteen more levels and opened the door. I was still on the 16^th floor. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I sat down and closed my eyes for minute to think. When I opened them, I was still on the 16^th floor, but the corridor looked smaller. I went back down the stairs, one level this time. When I checked I was on the fifteenth floor. I thought I had figured it out.

“I just have to check on every floor and then I can leave.” I said to myself.

It worked for the next three floors, but after that the floor numbers disappeared from the walls. I checked the corridor, and it was still getting shorter. I changed strategies.

I’ll go to the roof and call for help. I walked up twenty floors, opening the door and checking for a floor number, and checking to see if the corridor’s length changed. It was all going to plan. I was going to get out. I was going to go home. I reached the 40^th floor. I opened the steel door expecting to see the night sky, but all I saw was a white corridor. It was over. I couldn’t leave. I shuffled to the elevator and went inside and mashed the button for the 18^th floor. The elevator opened and I walked to my office. I used a box for a chair and sat behind the dusty desk. I put my head down on the desk, shut my eyes, and prayed that it was all a dream. When I opened them again Mr. Cāng was standing in the doorway.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” He said.

How did you enjoy that short horror story? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments. What would you do if you were in Ai Liu’s shoes?