This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/Big-Performance9785 on 2024-09-09 01:55:23+00:00.
I work the night shift as a security guard at a downtown office building. It’s an old structure—built in the '70s—and while it's nothing special, the building has its fair share of quirks: flickering lights, creaking pipes, and an elevator that makes the most unsettling groaning sound whenever it moves.
Usually, the shift is quiet. Just me, the cameras, and the dim hum of the overhead lights. But a few nights ago, something changed.
Around 2 a.m., I noticed someone on the cameras. A figure. He—or it—was standing in the lobby, just out of the reach of the light. I couldn’t make out his face, but his clothes looked old, like they didn’t belong in this decade.
He stood there for a moment, motionless, before moving toward the elevator. His gait was stiff, almost unnatural. He pressed the button and waited. The elevator didn't move.
I kept watching, thinking maybe it was a homeless guy who wandered in, but after a few minutes, something strange happened: the lights flickered once, then went out completely. The screen showing the lobby camera turned black. My heart raced. I waited for the power to come back on, but it didn’t. It was just... silence.
I decided to check it out in person. Stupid, I know, but curiosity got the better of me. Grabbing my flashlight, I made my way down to the lobby. As I walked, I could feel the oppressive weight of the darkness pressing in on me. Everything felt wrong.
When I reached the lobby, it was pitch-black except for the weak beam of my flashlight. I swept the light across the room. Empty. No sign of the man. But the air felt... thick, like something was there, hiding just out of sight. The only sound was the soft hum of the elevator.
I pointed the light at the elevator doors. They were open.
I froze. That elevator never moved, not in all the time I’d been working here. And yet, now it was wide open, revealing an abyss of darkness inside.
I stepped forward, my flashlight shaking in my hand. The darkness inside the elevator seemed to pulse, like it was alive, waiting for something—or someone. My gut screamed at me to turn around, to run back to the security room, but I couldn’t move. My feet felt like they were glued to the floor.
Then I felt it. Something brushed against my back.
It was light, almost like the softest whisper of a hand, but it was enough to send every nerve in my body into overdrive. I spun around, but there was nothing. Just empty air.
Or so I thought.
The flashlight flickered, and I caught a glimpse—just a flicker—of movement in the corner of my eye. Something tall, too tall, and it was standing just behind me. I turned, heart pounding in my chest, but when I looked, the thing was gone. The lobby was empty.
Except... I wasn’t alone.
I could feel something watching me from behind, but every time I turned, there was nothing. No sound, no movement—just the suffocating weight of its presence. It was like the air was alive, pressing against me, whispering in a language I couldn’t understand.
The lights flickered again, and suddenly, I was plunged into complete darkness. I heard the elevator doors creak, as if they were slowly beginning to close. I took a step back, and that’s when I felt it again.
This time, the touch wasn’t soft. It was cold, and firm, like a hand wrapping around my shoulder.
I whipped around, expecting to see him—the man, the figure from the cameras—but instead, there was nothing. Only the endless black. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe. My back pressed against the elevator doors as they started to close behind me.
That’s when I realized: I was no longer just imagining the touch. The hand was still there, cold fingers digging into my skin. The whispering was louder now, right in my ear. A single, rasping breath that sent ice shooting through my spine.
Before I could move, I felt something shift behind me, and the world tilted.
The elevator... moved.
The doors, though closed, didn’t feel like doors anymore. It felt like I was being pulled backward into something. I stumbled forward, trying to escape whatever was behind me, but it was too late.
I don’t know how to explain what happened next. The walls... stretched. They weren’t walls anymore. The whole building felt like it was bending, twisting around me, pulling me toward the elevator. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it—a cold, suffocating presence, dragging me closer and closer.
The hand on my shoulder squeezed tighter, forcing me down to my knees. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. The whispers were louder, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. I wanted to turn around, to see whatever was behind me, but deep down, I knew that if I did, it would be the last thing I ever saw.
Just as the pressure became unbearable, the lights flickered on, and everything stopped. The elevator was closed. The lobby was empty.
I staggered back to the security room, my legs shaking. I pulled up the camera feed, hoping to make sense of what just happened. But the footage was gone. It was like nothing had happened at all.
But every night since, I’ve felt it. The thing in the elevator. It’s waiting for me. It’s always there, just out of sight, just out of reach. Every time the lights flicker, every time I pass the elevator, I can feel it watching.
And I know one night, when the lights go out again, it’s going to pull me in.