Chapter 19: The Fourth Floor

My previous apartment did not have a fourth floor on the elevator. Although technically, from the ground up there's one, it was labeled as the fifth floor.

My room was located on that same floor and I usually took the elevator. It was much too hassle to walk back and forth the stairs. For the food, I usually went for the deliveries. It was a convenient age, with the instant messaging and stuff.

I was currently a college student who just did his own thing after classes or so; not bothering much about the happenings of the outside world. Yet, even as reclusive as I was, I also heard some rumors about my place.

According to the beliefs of whoever built this place, the fourth number was a symbol of misfortune. I myself did not believe in all that stuff so I just brushed it aside. Yet lately I heard some unsettling rumors about that fourth floor.

They said, the actual floor did exist and the one I was in was still the fifth floor.

The elevator, at times, would connect to a different dimension, where the actual fourth floor was in. The moment you stepped into the elevator, the doors would shut itself tight and no matter how hard you pressed the button, it wouldn't open.

The buttons of all the other floors were greyed out, giving no responses even after you clicked on it many times. In contrast, was the fourth-floor button, glowing in blood red color. If you looked closely, a pungent-smelling liquid of the same hue could be seen dripping out.

Different than the usual elevator, this one would bolt itself upwards, or downwards like a rollercoaster, depending on which floor you took it on. The moment the doors open, there'd be lots of banging on the door and the elevator itself to the point it was dented on all sides. Inhuman screams would resound from all directions, the loudest one being inside your head.

Lights would continually flicker and at one point, a thunderous quake reverberated throughout the room; causing a total blackout. Not long after, the lights were on, but it's of a dark red color which was very uncomfortable to the eyes.

You could see various cryptic symbols forming in the elevator walls and the droning sounds of humming esoteric cult hymns.

The elevator door would open right at this point; whichever thing you'd see at this point would make you want to scream on top of your lungs.

...and you could never return back to this world.

That was what I heard during the night when some of the other college students gathered in the lounge, just right outside my room. I simply listened in their conversation behind the walls; I was bewildered as the story went by and when the final part was said, the students, mostly the girls, screamed out in unison, followed by their various forms of laughter.

I wasn't a fan of horror stories so I couldn't tell if it was actually good or not. For me though, it was pretty intriguing. Maybe a bit scary but I knew it was much too surreal to be true.

Besides, there weren't any actual news of the apartment inhabitants disappearing or people missing while using the elevator. Yet, I overlooked one possible outcome.

What if, the actual person who used the elevator at the certain moment was dead, and the one in their body was actually someone else pretending to be them?

Either way, everyone acts like sheep anyway, including me. It's impossible to tell apart one or another, given its probably easy enough to just copy what others did in their daily routines.

Yet, their story brought about a cloud of doubt in my mind. So much I did not feel like studying anymore. Not that I studied much in the first place anyway—that's why my grades were just mediocre.

The next morning, right after finishing up the classes, I went straight to my apartment and relax. It was near lunchtime and I slept peacefully in the class since the lecture was so boring. I didn't feel sleepy so I picked up my phone and via an instant messaging app, went to the shop's ID and ordered my usual: Chicken Curry Rice with Mushrooms.

While waiting, I opened my browser and caught up either to the Web novels and Manga I had been following for a while. A bit more than half an hour passed by in a flash. I checked back the app again. It's usually there at around 15 to 20 minutes, what's the deal?

Messaging back, I only got the reply of 'ongoing delivery' as always. I waited for a bit more, but since my stomach already grumbling, I thought about canceling the order and just go eat at the nearby shop which sold fried rice. It's already an hour, for goodness sake!

Yet, the moment I went to the elevator—it was stuck on the fourth floor, sending shivers down my entire spine. I was about to run away somewhere but just before I managed to reach a good distance, a 'ding' resounded from the elevator and the door opened.

As it was about to open wide, I gulped my saliva—much to my disappointment, it was the usual delivery man. Though something about him was off, I couldn't tell in what way, exactly.

First of all, I asked: what took him so long?

He simply said: there were so many deliveries to be made.

"But I sent it from an hour ago! I'm starving!"

As an apology, he sent me the package free-of-charge and bade me farewell.

Nah, there was seriously something off but I didn't really care. I got it for free anyway.

The curry meal ends up a lot more delicious than usual, most likely since I was so hungry. The meat didn't seem to feel like chicken; its texture was thick and the taste was rich, with various meat juices spilling into my mouth and further drowning me with pleasure. The curry sauce was thick and crunchy; it's like a high-quality melted cheese. The rice had a nice fragrance and the mushroom's taste was at high gourmet level.

I was so preoccupied with my meal I didn't notice few missed calls from the Shop.

When I read the message: has the food been delivered yet?

"Yes," I replied to the text

I wish to applaud the meal's quality this time, but maybe I did deserve it since they do take so long.

There weren't any replies until the next day when I received a call:

"Excuse me, after delivering your food, our delivery man still wasn't back yet. Do you have any idea where he had been?"

"No clue. He just gave me my food and that I didn't have to pay for it, should I just go and repay it the next time I visit?"

"That did not matter. Did you notice something off about him?"

"Only about him having two moles in his chin. I did not notice it before."

I had known later, the incident of me ordering food became the beginning of a dark chapter in this apartment's urban legend.

A bothersome legend that I definitely want no part of.

Ah, dang it. Give me back my quiet life!