The currency of cruelty never undergoes devaluation

SO THIS woman gets into the lift and presses the button for the floor she wants.

The currency of cruelty never undergoes devaluation

The elevator hums into action, but about halfway to her destination, its lights begin to flicker. Then they fail, plunging her into total darkness. Although she can see nothing, viewers watching through night-sensitive lenses, can see her through a greenish haze. She’s groping along the wall of the lift to find the emergency phone.

At the same time, a panel in the wall of the lift on the side opposite to her slides silently to one side to allow ingress of someone else. The someone else is a small girl clutching a teddy bear. The little girl is skinny, with a ghost-pale face and skull-like depressions around her eyes. She positions herself opposite the woman, who spots her the minute the lights flicker back on and is rooted to the ground because this apparition has — as far as she’s concerned — appeared out of nowhere.

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