Escalator By Shaelin Murphy

The following story is based on (almost) true events. 

Escalators are a pretty crazy invention. Haven’t you ever wondered who had the idea to make a staircase move? Haven’t you ever wondered how escalators became such a huge success? They are found in practically every mall. But why would a place like a mall want to spend so much money on an escalator when they could just have stairs? But finally, haven’t you ever wondered about how dangerous and truly unpredictable an escalator can be? Just a few days ago, I was at a department store with two friends. Because of the size of the store, the upper and lower levels were separated by an escalator. We decided to go up the escalator and browse upstairs. After ten minutes of walking around, we decided to head back downstairs because we needed to leave so we could go see a movie. Let’s just say… I never did see the movie that day. 

The store was fairly empty, so when we went over to the escalator we were the only ones on. We didn’t think twice as we naturally walked on, continuing our conversation about the movie we were going to see. After the 20 second ride down, we reached the bottom. My two friends were on the step lower than me and walked off the escalator as their stair was pulled into the floor. As I stepped off, I felt a tug on my shoelace. I turned around to see that my shoelace was stuck in the bottom of the escalator where the steps get sucked underneath the floor. I tried to pull the lace out, but it was stuck and it was getting pulled into the floor with the stair. “Guys, I’m stuck!” I yelled to my friends. But they just laughed at me. Before I knew it, my whole shoelace had been sucked underneath, and I was struggling as much as I could to get free. Then, the impossible happened. My entire foot was pulled underneath with the floor. “Help!” I cried. My friends panicked and tried to pull me out, but it was too late. I fell to the ground and my entire body was pulled under the escalator. I heard their shouting fade as I entered a dark abyss. 

I landed on a warm soft ground that felt like a pillow. I looked around and saw that I was in a dimly lit room. Everything I saw was grey, nothing was happening around me. Then I looked up and saw the escalator stairs moving from where I was pulled in all the way across the ceiling where they were pulled back up. It took me a minute to become aware of my surroundings and gain the courage to stand up. I called out to my friends, or anyone at that point… but all I heard was an echo of my voice. I cautiously stood up and took in my surroundings. All I could see was the small room I was in. Grey walls, grey ceiling, and a grey pillowy floor. The only thing moving was the escalator stairs. I decided to slowly walk around, and then I noticed something in the distance. A small beam of light that looked as if it lead down a tunnel. I made my way over, hoping it was a way out. Once I got closer, I was able to see that it was in fact a tunnel leading somewhere bright. I walked into the tunnel hoping it was a way out. I was shocked to find myself at the bottom of a waterfall. It reached up as high as I could see, and there was a pink and orange sunset around it. It was truly the prettiest place I had ever seen. So peaceful and real. I had completely forgotten that I was sucked into an escalator as I made my way towards the water. Once I was at the edge, I bent down and gently placed my hand into the flow of water. It was warm and perfect. Then, I heard some voices and quickly turned around. I looked up and on a ledge that looked to be 20 feet above me, I saw a man and a woman that seemed to be in their twenties. As I got a closer look, I realized that the woman was me… in the future. She looked like me, but the feeling that I got when I saw her face made me sure that I was watching myself. I watched them talk and laugh… I couldn’t help but wonder who the man was, and how I was even watching them. Then, the man got down on his knee and pulled a ring out of his pocket. My jaw dropped. I heard my future self scream a resounding, “Yes!” as I was pulled out of the tunnel. I had no idea where the force was coming from. I landed on the pillows where I was before and I saw that there was a hole in the ceiling where a firefighter came down and carried me back up to the store.