S15E04 - "Friends and Neighbors" - Horror Hill

**Erik Peabody** (0:02)
Chilling Tales for Dark Nights.
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Hello, listeners, and welcome back to Horror Hill. I'm your host, Erik Peabody. Tonight, I've got a story for you from RedBadAndy, and it's called The 13th Floor. Sylvia Brooks is like many of us. After a long day of work, she comes back to her apartment and tries to relax before she has to go back the next day. Since Sylvia walks to and from her job, it's convenient that her apartment building has an elevator up to her unit on the 16th floor. But after a particularly long shift, Sylvia sees something odd in the elevator and is now haunted by visions of a tall, spectral figure coated in white dust. And it seems that others in the building are seeing it as well. What is this menacing presence? And why is there suddenly a 13th floor in the building that comes and goes? Find out tonight on Horror Hill.
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And now, from author RedBadAndy, I give you The 13th Floor.
Sylvia Brooks was tired after a long day of work. She was a nurse at the Westview Hospital. Normal days were rough, but she had just worked a double shift and was even more exhausted than usual. Her shift had finally ended and she was out the door. The cool night air clung to her like a damp shroud, and the streetlights flickered faintly as she walked home. She appreciated not having to worry about parking in such a normally busy city. Living so close to work had its advantages. Westview was often still bustling at this hour, but tonight it felt abandoned, as though the world had retreated into the shadows. Her apartment building loomed ahead, its silhouette cutting sharply against the faint moonlight. She quickened her pace, anxious to get inside. She walked into the lobby of the Central Heights apartment building, passing by Ray, the doorman, and politely acknowledging his wave to her. She would normally stop and say hi, but she was very tired from the day, and was anxious to get home for a bubble bath, a stiff drink, and maybe a TV show before she passed out. She walked toward the elevator, and was already scrolling her phone for something light to watch while waiting for the long ride to the 16th floor. She pressed the button, and while she awaited the arrival of the elevator, she suddenly felt a weird sensation. The hair on her arms stood on end, and she felt like she was being watched. Looking over her shoulder, she saw nothing. No one was waiting in the lobby. Ray was at a station reading a novel. It must have been nothing. Still, the feeling persisted, like fingers tracing her spine. The elevator arrived and she stepped on. She quickly pressed the number 16 and was scrolling TikTok for a few funny shorts to pass the time. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught something strange. A powdery white dust was on the floor near the elevator console. She checked herself to make sure she was not covered in something, but found no white dust on her person. Then she looked closer and saw a strange chalk-like smudge on the console between the numbers 12 and 14 It was disturbingly cold when her hand hovered near the strange smudge. She stood a while processing the odd sight before the bell rang and the doors opened to her floor. She shrugged and stepped off. She walked down the hall to her apartment and sighed in relief that her day was over. But as Sylvia approached her apartment door, eager to collapse onto the couch, she dug into her bag, her fingers brushing past her phone, wallet and a crumpled granola bar wrapper, and her keys weren't where they should be. She paused, her heart rate quickening as she padded down her pockets again, the fabric cold against her palms. A knot formed in her stomach as she realized the truth. Her keys were still at the hospital, left on the break room counter. She leaned against the door, the chill of the hallway seeping through her thin scrubs. She groaned and trudged back toward the elevator, resigned to having to go back to work and get her keys. She reached the elevator and pressed the down button. After a moment, the door opened. It had not gone very far. But to her surprise, it was not empty. In the elevator was an incredibly large figure in a long white coat. Their face was hidden by a hood, but they were impossibly tall and rail thin. Sylvia took an instinctive step back at the odd sight, but she tried to compose herself and not stare. She considered waiting for the next elevator, but for some reason, the door did not close. The figure did not leave. They simply waited for her, staring impassively underneath their deeply shrouded hood. Knowing she had no way to get back into her apartment unless she went to get her keys, Sylvia stepped onto the elevator with the tall figure and went to press the button for the lobby. She noticed something that made her double take, even with the giant white-coated figure in the elevator silently standing next to her.