As you await your arrival to your desired floor with the usual calm elevator music ebbing in the air, your ride suddenly stops dead. Write about the reaction and dialogue that happens with the character and whoever is with them in the small space.

There MUST be someone there with the character with the minimum number being two and the maximum of ten.

Thomas rushed through the main door, apologizing to random people he almost bumped into. Next to him was Marcus who was doing the same since both of them were in a hurry to get to their interviews. They didn't know that they were rivals since they had an interview for the same job.
Still, both men had an appointment at eight o'clock in the morning and only five minutes remained until the interview should start.

In front of them, there was both an elevator and the stairs. Running side by side, they rushed into the elevator that, fortunately, was still open. Besides, they had to go to the 23rd floor, so why using the stairs when an elevator would already wait for them? Little did they know about what would happen for the next hours due to their decision to take the elevator.

"Phew" both exclaimed in relief, being able to pause for a moment and catch their breath.

While panting slightly, they finally noticed each other.

"So, you're in a hurry, too?" Thomas asked under his slightly exhausted breaths.

"Yeah, important meeting, you know?" Marcus answered with a similar exhausted voice.

"Yeah, so how does it come that you are so fast?" Thomas continued,"because it's not every day that I see someone keeping up with me, not to mention someone that rushes next to me through half the town while wearing a suit.".

"Same goes for me. But what's so special about it?" Marcus retorted while he regained his regular breath slowly. "Are you some kind of famous athlete I should know?".

"Oh no, not at all." the wannabe athlete replied, "I was just in the sport club of my school. Running was part of my daily business. I even go jogging nowadays."

"Well my school life mostly consisted of running away from bullies that mobbed me because of my glasses" Marcus mentioned with an ironic voice and pointed at his glasses he wore.

Thomas had to chuckle silently about this.

"Well that explains a lot. Strangely, it was the same for me."

"Huh?" Marcus wondered, "but didn't you say you were in a sport club? I thought athletic people weren't hated in middle school?!".

"Except the people in the chess club." Thomas corrected, causing his elevator buddy to chuckle, as well. "But while I had no glasses I had many pimples that I couldn't get rid of until I was in college."

"Then be glad about it!" Marcus advised the person next to him, "at least you don't have them anymore.".

"I am!", the former pimple face reassured, "I'm Thomas by the way, Thomas Cranford. But if you want, you can call me Tom." he offered and held out a hand to the young man next to him while smiling.

"Marcus Brown" said man responded and took the hand with a similar smile, "Marc if you want".

They shook their hands for a short moment when suddenly the elevator stopped between the 17th and 18th floor.

"What...?" the spectactle wearer wondered when the elevator stopped unexpectedly.

"Oh no!" the black haired man next to him added in slight despair that grew steadily.
"No no no no no NO NO NO! Not now!" he bewailed while pressing the emergency button many times, not getting any responses with his desperate actions.

"Hey! Now calm down!" Marc advised to the frantically reacting man that continued pressing the emergency button.

"This just can't be happening!" he finally resigned and leaned against the wall while holding the bridge of his nose with both his thumb and index finger, a gesture that Marc did, as well.

"Just great!" Tom exclaimed in disbelief afterwards, "now my suit is soaked in sweat, I forgot breakfast today and worst of all, I'll miss my interview."

"Yeah, this really sucks. My breakfast also was cut short due to... wait, what?" Marc said when he realized what Tom said lastly.
"You also have an interview?"

"What do you mean with "also"?" the black haired man asked in confusion. "I was told that I was the only one getting an interview to become a journalist for this morning."

"That's exactly what they affirmed to me, too." Marcus stated, surprised about having a rival for his future job.

"You know what?" Thomas continued, his small panic attack overcome, "let's just forget about the interview for a moment and let's figure out how we can get outta here soon."

But before any of them could give productive suggestions, a voice spoke through the elevator's speakers and the music stopped.

To all occupants that are using our elevators. Due to some technical problems we have all elevators cannot move for the next two hours probably. We bid for your understanding and try to fix the issue as soon as possible. Later on, complaints can be mentioned to our administration department. Please be patient and stay where you are. Thank you!

Then the speakers became silent.

"Hm, great technic they have here." Tom stated sarcastically, "Electricity is there but no elevator can move? What crappy installment!"

"Hey, now don't complain that much!" Marc retorted, "I'm in the same situation, too. I don't like this at all, but do you see me complaining that much?"

"So what do you suggest, four-eyes?" the black haired man asked.

Instead of getting mad, Marc tried to stay as calm as possible. He adjusted his glasses before he continued.

"I've already a plan, blacky. But stop calling me four-eyes first!"

"Tch, really?" Tom asked unnerved, "you refer to my hair color? Are you twelve or something? If I'd go on the same level, I should call you blondie."

"So would you just stop it already?" the blonde spectacle wearer exclaimed quite loudly. "It's not the right time to argue. So you know what? Alright, I stop calling you blacky, you stop calling me four-eyes and we get along and find a way out so we might have the chance to make it a bit late. OKAY?!"

Marcus stopped his loud explainations with exhausted breaths. But his pep-talk seemed to work. Tom rethought the whole situation and answered.

"Fine! So, Marc, what's your plan?"

"Do you see the cover on the elevator's ceiling?" he said and pointed upwards, showing a removable way out of their current prison.
"If one of us gives the other one a leg up, he could climb up the elevator's ceiling. Then he could possibly try his luck on the elevator's door from the outside. At least, the person could try to knock loudly against the elevator's doors for knocking here won't do anything since this is only the interconnecting door."

"Hm, seems like a plan." Tom mused loud enough so Marcus could hear it.
"Alright, let's do this!" he then stated determined.

"Ok then, give me a leg up!" Marc demanded, not expecting Thomas to resist.

"Whoa wait! Who said that you should go?" the black haired man asked sceptically.

"Well, since it was my plan, I think it would be best if I'd go." the blonde man countered.

"So that you leave me alone and get to the interview instead of me?!" Thomas then accused, "and by the way, if you lose your glasses, then how do you want to see anything?"

"Now get real!" Marcus exclaimed in anger, "Who the hell would I be by letting you alone? And I'm not totally blind if I lose my glasses."

"Oh really? Tom replied sceptically, "then take them off and tell me how many fingers I hold!".

"Are you kidding me?" Marc wondered loudly, "this is childish and kinda racist. Just because I wear glasses doesn't mean that I'm totally blind without them. I also don't see everything twice. My view just gets a bit blurry."

"But this is already enough to endanger your life. Let me go!" Thomas insisted angrily.

"So you get the interview first?" Marcus accused, as well, finally losing his composure and started to get doubts, as well.

Both were silent for the next moments, only sending death glares towards each other. Then, like they telepathically arranged the next event, both lunged at each other, wrestling furiously like two siblings that are arguing for a toy. Their bickering was followed with some punches and kicks that were sent at each other. Nevertheless, both were a worthy opponent for each other when their skirmish escalated into a fight about who could go. Sentences like "I WILL GO!" or "NOT EVEN IN YOUR DREAMS!" were screamed loud enough that even some office workers heard them while passing the elevator with cups of coffee.

Two of them just heard the furious shouts when one of them spoke up.

"Man, never thought that people would consider cannibalism as an option that fast."

"Me, too!" the other office worker confirmed while shaking his head in disbelief. "Not even fifteen minutes passed since the elevators stopped and the occupants already try to kill each other."

Then both turned around, going back to their workplaces while talking about the current accident.

____________________

2 hours later....

Both men laid in different corners of the elevator, totally exhausted by both the fight they had two hours ago and the fact that they were stuck for so long.
But next to some scratches, black eyes and, dried blood and the loss of energy, they were quite fine, but tired.
Finally, Thomas spoke up after they kept silent for more than an hour.

"Hey, Marc."

"What?" the blonde man replied with a weak voice, too.

"I...I think I'm dying." Tom then stated weakly. "If I won't make it, promise me something. Tell my family I love them!"

"I will." Marcus replied as weak as his elevator mate. "But if I won't make it, you have to tell my family that I love them."

"Deal!" the jet-black haired man responded silently.

"Hey!" he then added, glancing towards Marcus to say the next words in real concern. "About the things I said and did before... sorry for this!"

Marcus, on the other hand, smiled back to him. "It's okay, I have to say sorry, too."

Seeing that Tom was relieved by these words, he added: "Well, in the end, we both were idiots, trapped in an elevator and fighting for a probable escape."

Tom had to roll his eyes at the comment.

"Just shut it, four-eyes!" he then said playfully.

"Make me, blacky!" the teased person countered while grinning slightly when suddenly something was moving.

The elevator. It was working again.
Both men stood up abruptly when they realized what that meant: sweet freedom.

________________

When the doors opened, Tom and Marc stumbled out of the elevator, not believing that they survived one of their worst elevator trips they ever had. The hell ride was finally over and they eventually found themselves back at the location they wanted to be.
The 23rd floor.

Some of the office workers looked at them with mixed feelings.
Some glanced curiously while others gazed at them in pure shock since it's not every day that you see two men exiting an elevator totally messed up with bruises, wounds and slightly torn clothes.
Yet others were amused and had to laugh, especially two workers that passed the elevator two hours ago.
Though, before any workers or helpers could react accordingly, the men realized that they should have had an interview at eight o'clock.

They both changed one last glance at each other before storming through the room, trying to find the right room before the other one did.

"Come on, where's her office?" Thomas wondered feverishly. "Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Miller... THERE!".

The black haired man stormed immediately into the door to find one of the two supervisors doing paperwork.

"Huh?" Marc slightly wondered when he ran past Thomas. "Why did he stop here? Didn't he know that this isn't Mr. Bennett's office?".

But not wondering about it further, the blonde spectactle wearer used his "advantage" to get to the second supervisor, Mr. Bennett, who was talking to another person when Marc stormed into the room.

And so, both got their interviews with some complications, not knowing that each supervisor offered a job on his/her own. Indeed, they didn't even know that there were two supervisors in the journalism department.
But soon they'd realize when their ways crossed the next morning.

THE END

On a sunny afternoon Forest of the Fallen Giants, there were these two best buddies...supposedly. One of them was Pate, a smiling conniver who tricks gullible adventurers into killing themselves through the many traps that littered the land. The other bloke was a masked man named Creighton, a bloodthirsty murderer who kills any survivors and those who knew better. They were awesome partners in crime and made a successful living off of everyone else. One day the two were coming up the elevator when suddenly it stops a dozen feet short of its destination.

"Well, this is unexpected." Pate mused in a slick voice oozing with manliness,. "The elevator doesn't normally stop by itself."

"It's definitely the work of some bloody mongrel." Creighton added in his tone excited for future bloodshed.

They look up and see a Blue Sentinel jamming the chain pulleys with his overcompensating halberd. He looks at the two and bellows out:
"Sinners! Ruinous criminals! I have come here to kill you and avenge the apostles!"

With a mighty leap he drew his broadsword and pointed down, hoping to land on one of them and eliminate the other in thrilling, single combat. Unfortunately for him, Pate and Creighton had other plans. In a simple motion, Pate simply tilted his long spear a bit forward while Creighton raised his axe over his head. Predictably, the sentinel gets skewered through his chest and he fell so hard that he slid down to eye level - close enough for Creighton to behead him in one swing.

"Well, that's good exercise there." joked Creighton, "Any ideas on how to unbudge the mechanism?" he asked afterwards. Pate shrugged, having no idea about their next move..