13 August 2026, Freewriters Community Daily Writing Prompt Day 3194: Going Down
This post was inspired by today's 5-minute writing prompt in the Freewriters Community - TOO MUCH SUFFERING
Enjoy !
The attendant slid the elevator door shut with a crash. Then the outer door swung closed with a thud.
The two together created an impression of great finality.
It was one of those old-fashioned expanding grates, brown with age, and the attendant was just as old-fashioned looking. A little chap, slightly tubby, in a charcoal grey outfit, trousers and waistcoat over a white shirt.
The lift dropped with a lurch. As it started to descend, the attendant announced in a chipper tone, "You've all got a number. It would make things ever so much easier if you could sort yourselves out so low numbers are at the front and high numbers are further back."
Then he paused, and was a sardonic grin, added "If you've lucky enough to be a number nine, push right to the back. You'll be there a while."
He looked at a woman in the middle. "No, dear, you're in the right place. You thought you 'd be on the escalator going up ? Nope, very few get that. And you there, fatso, come forward. You're bound to be a number three. Or are you going to surprise me and be a higher number ?"
The descent was taking a while. Through the grate, floors could be seen whizzing past, indistinct.
The attendant... I'm sure he was taller and less plump than I'd first thought.....leaned over and pushed a guy in the crowd, roaring "Get back there, you bloody bastard. You're a seven and you know it ! You too, Mrs Whiter-than-white. Preaching at people doesn't automatically make you good."
The elevator was dropping at lightning speed now. There were no more floors, it looked like we were dropping down a shaft of jagged rock. People were starting to moan and weep, some cursing under their breaths.
The attendant was tall now, ten feet at least. The waistcoat and shirt were long gone, revealing his true form.
He looked across the cowed huddled mass. With a savage grin he pointed. "I was just joking about nines. Rare it is that we see one of those. But look, ladies and gentlemen, we have one here. This man invited his mother-in-law to his house, where he murdered her and served to her her daughter, his own wife, as Sunday dinner. You go not to Caina, but to Ptolomea, for you betrayed her while she was a guest."
Then he looked around again, fire flashing in his eyes. "We are nearly there. You've all been bad, and you will discover after your first eternity, that there is no such thing as too much suffering in this place. Now, all you number ones, off you hop. The First Circle beckons you."