Aiden shuffled his feet, his palms sweaty as he walked into the elevator. It took him weeks to know her schedule. He planned it out for weeks. One week he stood in the stairwell and watched through the window to the main elevator. He noticed the time she reached the elevator within a five-minute time span every day.
With that confirmed, he started taking the elevator from the basement. He caught her in the elevator every time he wanted to.
The best news, however, happened to be the time she hopped on the elevator. The time when no one else did.
He would have her for about a minute. She lived on the same floor, on the higher levels of the highrise apartment.
He stuffed his hands into his pocket. He felt his phone. It felt warm. He knew this was due to the constant checking of his phone to make sure the program worked.
All of this planning because of the program. Two years of isolation gave him the time and resources for this.
Now, he needed a test subject. And Laura proved the amplest test subject he knew. Living in the same apartment for years he ran into the same people. Laura talked to him a few times. She had a cute smile, and her curvy figure he used to finish himself off at times all alone.
"Not proud of that," he muttered to himself. He adjusted his glasses as the elevator doors closed. "Then again, what I'm about to do isn't something to be necessarily proud of."
"Hey, wait, hold the door for--" the sounds of someone running for the elevator made him hop in place. For a plan to go awry because he decided to be a good samaritan seemed on par for Aiden but today he held his ground.
"Sorry," he whispered.
He checked the phone. Played the video. Smiled to himself.
He waited with anxiety. Yesterday someone got on the elevator with her. The day before she took a different elevator. He anticipated that and made sure this would be the only free elevator during her time frame. He looked at the little buttons showing the floor. He waited for the "1" to be lit up.
The doors opened. No one stood waiting for the elevator. He sighed, the tension ebbing out of his shoulders. He sighed.
"It's Friday," he whispered to himself, "She doesn't take the elevator on the weekend, so I'll have to--"
As the door closed, an arm popped up through them. Aiden felt ready to mash the "close doors" button until he saw the bracelet.
Laura.
He pried the doors open with his hands until the automatic doors kicked in and opened.
Laura, wearing a business suit, smiled.
"Oh, hey. Aiden, right?"
"Yeah," Aiden said, breathless. He stepped aside and let her walk into the elevator. "Long day?"
"Thank fuck it's Friday," she said with a polite smile. She reached behind and undid her hair from the bun, allowing her hair to fall to her shoulders.
Aiden gulped. She turned her attention to her cell phone, the casual pleasantries finished. He watched the elevator start its ascension. He could let it be. Not expose himself. Not put himself out on the line and risk his relationship with her. Or worse.
He could. But, he felt the burning in his pocket. He needed to know. No matter what.
He took out the phone. Unlocked it. Floro four. He had time.
"Hey, sorry for interrupting," Aiden said, trying with all his might to sound casual. "I just have this cat video a friend sent. Have you seen it?"
He turned the phone to face Laura. She lifted her gaze from her phone and looked at Aiden's without a thought.
Cat videos. Aiden smiled inside. He made the right choice in disguising his program with cat video.
He watched her face. Studied it. Thought of the times he masturbated thinking of what happened when he started the video.
Aiden realized he lived in a fantasy no more.
His thumb danced on the button and then pressed it.
Laura watched the cat video. For the first seconds. Then, his program kicked in.
A dazzling array of colors flashed on the screen. Enough to grab her attention. And then the colors intensified. The flashing harder and more intense. He watched her face wince at the sudden assault.
Aiden held his breath. This would be the moment everything would be decided.
Her eyes did not leave the screen. He saw the pain in her expression as the lights broke through her consciousness. Her eyes went wide as the colors rewrote her brain. She took in more of the colors and in turn, the flashes burned out the resistance in her mind.
The video ended. He put his phone back in his pocket. Laura continued to stare in the space where the phone captured her. Unmoving. Unblinking.
Aiden waved his hand in front of her. Nothing.