Chapter 2: The Vanishing 13th Floor

The morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a warm glow into the room as Alex opened his tired eyes. The fragmented sleep of the previous night left him feeling groggy, but a new day had begun, and he decided to set aside the strange experiences and explore his new home properly.

After a quick freshen up, Alex put on a light blue T-shirt and jeans, ready to head downstairs for breakfast. He picked up his key card, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

The hallway was eerily quiet, with Alex's footsteps echoing in the empty space. He reached the elevator and pressed the down button. When the doors opened, there was already someone inside.

It was a young man who looked about Alex's age, with slightly long black hair, wearing a black hoodie. As Alex stepped into the elevator, the man looked up, and Alex was surprised to see he had unusually deep, intense eyes.

"Good morning," Alex said politely.

The man nodded without speaking. Alex noticed that the 13th-floor button was missing from the elevator panel. He couldn't help but ask, "Hey, do you know if this building has a 13th floor?"

The black-haired young man turned, looking at Alex with a peculiar expression. "13th floor?" His voice was low and magnetic, "This building doesn't have a 13th floor."

Alex frowned, "But yesterday I clearly saw—"

Before he could finish, the elevator suddenly shook violently. The lights flickered erratically, and Alex stumbled, almost falling. At that moment, he felt someone steady him. It was the black-haired young man, his hand unexpectedly cold.

"Careful," the young man said, then quickly let go.

The elevator returned to normal, as if the shaking had never happened. Before Alex could thank him, the elevator doors opened. The black-haired young man quickly stepped out and disappeared into the lobby.

Alex stood there for a moment, then followed out. The lobby was bustling with people, but there was no sign of the black-haired young man. He shook his head and decided to inquire at the front desk.

"Good morning," Alex said to Lisa at the reception, "I was wondering, does this building have a 13th floor?"

Lisa looked puzzled, "Mr. Chen, our building doesn't have a 13th floor. It's common practice in many high-rise buildings to skip that number because some people consider it unlucky."

Alex frowned, "But yesterday I clearly saw a button for the 13th floor in the elevator."

Lisa's expression froze for a moment, but she quickly resumed her professional smile. "You must have mistaken it, Mr. Chen. Our elevators have never had a button for the 13th floor."

Alex wanted to say more, but Lisa had already turned to another resident. Feeling something was off, he decided to investigate himself.

He walked out of the lobby and stood outside the apartment building. Alex stepped back a few paces and counted the floors. One, two, three... He counted to the 12th floor and found it indeed jumped directly to the 14th. From the outside, the building clearly had no 13th floor.

"Strange," Alex muttered to himself, "I'm sure I saw the 13th-floor button yesterday."

Just then, he noticed a figure darting into the alley beside the apartment. The silhouette looked very much like the black-haired young man he had encountered in the elevator.

Curious, Alex decided to follow. He quickly walked into the alley, only to find it ended in a brick wall with no exit. Even stranger, the young man had vanished.

Alex scratched his head in confusion, about to turn back when he noticed an odd symbol in the corner of the wall. It was a distorted "13", looking as if it had been etched with a sharp object.

He crouched down to examine the symbol closely. Just as his finger was about to touch it, a bone-chilling cold suddenly spread from his fingertip throughout his body. Alex jerked his hand back, stumbling a few steps backward.

"What on earth is going on?" Alex muttered, feeling dizzy.

He took a deep breath, deciding to return to his room to gather his thoughts. When he got back to the lobby, he found that the mysterious grandfather clock had stopped, its hands frozen on the non-existent number 13.

Alex quickly walked to the elevator and pressed the up button. When the doors opened, it was empty. He stepped in and carefully examined the button panel again. There was indeed a blank space between the 12th and 14th-floor buttons, with no button for the 13th floor.

"I must be too tired," Alex reassured himself, pressing the button for the 12th floor.

As the elevator ascended, Alex closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves. However, just as the elevator was about to reach the 12th floor, he felt a strong wave of dizziness.

When he opened his eyes, the elevator doors had already opened. But the sight before him made Alex gasp. This wasn't the familiar 12th-floor hallway, but a dilapidated, musty corridor. The wallpaper was peeling, the carpet was tattered, and dim lights flickered ominously.

Alex couldn't believe his eyes. He looked at the elevator panel and found that he had somehow arrived at the non-existent 13th floor.

Just then, a faint whispering sound came from the end of the corridor, as if someone was calling to him. Alex felt an irresistible force urging him to step out of the elevator.

"Is anyone there?" he called out, his voice trembling, but only echoes answered him.

Alex cautiously moved down the hallway, his heart pounding in his chest. At the end of the corridor was a door with "1313" written in blood-red color.

Just as Alex's hand was about to touch the doorknob, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him: "Don't open that door!"

Alex whirled around to see the black-haired young man standing at the elevator, his face serious.

"Who are you?" Alex asked, "Where is this place?"

The young man didn't answer, instead quickly walking towards Alex and grabbing his wrist. "We have to leave here," he said urgently, "It's not time yet."

At that moment, the door of room 1313 suddenly emitted a loud bang, as if something inside was violently crashing against it. Alex felt a wave of fear and instinctively followed the young man, running towards the elevator.

As the elevator doors closed, Alex thought he heard a piercing scream. Panting heavily, he turned to the mysterious young man: "Who are you really? What's happening here?"

The young man's deep eyes looked directly at Alex as he said softly, "My name is Kai. As for what's happening here..." He paused, "You'll know soon enough, Alex. But for now, you need to stay alert. Don't trust everything you see."

When the elevator doors opened again, Alex found himself back in the familiar 12th-floor hallway. But when he turned to question Kai further, he found the elevator empty.

Alex stumbled back to his room, closed the door, and leaned against it, gasping for air. His mind was in chaos, unable to comprehend everything that had just happened.

Outside, the city's hustle and bustle continued. The sun shone brightly, everything looked so normal. But Alex knew that beneath this seemingly ordinary facade, Silver Moon Apartments hid a mysterious world he could hardly imagine.

And this was only the beginning.