The Forty-Fourth Floor

Broke and three days from payday, the narrator takes a fifty-dollar bet to climb the abandoned Bellweather Hotel and shine a torch from the forty-fifth floor.

Insane

People say insanity means doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result.

They are wrong.

I know because I have opened the same door more times than I can count. I stopped expecting anything different a long time ago.

It began with a fifty-dollar bet.

At the time, fifty dollars felt like a small fortune. My rent was overdue, my car had less than a quarter tank of fuel, and the manager at the grocery store had reduced my weekly hours again. I had twelve dollars in my bank account and three days until payday.

That was when Eric pointed toward the abandoned Bellweather Hotel.

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Quick answers about The Forty-Fourth Floor

What is The Forty-Fourth Floor about?

Broke and three days from payday, the narrator takes a fifty-dollar bet to climb the abandoned Bellweather Hotel and shine a torch from the forty-fifth floor.

Is The Forty-Fourth Floor free to read?

Yes. Every story on RapidTale is free to read in the browser, with no sign-up and nothing to install.

How long does it take to read?

This story runs 1 chapter — most readers finish in one sitting, and you can stop and return to any chapter using the contents list.

Who wrote it?

Nimra Khan — original fiction published on RapidTale.