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Gurgaon ke ek posh IT park mein, Building 12 ka top floor ek fintech startup ka head office tha. Synthetic flooring, glass cabins, aur kaha jaata tha ki yeh building ‘smart infrastructure compliant’ thi. Sab kuch digitally controlled—AC, lifts, even the blinds.
Wahi pe naya intern aaya tha—Anya. 23 saal ki, fresh out of her MBA, leaning into late-night hustles to show commitment. Office culture mein ek unwritten rule tha: 11th floor ke baad kisi ko basement-level lifts use karne ki permission nahi thi. Kyunki officially, basement sirf storage aur under-renovation projects ke liye tha.
Ek raat, Friday ko, sab log chale gaye the. Sirf Anya aur ek senior associate Ravi bache the. Ravi ne kaha tha, “Main drive se kuch documents laata hoon car se, tu tab tak woh pitch revise kar. Cafe se kuch chahiye toh pehle se order kar le.”
10:57 PM, internal CCTV footage ke last frame mein Anya ko corner lift ke samne khade dekha gaya. Aur woh lift, dusri lifts se alag thi—jo rarely use hoti thi. Kya Anya ne galti se woh lift bulaayi? Ya intentionally?
Security ke hisaab se lift ne ‘Basement 3’ ka button log kiya. Magar building ke floor plans mein aisa koi level exist hi nahi karta.
Agli subah jab staff aaye, Anya wapas nahi thi. Uska laptop, phone sab top floor ke desk pe mil gaya. Ravi ne kaha usne use last baar lift ke paas dekha. Management ne kaha ki woh chali gayi hogi bina bataaye. Par CCTV ke alawa koi entry nahi thi uske nikalne ki.
Police ne poora floor, staircases, lift shafts scan kiye. Kuch nahi mila. Aur jab building ke server logs ki technical analysis hui, ek ajeeb anomaly mili—Lift L-4 (jo Anya ne use ki thi) basement 3 tak gayi thi, lekin uske baad ka data … corrupt tha. Black screen and static noise. Jaise kisi ne deliberately sab kuch overwrite kar diya ho.
Ravi ne secretly apne ek hacker dost ko servers se ek aur copy nikalne bola. Jo unhe mila uska audio disturbed tha, par ek voice baar baar sunayi de rahi thi: “Not again. She chose. She saw the blink.”
Kya blink?
Phir internal chat logs check kiye gaye. Anya ne bas ek line likhi thi end mein kisi friend ko: “Weird thing, B3 blinked when I pressed it. Like an eye.”
Aur uske baad woh gayab.
Building ke purane contractors ko approach kiya gaya. Tab pata chala ki jab yeh tower ban raha tha, ek shaft unauthorized way se lower foundation tak chali gayi thi, jise seal kar diya gaya. Ek rumor tha ki ek construction worker ne us last shaft mein kuch dekha tha—kuch aisa jo lift system ke AI module mein glitch create karta tha, aur woh kabhi-kabhi ek incompatible floor activate kar leta. Aisa floor jo physical nahi, digital mein exist karta hai. Panic room? Ek simulated failure chamber? Kisi ne kabhi research nahi kiya.
Ravi ne guilt mein suddenly apna job quit kar diya. Hamesha ke liye. Usne sirf ek note chodha: “Woh wapas aati, agar usne aankhon mein seedha nahi dekha hota.”
6 mahine baad, naye interns aaye. Aur ek raat, ek aur intern, Tina, wohi lift lene lagi. Us lift pe ek chhoti si line likhi thi permanent marker se: “Never press B3. Agar woh blink kare, palat jao.”
Tina ne dekha. Button uske aankhon ke saamne ek baar, seedha uski taraf dekhte hue, blink kiya. Jaise aankh jhapak rahi ho.
Par Tina ne bas muskurake kaha, “Stupid prank,” aur button press kar diya.
Lift ne beep kiya. Aur andar ki lights dim hone lagi…
Pehle jaise hi.
