Emergency Stop

The elevator isn’t the only thing hanging by a thread.

INTRO

Well, congratulations. You got into an elevator. Mistake number one. You pressed the button, it lurched, made that cute little “ding” sound… and then stopped. Not “paused for a second” stopped. Not “oops, doors are stuck” stopped. No—dead stop.

You’re hanging somewhere between the 17th floor and the basement. The lights are flickering. The air smells like dust, rust, and something wet that probably isn’t water. The emergency phone? Dead. The alarm button? Beeped once, then quit, like it didn’t want to get involved.

And then you heard it. Something scraping up the shaft toward you. Slow. Patient. Way too big to be human.

The cable above you is humming like it’s about to snap, and there’s maybe—maybe—a rusted hatch in the ceiling between you and the tiniest chance of survival. You could climb out. Of course, that means opening it without making too much noise… because whatever’s coming doesn’t sound like it minds a little vertical chase.

The bad news? You are absolutely, one hundred percent screwed. The worse news? The elevator knows it.

ABOUT

Emergency Stop is a Wretched & Alone-style solo journaling game of claustrophobia, bad decisions, and the slow realization that you’re not alone in the shaft.

You’ll draw cards, follow prompts, and record your descent into panic as the cable integrity weakens and the creature outside climbs closer. The only way out is through the Ace of Clubs — the rusted emergency hatch — and removing all ten bolts before the elevator drops or the thing gets in.

Winning? Possible. Likely? Not even a little.

YOU WILL NEED

• A standard deck of 52 playing cards
• A six-sided die
• 5 tokens (metal washers, paperclips, coins — something that feels industrial)
• A tumbling block tower (for cable integrity)
• Something to record your entries (journal, voice recorder, text file — whatever you want your “found footage” to be)

SAFETY & TONE

Emergency Stop deals with isolation, impending death, and mild body horror. There is no gore in the text, but it encourages players to let their imagination go to the worst possible places. Play at your own comfort level.

CREDITS

Written for the Elevator Horror Jam. Based on the Wretched & Alone SRD by Chris Bissette and Matt Sanders.