Mystery Tales #21
In "The 13th Floor!", Hugh Carter, a man burdened by his wife’s illness and his own failing health, finds himself on an elevator that takes him to a floor that shouldn’t exist. There, he confronts a mysterious figure claiming to be Death, who offers him a chance to return to his wife—if he accepts a life extended by thirty years. The story unfolds with quiet dread, as Harry Anderson and John Forte’s art brings a haunting stillness to the moment when Hugh descends and sees his wife ascending toward the same fate. Cover by Harry Anderson.
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Hugh Carter has a weak heart but his wife is also sickly and he works hard in order to send her to a better climate. In his office building the elevator takes him to the 13th floor where he encounters a figure who says he is Death. Hugh protests that he must return to earth and care for his wife. Death explains that he was brought here for a special reason but agrees to send him back if he accepts living another 30 years. Riding the elevator down he sees his wife riding up to the 13th floor and realizes she was destined to die this evening and Death was trying to keep them together.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).