On October 5th of last year, the escalators at West Edmonton Mall shut down simultaneously due to what was believed to be a series of mechanical failures, stranding thousands on the second floor. By the time a rescue operation could be organized and mounted, nearly everyone on the mall’s upper level had been killed, and to this day few people, if any, understand what really happened during the period when that area of the mall was cut off from the rest of the world.

My name is Christopher Munroe, and this is the story of what happened to me. This isn't the whole story of what happened at West Edmonton Mall that horrible day, but it is my story. This is the story of the people I met, the things I had to endure, and the lengths I went to, to survive... a broken escalator.