Something After
Chapter Three.
As soon as my palm wrapped around the doorknob, I gasped, for it was much cooler than the temperature of the hospital would warrant, the metal almost white hot with its chill. As I stuffed my hand under my neck in a desperate search for the lost warmth, I heard a curious sound, not quite a sob, not quite a gasp. It echoed around the empty hall, but seemed almost muffled, like there was something separating me from the source. If I was asked, I would have to submit that the sound seemed to have come from behind the ever so mysterious door.
Every single instinct I had told me to run, but I knew, I knew, if I surrendered to the impulse, I would never be able to find my way back to this point again. This was my one chance, and no matter what I heard or saw, I couldn’t blow it. Ignoring ever atom in my body screaming at me to run run run, I stepped forward, yet again.
When I reached the door for the second time, the air had cooled down, making it so every breath out was shown as mist in the untainted air. In an attempt to become calmer, I took one large, shuddering breath. This action didn’t help at all, instead managing to scare me all the more. The temperature drop wasn’t normal, wasn’t natural. Whatever was behind that shut door was nothing a human such as myself should ever come in contact with.
Pushing aside all my doubts and fears, I reached for the knob, and, ignoring the frost slowly accumulating, I turned it as quickly as I could, with no room for retreat. I said a silent prayer, hoping that the door was locked, that I wouldn’t have to face whatever was behind the door so soon.
Whoever grants prayers must not like me much.
The door creaked open, overdramatic and deafening in its not-quite silence. I felt my heart skip one, two, three beats, and peered in.
The room the door led to was pitch black, except for a faint light far, far back in what I assumed was a corner. Just from that beam, I could see the area was much larger than the view from the hallway hinted at.
I took a shaky breath, squared my shoulders, and stepped in.
The door closed behind me, all on its own, and clicked locked. I checked, just to make sure.
I was stuck, at the mercy of whatever was so desperate to contact me.
Every single instinct I had told me to run, but I knew, I knew, if I surrendered to the impulse, I would never be able to find my way back to this point again. This was my one chance, and no matter what I heard or saw, I couldn’t blow it. Ignoring ever atom in my body screaming at me to run run run, I stepped forward, yet again.
When I reached the door for the second time, the air had cooled down, making it so every breath out was shown as mist in the untainted air. In an attempt to become calmer, I took one large, shuddering breath. This action didn’t help at all, instead managing to scare me all the more. The temperature drop wasn’t normal, wasn’t natural. Whatever was behind that shut door was nothing a human such as myself should ever come in contact with.
Pushing aside all my doubts and fears, I reached for the knob, and, ignoring the frost slowly accumulating, I turned it as quickly as I could, with no room for retreat. I said a silent prayer, hoping that the door was locked, that I wouldn’t have to face whatever was behind the door so soon.
Whoever grants prayers must not like me much.
The door creaked open, overdramatic and deafening in its not-quite silence. I felt my heart skip one, two, three beats, and peered in.
The room the door led to was pitch black, except for a faint light far, far back in what I assumed was a corner. Just from that beam, I could see the area was much larger than the view from the hallway hinted at.
I took a shaky breath, squared my shoulders, and stepped in.
The door closed behind me, all on its own, and clicked locked. I checked, just to make sure.
I was stuck, at the mercy of whatever was so desperate to contact me.