THE DOOR
I was falling.
The feeling of my stomach dropping sends me spiraling. My throat is hoarse from yelling and I can see flashing lights all around me. Some clinging to my skin before flying off into the pitch darkness below. I passed out from the adrenaline and woke up on a cold tiled floor. How did I survive the fall with no injury? I'm patting myself down, checking for any injuries while slowly pulling myself up.
When I looked around the circular room, my stomach sank.
The floor beneath my feet spiraled inward, giving the unsettling illusion that it could collapse at any moment. Above me, the hole I'd fallen through had disappeared into an endless darkness. I looked away before the void could convince me to keep staring.
Five doors stood in a perfect line before me.
The first was painted a deep crimson with a glass doorknob.
The second was black, its handle carved into the shape of a grinning skull.
The third gleamed gold, though the warning sign hanging above it suggested it wasn't nearly as inviting as it looked.
The fourth was an unsettling shade of purple. Strange patterns crawled across its surface, and staring at them for more than a few seconds made my head spin.
Then there was the fifth.
It was completely white.
Spotless.
A cheerful welcome sign hung above it, but somehow it felt colder than the others. Wrong. Like it didn't belong in this world.
"…Red it is."
I wrapped my hand around the glass knob and pulled.
A cloud of smoke swallowed me whole.
I shut my eyes, stumbled forward a few steps, then opened them again.
The circular room greeted me exactly as I'd left it.
"You've got to be kidding me."
I let out a groan and dragged a hand through my hair.
"Okay, not the red door."
My eyes drifted toward the black one.
I grabbed the skull but before I could I heard someone yelling.
"Hello?!"
Silence.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
I tried to hide it but my voice trembled with fear as I spoke to the void.
Nothing but echoes answered me.
Of course no one was there. Damn it Alex, get a hold of yourself, you're acting crazy.
I grabbed the door again wanting to leave as soon as possible when I heard it again. A muffled shout coming from the door.
"Hello? Can you hear me? I'm stuck here!" I pleaded to the person on the other side.
"Would you please mind your voice? Some of us need beauty sleep." A guttural groan of annoyance rang in the quiet.
"Um…" I looked around confused on where the voice came from. I didn't have to look very hard.
"Hellooo! Down here you dimwit." I looked at the only place I have yet to check. The door itself.
"What on ear-" I muttered staring at the doorknob. "What? Haven't you ever seen a talking doorknob before?" I shook my head. I honestly couldn't believe it. I'd gone insane…or maybe I died and this is heaven. I was spiraling. The doorknob didn't seem to mind my obvious distress as it prattled on.
"I mean it's so rude. Grabbing someone by the face whom you've never met."
"Well how was I supposed to know you talk?" I suppose the indignation in my voice was obvious to the doorknob as he rolled his eyes.
"Well?" The doorknob spoke. "Hurry up, I haven't got all day."
"I'm sorry?" Beads of sweat were forming around my brow. For some reason this doorknob reminded me of my grandfather.
"Don't you have the key? You're Alice after all. You do have the key don't you?"
Alice?
I didn't have time to correct it as I looked around the room and started checking my pockets for this key. That's when I felt it. Metal hit my hand in the left side of my pants pocket. Pulling it out I found a long golden key that had a spiral design at the top.
"Ah yes, insert it here and be on your way. I'm very tired and don't have time to deal with visitors. Even for you, Alice." The doorknob widened its mouth for me to insert the key.
"My name's not Alice…" though I had a feeling it didn't matter. I inched the key towards its mouth, hoping it wouldn't bite. The doorknob bit down on the key and I watched it slowly disappear into its mouth. I jumped back as I heard a soft click and the door slowly creaked open.
"Enjoy Alice, I hope to see you again soon." Its voice drifted off as I slowly made my way down the dark corridor.
I walked for about five minutes before I saw a faint light appear in the distance.
'Finally' i thought to myself.
'Home sweet ho-' my thoughts were cut off as I stepped out into the open. This was not home.
A forest with purple veins bright and throbbing running along massive trees. Thick grass and a single stone path leading the way. To what? I had no clue.
The only thing I could do was continue forward.
I stepped onto the beige stone path. Each stone glowed under my feet. A bright iridescent blue.
~•~
I had long since stopped trying to remember how long I'd been walking.
Every turn in the path looked exactly the same.
Purple vines pulsed beneath the bark of enormous trees.
Strange creatures watched me from the undergrowth before disappearing again.
My legs ached.
So far I've seen creatures with three eyes, wings, or with bright colors. I didn't want to know what these creatures looked like after dark.
I see a lake up ahead and I'm immediately rushing forward. I've not had water or food in hours. I was about ready to eat the suspicious looking purple fruit on the bushes I passed.
I stumbled forward and knelt down to scoop the water in my hand. I drank readily and splashed it onto myself. The cool freshness was welcomed with a heavy sigh.
I looked up and saw a shape in the water. My breath caught in my throat.
It was watching me.
I took a closer look and saw an outline of a horse with its body submerged underwater.
I could reach out and touch it. The horse glowed an ethereal white, its mane drifting through the water as though it had a life of its own.
The horse didn't move.
It simply watched me.
Its pale mane drifted through the water as though it was standing perfectly still despite being underwater.
Snap.
I turned my head back to where the sound came from and quickly got up. I turned to the water and the horse was gone. I didn't have time to search for it. The voices were getting closer. I rush to hide behind a tree. My heart thumping in my chest.
I didn't know who these people were.
And in a place like this…
I wasn't eager to find out.
"Tristan, aren't you supposed to be at your post?" I peeked between the branches to get a glimpse of the voice. A boy? No, a set of twins. They were walking to the water with long spears that almost looked ridiculous in their young hands.
"No, you were supposed to stand guard while I took a break." The twin wearing a red guard suit stood near the water, leaning on the spear.
"So…who's on guard if we are here?" The other twin had a blue guards suit on. His staff lay strewn on the ground.
"….
Oh."
"Damn it. We're so dead."
Well… if these two were in charge of security, maybe getting home wouldn't be as impossible as I'd thought.
I moved to hear better when something snapped under my foot.
I moved to run. Turning my back on the twins.
"Don't move trespasser." I slowly turned back with my hands up trying to show I wasn't a threat. The red twin, Tristan, was glaring daggers at me.
Well…so much for first impressions.