It’s gotten a bit late for me to be up. But, 7 PM isn’t exactly late in any way. I was tidying out my clothes drawers, I couldn’t stand to even look at how messy it was. Out of my room and past the hallway, I could hear the other family talk, as they ate dinner and as their kid watched videos on their phone, even when their parents said no.
It was still a cold night, just like every other night. I absolutely hated how the cold couldn’t be kicked off. My room was cold, but at least I have a room, because the outside is much more unforgiving.
But, in an abrupt moment, the lights suddenly blacked out, and it got a little colder. I am a smart one, I knew what to do in times like this. I just sat down on my desk, and waited until the power would be back on. The voices outside from a while ago had stopped. I wonder what happened?
I wanted to watch some videos on my phone, so I grabbed it. But… it won’t turn on. I pressed the ‘on’ button a lot of times, but it wouldn’t open. Weird, I had this charged just a few minutes ago. I opened my chromebook to do the same, but nothing. This still had a charge a while back. It probably must’ve just been a fast drain.
It got too dark for tolerance, so I flung the curtains open, but the houses and fence adjacent to where I was were gone. It was just a blank, empty void, staring back at me when I’d hoped to find something more physical. I panicked a bit. What’s going on?!
I planned on leaving, but leaving my safe space without a flashlight would be dumb. I would just run into things and stub a toe, if I wasn’t careful.
I entered the hallway just outside my room. There wasn’t much to behold, except for the two doors on the left and right, leading to the bathroom and toilet, and the other rooms, respectively. I began to walk through the carpeted floors of the hallway on bare feet, because I never usually bother with slippers on a floor as comfy as this. It started out normal at first, I’d just needed to find my way to the living room. But, I still couldn’t hear their voices. If this was an elaborate prank, this is too elaborate for me to be comfortable with. No one but my parents would be willing to waste their time on me.
My right foot collided with a flashlight. I fell to my knees, and patted my hands around the tight floor to find it. Eventually, I got the flashlight. I got up and shined the light. It was too dim to see anything, but bright enough to light my path. The door was right in front of me, shut tightly.
I opened the door with my usually kooky mannerism, but instead of the room I was expecting, it was the same hallway I’d just walked through. I entered through the door, and it shut behind me without reason. I shined the light at the door in shock. This was a bad thing. I ran towards the other door, and it just sent me back to the same corridor. My heart began to beat faster, and louder. It got so quiet that I started to hear my own breathing.
I went through the door, and the other doors from earlier had disappeared, leaving nothing but a blank wall of white. This was getting crazy. I went through another door, but this time, it was a tight squeeze. The hallway was crushed into a point where I could only partially squeeze through. If I wanted to go any further, I would have to force myself through.
I sucked my gut in, and started to fit through. It was ultimately hard to breathe, and the flashlight did at least provide good light. After a vicious tight-fit, I pushed through. I put my hands on my knees to support my extremely tired upper half.
For a moment, I stopped breathing. But I heard breathing. And then a footstep. I panicked and turned around and shone my torch into the darkness behind me. There was nothing there, but an empty corridor. It was completely empty, pushing aside the fact that I just pushed through a tight squeeze.
So… I did the most sensible thing I could. I turned around and ran to the door… and the hallway got longer. The footsteps got a little louder and faster. That thing was after me. I ran to the door again, and it got farther, again.
The door got as far away as it could from me, and then stopped. I ran. The thing behind me ran after me. I ran as fast as my stamina could get me. But as I ran, it always kept up. I could hear its footsteps, I could hear it breathe. I heard it say my name. I cursed, and I cursed.
But I didn’t listen. Sweat trailed down my face, my feet and legs ached. Trying to catch my breath isn’t an option. I kept running, and it kept a steady pace behind me. I was almost to the door. My eyes shot wide open as the door was within my reach. Suddenly, as I kept running, I could feel a warm gust of air rubbing the back of my head.
I got to the door. I grabbed the doorknob and flung it open. When I got through the door, I slammed it shut. That thing banged against the wooden door, unable to get it open. I leaned into the door, and put all of my weight into keeping it shut. But after a while…
It left. I dropped to the floor in a puddle of sweat. I gave myself some time to calm down, before anything else could jump me. When I got my composure back, I stood up, and went through this hallway. As I walked through the place, I felt it suddenly get colder. I clamped my arms around my body, hoping to stay warm.
I started to hear various voices. These were voices that I didn’t recognize. At first, I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the farther I went into the hallway, the clearer and more painful the voices got. My head started to split with how constant the noise was. I asked them as loud as I could, stressed and scared. And then, every voice collectively said, into the most horrifyingly tranquil manner, “Run.”
A loud shriek sounded behind me, and I dashed over to the next door. It wasn’t as far, but it felt like forever with the adrenaline rushing through my body. These weren’t even footsteps anymore, they were loud booming steps. It sounded like it came from something big, and I didn’t want to stick around to see where it came from. I ran even faster than last time, running even when it felt like my legs were about to break.
I came close to the door, and I grinned. But, just as I got close, I tripped and hit my head on the door. The panic and the adrenaline rush dulled the pain. Good thing too, it was getting close. I stood up fast, and shut the door behind me.
This time, it wasn’t a hallway, but a dark room, a void. There was nothing anywhere around me, but a glowing door frame just a bit away from me. I walked through the door, shielding my eyes from the severe brightness.
Beyond the door, was a glass wall, showing… me. I was back in my room, calmly organizing the same cabinet I was just organizing all the way before. I was confused. I pushed on the glass wall, grunting and hoping that I’d get through. I even kicked it. Not a single crack…
I just watched as Mom came into my room, and said goodnight to me. As she left and closed the door, I turned around and looked at myself, like I knew where I was. Then, it was there when I realised…
That wasn’t me anymore.
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