Emma Tompson
It was a Monday, a school field trip day. I got ready, prepared to spend the day exploring the Natural History Museum—a place I wouldn't have chosen, but it would be great to clear my head about what had been happening at home. I need to tell someone, but I don't know who to trust with this. Ever since my mom left, strange things have been happening in my life. My dad pulled away from me as quickly as my mom left; maybe this loss hit him harder than I imagined. At least, that's what I thought. Today is September 21, 2019, and that happened almost a year ago, but I tragically remember it as if it were yesterday. My mom had left, and it seemed like she left something behind in our house, something impossible to ignore. At the time, it felt like something was always watching me, a presence so strong it seemed to be everywhere. Maybe it was just my imagination, but who would have thought I was right?
I took the elevator down, floor by floor, until I reached the building's lobby. I didn't have the friends I have today, so I walked alone to school. I remember arriving at the bus stop and sitting in the corner, just waiting for the school bus to arrive. I also remember wondering: What did my mom do? Why did she work at night? Was she involved in something she shouldn't be? My dad was practically a rich man, so my mom didn't need to work. But she insisted that she liked her night job, which for some reason she kept secret. Those thoughts haunted me as I waited for the bus.
It took about fifteen to twenty minutes for the buses to finally arrive. I took the first available bus and sat by the window. I put on my headphones and let myself get lost in the scenery. Everything flew past the bus window—Maryvill's tall buildings and the green areas in the distance. I couldn't process the scenery I was seeing because my mind was occupied with those thoughts. Think, think, think—I just kept doing that. Then I closed my eyes to nap a bit; after all, the museum was a bit far, probably a two-hour trip to get there. I closed my eyes and for a moment felt like I could rest. Until I woke up with the feeling that I was being watched.
I opened my eyes, and everything was darker than before. Outside, the sun had simply disappeared, and the moon wasn't there either, just a vast green sky giving a sense that I was in a dream. Everything seemed like a distorted copy of reality. I looked around and realized there was no one else there but me. I called out, shouted for someone, but got no response. The silence was so eerie that I got up to find out what was going on. Each step I took echoed as if I were walking through an empty tunnel. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst from my chest. I was completely alone, lost in a place that didn't make sense.
Outside, I took a closer look at the strange landscape before me. The green sky seemed to pulse with an irregular rhythm, like a deep, slow breath. There were no stars, no clouds, and my phone didn't even show the correct time to tell if it was day or night. I kept calling for someone, anyone, to alleviate the loneliness and confusion overtaking me. I continued walking until I finally came upon something that made me stop: A white door in front of some trees. I stared at it, slapped myself several times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. The door didn't fit in; it was perfectly clean amid the dirt and vegetation behind it. It almost seemed like it had been placed there by magic or something. I could have just ignored it; after all, where would a door in the middle of nowhere lead me? But for some reason, I felt a strong pull toward that door. I preferred to find out if there was something on the other side rather than remain lost in that strange place, so I approached and touched the doorknob.
When I opened the door, a long, dimly lit corridor appeared before me. It wasn't inviting; I remember thinking exactly eleven times before stepping inside, but something inside me insisted on moving forward. Maybe it was curiosity or the intuition that it might get me out of there. I hesitated for a while before finally entering the corridor. My footsteps filled the silence that cursed the place while thoughts flooded my mind. The further I walked, the more the corridor seemed to stretch, and the more impatient I became. I looked back, thinking of turning around, but the white door I had just passed through had vanished. The corridor ahead was my only option, and even though I couldn't see an end, I felt a strange urgency to continue. I walked, walked, scanning the environment for any clue about where I was or how to get out. The walls were white, made of a material that seemed to pulse with an irregular rhythm, as if they were alive. There were no windows or side doors, which stressed me out.
I felt like I had been walking for hours until I finally saw something at the end of the corridor: A stain on the wall, which looked like it had been splattered there. I ran to see what it was, and as I got closer, I realized it wasn't just a stain; it was blood. I looked slowly to the side and saw Quentin's body on the floor, motionless. His eyes were open, fixed on the ceiling, and a look of horror was frozen on his face. His stomach was torn open, and it looked like something had been ripped out of him. It gives me chills just thinking about it. I was frozen right there, my eyes filled with tears, and my body trembled with fear and shock. We hadn't been that close, but seeing someone from my school, someone I recognized, in that horrible state affected me in a way I didn't expect.
I looked back and realized the long corridor I had just walked through had turned into a wall, and a new one had opened up beside Quentin's body. I saw from afar more bodies and blood splattered on the walls, and I felt my shocked expression as if it had been petrified. The only option was to continue, so it didn't matter if I was trembling with fear or if whatever killed Quentin came after me—I couldn't stand still. I walked, my legs shaking, my body trembling. It hurt to see those bodies and recognize them all: Mrs. Smith, Emmet, Arnold, Jane, Kevin... it was as if death had harvested from my school. "Why is this happening? What is going on?" my thoughts were so loud they felt like whispers. Finally, from afar, I spotted a door.
I walked faster to reach it, until I heard a strange noise coming from behind me, like something heavy being dragged. I looked and saw that the wall was moving, coming towards me, about to crush me. The horror I felt at that moment was indescribable. The scream that had been stuck in my throat finally escaped, and then I ran as fast as I could. I dodged the bodies on the floor, ignoring the pain in my legs and the fear consuming me inside. The door was getting closer, but the wall moved frantically behind me. Finally, my fingers reached the doorknob, and I turned it with all my strength. I got to the other side and closed the door, and on the other side, there were frantic knocks, as if something was trying to break through. I leaned against the door, putting all my weight against it. The knocks were fast, but they never actually broke through the door. I screamed as loud as I could while they continued to pound. Finally, everything stopped, and I sat on the floor, trying to catch my breath and understand what the hell had just happened.