DOORS - A Roblox Doors Story (Book 2)

Chapter 07 - Familiar Face, Unfamiliar Place

It was well past midnight when the last book was finally shelved, the last bit of debris cleaned up. Rush couldn't help but feel a burning rage under his exhaustion. Seek had left as soon as he came. He hadn't had to clean anything up. He was probably sleeping in bed now, dreaming about whatever it is he dreamt about.

It's not fair... Seek never had to do anything. He didn't contribute to the escape from Shadow at all, all he ever did was complain, argue, and insult others. It's not fair...

Rush didn't feel like talking to anyone. He just wandered through the main hall, past the commonrooms, and into his bedroom. The rain from earlier had subsided, leaving only a view of a foggy forest from the window. He dropped onto his bed, and immediately passed out.

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The sun was just beginning to rise when Rush awoke. He could hear birds... Odd, never heard birds in the old place... Rush dragged himself out of bed, pulling on his dark grey hoodie. Why he had bothered taking it off, he didn't know. It was cold enough here, he could wear his hoodie to bed without being judged.

"Ugh..." Rush groaned. He was probably up before everyone else, so he pretty much had nothing to do. Maybe I'll wake up Halt. I do that a lot. Although... if I wake up Ambush, I could learn how to pick locks better...

Rush debated with himself for a while, until deciding learning how to pick locks was probably better than waking up Halt solely to annoy him. He stepped out of his room, but then his mind flickered to the map. Maybe I should see if anyone else is awake first...

As he approached the place he had hidden the map, Rush noticed something... off... It was like the world had gone completely silent. Earlier, there were birds singing outside, and usually there was some kind of noise in the hotel. But everything was dead silent right now.

I guess everyone is asleep... Usually all the noise comes from them... Still, Rush couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He finally reached the place the map was buried, and he moved the rug that covered the slightly out of place floorboards. He heard whispers from behind and whipped around to see who was there.

But there was no one.

Weird... Probably just hearing things... Rush continued to move the floorboards, until he found the map. He picked it up, moved the floorboards and rug back into place. Rush unfolded it, then whispered, "Ambush," into it. Nothing happened for a moment, but after a second, the explored parts of the hotel made themselves clear, and there was a small dot in Ambush's room, with the name "Ambush" inked underneath it. There was a crescent moon symbol above it, so Rush guessed that meant he was still sleeping.

Welp, guess I could try Halt next. Rush was about to fold the map to reset it, but something caught his eye. The area where Shadow's lair was had been... desecrated. It was like someone poured a pot of ink over the area. Weird...

You can't escape me.

Rush nearly dropped the map. He knew that voice. The voice of his former kidnapper.

Shadow.

You seem surprised to hear from me...

"W-where are you? Come out you coward!"

I'm gay.

"...That's not what I meant and you know it!"

Ah, but the look on your face was worth it... I should probably mention, your mind is not your own, anymore. I can enter and leave whenever I choose. You and all your friends. Excepting Spirit, of course...

"What are you talking about? What do you mean?" Rush was confused now.

Ah, this is all a dream. Thanks for showing me where the map is, by the way.

The realisation came crashing down onto Rush like a tsunami. It hit him so hard, in fact, he woke up. He remembered everything. He quickly got up, and dashed over to the hiding place. He shifted the floorboards, and...

The map was still there.

Rush sighed in relief, not realising how much tension was in his shoulders until he released it. He picked up the map, not bothering to fix the floor, and walked quietly to Spirit's room.

He tenderly knocked on her door. Please answer...

After a moment, he was given a response. A tired, "Screw you, come in."

Rush suppressed a laugh, then opened the door, revealing Spirit sitting in her bed, seemingly just getting up, considering how messy her greenish-blue hair was. "Did you need something from me, or are you just here to be a nuisance?" Spirit asked, amusement in her voice.

"Shadow knows where I hid the map." (Damn, just gonna cut to the chase like that, okay.)

Spirit was suddenly completely awake now. "What!? What do you mean he knows?" Spirit shouted.

A muffled, "Shut up!" sounded from the room next door. Ah, yes, Figure's room is right next to Spirits...

"He was in my dream! But I didn't realise it was a dream, and I went to get the map. But look, I have it right here!" Rush held up the hand that was holding the map, folded up and 100% there. Spirit practically heaved with relief.

"Oh, thank the Overseer, there's still hope! Quick, come with me!" Spirit jumped out of bed, grabbed Rush by the arm, and dashed towards the main hall.

Rush yelped, and was about to ask where they were going, when they bumped into Screech and Sally.

"Oh, hey, Rush, Spirit, where are you going?" Screech asked. They had clearly just gotten up, by the way Screech's hair was a mess, and Sally's eyes weren't as bright as they normally were.

"We were just heading somewhere! It's super secret adult business! You wouldn't understand," Spirit spoke quickly, and just continued running. Rush kept focusing on not running into walls when Spirit turned a corner, so he didn't even notice when they stepped into unfamiliar area.

"We're here!" Rush caught his breath and looked up. It was a very dark room, and it also seemed very charred.

"What is 'here?'" Rush questioned. He had never been here before, so obviously he was a little on edge. He saw a very charred lump lying half under some debris. Is that a burned corpse...? He looked away. He didn't want to think about it.

"This is... the burning room."

"What do you mean by that?"

"This is where I go to burn things. And I should probably tell you why we're here..."