Unix's Short Stories

Liminal Maze - Chapter 1

A/N - Liminal Maze is based on a dream I had. This story P.O.V. is first person. This is my first story story so bear with me. I'm open to any constructive criticism. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a comment. This will be a multi-part short story as to get feedback on my first story.

I sprint through the hallway, my steps echoing through the hall. The bright light fills my eyes, although if I were to look out the window right now it would reveal a blinding darkness. As I continue to sprint, a memory crawls in my mind. I feel as though I've seen these hallways in a life before this; my head pounds trying to recall a memory that should be there but it isn't, only leaving me with a suffocating emptiness. I continue to sprint, my lungs aching, I know someone or something is chasing me although I can't see them I can feel the dread fill my head as I continue to run. When I felt like I could run no more, I saw a wall that was less than solid as if it was made of mist straight ahead. I don't know why but I feel like I would be safe if I go through. In the hopes I will be safe, I dash into the misty wall without a second thought.

I stumbled through the wall half expecting to crash as I felt a chill pass over me. I take a look around, it seems to be an old but bland cafeteria, only having a few rusty tables each having fresh-looking food, a window with the same eerie darkness, and a door on the other side. I get a feeling like I'm in some abandoned mall or school; That feeling brings up another memory just out of reach leaving my brain aching and empty. I start to walk to one of the tables feeling a sense of calm and hunger wash over me; however, my vision gets blurry feeling disconnected from my body, as I get a feeling like I'm weightless, barely registering that I'm falling, until I slam against the floor with a thud, darkness envelops my sight.

There I was at school, sitting at an empty table in a classroom full of loud students goofing off, their faces blurry. The room was also blurry like a slight fog surrounding the inside of the room making it hard to focus on anything. I slightly turned my body to the teacher who was speaking in the middle of the classroom, however his words felt like a foreign language to me. I shake my head trying to fix whatever is happening, so I can understand but the room starts to spin, and the teacher and students start to twist. The sounds breaking and muffling like I was shoved underwater. Panic creeps into my heart as I feel my hand trembling. I look down at my trembling hands but they aren't hands, they are as twisted as everything else. I feel as though I'm alone trapped in a black hole made of dreadful fear that is twisting me like a pretzel. Then as I felt like the black hole devoured me whole I felt a hand on my shoulder, my eyes shooting open. The room was back to normal, no blur in sight. In front of me, there stands a 5 '9, average-looking guy except for a scar on his left cheek. He looks down at me, shooting me a playful grin as he opens his mouth. "You alright bud?" his voice echoes in my head as a blinding light fills my eyes.

I jolt up, panicking, quickly looking down at my hands terrified that they are still twisted but as I look at them I calm down seeing that they are indeed normal hands. I get up slowly, looking around and seeing that I'm still in the cafeteria, however, the food on the tables is gone and the room feels darker than before. I go and sit at one of the chairs seated near a table as I try to think of what happened. I remember running through the misty wall. My head starts to pound as I struggle trying to remember what happened after. After a few minutes, I managed to remember falling on my face and passing out. I touch my face, scared I hurt myself but I don't feel any lumps or any pain. After a few quick breaths to calm myself, I realized something else, I'm not hungry anymore. I'm not sure why and at this point I'm not even sure if I should question it, might as well not look a gift horse in the mouth. I think back to the dream I had but it's already fuzzy as I struggle to even remember the face of the guy who stood in front of me. I got a feeling that I should know him, that he was someone special to me but the more I tried to remember anything before the maze of hallways the fuzzier the faint memories got. I started to feel frustrated and mad that I couldn't remember anything before the endless hallways slamming my hand against the table. At that moment, a loud crack filled the cafeteria.

I look down at my hand with confusion about how I did that. The dread from earlier filled my head again realizing I didn't cause it as another loud crack shook the room. Perhaps though the shaking was me trembling in fear only imagining what could be happening. My eyes dart around the room landing on the misty wall as it begins to crumble away. The mist starts to disperse, a darkness looms behind it. At that moment, I knew it was the thing hunting me down. I feel chills go down my spine, my ears start to ring, and my heart pounds against my chest. I know if I stay I will get a fate worse than death. I attempted to move, but a paralyzing fear heavies my heart, freezing me in place. I know if I don't move it will get me. So I mustered up all my willpower feeling it bubble in my chest and demanded my body to move; although fear still heavies my heart, my body responds to my willpower coursing through my veins. I race to the door, my breath heavy, my hand grasping the cold round knob as the final crack fills the room, the misty wall collapsing behind me.

A/N - Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my first story. Please do leave a comment with your thoughts. Have a nice rest of the day!

Update 1 - Realized some dumb spelling mistake and fixed them - 4/27/24

Update 2 - Separated the last paragraph into another one.
5/7/24