Short Stories

The Room Beyond The Door

They had nailed shut the door long ago for a reason. Nobody knows why or who did it but, it was said to protect those outside of this mysterious room. A rumor lies within the town that a curse was placed on it to keep people from opening it, because it always drew in curious spectators and tourists. Nobody dared to touch it though unless you were Aspen. Nobody could call her a chicken for not going through with a dare. She was the brave friend of the group. Nothing could scare her, for she feared nothing. That is why she was dared to break into the house to touch the door. Her friends knew she would go through with it, despite it being forbidden to enter the house. They could persuade her into doing anything because she had a reputation to keep.

"Come on, Aspen. Are you too scared?" Madison coos.

Aspen looked up at the odd house with its moss-covered roof, gaping with holes. The windows that are intact are dark and grey with dirt while ivies cling to the outer walls. Around it, the ground seems to own the house as if it had grown up from the earth.

"Of course, I am not!"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Loki calls out from behind her.

Glancing back, Aspen crosses her arms over her chest, "How do you know if I touch it? I could just lie." Shrugs Aspen. She looks towards her companions, but they stand silently.

"Yeah bu-."

Aspen cuts him off, "You have to come with me... Or are you too scared?" She lets out a laugh as his face turns red with embarrassment.

"No, I am not. Let's go then." He walks up beside Aspen watching the house the whole time. "You go first."

With a soft snicker, Aspen climbs the stairs leading up to the doorway. The floorboards creak under the weight and Loki hangs close to her, glancing around nervously. Pushing aside the wood covering the shattered window, Aspen finds herself climbing through. The light from her flashlight sweeps across the room. The walls are streaked black with mold, clinging to the corners of the ceiling. Strips of white paint lie on the floor along with the decaying corpse of unfortunate creatures, who had passed. With curtain hanging limply across the windows, little moonlight shines through; however, enough penetrates to reveal furniture that is flipped and rotten. The air is heavy and still with the expectation and foreboding, waiting for another life to cross the wooden floorboards. A shattered chandelier lies scattered across the floor, leaving a gaping hole in the ceiling, giving a view of the starry night. A few open doorways lead to other rooms, but she doesn't keep the light shining there that long. Despite the summer night, a chill runs through her, allowing goosebumps to trail up her arms.

"It's said to be on the second floor."

With a nod, Aspen tentatively approaches the grand staircase carefully avoiding holes that rotted the boards. Grasping the flashlight, she glances back at Loki to find him cowering towards her, but the moment he sees the light on him, he straightens up and puts on a stern face. Aspen chuckles and continues forward onto the landing and looks down the opposite hallways. To the left, the ceiling bows under an unknown weight. A few toys lay scattered upon the floor, but something caught her eye. Leaning against one of the many doors lays a thick book, covered in a layer of dust and grim. She finds herself walking towards this odd book. Leaning down, she wipes off the book with her shirt before standing up and shining her light on the cover, which reads: The Story of the Room.

"Loki come look at this." The book has some physical flaws such as scratches etched into the leather cover and a multitude of the pages stand out but the spine is split up the middle although it is still holding together. The book seems to be in fair condition for being an older book.

"What is that?" Loki asks coming up beside Aspen.

"It's a book. Look at the cover." His eyes survey the book.