Destination: Unknown (Short Story)

The mattress was closing in as Ingrid lay upon it, feeling suffocated by the way it cradled her body. She feared that at any moment, the memory foam would suck her in, and she would certainly be smothered to death within the spongy stomach of the thing. The sheets were twisted at the end of the bed, acting as snakes trapping her feet and refusing to let go. She was never going to get to sleep. She violently removed herself from beneath the covers, and sighed at the trouble of it all. If she stays awake, she’ll have hell to pay tomorrow. If she goes to sleep… well, if she goes to sleep, that’s another horror in itself.

Sitting up, she bangs her head against the headboard in frustration. Why couldn’t she just have dreams normal people have? Why couldn’t sleep be a thing she looked forward to, instead of dreaded? Opening the drawer of her bedside table, she grabbed a bottle, labeled “Valium” and popped a couple, chewing them with a grimace to quicken their effect. Her exhaustion outweighed her fear of what was to come. She lay back in bed again, the mattress now feeling like a warm hug, her mind being wiped of all anxieties as she quickly drifted off to sleep. 

Ingrid awoke to an old Victorian home. “Shit, not this again,” she murmured. “I can’t be here again.” Shutting her eyes tight, she tried to imagine herself elsewhere to no avail. When she came here, there was no leaving. She had to go through with it. She braced herself, and began walking towards the front door. The red door. She approached it, and turned the knob. Peering inside, the house looked empty. She knew better. “Better get to the hiding spot,” she told herself.

The house looked like a home somebody’s grandmother lived in. A creepy grandmother, one that keeps old disturbing portraits of twins and family photos where they’re smiling too bright. She looked to the left, into the living room. The furniture was heavily worn, and she saw something in the rocking chair, it didn’t have a clear shape but she could see it was peering at her with its bright eyes contrasting its dark figure. She quickly looked away, and increased her speed. 

As she walked down the too-long hallway, it seemed to stretch onward, the house becoming larger. It was beginning. The room seemed to tilt beneath her, turning and turning as she sped into the back bedroom. Sweat beads rolled down her face, she had to be quiet. Finding her hiding spot beneath the bed, she saw another girl run into the room. 

“What the hell is going on?” The girl asked, shrill. 

“Shut up, they’ll hear us. They’re coming,” she spat back. 

The girl began to whimper, and Ingrid looked over to her. She felt bad for the girl, it must be her first time venturing into this realm, and she probably didn’t even mean to do it. 

“Look, it’s okay. I’m Ingrid. We can stick together, okay?” At this, the girl smiled a little.

“Amy. My name’s Amy.”

“Okay, Amy. So what we have to do-”

Ingrid was cut off by the sudden sound of a horn. “Shit,” she said, “We’re out of time.” Red mist began to seep under the bedroom door, out where the long hallway stood. Amy began to whimper again, and Ingrid put a hand over her mouth. “Shhh! We have to stay quiet.” Shadows appeared on the walls, dancing back and forth and they heard a loud scream, probably from one of the other bedrooms. 

“Okay, Amy. In the corner of this room, there is a small door. It’s just barely big enough to get through, but we need to get out of this house and through the door. I’ll try to find it, and you keep watch. Can you do that?” Amy nodded. “Okay, here I go.” 

The rules of this world were unlike our own, doors were hidden and you had to find them. They were in a different place each time, which Ingrid had learned by now. She began to peel back the rotted flower wallpaper, too panicked to remain quiet. It wasn’t here. She went to the opposite wall, and began to peel back the paper, having to move aside the dresser to get to the spot. Gotcha. There stood the little black door, it’s knob rusted. 

“Okay Amy,” Ingrid whispered, “let’s get out of here.” 

Amy crawled out from under the bed, and stood behind Ingrid, which was in front of the cracked bedroom door. Ingrid opened the small door, cool air coming in, relieving them from the dust and the mugginess the red mist was causing. Ingrid began crawling through when she heard a scream behind her, she looked back, only to see Amy’s hands trying to clutch the carpet, and failing. She heard Amy screaming all down the hall. Guilt gripped her, she should’ve let Amy go first. Once on the other side of the tiny door, she quickly shut it. 

She turned around, and realized the sky was oddly gray… no, everything was grey. She held her breath. Not far off in the distance, a behemoth of a creature shook the ground with its slow, heavy steps. It must’ve been at least nine feet tall. It dragged along a sledgehammer behind it, its long arms hanging low to the ground. The height and the weapon weren’t what frightened Ingrid, however. When she finally reached the thing’s face, she saw that each side of its mouth had been pulled up and back, revealing a much too-wide smile. Wrong. Fucking. Door.