The Last Door on the Left

Three days, I’ve been here for three days. At least I think it’s been three days. The two of them, one tall and bulky, the other shorter and athletic, bring me from my cell at the end of a long hall to the same room, my new vacation spot, every day. They beat and interrogate me all under a green light. The pain subsides faster than I’d suspect and then I feel so tired and fall asleep. I wake up in my cell to do it all again. They’ve done that three times, so it has to be three days. I haven’t given up a thing and I won’t. This room may become my tomb but I won’t tell them a thing. Their leaders want to know our number, our resources, and our allies. I can hold out for a while. Even if I start to break I have fake intel I can feed them to some time. Once they pursue it my people can change codenames, safehouses and passwords. The futility of my captors’ actions makes the pain bearable. Or maybe there’s something about that light… I must have taken a few too many blows to the head. Why I am thinking about that light? It hung above the table on a long cord, bathing the room in a wash of green. On the first day, the shorter one just kept slapping me on the right side of my face over and over while asking me questions. On the second day, I taunted the taller one. I don’t think he liked what I said because the next moment I was thrown into the air and my head hit the edge of the fixture. The green projection moved about the room, its shadows danced to my misery. On the third day, the two continued their interrogation and only struck me when I made a sly remark about their mothers. They even took a break after smacking me around. The pair ate a snack and began chatting with me sitting there, too tired to do much else other than fight to stay awake. The pair mentioned some special captives in another interrogation room right before I passed out. The last thing I saw was their blurred outline in a green haze. The beatings don’t hurt as much as I thought they would. The pain seems to fade more quickly than I’m used to. Maybe those two bastards are weaker than they look or maybe it’s that light.

I think my captors are playing a long game. This is the longest I have been awake in my cell. Maybe I woke up earlier than normal but I doubt it. It’s impossible to tell. My cell has no windows and no clock. I could have been in here for twenty minutes or twenty hours and I would be none the wiser. I am all alone with only my bed and the pale white glow of my cell’s light to keep me company. After a small eternity, I hear some noise from down the hall. I can’t quite make out what it is but it does sound like a muffled scuffle or argument. Then I notice a light flickering under the door. I walk up to the door to try and hear better. I get closer and turn my head to press my left ear against the door. The door shifts.... Slowly I press the door further and it gives way.

Half of the lights are out with only one light remaining aglow in the center and the rest flickering. I hear muffled footsteps down the hall. They must be on the other side of the door. I make my approach. All of the cell doors are open but it doesn’t look like I had had any neighbors. Each room passed is as vacant as the one before it. Each view becomes eerier until I stare at the last one on the right. The light is out. I pause a moment in case it isn’t empty. Staring into the void I see nothing. I sidestep towards the door at the end of the hall, never removing my gaze from the dark cell. I slip when I reach the door but recover. I can’t quite see what I stepped in because the light is out above the door. I back away a moment to see what is on my shoe. My eyes are met with darkened crimson, blood. I hyperventilate a moment before composing myself and move towards the door. My people probably found this place and were trying to free any of us being interrogated. I check the door and it begins to open. Cautiously I peel it back revealing a horrific scene.

Throughout the hall are guards and personnel that I assume all work in this facility. The bodies are all bloodied. Like the last hallway, some lights are out but less than before. No flickering either. There is scarce a place on the floors or walls that are not painted with the blood of some poor fool. I hated my interrogators but some of these people look like civilians. Worse still some were in plain clothes like me and could have been fellow captives. Whoever did this didn’t care which side anyone was on. Who?.... Or judging by the state of the bodies… what did this? I look over the carnage and see a pistol still in the holster of one of the guards. I cross the floor to crouch beside him when I hear the clang of metal, like a pipe falling. I pause a moment with my hand outstretched, staring in the direction of the noise. I swiftly remove the pistol and check it over. A full clip and the safety is still on. She didn’t even get a chance to fire. I flip off the safety and cock my new weapon. A few more steps to the last door before the corridor of interrogation rooms where my new vacation spot lives. Turning the handle and pulling the door let out a creak. Holding my breath I push one hand against the door while the other pulls to steady my entrance. I don’t want to alert the psycho that butchered all of those people.

The corridor at least what I can see looks clear. The corridor turns to the right a few doors down. The lights are all on though maybe a bit dimmer than normal. It is so strange. Did I imagine the bodies?... I look at my hand and I am still holding the gun and when I look back… yup, still a nightmare. With the pistol drawn I warily clear my surroundings. Like the cells many of the doors are open and the lights are on. After the first couple of rooms, I relax a bit. I lower the pistol halfway and exhale. Looking at the floor I notice red smears. My pistol returns to its previous position. Someone has been cleaning up. Turning the corner I see more smears on the floor and some on the walls. The rooms are much like the ones before it saves for three at the end. The smears lead to an open room second from the last on the left with a light on. The last door on the right has a light out like in the cells and the last door on the left is shut, with a green glow coming from underneath the door. I am aiming my weapon towards the black hollow with my back on the wall approaching the blood smears. I slowly peek my head around the corner. Two more bodies, my interrogators. The tall one is laying on the floor in a pool of blood while the shorter one sits, head leaning forward. I turn back at the darkness of the room on the right. I peer inside, weapon trained in front of me. I see nothing. I creep slowly to the closed door on the left. My breathing quickens. The exit is just to my right. I could just leave but, but there is no way of knowing how much larger the facility is. I don’t want to press further only to be ambushed by someone who was hiding in that green room. I need to clear it and then I can move on. I open the door quickly ready to fire on anyone inside. Empty. Exhaling, I chuckle to myself. I turned towards the exit when I hear a woman crying. She is crying from the lightless room. She stumbles out of the void covered in blood. I draw my weapon but notice she is holding her stomach. She has cuts on her arms and seems to be limping. She must be a survivor. I try to speak to her. “It’s ok, it’s ok, I am going to get us out of here. How badly are you hurt?” Her crying subsides and she replies, “I don’t know.” I put the gun in my pocket. “Let me look you over. If you are cut I can use a shirt to put pressure on it until we can get out here.” She nods. I move closer and move her left arm from her stomach. No wounds that I can see. Then I feel pressure in my chest, then pain. I look down to see a knife plunged into me and a smile on her face. She backs away from me and I fall to my knees then slump backwards. My vision grows dark as I bathe in the glow leaking from the room with the green light.