There was only one rule: don’t open the door. So of course I opened it.
When I did, I found nothing behind the door. Nothing at all: literally nothing. Just a dark chasm, solid black. Blacker than black. A void of such immense proportions that I felt I was about to fall into it, through it, to be trapped by it, consumed by it, never to emerge.
Teetering on the edge of the chasm, I tried to draw back but was held by an invisible force that drew me ever forward. I gasped for breath, tried to shriek my defiance but was pulled forward and into the abyss.
Terrified, I could see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing. Flailing my arms and legs about got me nowhere. Was I falling? Was I floating? Was I moving at all?
"Where am I?" A heard a voice say. A stupid voice. A stupid question. I think it was my voice. My voice speaking inside my head. Where else could it have come from?
How long had I been here? I could feel no time.
Was I dead? Was this what death was like? No, death was a rest, an ending. This terror was without rest, without end, without mercy. I tried again to scream but no sound emerged. Neither could I feel my breath. I wanted to breathe but was unable to lift my chest. Despite the immense feeling of suffocation I did not weaken, there was no longed for expiration. This must surely be a living death.
I tried to focus my attention on something but what? The door... yes the door.
I must find the door.
The door.
I felt my hand grasp something.
But the rule? The rule!
There was only one rule: don’t open the door. So of course...
About the Creator
Raymond G. Taylor
Author living in Kent, England. Writer of short stories and poems in a wide range of genres, forms and styles. A non-fiction writer for 40+ years. Subjects include art, history, science, business, law, and the human condition.
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Doorway to wherever
There was only one rule: don’t open the door. Playing in the garden as we did, it was a constant temptation. Miles started poking around with the padlock and I pulled a safety pin from my pocket, then waggled it around inside the lock until it clicked. Miles pulled the padlock away from the clasp and opened the door enough to squeeze through.
By Raymond G. Taylorabout a year ago in Horror
Comments (7)
Ooh a loop, I love it!
Great bit of horror micro fiction! It left your reader anxious and alert.
Great job creating the dreadful feeling of fear. I felt trapped myself reading it. And the black photos were a clever addition, reminding the reader of the MC’s state of things.
Ooo, nice
Oooo, I especially loved how you made it into a loop! So well done!
Very nice ending. Brought it all together masterfully.
I love the circular logic of this feeling story. Kinda like a lucid dream of horror.