There was only one rule: don’t open the door.
The first morning, at least I assumed it was morning, I awoke in the sterile cell, vaguely remembering signing up for a study.
“You are participant number seven of ten. The door before you is unlocked. If you open the door, you will be free. If you open the door, the other nine participants will die,” the intercom above chirped robotically.
It had to be a test, I decided after a while, and placed my hand on the doorknob.
But if it isn’t…
I laid back down on the steel bed. That’s when I decided on my one rule, the decision that separated me from them. The thought of these sick bastards winning made me nauseous.
Then came the fear. There were plenty of murderers and worse out there, and all it took was one of them to be contestant six and it’d be over. I stayed awake until I collapsed, waiting…
When death never came, I tried to keep count of how many times the intercom chimed.
It could have been a day, or a week, but eventually I stopped counting. Not long after, the push ups stopped cutting it. I craved a book. I craved anything.
Then I began to pray.
First, unanswered prayers to god.
Afterwards, I prayed to violence. I prayed for the selfishness of others, and I blessed them with my absolution at the top of my lungs. Once the tears dried, I stupidly used my shirt to clean the bloody fist marks off the door.
“You are participant number seven…”
It was the height of cruelty that my captors rounded the edges of that steel bed.
“You are participant number…”
I broke.
I broke my rule.
Beyond, a blinding red light illuminated a desolate hallway.
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A/N:
Word Count: 300. If you've enjoyed this, please leave a like and an insight below. If you really enjoyed this, tips to fuel my coffee addiction are always appreciated. All formatting is designed for desktops. Want to read more? Below are the best of the very best of my works:
For the Spooky Micro Challenge:
About the Creator
Matthew J. Fromm
Full-time nerd, history enthusiast, and proprietor of arcane knowledge.
Here there be dragons, knights, castles, and quests (plus the occasional dose of absurdity).
I can be reached at [email protected]
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Comments (8)
I wonder how long he took, and if the others were all struggling through exactly the same dilemma! I like how you've taken the prompt and turned it into a known thing- the narrator has been told exactly what will happen if they break the rule, though they don't know it's true. Tense and tight this one!
That was chilling, quite the psychological journey in 300 words. Well written!
This is so good, Matthew! You set the stakes very quickly and effectively! Great psychological horror piece!
I hate settings in which the passage of time is uncertain. Well done. You created a microfiction that violently disrupted my emotions. The loss of power/control is so unsettling...
Nice! You created a dreadful situation that put me on edge. There is only so much mental torture the mind can take before it breaks.
It's amazing what people can do with mind games. Nicely done, Matthew!
The survival of the fittest. Well done!
Nicely done!