The Doors

”I can’t believe you’re late,” he shouted as I rushed through the door. I tried to think of a lie, something witty, but he was just a glorified doorman. No need for a real response, so I smiled and started jogging down the corridor. So many doors. The main hallway was lined with at least ten doors on either side, each leading to another hall...and more doors. The building was literally a maze. “Built to keep out intruders,” I was told the first time I was here. I smirked everytime I repeated that lie to visitors. I learned quickly the real reason for the labyrinthine layout. I scanned the end of the main hall before rounding the corner. “Left, right, left” I thought as I lengthened my stride. The second hallway, longer than the first and lined with more doors. Each door was a dark maroon with black symbols in the center. Raven, wolf, heart, rose...There were as many symbols as there were doors. I still didn’t know what all the symbols meant. Only my symbol. The snake. I was running full speed now, tearing the seams of my pants. It didn’t matter, they would be off soon enough anyway. “One more hallway” I said to myself as I rounded the last corner. Now I began to slow. Something seemed, off. There was a scent in the air. I inhaled deeply, but was repulsed, almost gagging. “Cardamom”? I recognized it from the Indian restaurant I frequented, but was confused since no food was allowed inside the building. My heart rate slowed to match my footsteps. I took another whiff. I smelled oil. I began to visualize it in my head. I paused mid-step, eyes fully closed, and stuck my nose up before sniffing the air like a bloodhound. “Gun oil”. The thought came to me in the image of a black revolver. I was almost to the door. My door. I ran my hand across the black lacquer logo as if feeling for a pulse and listened. I could hear movement inside. I calmed myself and slowly put my key in the door. As I opened it the blended scents of cardamom and gun oil overwhelmed me. It was pitch black inside, but I didn’t need my eyesight. “Follow your nose” I repeated in my head as I closed the door and stepped inside. I took off my shoes one at a time, slowly and deliberately, making sure to be as silent as I could. As if the quietness would help my now heightened sense of smell. I stepped out of my pants and unbuttoned my shirt. My eyes were closed, but I could “see” the smells. It felt like the first time all over again. I began moving forward. Whatever was moving before was still now, but the smell made it impossible to hide. I was tip-toeing towards it. Deeply inhaling and then exhaling like Darth Vader. I wanted to talk for some reason. I wanted to say something, anything to let my presence be known. All I could muster was a slow satisfying growl. Then movement. Before I could turn towards the sound, the lights in the room came on. I launched myself towards the switch and grabbed the man standing there. I remember the look on his face. It wasn’t terror. Not quite. It was more disbelief. As I picked him up and threw him across the room I accidentally brushed the lights back off. Then, darkness again.

I woke up to the phone ringing in the room. It was the glorified doorman. “Sir, he said, it’s time to leave”. I looked around the room and saw the man from last night. A ripped security guard uniform, stained with lamb vindaloo, lay in pieces where his chest was supposed to be. “Is there anything you need before your departure, Sir?” he asked. I thought of saying something witty again, but decided it would be wasted on him. “No, I replied. I’ll see you next month when I’m back in town.” As I went to hang up the phone I could hear him still talking. I’d heard it so many times before I didn’t bother to listen again. But it felt good to know that he still said it. Every single time. “Thank you again, Sir, for your stay at the Luna Lupus. We will see you next full moon.”