The Open Gate

Chapter 4: The Hidden Door

Days passed after the watchman disappeared, and the entire school was shocked. After three days with no sign of him, the principal officially reported him missing. Posters were placed around the school, and teachers began asking students questions.

When the principal checked the CCTV footage from the night the watchman vanished, she discovered something terrifying—the entire footage was missing. Even worse, every time Viscous had appeared near the school, the cameras had blacked out for a few minutes.

She announced this during morning prayer, and Rickey and his friends immediately realized Viscous was behind it.

That night, the boys decided to return to the forest house on Sunday, since entering at night was too dangerous.

When Sunday arrived, they reached the abandoned house and were shocked to see the front door already open. Rickey carefully stepped forward, but suddenly invisible wires scratched his cheek.

The entrance was trapped.

They searched for another way inside. Vickey tried opening a window, but Rickey stopped him just in time. Using a stick, they pushed the window open—and a huge knife dropped from above.

The window was trapped too.

Finally, they climbed onto the roof and entered through a cold chimney.

Inside, they found a strange new room that hadn’t existed before. Believing the rusty key belonged somewhere there, they began searching carefully.

Just as Rickey was about to test the key on a door, they heard heavy footsteps.

Viscous had returned.

The boys immediately hid in different places. Rickey hid beneath a large pile of old clothes, Alex hid behind a broken cupboard, Rockey squeezed under an old table, and Vickey hid behind torn curtains near the wall.

Viscous slowly entered the room and began searching around. Rickey could barely breathe as Viscous walked closer and closer to the pile of clothes where he was hiding.

Then suddenly, Viscous bent down and picked up a pair of goggles from the pile directly above Rickey.

For one terrifying second, Rickey thought he had been caught.

But Viscous simply threw the goggles aside, pulled away a carpet from the middle of the room, and revealed a hidden door underneath. He climbed down into the darkness, and moments later the door sealed shut again beneath the carpet.

After he left, the boys came out from hiding and tried lifting the carpet, but it was sealed tightly.

The next day, instead of going to school, they returned with tools stolen from Rickey’s father’s shed—a hammer, crowbar, saw, and steel rods.

Using the chimney again, they entered safely. Two boys fixed steel rods into the chimney walls to make climbing easier, while the others cut the carpet carefully into a square shape.

After slicing through the strong gum sealing it to the floor, they finally lifted it completely.

Underneath it…

was The Hidden Door.