THE GIRL IN THE HALLWAY
1556 Words
Elena couldn't move.
The girl standing in the hallway was small enough that the old office door seemed enormous behind her. She wore a pale yellow dress and white shoes, both slightly dirty around the edges. Her dark hair was tied into two uneven ponytails.
Elena knew that face.
She had seen it in the photograph.
She had seen it in the video.
She had seen it in the drawing.
But seeing the child standing in front of her was different.
The girl stared at Adrian.
Then she looked at Elena.
Her expression was strangely calm.
"Why did you take so long?"
Elena's throat tightened.
"Who are you?"
The girl's eyebrows lifted.
"You know me."
"No."
"You used to."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Don't speak to her."
The girl ignored him.
She continued looking at Elena.
"You're older now."
Elena took a cautious step backward.
Mara remained near the window, watching the child with an expression Elena couldn't understand.
Fear.
Not surprise.
Fear.
Elena noticed.
"You know her."
Mara didn't answer.
The little girl smiled.
"You shouldn't trust her either."
Elena looked at Adrian.
Then Mara.
Then the child.
Nothing about the room made sense anymore.
"Who are you?" she asked again.
The girl tilted her head.
"My name is Elena."
The real Elena's stomach dropped.
"No."
The girl smiled.
"Yes."
Adrian moved between them.
"Enough."
The child frowned at him.
"You always do that."
"Do what?"
"Stand in front of her."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Go back."
The girl shook her head.
"I don't want to."
"You have to."
"No."
Her voice became quieter.
"You promised."
Adrian looked away.
Elena noticed his hands.
They were trembling.
Barely.
But they were.
She had never seen that before.
"What did you promise her?"
He didn't answer.
The child looked at Elena again.
"He promised he would come back."
Elena felt a strange pressure behind her eyes.
A memory tried to surface.
A hallway.
A hand.
Someone pulling her forward.
A man's voice telling her not to look back.
Then nothing.
She pressed her fingers against her temple.
Adrian noticed.
"Elena?"
"I remember something."
Mara stepped closer.
"What?"
Elena closed her eyes.
"There was a door."
The room went silent.
"A red door," Elena continued slowly. "I was holding someone's hand."
Adrian stared at her.
"Whose?"
"I don't know."
The child answered.
"Mine."
Elena opened her eyes.
The little girl was still standing in the doorway.
"You were holding my hand."
A sudden ache spread through Elena's chest.
She looked at the child.
"Why can't I remember you?"
The girl shrugged.
"Because they made you forget."
"Who?"
The girl pointed behind Elena.
Elena turned.
Nobody was there.
When she looked back, the child was gone.
The hallway was empty.
Mara rushed toward the door.
"Wait!"
She looked left.
Then right.
Nothing.
Adrian closed the door.
"Don't follow her."
Elena stared at him.
"Who was that?"
He didn't answer.
"Was that really me?"
"I don't know."
"You saw her."
"I know what I saw."
"Then tell me."
Adrian leaned against the door.
For once, he looked exhausted.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
"Sometimes the games create things from memories."
Elena frowned.
"So she wasn't real?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then what was she?"
Adrian looked at the floor.
"Something we shouldn't have opened."
Mara crossed her arms.
"That's not entirely true."
Adrian looked at her.
"Mara."
"She has the right to know."
"You've said enough."
Mara's gaze moved to Elena.
"He's afraid of what you'll remember."
Elena turned toward Adrian.
"Is that true?"
He remained silent.
"Adrian."
He finally looked at her.
"Yes."
The answer came quietly.
Elena swallowed.
"Why?"
"Because I don't know what you'll do when you remember everything."
The words unsettled her.
She looked around the old office.
There were still boxes stacked in the corner.
The desk.
The photograph.
The child's drawing.
Everything seemed connected to a life she couldn't remember.
She walked toward the boxes.
Adrian watched her.
"Don't."
Elena ignored him.
She opened the first box.
Old employee files.
The second contained newspapers.
The third was filled with photographs.
She lifted one.
Her parents.
Another.
Adrian.
Another.
A group of employees standing around a large table.
Then she found one that made her stop.
It showed a group of people gathered inside a dark room.
At the center was a circular table.
There were cards spread across it.
Every person had a number written on their chest.
Elena looked closer.
She recognized several faces.
Clara.
Marcus.
Mara.
Adrian.
They all looked younger.
She turned the photograph over.
A date was written on the back.
August 20, 2010.
Below it was a sentence.
GAME ONE: PARTICIPANTS CONFIRMED.
Elena's fingers went cold.
She looked at Adrian.
"These people were here."
"Yes."
"During the first game."
"Yes."
"Then why are they still here?"
He didn't answer.
Elena turned back to the photograph.
There was one more person.
A man standing slightly away from the table.
His face had been scratched out.
Elena ran her finger over the damaged photograph.
"Who is this?"
Adrian stepped closer.
His expression changed.
"Put it down."
"Who is he?"
"Elena."
"Why are you scared of a photograph?"
"Because some things should stay forgotten."
She looked at him.
"That's what everyone keeps saying."
Mara walked over.
"He was the first boss."
Elena looked at her.
"First boss?"
Mara nodded.
"Before Adrian."
Elena glanced at Adrian.
"You weren't the boss?"
"Not then."
"What happened to him?"
Mara's face became serious.
"He disappeared during the first game."
Elena stared at the photograph.
"And the company just continued?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Nobody answered.
A sudden sound came from the corridor.
Something scraped along the floor.
Everyone turned.
The door remained closed.
Then came another scrape.
Slow.
Heavy.
Elena stepped backward.
Mara whispered, "It's looking for the key."
Elena immediately looked down at her hand.
The silver key was still there.
Adrian noticed.
"Put it away."
"Where?"
"In your pocket."
She did.
The scraping stopped.
Silence returned.
Mara looked toward the door.
"It knows she has it."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Then we move."
"Where?"
"Somewhere it can't follow."
Mara laughed bitterly.
"There isn't anywhere left."
Adrian ignored her.
He walked toward the bookshelf.
Elena watched him pull three books from the middle shelf.
Nothing happened.
He pulled a fourth.
A section of the wall clicked.
The bookshelf shifted.
A narrow passage appeared behind it.
Elena stared.
"How many secret rooms does this company have?"
"More than you want to know."
He stepped inside.
Mara followed.
Elena hesitated.
Then she entered.
The passage was narrow enough that she had to turn sideways in places. The walls were made of concrete, unlike the wooden rooms outside. Small lights were embedded along the ceiling, but several had burned out.
Adrian walked ahead.
Mara followed behind Elena.
Nobody spoke.
After several minutes, the passage widened.
They reached another room.
This one contained rows of metal cabinets.
Each cabinet had a number.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Dozens of them.
Elena approached the nearest.
"What's inside?"
"Records."
"Of the games?"
Adrian nodded.
She looked along the wall.
There were hundreds.
"How long has this been happening?"
"We don't know."
"Who keeps the records?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Mara did.
"The boss."
Elena turned.
"Which boss?"
Mara smiled without humor.
"That's the problem."
A soft chime sounded.
Everyone looked toward the wall.
A small digital clock had switched on.
7:42 P.M.
Elena's phone showed the same time.
The first time since the game began that the clocks agreed.
A message appeared.
STAGE TWO: MEMORY
Another message followed.
NO ONE MAY LEAVE THE ROOM UNTIL THE TRUTH IS FOUND.
Elena stared at the screen.
"How long do we have?"
Adrian looked at the cabinets.
"Until the room decides."
"That's not helpful."
"I know."
Mara walked toward cabinet number thirteen.
She placed her hand on it.
"This one."
Adrian's expression changed.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because we don't know what's inside."
Mara looked at him.
"We already know."
She opened the cabinet.
Inside were files.
Photographs.
A small red notebook.
And a child's bracelet.
Elena's eyes immediately went to the bracelet.
It was white, with a tiny silver charm.
She recognized it.
She had one exactly like it in an old box at home.
Her mother had told her it belonged to her childhood.
Elena slowly reached for it.
Adrian caught her wrist.
"Don't."
She looked at him.
"Why?"
He didn't answer.
She pulled her hand free.
"I need to know."
She picked up the bracelet.
The moment it touched her palm, the lights went out.
Mara gasped.
Adrian grabbed Elena.
A voice filled the room.
A child's voice.
Her voice.
"Game one begins."
The lights returned.
The red notebook was open on the floor.
Nobody had touched it.
A sentence had appeared across the first page.
ONE MEMORY IS FALSE.
Elena stared.
Then another line slowly appeared beneath it.
FIND IT BEFORE THE NEXT DOOR OPENS.
A faint click came from somewhere behind them.
Adrian turned.
At the far end of the room, a metal door had appeared.
Its surface was covered with scratches.
Three words were carved into it.
YOU KNOW ME.
Elena looked at the bracelet in her hand.
Then at Adrian.
For the first time since entering Vespera, she had the unsettling feeling that the game wasn't trying to frighten her.
It was trying to make her remember.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD