Below The Stairs

Chapter 7: No escape

We are standing outside, the streetlights overhead. The stars of the sky twinkle as they usually do. Some dimmer than others and some outshine many. The door behind us rattles and shakes. A growling sound and chains clashing against the stone floor. "What is that thing?", Ryan asked. "How are we supposed to...", says Emily. The growling sound seems to have no end, I don't think the door will hold on for long. " I do...I don't know how to explain what it looks like. It doesn't have a..." I interrupt. "Fixed shape..." CJ completes.

We walk a distance away from the door. The streetlights flicker occasionally. "How do you..." I say. "I have been coincidentally researching about it. I don't quite remember its name, but it was banished from the overworld" CJ says. Ryan asks, "So were we in the world it was banished to?". "No but we were close", CJ responded.

The silence of the night was loud, and the growling had stopped. Had it gone? I stare at them in admiration. I had chosen them as friends, I hope I chose right. An engine roars in the distance, the sound faint but the vehicle not in sight. It takes a while too long but it finally comes into view. It is an old Ford, hanging to dear life with a cracked windshield and stubborn windows.

The car slows down. We walk toward it, caution lingering beneath our feet. The window slowly lowers as it jerks with every movement. "This would have been funny if it weren't so late", I whisper. The window barely makes it halfway before it stops. A voice filled with mystery moves through the gap. CJ wheezes behind me as the voice speaks in a broken Australian accent. Me being me I will along with little to no control over it. The inside of the car was a void of darkness.

Not a single ray of light from the street lights could penetrate the inside. "You kids know something you're not supposed to", The voice says. "What are your intentions and what do we know? ", I ask with caution. "Get in ", he says. It is not a question, he doesn't want an answer. I want to run away but my feet are like a tree, deeply rooted into the ground. The back door opens with a loud Creek and for some reason we get in. I don't think about it, my body disobeyed me like my opinions did not matter.