Episode 20: Through the Door
1503 Words
Heaven held Conrad’s hand.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The golden doorway stood before them, glowing brighter than anything Heaven had ever seen. The light spilled across the strange hallway, illuminating the faces of Maya, Dylan, Sierra, and Sierra’s sister.
Nobody spoke.
The mysterious boy stood behind them, watching.
“The same choice you made before,” he said.
Heaven looked at him.
“What choice?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, the hallway trembled.
A deep rumble traveled through the walls.
Sierra's sister suddenly grabbed Sierra's arm.
“We need to leave.”
Sierra looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because it's waking up.”
“What is?”
Her sister stared at the golden doorway.
“I don't know.”
The floor shook again.
This time, the golden light flickered.
Conrad tightened his grip on Heaven's hand.
“Whatever is happening, we're staying together.”
Maya nodded quickly.
“Definitely.”
Dylan glanced at the doorway.
“I'm starting to regret coming here.”
“You can say that again,” Maya muttered.
A loud c***k echoed through the hallway.
Everyone turned.
A thin black line had appeared across the golden door.
Heaven's magic immediately reacted.
Gold light rushed through her fingers.
Conrad's mark began glowing.
The mysterious boy watched them carefully.
“It's beginning.”
Heaven looked at him.
“What is?”
“The return.”
Conrad stepped forward.
“You keep saying things like that. Stop speaking in riddles and tell us what is happening.”
The boy looked at him.
“You've already been told.”
“I don't remember everything.”
“You remember enough.”
Conrad's expression hardened.
“Then tell me what my father did.”
The mysterious boy was silent.
Sierra stepped forward.
“And tell me what happened to my sister.”
Her sister looked at her.
Sierra's voice softened.
“You don't remember me, but I remember you.”
The girl looked away.
“I know.”
Sierra frowned.
“You know?”
“I don't remember your face.”
She touched her chest.
“But something inside me remembers how it felt to lose you.”
Sierra's eyes filled with tears.
She reached for her sister's hand.
This time, her sister didn't pull away.
Heaven watched them quietly.
Then something inside her shifted.
A memory.
She saw herself as a little girl.
She was standing in the hallway.
Conrad was beside her.
They were both younger.
Sierra's sister was standing in front of them.
And Conrad's father was standing beside the door.
He looked terrified.
“Listen to me,” he said.
Young Heaven was crying.
“What's happening?”
The man knelt in front of them.
“You won't remember this.”
Young Conrad looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because you can't.”
The memory blurred.
Heaven saw the mysterious boy standing behind them.
He looked exactly the same.
He hadn't aged.
He was holding something in his hand.
A small golden object.
Then the memory changed.
The door was opening.
Something was moving behind it.
Sierra's sister shouted.
“Run!”
Young Conrad grabbed Heaven's hand.
But instead of running, he turned around.
“I'll stay.”
Heaven's eyes widened.
The memory vanished.
She gasped.
Conrad immediately turned toward her.
“What did you see?”
“You.”
His face changed.
“What about me?”
“You stayed.”
Heaven looked at him.
“You stayed behind.”
Conrad stared at her.
Then another memory hit him.
He saw himself as a child.
Heaven was standing beside him.
The door was opening.
She was crying.
He was holding her hand.
And he remembered what he had said.
“I'll protect you.”
Conrad blinked rapidly.
“I remember.”
Heaven stepped closer.
“What?”
“I said I'd protect you.”
“You did.”
He looked confused.
“But why?”
Heaven shook her head.
“I don't know.”
The mysterious boy finally spoke.
“Because even then, you knew what the door wanted.”
Conrad turned toward him.
“What did it want?”
“You.”
Silence.
The golden door suddenly opened wider.
A powerful wind rushed through the hallway.
Maya grabbed Dylan.
“What's happening?”
Dylan struggled to stay standing.
“I don't know!”
Sierra held onto her sister.
Heaven felt herself being pulled forward.
Conrad grabbed her around the waist.
“Don't let go!”
“I can't!”
The golden light became blinding.
For a few seconds, Heaven could see nothing.
Then everything stopped.
The hallway was silent.
The door was closed again.
Everyone slowly looked around.
Maya blinked.
“Is everyone alive?”
Dylan raised his hand.
“Still alive.”
Sierra looked at her sister.
She was staring at the door.
“What did you see?”
Her sister whispered,
“I remembered something.”
“What?”
She turned toward Heaven.
“You.”
Heaven froze.
“Me?”
Her sister nodded.
“You were here before.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You were here before the first time.”
Heaven frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Her sister looked at Conrad.
“You both were.”
Conrad stared at her.
“Together?”
“Yes.”
Sierra looked between them.
“But how? You said the door opened twenty years ago.”
“It did.”
“And Heaven and Conrad were children.”
“Yes.”
Maya looked confused.
“So they've been connected to this for their whole lives?”
The mysterious boy answered.
“Yes.”
Dylan frowned.
“Then why did everyone forget?”
“Because the door took their memories.”
Heaven looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because they weren't supposed to remember the first choice.”
Conrad stepped closer.
“What first choice?”
The boy looked directly at him.
“You made it.”
Conrad's expression hardened.
“I don't remember choosing anything.”
“You chose to stay.”
“And Heaven?”
“She chose to come back for you.”
Heaven's breath caught.
“What?”
The boy looked at her.
“You didn't leave him behind.”
A memory flashed through her mind.
Young Heaven was standing outside the door.
Conrad was on the other side.
She was reaching for him.
“I'll come back,” she had promised.
Then the door slammed shut.
Heaven stumbled backward.
Conrad caught her.
“You okay?”
She looked at him.
“I promised I'd come back.”
Conrad stared at her.
“I remember.”
The two of them stood silently.
Suddenly, the golden symbol appeared beneath their feet.
The same symbol from Heaven's notebook.
The same symbol that had appeared on Conrad's wrist.
The same symbol that had followed them since the beginning.
Sierra's sister stepped back.
“No.”
Sierra looked at her.
“What?”
Her sister's face had gone pale.
“The door isn't finished.”
Heaven turned.
The golden doorway began glowing again.
But this time, something was different.
A second symbol appeared.
Black.
Darkness spread across the edges of the door.
The mysterious boy looked toward it.
For the first time, Heaven saw fear in his eyes.
“What is that?” Conrad asked.
The boy didn't answer.
“Tell us!”
He finally spoke.
“The first time, you opened the door.”
Heaven stared at him.
“And this time?”
His eyes moved to the two of them.
“This time, something opened it for you.”
The door suddenly burst open.
A wave of darkness rushed through the hallway.
Everyone screamed.
Heaven raised her hands.
Golden magic exploded from her palms, stopping the darkness for a moment.
Conrad's mark burned brighter.
He reached for Heaven.
Their hands touched.
The golden light became stronger.
The darkness pushed harder.
Heaven could feel something on the other side.
Something watching.
Something waiting.
Then a voice whispered through the hallway.
Not the mysterious boy.
Not Sierra's sister.
Not anyone they knew.
“Heaven.”
She froze.
The voice continued.
“Conrad.”
Conrad looked at her.
“You heard that too?”
She nodded.
The voice became louder.
“Come back.”
Heaven's heart pounded.
She suddenly understood.
The door wasn't calling them because they had found it.
It was calling them because they had been there before.
And whatever waited on the other side remembered them.
The darkness surged forward again.
Conrad pulled Heaven closer.
“We're not facing this separately.”
She looked at him.
“No.”
She squeezed his hand.
“Together.”
Behind them, Maya and Dylan stood ready.
Sierra held tightly to her sister.
The mysterious boy stepped toward the door.
And for the first time, he looked worried.
“Then remember,” he said.
“Remember everything.”
The golden light exploded.
The hallway disappeared.
And Heaven realized they had only just entered the real danger.
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