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The History Paper
The doors opened with a satisfying ding. You stared at the tiny “room” revealed. It looked like an elevator, a fancy one, but an elevator all the same. The bottom half of the wall was lined with matte black panelling with silver and gold details. The top half featured flawlessly cleaned mirrors that covered the entirety of the wall. Curious, you stepped inside. The light was a blue bulb, explaining the glow you saw previously. On the right side of the doors was a set of 3 buttons made of different gemstones.
“You coming?” You asked Chase impatiently.
“That’s not a good idea, they could be back soon.” You shot him a dirty look and motioned for him to follow you. “I don’t feel I have much of a choice. It’s not like I can leave you alone like this.”
You pulled him in and confidently pushed the last button. “Where do you think this goes?”
“I don’t know and am frankly, not too excited to be finding out.” Although he had lost cell service as soon as they entered the back room, Chases continually checked his phone.
“You’re the one who wanted to me to get out of the house – relax.” A silence fell over the two of you and the carriage lurched into motion.
The elevator took a lot longer than you expected. Chase chewed on his bottom lip and tapped his foot impatiently. You took the opportunity to inspect the buttons and detailing, curious as to if any of it was real or if the gems were plastic and gold and silver just metallic paint. You traced it with your fingertips, intrigued with how it felt oddly warm. As the carriage grew increasingly colder, an uneasy shiver ran down your spine. Goosebumps made the hairs on your arms stand up. The dread and general uneasiness rapidly consuming you flipped the switch of the drunken-calm off. You stood back up as the light flickered overhead.
“Did you see that?” You snapped, your tension and panic visible. “Oh my god, Chase!” You looked to him while he tried to determine if your calm or whatever this is was scarier. “This was a terrible idea. We shouldn’t have done this—What if he catches—” You never had a chance to finish your sentence as the elevator came to an abrupt halt.
Your breathing was heavy, and you could hear your heartbeat in your ears.
The doors sprung open.
Beyond the doors was a long corridor with the end impossible to see because of the darkness. The air seemed unpleasantly humid despite the cold. You glanced up at Chase whose eyebrows were knit together, and jaw clenched. You couldn’t readily think of another time you’d seen him that worried in the 10 years you’d known him. Although neither of you verbalized the questions you had, you knew you were on the same page.
“People-who-get-stupidly-confident-when-drinking first,” Chase motioned you forward, and you glared at him.
You took a tentative step, squinting to try to see the end of the hallway. What appeared to be skylights were evenly spaced overhead. Although there was no clear sky – how would there be, you were underground, after all – there were beautiful crystals that could only be described as glowing. You took a few more steps. Looking back to see if Chase was coming, you noticed a dim neon sign hanging above the elevator: Humanity. The elevator had gone back, leaving the shaft, with no buttons to call it back down, empty and the two of you trapped. You felt your heart skip a beat. Chase was close at your heels.
“I guess we just follow it?” He nodded and turned on the flashlight on his phone. “I don’t think we should do that yet – what if it dies?”
“I didn’t think about that,” Chase said, turning it right back off.
You moved so you could touch the wall of the corridor. Walking forward, you kept your right hand on the wall so you wouldn’t get turned around and could feel for corners. The silence that hung in the air, broken only by your footsteps, was heavy; the two of you much too nervous to make conversation.
You had no idea how long you had been walking, but you eventually came up to a sharp turn. When you rounded the corner, you saw the faintest yellow light in the distance.
“Hey!” Chase broke the silence. “Maybe there are people up there!”
He started to jog forward, but you reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “It’s too dark to run. What if you fall? Or what if there’s traps or something?”
“We haven’t seen any traps yet,” he said.
Unsure of what was safe, you thought for a moment.
“You coming?” You asked Chase impatiently.
“That’s not a good idea, they could be back soon.” You shot him a dirty look and motioned for him to follow you. “I don’t feel I have much of a choice. It’s not like I can leave you alone like this.”
You pulled him in and confidently pushed the last button. “Where do you think this goes?”
“I don’t know and am frankly, not too excited to be finding out.” Although he had lost cell service as soon as they entered the back room, Chases continually checked his phone.
“You’re the one who wanted to me to get out of the house – relax.” A silence fell over the two of you and the carriage lurched into motion.
The elevator took a lot longer than you expected. Chase chewed on his bottom lip and tapped his foot impatiently. You took the opportunity to inspect the buttons and detailing, curious as to if any of it was real or if the gems were plastic and gold and silver just metallic paint. You traced it with your fingertips, intrigued with how it felt oddly warm. As the carriage grew increasingly colder, an uneasy shiver ran down your spine. Goosebumps made the hairs on your arms stand up. The dread and general uneasiness rapidly consuming you flipped the switch of the drunken-calm off. You stood back up as the light flickered overhead.
“Did you see that?” You snapped, your tension and panic visible. “Oh my god, Chase!” You looked to him while he tried to determine if your calm or whatever this is was scarier. “This was a terrible idea. We shouldn’t have done this—What if he catches—” You never had a chance to finish your sentence as the elevator came to an abrupt halt.
Your breathing was heavy, and you could hear your heartbeat in your ears.
The doors sprung open.
Beyond the doors was a long corridor with the end impossible to see because of the darkness. The air seemed unpleasantly humid despite the cold. You glanced up at Chase whose eyebrows were knit together, and jaw clenched. You couldn’t readily think of another time you’d seen him that worried in the 10 years you’d known him. Although neither of you verbalized the questions you had, you knew you were on the same page.
“People-who-get-stupidly-confident-when-drinking first,” Chase motioned you forward, and you glared at him.
You took a tentative step, squinting to try to see the end of the hallway. What appeared to be skylights were evenly spaced overhead. Although there was no clear sky – how would there be, you were underground, after all – there were beautiful crystals that could only be described as glowing. You took a few more steps. Looking back to see if Chase was coming, you noticed a dim neon sign hanging above the elevator: Humanity. The elevator had gone back, leaving the shaft, with no buttons to call it back down, empty and the two of you trapped. You felt your heart skip a beat. Chase was close at your heels.
“I guess we just follow it?” He nodded and turned on the flashlight on his phone. “I don’t think we should do that yet – what if it dies?”
“I didn’t think about that,” Chase said, turning it right back off.
You moved so you could touch the wall of the corridor. Walking forward, you kept your right hand on the wall so you wouldn’t get turned around and could feel for corners. The silence that hung in the air, broken only by your footsteps, was heavy; the two of you much too nervous to make conversation.
You had no idea how long you had been walking, but you eventually came up to a sharp turn. When you rounded the corner, you saw the faintest yellow light in the distance.
“Hey!” Chase broke the silence. “Maybe there are people up there!”
He started to jog forward, but you reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “It’s too dark to run. What if you fall? Or what if there’s traps or something?”
“We haven’t seen any traps yet,” he said.
Unsure of what was safe, you thought for a moment.