Hall of Infinite Doors
"Now you stay the fuck where you are," he says after sitting you back upright.
You restrain yourself and sit there quietly, not making a move. He steps back. There is a long period of silence shared between you. He seems to straighten up when the distant footsteps get nearer.
The broad shouldered woman and the old man return. She takes note of the blood trickling down from the corner of your mouth. "What the hell happened here, Joe?"
"Nothin'," he says.
"It doesn't look like nothing," she fires back.
"He was giving me shit, Tina. So I hit him," he explains.
She nods a bit and takes it in. "Cut him loose," she orders.
"What? " Joe exclaims.
"I said cut him loose. I'll explain later, for now just do as your told." She turns away and starts to walk down the hall.
Joe shakes his head in confusion as he walks over to you with a knife in hand.
"And Joe," she says, halting her walk for a moment. "Keep your hands off of him."
She resumes her pace and is soon swallowed by the darkness. You are alone in the room with Joe and the old man. The light on the wall begins to fade, and the old man walks over to touch it back to life.
The ropes cut loose and fall to the ground.
"I don't know why the hell she wants you free," Joe says to you. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you. So don't think for a moment that you are going to get away with anything, you hear me?"
"I'll keep that in mind," You say, rubbing at your jaw.
Joe fixes you with a dirty glare before spinning on his heel and stalking out of the room with dramatic heavy steps.
The old man walks slowly over to you and hands you a bottle of water. Your throat aches for it, and you swallow greedily, savoring the cool soothing sensation as it trickles down your throat. This old man is a savior. You wonder briefly if you would still be alive if it weren't t for him.
"I know who you are," the old man says to you with a serene smile on his face.
"And who would that be?" You ask.
"You're the one," he says. "You've come at last."
He holds his hand out to you. "My name is Samuel," he says. You take hold of his surprisingly firm grip.
You shake your head. "I'm sorry," you say. "I don't know who you think I am, but I came here quite by accident-"
"It was no accident," he tells you. "And now you are here."
There is a long awkward silence shared between the two of you, he looking at you with admiration, and you attempting to avoid his penetrating eyes.
"Come," he says. "Allow me to show you where you will be staying."
He turns around and starts walking. Seeing no other option, you follow him as he leads you through the dark hall and back to the main chamber. There aren't so many people out now, just a handful of them. Someone in uniform, presumably a watchman of some sort, stands with his back to a wall. He watches you with caution as you follow the old man. A scrawny kid runs his hand across a wall not far in front of you, a trail of light left in its wake.
The old man takes you to another tunne and makes a few turns down side passages until he reaches a door and stops.
"This is where you will be staying," he says, opening the door for you. It is pitch dark in the room and the old man taps his hand on the wall a few times inside to make them glow their eerie light inside.
It is a fair sized room, equipped with a bed, a dresser, and an empty shelf. There is a table and two chairs on one wall, the bed on the opposite side.
"It used to be Davids' room," he says. "He was a good guy. He helped create the place where we live. If it weren't for David, why, we never would have had a chance."
"What do you mean?" You ask. "What the hell happened?"
"To David? He died about ten years ago in a collapsed tunnel." He tells you, looking squarely in the eyes. "He was too old to be digging new tunnels in the first damn place, if you ask me."
"Not to David," You say. "To the town above ground. Why do you all live beneath the surface?"
He looks at you skeptically for a moment before answering. "It was said that you would not be from around here, but I had no idea how far..." He thinks for a moment. "Thirty-five years ago a portal was opened. Through that portal came great evil, intelligent and sentient beings. Carnivorous, every one of them. They began preying on humanity, killing masses of people. Soon after, more portals were opened, and more of them came flooding through.
"There was a great war, but most of the resistant groups are dead now save for a few strongholds. David's plan was to build an underground civilization where we could be sealed off from the ravenous hordes above. He created this city, and helped to design several more for other areas of the world. (There's really no way to be sure how many are left.)
"We cannot have electricity, or they will take note and be better able to locate us. That's why we have glow walls everywhere, because they react to body heat rather than using an energy source. Down here we can be safe."
He smiles and there is a bit of silence between the two of you.
"It is said that a stranger from a strange land will turn the tides of the war, but we could never be sure who's side the stranger would be on. You were destined to find us."
You restrain yourself and sit there quietly, not making a move. He steps back. There is a long period of silence shared between you. He seems to straighten up when the distant footsteps get nearer.
The broad shouldered woman and the old man return. She takes note of the blood trickling down from the corner of your mouth. "What the hell happened here, Joe?"
"Nothin'," he says.
"It doesn't look like nothing," she fires back.
"He was giving me shit, Tina. So I hit him," he explains.
She nods a bit and takes it in. "Cut him loose," she orders.
"What? " Joe exclaims.
"I said cut him loose. I'll explain later, for now just do as your told." She turns away and starts to walk down the hall.
Joe shakes his head in confusion as he walks over to you with a knife in hand.
"And Joe," she says, halting her walk for a moment. "Keep your hands off of him."
She resumes her pace and is soon swallowed by the darkness. You are alone in the room with Joe and the old man. The light on the wall begins to fade, and the old man walks over to touch it back to life.
The ropes cut loose and fall to the ground.
"I don't know why the hell she wants you free," Joe says to you. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you. So don't think for a moment that you are going to get away with anything, you hear me?"
"I'll keep that in mind," You say, rubbing at your jaw.
Joe fixes you with a dirty glare before spinning on his heel and stalking out of the room with dramatic heavy steps.
The old man walks slowly over to you and hands you a bottle of water. Your throat aches for it, and you swallow greedily, savoring the cool soothing sensation as it trickles down your throat. This old man is a savior. You wonder briefly if you would still be alive if it weren't t for him.
"I know who you are," the old man says to you with a serene smile on his face.
"And who would that be?" You ask.
"You're the one," he says. "You've come at last."
He holds his hand out to you. "My name is Samuel," he says. You take hold of his surprisingly firm grip.
You shake your head. "I'm sorry," you say. "I don't know who you think I am, but I came here quite by accident-"
"It was no accident," he tells you. "And now you are here."
There is a long awkward silence shared between the two of you, he looking at you with admiration, and you attempting to avoid his penetrating eyes.
"Come," he says. "Allow me to show you where you will be staying."
He turns around and starts walking. Seeing no other option, you follow him as he leads you through the dark hall and back to the main chamber. There aren't so many people out now, just a handful of them. Someone in uniform, presumably a watchman of some sort, stands with his back to a wall. He watches you with caution as you follow the old man. A scrawny kid runs his hand across a wall not far in front of you, a trail of light left in its wake.
The old man takes you to another tunne and makes a few turns down side passages until he reaches a door and stops.
"This is where you will be staying," he says, opening the door for you. It is pitch dark in the room and the old man taps his hand on the wall a few times inside to make them glow their eerie light inside.
It is a fair sized room, equipped with a bed, a dresser, and an empty shelf. There is a table and two chairs on one wall, the bed on the opposite side.
"It used to be Davids' room," he says. "He was a good guy. He helped create the place where we live. If it weren't for David, why, we never would have had a chance."
"What do you mean?" You ask. "What the hell happened?"
"To David? He died about ten years ago in a collapsed tunnel." He tells you, looking squarely in the eyes. "He was too old to be digging new tunnels in the first damn place, if you ask me."
"Not to David," You say. "To the town above ground. Why do you all live beneath the surface?"
He looks at you skeptically for a moment before answering. "It was said that you would not be from around here, but I had no idea how far..." He thinks for a moment. "Thirty-five years ago a portal was opened. Through that portal came great evil, intelligent and sentient beings. Carnivorous, every one of them. They began preying on humanity, killing masses of people. Soon after, more portals were opened, and more of them came flooding through.
"There was a great war, but most of the resistant groups are dead now save for a few strongholds. David's plan was to build an underground civilization where we could be sealed off from the ravenous hordes above. He created this city, and helped to design several more for other areas of the world. (There's really no way to be sure how many are left.)
"We cannot have electricity, or they will take note and be better able to locate us. That's why we have glow walls everywhere, because they react to body heat rather than using an energy source. Down here we can be safe."
He smiles and there is a bit of silence between the two of you.
"It is said that a stranger from a strange land will turn the tides of the war, but we could never be sure who's side the stranger would be on. You were destined to find us."