Mouse Trap

Shoes

Indigo

Theo, Finn and I all look at each other. I don't think any of us are sure what to do. I can't see anything through the door, it's too dark. It's just a hole in the wall, not a very conventional door. I really wish I could see what's through it, I might be able to lead us if I knew even an inkling of where we were headed.

I hear Finn take a deep inhale, then walk up to the dark hole of a door, glancing back at us to make sure we're following him. I get the sense he doesn't want to walk through alone. I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to be alone right now, period. I notice Theo's breathing start to quicken again. I place my hand on one of his shoulders and squeeze. I try to give him what I think is a reassuring smile. He looks up at me and nods, trying to force his breathing into control.

We walk up to Finn. All three of us stand in the threshold, seeing nothing.

"What do you think is in there?" Theo asks. "I don't know," breathes Finn. "We don't really have any other options."

We each take a shaky step into the darkness. Almost immediately, the door to the white room vanishes with another sliding sound. For two seconds, there is only darkness. Then a light flashes on and we're in another room almost identical to the first one. Only this one has a small table in the center with three pairs of shoes resting on top.

Confused, I walk up to the table. There's a card in front of each pair of shoes. I pick up the card in front of the left pair and open it.

"Hey Finn!," I call out. he walks over and I show him the card.

Finn Garret 

Finn picks up the pair of shoes and inspects them. He turns one shoe over in his hands and shakes it. Nothing happens. "They look ok," he mumbles while tracing the red line design circling the bottom of the shoe. "Clean, they might even fit. They are kinda heavy though."

Theo looks over Finn's shoulder and at the card in my hand. Are all our names here?" I open the other cards, and hand him the shoes with the blue line design, along with his card saying Theo Manning. I turn over my green lined shoes in my hands. All the while Finn is pulling on his pair.

"These, are  not bad," he remarks, bouncing up and down on his toes. "They're actually really comfortable." 

"Holy crap, they really are," Theo says. He too has now put on his shoes. I look at me green pair again, still kind of wary. "Don't you think this is a bit, I don't know, creepy?" I ask. "I mean, don't you think it's weird that our kidnapper just left us some shoes for some reason?"

"At this point, I really don't care," Finn laughs, bouncing up and down again. "These are far better that that garbage I was just wearing." I glance over at Finn's old shoes, and holy crap! Garbage is right. It looks like he shoved the sneakers through a lawnmower.

Then again, the voice.

"Miss Mccallum, if you would please put on your shoes."

"What if I don't want to?" I shoot back. Theo gets that scared look again and fantically shakes his head. Finn looks at me like I'm crazy. I don't care. Even when I'm terrified, I hate being told what to do. The voice is silent for a moment. Then;

"Are you sure you want to test me?"

The floors and walls turn red, and the room immediately begins to feel warm. Not just warm, hot. It's getting hotter by the second, impossibly fast. It's only a matter of moments before I almost can't breathe. It's having the same effect on the boys as well. Theo is huffing and gasping and Finn's crouched low on the ground.

"Indigo, please," Theo pants. "Just put on the shoes... please." 

"Well?" The voice calls, tauntingly.

"Fine!" I yell, "Just please, stop!" The heat dies down almost instantly. I feel the breeze from air conditioners that I can't see. The boys almost fall over with relief. We all shiver a little from the sudden cold.

"Good," The voice says.

I slip on the shoes, shaking.

"Now, if you would please follow this hallway at your leisure, there's a special surprise waiting for you!"

We all look at each other with the same expression of fear as our predicament truly dawns on us for the first time;

We've been kidnapped, we have all just almost burned to death from a small disagreement and if that's all it takes to piss whoever this is off, then what would he do if we did something serious, and just how far would he go? And finally, what does he plan to do with us next?