Within The Pages

Round 1.3 The Wardrobe, The Stewbum & The Mystery Of Ittoqqortoormiit

Written for "Gloves Up| A Multi-Genre Smackdown Contest", Round 1.3 (July 2022).

Retelling of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." 

Story Word Count: 1486 

They peered at the wardrobe with beady eyes. The magnificent sight before them was spellbinding. A huge plush bubble kept bobbing inside the hollowness of the wardrobe. Bedazzling rays of azure, glistening green, and incandescent crimson obscured their vision. Like a magnet, they were drawn towards it, and before they knew what was happening, the vacuum force had already sucked them in.

###

They crashed on the gravel ground with a loud thud. Whimpering anguish coursed through their bodies. While groaning, they exchanged glances.

"Lucy, Ed, Susan, are you alright?" Peter asked, helping them. They nodded, eyeing the strange place.

"What happened? Where are we? " There was dead silence all around. The never-ending street stretched on and on. A few meters away, they could see a flyover sort of structure. Small, well-built shops lined the right side of the street in long queues. Such beautiful shades and unique patterns that they had never encountered before. A couple of cars they'd never seen before lined up against the wall.

"What place is this?" Ed asked, while pacing.

A shift in the air gave Susan chills. She flinched, bumping into Peter, who flashed her a worrisome look. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but she felt it all over again. A creepy sensation was gnawing at her. Something pricked her. Beads of sweat started forming on her forehead.

"Susan? Susan? Susan? " No reaction. Susan stayed there, frozen. Unblinking. Unmoving. Unwavering. Lost and stiff.

Her normal brown orbs started to morph into the abyss of darkness. Black cracks emerged on her delicate whitish flesh. Ed wrenched her away, startling her as she struggled to breathe. Huffing and puffing, she tried to regain her composure. The trio kept a vigilant eye on her and awaited for her to simmer down.

"Susan, are you alright? What happened? You were lost. "

Susan was at a loss for words as to how to convey what she had witnessed. Her head felt heavy and her entire body was on fire. How was she supposed to explain to them that she saw sparks of fire erupt from the reddish-orange sky? Pure pitch black was all she could make out. Molten lava flowed effortlessly through the crevices in the rocky terrain. The ambience of scorching, blistering heat roasted her alive.

She shook her head in an attempt to shove the thoughts away. Another image flashed of a flock of red-eyed bats emerging from the black smoke of death, negligently passing across her. Her thoughts raced with dread, worry, and anxiety.

"Let's get out of here." That was all she said as they left the place.

***

They strolled back to the same gravel ground. The sun had bid its farewell. It'd soon be dark and they had no idea where the hell they were. And let's just not forget the number of weird and bizarre encounters they had.

One street after another took them back to the square one. There was no one, not even a single animal, lurking in those deserted lanes. They were exhausted. Too exhausted to carry on with their little "adventurous" quest. Consequently, they stopped near a small cot and breathed in relief.