Roblox Doors

Chapter 1 - The Race

Rush didn't like to admit it, but he preferred things when they were quiet. He nudged the gate of the courtyard open using a trailing sliver of his shadows, and stepped into the open area of silence. Slender beams of moonlight slipped out from the sky above, illuminating the marble statue on the other side of the room. Rain danced on the floor, and a cool breeze flurried in the cold night air. Rush observed this scene, and breathed. 

Ah, yes. He liked the quiet. 

He glided into the yard and stopped somewhat in the middle, next to some neatly trimmed hedges under the raging storm above, and felt his surroundings still, and the world settle around him. Allowing himself a moment of calm, he gazed at his own reflection in a sparking puddle of water beneath him, wondering how he had come to be here. He certainly was odd. Rush didn't even know what he was meant to be, but he certainly wasn't human. The entity was simply not much more than a charred, smoking face; grey in colour, and obscured within a cloud of dark shadow. His face wasn't pretty, either. It resembled an evil, diabolical looking grin and two empty, dark eye sockets. But that didn't matter. 

Right?

The gate suddenly creaked open, and Rush caught the dazzling green reflection that appeared with the sound. Disrupted from his thoughts, he turned to find his friend standing there. Ambush was the opposite of him - pale, ghastly looking, and her mouth stretched open in a frozen scream. Instead of black shadow, she was surrounded by an eccentric green light. She stared at him for a moment, then spoke. "I knew I'd find you in here."

"Of course you did," Rush muttered. He looked up. "So, you ready to race?"

"Oh yeah," Ambush replied lazily. "I forgotten about that. You do know I'm going to win, right?"

"Not today you're not."

Ambush sighed. "Insanity," she said, "is doing the same thing... over and over and over again... but thinking that this time, it's going to be different. Let's face it, Rush. I'm faster than you. You're going to lose."

Rush frowned. "You stole that quote from Halt."

"What? No I didn't. I made that up."

"Well, come on then. Talking isn't going to make you win."

"I agree," Ambush said, turning to the metal gate. "Let's go."

________________________________________________________________________________

They arrived at Room 0 quickly, and Rush wondered if there really was any point of doing this. After all, he'd come here with Ambush time and time again, with the same feeling of hope and determination, only to lose every time. Most entities had already established it a fact: Ambush was faster than Rush, and that fact wasn't going to change. Rush pushed the disloyal thoughts out of his mind; focused his sight on the first door.

Today it is.

"Right," Ambush said. "On the count of three, we go. Three..."

Come on. You can do this.

"Two..."

Remember. Align your smoke to become a part of you. Not trail after you.

"One..."

Get ready.

Rush steadied himself.

"Go!" 

They both shot off, and Rush could not help but marvel his own terrific speed. Not being human came with its advantages. He grinned. No matter how many times he lost, he would always try this again. Not just because he hated losing. This was fun.

He rocketed towards the next door, feeling the wind rushing around him, and the Hotel blurring as he sped up. He glanced at Ambush, who was right beside him and laughing, and remembered why he was here in the first place. He couldn't supress a laugh of his own, however, and he whooped as he sped towards door 50. 

The Library. 

Rush's eyes widened, and he tried motioning to Ambush to slow down, tried slowing himself down too, but he couldn't stop the inevitable. It was too late now. Door 48. He tried to shift the air tried to slow down, but came hurtling into room 49 too quickly and stumbled into door 50 screaming. There was a subsequent crash as a bookshelf toppled over, and an angry cry of surprise from the Library's upper floor. Ambush rolled to an unsteady stop behind him, glowering at him. She mouthed - Why didn't you remind me that Figure had its work today?  Rush was about to mouth back an irritated response, when heavy footsteps thudded and they looked up to see the Figure. 

The Figure was not happy. 

It was another entity, but looked so peculiar, and so different. Its limbs were long and muscled, and its torso possessed an external ribcage. Its head consisted of nothing but a large, circular mouth containing sharp, irregular teeth. From somewhere inside its mouth came an orange glow. The creature growled, sensing the air around them, understanding how it shifted to make room for the two entities in front of him. It may have been blind, but the Figure's other senses were exceptional. For an entity with no eyes, it also owned the uncanny ability to glare. 

"Which one," it said, its voice quivering with quiet anger, "of you two airheads, came crashing into my Library, when I specifically told everyone not to disturb me today because I had work to do?" 

"Um," Ambush advised, "...Both?"

The Figure snarled ferociously. "Get. Out. Now."

Rush glanced at his friend, immediately feeling the desperate urge to laugh, despite the situation. Ambush tilted her head towards the exit, smiling madly as she got up to leave. They left silently, out through door 51, and only when the golden doors shut did they burst into uncontrollable hysterics. Meanwhile, El Goblino, a short, crafty red goblin with bulging yellow eyes and a long, sharp nose, peered out from door 52. He caught them laughing, and raised an eyebrow as they made their way into the refuge. "Oye, hombres!" he exclaimed. "What have you been up to this time, eh?" 

"Don't ask," Rush said, still grinning. "By any chance, do you think Jeff sells vitamins? I think Ambush will need them for our next race." Jeff looked at them curiously with its glowing blue eyes, and brushed a tentacle against a single pot of vitamins laying on a plump velvet cushion. 

"Of course, amigos." El goblino waved his hand dismissively towards the vitamins, then turned his attention back to them. "Anyways... if you want to race so badly, why not go to Rooms?"

At these words, Ambush tensed, and for a moment she looked as if she wanted nothing more than to punch the goblin in the face. Instead, she mustered a strained smile of surprise. "What?" she inquired innocently. "What are you on about... Stop yapping, Gobby. Come on Rush. Let's go. Maybe we can have a go at lockpicking?"

Rush hesitated, and turned to frown at El Goblino. "Are you sure that these... Rooms... exist?"

El Goblino nodded. "Yeah dude, Bob told me about it." Rush glanced at the skeleton in the chair opposite El Goblino. It had seen better days, that was for sure. All that was left beside the skeleton itself was a cap on its skull. "Freaky stuff though, dude..." El Goblino said. "Anyways, I think we've talked enough for now. Hasta luego!" 

And with that, El Goblino scuttled off towards the Library.