Behind the Forbidden Door

A cold breeze drifted through the skeletal remains of the old orphanage. There were no birds. No insects. Nothing lived there. Nothing had since that fateful night. The night of the disaster.

50 Years Ago

I lay in bed. I couldn't sleep. All I could think about was my numb feet. They could have given us thicker blankets but we still would've gotten frostbitten, so why bother, right? That was their logic. Let the kids toes fall off when you could help them. But that was the least bad thing you had to worry about here.

I was complaining some more in my head when suddenly I heard a bloodcurdling scream. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for a child to be caught out of bed and beaten. But this was different. It wasn't a crying scream. It was a scared scream. It went on, but it was cut short.

I lay completely still in bed. My heart was beating violently out of my chest.

There were footsteps in the hall and then a door slammed.

All was quiet.

What should I do? I thought. I could stay in bed and forget about it.

I was stupid, that choice wasn't appealing to me.

I slowly sat up, breathing deeply. If I'm going to die here, I might as well be doing something worthwhile, I thought.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and quietly touched my bare feet to the freezing floor.

I stood and tiptoed to the door. I pressed my ear against it. Nothing. I peered through the keyhole. I could only see the door across the hall.

Hesitantly I turned the doorknob. It squeaked the whole way around. I pulled. The door swung open. Silence.

I peered out into the hall. I couldn't see anything in the dim lighting at first, but as I peered more closely I noticed dark spots on the bare floor. I stepped forward and bent down. I touched it.

Blood. It stained my finger. I fearfully turned my head to look down the hall. More drips. A trail of blood. It lead to the door at the end of the hall. The door no one was allowed through. They threatened to kill us if we so much as touched it.

But there I found myself creeping toward that door.

I stepped to it. I touched it. I gripped the doorknob.

I heard a sound behind me. Like a door opening.

Not thinking, I swung through the door and silently shut it behind me.

I waited, breathing heavily.

After about ten minutes I started to breath easier.

I opened the door a crack and peered out. No one.

I breathed a sigh of relief and glanced around the pitch black room. Might as well look around since I'm never going to be here again, I thought. Smart, real smart. I should've gone back to my my bed when I had the chance.

But I didn't.

I felt around on the wall beside the door and found the light switch.

I flipped it on.

The room was illuminated and I was blinded. I stood there blinking for a few seconds.

When I finally looked around my heart stopped.