Devil's Gateway

Chapter Two

Drowning. I was drowning in a sea of never-ending darkness, praying for a ray of light to offer me a breath of relief. The air felt thick. So thick that I was suffocating. Every movement labored. Each beat of my imprisoned heart seemed to send me sinking lower and lower into the abyss.

"Really funny, Allison," I grumbled loudly, fumbling around my jean pockets for my phone. My heart's rhythm beating like an African drum in my throat. "I can't believe you followed me all the way out here just to scare me."

My fingers clasped around the phone, ripping it from my back pocket. I clicked the home button, sending an illuminating glow throughout the room.

Air. The small beam compared to a ray of heavenly sunlight breathing the breath of life into my withered, blackened lungs.

I was alone. Dust particles floated in the light's path as I moved the device around, getting a grasp on where I was.

This doesn't look like the room I came in. Where am I?

Green paint, almost the shade of vomit, covered the peeling walls. Some portions of the interior had dark stains that unsettled me. Large holes appeared in numerous places along the rotted floorboards.

Movement behind me sent a prickle up my spine as the drums in my throat silenced. The sound of nails scratching a chalkboard made me flinch. I swallowed hard, my heart plummeting several stories towards my stomach. Like a cinderblock thrown into the open ocean, my heart sank until it reached the bottom, never hoping to return to the surface again.

It's all in your head, Trevor. My thoughts fell on deaf ears as the scratches got closer and louder.

"Trevor!" The woman's disembodied voice cut through the air like an electrical current, sending an icy jolt through my body. The air surrounding me turned the temperature of a meat freezer. I could practically envision the carcasses around me – except they weren't animal carcasses in my vision.

Imagination. Just my imagination.

"Turn around Trevor," the voice whispered in my ear. The feeling of ice-cold breath tickled my ear.

Allison. Allison is pulling a cruel prank on me.

"TREVOR!"

I turned around in a flash, expecting to see Allison laughing on the ground at her convincing prank. But Alison wasn't there. There was no one there.

I shone the flashlight up to the wall to find a message engraved in crimson ink. The ink oozed, carrying a rusty scent in the air.

Play the game. Survive.

"What? What game? Let me out of this damn house! Allison, this isn't funny anymore. You win, okay?" I never heard my own voice sound this shaky.

The scratching sound returned, and to my disbelief, words appeared before my eyes in the wall.

Get to the door. Death follows he who falls.

"Wha—"

"No cheating," the familiar voice whispered behind me. I quickly whipped around to attempt a glimpse at this mystery woman. This mystery was one I wished never could be solved.

Across the room floated a woman. A blue aura enveloped her like that of an electric field. Her hair seemed to consist of an eternal cerulean flame. Horns sprouted upward from the sides of her temple. Fire hid behind her red eyes, looking to set anyone who gazed upon her ablaze.

This was no longer a figment of my imagination. This was real.

Behind the apparition, a red door glowed bright.