Rust

Chapter 6

     Rubigo walked down the stone corridor. Torches lit either side in an alternating pattern and warmed the boy's face as he passed. He saw a wooden door flicker into view ahead. It seemed decayed in a way; its wood was split and heavily faded. Rubigo's entire body was begging his resolve to cease. His mind was overloaded with exhaustion and he was doing little more than dragging his body forward. 

     He leaned against the wall in front of the door. A sigh escaped his lips and his eyes were struggling to keep open. He pressed his weight against the door and a bright light struck his face. His vision adjusted, and a grand staircase came into focus. Its beautiful marble stairs were adorned with a red carpet that hugged its center and split off to either side. The railing, as well as the carpet, was etched in purple and gold.

     The walls were covered in hanging lanterns and large picture frames. As he stepped inside the doorway, he noticed that the door was much better kept from the inner layer. He could nearly see his reflection in its glossed wood finish. He turned forward and noted a table at the center of the large room. On it rested a large vase with fresh cut flowers. 

     He circled the table and noticed he was leaving incomplete dusty footprints on the lush carpet. He gazed back up on one of picture frames that hung directly in the center above the middle set of stairs. To his surprise and dismay, a familiar grey-suited man stood in its visage with a grey fedora, even in the picture, covering its eyes. His left hand was tucked neatly into his suit jacket and its knuckles were bandaged. 

     He wiped his eyes and curiosity now fueled his restlessness. He saw above him an elaborate chandelier that doused the room in radiant light. To his left, and identically to his right, were doors. He looked at the railings all around the second floor, but he could not discern what lay beyond them. 

     He made for the first of the steps and picked up his legs to climb them. It was nothing compared to the climb he had just endured, but it seemed somehow much harder. He made a right at the fork in the stairs. He was hunched over and used the wall to counter-balance his body.

     As his eyes peeked across the top, he saw a long hallway that was well lit and expanded from left to right. Around the stairwell, the balcony had two more doors on either side. Both sides of the large room and the hallways were strangely identical. He approached the closest door to him, which was directly adjacent to the right stairwell. 

     He opened the door. The warmth of the room seemed to pour out and wash over him. There was a wood-framed bed in the left corner. At its base was a large chest and hanging around the walls of the room were oil paintings of various children playing outdoors. Opposite the bed was a crib. A bizarre wooden mobile was dangling above it. The boy entered the room, and upon further inspection, the mobile was the puppet of a snake, and its eyes were encrusted with red rubies. 

     Rubigo approached the puppet and gave it a light tap. The snake danced around for a moment lifelessly. He shook his head and walked over to the bed. Its sheets were blue and had fish stitched into it. The softness of the pillows called out to him. He collapsed on to the bed and threw the sheets onto himself. 

     The lights were still on, but he didn't care. He was soon lost in a hazy dream. Flashes of his previous journey transitioned across his mind like a slideshow. His mind halted on the image of the distorted face he saw in the underground vents. The twisted figure that had gotten so close to him. His dream paused on its face. It was nearly motionless, like a still image, but it was breathing. Suddenly, it yelled opening its mouth and let out a huge wail of pain. 

     The boy woke up, and to his horror, the sound of the creature was still billowing around him. The room was now extremely dark and much colder than when he first went to sleep. He could see his breath in front of him.