The door closed behind Charlie with a loud bang. He stood at the end of a long hallway lined with doors. It was a familiar sight. His old high school, but different. The layout was the same but everything was empty save for the closed doors. The eerie silence stabbed into Charlie's ears, the atmosphere was odd and ominous. Like being alone in an empty house, you lived in for a long time with other people.
Charlie slowly took a step forward and made his way towards the end of the hallway which he was most familiar with. After about 2 minutes, he realized that the hallway was abnormal. The more he walked, the less he felt he was moving. Like the moving walkways at airports, but walking in the wrong direction. He started walking faster, attempting to resist the anomaly. It was useless. He slowed down and continued back to his normal pace. Was it stalling for time? Or just trying to break his mentality.
After what felt like hours, Charlie finally arrived at the end of the hallway. When he approached his old classroom, the door was suspiciously opened. The only door that had been open since he arrived. Despite the obvious red flag Charlie entered the door, the classroom was exactly as it had been years ago. Multiple large tables around the room with chairs surrounding it all facing a whiteboard in the center. The lights were off and curtains closed. It was dark but not dark enough to be blind.
On a desk to the left of the door, a piece of paper lay. Writing could be seen on it but not clearly from Charlie's position. He didn't approach right away, because he knew that exact spot very well. It was the last spot he saw 'Her'. Before he left school, before he ruined everything. His eyes began to burn, but he shook his head and turned around to leave. He didn't want to deal with this. It was already bad enough that he was in this weird eldritch horror of a nightmare school, but he didn't want to deal with whatever trauma this was about to invoke. But when he went to open the door, the handle dissolved in his hand, turning into molten steel. Charlie screamed in pain and fell backwards over the chairs, causing a large clatter and commotion. Charlie writhed on the ground groaning and holding his hand against his chest.
"DAMN, FUCK THIS PLACE!" He exclaimed. After many minutes, he pushed himself up and hobbled over to the note on the desk. "I get it you stupid school, I get I can't leave until I read it. You could have just kept the door locked." He grumbled. Leaning over the letter he began to read.
"Hello, love! Happy Birthday!
You finally turned 18! You are officially an adult! Just a few more months and we can finally be together for real. Don't go having a bunch of fun without me! Sometimes I feel left out due to our situation, I feel like I hold you back in your life. I know it's difficult but it's more difficult for me, you can do whatever you want and no one holds you back. You are just a lazy piece of garbage, who can't even get a job properly. YOU THINK I WANT TO STAY WITH YOU? YOU'RE JUST A WAY FOR ME TO BIDE MY TIME UNTIL I'M FREE TO DO WHAT I WANT AND BE WITH WHO I WANT. DON'T THINK YOU'RE IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE YOU WILL BE TOSSED AWAY THE MOMENT I GET THE CHANCE. I HOPE THE CREATURES OUTSIDE MAKE YOU FEEL TEN TIMES THE AMOUNT OF PAIN I FEEL FROM JUST BEING IN YOUR PRESENCE."
As Charlie read, the more startled he became, and when he got to the end tears were pouring down his face. Turning around he made for the door, only to find it open. He barged through the doorway and down the hall. This time the floor didn't move abnormally. He burst into what was the bathroom only to find that it too was just as it had been. He went to the sink avoiding the mirror, turned it on, gently putting water on his burnt hand and washing his face. Now having a clean face, he looked up into the mirror. He was momentarily stunned, he was young again. About 17 or 18. Looking at his face and seeing the familiar figure he remembered the letter and broke down again. Wishing he could wake up from this nightmare all he could do was cry.
Just as he composed himself, the entire building trembled. A loud boom echoed through the hallway. Through the front door a large hoof burst the door down. It went flying into the empty hallway crashing to the ground. Ten large minotaurs trampled into the building and hurdled down the hallway. The ground trembled under their weight.
Charlie moved back into the bathroom, clicking the lock shut and moving into the bathroom stall. Looking around frantically he looked up and saw a removable ceiling tile. Climbing onto the back of the toilet he pushed the tile away and attempted to climb up. While not being particularly heavy, being both lazy and weak he struggled to pull himself up. He heard the large creatures arrive at the door and with one swift kick, the door was launched into the stall, causing the whole cubicle to shake violently. Miraculously it still held, but it didn't take long for them to simply rip the door off. Right as they arrived, Charlie with the boost of adrenaline pulled himself up, however was grabbed by the ankle and ripped down through the ceiling. Crashing to the ground, he bashed his head on the toilet. It crashed and shattered, pieces of porcelain embedded themselves in his head and he blacked out instantly.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Charlie jolted up sweating, looking around frantically. He froze when he realized that his surroundings were familiar. It was his old room. His room from high school. A small simple room, with a bed and desk. No hangings on the wall, the only thing out of place were a few cans on the desk empty from the night before. Sliding out of bed, a slight pain lingered from what he thought was reality. Being pulled out of a ceiling and smashing his head on a toilet.
"I suppose it was a dream? But that doesn't feel right," he said to himself, as he held his head. Slowly getting out of bed, he walked into the living room. Looking up, he saw his mother. Just as she used to be in her early 40s. Not quite exhausted, but definitely busy. Without realizing, tears began to pour from his eyes. She looked over to see him crying, standing up she walked over and gave him a hug. "Are you ok? Why are you crying?" She said with a tinge of worry. Enclosing her in his arms, he quietly said, "I just had a bad dream, I think I'm just a bit confused." "It's ok dear, but hurry up you don't have long to leave for school."
At that Charlie froze again, flashes of a future that felt too familiar. He remembered school and what was there. He remembered the empty halls and the increasingly hostile letter. Swallowing deeply he took a step back. "Alright, I'll go get ready." Quickly going back to his room, he went to the bathroom and splashed water into his face. However, more flashes entered his mind. Splashing his face with water, in the school bathroom. Then hiding in the bathroom stall and being pulled from the ceiling.
Falling to the floor, Charlie held his head feeling nauseous as he crawled to the toilet and vomited. Standing up, he brushed his teeth twice and grabbed his bag. Walking out of his room, he grabbed his keys bidding his mom bye. Getting into his car, he drove. The familiar road was easy to traverse. Living out in the middle of nowhere, it took an hour for Charlie to drive to school. Despite it feeling alien and unnatural, he was well accustomed to the drive having done it for years. Pulling into the school, his heart raced. Getting out of his car, his legs trembled and shook making it hard to walk.
After entering, he subconsciously walked to his first class and took in his old teacher and classmates. Of course to the others around, it was a normal day so they only gave the standard greetings. After about 5 minutes of waiting, a bag fell to his side and a cold hand was placed on his neck. A beautiful girl fell into the chair, long brown hair, bright hazel eyes, light caramel skin. The smile that was burned into his mind wasn't on her face. She was tired and grumpy because she had to wake up early.
Charlie's heart thumped in his chest rapidly, his face heated up and he immediately started acting suspicious. She immediately noticed, giving him a sideways glance. "What's your problem? I thought you were past this stage of awkwardness." Being caught off guard, Charlie spluttered and stuttered over his words. Giving a light laugh she smiled at him, making him blush even more. "I stand corrected, when we first met you weren't even this bad. You were putting on the stony guy act. What's wrong with you today?" Being pushed over the edge he finally gave way. "Well teasing me more isn't helping, I get I'm a shy dork but that doesn't mean you have to drill at me for it." He fell right back into their old banter. Unable to withstand it, he gave in and lived the day just like he used to. His heart burst with joy and nostalgia. He found himself doing his old habits and living and loving his old school days. During lunch when they were alone he couldn't help but pull her into a kiss. The old sparks he had long forgotten spread through his body, when they pulled away they both panted heavily with a blush. Then looked away shyly. The day went by great, and at the end of it when they needed to part, they both grew reluctant. "Why don't you come home with me?" Charlie eagerly offered. Her eyes dimmed and she denied. "I can't. My dad's already here. I'll see you tomorrow." With that she walked away without another glance.
With a sting in his heart that was all too familiar, Charlie walked towards his car. He went to open his car door but suddenly, he was ripped away from that heavenly time. He woke up to being splashed with water, while being surrounded by tens of minotaur's. His heart plunged into despair. It all rushed back, his long lonely life. All his mistakes, all his misfortune.
