Page 5 of Going to Hell
I fumbled for my phone while using my other hand on the wall as my guide. The dim light from the lock screen illuminated the hall. Behind me, the thing continued to make noise. The commotion incited more voices to call out.
“Help me!”
“Free me!”
“End my torment!”
The weak light showed a dark void ahead, and I found a spiraling set of stone stairs that sank into more darkness. I didn’t want to go down, but I couldn’t stay on this floor either. Not with all the yelling.
I’d barely had that thought when I heard a shout over the others.
“Quiet or you’ll lose your tongues!”
I fled down the stairs. The next landing was as dark as the one above but silent. My gut told me to keep going down even as my panic screamed at me to get out of the stairwell.
I could almost hear my uncle’s warning. “Listen to your gut. If it’s telling you something is wrong, it probably is. Hell, assume that something’s wrong all the time, and you’ll more than likely live to see another day.”
Willing my feet to keep moving, I passed seven landings before I finally left the stairwell.
When I emerged, I felt a slight breeze. No light though. That was still absent.
Using the light from my lock screen, I looked left then right. The stone hallway appeared the same as the previous one, but it had fewer doors.
Scouring my memory, I tried to recall if my uncle ever mentioned a building of this size. As the liaison officer, he’d moved around Uttira freely, but I couldn’t ever remember him mentioning any buildings this big. An over seven-story building was hard to miss. Then again, Uttira was huge, and many of its citizens had done their best to avoid my uncle.
Before I could decide which way to go, a scuffle of sound came from the right.
I retreated into the stairwell.
“What is that glowing?” a low voice asked from above.
Eyes wide, I bolted back into the hallway, veering left as I pocketed my phone.
“Run, run, run,” a voice said with a laugh.
The light in the hallway grew brighter, and over my own steps, I heard another set giving chase.
CHAPTERTWO
Without consciously deciding to,I quickly slipped inside the next door. Clapping a hand over my mouth, I smothered my rugged breaths and stared at the wooden panel.
Steps shuffled in the hall, and my eyes widened when I realized the creature had stopped just outside the door.
“Don’t hide. Play,” a voice begged.
I retreated a step. The need to look for something, anything to protect myself, clawed at me, but I couldn’t look away from the door. If it opened, I knew I would never see my stupid, stifling home again. I would never have to face hours of mind-numbing boredom while hoping that Eliana would stop by for a visit.
As awful as my life had been, it still had been a life, and I wasn’t ready to let it go.
Slowing my breathing, I forced myself to think of the positive. The door remained closed and was a barrier between me and whatever creature waited. I was safe for the moment. I willed myself to believe that and swallowed my fear.
The thing outside the door heaved a sigh and lumbered away.
A wavering exhale escaped me, and I closed my eyes for a grateful moment. When I opened them again, I realized there was more wrong with my situation than the creature in the hallway.
I could see.
Flickering golden light bathed the wooden door before me. Trembling, I listened. Not a whisper of sound emerged over my own.
