Last Door Before The Stairs
I’ve never made it this far. Every other time I find myself halfway down the hall and then I wake up. I know there’s a secret in here, something that I’ve forgotten that will change my life.
I approach the door and slow down. The lights are flickering and I hear a deep thrumming behind the door, as if I were being greeted by the building, by the space behind the door.
I put by hand on the knob and it feels warm. I turn it and the darkness flows through the door, enveloping me.
I step forward into the room and the door closes on its own accord. I smell decay, rotting flesh, filling my nostrils. My body is heavy, like I’m being pulled to the floor. I speak.
“Tell me what this is. Reveal to me what I’ve forgotten. You can’t hide the evil in here. I am in charge.”
Eyes glow out of the darkness and tendrils wrap themselves around my feet. Dark and terrifying laughter rings throughout the room and there is something on my arms now.
“No!” I shout. “I am in charge! Tell me what you’ve concealed!”
The lights flash on and the monster is revealed. It’s my father. “Herman, I’ve been waiting here for you, and now you’re here.”
“Tell me your secret, I’m going to wake up any second.”
He walks forward and puts his hand on my arm. “I gave your brother the brain damage. He wasn’t born that way, handicapped. I beat him with a wrench. You saw me but you always forgot it and acted like a was a good person.”
I wake, crying. My father has been dead for ten years but I know that every word is true. I remember when he beat Ethan, the blood and the screaming. I remember everything.