Not the prompt!

“Get up you dirty rat!” bellowed the shopkeeper.”The guards ain’t waiting!” I scrambled up from bed, eyes wide with terror. “You’re going to that ‘door’ place."

I froze. My brain processed the words that slid out of his mouth, while quickly stuffing some items into my pockets.

”The Doors?” I questioned, curious about what he said.

He gave me a subtle nod. Before I could protest, I was thrown into a dusty, mediaeval-styled carriage. The carriage accelerated up the crumbled pathway, taking no time to arrive at Area 6. I had heard of this treacherous place, but I had never imagined it to be so striking. I clutched my turquoise pendant as if it was the only torch remaining in a darkness-filled world, and in some way that might have been true.

* * *

A gust of wind flew through the empty room, guards positioned themselves around the door as if saying, ‘you can’t escape’. I wondered why they needed so much security, as if a little girl could challenge a heavily armed grown-up. Not that it was possible, but I could imagine it.

I glanced around the room, all the doors were shut tight including a bejewelled, sunflower yellow door. As I studied the doors, I realised that there were golden letters carved into them. Each one had a different name on it, I tried to open one that said, ‘Hazel’ but it didn’t budge. The guards laughed at my failure, teasing me, saying that I was stupid to open someone else’s door. I quickly understood my error and searched around for my name. Mine was positioned at the front, and had ‘Aster’ chiselled into it. I nudged open the stained frame and gazed into its interior space. It wasn’t the best spot to stay, but at least there wouldn’t be an abusive old man in there, shouting all the time. So I wandered in and before I could react the door slammed shut.

* * *

I didn’t know how long I slept for, but I did know that ‘something’ or ‘someone’ woke me up. I stood up and leaned towards the door handle in the hopes of hearing something. A pattering of footsteps echoed across the room, closer, closer and closer. It came to a halt, waiting a few seconds before slowly inching forwards again, gaining speed. Closer,closer and closer. And in a flash, the door was brutally swung open.

A girl, who seemed to be about my age, stood in the doorway where there was once a perfectly fine door. We stood there in complete silence studying each other. The girl was the first to speak up.

”Who are you?” she asked.

Her confused face was mirroring mine. I didn’t answer. She asked again this time with a more confident tone. I murmured an answer but I don’t think she heard me because she asked me to repeat myself, leaning closer to hear me.

I then loudly blurted out, "I'm Aster, who are you?”

She seemed surprised at my immediate answer. But she quickly recovered and introduced herself. Her name was Lily, and despite the foreboding environment, I felt a soothing aura around her like the embrace of a loved one. Maybe it was the sparkle in her eye or the hint

of lemon grass shampoo in her hair or the streak of adventure in her voice that gave me confidence. But it was probably how she pulled you into a conversation, not in an

uncomfortable way, but in a natural way, like how you naturally breathe and the way she talked to you like you were her close friend. I never met anyone who could be so calming to the soul! One word would become a sentence, and a sentence would become a conversation and the conversation would stop, and one word followed it. And that continuous loop just kept going and going for what seemed like an eternity. Until the scream came. It came fast and piercing,from a shrill howl to just a tiny whimper. Our eyes wavered around the door the sound came from, and as if we read each other’s minds, we both sprinted towards it.

Lily barged through the door with immense strength, making it echo an unsettling groan, and in a split second the screams ended, only a fragmented sigh left behind. The eerie silence sent shivers down my spine. This place was a living nightmare! I gave the cracked stone walls a closer inspection and to my horror, thousands of creepy crawlers scuttled across the mossy cobblestone in a wave of shells, antennas and wings, pushing and shoving each other away. There were many species among the crowd varying from tiny millipedes with a worrying amount of legs to giant scorpions with deadly tail barbs. And to my surprise what I thought were patches of luminescent moss, were actually carnivorous glow worms emitting a bluish-greenish glow. Their delicate webs dangling from above waiting for an unfortunate soul to get lost in its luring light, then immediately get trapped in the pre-prepared strands of mucus. I stared down the ever-so-threatening stairway, fear entangling me, forcing me to stare into the tenebrous space. I struggled to get out from its firm grasp, unable to push through the trance and as if she sensed my fear, Lily reached out for my hand, swatting away the fear and terror that had engulfed my brain, and replacing it with a new feeling of comfort. A new-found energy surged through me and gave me the confidence to venture deeper into the room.

( I have not finished yet!)