The Door Test

Delaina leads me through the door, and Vladimir closes it behind me.

The room is entirely dark. I start to head toward the nearest wall to find the light switch, only to have Vladimir stop me.

"Do not touch the walls." he says, with a mixture of command and panic in his voice.

"Why?" I ask him. This is getting creepy.

"You won't be able to pull yourself out of it unless you know what you're dealing with. And with what I saw today, I'm convinced you don't."

This surprises me. "This isn't unusual for me. I've been zoning out all my life. My parents thought I had epilepsy when I was a kid. I've been able to pull myself out of it for years."

"Not for long, Cameo." he says. "Just don't touch anything. There's too much history in this house, and more so in this room. Please?"

It wasn't him asking that made me listen, it was the tone in his voice. He'd only known me for a good two days, and already he's looking out for me.

"It's what I do." he says. "I look after the people I care about." With that, he smiles at me. It's the same smile as in the car. I save this for another day.

Suddenly, the lights flick on, revealing that we are standing in a small, dimly lit alcove, with a small bench, and three doors, two doors on either side, and one behind, the one we just walked through. I look around, wondering who the hell did that.

"Thanks, Delaina. We needed the lights anyway." Vlad looks at Delaina gratefully.

Delaina's on the other side of the room. I look at her like she's just grown a third head.

"What the hell?" I've never seen anything like that.

"Okay, now don't freak out, Cameo, okay?" Delaina looks me in the eyes and continues. "It'll all be explained when you pick a door, okay?"

"Me, pick a door? I've never been here before, how would I know which door to pick?"
"Because you'd know." Vlad says.

Okay, pick a door. I've gotta pick a door, I don't pick a door, I won't know why I'm here, and I need to know why I'm here. I close my eyes, trying to think.

Meanwhile, Delaina and Vladimir are arguing.

"Vlad, do you really expect her to figure this out?"
"Even if it takes her awhile, she'll figure it out. If we could, she can."
"We were brought here by your older brother like two years ago. Apparently the door test is harder now. The door changes all the time, and there's no way she'd know off the bat which door..."

"It's this one." I say, interrupting her.

"What?" Vlad rushes to my side.
"It's that one, right there." I say, pointing to the left one. I move toward it to open it.
"Cameo, don't touch the door."
"What? Why? I picked the door, I'm pretty sure nothing's going to happen to me."
"Yeah, it will. You have no idea the overload you are going to experience, if this is the right door or not. You may not ever snap back out. Before you get to touch anything, you have to know what you are dealing with. And you don't. So for now, don't touch anything."

I step back. Vladimir opens the door.

I am met with a giant long, winding staircase, leading down to a bright light, with a purple tinge to it.

Vladimir gives Delaina a big I told you so look. She rolls her eyes and leads the way down the staircase. Vlad takes my hand and leads me down.

After a long silent climb down the stairs, I find that the light wasn't the destination, it was the door leading to the destination. Purple light surrounds the wooden double doors. Delaina knocks twice and kicks the door three times. Another code.

About fifteen seconds later, I hear locks unlocking. Now I'm beginning to silently freak out just a bit. Vlad notices.

"You'll be fine." he says.

The door opens. All I see is pitch black surrounded by the purple light. Shadows are walking around the area, and they stop once they notice the door is open.

A voice somewhere in the center of the room addresses me.

"Welcome to the Inside."