Parking Garage

The sodium-vapor lights flickered at the end of Rodger’s vision. He peered into the abyss, hoping to catch some detail in the dim flashes. The outside world echoed into the rolled down windows of his car- the sounds of a major roadway, the security gates moving up and down, ticket machine clunking as it stamped the time and date on tiny slips of paper.

A car turned toward his own, driving away from the derelict section of parking garage without a second’s hesitation. Twelve floors of parking and no spaces; except in the small wing of the third sub level- the very bottom floor.

He stuck his arm out of his window and waved for the other driver to stop.

“Hi, I’m just wondering why no one seems to want to park over there,” Roger pointed to the darkened area beyond the bright blue columns. “Is it all full or what?”

“Oh, no way man. You don’t wanna go back there.” The other driver shook his head emphatically.

“What? Just because some lights are out?”

“No,” the driver paused, glancing in his rear-view mirror before turning back to Rodger. “No one who goes there ever comes back.”

“That’s a load of bull…” Roger sighed, “there aren’t any open spaces in the rest of this garage! What am I supposed to do?”

“Just… Just don’t go back there, man, trust me.” With that, the driver rolled up his window and pulled away.

Rodger scoffed and pulled forward, slowly, his headlights casting strange shadows on the darkened world beyond the columns. The lights flickered over his head as his car became engulfed in darkness. While the blue columns passed outside his car his eyes began to adjust and he couldn’t believe what was unfolding before him.

“Oh my god…”