Cha 3: There Here

Chapter 3: Rough draft of Novel

Chapter Three: The Here
Small patches of grass spread throughout the hallway, and I could hear crickets in the
distance. I couldn’t tell if this place was outside, or inside, or inside the outside, or what it
was. All I knew was (Cha 1) seemed to be ready for a long night. The heavy metal doors
shut and locked behind us. And for the first time since I got here, I was scared. “Let’s
start, she said”, smiling over at me. We started down the hallway that seemed like an
indoor summer camp closed for the season. The white walls a contrast from the darkness
that filled them. The halls went on for miles, with light beaming down from the ceiling only
every mile we walked, it seemed.
“You don’t remember the past nights, do you?” (Cha 1) said.
“I…I don’t” I said
“I don’t know who you are either, to be honest. I’m pretty sure I’m asleep, but this feels so real”.
“It’s true, we could be asleep” she said, smiling forward into the darkness, carrying our things
and trying to pretend to ourselves, they weren’t as heavy as they were.
“There’s no way this place is real”, I said looking around.
We’d been walking for two hours it
seemed. Only passing a door occasionally with a number on it. Hearing the locks and shutting of
doors of people who could leave this place.
“So, why can’t we leave? what’s with the indoor marathon in the dark hallways?” I said.
“Some people can leave, they live here. We can’t. We don’t yet”.
“Yet!?” I said. “Do I want to live here”.
“If you want to go crazy you can. Can we sit for a second, I’m exhausted” (cha 1) said, sitting on
a small patch of grass in the hallway against the wall.
“What do you mean, go crazy”?
“It’s what this place does to people. The people who live here can only survive because they feed
off us. That’s what allows them to keep living.
“So, do we die here!?”
“No. But once that happens we can’t leave here. We can’t ever go back”.
“Go back where? To reality?”
“I’m not sure, I showed up here too. I thought I was dreaming but it’s all so real. I was with some
other people but I lost them. I know how to escape though, we’re going to try tonight.”
“What happens if we don’t”? I said
“That’s not good”. If what they try to do to us here works, we’ll always be here, and we’ll be
doing to other people what they did to us.”
“What happens if we just stay here and don’t move?”
“Did you feel dizzier at all earlier? Before you ordered the coffee and snacks for our little hike?”
“Yes” I said. “How did you know that”?
“If we don’t go along here like we’re supposed to, that gets worse, much worse. And then we
don’t exist anymore either.” (cha 1) said.
I just looked at her with nothing to say. She had explained our situation into checkmate. I felt
absolutely helpless. I turned around for a second to look in the direction we came, it was
pitch black. There seemed to be nothing behind us the more we went on. There was only
some type of existence in the direction we had to go. I starred up expecting to see the same
high, white, cathedral ceiling that had lined our path until now. Instead, there was sky again.
Sky with beautiful stars shining down on us in our dark hallway, I wanted to stay underneath
them and rest, but the hallway behind us was vanishing quickly. We had to keep moving.

We passed doors every few miles, white doors with metal silver numbers on them, and a
single light shining on that doorway. I looked at them thinking all I wanted to do was
sleep for a little while.
“I wouldn’t” (cha 1) said. Knowing exactly what I was thinking.
“You never know whose behind those doors, it’s best to keep moving”.
“What’s in them?” I said
“Cypresses or people like us, but I don’t want to chance dealing with them until we have
to, do you?” (cha 1) said.
“I’d be able to tell you if I knew what Cypresses were”, I said.
They’re the main people to avoid, it’s their job to turn us bat-shit-crazy, harvest our
energy, and keep us here.”
“How do they do that? turn us?” I asked.
“You’ll see”, she sighed looking ahead into the darkness, another light flickering almost
out about a half mile away.
About 25ft ahead I saw something I hadn’t seen here yet, a door was ajar, and light
peering out of it.
“Ok, we have to be very careful right now, we don’t know what’s in there, ok?” she said,
with her hand on my chest stopping me from going any further.
“We have to pass by anyway”, I reminded her. “Everything behind us is gone, and
whatever it is that’s doing it, is keeping a pretty good pace right behind us.”
We finally got to the foot of the door and had to walk a little past it to pear in to see
anything. A burgundy soft light was washed all over the four walls in the room, a single
bunk bed, with two bunks, and a night stand with one lamp that was off, was inside.
We probably would have missed the dark shadow standing in the corner, if our eyes
hadn’t been so used to the darkness. Then he emerged.
I felt two large, rough hands on my shoulders, and large dark face in front of me with
bright eyes.
“Do you know where he tied up my dog?!” the man said.
His rough hands pushing me more and more into the darkness. I watched (cha 1)’s
shadow from behind him, pick up something large as the lamp fell and burst into pieces
on the ground, as quickly as the shadow had come to life and taken hold of me.
The side table in her small hands held high over her head, hit a part of my shoulder.
But the man was on the floor now, seemingly passed out.
“Did I not tell you this may not be a good idea!” (cha 1) said.
“I’m sorry, it’s just the only thing we’ve seen for miles, and….”
“Just listen to me next time please, those who don’t remember being here should listen
to the ones who do!” she said.
“Okay, I’m sorry” I said.
We stared down at his passed-out body, his eyes completely glassed over and foggy, his
clothing disheveled and torn. God knows, how long he’s been in the corner of that dark
room, on this path we were forced to walk.
“Those are the mad!” she said.
“Those are the ones who are lost here forever! If you want to be like them, please…
keep checking the rooms!
(cha 1) shut the door with a bang and locked it from the inside. We didn’t know what
good that would do, but it was better than nothing.
We sat there in the hallway, underneath the door light trying to catch our breath.
“You need to save your sanity for what we are going to face up ahead”. (Cha 1) said.
“What’s up ahead?” I asked, throwing my bags back over my shoulder.
“The Cypresses”.