The Door - Volume IV

I noticed an extra door in my apartment hallway that had definitely not been there before. An innocuous white door unmarked and appearing totally ordinary. But an unsettling energy seemed to pulse from it subtly. I shook my head; certain it must have always been overlooked until now.

Still, I felt an irresistible pull towards this mysterious door I couldn't explain. The next night under some compulsion, I turned the handle and the door soundlessly drifted open. Beyond was impenetrable darkness, the end of the room nowhere in sight. I switched on my flashlight with a shaking hand, peering inside timidly.

The beam faintly illuminated a seemingly endless corridor lined with more unmarked doors stretching into unfathomable black depths. But before I lost my nerve, the door unexpectedly slammed shut in my face! I jumped back, now fearing I had glimpsed something not meant to be seen.

In the following days, I constantly glanced with dread at the ominous door, afraid of it opening again. But it remained firmly sealed, as if never there at all. I told myself it must have been a dream - too much wine and late-night reading playing tricks on my mind. Until one night something drew me from my bed to stand wavering again before that door.

As I lingered there unsure, muted screams and bizarre cries rose from somewhere behind the door, too muffled to identify but shrill with panic and pain. My blood ran cold but I found myself turning the handle again, longing to know what lay within despite my pounding heart's warnings.

The darkness stretched out same as before but now the muffled sounds echoed up and down the shadowy corridor. Curiosity warred with fear as I tiptoed past rows of silent doors in the void, listening for the source of the cries. The noises grew louder at one indistinct door. With escalating dread, I turned the handle and peeked inside.

I glimpsed in that instant a tumult of unspeakable horrors - contorted things that once were human maybe, writhing and twisting in an onyx space. A thousand empty eyes turned to stare with ancient malevolence, promising agony should I dare trespass in their domain. They beckoned...but I wrenched the door shut with a gasp and fled.

Slamming the outer door behind me, I grabbed a hammer and nails, frantically barricading it sealed. Had I truly seen Hell lurking beyond that innocuous door? The evil glimpsed seemed ready to burst forth and claim any who crossed its threshold. Only nails pounded by desperation could cage what lay inside...I hoped.

Days later, odd accidents around the apartment compounded my unease - objects toppling over, lights flickering, whispers trailing me. I jumped at every creak, wondering if the sealed door somehow concealed a portal, I had cracked open.

Seeking any escape, I booked the soonest flight out and slept at a motel until departure. But that final night, I woke to find the door looming ominously before me again as if it had followed me! Dark tendrils curled under the frame around the nails as muffled howls echoed from somewhere deep within. Terror overwhelmed me - there was nowhere left to run from what I had foolishly invited inside!

I screamed as the door finally splintered open and a hundred hungry hands burst through to claim their awaited prize. As they dragged me down into eternity's darkness, a blessed numbness took over. I became nothing - no more doors to beckon, no more sanity left to ravage. Only merciful oblivion awaited me now...

"The Door" by Oscar Mendieta Bravo