Fragments Gallery
Awake
You're lost in the smooth white halls. Your heart pounds as you rush from room to room, frantically seeking an escape. Deep in your heart you know that there is no way out and yet still you search. You're not willing to give up yet.
Each room is the same as the last, pure white smooth walls with an open doorway on each wall. As you pass through the doorway the door slides shut behind you leaving you with three open paths to choose from. But something is wrong. There had been a couple times when you tried to find a way back to a room you'd been in before by turning the same direction for several rooms in a row. You hadn’t managed to find the closed doors which would prove you'd been in the room before. Every time you entered a room it was always the same, three open doors before you and one closed one behind.
Through the open doorways there were more rooms identical to the one you're in for as far as you can see. The building seemed endless.
Your breath begins to come in gasps and you slow down but still you don't stop. You know that if you stop you die. You don't know why, but neither do you want to find out. However in spite of the knowledge you feel yourself weakening by the second. Before long you knew you'd fall. Before long all your strength would leave your shaking limbs.
You push yourself harder and begin to run through the never ending rooms once more. You cannot stop. Your foot twists and you stagger. You try to take another step but find that your leg feels as though it's made of granite. The floor rushes up to meet you and for a moment all you can do is sob as you struggle to breath.
Behind you something scratches on the door you just ran through. The scratching grows louder as you struggle to flip over, trying to get your eyes on the door. After a moment you get the door within your sight. Something hits the other side of the door and it shakes. You try to stand but you find you can't move anymore. You're frozen. All you can do is stare.
Something hits the door again, this time it buckles. You hear something snarl in frustration. Then the door explodes outward as a shape slams through the fractured wood.
Your eyes widen as you take in the razor talons, the long gleaming teeth and the feral intelligent eyes. You throw up a hand as it roars and surges towards you and you scream. Saliva hits your hand before-
"Hey! Wake up!"
You start awake at the sudden sound. The endless building full of white rooms is vivid in your memory as you look wildly around the room. You recognize the room as your living room; apparently you'd fallen asleep there the previous night.
"What's wrong?" asked the voice again, and you glance up to see your best friend before they continue, "You started yelling so I figured I should come check on you. When I got here you were thrashing, I thought you were at the very least going to fall off the chair. Are you alright?"
"I just had the strangest dream," you say still thoroughly unnerved by the nightmare. It had seemed so real. The feeling of hopelessness began to fade and you began to relax, "It had seemed so real."
"Well… if you're OK…" your friend trails off as they leave the room. Before they pass through the door they cast one more worried glance back at you.
You lay your head against the back of the chair and idly rub your damp hand on the front of your shirt. It had seemed so real...