This is a serialized story – be sure to read in order: from A (afterthought) to Z (zealous).
Nash peered through the half-size doorway, trying to see what lay beyond but all he could see was darkness. “Here goes nothing,” he mumbled. His cut knee made crawling slower than he would have liked, but he continued down the tunnel until he hit an end.
He sat on his haunches to rest his painful knee as he continued talking to himself. “Left or right? I have no idea. Did we miscount the turns? Did the doors not count as turns?” He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowed his heart rate. “I can do this. I have to do this. For Courtney…”
He turned right, then backtracked to the left. Stopped and went back to the right, cussing all the time. His stomach rumbled and the echo down the metal tunnel stopped him momentarily. He realized it had been hours since he had eaten anything and that started a longing for something comforting. A squishy donut, a meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, a… He stopped. This wasn’t helping him. He started a new mantra as he crept down the tunnel. “I’m not hungry. I’m not thirsty. I’m full and sated. This is for Courtney.”
The path seemed to go on forever when suddenly it tilted downward. Nash slid down, head first, and fell out into another room. It took him a minute to regain his senses so he could see what this room brought to the challenge.
The first thing he noticed was the music streaming in from somewhere above, causing him to look up to the ceiling. He couldn’t see the source so turned his attention back to the room.
Twenty-foot high walls were devoid of decoration but each one was a different color or pattern. He stood and walked to a paisley print wall and touched it. Velvety wallpaper crinkled under his fingers. He moved to the next wall, festooned with large polka dots that seemed to swim in front of his eyes, and grunted. The third wall was a deep blue with white undulating stripes. The final wall appeared to be made of stone so he approached slowly, unsure what to expect.
He reached out and snatched his hand back, stung from the cold. He tried again, resting his palm on the wall letting both warm. As the wall reacted to his touch, he saw what looked like a door.
He turned the knob. “One more time. I’m on my way, Court. Hang in there!”
To be continued…
Thank you.
Ok I have one question…I don’t want to be a pain, but I don’t get this part at the end:
“He reached out and snatched his hand back, stung from the cold. He tried again, resting his palm on the wall letting both warm.” I’m assuming he touched the wall when he reached out and the wall was cold. Then when he did it again “letting both warm” refers to ? Were his hands warming the wall? Or was the wall now warm? It could be a revision or editing problem. OR perhaps I am misreading something somewhere, because I have seriously been known to do that!!!
Still enjoying this ride!!
I read it again. It means he was letting both his palm and the wall warm up. His palm was warming the wall. So nevermind!
Since I just write and don’t edit, it may not have been clear but glad what I was aiming for got through finally. LOL!
Just stumbled across you… will have to begin at the beginning before I learn too much. LOL
Thanks for joining in the (hopefully) fun!
Just like Alice in Wonderland… things aren’t what they seem.
Absolutely….
Someone went to an awful lot of trouble building this chamber of secrets. I’m still along for the ride. Alana ramblinwitham
Glad you’re still along for the ride – more to come!