The Door

"This is going to be epic!" Taylor squealed from the front seat.

I was wedged in the back with her twin brother, Logan and Logan's friend Alex who Logan was trying to set me up with. Her boyfriend, Cooper, was driving.

"Are you sure you know where the party is?" I asked. He had said half an hour, we had been in the car almost a whole hour.

"Yeah, it's right up here! Five minutes, tops," Cooper answered, looking at the GPS.

"This is fucking lame," Logan complained. "Why do we have to drive way the fuck out here for a Halloween party?"

"It's a haunted house!" Taylor said excitedly, turning in her seat. "How much more epic is that than a stupid frat hall?"

"Not at all. It's probably dirty and run down and falling apart," he answered glumly. "Stupid Covid. Stupid six people rule."

"Jeez Lo, quit being a Debbie Downer," Taylor sighed. "It's going to be fun!"

"No one is going to show up. No one is going to drive this far for a stupid party, even if we did bring a keg. Dude, you said on the flyer it was a little over twenty miles. No one is going to drive this far."

"Once they get that far, they will keep coming! I mean, you get that far and you may as well, right? Come on, this will be fun!" Cooper said, trying to cajole Logan into a better mood.

Alex looked up from his phone. "How much longer?"

I rolled my eyes and gave Logan a flat look. He gave me a sheepish smile.

"Hey... so what was your name again?" Alex asked me.

"Just call me El," I said grumpily.

"El? What is that short for? Hah, short for? Like you. Get it?"

"Yeah, hilarious. Elodie."

"Elodie? Seriously?"

"Yeah, like Melody, but pronounced a little different."

"Oh... never heard of that name."

"Yeah. I can never find a keychain."

"What?"

"Nothing, nevermind. Taylor, can you turn up the radio?"

I sat back and stared out the dark window with my arms crossed. Taylor had let me 'borrow' her costume from last year, but the way she had to take it in and cut it up, she would never wear it again. She was in a sexy devil costume. I was Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Logan was a 'greaser', Cooper had a headband with a halo, but nothing else. Alex didn't even try to dress up. He was sitting and staring at his phone again, oblivious.

We finally pulled into a dark driveway and the headlights shone on an old victorian house overgrown with vines and a tree leaning against the roof on one side where it had fallen. The yard was full of weeds and tall grass.

"We're the first ones here!" Cooper said excitedly.

"Is this even safe?" I asked, looking at the tree and the partially caved-in roof.

"It's fine, I saw some people inside on TikTok," he answered. "Come on Lo, help me with the keg!"

"Are you sure people are coming?" I asked.

"I put it on my story and I put flyers out to follow me for the location! Come on! Taylor, grab the bag of flashlights and lanterns. Are you helping or not, Lo? Alex, come help dude!"

I followed behind everyone after taking a flashlight out of the bag. This was going to suck. Alone in an old house with my roommate, her boyfriend, her brother and a random guy who couldn't look up from his phone. With a keg. And I was pretty sure no one else was going to show up.

The door was off its hinges and Cooper slid it to the side before going in, Taylor lighting the way. There was a long hall with a set of wooden stairs and a room to the right and left. Both were dirty and dusty and empty save for some trash on the floors from people who had come in and looked around.

They set the keg in the room on the left and immediately tapped it.

"Gross, you aren't even going to ice it?" Taylor asked.

"You have ice, baby? I will put out another story, tell someone to bring ice."

"And cups," Logan said, squirting beer directly into Cooper's mouth.

I sighed and turned, pointing my flashlight into the next room. I walked into it and it looked like it had been the dining room with a pass through from the kitchen. The kitchen was worse than the rest of the house, dirty with cabinets hanging off the walls like they were about to fall off. The old fridge had no door on it and something smelled horrible.

I tried the door off to the side, but the knob spun in my hand and the door didn't move. I moved on to the side where there were narrow stairs up.

"Servants stairs," Logan said, coming up behind me. "Fuck, what is that smell?"

"Thanks for trying to set me up with a douchebag," I said under my breath.

"He seemed ok and he asked if I knew any single chicks. I mean, he's not ugly is he?"

"He's not a dog, but he's an asshole."

"He's just not into short chicks."

"He's also an idiot. And how do you know that?"

"He texted me in the car."

"He texted you about me? Jeez. Dick. Hey, can you open that door?"

He tried the door with the broken knob, then yanked on it several times. "Coop! Come here!" he yelled.

"It's not a big deal, I was just curious. You don't have to get it open."

"Now it's a matter of fucking principle. I am opening this fucking door."

I sighed. Logan had asked me out three different times and every time I had turned him down, all for the same reason. He had a ridiculous temper.

Cooper came and looked at Logan for a second, then tried the door himself. They both started shoving on it and kicking at it. Taylor and Alex came in, watching as well.

"Dude, get the crowbar out of your trunk," Logan said, smacking Cooper on the shoulder.

Cooper took off and I looked over at Taylor. Alex was behind her, leaning on the door, on his phone. Logan moved closer, leaning on the old counter close to me. I looked up at him and he was looking me over.

"Shoulda cut that a little shorter, sis," he said, not looking at his sister.

"Perve," Taylor said, rolling her eyes.

"What? When you wore it last year it came to like, mid thigh. It goes past her knees. Should have trimmed it."

"I asked her not to," I said, crossing my arms.

"Shame," he offered, his eyes moving up to mine to give me a smoky smile.

I narrowed my eyes. "You set me up with a social media obsessed asshole on purpose, didn't you? So you could..."

He laughed. "Easy, El. I actually thought you two might hit it off. I didn't know he had a thing against short girls. I mean, look at you. Most guys would just see how hot you were."

"Asshole," I said, glaring. "I don't want a guy who just see's how I look and wants to date me, I want a guy who speaks to me first and decides after. Not some douchebag who takes one look and dismisses me or takes one look and wants me."

"I can hear you," Alex said, still staring at his phone.

"Good! Douchebag," I spat, looking over my shoulder at him, then turning back to Logan. "I told you Lo, it's not going to happen."

"Yeah, you told me, but it's kind of bullshit. How bout you give me a chance and if I 'lose my temper' with you, then you judge?"

I sighed, not wanting to go into this right now.

"Lo, let it go," Taylor said, moving to look into the next room.

"No! I don't want to let it go, one chance isn't a lot to ask."

"Dude, you tried to set me up with a chick you want to hook up with?" Alex asked, scowling at Logan. "And what the fuck dude? You are like eight feet tall, you'd look like you were babysitting, look at her."

"Hey, fuck you asshole," I said angrily, hefting my flashlight and going after him.

Logan caught me around the waist, laughing as he picked me up. "Hey now, who is supposed to have the temper here?" he teased softly. "Alex, don't be a dick, she is gorgeous. And I am 6'6". We'd make a fucking cute couple."

"Whatever, man. Not my thing. I'm going back out to the car, there's better service out there and I need to plug my phone in. Hey, Cooper, can I have your keys so I can charge my phone?" he asked, as Cooper came back in with the crowbar.

"They're in it, man," he said, handing Logan the crowbar.

Logan took it and shoved it into the doorjamb, then pulled as hard as he could. It popped open with a loud crack, then slammed open as air rushed out, blowing hard enough that I staggered back.

"Holy shit!" Cooper yelled.

I pulled away from Logan's arm that had caught me and kept me from falling, blushing. I went to the open door and looked down into the dark basement. "What do you think is down there?" I asked breathlessly, shining my flashlight into the darkness.

"I don't know," Cooper said, coming up behind me from the other side of Logan. "But this door hasn't been opened before, not since this place was abandoned. I'm lighter than you Logan, I will go down first and test the stairs, make sure they are safe."

"Guys, we probably shouldn't go down there at all?" Taylor said nervously. "Let's go back out front and see if anyone is here yet?"

"We'll hear them when they come," Logan said absently. "And anyway, no one is coming."

"Here, move El," Cooper said, easing me to the side.

I felt a sort of odd dread inside of me looking down into the darkness. Like a rock sitting in my stomach, heavy and nauseating. I also felt a pull, like my curiosity had to know what was down there.

Cooper went down slowly testing every step before putting weight on it, then bouncing slightly to make sure it wouldn't give way.

"Babe, let's just go back out to the front," Taylor whined. "We can get our chairs out of the trunk and..."

"It's fine, Tay," Cooper called. "It's pretty much empty down here, just smells musty and stale and like dirt. Come on."

I started to go down, but Logan caught my shoulder and went down first, turning and holding a hand to me like he wanted to help me down the stairs.

"I think I can handle it," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I know, but did you see how the railing wobbled? I don't want you falling over the side, hold on to me instead."

"Oh for fucks sake, Lo," Taylor laughed. "Why not just carry her? Offer her your coat because it's cold? Could you be any more cliche?"

"You're just pissed because Cooper didn't help you," Logan scowled, still holding his hand out to me.

I rolled my eyes again, but took it and let him help me down the stairs.

Taylor was right behind me, hovering close.

Cooper was right, there wasn't a lot down there. A few shelves with boxes and crates, a makeshift table with papers on it. It was a huge space. Cooper was looking in the boxes on the shelf and Taylor went to him. I walked further back into the darkness, looking around, shining my flashlight everywhere at once.

"It's sort of weirdly clean down here," I called. "You'd think there'd be spiders and mice and stuff."

"You're right," Logan said, catching up to me. We found another shelf full of old boxes and what looked like thick records. "Those are 33 and ⅓'s," Logan said, moving closer. "Like for one of those old time record players. Victrolas. My grammy has one."

"Neat," I offered, moving on. Logan stayed close and I felt tense. I sort of hated that he had set this up like he had. I moved all the way to the back wall and stopped as I pointed my flashlight at an odd door.

"Hey!" Logan yelled, making me jump. "Come look at this you guys!" He stood next to me, pointing his flashlight at the door.

It was huge and old, a light bluish teal color with iron scrollwork designs all over it. A full dozen circular scroll designs, very ornate and so out of place, placed in the dark basement wall.

"Wow, what the hell? A door to nothing? I mean, this is the back wall, is that just decoration?" Cooper asked, stepping up and poking his finger in the hole where a knob or handle should go in. He gripped some of the scrollwork and tried to pull.

Logan stepped up and tried as well, tugging and pulling and wedging the crowbar in to try to pry it open.

"It's probably just glued there, like an ornament or something," Taylor said. "Like an old family heirloom they didn't want to get rid of but was too big for anywhere else."

"It's just weird," Cooper said, stepping back and shining his light around the edges. "It's on hinges, see? Like it opens."

"I need something small enough to hook in here," Logan said, looking into the hole for the knob.

"Here, move," I said, moving up to the door. I poked my finger into the hole and hooked it, pulling slightly.

It swung right open.

"Holy shit!" Logan yelled, pulling me back.

The door opened all the way out to the wall and bounced off slightly as all four of us pointed our lights at the room inside. It wasn't really a room, it was a tunnel in the dirt, short and round. It went on for a long ways. Cooper took a knee, trying to see in further.

"It curves right up there, I can't see very far."

"I could check it out?" Logan said, going to his hands and knees.

"Don't be stupid, I said, "I won't even have to duck. It's probably just more tunnel, this was probably like, part of the underground railroad or something. Stay right here." I stepped into the dirt tunnel warily, eyeing the tree roots around me as I stepped.

"El! What if it caves in!" Taylor cried, half hysterical.

"It's been here this long, why would it cave now? Look at the roots. They are holding all the dirt in place, just hold on. I will be right back."

I eased down closer to the bend, glancing back more than once to look at the three of them in the doorway. I made it to the bend and peeked around and the second I did, there was a loud slam and the world went black.

I screamed wordlessly as I shook my now dark flashlight and turned to hurry back to the door, bouncing off the dirt walls as I hurried. I found the door and shoved and banged, screaming for them to open it. I couldn't hear anything but my own screams and pounding.

I went to my knees, sobbing and terrified over what might be in here with me now.

"It's a joke," I whispered out loud. "They are messing with me! They are going to open the door and point and laugh!"

Then how did the flashlight go out?

I banged harder on the door, begging them to open it and let me out.

Something brushed my leg and I screamed and kicked at it, swinging the flashlight blindly.

Something else brushed my wrist and I twisted away, trying to curl up.

"HELP ME!" I screamed at the door.

Something coiled around my ankle and I yanked away, trying to free myself from it. It had to be a snake!?! Another coiled around my right wrist, then immediately my left and my other ankle, yanking me tight in every direction.

I screamed for help again as the coils lifted me off the ground and more of them came, rough and hard, wrapping around my neck, waist and thighs. One slid over my hand and I realised it was roots, not snakes. Tree roots.

I struggled and cried out for help as the roots began moving me, coils letting go as more wrapped around me, passing me off and moving me down the tunnel.

Panic was taking over as I kicked and screamed and tried to escape and the roots bit in, hurting me. I finally stopped struggling, exhausted and spent, and just sobbed. The roots eased their grip and stopped hurting me, just passing me along more quickly now that they didn't have to coil around me.

It was disorienting and my head was spinning as I flew down the tunnel, twisting and turning. I traveled that way for an eternity, hours. I was beginning to think I was being passed down into hell.

When I finally slowed, a new sort of dread began welling up in me. I tried to sit up enough to look where I was being taken and the roots allowed it, adjusting to hold my shoulders up as they passed me along.

There was a dim blue glow coming up and as I got closer, I could see the tunnel was ending into a large, concrete room that looked like it belonged in a church. A cathedral.

The roots stopped me at the end of the tunnel and turned me, spinning me to almost stand up as they coiled around my wrists and ankles loosely. They weren't hurting me, but I couldn't go anywhere.

I could see no source of light in the room, but there was light. A blue sort of phosphorescence. The concrete room was huge, tall and wide and I could see two dark tunnels going off from it. Not dirt tunnels like this one, but concrete walkways. One was directly in front of me, the other was to my right and I could only see that it was there. I could see several feet down the other from the light in the room, but that was all.

I tugged gently on my wrist and the roots tightened until I relaxed, then they loosened again.

"Hello?" I called.

A root shot out quickly and coiled around my mouth and head tightly, making me whimper and shake. I stayed as still as I could, as quiet as I could, trying to let it know I understood. I wouldn't yell again.

It gradually eased it's hold and when I stayed quiet, it uncoiled and settled itself around my shoulders. Close.

I let out a ragged breath and it twitched. I was terrified.

After a few moments, I saw two dim blue lights down the hall. I thought they were lights. Almost like headlights? And getting closer. No, they were smaller than headlights, sort of like... eyes.

I swallowed a scream when a... creature stepped into the light, his bright blue eyes glowing the same blue glow of the room. The same blue as the door, I realized.

The creature was... manlike. Pale white and glowing like the moon, his long white hair also seemed to glow. He wore no clothes and his white pubic hair topped a long, slender cock. Despite his lack of clothes, he still seemed regal somehow as he looked me over. He was short, for a man, still taller than me, and his slender muscles were highlighted in the weird light.

He stopped several feet away, looking me over and I was frozen in horrified shock. He wasn't human, I knew that. He might look vaguely human but I knew he wasn't. As he turned slightly, I saw lines, almost like veins below his skin, shimmer in the blue light. They were scrolled like the scrolls on the door.

I let out a whimper and the vines around my shoulders shifted and lifted, as if ready to gag me again.

The man-thing moved closer and the vines lifted me off the ground, moving me higher so that I was eye level with him, then eased me in close enough that he was less than a foot away. He looked over my face, then reached up and touched my cheek, rubbing his thumb next to the corner of my mouth. His thumb came away with black greasepaint from where I had done my make-up for my costume. He rubbed at more of the paint, then the roots lifted and rolled across my face, rubbing me raw everywhere there was paint for my costume.

I let out another sob when it started hurting and the man thing cocked his head slightly, looking confused.

The roots finally eased away and he looked over my face again, then lifted a hand to touch my hair. His hand dropped to touch the sleeve of the costume, his fingers gliding over the fabric, then moving it as it gave under his touch. He pulled it back and forth as if just realizing it wasn't my skin, it was a covering. He stepped back and roots shot out from everywhere, sliding up under the costume, wrapping around my limbs and pulling and moving me and the dress like a jigsaw puzzle. They managed to get the dress off of me without ripping it and I was shaking and crying by the time they stretched me back out in front of the man-thing.

"Please," I whispered. "Let me go back."

He lifted a hand and tapped my lips with a finger, then let his hand fall to touch the straps of my bra. He toggled the strap, then the roots were pulling that off of me too, and immediately after, my underwear.

"NO!" I screamed, struggling, and the roots tightened and covered my mouth again before pulling me taut to display in front of him again. He looked me over and the roots lifted me slowly so he could look without bending. They stopped when he was eye level with my crotch and he reached out to run fingers through my dark pubic hair. I screamed around the roots gagging me and he looked up at my face as the roots lowered me to his eye level again.