That Room(Hannah Lange) That Room


“James, look!” Lyrah whisper-yelled to her partner in crime as she looked at the unlocked door. “It's 'That Room'.” She had heard rumors that anyone who entered, never came out alive.

“The door's open!” He replied, stating the obvious as usual. They looked at each other, then back at the door that stood ever so slightly ajar. Naturally, the two were curious, who wouldn't be? So, as expected, they approached it with extreme caution.

'Creak' The door made a long, low creaking noise as the two carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside. James' jaw dropped. Lyrah's eyes were the size of quarters. One moment, they had been standing in the dimly lit school corridor and now they were standing in a grassy green field, ankle deep in a puddle. To their left was a crystalline, blue stream and to their right was a small beach overlooking what looked like the Long Island Sound.

“Oh my...,” James could barely utter the words before he was dragged swiftly toward the winding thread of aqua by some unknown force.

“James!” Lyrah shrieked just before she too was pulled towards the stream as though a giant had grabbed the scruff of her neck and was sprinting away with her.

“Ah!” She yelled as the invisible force pulled her closer and closer to her, as she now realized, doom. She pushed all of her body weight in the opposite direction. Nothing.

All of the sudden, she was dropped on the hard ground. She looked up and saw James lying about 5 feet away from her, either unconscious or.. She couldn't afford to think that way, she decided as she stood up shakily. She looked closer and saw a long, bloody gash running all the way up her best friend's thigh. She then saw, not too far away, a chunk of obsidian that was as sharp as any blade. Then it clicked, James had been dragged by the same force she had, and his leg had been dragged over the jagged, black stone.

Leave, child. Whispered a high pitched voice in her ear.
“What did you do to him?” Lyrah yelled, afraid of what this invisible being was capable of. It's not my fault you entered this place, the rumors are true, my dear Lyrah, anyone who comes here, doesn't make it out alive. Your friend only has minutes of life left... Maybe, just maybe, I'll make your end quick and painless, but then again... said the voice, clearly happy with her anguish. GET OUT! It yelled, suddenly angry.

“No, I can't leave him!” She wailed, tears streaking down her face like hot waterfalls. Tick–Tock, Tick-Tock. The next thing she knew, the disembodied voice had taken the smoky form of a man. Lyrah realized that it was hopeless, she could never beat this guy and get James back to the school before he died of blood loss. Just then, hot adrenaline surged through her veins, 'I need to save James' That was the one thought playing through her mind over and over, reinvigorating her, giving her the strength to do what she did next.

She picked up a pointed stone, aiming it as though it were a knife. She threw it as hard as she had thrown anything. It had flown inches past his ear. Foolish, you are a foolish little girl. I almost pity you. Said the man in his eerie, spirit-like voice. She picked up another stone. This one was blunt, yet if she used enough force, it could seriously injure someone. She picked it up and flipped it twice in her hand before she lobbed it.

“Ow!” Yelled Smoky. Lyrah looked up. She had hit him right in his grotesque, completely red eye. He brought his hands up to his almost featureless face. He fell to the ground, got back up again and ran away still clutching his eye.

Lyrah crouched down next to James and cried. She probably sat there bawling for 10, 15 minutes. 'What was the point?' She thought between sobs. 'I'm too late, he's already dead.' After a while she stopped crying. She thought, as a last hope to check his pulse anyway, though she was doubtful. The blood from his leg had gotten in to the stream, tinging it red. She put her thumb to his cold wrist and waited a second.

'Badum.' It was so faint she could hardly feel it. 'Badum.' She quickly grabbed him, fireman style, and sprinted as hard as she could toward the puddle they had started in, his blood soaking her shirt through. She shut her eyes as tight as possible and when she opened them, she was back in the school corridor, James, slowly dying in her arms.

She ran toward the nearest phone, but all her strength had evaporated. She slowly picked it up off the receiver. 9-1-1 She dialed as fast as her fingers would move.

“9-1-1, what is your emergency” Said the monotone voice through the speaker.

“Uh, hello? My best friend is dying.”

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