Walk

A young woman opens the wrong door.

   Anna and Milou were walking down the street, one they had often walked.  It was their favorite because every time they strolled the sidewalks, they noticed something they hadn’t before.  This particular day was quite dreary.  The sun was hidden deep behind the expansive gray thunderclouds.  The prying wind blew at Anna’s jacket and played with her long brown hair.  It was chilly, but it wasn’t cold enough to stay indoors instead of taking their daily walk.  As they were striding along, Anna wrapped her jacket more tightly around her body, and Milou suddenly halted.

   “What is it Milou?”

   “Woof,” he barked at a wooden door in a stone wall covered with ivy.  Anna looked up but couldn’t see where the top of the wall was. 

   “I haven’t noticed this before,” she mumbled to herself.

   Milou barked again and began to tug at his leash, dragging Anna toward the door.  She looked at it hesitantly, knowing she should not open it.  She slowly let Milou pull her closer to the mysterious entrance.  She saw the large wooden door had no handle, only a large iron knocker.  It appeared to be the face of an animal, although she had never seen one that looked like this creature did.

   It resembled a bear, but with incredibly sharp, shark-like teeth, no snout, and pointed triangular ears that came out from the side of its head like a human’s would.  But its eyes were what mesmerized Anna the most.  They had depth to them like she’d never seen in any other sculpture or statue.  She stared into them trying to memorize every detail.  She could vaguely feel Milou tugging at his leash again, but it felt as though it was from another very distant world.  She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the eyes.  They began to glow a bright, electric blue.  They became brighter, and the flame grew larger.  She felt the heat on her face, but she was not afraid of being burned.  She moved closer and the flames reached out to lick her, but the fire stopped instantaneously.  Coming out of the trance, she saw that there was a knob near her waist.

   “How did I miss that before?” she thought.

   Anna grabbed the knob and turned it, feeling no resistance, no lock.  She heard the door creaking as she slowly pushed it open.  A gust of dry air met her face as if it was greeting the foreign intruder.  Milou darted around her ankles and yanked her inside.  The door slammed shut behind them, making Anna jump.

   “Well I guess something wants us to stay,” she whispered as she turned to face what they’d walked into.  “But what is this place?”

   She took in her surroundings, puzzling over what she saw.

   “Milou, I don’t think we’re in France anymore.”

   The sky of this mysterious place was black, darker than the depths of the ocean.  Yet they could see everything, clear as day, from some unknown source of light.  They had wandered into what appeared to be a strange forest.  The tall trees reached out their branches, waving briskly in the wind.  The leaves cast dark shadows on the forest floor where Milou and Anna walked.  The fallen foliage was piercing as it crunched beneath their weight, letting out an intoxicating forest scent.  Anna looked behind her, trying to find the door, but she only saw a deeper, darker patch of woods.  She shivered as she picked up Milou, removing his leash as well.  She did not want him on the ground; his presence in her arms made her feel safe in this alien place.

   “Well, Milou, I guess we can only head forward.”

   Anna walked holding Milou for a while until he began to wriggle, and she had to put him down.  As soon as his paws touched solid earth, he darted around a few trees, barked once, and took off running.

   “Milou, come back!” yelled Anna, running after him.

   As she ran as fast as her feet would carry her, the trees around her blurred in her vision to a sloppy green and brown mess.  She had to stop often to rub her eyes and then listen for Milou’s loud yips.  She eventually saw him sitting in front of a tree.  She came up behind him and grabbed for his little body, but he jumped towards the trunk of the tree, hit it, and then somehow fell through.

   “Milou!” Anna screamed.

  She ran to the tree and placed her hands on the trunk.  It felt solid and whole where he had jumped through.  She sank to the ground, her head in her hands, knees pulled up, against the tree.  Anna could feel the tears prickling behind her eyes.  The burning feeling made her head ache, and the throbbing was only intensified when the tears finally spilled out.  She stayed that way for a good ten minutes, or so she thought, crying and contemplating what had happened.  Pulling herself together, she rose, deciding it was best for her and Milou if she went searching rather than sitting around and moping.  She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, and when she looked up again, she started in surprise.  Milou was there, standing at her feet, looking up at her curiously.

   “M-Milou?” she stammered as she stooped to pet him.  “Oh, Milou, it is you!  But where in the world did you come from?”

   “Bark.”

   “That’s what I thought.  Come now, let’s try to find a way out,” said Anna.

   “I believe I will be of assistance,” bluntly stated a man walking out of the shadows.

   He advanced towards Milou and Anna, Milou running to him while Anna stood her ground.  She didn’t want him to realize that Milou’s friendliness softened her a bit.  He threw his hands up, saying, “I meant not to frighten you.  I mean you no harm.  My name is Herman.  And you are?”

   Anna stood blankly for a moment and then spoke.  “Where am I?”

   “That is not what I asked,” replied Herman gruffly.

   “I’d prefer to know where I am first, and then I will answer your question,” Anna responded.

   “Fine, I will tell you.  You are in my land, and I am the leader of the tribe inhabiting it.  Now your name, please?”    

   “An- Andrea.  And this is my dog Maurice,” she lied.  The man made her feel uneasy in his coldness and impatience; his directness was also a bit unsettling.

   “Good to meet you, Andrea, and you, Maurice.  Now where would you like to go?”

   “Well, see, we were hoping we could get home.  But we’re not sure of the way back.”

   “Ah, but I know the way.”

   “But how could you know where we’re from?”

   “We sometimes get visitors, much like yourself, and you all come from the same place.  You will follow me now,” Herman curtly stated.

   “Pushy,” thought Anna.

   They walked mostly in silence except for Milou’s yips as he played in the tall grasses around which Herman and Anna walked.  Herman was the first to break the silence between them.

   “You had been crying when I found you,” he stated.  “Why?”

   “I-,” Anna began.  She’d thought he had come too late to notice.

   “Dearest Andrea, you can tell me,” coaxed Herman, flashing a smile of teeth-too-white.

   “How did you find me?” she asked him, attempting to change the subject.

   “I was just leisurely walking through the woods, minding my own business when I stumbled upon you and your dog.  Now you will answer my question: why were you crying?” he demanded a bit more forcefully this time.

   “I’d, uh, gotten a branch snapped in my face,” she lied for the second time that day, both to Herman; she knew Milou couldn’t have jumped through the tree and disappeared so she must have imagined it.

   “It left no mark,” Herman replied suspiciously.

   “Yeah, guess I was just lucky,” Anna answered, ending the brief conversation after rubbing her face for effect.

   After ten minutes or so, Herman spoke again.

   “We are now nearing my tribe’s village.  You will spend the night here, and tomorrow I shall show you the way back to your home.”

   “But I thought we were headed home all this time!” shouted Anna angrily, feeling trapped and deceived.

   “Dearest Andrea, but we are.  I just underestimated the distance and you do not want to walk through these parts at night.  I promise we will set out first thing in the morning.”

   Anna hadn’t noticed, but as they’d been walking, the unknown light source had grown dimmer and dimmer.  They approached a large, circular wall with men standing guard at the top.

   “Halt!  Who goes there?” one of the men yelled formally.

   “It is I, Herman, and I have brought visitors.  Their names are Andrea, and her dog Maurice.”

   “You may enter.”

   Herman put his hand on Anna’s shoulder and walked her to the wall.  He proceeded to pick up Milou and now grabbed Anna’s hand, pulling her through the thick barrier.

   “Only those of my tribe can make it through the wall.”

   Shaking off her amazement over what had just happened, Anna looked around.  These people all looked almost identical.  It was curious, there were no young children playing, laughing, chasing each other.  Only grown adults.  They wore the same plain clothes, what looked to be a tightly woven brown fabric and a belt made of darker brown rope.  The men had long belted tunics over leggings, and the women wore long dresses belted around the middle.  They also had the same hair color, a dark jet-black, and moved in the same shrewd and sneaky way.  Their eyes were the only features that separated them.  She hadn’t noticed Herman’s before, but they were a bright, fiery blue, just like the doorknocker’s eyes.  There were fires sporadically placed throughout the walled complex, most in the middle of small circular groups of homes, some near the outer wall.  What was curious was that each fire burned the same blue as Herman’s eyes rather than a normal orange.  Oddly, inside this compound was another circular wall, no homes anywhere near it, with even more guards patrolling than on the outer wall.  These guards looked nervous and walked slowly and steadily, making as little noise as possible.

   “I wonder what could be in there…” thought Anna.

   Herman’s speaking eventually brought her out of her silence.

   “You will be staying in my home tonight.  But Maurice must stay outside of the village walls.”

   “Why?” asked Anna in outrage.

    “Dearest Andrea, all in good time,” Herman stated as a few men picked up Milou and took him outside.  Anna had run after them, but she thudded into the wall and could not go through.

   “Oh, I forgot to mention.  Only those of my tribe can make it out of the wall as well.”

   Anna watched the men come back in, avoiding their eyes.  She did not want to cry and definitely did not want these strange people to see her any weaker than she was at the present.

   “Now you will follow me to my home.  Come.”

   Herman’s blue eyes burned deep down into her.  She felt as though he was the one making her weaker; he was the one causing her pain, her tears.

   He led her past the walled internal compound.  From inside she could hear rustles and growls.  Deep rumbles that went right through her, like Herman’s eyes.

   Herman brought her into his home and showed her where she would sleep.  He gave her a warm drink to soothe her, which she thought was a bit contradictory to how he had acted towards her before this; he hadn’t seemed to care much about her comfort until now.  She drank the offering suspiciously as he watched her.  He took the cup back when she was finished.

   “Now we must sleep.  Tomorrow will be a long day and you must rest.”

   Anna needed no urging.  The concoction she drank made her drowsy, and she yawned, yearning for sleep.  She knew she should be more suspicious and aware, but instead she fell into deep, drugged slumber the moment she closed her eyes…

 *

   Anna awoke to grips like vices roughly seizing her arms.  She could not move them or her legs for that matter; everything was black.  She couldn’t remember where she was or what she’d been doing.  But then she’d heard a voice.  That voice.  A voice that sounded to her like roaring fire, like endless blue flames.  It all came flooding back to her.  She had shown a moment of weakness in trusting Herman, and now she knew she was paying for it.  She was picked up and roughly walked to the outside; she could feel the warmth of the house convert to the penetrating chill of the cold night.  She felt herself being lifted, and the feet of those carrying her pounded onward.  Although she was scared, she knew it was futile to scream as the whole village was filled with these awful people.  Eventually the blindfold was ripped off her eyes, and she was appalled at the sight that met her.

   She was hovering at the top of the ledge of the inner compound, a dark but shallow pit beneath her.  She was precariously close to the edge, and she shivered, though whether in fear or from cold, she was not entirely sure.

   “Dear Walker,” roared Herman’s booming voice, echoing in the deep, unbelievable silence, “we offer you Andrea, our visitor, as a gift in return for our power.  Please find this paltry, human offering in your favor and continue to send us strength.”

   “No!  Herman, what are you doing to me?” Anna screamed.

   “Learn a lesson from your snooping at our entrance, girl.  As I told you, all of you visitors come from the same place.  Turns out you end up in the same place too.”

  With a smug expression on his face, Herman cut her bonds and kicked her into the pit in one swift motion, not even giving her a chance to think about fighting back.

   “Good bye, dearest Andrea.”

   Anna was scared as she scurried back into the corner, her feet hitting the wall all too soon.  She could hear a deep rumbling, so loud she had to cover her ears.  Out of nowhere, two fires, both blue, sprung up in the darkness.  They grew bigger, and she felt the pound of large footsteps grow closer. 

   From the blackness arose a beast, darker than this land’s strange sky, larger than the height of three fully-grown men.  It was a living, breathing nightmare, the beast on the doorknocker in reality; this time, its eyes, too, were alive. 

   The strange creature that Herman had referred to as the Walker approached her, closer and closer, until their faces were nearly an inch apart.  The déjà vu set in as its fiery eyes grew brighter.  She felt it calling her.  Andrea, Andrea, it said.  She did not reply.  Andrea, it said more forcefully.  She was not compelled to look away as it wanted her to.  Andrea! it screamed through her mind.  Look away and the pain will leave you, it told her unconvincingly. 

   Herman, you have brought me a strong one.  But I will break her.  Truly, you are not Andrea as you say you are.  Tell me your name!

   “You are right,” she screamed with all her might.  “I’m not Andrea.  And this is why you won’t break me.  My true self is stronger than you are!”

   The Walker let out an earth-shaking growl; the fire burned brighter, now as bright as the sun.  Although she was blinded, Anna did not tear her gaze away until she passed out from sheer exhaustion.

* 

   Anna opened her eyes.  She saw daylight streaming through the windows of her bedroom.  Her bedroom.  Her house.  That god-awful nightmare world was all in her head.  She was really home! 

   She got up and saw Milou sleeping at the foot of her bed.  He opened an eye when he heard her awaken.

   “Hey Milou, come here boy,” she said.  Milou remained where he was, tilting his head and giving her a quizzical look.  She left to get a drink in the kitchen without thinking too much about it.

   “That must have all been an awful nightmare,” she thought, brushing off last night’s disturbed sleep.

   Sitting on the counter in her kitchen was the mail.  She poured herself a glass of orange juice and picked up the envelope on top.  She dropped her glass when she saw the address.  It was printed in black letters as plain as the eye could see, ‘Andrea and Herman Smith.’

   “No,” she said quietly at first.  “No!”

   She heard the toilet flush, and Herman walked into the kitchen, yawning and giving her a creepy smile.

   “Why, hello there, dearest Andrea.”

   She left the spilt juice on the ground and sprinted outside with Herman yelling behind her.  She ran to the street where she had first seen that horrible door.  That morning seemed so long ago.  As if it was another life.

   And then she stopped.  She knew she was nearing the awful place.  She took a deep breath and continued on slowly, stopping again abruptly when she saw just what she had been dreading. 

   The Walker’s blue eyes stared down at her from the door as she dropped to the ground on her knees, screaming.  She hadn't nearly been strong enough.

Author's Note

I accept all comments on anything, positive or negative.

Reviews

[#SecretWriter]

I really enjoyed this piece, it was darker than I expected from the way it started out. I think there was a wizard of Oz reference and I interpret that the ideology was to be strong somehow, maybe through morals or sticking to your beliefs. I'm glad it didn't all just disappear when she woke up, this resembled some great elements of horror, and for some a fear of confrontation.

It relies on the age old belief of avoiding strangers too. Anyway in case I'm nagging, I'll wrap it up, I really enjoyed this piece, its well written and twisty. Well done and keep in touch :)

[Gracie G]

You know you're the second person to mention the wizard of oz but I didn't have that in mind when writing it! Quite interesting. Anyway thank you for the read and the review. Of course you're not nagging, I love getting feedback!

[#SecretWriter]

It was the bit where she said "Milou, I don't think we're in France anymore" and then met a peculiar speaking friend on her path, but in any story where you venture to another world you might get an Oz, Alice or Narnia comparison. The important thing was that it was completely different, the drugged reference reminded me of how Alice in wonderland had drug references, and if you look back to Grimm fairy-tales the central character seems to meet an unhappy end.

[Gracie G]

Oh right, very true. Well thank you I'm glad you liked it! :)