Zack immersed a key with a predominant symbol symilar to that of the lock, but not before throwing her sister a glare.
As expected, it clicked.
Zack was first to shut his eyes.
Arielline could not bare the thought of losing her brother, she thrusted him and grasped him hard between her hands, shutting her eyes as well.
Nothing happened in a few seconds. The place was grave silent as usual and the door was still shut though unlocked.
Arielline loosened her grip on her brother, as they both widened their eyes.
The door had not budged. It was still.
Zack pressed the lever and pushed the door behind.
No one knew what to expect and what not to expect, and that was the worst part.
It creaked in a cold sinister manner, like the creepy doors in a horror movie when a secondary character is about to die.
Zack illuminated inside, his shaky hands barely holding the torch steadfast.
Mirabelle swerved such that, she shared the view with Zack, Nick moved too, then Arielline.
Somewhere in its gloom was a book.
It wasn't properly discerned but it seemed to be levitating on plain air.
Zack took the first step in the others following.
The room was infested with cobwebs. Its walls were like empty, dusted, library shelves that if at all were at all used, maybe a millennium past.
The floor was like that of every other part of the sinister prison -dusty- but it wasn't a giant clock.
Its roofs were either missing or the thick darkness could not allow a lumen of light to pass.
The more they ventured, the more they discerned the book.
Arielline flicked off the last strand of cobweb from her hair, finally, capturing the book.
Apparently, it was mounted on a black stand.
Like most things it was covered in dust but once Zack blew it off, it was a sight to see.
It was predominantly red; bookended with a golden color forming what could only be compared to a flower gallery on the front cover opposite the spine.
The spine too had an equal gold, but it wasn't as flowery as the one on the other side; it was filled with sharp thorny features creeping towards the flowery section and others that appeared to be similar to skeletons.
If Arielline did not know better, the drowning was metaphorical.
Its title, sketched in an elegant gold-colored font, snatched Arielline's breath away; Four Months Of Terror 1949
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Behind The Locks || ONC 2024
HororLONGLISTED ONC 2024 Open Novella contest 🏆 Horror. Courtesy of ONC2024 Novella Contest °*° Every tick-tock that counts can cost your life, and as each door shuts don't look behind. At Arielline's first day in her first job she discovers that the...
