Tʜᴇ Pᴀᴛʜ Tᴏ Hɪɢʜɢᴀᴛᴇs

Nᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ Bᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ Nᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 35

"Um... ladies first...?"

You rolled your eyes.

"I'm so charmed." You blanked, staring at the small door with narrowed eyes.

You were on your knees, preparing yourself to drop down and crawl through.

It would only be you and Reich, as Soviet was quick to say he would stand guard and make sure no one came in. Of course, you said that was unnecessary as the door was locked from inside. Yet, he insisted. Saying he would scream something about taking a piss if anyone knocked on the door, as to assure they wouldn't become suspicious that no one was answering their knocks.

Both you and Reich had made a face when he suggested that, but you didn't argue. Arguing with him was futile, he liked getting what he wanted. And you would be complaisant in that. You couldn't fight with ego.

So, dropped to your knees with Reich crouching beside you, you gently pushed the door open. It scratched desperately at the floor. Making a distressing cry that sent an uncomfortable shiver down your spine. It was harder to open than you thought. The wood was so rotted, it was almost squishy. And flakes of mouldy shards broke away and dripped to the floor.

You pulled your hand back, realising that it was covered in grime and mud. You whipped it off on Reich's shoulder. He didn't pull away, but stared completely gobsmacked at you. You shrugged and turned away, lowering your head as you tried to see through it. Hoping it wasn't just the insulation beyond the hatch.

You caught a glimpse of a floorboard and a darkened room.

So there was something back there.

"You're definitely coming in after me, right?" You turn to face Reich, your tone just begging for him to say yes. "I promize I vill, I'll go in right after vu." He assured you with a quick nod.

You turn back to the door.

Then crawled forward, pressing your stomach to the floor, and pushing your arms through.

Your fingers found the grip of the wall on the other side. Your nose scrunched as you realised the wall felt almost... slimy.

The wood clawed at your jumper as you pushed your body through, shoving down on your palms against the wall as much as you could. Using them as a catapult to shove your body all the way.

As your torso pulled through, your throat groaned, and you slammed your hands in front of you, pushing your chest from the dirty ground. You turned to face the hole and wiggled the rest of your body through, finally standing back to your feet, wiping your clothes free of dirt.

You looked around.

"What?"

Before you was an old room, completely empty.

Rectangular marks across the wall indicated that there once were paintings and decor, but now there was nothing. Stains and mould bled through every inch of the wooden walls, curled and ripped floral wallpaper hung lifelessly. Its dangling body revealing the nest of insects behind it. Webs strung across every surface, with brown-bodied spiders clinging on, their hairy bodies dripping with dust. All their small gleaming eyes on you, their silver fangs twitching.

There was no furniture, though dark patches across the floorboards and discoloured scratches indicated that at one point, there had been.

"I recognize zis." Reich's voice spoke from behind you, making you jump and turn to face him. "At least I zink I do."