Dark Places

A Bleak Path

Darkness. Pitch black, or so it would be if there wasn't a glaring light coming from what I could guess is a closed door way. Like a moth, I am drawn to it. So I walk over, failing to notice a weighted object in my path as I stumble over it, falling face first into the cold, hard ground. I look and feel around to see what it was that caused me to stumble to no avail, it's far too dark and all I can make out is the ground is cracked and old, like a house that's seen better days.

I rise up off my feet and carefully tread towards the doorway once more, this time encountering nothing in my path. Feeling around the door, I find there is no nob or anything, and it might as well be a plank of wood on hinges. Shoving the door open, my eyes are exposed to the glaring light that was visible from the room. Once my senses and vision are restored, I look at my surroundings.

The light is coming from a small lamp and the room I am in is simplistic. There are 3 doorways, the one I just came from that I have no intention of going back to, a screen door that is practically useless, as it bashes on the wall due to the wind outside, and the last door has locks all over it, making it look like a cluster of bondage. keeping something trapped. If I was a superstitious man, I most likely would be deluding myself into thinking this place is haunted and this apart of some large supernatural scheme, but the reality is I probably just ended up on the shit end of some sick joke.

After weighing my options, I take the obvious choice and leave through the broken screen door that leads to the outside world. Immediately, rain hits my face and deafens my ears as it pours down harshly onto the ground. Looking at the surroundings, I find myself to be in some low down alley way that leads on to a quiet street. There are buildings and houses throughout, but they all appear either unwelcoming or completely uninhabitable. ''Where the hell am I?'' I thought to myself.

Deciding I've had enough fun, i make my way down the street with the smell of rain and smoke from pollution quickly filling my nose. To make matters worse I'm having a hard time seeing anything with no lights in the street, and rain just flooding. All my senses feel dulled from the entire situation.

In the midst of this aimless wandering, I try to piece together what happened, only for my head to get hazier. There's an overflow of strange feelings. Anger, despair, and then just complete apathy? How is I can feel these things so vividly, but have no recollection of the cause. The more I try to reason out all of this, the more hopeless I start to feel.

So clearly thinking isn't the best course of action here, so instead, maybe I just need to keep looking around, find some strand of something to guide me out of all this. I still feel the buildings around me ultimately are a place I don't want to disturb, so I keep walking, only to find everything is starting to look the same. If only I had something. Something to show me that being lost here isn't inevitable. Some kind of light.

As I say this, the smell of smoke begins to intensify. I look up and find the rain has cleared just enough that I can see where the smoke is coming from. Could this be a sign? Regardless of what I thought, this was an opportunity, and only a fool wouldn't take it. I progressively pick up the pace now, even though I'm completely exhausted, continually telling myself that the smoke is my way out.

Slowly but surely, my optimism begins to skyrocket as it becomes evident that this smoke leads to a fire. A light. There is no turning back now. This has to be the way to being free from all of this. Pondering deep inside my thoughts now, it makes me think about how good it feels to have things work out, which is strange. Its almost like ive forgotten the basic feelings of joy. Clearly this ordeal has just taken its toll on me and caused some intense emotional reactions to what is probably nothing. With that said, I cant help but notice this side of these strange suburbs has a much nicer more welcoming look to them, With the windows and doors being intact. But either way, as much as I would like to stop and admire the beauty, I need to get out of here, and I think. I ''know'' that the fire is the way.

At last I can tell that its just around the corner, and sure enough it is, But what I saw was most certainly not the exit to this strange suburb I was looking for. I found a fire and cant help but hear something coming from inside of it. It was the cackles of flames, but rather moaning of some sort. I walk closer and look.

Hell.

I wasn't looking at a smoke signal leading to the way out. But it seemed to be infact, a warning of the inevitability of whats going to happen to me. What I saw in that fire was the scolding truth that I wasn't going to get out of here. Why is that? Because this fire is made up of people like me. Men, women, even a surprising amount of children, were all in this fire burning together. Their expressions were mixed with anger, despair, and apathy.

All I'm left with now, is a feeling of dread. If this situation felt hopeless before, now its only proven that I'm well and truly doomed. But no. I refuse. I refuse to end things the way they did. Letting myself burn and suffer knowing full well it isn't what I want. I refuse. There has to be a way around this.

Running as fast as I can. I run from the fire. But I cant get away. I feel the fire is intensifying. And begins engulfing the whole streets. Its like its alive, and wants me to burn. But I won't. I can't. I run and refuse to give up. My body is at its physical end, but backing down now is not an option. I run back and find that it slowly becomes darker and darker once more. Could it be that I'm finally escaping this fire? That I have surpassed this trial? Before I can finish that thought, I feel something get caught at my feet. And I trip. I don't see anything as I go down....

Darkness. Pitch black. All that's visible is the light coming from a door way. I hate it. It's blinding. And only the blindest idealistic garbage would see it as necessary in a shit hole like this. It has no place here. I get on my feet and walk over to it. The ground is cold and flat. I shove the door way open and find myself in a room with 3 doorways. The one I came from, one that has a screen door that leads to outside and completely off its hinges, and an open door leading to yet another dark room.

Ultimately I decide to enter the dark room. It offers me a sense of peace, of ease. After all. No good can come from going outside, right? I enter the dark room and the door closes behind me. With the locks engaging. There was no turning back now. And I'm okay with that.