10,000 Doors

Door 3

Femie took a deep breath, then wished she hadn't as the smell reached her nostrils once more. She gagged for a second. Wiping her hand over her sweating forehead, she regained her energy and unlocked the door in front of her.

This new door opened outwards. At first, Femie wasn't sure what she was seeing. A single, uncovered light bulb swung from the ceiling. The room was painted a dark brown, and a strange clicking sound began to emanate. The walls were almost moving, throbbing with the noise.

The realisation of what Femie was seeing snaked around her, forcing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. Her hand, still resting on the handle, began to sweat and tremble and her eyes widened with horror. Cockroaches. Thousands and thousands of cockroaches. Her grip on the handle tightened as the oily, musky stench of the creatures forced her to relive an old memory.

Years ago, when she was a kid, maybe six or seven years old, her mother had discovered a nest of roaches under the bathroom floor. There were less than one hundred, yet the smell had still filled the whole upper floor of the apartment. It had been so bad that they had been forced to sleep downstairs until the exterminator had dealt with them. However, the smell had lingered, and Femie swore that it had never really gone away.

Hundreds of the insects realised that an exit had opened, and suddenly Femie was swallowed up in a swarm of roaches. With all her might, she forced the door closed, but enough had escaped in the corridor to bring the smell with them.

"Always nice to have some company," she said, trying to make the best of the situation.

She marked the door, then walked to the next.

It's only going to get worse, her mind taunted her as she stared at the white panels she now faced.