10,000 Doors

Door 17

Femie felt as if she had a rock in her throat as she repressed her urge to vomit and continued on through the endless maze of doors. Before she opened the new door, she took a moment to press her forehead against the wood. Her head, hot with sweat, was soothed against the cold, white paint of the door. The sensation was like getting into a warm bath after a long day, just not as soothing - nor as relieving.

Head still pressed against the door, her hand found the handle. As she turned it, she realised that the door opened outwards, and she would have to sacrifice the small amount of relief that the door was providing if she wanted to get through this horror-show. Her head felt as if it weighed a tonne as Femie lifted it and pulled open the door.

Daylight flooded in through the doorframe. A forest of greens and browns spread out as far as Femie could see, and the sun trickled through the canopy above onto the ground, so that she could pick out each singe grain of dry earth in the dappled light. Adrenaline and excitement rushed into Femie's chest - this was it! She didn't think it would be over so soon, and she practically sprinted forward to the idyllic escape that was just beyond her fingertips.

There was a loud bang as Femie's head collided painfully with a sheet of glass covering the expanse ahead of her. The shock of it caused her to fall backwards, bruising her backside on the way down.

"¡Puta!" Femie exclaimed as she held her hand to her head, where she felt a golf-ball sized lump rising.

She staggered unsteadily to her feet, mentally kicking herself for not realising that it was way too soon in the game for that escape to have been real. Femie was about to close the door when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something moving. She peered through the tangle of trunks until she saw a massive wolf staring back at her.

Once she saw the first one, she realised that there was a whole pack of them peering at her through the trees. She froze and hoped that they couldn't see her through the glass. The wolf closest to her was the one that she focussed on as she reached slowly for the door handle.

The wolf sank suddenly to its haunches, and the others followed suit. One led the charge as they raced towards where Femie was standing. Even though she knew that there was a fairly solid piece of glass between her and the terrifying predators, she couldn't help but scream.

The gargantuan canines were ravenous as the first one hit the glass with a crunch. It stumbled back as the next one smashed heavily into the transparent shield. As the third one took its chances against the invisible wall, Femie noticed a chip forming, like a tiny spider's web. The fourth wolf caused the web to grow in size. They were relentless, as each of the wolves took turns to crash desperately into the glass and, as they did, the chip turned into a large crack, spreading steadily to the very edges of the glass.

Frozen to the spot, anxiety began to grow in Femie's chest. If she didn't close the door now, she was done for. The wolves continued to pound against the glass again and again, when a shard of glass broke free from above and smashed on the ground in front of Femie.

The sudden noise seemed to jerk Femie out of her terrified stupor as she reached out for the doorknob and slammed the door closed again. She hastily locked the door again as she heard more of the glass shatter from behind the wood. With a thump, Femie knew the wolves had finally broken through but, luckily, they couldn't break through the door.

Through the sides of the doorframe, Femie could hear the monstrous hounds trying to find her scent. Their paws cast shadows and tiny fragments of glass under the base of the door as Femie backed quietly away. After a rumbling growl sent a new chill of fear through Femie's spine, the shadows faded away and the door was once again silent.