Mindscape // DreamNotFound

Chapter 7

     Darryl watched as they all huddled around him. Toby sobbed loudly, and the rest were still too shocked to say anything. Callahan held his hands over the wound until the blood stained his clothes. His body began to glow, and soon the light overtook all of them.

     When it faded, the scene was gone, and they were back in that dreaded hallway. Fundy's body was gone as well. George stumbled, not yet adjusted to the lack of senses. He wiped his cheeks, sniffling. Clay bit his lip, trying to hold back as well. Nick pulled them both into a hug and they broke down. Callahan sunk to his knees, tears silently escaping.

     Tommy stared at the floor, unmoving, while Toby cried into his sleeve. Darryl couldn't feel anything either. Everything had numbed, though he knew it wasn't because of the lack of senses this time. The air was filled with sorrow and sobbing.

     Darryl backed up, retreating to the furthest corner of the room. He slid down the wall, though he couldn't feel it behind him. The weight of the situation fell onto his shoulders. He'd been the one to suggest the doors, he'd been the one to select which one they'd entered. He'd devised an entire plan. Clay was supposed to hold the door open, they weren't supposed to go in without a way out.

     It had happened so fast. They were in the hallway, they were in the parking lot, Fundy was bleeding, so much blood, and they were back. He noticed now, with horror filling his heart, that there were only seven doors left. His door had disappeared, just like the ninth man.

     Memories flashed through Darryl's head, and he covered his eyes. They had no idea, none of them did. This was his fault, he brought them here. He was the reason Fundy died. They didn't know, but he had to tell them, he knew that. He couldn't die, not with the information he had.

     He had to make sure the world knew.

~~~~

     The lights began to flicker off, and everyone looked up. They'd been in that door all day, despite the fact that it felt short to them. Three days had passed, that meant. They were running out of time, and they knew it. If it took one day to get through a door, and there were still seven of them left, that meant they couldn't afford to take breaks.

     Which meant they'd have to do it again tomorrow.

     When George settled down next to Clay, he felt the fatigue set in. Nick made himself comfortable on the floor, but they knew he wasn't sleeping. Darryl had been curled in the same corner since they'd returned, but he wasn't muttering to himself anymore. The others took their usual positions, but none even thought of sleep. How could they?

     George jumped when he felt Clay lean his head on the smaller man's shoulder. " Sorry," Clay whispered, for only him to hear. " I don't want to feel alone right now."

     A shiver ran up George's spine. Was he cold? No, he couldn't feel temperature. Well, he could, but only body temperature. And Clay was warm. God, he had some nerve, he thought , focusing on something as petty as Clay's head on his shoulder when people were dying.

     He hadn't even known Fundy for long, but watching someone die right in front of you was a new kind of pain. One he hoped to never experience again. But with their new knowledge of how the doors worked, that was an unpredictable mess. George pondered for a minute. What was his worst fear? What would he see behind his door?

     What would Clay see behind his?

     Why was that on his mind? George unconsciously found himself putting his hand over Clay's. He hadn't noticed, and Clay didn't say anything. He felt a squeeze, and George's heart leapt. Clay had laced their fingers together. They fit perfectly, his hand slightly larger than George's own.

     Somewhere in the darkness, George felt a sense of peace wash over him. Fundy might've died, but there were still seven other people he could save. He needed to get it right, he had to. For them.

~~~~

     Morning came too fast. No one wanted to get up, no one wanted to move. But they knew they had to. There was an overwhelming absence in the group, and a missing space in the room. There were seven doors, and seven people. That wasn't right, it shouldn't have been like that.

     " So," Tommy said, breaking the silence. No one wanted to address the problem. " What do you guys wanna be when you grow up? I'm going to be awesome."

     Toby smiled lightly, but it didn't reach his eyes. " I wanna be a teacher," he said.

     No one else chimed in, all of them significantly older. Tommy chuckled nervously.  Clay took pity on him, trying so hard to make everyone feel better. " I'm studying code, but those are mostly online classes. I'm an English major."

     " I've just been taking general studies this year, haven't really picked my major yet," George admitted. Nick raised an eyebrow. " I took a gap year to work so I could come to America. And your school system's different from mine, so I'm still getting used to it."

     Callahan mimed something out, and they all tried to understand him. Nick clapped his hands suddenly. " Oh! Computer science! That's the keyboard and he's holding one of those little mixer thingies. I'm a god at charades."

     Callahan laughed silently and nodded. Nick crossed his arms, pretending to brush dust off his shoulder. " I'm doing business and marketing as my major, you can use that to get into basically anything. It can't fail."

     " If you market as well as you flirt, there's no hope for you," Clay snickered. Nick hit him.

     " At least I'm not shy with my flirting," Nick hissed. Clay's face turned bright pink and he avoided George's eyes.

     Everyone waited, but Darryl didn't speak up. Tommy nudged him slightly and he jumped out of his skin. " Don't sneak up on me like that!"

     " It wasn't sneaking," Tommy said. " It's your turn."

     " Oh," Darryl trailed off, looking around. " I finished college already. I'm a reporter for the local news station."

     " No way!" Clay gaped. " That's so cool, what do you report?"

     Darryl froze. " Mostly small stories," he said, but there was an edge to his voice. Clay frowned, not pressing any further.

     Tommy smiled, oblivious. " See, this is nice, we should do this more often."

     " Yes, I think we should all just sit down and never do anything else," Toby agreed. His best friend's smile fell. Toby looked sick again.

     The harsh reality blanketed the room. In a small movement, Clay took George's hand and gave it a squeeze. The Brit looked up at him, and noticed his face was a mix of worry and embarrassment, as if he couldn't decide on one emotion.

     " We have to," Darryl sighed. " We don't have a choice."

     The group shuffled uncomfortably. They lined up in front of the second door, all of them looking at each other. Clay gave George's hand another squeeze. They shared a look, and Clay tried to smile. They didn't have a plan this time. They didn't have hope. They could only pray it wasn't their door.

     Clay turned and grabbed Nick's hand as well. George felt his heart fall for a second. Right, Clay just didn't want to feel alone, that was all it was. He couldn't let his mind wander. He took a deep breath, and Darryl reached for the handle.

     This one didn't squeak as it was pulled open. There was no blinding light, quite the opposite actually. Darkness spilled out of the door, covering the floor, walls, ceiling, and eventually the door itself. George clung to Clay's arm, though he couldn't see anything.

     Next to him, a burst of fire came to life. He scrambled away, feeling the heat on his face. Flames popped up all along the walls, and they found they were in a bigger hallway. Except this one looked like an old ruin of a temple or something. The torches were the only light, but they were flickering and unreliable. Out of the corner of his eye, George saw something move.

     And the scream that came next belonged to none other than Nick.