With Fear or Without

9- Symbols in the Dark

Seeing light as they stepped off the final stair made Cleo sigh in relief, the dread building up in her throat subsiding slowly.

They arrived in another vacant hallway, both relieved and suspicious that there was no sign of life to be seen. Several things were different about this hallway. There was no row of lights on the ceiling. Instead, the only sources of light were two mini lamp-like sconces mounted on either side of looming arched double doors. The bulbs inside were dim, just bright enough to make out the walls of the rectangular chamber. On the left and right wall were four uniform slabs of iron each, spaced out evenly, and the ceiling rose just as high as before despite the lower floor. The air in the chamber was still and stagnant, like the whole room was holding its breath.

The trio released each other's hands, abandoning the small bit of safety in favor of exploring the new surroundings. Cleo moved to the first iron rectangle in the wall. It was like a sliding prison door, no handles or grips, but the sliver of space at the bottom hinted that the doors were, in fact, moveable. By the dim light from across the room, Cleo could just barely make out a marking, a symbol, on the top right hand corner of the first door. The odd shape was made up of slightly raised iron. It looked like a bug; six lines sticking out from an oval in the center.

"Guys, look at this," she pointed up at the symbol.

"They all have a different one," came Andy's voice from across the room, having already made her way to the last door.

Cleo hesitantly moved around the room to look at every door, careful not to step too close. The second door had an iron symbol in the same spot. This time the shape was a small square. The third door had two squiggly lines that reminded Cleo of water and the fourth was the top and side outline of a square. On the opposite wall were four more unique symbols; three lines of decreasing length on top of a long line, a filled in circle, a flat line, and a plus sign. She studied each one, trying to commit them to memory. She had a feeling they were important, an integral part of the puzzle.

"What do you think they mean?" Andy asked, standing in the center space with her hands on her hips.

"No idea," Charlie admitted, joining Andy and readjusting their backpack and pointing around the room as they spoke. "Some are obvious, I mean, a bug lookin' thing, water... but a line? A circle? Could be anything."

Cleo continued to wander the space as the others debated the meanings of the symbols. Finally she faced the large double doors at the end of the room, flanked by the two light sources. The doors were grand and towering, rising up almost to the ceiling far above. There were engravings and markings across both doors that looked like elven designs. Floral patterns and circular, curling designs covered them in an impressive artistic display. She took a couple steps closer, intrigued by the artwork, and felt a breeze blow past her ankles.

She sucked in a breath and looked down to see the pale pink wind curling below her. It was the same path that led them here. It extended all the way from the staircase and wound its way through the space to the bottom of the double doors. Conversation was cut short and the trio watched in curious silence at the glow. It reached the seam where the doors connected and seeped up the length of the doors, curling and twisting along each carefully crafted pattern. It continued to flood the design until each engraved line was glowing that same rosy color and a rumbling sound started deep in the floor. It grew louder and louder and the doors, now glowing magnificently, began to separate and open out towards them.

Cleo panicked. She whirled around and waved frantically at her friends, now right behind her. They seemed to get the message. Andy on one side and Cleo and Charlie on the other, they ran and pressed themselves against the wall. Forcing herself to take deep breaths, Cleo leaned her head against the wall, the sconce directly above her head. She was almost sure that before they fled she saw a glimpse of a figure beyond the doors.