The Doors Not to Open

Hannah stood in front of two wooden doors. One was a deep, dark cobalt blue and another was a vibrant, bright, swirly orange. Both of the doors had little notes taped to them that matched the colors of the door. Both the doors intrigued Hannah to go in, but she only had one choice.

Hannah walked up to the blue door, pushing her blonde hair out of her emerald green eyes, and peeled the note off the door. It read: Roses are red, violets are blue, if you like the ocean then this door’s for you. But beware of the secret lair, and the mermaid that lies within the stairs.

Interesting, Hannah thought to herself.

She taped the note carefully back onto the door and skipped over to the orange door. The note read something entirely different, and it read: The girl in the fire, danced in the flames. But you must save her before she pershies to only remains. 

To Hannah, both of the doors both sounded like deadly missions she knew she would have to complete to get out of this mess.

Hannah knew it was deciding time now.

She thought about what each of the poems had said, and she really liked the ocean much better. It sounded so much more calm than going into a fire to save a girl who might already be dead. But then again, she didn’t want to have to fight a creepy mermaid that ‘lies within the stair.’

Hannah stepped back to study the two different doors. After being completely indecisive, Hannah walked to the blue door and twisted the door handle. Immediately, she was swooped into a cyclone and dragged underneath the water.

Hannah was freaking out when she touched the icy water that she wouldn’t be able to breathe. After a few seconds of holding her breath, she had to get air. So, thinking she would suck water into her nose and die, she sucked in a breath. 

She shut her eyes, waiting to drown, but opened them and kept breathing when she realized she could breathe underwater.

Hannah’s hands shot up into the water with fists, but she realized she had a more important problem. Getting out.

She twisted in circles to try and find a clue to what she should be doing, and she finally spotted the tip of a stone lair.

Hannah swam with all her might, trying to ignore the pressure building in her ears, until she reached the lair.

There were no doors to enter the lair, so she assumed she must have to swim through the slim opening between the pillars.

“Ugh!” Hannah threw her arms in the air and gave up on trying to push the lower half of her body through the pillars.

An orange fish swam up to Hannah and talked.

“Howdy, cowgirl! Need help with that problem you got yourself into?” The fish that talked like a western tipped his cowboy hat to her and smiled.

“Like you, a little fish could ever push me through this pillar,” Hannah replied, sulking.

“Never underestimate the power of a little fish!” The fish swam to the pillars and pushed up against the pillars with its tiny orange fins. 

CRASH! The pillar went flying and Hannah’s mouth dropped open as far as it could stretch.

“Thanks,” Hannah said, still in shock.

“Anytime, darlin’. Now, you go ahead and be careful down in there.” And with that, the little fish swam off into the deep blue sea.

Hannah turned around and she easily slid through the big opening between the pillars. 

The inside of the lair was exactly how Hannah suspected. Old, cold, dirty, and just. . . plain.

Hannah swam around on the top floor, keeping watch for any sign of trouble. 

She felt with her hands around a wooden desk. She couldn’t see on top of the desk because the desk was in the shadows.

“AAHH!” Hannah jerked her hand away from something that sunk its teeth into her hand.

But, when she pulled her arm away, a skeleton head was biting her finger and hanging on.

“AAHHHHHHH!” Hannah practically crushed the skull down to the bits and pieces and powder before she finally stopped.

“You may want to save your screams for down in the basement of this place.” A voice said from behind Hannah. When Hannah turned around she was glad to see a turtle instead of another human skull.

“Why? What’s down there?” Hannah asked.

“Well, I figured you’d only be here for the treasure.” The turtle asked.

“The treasure? How do you know there’s treasure?”

“Because I’ve been down there. That mermaid is a beast. Not a happy sparkly rainbow mermaid. A scaly, gray, vicious mermaid. Look,” The turtle turned around to show the other side of his body where part of his shell was missing. It looked jagged to Hannah.

“Oh no! What happened?”

“The mermaid. She bites.”

Hannah’s eyes widened and she shuddered just thinking about it.

“I suppose you’ll need a hand down there?” The turtle asked, breaking the awkward silence between the two.

“Yes, if you don’t mind. I’m Hannah by the way.”

“I’m Marty. Nice to meet you.”

Marty and Hannah slowly creeped down the ramp to the next floor. Hannah thought it was a good thing that it was a ramp and not stairs so they didn’t have to fight the mermaid yet.

“Hannah, listen.” Marty asked and Hannah opened her ears a little more.

SCREECH! SCREECH! SCREECH!

“What is that?” Hannah whispered, too afraid that whatever was making that terrifying sound would never find them.

“The mermaid.” Marty whispered back. “Get ready.”

Marty and Hannah searched around until they found something they could fight with. Hannah found a jewel encrusted sword and Marty found a piece of trash.

Hannah stared at Marty with confusion. “What?” He asked. “One time I got caught in one of these things and it did lots of damage. If it works on me, it should work on the mermaid.”

Hannah shook all the jitters off, and then slowly, they crept down the stairs.

SCREEEEECHHHHH!!! The mermaid swam out of her hiding place beneath the stairs and the view knocked both Marty and Hannah back a step.

The mermaid was a gray scaly creature and her tail was lined with silver coins to match her color. Her skin was some kind of pale white and had cuts and bruises all over. Her hair was a knotted, tangled mess and it was also silver. But what freaked them out the most was the eyes. THe eyes were like staring into lost souls and it was creepy. They almost hypnotized Hannah, so if it wasn’t for Marty screaming, Hannah probably would’ve just stayed there forever.

Hannah unsheathed her sword and swiped in through the air faster than the eye could follow.

The mermaid whipped and swam madly around the two, jumping out and trying to bite whenever she could.

Hannah tried to protect Marty as the mermaid jumped out at him, but she wasn’t quick enough. The mermaid clung to Marty with her sharp and jagged teeth and Marty cried out in pain.

“ARGH!” Hannah shouted as she swung her sword at the mermaid. 

Part of the mermaid’s scaly tail flew across the stony room and hit the wall and then the ground with a THUD!

The mermaid looked as if she wanted to kill Hannah if she didn’t before.

Marty on the other hand, was lying on the ground, moaning from the pain the mermaid did to him. 

Hannah clutched her chest where there was more anger building up in her every time the mermaid did something bad. The mermaid flung heavy jewels and tried to bite Hannah with her teeth. Hannah needed to unleash her anger and take it out on the mermaid.

“ARGH! ARGH! ARGH!” Hannah screamed basically through her sword at the mermaid.

BUMP! BUMP! CRASH! CRASH!

The mermaid fell straight through the floor in two pieces.

“Go,” Marty whispered.

Hannah rushed over to her poor friend.

“What?” She asked.

“Go,” Marty repeated. “She could come back at any time. Save yourself and go. And don’t forget the jewels under the stairs.”

As much as it pained Hannah to leave her friend, she knew Marty was right.

She left just as quickly as she came, through the speedy cyclone and back to the room of doors.

She looked around for the door to get out, but there wasn't one. The only door she could go through was the orange door. And when she walked up to it, a new note was taped to it.

Your only way out is by saving the girl in the flames.

Hannah smacked her forehead. It was going to be a much longer, much restless day of fighting.