The house of void

- The room is so unfamiliar to me, I don’t know how I got here.

- You are where you must be.

A dark figure responded to Lewis’s concern with the most sharp and contemptful voice. They were in front of each other, breathing audibly among some wrinkled clothes, but there was no color nor light present inside the cramped wardrobe. All of that seemed off, unfamiliar… and familiar at the same time. Lewis knew deep inside he was where he should be. Just a dream? A terrible nightmare he was getting used to? It was so strange to think about anything at that moment, but not terrifying, what I can’t see, I shall not fear.

His fingers pushed the door softly, each creaking noise from it introduced more of the moonlight to the environment; yet, all the creature was to him could be summarized in a dark silhouette, holding a rod with a circular tip.

Lewis walked to the window calmly, seeing the entire bedroom around him, with children’s toys and a wall covered by face drawings; a subtle progression happened in the tens of heads, the more they appeared the sadder they got. The man just wanted to look outside, see if the world was still normal besides his confusion, but even this was denied to him. A foggy climate seemed to have affected the city; there were definitely houses in their proper spots, but a mass of gray didn’t allow Lewis to see.

The glass, however, reflected his own appearance, such a vision he tried to avoid, and with good reasons: black holes left his eyes half shut, the messy hair fell over his right ear and the skin was dotted with a dry redness.

If at least there was someone to explain the things… like her. For a brief moment, a young woman popped up on the reflection of the window, but when Lewis turned back, she was running away, and only her long black hair was seen, flowing through the air. He just had time to let out a “Hey” before trying to follow her trail.

Right when his step was taken into the corridor, a loud sound echoed in the lonely place. The door was locked, and so were the other passages, blocked by piles of broken dolls and dead dogs. That was horrific, of course, Lewis felt like the own place was against him; the corridor was similar, but more different than ever, that was not his home.

His mind tried to ignore the photos hanging at his side, but there were too many. As Lewis approached the end of the endless path, his neck couldn’t resist, he saw a baby girl with a toothless smile shaking a rattle, and near the first photo, there she was, older, but keeping her little toy.

An elderly couple posed in a green field, but that was from years ago, the more recent photos showed both of them cooking in a rustic kitchen. Lewis was tempted to look for more clues, see if any of that was able to achieve a memory in him, but he was seduced by rustling noise.

He had to blink more than twice to be sure about his gaze. A giant book stood after him, its words moving across the white ocean of the pages. death, perdition, suffering, eternal, those were all the words floating from one side to the other, calling him directly to them. Come, come and experience us, you won’t regret, we’ll take care of you, give what you need. Just close your eyes and you’ll be pleased. This slight whisper penetrated his ears, hypnotizing Lewis, his body was not being controlled anymore, it was alive and ready to make decisions. Little by little, each step of him conducted the man to cross the book leaves, a sensation of coldness, discomfort… but freedom.

When the consciousness returned to the man, a huge living room awaited him after the stairs. A gentle breeze rubbed his forehead, probably coming from below the second floor. It could be a peaceful setting if it wasn’t for the buzzing from the tv. The question was who were those four boys sitting on the carpet, looking fixedly at the blurred device.

His heart was starting to leave him from his mouth, the worn floor sank too much, and that air, the atmosphere, the absence of good light, all of this aggravated his increasing fear. So, when Lewis got to the foot of the stairs, pairs of eyes stuck over him, more white than any milk. None of them delayed in the movement, but the bodies… they were soaked in some liquid, it was something strong, they seemed nearly detached from their heads. Lewis couldn’t have the chance to consider going back to the childish room.

- Lew, you came. - one of the boys opened up a smile; he was a copy of his brother, long hair and large muscles, even though their age was no more than twelve.

The two farest ones were blonde and had bowl hair, with more contained expressions. Lewis was still paralyzed, but the kids weren’t.

- Is our dad already arriving? Jimmy told us he would take too long. -  one of the blonde boys asked.

- They are afraid for no reason, it’s gonna be cool tonight, nothing bad will happen. - Jimmy seemed to speak for all of them, the bravest one.

- Why are you wet? - Lewis spoke.

- Don’t you remember, it’s part of the game

What game?

- You could tell us a story, - Jimmy kept talking - we wanna sleep in peace now.

- … Where is the woman I saw before? I need to talk to an adult.

- … There’s no adult, they’re all gone.

- To where?

- You should know, Lew, you’re always so smart.

Suddenly, the buzzing from the tv turned into a thunderous sound that impregnated all the furniture, causing the whole structure to shake. “Tell us a story!” the boys started to perform the phrase in a disturbing chorus, they were no longer human. Lewis put his hand over the ears, but nothing muffled the sound.

- Why me?

- Because you’re the best storyteller we know, and we want to be in a story of yours.

If you want, then take it. In a fit of rage, Lewis concentrated all his strength to slap the children, more aggressive as time ran, but they didn’t give up. The short nails of the kids scratched his skin with violence. In a matter of seconds, they were all bleeding in different spots.

The tv, I need to break that damn tv. One problem could be solved in a single swoop. Ignoring all the pain from the retaliation suffered, Lewis grabbed the heavy tv, lifted it up and threw it on one of the boys' heads. And there was light, a beam of glowing light.

The four of them were caught by the thin trail of fire that spread quickly. That smell, the wet clothes, it was alcohol. If the buzzing earlier was terrible, nothing compared to the disturbing screams issued by the burning children.

“Over here”, Lewis spinned on his heels to check if the voice was real, it sounded like a dream. But thanks God there she was, graciously hidden behind a wall. There was another corridor, this one darker and leading to the interior of the house. Lewis sprinted to her, but in a blink of an eye she was gone. A savior, a guide, she was mysterious, but definitely knew something.

Instead of closing the passage, this time he could hear the creatures persecuting him. Yes, creatures, Lewis had vague memories about conversations with them, but children weren’t like that at all. Still haunted by the flames and smoke smell, the man found another leaf of the book, that cursed sort of portal.

Words like ‘sacrifice’, ‘redemption’, ‘punishment’ and ‘deliverance’ traveled all around their space, but they rapidly turned into ‘fire’, ‘creatures of hell’, ‘the noisy demons’. Shadows yelled at him inches away, and were getting closer, even feeling off, there was no alternative way, he had to go.

Just a second later, and he was in a wooden room, surrounded by statues of diverse shapes and sizes. Lions in position of attack, supported by an iron rod, side by side with tigers, gorillas and tall elephants. Their alignment perfectly prepared a way in the middle, which led to a throne. As he walked towards his destiny, the statues became monstrous mixtures of dragons and humanoids, with rodent teeth and wide eyes.

Lewis scanned, aiming to find anything good that could help him, but his heart jumped at the full capacity. Two figures emerged from behind statues from both directions, hooded and dressed in total blackness. The cloaks were dense and aged, but they held up well. It was impossible to distinguish any of their features, unless for the voice, their most powerful and evident tool.

- You took too long. - a sharp male voice spoke.

- I wanna know who you are, and where she is. - Lewis demanded.

- You can’t have nothing from us, except death and disgrace.

- I don’t want problems, I just want…

- Silence! You are being judged.

- Judged for what?

- You couldn’t entertain us, and so you decided to use us as your pleasure. - The man leaned towards the other figure - go take it.

Above the discreet table next to the throne, there was a bottle of medicaments, a great knife maintained erect and a book. The envoy took it with agility and started to leaf through.

- “For the sake of my good world I must destroy the priests, for they are bad and destroy everything they touch.”. - it was a woman, old judging by the raspy voice.

- Do you deny your words?

- They’re meant to be a warning, not entertainment! - Lewis argued.

What left him speechless was how he could know about that. The phrase got out with so much conviction, he even spotted the wrinkles forming on the man's face, it was satisfaction.

- You are gonna tell us a story, one way or another. - When the old figure pointed at his back, two entrances, as dark as black holes, were already there. - Choose one path; one of demons and monsters, the other of cold and darker roads, where you’ll find a basilisk.

- But…

- It’s your punishment, don’t complain. Take your lantern and go, all you need is with you.

That was not a normal challenge, it had to do with a threat to Lewis’ life, he needed to choose wisely, otherwise, his end could come in an endless nightmare. A fight, a book, monsters… if he had to be wise, let it be using the words of his captor.

Heat traveled through the air, the lantern crumbled into pieces of glass and the fire spread so quickly that Lewis feared for his safety. “I’m gonna kill you, you bastard!”, the man in black uttered such words before going up in flames. He didn’t even see his companion was catched unprepared. The scenery was chaotic, but in the corner of the room, she appeared again.

- It’s time to take you out from here.

Lewis followed her among an entrance similar to the others, but this one in particular brought light back to his eyes. half tears dropped because of it, but whatever was uncomfortable had no priority.

By the lights, she was so beautiful that Lewis almost got distracted, but he passed the staircase and went down to a white door. Its glass revealed flashing lights outside, red and blue. Lewis itched his fingers to touch the doorknob, but the woman grabbed him by the cheeks.

- I’m sorry it has to end like this. - she was so pale, like a sick person, and was crying too.

Her hands held Lewis’, pressing them so hard that made him realize a passenger; a ring. So familiar, so identical to hers…

But his contemplation was interrupted by the smell. There Lewis was, so close to the living room he could hear the new tv. Am I crazy? The new TV was not a subject worthy of being debated. All of them, all the burnt corpses, big and little, demoniac and human, looking at him from up there, that was scary. And they didn’t stop getting out of the walls.

- What is going… - She was not there anymore, and together with her went the light and all the brief hope.

The stairs couldn’t resist the weight of carbonized bodies, just like the creatures were thirsty for vengeance. There was nowhere for Lewis to escape, their creator and killer was there, and needed to be eliminated. All of them ran, screaming guttural and animalistic sounds, announcing the end of a man who never had a beginning.