Five

Numbers swirl around me. My vision is clouded by symbols and faded images. Paper flaps and crumbles by my ear. Wind races around, pulling my hair and throwing the numbers into even more chaos. No matter where I turn, the chaos follows. Escape. Where is the escape?

“Please!” I cry into the wind.

My words only anger the force playing with me. The wind picks up, throwing me off my feet and destroying my senses.

Soon, all the numbers and symbols disappear, but in their place, another takes form.

Five. Five. Five. Nothing, but five.

This goes on for more hours than I care to count. Right as I feel close to insanity, the wind pulls me from the ground.

Suddenly, I am in a room, but it is like nothing I have ever seen before. The ceiling reaches the clouds. Pillars of gold line the tall stained-glass ceilings. Regal gold and red velvet chairs and tables line the wall, but the floor…

Five. Five. Five. Five. Five.

Everywhere I look, the number follows. Then I look up and notice the pillars. The room is a pentagon: five pillars and five windows. The windows have the number five in vibrant colors, each brighter than the last. Five chairs. Five tables.

Where is the escape?

My hands find the ground, frantically searching for a lever, a hatch, a button, something. My search is pointless, but I can’t give up.

I roam the hall, searching everywhere for an escape, but everywhere I turn, more fives wait for me.

Once again, I feel insanity creeping into my mind. There is no escape. Hours go on before I slump into the soft velvet chair, accepting rest before I lose my mind. I begin to close my eyes, yearning for sleep. Escape.

“Well, don’t do that,” a voice says through the silence.

My head snaps up. Standing in the center of the room is an old man, who slightly resembles a wizard. He has long silver robes and an even longer white beard that almost reaches the ground. His bald head stands out against the elegance of the rest of his body. From the nose up, he looks almost… normal, and not like the mystical creature I believe he might be.

He sighs, looking around the room quizzically. He settles his eyes on the glass for a moment, before shifting them to me.

“Interesting,” he says softly, “that this is the room he gave you.”

His words cause my brain to go into hyperdrive.

“He?” I ask, hoping I will finally get some answers, “who is he?”

“An old friend,” the man says with a smile. “Follow me.”

He turns and waves his arm dramatically toward the wall opposite of me. I watch, dumbfounded, as a magnificent, golden door appears. The man walks toward the door slowly. I scramble out of my seat, rushing to walk beside him.

As we pass through the door, I feel as if my energy is restored. All the weight is lifted from my shoulders and the despair I had felt before disappears immediately. When I enter the room, though, I am forced to stop, surprised by my surroundings.

The room that the doors open to is like an enchanted forest. There’s a massive willow tree in the center of the room that takes up the majority of the area. There is a cobblestone path that trails around the perimeter of the circular room. All sorts of flowers bloom around the base of the tree and lick at the path that contains it. They’re trapped, too.

The pristine room seems to sing with beauty, but that’s not all that catches my attention. There are five of each flower, five of every color, and five doors.

“I do apologize,” the man starts, breaking the silence with his gravelly voice. “I cannot answer any questions you may have. I am only here to bestow upon you a task.”

I stare at him in disbelief. He freed me from that room, only to, what, put me in another?

“You really should get better at not wearing your heart on your sleeve.” He says with a glare, “it is an easy way to give your opponent the advantage.”

“And what are you?” I say accusingly, “an opponent?”

“Not quite,” he states, chuckling to himself.

I glare up at him. Despite his wizened appearance, he is surprisingly tall. His commanding demeanor is irritating, yet just as enchanting as this room. Before I can ask him any of the questions I’m dying to ask, he spoke once again.

“Behind each of these doors,” he says as he begins to walk down the cobble path, “is a different challenge. You must complete only one to be released.”

I watch him walk past the doors. Each one glows when he reaches them and dims the moment he moves onto the next.

“However,” he says gravely. “You may only attempt one task. Each door holds a different one. The catch is: once you enter, you may never leave. Your freedom will only be granted to you when the task is completed. Fail to do so in time, and you will be stuck in that room. Forever.”

He passes the last door, and a gentle breeze sweeps through the room. I glare at him as he approaches me, noticing him dragging out the moment with each heavy step.

“One chance at escape.” The old man says, smirking at the last word, as if he knows what it means to me.

“You want me to play your game?” I ask, hoping he knows how much I despise him right now. “Fine, I’ll play your game.”

I push past him, walking toward the center door. As I reach for the handle of the golden door, I look back to where the old man is, wishing to throw a sassy comment in before our departure.

Except, he’s no longer there. I’m alone. With only five.

I take a deep breath. How hard could this be? I close my eyes and make my move.

The door feels weightless as I push it open. I step inside and open my eyes as I feel my socks getting wet. I look down to find my feet submerged in a water-like substance.

My eyes run over the area surrounding me. I don’t get to analyze much, though. One look at the task before me, and fear instantly overtakes me.

Five people, all my life’s greatest terrors.

Mother, an alcoholic who never spared me a second glance. A woman who turned her back while her boyfriend's took advantage of me, so long as they filled her wine cellar. A woman who had no care for me, or for any love that we could have shared.

My sixth-grade math teacher, who hated me with every bone in his body. A man who shamed me at any opportunity. Put me on the spot and humiliated me, forcing me to stay close to him at all times for his own entertainment.

My cousin, who has everything I have ever wanted, and brags about it as much as she can. A girl who taunted me because of my situation with my mother, boasting about the new dress her mom got her on their monthly shopping trips. Showed me endless photos of her family and their joy, all to rub it in like salt in an open wound.

My ex, who never cared for me, only what he got from being with me. A boy who didn’t care how I was holding up, only that I put on a smile and a pretty outfit. Drowned me in insults and pain, only to cover me in makeup to hide my tears. Took away food and forced my innocence from me, all for his pleasure.

But worst of all, my best friend stands before me. But here, I see her for all she is. She is just as bad as the others. When I look at her in this room, I see everything she hid from me. Going behind my back to flirt with any boys I liked. Always trying to one up me in school, craving to be better than I could ever be. Dragging me out of our secluded hang outs to go to the mall and meet sleazy boys. She wants to make me everything I’m not. How did it take all this insanity for me to realize this?

“I’m living a nightmare,” I whimper, my voice barely audible.

Each person in the room turns to stare at me. Five sets of eyes. Five. Five. Five.

Five people start to walk towards me. Five. Five. Five.

I try to move my legs, but whatever liquid I’m standing in holds me in place.

I blink rapidly, watching as five sets of hands reach for me. Five. Five. Five.

Just as tears begin to well in my eyes, I flail my arms and scream, falling into the sludge. No. I will not get stuck here.

I search my brain for anyway to get out of this, desperate for a solution. I look around for a door, a lever, a hatch, anything, but the door I came through has disappeared, and I'm trapped. I’m surrounded by black walls, people that have cut me to pieces, and a feeling of insanity trying to take hold of me.

Just as the first hand touches my shoulder, I understand what I must do.

Resist.

Fight.

Take control of my life.

“Stop!” I roar, suddenly jumping to my feet. Exhilarated by my newfound freedom, I back even farther away, staring each of them down.

“You have no control over me,” I say defiantly. “You have terrified me for long enough. I am not going to be a victim to any one of you ever again!”

My voice rises with each word, and the second it dies, the room is enveloped in complete darkness.

My eyes snap open. I throw the covers off of me, and stand up, adrenaline still driving me. Wait, covers?

My bed, I was just in my bed. This isn't another foreign room. It’s mine, but dark. I look out the window and catch a glimpse of the full moon in the sky.

I look down at my bedside table, to the clock set up next to my lamp, but the numbers on the clock send chills through my body, and the terror takes hold of me once again. I look back, hoping my eyes have betrayed me, but nothing has ever been more clear.

5:00am.